Chapter 36

Chapter 36: The Exam (4)

"Teams should be starting the boss fight around now."

A glance at my watch showed just past the ten-minute mark.

The A+ cutoff was twenty minutes.

Naturally, the boss fight was the most demanding stage of them all.

Starting right about now would be cutting it close.

"Already?"

My teaching assistant, Lee Yeeun, beside me, sounded skeptical.

She seemed to think it was too early for anyone to be done already.

"C-team would've arrived by now. B-team and D-team are probably struggling, and A-team... depends on how things play out."

"I mean, An Seri and the second stage are a perfect matchup. Isn't the balance between parties a little off?"

"In exchange, the final stage heavily favors A-team and B-team."

"D-team is, um......"

"They've got the best overall balance."

What we both left unsaid was that D-team lacked an exceptional individual who could tip the scales—making it impossible for them to pull ahead.

"Which team do you think will come out first, Professor?"

"A-team."

"Huh, why?"

"Song Seokhwan starts on a different playing field from the rest."

The young master of Bisang Guild.

A notorious early-game powerhouse, even by the game's standards.

He may have suffered humiliation in the last practicum, but he would have taken something away from that failure.

On top of that, I had some personal hopes riding on it too.

If Song Seokhwan couldn't distinguish himself here, it'd be a problem.

I had absolutely no intention of taking him under my wing, but as a rival, he needed to serve as a wall for my students to overcome.

"Then what about your kids, Professor?"

"My kids?"

"Don't play dumb. You know—the ones you play favorites with. Seo Dayun, An Seri, Baek Seolhwa."

She had a point, and it stung—but I answered coolly.

"I've always treated every student fairly."

"I'm sure you have. So what's the criteria for the favoritism? Are you deliberately singling out the talented ones to manage?"

I exercised my right to remain silent. Unbothered, my teaching assistant continued her solo deduction.

"I mean, Baek Seolhwa and An Seri are on a different level from the others, sure. I get wanting to teach them more. Then Song Seokhwan... oh right, he's the one who fought with you. Never mind."

"......"

"But why Seo Dayun? I heard about the duel with the third-year, but even so, there are a few students better than her, aren't there?"

Easy to say when you don't know.

Better than Seo Dayun? If such a student existed, I'd have recruited them in a heartbeat.

"It doesn't seem like you're singling out just the top students... The thing they all have in common would be... they're all good-looking? Professor, are you just playing favorites with the pretty girls? Wow......"

Lee Yeeun made a face like she'd had some grand epiphany and started teasing me.

It was an unfair accusation, but hearing it out, it wasn't exactly wrong either. Personal fondness for them as students aside—objectively, they were all quite beautiful.

"That wasn't intentional."

"Trying to weasel out of it?"

I knew it was a childish joke, but I still felt the need to defend my honor.

"It's not like I took you on as a disciple because you're pretty either."

Lee Yeeun clearly hadn't expected the conversation to turn to her. She wavered.

Then said something completely out of left field.

"W-wait, I'm included in that?"

"Obviously."

She wasn't a Playable Character, but Lee Yeeun had her uses.

She was one of the Heroes factored into my plans going forward—one who'd help protect humanity.

I had no idea how she interpreted my words, but Lee Yeeun grinned to herself.

"Hmm~. I see. So that's how you see it, Professor."

How did things end up like this?

When we'd first met, I was the charismatic professor and she was the puppy-like disciple who followed my every word. Now my disciple was trying to mess with me.

It didn't feel bad, but my ideal image of a professor was something a bit more... dignified.

Why? Because that's cooler, obviously.

"Teams should be coming out soon."

A check of my wristwatch—almost twenty minutes.

There was a worst-case scenario where every team failed to meet the A+ threshold, but I wanted to believe that wouldn't happen.

"Professor, want to make a bet?"

"A bet?"

"You said that rude punk would come out first, right? I'm betting your kids come out first. Loser buys dinner."

"That's not fair. Pick just one team."

"Then you take D-team, Professor."

"...Fine."

A thoroughly lopsided deal, but what could I do when my dear disciple insisted?

In return, if I lost, the menu would be tangsuyuk. Dipped style, obviously.

—BEEP!

"Oh, looks like one just came out?"

The sensor I'd installed at the Gate to track times went off.

Good—at least one team had managed an A+.

The first team to clear the dungeon and emerge was—

***

C-team was the first to reach the third stage.

In the Pale Monkey Forest, which had only three stages, this was the boss stage.

The boss was a giant monkey.

An overwhelmingly powerful specimen, nothing like the monkeys they'd faced so far.

"Whoa, that one looks like fun."

"We need to pin it down for sure."

"Just don't hold me back!"

Nam Hyeju closed the distance with the boss mob in an instant.

Her combative nature made her burn brighter against stronger foes. Because of that, her talent—Eruption—had activated.

Nam Hyeju swung her sword like a bludgeon, rough and heavy. The boss mob failed to even block it, taking a clean hit to the arm.

CRASH—!

The moment her blade connected, Nam Hyeju realized—it hadn't failed to react. It simply hadn't bothered.

The thing was goddamn rock-solid.

The giant monkey showed zero reaction to the attack. If anything, only Nam Hyeju's hand was stinging.

"What the— its body is......"

The giant monkey glanced at Nam Hyeju.

She scrambled backward. Getting caught meant death.

"Damn it......"

The creature roared.

—ROAAAAAAAR—!

The giant monkey leapt.

An impossibly fast speed for a body that massive. Faster, even, than the monkeys from the second stage.

And in a flash, it arrived in front of Nam Hyeju with an arm already reaching out.

"Nam Hyeju!"

"We're fu—"

WHOOSH!

The monkey flinched at a stinging sensation and pulled its arm back.

Several small arrows were embedded in its hand.

—SCREECH!

Hit by the arrows, the giant monkey retreated a considerable distance.

Just as the strategy guide said, this one wasn't particularly aggressive.

Instead, its durability was exceptional—most attacks couldn't deal critical damage.

But it was cowardly, so even a mildly effective hit would send it scurrying away.

The arrows just now had been the same.

They hadn't carried nearly enough mana, yet the creature had fled.

If it had been even a little more ferocious, it would have endured the pain and torn Nam Hyeju's head clean off.

—SCREEEEECH!

The monkey hastily scrambled up a tree in the forest to hide.

An Seri clicked her tongue.

Even more of a coward than I expected.

This meant her teammates would take less damage, but clearing would be too slow.

The giant monkey scaled the tree in the blink of an eye.

Then it began hurling the bananas growing at the top.

"Shield!"

Seo Dayun stepped forward and cast.

A transparent barrier materialized in midair and blocked the incoming bananas.

KABOOM!

The force behind the throw was so immense that the bananas detonated on impact against the Shield.

The Shield cracked with a sickening CRUNCH. Nam Hyeju and Gam Miseong recoiled.

"What? How does a banana break through magic?"

"Monster bastard......"

"Hey, Leader. Should I go after it?"

An Seri shook her head.

That dense forest was the creature's domain. Going in would only invite trouble.

They needed to draw it out.

"Dayun, set the forest on fire."

"Got it!"

Seo Dayun deployed fire-attribute magic and set the forest ablaze.

An Seri followed up with a barrage of precision shots.

At this range, it was an archer's domain.

Her arrows were far more threatening than that thing's banana tosses.

—SCREEEEECH!

The giant monkey worked its pea-sized brain as hard as it could and concluded that running wasn't an option anymore.

At this rate, it'd be picked off by arrows without ever getting close.

—SCREECH!

"Here it comes!"

"Don't touch the bare patches—be careful!"

The giant monkey's fur served the same function as armor. It was physically tough and resistant to magic.

The fur covered its entire body, except for the face, chest, palms, and soles.

Those were the boss mob's weak points.

A hit there could deal critical damage.

But a sloppy attack would only enrage the boss.

The giant monkey wasn't very aggressive, but once it felt its life was threatened, it would enter an enraged state—and the difficulty would spike by several tiers.

"That bastard's fur is goddamn tough."

"No choice. Let's use Aura."

SHING—!

—SHRIEEEEK!

The sword strikes began to land.

Even the giant monkey couldn't withstand Aura, and it screamed.

With Nam Hyeju, Gam Miseong, and An Seri rotating their attacks, the monkey floundered like a punching bag.

"Hey, monkey bastard! Does it hurt? Huh?"

The individual hits weren't massive, but the damage accumulated bit by bit.

No matter how tough it was, if this pattern continued, its stamina would eventually run dry.

Alarm bells rang in the giant monkey's head.

The swordswoman bitch and the spearman bastard were a nuisance, and the priest's support from behind was a pain. No idea what the mage was doing, but she kept preparing something.

The biggest threat was the archer bitch.

It hurt. It fucking hurt.

Every single arrow that struck was agony.

—SCREEECH!

At this rate, it truly felt like it was going to die.

It didn't want to enter "that state"—but it saw no other way out of this crisis.

—SCREECH!

"The enrage timing should be coming up soon."

"Good. Just like we planned!"

The giant monkey would enter an enraged state once its health dropped below a certain threshold.

Once enrage began, its combat power would skyrocket, making it extremely difficult to handle.

Therefore, the key to the strategy was what to do once enrage kicked in.

The giant monkey was at its most aggressive immediately after entering enrage.

The more offense it showed, the more it neglected its defense. That was the window—they had to finish it then.

Nam Hyeju and Gam Miseong quickly split to the left and right.

The giant monkey momentarily lost its target.

—SCREECH!

Who to tear apart?

That red-haired bitch? Or the blond bastard......?

No. It was that archer bitch.

If she wasn't torn to shreds, she'd keep firing those arrows......

—SCREEEEECH!

Immediately after enrage, Aggro locked onto the greatest threat.

That target was, naturally, An Seri.

The creature leapt, hurtling toward An Seri.

"Now!"

The giant monkey was airborne.

A prime position for pouncing on its prey—but the giant monkey itself was equally exposed.

Its smooth, fur-free chest gleamed prominently.

Normally, it would've been wary of attacks on its weak point, but enrage had all but erased any thought of defending its body.

On top of that, C-team had completely ignored the bare patches throughout the fight, further lowering the creature's guard.

The five spells Seo Dayun had been casting all this time.

Two Magic Missiles and a Composite spell.

And the finished product, combined once more with Fire Ball.

No matter how tough, if this hit its weak point, it was over.

"Here it GOES!"

VWOOM!

Sensing the massive mana, the giant monkey finally realized something was wrong.

But it was far too late.

Seo Dayun's spell struck the giant monkey's chest dead-on.

—KYAAAAAAAAAK!

The scream echoed through the entire forest.

The colossal Magic Missile punched clean through its body and set it ablaze.

The giant monkey desperately squeezed every ounce of strength it had left to cling to life, but An Seri showed no mercy.

A mana-laden arrow blew its head apart.

The end of the boss that had lorded over this dungeon was a wretched one.

The giant monkey fell into a trap meticulously designed by its invaders and breathed its last.

"We won!"

"Nice!"

As the giant monkey collapsed, the teammates erupted in cheers.

Without needing a word, they all rushed toward the dungeon's exit.

—Clear Time: 19 minutes, 31 seconds.

The sensor installed at the Gate outside the dungeon welcomed the first party.