Chapter 62

Chapter 62: Crouching Dragon (1)

-- Entry authorized.

A research lab inside the aircraft carrier.

With all eyes on the dungeon raid, the lab was completely empty.

As expected of a facility run by the American Hero Association, it was stocked with rare materials.

"Excellent."

Lee Yeeun asked me.

"Professor, why are we at the lab?"

"To make something that'll help with this dungeon raid."

"What?"

Lee Yeeun.

She was a genius.

In the game, there were countless NPCs that assisted the player.

As combatants, they couldn't provide much help, but in the role of supporting the player, they were outstanding.

If you recruited her as an ally, she would produce research results that made the game significantly more convenient -- endlessly.

I planned to borrow one of those.

"Yeeun, I'm going to give a short lecture."

"Okay!"

"Did you know the Dragon's Roost expedition lasted an entire month?"

"Yes. I heard that dealing with the monsters coming out of the dungeon was a huge headache too."

That's right.

When a Gate appeared, the biggest problem was the monsters inside coming out and attacking civilians.

The longer a Gate stayed open, the more monsters emerged.

On top of that, past a certain point, the monsters inside began breeding and multiplying, making it even more troublesome -- which was why finishing a dungeon raid in the shortest time possible was critically important.

"What do you think was the main reason the Dragon's Roost dungeon took especially long to clear?"

"Um... Because the dungeon interior was extremely complex and consisted of many stages?"

The importance of sending a vanguard to gather intelligence from inside the dungeon couldn't be overstated.

In the Dragon's Roost dungeon, they'd spent a full two weeks just investigating the dungeon's interior.

"Right. That's the problem. All that vast information was relayed solely through people's words, so it got distorted and garbled in the process. That's why they had to abandon the expedition midway and send the vanguard back in multiple times."

It was common knowledge that electronic devices couldn't be used inside dungeons.

That meant cameras and everything else were unusable.

The sheer volume of information about a dungeon.

Having to convey all of it through speech and writing alone must have driven the vanguard insane.

One of the reasons players held such an unfair advantage in the game was evident here too.

Players could look up guides and clear challenges that should've been impossible at their specs, making them fundamentally different from NPC Heroes.

"Since you can't record video inside a dungeon, there's nothing that can be done."

"Then here's a question. If you could make that possible, how much faster do you think raids would go?"

"Excuse me?"

Lee Yeeun looked at me like I'd lost my mind.

"If that were possible, would anyone have struggled this long? It can't be done -- that's why everyone's in this mess."

Originally, it couldn't be done.

But a certain genius had made it possible.

"It's not that it can't be done. They just hadn't found the method."

In the future, a spell capable of capturing video inside dungeons would be developed.

From that point on, a feature would unlock allowing the player to send NPCs as vanguards to bring back information.

It was a feature you'd never use after seeing the ending once, but during the first playthrough, it was invaluable.

"Do you know why all the research failed until now?"

"...Not really?"

"The basic principle of a camera is capturing light reflected off objects onto film. Mages approached it the same way, and that's why they failed."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. They misunderstood it to mean that all human-made technology was unusable inside dungeons. The approach itself was wrong."

Lee Yeeun nodded.

But the fundamental question still hadn't been answered.

"I understand why it didn't work. But it's not like there's a clear solution either."

A fair question.

I didn't know the specific method either.

But I had an idea.

The talent that let me view the game's lore encyclopedia -- Teachings of Seshet.

With this, I could find out.

ZZZZ--

My consciousness swept through the sea of information. The sensation was unpleasant, as always.

Still, I found it without difficulty.

"You read the memories that mana holds."

Lee Yeeun asked back.

"Mana's... memories?"

"Yeah. Mana's memories. Mana knows everything. If you ask mana nicely, it'll tell you what it knows."

Using Teachings of Seshet caused a brief aftereffect that left my head foggy.

So the words came tumbling out of my mouth on their own.

And then I regretted it.

Fuck. What kind of bullshit was that?

Mana's memories? This isn't about spirits -- what do you mean, "ask nicely"?

This game didn't even have a concept like spirits to begin with.

It was garbage output befitting a talent classified as garbage in the game.

Was it some kind of metaphorical expression?

Either way, it was useless if you couldn't interpret it.

"Professor......"

Lee Yeeun stared at me with a complicated expression.

I felt like she was about to condemn me for spouting middle-schooler nonsense despite being a professor.

I wanted to crawl into a hole.

"So that's what it was! Ahhh! How did you even think of that?"

Huh.

Unexpectedly, Lee Yeeun's expression was bright.

She got excited and started rambling.

"Mana... yes, mana! Why did nobody ever think of that? Just like surveying soil or analyzing seawater, mana is also a substance that contains information!"

I had no idea what she was getting at, but I played along.

"Exactly. As expected of my top disciple. You understood my point perfectly."

"I think I can make this work! Professor, let's give it our all!"

Right.

It was a spell Lee Yeeun created in the first place, so of course she'd understand it.

I'd been thinking of her as just a TA given how young she still was, but now it felt like I'd gained a one-woman army.

Our research progressed very smoothly.

"What if we do the magic formula here like this?"

"I'll fill in this part here."

"I think the Alt formula would work better for this section."

The idea came from future Lee Yeeun.

Lee Yeeun led the research too.

I sat beside her, consulting the lore encyclopedia and relaying the hints future Lee Yeeun had left behind, one by one.

Truly befitting Teachings of Seshet -- my greatest talent. I had no idea which idiot had slapped the "garbage" label on it.

...In truth, this wasn't "our" research -- it was entirely Lee Yeeun's solo work.

"Done! It's finished!"

"Good work."

The research was completed in half a day.

The idea had been the bottleneck -- the actual development of the spell was straightforward.

By Lee Yeeun's standards, at least.

"Will this spell actually work?"

"Of course."

The spell was perfect.

The proof was my skill window.

---------

<Skills>

> Magic Missile

: Offensive magic. Shapes a mass of mana and launches it.

.

.

.

> Memory of Mana

: Support magic. Reads and peeks into mana's memories.

PT held: 1,500

---------

Its appearance in the skill window meant it had been recognized as an official spell.

Naturally, the spell would activate without issue.

And one more thing.

---------

> A legendary achievement has been reached.

-- Skill Development (1/1)

---------

The system window's achievement also responded.

Skill Development.

When I'd taught Baek Seolhwa, it had been a hidden achievement -- Skill Creation -- but this time, since it was a spell that already existed in the game, a legendary achievement -- Skill Development -- appeared instead.

However, the immediate impact of the spell created this time would be incomparably greater than Baek Seolhwa's skill.

"Since we're at it, let's make one more."

"One more?"

"We already have a camera -- might as well have a microphone too."

"Let's do it!"

One round of research was done, but Lee Yeeun's motivation showed no signs of waning.

If anything, she was more fired up than at the start.

This time, too, I brought the lore encyclopedia, and Lee Yeeun interpreted it and crafted the spell.

I cheered her on enthusiastically from the side.

Research was supposed to be the professor's orders executed by the slave -- I mean, the researcher.

A truly exemplary division of labor.

Lee Yeeun's research continued through the night.

I sat in a chair and nodded off briefly. No, I slept like a rock.

And then it was morning.

"Mmm... I dozed off for a second."

Right on cue, Lee Yeeun called me.

"Professor! It's finally done!"

"Good work."

Communication magic.

Its official name was Whisper of Mana.

The lore encyclopedia had been filled with nonsense about mana talking to each other and whatnot.

Lee Yeeun looked haggard, as if she hadn't slept a wink while researching.

It had taken longer than the video magic, apparently because the development was more demanding.

"Good work. Let me see."

This time, too, the spell was added to the skill window, and an achievement appeared.

The development of communication magic was successful.

I made a show of examining the spell and said,

"This is perfect. As your advisor, I'd want to give this a perfect score."

"He, hehe... Really?"

"Absolutely."

THUD--

As if the tension had drained away, Lee Yeeun's legs gave out.

I rushed over and caught her as she collapsed.

A soft wheezing sound came from Lee Yeeun.

She was fast asleep.

After maintaining concentration through the night for her research, exhaustion was only natural.

"You really did work hard."

I carried Lee Yeeun to her room, laid her on the bed, and pulled the covers over her.

Now it was time to repay Lee Yeeun's efforts.

***

We arrived at the destination.

In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, we witnessed an unbelievable sight.

ROARRR--

A massive whirlpool spanning tens of kilometers in radius had appeared in the middle of the sea.

The whirlpool was devouring everything around it like a predator.

My jaw dropped.

"Good lord."

"The Gate should be at the center of that whirlpool. This is terrifying."

A sea whirlpool tens of kilometers in diameter drew a weak sound even from Jo Seongung.

Of course, not everyone was fazed.

China's Hero, Wang Sheng, spouted nonsense.

"Hmph, SS-rank's nothing special. That's all the whirlpool it can make?"

Zhuge Soyon mocked him from beside.

"All bluster."

"What? This brat... Aha, you're scared, aren't you? Just because you're scared doesn't mean everyone else is!"

"N-No I'm not!"

It seemed to have hit the mark, because Zhuge Soyon looked flustered.

"The Chinese are a lively bunch. Compared to some, they're downright civil."

Jo Seongung was right.

Just because they were S-rank Heroes didn't mean they were all fearless warriors.

Some were overwhelmed by the Gate's majesty, and others were preemptively terrified of what lay ahead.

"By the way, Professor Cha, where'd you leave your student?"

"Yeeun's sleeping in her room. She was hard at work researching until just now."

"I see."

He didn't ask what kind of research, apparently not curious.

Probably because it was magic research rather than tactical.

Before long, the vanguard -- Unicorn Guild members -- stepped forward.

Naturally, their mood was the most hostile.

"Fucking hell, how do you even get inside the Gate?"

"Just dive in. Getting out's going to be the bigger problem."

The Unicorn Guild members were clearly unhappy about their unwanted vanguard assignment.

Edelin didn't look comfortable either.

One of the expedition's commanders, John Dickell, said,

"Edelin, there's no need for you to go personally. It'd be trouble if the overall commander got hurt."

"Don't worry about it. It's my decision."

"Well, if that's what you want."

He said he didn't mind, but John Dickell's expression looked pleased.

He was probably one of the people who'd be happiest if something happened to Edelin.

"Then we'll be heading out."

The Unicorn Guild members all boarded a small destroyer.

The plan was to ride it into the whirlpool to gain entry.

"Unicorn Guild Master."

Before Edelin boarded, I called out to her.

"Professor Cha?"

"Take this with you."

"This is... a Mana Stone?"

An A-rank Mana Stone.

A stone holding a considerable amount of mana.

It would serve as both camera and microphone.

The Mana Stone had video magic and communication magic inscribed on it, and the magic circle would be fueled by the mana within.

"Keep it on you."

Edelin smiled.

"I didn't take you for the type to believe in superstitions, Professor. How unexpected. I'll keep it close."

Superstition?

Did she mistake it for some kind of charm?

"That's not what it--"

"I'll come back safely. I promise."

Before I could correct the misunderstanding, Edelin went and filmed her own drama scene and left.

That's not what this is about.

Also, isn't that line a death flag?

"Well, nothing should happen."

The vanguard's job was just to go in partway and come back.

Death flag or not, there was no way an enemy that could threaten Unicorn would appear on the very first day.

No matter how fearsome an SS-rank dungeon was, the final boss wouldn't be waiting right at the entrance.

"...Right?"