Chapter 78

Chapter 78: Academy Collapse Event (2)

An ordinary lunchtime, like any other.

Depending on their schedules, students were attending lectures, resting, or eating lunch.

Baek Seolhwa, too, was eating lunch just like the other students.

There was just one difference.

"Eating bread again. You'll ruin your health eating nothing but that."

Baek Seolhwa, crouched alone in a corner of the Training Hall.

Park Seohu, who had found her, spoke.

Finding Baek Seolhwa was simple for Park Seohu.

She always ate nothing but bread and milk here.

Baek Seolhwa answered curtly.

"...Mind your own business."

Baek Seolhwa turned her body away from Park Seohu.

Over the course of a semester, Park Seohu had observed Baek Seolhwa enough to understand her to some degree.

'She's embarrassed.'

Was she embarrassed about eating a cheap convenience store lunch?

Or maybe about eating alone?

It could be both.

Either way, he had a surefire solution.

"Let's go to the cafeteria. My treat today."

Park Seohu thought it was a pretty decent offer.

But Baek Seolhwa's reaction was icy.

"Get lost."

He thought he'd come to understand who Baek Seolhwa was, but apparently that was a delusion.

Baek Seolhwa inhaled her bread and milk as if vacuuming them up, then pulled a Macho from her pocket.

She shoved it toward Park Seohu.

"Light."

At some point, Baek Seolhwa had started using Park Seohu as her personal lighter every time she smoked a Macho, for the express purpose of chasing him away.

But the good-natured Park Seohu didn't take offense and dutifully served as her lighter.

Park Seohu snapped his thumb and forefinger together hard, generating friction heat in an instant to create a flame, then lit the Macho for her.

Baek Seolhwa began smoking contentedly.

"Hoo."

Before, Baek Seolhwa had disliked Park Seohu because he made her feel inferior, but now she didn't care anymore.

After all, since placing first on the third exam, her inferiority complex toward Park Seohu had all but vanished.

She still used him as her lighter, though.

Once she'd gotten used to it, it was strangely convenient, so she just kept doing it.

Unbeknownst to either of them, however, the lighter rumor had spread, further worsening Baek Seolhwa's already poor image.

"How were classes today?"

"Same as usual."

Now that Baek Seolhwa's attitude toward Park Seohu had shifted, they'd at least become casual conversation partners.

Not the kind of friend you'd confide deep worries to, but they exchanged brief greetings and updates.

"I saw on the news yesterday that famous sword prices have skyrocketed. I want to get my own sword soon. You too, Seolhwa?"

"Not interested."

"Did you see Edelin's interview yesterday? Unicorn cleared another S-rank dungeon solo."

"No."

"What did you have for breakfast? If your lunch is like this, you should at least eat a good breakfast."

"Whatever."

"Come to think of it, when did the sky start looking like that?"

"The sky?"

At Park Seohu's out-of-the-blue comment, Baek Seolhwa looked up.

"Huh."

The sky's color was wrong.

The sky that had been bright blue until this morning was now faded to green.

It was far too grotesque a color to call a sky.

"...Why does it look like that?"

Park Seohu's and Baek Seolhwa's keen senses screamed.

Something is about to happen!

The ominous premonition became reality.

"Kyaaaah!"

An ear-piercing scream rang out.

Without needing to decide who went first, both sprinted toward the sound.

─SCREECH!

At the scene were a female student collapsed on the ground and monsters.

"S-save me!"

One-Horned Rabbits.

They weren't strong enough to threaten a Florian Academy student.

But that was only when encountered inside a dungeon.

If you met them unarmed, inside the Academy, anyone would feel threatened.

Park Seohu said.

"I'll take the person — Seolhwa, you handle the monsters."

Baek Seolhwa nodded instead of answering.

She would've preferred to have at least a training wooden sword, but bare hands were enough to deal with One-Horned Rabbits.

"Haah!"

When Park Seohu kicked a One-Horned Rabbit away, Baek Seolhwa grabbed the monster and slammed it headfirst into the ground.

The sight of the One-Horned Rabbit driven headfirst into the earth was pitiful.

When Baek Seolhwa grabbed its head and smashed it down several more times, the ground turned red with blood.

Once the One-Horned Rabbit was dealt with, Park Seohu extended his hand to the female student.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes...... I'm alive thanks to you two. Ngh!"

The female student tried to take Park Seohu's hand and stand, but couldn't.

Her legs simply wouldn't hold.

"Seolhwa, could you help?"

Baek Seolhwa walked over and offered the female student her back.

"Get on."

"Thank you."

With Park Seohu's help, the female student climbed onto Baek Seolhwa's back.

The female student asked.

"B-by Seolhwa, do you mean Baek Seolhwa from the first-year Sword Department?"

"You know me?"

"The top first-years this year are so talented that their names get around. Is the person next to you Park Seohu?"

"That's right. And you're a third-year senior, correct?"

Figuring out the female student's year was simple for Park Seohu.

Florian's uniforms assigned different colored neckties for boys and ribbons for girls based on their year.

"Yes... I'm Baek Juhyeon, third-year Sword Department."

Baek Juhyeon's face reddened slightly as she introduced herself.

Being a third-year who'd been done in by a mere One-Horned Rabbit and then rescued by underclassmen from the same department was utterly humiliating.

So she mumbled excuses.

"I... let my guard down completely. I never imagined I'd run into a monster inside the Academy......"

Baek Seolhwa answered.

"Being weak isn't something to be ashamed of."

"Ugh......!"

It was far worse than the worst response Baek Juhyeon had imagined.

She never expected anyone to be this brutal.

Baek Juhyeon wanted to cry, but she bit down hard and held it in, thinking that bursting into tears would be the end of her dignity as a senior.

The one who'd dealt the devastating blow, Baek Seolhwa, had no malice whatsoever.

In fact, she'd said it as a way to comfort Baek Juhyeon.

Park Seohu, the only one who grasped both sides of the situation, smiled awkwardly.

Baek Juhyeon meekly protested.

"But, underclass... person, why do you keep using informal speech with me...?"

Originally, Baek Juhyeon had planned to use informal speech right back, but formal words came out before she could stop them.

"...Could you use polite speech, please?"

Baek Seolhwa turned her head slightly to look at Baek Juhyeon on her back.

For the first time, Baek Juhyeon caught a glimpse of Baek Seolhwa's eyes — until now, she'd only seen the back of her head.

Baek Juhyeon regretted it.

What the hell, those eyes are terrifying.

Why does a person have eyes like that? Is she really a first-year? It's like swords could shoot out of those eyes.

Baek Juhyeon meekly surrendered.

"N-no... please, whatever's comfortable for you......"

"Sure."

And with that, the pecking order was established.

***

The three headed for the Training Hall.

Monsters appearing inside the Academy was no trivial matter.

There was no telling what might happen next, so they needed to prepare.

Everyone armed themselves inside the Training Hall.

Baek Juhyeon, who had recovered while being carried, also stood with a weapon in hand.

Park Seohu spoke.

"It's dangerous just the three of us. Let's head somewhere with more people first. At this time of day... probably the Student Hall, where the cafeteria is?"

The three were about to set off toward the Student Hall.

But the path ahead didn't look easy.

"Monsters?"

The moment they stepped outside the Training Hall, the path was swarming with monsters.

Why on earth were this many monsters inside the Academy?

Baek Seolhwa drew her sword.

"We'll have to cut a path. Juhyeon, stay behind us and follow closely."

"It's Juhyeon, not Juyeon......"

"The details don't matter."

Baek Juhyeon mentally screamed that it wasn't a detail at all, but she didn't have the courage to say it out loud.

The monsters blocking the path were a swarm of Brown Goblins.

They weren't strong individually, but there were quite a lot of them.

Not that they could stop Baek Seolhwa and Park Seohu.

SLASH—!

Every time Baek Seolhwa and Park Seohu swung their swords, several goblins were cut down.

Their sharp Aura tore through goblin hide and flesh without resistance.

Watching from behind, Baek Juhyeon's jaw dropped.

'Insane! Cutting through Brown Goblins in a single stroke... are they really freshmen?'

Brown Goblins were famously the most heavily armored among goblin species.

For Baek Juhyeon, even scratching their hide would've required multiple strikes.

Cutting through them in one blow was something she couldn't have dreamed of.

'That cutting power. Their Aura's edge is no joke. And the form is excellent too.'

The goblins' cross-sections were as cleanly severed as if cut with a ruler.

Baek Juhyeon couldn't have made cuts that clean even on a stationary training dummy.

That was not the ability of freshmen.

Overwhelming talent.

There was no other way to put it.

"Tch! Why are there so many?"

But the problem was the numbers.

No matter how much the two of them cut, the monsters showed no sign of decreasing — if anything, they seemed to multiply.

They began to feel gradually winded.

If this kept up, it would be dangerous.

"There! That's the problem!"

Baek Seolhwa stretched out her hand, pointing toward where the monsters were most densely packed.

What Baek Seolhwa was indicating was easy to spot.

A light flashing red was visible there.

It was a Gate leading to a dungeon.

"What... why is there a Gate open inside the Academy?"

Shock escaped from Park Seohu's mouth.

A Gate inside the Academy. Something he'd never even imagined had happened.

Baek Juhyeon spoke.

"Something's off! For this many monsters to come out, a lot of time would've had to pass after the dungeon spawned. But there's no way a Gate inside the Academy could've been left unattended that long!"

It was a fair point.

After hearing Baek Juhyeon, Park Seohu and Baek Seolhwa also began to question things.

The voice of a man appearing from the opposite direction answered their questions.

"That's because those Gates aren't ordinary."

"Master!"

Park Seohu's master, Jo Seongung, had arrived.

The three's faces lit up at the appearance of a dependable professor.

"Master, do you know what's happening right now?"

"Let's get out of here first and then talk."

Jo Seongung unleashed Aura with his bare hands.

It was far weaker than channeling through a sword, but it was still the Aura of an S-rank Hero.

The massive Aura stretching dozens of meters cleaved through every last goblin in a single stroke.

"Whoa......"

All three Sword Department students could only gasp in admiration.

Jo Seongung flashed a grin at their awestruck gazes, then spoke.

"Now then, let's go."

The three followed behind Jo Seongung.

As they moved, Jo Seongung gave a brief explanation.

"Gates have appeared all over the Academy. Monsters are tearing through everywhere at the same time. It's an emergency."

"What?"

The situation was far more serious than the three had thought.

From the phrase "all over the Academy," they could infer that it wasn't just one or two but at least dozens.

"Remember how the Gates were glowing red?"

"Yes."

"Those aren't normal Gates. Monsters are pouring out of them with no grace period! And they're breeding fast, so the numbers keep growing."

"Then shouldn't we call Heroes from outside?"

Jo Seongung shook his head.

"Impossible. I don't know why, but the Academy is sealed off right now. Nobody can leave, and nobody can get in."

"H-how is that possible?"

"So there's only one option. We take out every dungeon ourselves!"

While talking, Jo Seongung's group arrived at their destination.

It was the Academy's Main Auditorium.

"Here we are."

Inside the Main Auditorium was a substantial number of professors and students.

At the very far end, Baek Seolhwa and Park Seohu spotted a welcome face.

"Professor!"

Their teacher and the Academy's most renowned professor, Cha Eunwoo.

Seeing him, Baek Seolhwa and Park Seohu felt at ease.

Cha Eunwoo, too, looked relieved upon seeing Park Seohu and Baek Seolhwa.

"You're safe."

"We survived thanks to our master. What on earth is going on?"

"Dungeons have spawned throughout the Academy. Over fifty have been confirmed so far. Including the ones we haven't found yet, it's probably over a hundred."

"Oh......"

Just hearing "over a hundred dungeons" was enough to leave Baek Juhyeon speechless.

How they were supposed to eliminate that many dungeons — the road ahead seemed hopeless.

But Park Seohu and Baek Seolhwa were different.

Their expressions were, if anything, calm.

'What? They haven't lost their minds... have they?'

Baek Juhyeon couldn't understand their reaction right now.