episode_0029

The sensation of uneasiness lasted only a moment, and soon the feeling of stepping on the ground was transmitted through the soles of the feet.

At the same time, the spatial perception that had already been folded shivered.

Changes in space.

It was automatically recognized. Goosebumps rose involuntarily.

This is Earth. Clearly part of Earth. Not a completely separate space, but merely a subspace that exists only as long as it is attached to Earth.

It’s also a divided space. This place and the outside are spaces of different principles.

“Ah.”

The gate was nothing more than a bridge built to go back and forth in the same world.

A dungeon, a small subspace rooted in Earth. An unstable space that can only exist if Earth exists, but nevertheless a space with principles distinct from Earth.

It’s automatically recognized. Realized. Understood unknowingly.

“…All members have entered. We will begin the assault now.”

Meanwhile, the three who entered the dungeon were surveying their surroundings, forming a triangle centered around me and Elia.

As planned beforehand, the three combat specialists formed a formation to protect the two support students the moment they entered the battle.

“Hayul, please keep an eye on our surroundings.”

At Attila’s sharp-eyed scan of the surroundings, I nodded my head.

Somehow, feeling a sense of exhilaration coming from realization, I spread out my spatial perception widely. A hail of information rushed into the gloomy world.

Outside the dungeon, I had refrained, keeping in mind the experience at the gate, but now I felt confident that there would be no problem.

Within a radius of 10m, 50m, 100m… 200m…

About 300m or so. In terms of diameter, it’s about 600m.

Suddenly, the range expanded several times. Well, how many times did it expand? If you think of it as expanding in the shape of a sphere, the actual amount of increased information easily exceeds dozens of times.

– Zzzt, zzzt…

My head throbbed. It felt like an electric current was buzzing around my head.

[No monsters detected within the range]

“Thank you. Please let me know immediately if you notice anything unusual.”

[Yes]

In the dungeon assault, my role is to search for monsters and herbs. With spatial perception, I can handle the search, but the problem lies in relaying the information.

Because I am a mute, it was uncomfortable to let others know even when I tried to explore.

This part will be resolved after I obtain the confession necklace, but it didn’t solve the immediate problem.

So now, I’m replacing it by quickly writing down the contents to be reported in advance on the clipboard and printing it out.

After thoroughly exploring the surroundings, they gathered in one place.

Attila, who took on the role of leader, attracted attention with a cough.

– Thud

He pounded the ground with a large shield. A dull vibration rose up through his legs. It was a fierce vibration that conveyed a heavy weight.

“As discussed beforehand, we will prioritize reaching point A first. We will subdue any monsters encountered along the way, but we will postpone delving deeper to subdue them.”

Everyone nodded at Attila’s words.

The dungeon conquest practice was a timed assignment. In addition, the conditions for completing the assignment were announced along with the assignment allocation.

[ Spring Equinox 11th Team ]

①: Arrival at point A and discovery of marker, temporary base construction (35)

②: Subjugation of 80 Nokgui (40)

③: Collection of 500g of magic grass (15)

The conditions given to the 11th team are threefold.

Arrival at point A and temporary base construction.

Arriving at the coordinates included in the file and setting up a temporary base.

Subjugation of 80 Nokgui.

Subduing 80 Nokgui monsters, which are around the 8th rank, with the upper individuals being about the 7th rank, and bringing back evidence. Depending on the individual, it is common to cut off ears or fingers.

Collection of 500g of magic grass.

Collecting about 500g of magic grass, a weed that grows abundantly in forest environments, absorbing a lot of magic. Magic grass does not have much value, but it is widely used in alchemy, so both supply and demand are high.

After forming a formation, they moved to the coordinates of point A. With the coordinate pinpointing function on the smartwatch, it was a simple task.

The group crossed the land thick with trees and grass.

Green grass grew up to their thighs. It gradually bent from the middle, so if it had grown straight, it would have been taller than my height.

The tree was extremely huge. It easily surpassed 15m in height and had an incredibly thick trunk. Its girth was so immense that even if five of me joined hands, we couldn’t encircle it.

Judging by the broad leaves, could it be a deciduous tree?

The air was also very damp. As I took a breath, moist air filled my lungs. Water droplets were scattered all over the trees and grass.

“It’s fortunate that there’s a path.”

“Yes, if we had to explore and create a path from scratch… Haha.”

It wasn’t necessary to push through such dense grass walls if we were fortunate.

There was already a path cleared out periodically during our exploration. The vitality of the dungeon’s vegetation required some trimming, but it was relatively easy as we didn’t have to start from scratch.

Attila and Nam Yeon-jung were at the forefront, using the short swords strapped to their waists to cut down the slightly overgrown grass.

The ground was somewhat sticky, which was the only thing to be particularly cautious about while walking.

[Northwest, 75m, 2 creatures]

“Confirmed. Please continue to signal.”

I’ve been performing detection duties. With the expanded and more precise spatial perception, exploration was not difficult.

We encountered a few green spirits along the way. Since they weren’t right in front of us and their numbers weren’t significant, we passed them by for now since we hadn’t established any bases.

We detected quite a few magic grasses. Because the spatial perception extends underground, it can distinguish between tree roots and grass buried in the ground.

Just by collecting the magic grasses we’ve seen so far, we easily exceed our quota.

The quality of the magic grass may not be high, but there’s no need to worry.

We memorized the locations of the magic grass and green spirits we encountered on the path we’ve walked so far.

“We’ve arrived at point A… Let’s explore the surroundings and establish a base.”

It took roughly two hours since entering the dungeon before we could reach the vicinity of point A.

“Hayul, do you think we can find the marker?”

[Found it.]

“First, let’s find the marker and then… What? Already?”

Attila blinked. I nodded and pointed to one side. The team followed my lead.

“It’s really here.”

A flag, stuck between intertwined large tree roots, barely the height of a person. Its camouflage color, a mixture of earth and grass, would have been quite bothersome to find without detection abilities.

Attila exclaimed as he tied the flagpole.

“Ha-yul’s detection ability is incredibly precise. Many of my academy peers struggled due to lack of precision.”

[Thank you]

“If that was lacking, I couldn’t have lived with it.”

An ability to swap eyes, nose, and mouth.

Even though initially its performance was excessively good, almost killing my master, and later showing a distorted perception only for cost reduction… still, now I can’t live without it…

We found the marker, set up a temporary base at a suitable location.

We looked for an empty space for a while, but finding none, we just cleared some trees to make space.

It’s just a temporary base, so no special measures were needed.

Just create a spacious area, lay down security, protection, survival magic tools, and it’s done.

If there were pure mages, they would directly install magic, but our group didn’t have any mages.

Elia can use reinforcement magic to some extent, but that’s about it, and I, being a complete novice in handling even the lowest grade, haven’t stepped up yet.

“Uh… Ha-yul, did you bring a lot?”

‘……’

While everyone gathered at the clearing made by cutting down trees, attention focused on the many things coming out of my backpack.

[I brought a lot just in case]

Professor Atla randomly stuffed them in. Asked if it wouldn’t be too heavy, he said there was a weight reduction spell formula in the backpack.

“Well then, let’s look for the Nok-gwi’s lair.”

After completing the construction of a suitable base and marking the coordinates, taking a proper rest, they got up.

First condition, reaching point A, finding the marker, and constructing a temporary base achieved.

Now, they just need to finish the second and third conditions, subjugating Nok-gwi and collecting mana grass.

“While we’re at it, let’s search near where Ha-yul found the Nok-gwi.”

Nok-gwi live in groups. The two or three groups found on the way are individuals who came out of the lair for hunting.

It is very small in size. It is generally slim and would reach the waist of an adult male, and its body is mostly thin. By human aesthetic standards, it’s ugly.

In short, it’s a common goblin.

It didn’t take long to find the lair. By focusing on the places where Nokgui was mainly found, we quickly found the location of the lair.

The lair was situated on a prominent spot, nestled against a mountain and near a river. They say that’s what you call a good strategic position. It’s surprising that a monster like that would take up residence in such a place.

“It’s quite orthodox.”

A wall made by sharpening the ends of trees and driving them into the ground in a row. Inside, there was a primitive tent made of wood with leaves covering the frame.

The lair was full of Nokgui. There were approximately 135 of them. Quite a lot. I wondered if I could find 80 of them in time, but I managed to find the quota all at once.

“…I understand why they’re looking for someone with detection abilities.”

As I wrote down the situation inside the wall, the buildings, traps, and the number of creatures, Attila, who had been hiding in the forest near the lair and looking down at the wooden wall, said gloomily. Nam Yeon-jung, who was next to him, nodded.

“There’s a reason why their price is high. Since the number of people with detection abilities is already low, that’s even more so.”

70% of Choin are frontline workers. This is because most Choin who have not awakened their unique abilities tend to focus on close combat using strength and techniques.

Among the modern population, those who awaken as Choin are few, and those who possess unique abilities are even fewer.

Furthermore, there is a shortage of detection abilities. Even those with ambiguous ability levels are sought after in various places.

In short, there is a shortage of supply.

There is even a culture that belittles Choin without unique abilities as fakes. Of course, I don’t support that, but the possession of unique abilities creates a significant gap.

“130. Most are in the 8th rank, with three in the 7th rank…”

Attila, who is in charge, looked pensive.

“There are a few more, but since most are in the 8th rank, let’s go in according to the rules.”

Let’s just dive in. Although it sounds like a plan without a solution, everyone except me nodded.

The members of the group, excluding me, were promising individuals who were well-known in each region’s academy.

They could easily handle up to 8th rank, and dealing with the 7th rank wouldn’t be a problem either.

Moreover, there was a safety device. They were wearing bracelets made of purple straps wrapped around their wrists.

It was a safety device distributed by the vice principal last Friday.

From a spatial perception, it was a complex maze that could induce motion sickness due to entangled intricate magic formations.

I heard an explanation that as soon as they received life-threatening injuries inside the Shiyoram, protective magic would be activated and a magic to summon the medical room would be granted.

Naturally, it doesn’t respond to minor injuries. The condition is that it must be an injury that threatens life.

It’s an amazing effect. I doubted whether such a thing was possible. According to the vice principal’s explanation, it was a miraculous event made possible by the active support of the principal and because it was a dungeon managed from the Shiyoram.

Since the vice principal took office, the bracelet’s ability has never failed even once. Thanks to that, we were able to relieve some psychological burden.

“Let’s go.”

At Attila’s words raising his shield, everyone gripped their weapons.

I also clenched my staff, swallowing nervously with tension.

If I fail after being so nervous, it’s not just about getting scolded by Professor Atla, but going beyond failing grades to receiving negative points.

Being abandoned in the Shiyoram means there’s nowhere to go for me. It’s a choice I must never make.

If I’m driven out from here, it’s not just a simple expulsion, it’s a resignation from life. I must never be driven out.

Stepping on the uneven dirt floor, I cautiously moved toward the ruins.

It was the beginning of a full-fledged subjugation.