Episode 91. Real Monster Training

“Ahyoung-ssi. I’m leaving now.”

Fortunately, Baek Ahyoung seemed to understand my situation, as she didn’t send any more looks demanding sex.

After finishing the cleaning fellatio, I had a simple lunch with a bento box.

“Y-yeah… If, if your libido suddenly flares up, you can come find me….”

“Yes. Thank you. I feel refreshed thanks to you.”

“U-uh-huh.”

She doesn’t even seem to be trying to act anymore, saying things so openly like that.

But still, when it comes to sex, she demands blackmail, so I don’t know what to do.

I left the infirmary and checked the time; it was 12:50 PM.

I had to get to the testing grounds by 1 PM, so I had exactly 10 minutes left.

It wasn’t too late to walk there, so I strolled along to aid digestion.

“Ah, right. I need to contact Surin noona.”

Since I’d already eaten lunch, I had things to do.

– Me: Surin noona, sorry to bother you when you must be busy. It’s because there are so many fake patients in the infirmary. We need a way to punish them properly.

A reply arrived immediately.

– Surin noona: Got it. I’ll suggest it to the Chairman.

– Me: Yes. Thank you. Good luck with your work!

Moon Surin seemed very busy, as the replies stopped there.

She probably has so much work, so I understand.

Of course, I basically added another spoonful to her already difficult workload, but I couldn’t stand Baek Ahyoung becoming a spectacle.

I should go out for a meal with Moon Surin again later. That Korean restaurant was really delicious. Tsk.

Upon arriving at the testing grounds, I looked around.

Several large sparring arenas were prepared, and Class A was gathered in that corner over there.

I approached them and joined the group.

“Since this is training we’ve done before, I won’t explain in detail. Go up to the measurement magic circle one by one, get your combat power measured, and then enter the sparring arena. That is all.”

Professor Kim Jin-hyuk gave the instructions for the test and then entered another sparring arena.

It seems he’s also serving as a judge for another class.

If a professor from the same class were judging, there could be even the slightest hint of foul play, so a professor from a different class is judging.

I figured it would be fine since we have the Oath of Mana anyway, but better safe than sorry, I guess.

Class A lined up in front of the measurement magic circle to wait for combat power measurement.

Since the entire first-year student body was at the testing grounds, the measurement process took a long time.

I found Lucy and Lumi and stuck right behind them.

“Hoyeon-ssi… What did you have for lunch?”

“Hm? Oh, I just grabbed something quick at the student cafeteria.”

“We ate at the student cafeteria too, but we didn’t see you?”

“… Uh, I ate in a corner, hiding, since I was eating alone.”

If you were going to the student cafeteria anyway, you could have taken me along.

Of course, I don’t regret spending time with Baek Ahyoung. It felt good.

The cadets standing before us went up to the measurement magic circle one by one.

“I wonder what score I’ll get this time. Can I break through level 8?”

“Last time it was level 7… maybe this time it’ll be level 8, Lucy.”

“I think so too. Lucy, you’ve gotten incredibly strong.”

“Have I? Hehet.”

Lucy seemed pleased by the compliment, twisting her blue hair back and forth.

Major characters in games get exponentially stronger as the story progresses.

Lucy is the same. She’ll probably break through level 8 easily.

Last time, I received a level 5 rating and cleared up to level 7.

Now that I’ve become incomparably stronger since then, I wonder how many levels I can clear.

“I’m going first!”

Lucy quickly hopped onto the measurement magic circle.

Soon, the number 8 appeared above Lucy’s head.

“Yes! Level 8!”

“Congratulations, Lucy…!”

Lucy excitedly jumped up and down on the measurement magic circle, and Lumi, wanting to congratulate her but unable to shout loudly, whispered so softly it was barely audible.

“Kuhuk.”

“Why, why are you laughing…!”

“Just congratulate her normally, why are you whispering?”

“Ughhh….”

Teasing Lumi, who was blushing, I also stepped onto the measurement magic circle.

“Please state your name… Ah, Cadet Lee Hoyeon. Place your hand on the circle above.”

“Yes.”

It felt strange that this professor, whom I’d never seen before, recognized me.

I placed my hand on the blue magic orb in the center of the magic circle.

Vvuumm-

Mana flowing from the magic tool scanned my body a few times before returning to the device.

[Measuring combat power. Please wait a moment.]

Last time the measurement was level 5, I wonder what it will be this time.

Soon, the number 8 appeared above my head.

“Class A, Lee Hoyeon. Level 8. Oh, that’s 3 levels higher than last time? Just as expected of a promising talent.”

“I suppose so. Thank you.”

Last time I was asked if I was really in Class A, so it feels good to be praised this time.

“Wow, Lee Hoyeon apparently went up 3 levels from the last measurement. Isn’t that insane?”

“His growth rate is really fast… but level 8 is kind of average, isn’t it? I’m level 8 too.”

“Nam Daeun is level 10, so shouldn’t Lee Hoyeon be around that level too? A 2-level difference is like night and day….”

Other cadets who had already finished their measurements paid attention to my score.

Level 8 is slightly above average.

However, the expectations placed on me had already risen above level 8.

Between catching the ogre and the magic video released before, there’s an expectation that I’ve already surpassed the level of a typical cadet.

The reason I only got level 8 is that the measurement magic circle can’t recognize my special abilities.

My [Combat Sense] and [Mana Attunement] account for most of my combat power, so the measurement is bound to be low without them.

Last time, I cleared up to level 7 while only being rated level 5.

Now that I’ve reached level 8, maybe I can aim for level 10.

---

‘Flame Chain’

Chwaryureuk-!

Kkeureureureung!

In an instant, over a dozen flame chains burst from the floor, binding all the remaining Moonlit Moths.

“Argh, you fucking moth bastards.”

Moths the size of a human palm swarming at me was a truly grotesque sight.

I finally managed to bind all the moths, which initially numbered in the dozens.

They flew overhead, spraying some kind of paralyzing powder, but I barely managed to block it by surrounding myself with a Rune Barrier.

I poured mana into the flame chains holding the moths, increasing their firepower.

The moths turned to ash in the blazing flames, and only after the paralyzing powder surrounding my barrier dissipated did I deactivate it.

“Hooo….”

[Test concluded.]

The mana barrier surrounding the sparring arena dissolved, and sounds from the outside began to filter in.

“Lee Hoyeon, nice!!!! Go for it!!!”

“Hoyeon-ssi… Good luck…!”

I smiled at Lucy and Lumi, who were at the front.

Lucy had cleared up to level 8, and Lumi was level 7.

For reference, those moths were level 9.

In the Real Combat Monster Training, participants could challenge difficulties up to two levels higher than their measured combat power, with the permission of the supervising professor.

“Professor. I’d like to challenge level 10.”

“Cadet Lee Hoyeon’s challenge for level 10. Approved.”

“I’ll go right away, no break time.”

Although the Moonlit Moth sounds pathetic just by its name, my heart was pounding quite fast due to my [Combat Sense].

The combination of the paralyzing powder, which started numbing the body with just a slight inhalation, and the moths’ speed, relying on their tough bodies to charge relentlessly, was beyond imagination.

I wanted to fight while maintaining this current combat sense.

[Summoning a suitable opponent. Level 10. The Nightmare of Hamel Dungeon appears.]

Mana began to fluctuate violently across from the sparring arena.

– Kkurureureuk

A bizarre sound echoed as a mass of darkness began to fill the opposite side of the arena.

“My luck is absolute crap. Of all things, the Nightmare.”

“What’s a Nightmare? I’ve never heard of it.”

“You don’t know the Nightmare of Hamel Dungeon? Half of the Hamel Dungeon assault team went insane and ended up in a vegetative state because of that one Nightmare.”

“I don’t know why they even put something like that in the curriculum in the first place.”

I could hear the voices of cadets outside the arena, seemingly recognizing the creature.

I vaguely remembered reading about it in a thesis.

It was an incident where half of the assault team that conquered Hamel Dungeon turned on each other due to the boss monster, the Nightmare.

The team had proceeded harmoniously without a single casualty throughout the dungeon raid, but the thesis cited it as a case study where they were shattered by a single mental attack from the boss monster.

Its characteristic is that while its own physical power is negligible, it has poured all its stats into mental attacks.

“Cadet Lee Hoyeon. The Nightmare of Hamel Dungeon can leave lasting mental damage even after the test concludes. Do you wish to proceed?”

If the supervising professor is issuing a direct warning like this, it must be truly dangerous.

“Don’t you give me a chance to change it?”

“No.”

“… I’ll proceed.”

If they were afraid of mental damage, they shouldn’t have included it in the first place… I just don’t get this place.

Well, I was going to challenge it anyway.

Dugar-dugar.

My surging [Combat Sense] was telling me.

That monstrous creature could be easily defeated.

[Test commencing.]

As soon as the arena was enveloped in mana, cutting off communication with the outside, the pitch-black darkness filling the opposite side engulfed me, and primal fear washed over me.

– Kkikwik-kkikwikwik-kkikwik-kkikikiki-kkikwikki-kkikwikwik-!

– Kuhehehe? Kuhehehe?

– Kkeureureureu-? Kkeureureureuk-!

– Help me! Help me! Hey, you, save me!

Bizarre sounds and human screams that made my skin crawl assaulted my ears.

And before me stood a scarecrow of all things.

It was thin, but its hands and feet resembled bird talons, and the cloth covering its face was stained with blood.

It wielded a rusty sickle in one hand, flailing its arms erratically; its grotesque appearance made me cast a spell instinctively.

‘Ignite.’

Kueeeek-!

The scarecrow shuddered violently and turned into ash.

“It’s definitely unsettling.”

The ‘Nightmare’ truly shows various kinds of nightmares.

It could be a difficult past, the death of a loved one, or a lover’s betrayal.

That scarecrow probably isn’t the end.

Its bizarre appearance certainly annoyed me; I didn’t like it from the start of the fight.

“… Hooo.”

Taking a deep breath, I prepared for the incoming mental attack.

Mental attacks are, after all, attacks made of mana.

I should be able to handle it with [Mana Attunement].

I don’t know if I can block it, but I should prepare a Rune Barrier just in case.

I drew up mana to erect the barrier.

Just then, my combat sense suddenly vanished.

Dugun.

“…!”

Could it be deceiving even my senses?

Just how strong is this monster called Nightmare…!

[Test concluded.]

“Huh?”

Along with my dumbfounded utterance, the darkness surrounding me vanished, and I was met with the gazes of the people watching.

“C-Cadet Lee Hoyeon. You passed level 10.”

The stopwatch frozen above the arena showed 9 seconds.

“9, 9 seconds?! Is that bastard insane?”

“It’s a new record. 9 seconds for level 10 is an Academy record!”

“Did you record it? Hey! Let’s get it on the ‘Everyday Recommendation’ board today too!”

“Just how incredible must one’s mental fortitude be to overcome the Nightmare….”

Cadets and professors alike were staring at me, spilling out excited words.

I understood the current situation upon hearing one of the professors speak.

‘[Clear Mental Fortitude]…!’

This has to be it.

The [Clear Mental Fortitude] special ability I received when I came to this world.

[Clear Mental Fortitude] includes… immunity to mental attacks.

---

Chwak!

Nam Daeun single-handedly cut down the level 10 Cyclops.

Unable to withstand the numerous gashes carved into its belly, the Cyclops finally closed its single eye.

Kwoong!

The Cyclops fell, its weight echoing through the floor.

Nam Daeun calmly sheathed her sword.

“Cadet Nam Daeun. Congratulations. You’ve passed level 10.”

“… Thank you.”

Nam Daeun couldn’t bring herself to ignore the professor’s words and descended from the arena after offering a brief thanks.

The record was 30 seconds.

I took my time dealing with it, so no one should suspect anything.

‘I’ve definitely secured first place in the Real Combat Monster Training too.’

Now, I just need to finish the 1v1 duel.

Once the tests are over, maybe some of this pressure will lift.

As Nam Daeun was about to leave the arena, she stopped upon hearing the cadets’ voices.

“Hey, awesome! They say Lee Hoyeon cleared level 10 in 9 seconds over there!”

“What? Let’s go see!”

‘9 seconds…?’

Level 10 isn’t even a level meant to be cleared in the first place.

You can tell just by the fact that the Cyclops, which appeared in the boss monster hunt, shows up at level 10.

It’s a difficulty level that a single cadet simply cannot handle.

And yet, 9 seconds?

‘I can’t believe it until I see it myself.’

Nam Daeun quickly ran towards Lee Hoyeon’s sparring arena.