Ch.2525. Gate Practice

It was unimaginable. Ariel and Seol Yu-hwa.

The two representatives of the advanced class fighting over someone from the lower class.

The comedic situation caused a stir around them.

If it were a joke, it might have been understandable, but the two facing off were dead serious.

Moreover, this was happening during Dokgo Jun’s inspection.

A situation where both needed to do their best. No room for jokes.

“Over Do Jong-hyun? He’s just from the lower class.”

“Didn’t he just get lucky with that first place last time?”

“Ariel and Seol Yu-hwa… Wouldn’t it be better if they just teamed up?”

Some voiced reasonable opinions, but given their personalities, that wouldn’t happen.

Both wanted to take Do Jong-hyun and shine themselves.

Ariel approached Seol Yu-hwa in her typical manner.

“Why are you butting in suddenly? I already said Du Jong-hyun is with me.”

“That’s not for you to decide. And it’s Do Jong-hyun. At least get his name right.”

Sparks were literally flying as they glared at each other.

Ariel looked Seol Yu-hwa up and down.

“Cheap clothes. Not as good as a clothes hanger. Same goes for Du Jong-hyun. He’d look much better on a hanger like me.”

“What did you just say?”

Seol Yu-hwa’s anger instantly enveloped the place. She hated anything related to poverty.

Ariel couldn’t have known about her being poor. But it was a perfectly targeted attack to provoke Seol Yu-hwa.

The two soon caught their breath.

“You do whatever you want, don’t follow instructions, and now you want to do well just this once? Why not do well all the time? It’s like putting a pearl necklace on a pig. You didn’t listen last time either.”

“What?”

Ariel’s expression contorted.

“Who do you think you are to talk to me like that?”

“It’s the truth.”

While the two were fiercely glaring at each other, Do Jong-hyun, who had been quiet, made a move.

Both their gazes simultaneously shifted to him.

The intensity was such that Do Jong-hyun momentarily flinched.

He cleared his throat.

The piercing gazes from both sides were urging him to make a choice.

Ariel or Seol Yu-hwa.

Everyone around was watching this breathtaking decision.

Even for the sake of good grades, choosing one side might ruin the relationship with the other.

Though there was no particular affection, the divided attention was like a love triangle.

Everyone focused on the lowest-ranked student from the lower class.

Ariel and Seol Yu-hwa grew impatient.

“Du Jong-hyun. Quickly, come here. Is this even something to think about?”

“Do Jong-hyun. I hope you make a wise decision.”

It felt like being the king of chairs in a dating show.

Do Jong-hyun experienced this for the first time in his life. Of course, if he didn’t choose quickly, he might be torn apart by the two women.

“Actually, I’ve worked with both of you before.”

“So?”

“…”

The moment of destiny. Do Jong-hyun boldly declared between the two:

“Han Min-woo! How about teaming up with me?”

As his voice spread, Ariel and Seol Yu-hwa’s mouths fell open.

“D-D-Du Jong-hyun! What are you doing?”

“Han Min-woo… unexpected.”

But Do Jong-hyun had already turned toward Han Min-woo.

“I decided to work with Han Min-woo today. It doesn’t matter who I work with, right?”

“No… no…”

Ariel stammered in shock. Seol Yu-hwa looked dissatisfied but more composed than Ariel.

“I guess that’s true. It’s just asking for help.”

Seol Yu-hwa seemed somewhat satisfied, but Ariel wasn’t.

“Are you playing with me? After I gave you everything!”

“Did you hear that? Ariel gave Do Jong-hyun everything.”

“What? So it wasn’t about grades but a love fight?”

“But he chose Han Min-woo… something’s off!”

People around whispered, gossiping about this messy relationship. Ariel shouted with a reddened face:

“No! That’s not it! What nonsense!”

The two had no choice but to find other teammates.

Then, an unexpected turn occurred.

“Gu Sang-heon, let’s team up.”

Surprisingly, Geum Do-hyun extended his hand to Gu Sang-heon, whom he usually found uncomfortable.

Gu Sang-heon was also surprised.

“You, suddenly?”

“Dokgo Jun is watching. We can’t slack off here. You know that, right?”

“We definitely need to get good results.”

Gu Sang-heon took Geum Do-hyun’s hand. The top two male students had joined forces.

Other academy students watched this scene with excitement.

“Gu Sang-heon and Geum Do-hyun! That’s no joke!”

“They’re serious about getting first place. They might win.”

“No way. Do Jong-hyun, who made Ariel and Seol Yu-hwa get first place, teamed up with Han Min-woo. Look at them high-fiving. They’re the dark horse.”

“So it’s between Han Min-woo’s team and Gu Sang-heon and Geum Do-hyun’s team? Everyone’s giving their all in front of Dokgo Jun. Even Yu Ji-na teamed up with Pi Ju-hyun. All the top students are forming alliances.”

With the situation changing like this, Ariel and Seol Yu-hwa were left awkward.

They could always find sidekicks among the talented ones.

The problem was the combat team. Without Do Jong-hyun as an analyst, they had to form a team with excellent combat skills.

But while they were fighting, all the good talents had been taken.

“…”

“…”

With Dokgo Jun watching, there was only one choice left.

Ariel approached with folded arms.

“No choice. This is a temporary alliance, just this once.”

“I really hate this, but there’s no other way. Make a mistake and I’ll drop you immediately, Ariel.”

“Look who’s talking.”

The two who seemed impossible to unite had joined forces. This class under Dokgo Jun’s inspection was bringing about a major upheaval.

*

With the rare combination of Ariel and Seol Yu-hwa formed, cheers erupted from all around.

“What an incredible combination.”

“The top two female students together.”

“Whoa, this is the birth of a dangerous combo!”

I teamed up with Han Min-woo. Those two? No need to choose.

As long as they don’t die, I don’t care; there’s no reason to look after them. I just choose based on my own benefit.

Besides, choosing one side means making an enemy of the other, and there’s no reason to take such a risk.

I don’t even want to get close to them.

No need to flatter them; I can just do my own thing.

After forming our team, we approached the instructor for confirmation. With everyone’s teams set, it was time for explanations.

“Listen up! This exercise simulates entering a gate. The monsters that appear are random, and you need to support each other to conquer the gate. The goal is to clear the objective and be the first to exit. The number of people entering at once is limited to 20.”

Oh Ju-hwan shouted at us.

The gate exercise is a preliminary stage given to us after 10 practice sessions.

Until now, we’ve mainly fought predetermined monsters, but this time we’ll clear objectives while dealing with monsters under the assumption that we’ve entered a gate.

I remember. I mostly just carried luggage and watched from behind when I did this with Geum Do-hyun’s group last time.

From what I recall, we accumulate points by killing monsters and need to satisfy the gate’s clearing conditions.

The early stages might end after killing a few monsters, but as the gate’s level increases, the conditions become more demanding.

The monsters in the gate are naturally generated, and when saturation occurs, they cause a monster break and are expelled outside.

That’s why guilds periodically enter to clean up monsters and obtain loot as the basic structure.

From my memory, since it’s the early stage, simply killing many monsters is the content of this class.

And as for the monsters that will appear…

“According to big data, there will be many Armored Salamanders, with Orcs and Goblins as the main force.”

I shared my future knowledge with our waiting team.

“The Armored Salamander’s weakness is its belly; someone needs to flip it over or make it fall.”

“That’s simple.”

Sidekick Hyun Ju-min responded.

“If I apply telekinesis continuously, I can flip it in one go. But the creature needs to stay still until then.”

“I’ll give you a buff. You’ll be stronger.”

The sidekicks are divided into roles of enhancing abilities and disrupting enemies.

The remaining one is Han Min-woo.

Han Min-woo’s skills, which I observed before my regression, are genuine.

He’s not flashy but accurately deals with enemies. He uses Perseus’s shield like Captain America and counters difficult enemies using his special ability of reflection.

“Good. The sidekicks’ ideas are good too. But are you sure about what’s coming? It’s completely random.”

“Trust my data. And I’ve never failed so far. Trust me.”

Han Min-woo looked at me and then turned away.

“Alright, I’ll trust you. That’s why I teamed up with you.”

“Then, assuming Goblins and Armored Salamanders appear, let me explain the plan.”

Han Min-woo stood up. Interestingly, the teams led by the advanced class were set to go first.

In the past, it was random, but is this Dokgo Jun’s method?

But it’s fine. What doesn’t change are the number of monsters and their weaknesses.

I have that knowledge and will use it here.

[Entering Gate 1]

The view changes, and the environment shifts.

A normal city appeared before us. Yes, gates are abnormal spaces.

Anything can exist.

Cities can appear as a type of field. And I’ve already experienced this.

The first thing hiding is Goblins, followed by Armored Salamanders.

“First, there will be Goblins. Goblins are surprisingly tricky in urban settings like this. Given their tendency to use building debris, they’ll likely be on top of the commercial building.”

From my experience, Goblins are positioned on top of the five-story commercial building. Armored Salamanders are in the alleyways.

The structure is such that while focusing on the Armored Salamanders, you get hit by Goblins from the building above.

With buffs applied to us, Han Min-woo moved forward with Perseus’s shield.

Yes, here I’ll leave everything to Han Min-woo.

Our competitors are all from the advanced class, especially the formidable teams of Gu Sang-heon and Geum Do-hyun, and Ariel and Seol Yu-hwa.

These are powerful teams to be more cautious of than other advanced class teams.

“The composition wasn’t like this last time.”

This is an event that occurred because the future changed. Getting first place here is tough. But I’m essentially working with the answer key.

I absolutely cannot miss first place.

[All academy students, prepare! Since there are many from the advanced class, we’ve set a stage suitable for you. If you can’t handle this? You can just roll at the bottom. Understood?]

The instructor’s voice is heard above us. Middle-class psychic group.

The moment the low, thin voice signals the start, my view changes.

That’s because Han Min-woo picked me up and moved to the front of the building.

And as I said, he drew out the Armored Salamanders.

As the Armored Salamanders charge, Han Min-woo retreats.

When the Goblins throw from behind, Han Min-woo raises Perseus’s shield.

He doesn’t use the reflection function. For now, he just needs to block.

The reason is very simple.

It stops the Armored Salamanders’ advance.

And right at this moment, Han Min-woo’s shield shines and reflects all the thrown weapons.

“Now!”

At my signal, the sidekicks collectively focus their debuffs on the Armored Salamanders.

This way, the time-consuming flipping can be successful by using the enemy’s strength.

Han Min-woo’s shield flies toward the flipped Armored Salamanders.

Like Captain America, the shield crushes three flipped Armored Salamanders in one strike.

[Team Han Min-woo]

-Currently 1st, 10 points!

The machine announcing the standings was telling us we were in first place.

Han Min-woo approached me with an innocent smile.

“Just as you said. You’re amazing.”

“As I said, right?”

Han Min-woo and I high-fived. Currently in first place.

But this exercise wasn’t over yet.

It was just the beginning.