episode_0052
by fnovelpia052.
“Team leader?”
As the girl who looked like an extra expressed doubt, I nodded slowly and spoke.
“Yeah. Since we have to conquer the dungeon as a team, we need someone to quickly assess the situation and give orders.”
Due to the team members being selected right before entering the dungeon, opinions were not well coordinated.
The academy evaluated the ability of students to quickly coordinate opinions and reach a consensus as a criterion because the students did not know each other’s abilities and strengths well.
Therefore, if someone took on the role of a leader and led the children well, it was easy to earn additional points.
Yes, what I’m aiming for is additional points, additional points.
The team’s evaluation score and individual evaluation score are different.
“Well, then, what…”
Sena glanced at my face sneakily.
Except for Yuseolhyun, she didn’t like directly taking orders from someone, but she had experience teaming up with me during the performance evaluation.
At that time, thanks to my strategy and command ability, we were able to achieve good grades, so it was a natural choice.
After all, Sena was not the type to use her head.
“Isn’t it better for him to do it? He’s subtly smart, isn’t he?”
“Well…”
Finally, a male student expressed his puzzled emotions in a somewhat blunt voice.
Ah, as expected of that guy.
I knew it. There’s no way he would stay still.
He’s not the type to like taking orders from someone like Sena.
“Isn’t he Lee Jinhyuk, the guy from our class who almost ranked last in the entrance exam? Do we have to listen to someone like him?”
“Hey. What does it matter if he ranked last in the entrance exam? What operators need is knowledge and the ability to judge the situation.”
It was Lee Junghoon from Class 6.
Probably ranked 29th among the freshmen.
As a member of a fairly well-known clan, he had a strong sense of pride.
So he must be dissatisfied.
Listening to my orders that he had never heard of.
“And that guy subtly has a sense of rivalry with Sena… So he might not like me, whom Sena praises.”
In short, he’s a person who can’t be persuaded by words in a short time.
If I start babbling about my experience of actually conquering Yeongdeung Mountain Dungeon, he might show an even more negative reaction out of sheer pride.
Well, it’s okay.
I never intended to persuade him with words in the first place.
Actions speak louder than words.
“I’ll give the orders, so you guys… huh?”
Suddenly, Lee Junghoon’s words were cut off.
Because he noticed a shadow moving swiftly on the wall of the cave in the distance.
As expected, they appear here too.
“What, what is that?”
“The shadow, it’s moving, right?”
“I think I saw that during class.”
“Damn, get ready for battle!”
The kids were flustered but immediately took a combat stance.
“Kiiii, kiiii.”
The name of that monster was Shadow Sentinel.
It looked like a crow.
You could say it was quite an annoying artificial monster.
But the kids don’t seem to know the name of this monster well.
I briefly explained it during the monster biology class.
“Oh, damn! Why isn’t this working?”
The first one to throw a punch was the impulsive Sena, but the Shadow Sentinel kept staggering as if unaffected by her physical enhancement ability.
It was as if she was hitting clay hard with her fist.
The Shadow Sentinel had a high physical resistance and magical resistance, so it couldn’t be easily damaged by ordinary attacks.
It’s like a good punching bag.
“That monster, I think it’s called Shadow Sentinel. I heard it has resistance to physical attacks.”
“Mm, physical, resistance…? Th-then how?”
The timid-looking girl frowned.
The children moved around, trying to attack the shadow sentinel, but they soon realized their efforts were futile, causing them to bite their lower lips in frustration.
“There’s nothing we can do, kids, let’s retreat for now…”
Just as Lee Jeong-hoon was about to shout for a retreat, I took a step forward, an arrow nocked in my bow.
“No, wait.”
“You?”
Do you know why I secretly led the shadow sentinel to this place without any persuasion?
To show the kids.
In person.
With these kinds of people, actions speak louder than words, convincing them through results.
“Hey, that kind of attack won’t work…”
Really?
Ignoring his words, I shot the arrow.
Towards the shadow sentinel’s left lower abdomen.
And then…
“Wh-what? Whaaat?!”
The shadow sentinel, unaffected by Seonari and Lee Jeong-hoon’s attacks, let out a loud wail.
Alright, looks like it hit the mark.
“Huh, what?”
Lee Jeong-hoon looked slightly puzzled.
I aimed the arrow, charged with magic, towards the screaming shadow sentinel’s mouth.
Thanks to the artifact, I could concentrate a considerable amount of magic at once.
The arrow suddenly pierced into its mouth.
And then, the shadow sentinel exploded from within, spewing out a gooey liquid before collapsing with a thud.
“…”
I had taken down that monster with just two attacks.
A monster that Seonari and Lee Jeong-hoon couldn’t touch.
“W-what… how did you do that?”
“That was a shadow sentinel.”
I pointed at the fallen monster, continuing.
“I know that too.”
“It has high physical and magical resistance, but there’s a core-like structure in its left lower abdomen, which, due to its concentrated nerves, can cause severe pain if attacked.”
“Uh, uh…?”
“Of course, that alone wouldn’t be enough to bring it down, but the shadow sentinel is strong against external attacks but very vulnerable to internal ones. Plus, there’s a vulnerable spot in its mouth.”
“You shot an arrow into its mouth while it was screaming in pain?”
“Yes. I judged that a magic-charged arrow could bring it down easily.”
Designed to be easily defeated by exploiting its weaknesses, as it was a fake monster created by the mage to test the children, I could take it down with ease if I targeted its weak points.
“…You knew all that?”
“Yeah. Even though I act like this, I’ve practically memorized monster-related books, textbooks, and even research papers. I’ve read everything I could find.”
“Uh, really?”
Yeah, that’s a lie, of course.
When would I have time to read research papers?
But saying this makes me look a bit knowledgeable, right?
“Moreover, this isn’t a real battle, it’s a test, right? The weaknesses of the monsters should be clear. So, I can exploit them.”
Yeah, a test.
This dungeon conquest is a test.
It’s not just about brute force, but about evaluating if one has been studying the theoretical side diligently by bringing out monsters with clear weaknesses.
And I’ve been seeing through the weaknesses of the monsters appearing here one by one.
Where to attack, how to attack, how much to attack.
“Oh, yeah, you were right…? I was a bit skeptical at first.”
“Uh?”
“I heard there’s an academy student who conquered a real dungeon with members of the Gaon Nuri clan… Seo Woo Unni praised you a lot for almost completely understanding the monsters’ weaknesses…”
Wait, does she know Han Seo-woo?
What’s going on here?
“Wait, hero rescue? Dungeon conquest? …This kid?”
“Oh, you didn’t know? This kid has actually participated in dungeon conquest before. Apparently, he did quite well.”
“Hmm.”
At Seonari’s words, Lee Junghoon swallowed his saliva.
Upon realizing that he had participated in a dungeon conquest that even professional heroes had failed at, I seemed to appear in a new light.
Normally, revealing such things about oneself doesn’t have much of an impact.
It’s more convincing and objective when it’s known through a third party.
Alright, the flow is good anyway.
I should take this opportunity to speak up.
“Hey, kids, would you mind leaving the order role to me?”
I said, scanning the faces of the kids.
Seonari and Lee Junghoon aside, the other two were extras, so I didn’t really know who they were, but it didn’t matter.
With just those two, we could easily clear the dungeon.
“If you follow my orders, I promise one thing.”
At times like this, you shouldn’t hesitate or sound unsure.
You should speak confidently and assertively, more so than anyone else.
“I’ll clear the dungeon faster than you think.”
I said, looking at Lee Junghoon.
“I have actual experience in dungeon conquest. Would you believe me?”
“….”
Lee Junghoon looked at me for a moment, then sighed.
It was a silent approval.
Well, with actual experience and showing how I exploited the weaknesses of the shadow sentinel to defeat it, even you wouldn’t have much to say.
The other kids seemed to trust me quite a bit because of that display.
“…It may have been a bit delayed, but well, it doesn’t matter.”
Even if the other kids wanted to lose to me in this first test, they wouldn’t be able to because the situation was too much in my favor.
Really.
***
Jin Soyeon finished the dungeon conquest.
She was able to successfully complete the first test of the midterm exams that had been going on for a few weeks.
But…
“Ha… I guess I couldn’t make it into the top rankings after all.”
She muttered to herself alone while looking at the 3D screen in the auditorium where the trainees were waiting.
The 3D screen displayed real-time rankings from 1st to 10th place for those who cleared the dungeon quickly.
She had worked quite hard, but she still couldn’t make it into the top rankings.
She had formed a balanced team at the academy, so she had some confidence.
“First place is Siwoon, as expected. Impressive.”
1. Dungeon clear time 37 minutes 09 seconds. Siwoon, Park Seongwoon, Lee Hankyung, Choi Juwoon, Kim Ohu.
2. Dungeon clear time 37 minutes 43 seconds. Kang Daehan, Lee Jeonggyeol, Daehanul, Oh Sooyeon, Lee Hanbom.
3. …
37 minutes?
Indeed, it was Siwoon.
While teams like Jin Soyeon’s took almost an hour…
“Yuseolhyun is in 5th place.”
It’s a bit frustrating, isn’t it?
Of course, Yuseolhyun’s individual performance couldn’t be compared to hers, but this test was a team competition, after all.
“Ah, Siwoon is amazing! 37 minutes? How did he clear it so quickly?”
“Siwoon took the bus, he took the bus. Siwoon is sweet, isn’t he?”
“I wish I could team up with Siwoon, I would have cleared it quickly too.”
Many girls around Siwoon were chattering excitedly.
“Ah, Daehan, it’s really a shame, you couldn’t get first place because your teammates were holding you back.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter. Team rankings. We just have to show it in the ranking match anyway.”
“Right, isn’t that true? No matter how good Siwoon is, he won’t stand a chance against our Daehyun in a 1v1!”
Kang Daehan was also chatting noisily with several people around him.
“…Both of them are amazing. In the 30-minute range.”
I could definitely feel the difference in level between Jin Soyeon and them.
“Huh? Soyeon, it looks like you didn’t make it into the top rankings?”
“…What’s up with you? Did you come to say that?”
“No, just passing by.”
“Tsk.”
Yu Seol-hyun smirked and pretended to be cool, causing Jin So-yeon to bite her lower lip slightly. Tough luck, Yu Seol-hyun.
Yes, she’s in 5th place, isn’t she?
Of course, that ranking is just the time it took to clear the dungeon, and the actual individual scores will vary depending on the actions shown in the dungeon. But still, there’s nothing wrong with having a high ranking.
“Hmm. Is the Lee Jin-hyuk team still not here? What place are they in?”
“Are you talking as if Jin-hyuk is going to be in the top ranks?”
“Well, who knows? Hehe. I’m looking forward to it too.”
Yu Seol-hyun smiled knowingly.
That smile subtly annoyed her.
Pretending to know it all by herself.
“You never know, Lee Jin-hyuk might have a higher score than expected…”
That’s when it happened.
“Hey, hey? Look at that! Did the rankings change? What? What’s going on?”
“Wait, is that for real?”
“Huh? Lee Si-woon won?”
“Really? Who?”
The kids suddenly buzzed with excitement.
They couldn’t hide their surprise at the unexpected fact.
Wondering what was going on, Jin So-yeon and Yu Seol-hyun turned their heads.
There was a change in the rankings on the 3D screen.
Every rank on the 3D screen had been demoted by one.
Which means.
A new 1st place had been born.
– Ding!
1. Dungeon clear time 25 minutes 15 seconds. Seo Na-ri, Lee Jung-hoon, Park Soo-yoon, Chae Yeon-soo, Lee Jin-hyuk.
2. Dungeon clear time 37 minutes 09 seconds. Lee Si-woon, Park Sung-woon, Lee Han-kyung, Choi Ju-woon, Kim Oh-hoo.
3. Dungeon clear time 37 minutes 43 seconds. Kang Dae-han, Lee Jung-gyeol, Da-han-ool, Oh Soo-yeon, Lee Han-bom.
“…2nd place in 25 minutes?”
Jin So-yeon widened her eyes.
No way? Really?
Jin-hyuk’s team?
The team that confidently took first place with an overwhelming lead was none other than Lee Jin-hyuk’s team.
“Lee Jin-hyuk. You’re not hiding anymore, huh?”
Yu Seol-hyun chuckled, looking amused.
0 Comments