episode_0074

*****

“Video, not responding!”

“What happened to the entrance!”

“No, this is completely blocked. It’s at the level of completely disconnecting the dimension.”

“What are you doing on the TG side that you don’t notice until something like this happens!?”

“Now is not the time to blame it!”

What a mess. This was the thought that came to Park Jun-seok’s mind as he watched the teachers running around as if the soles of their feet were on fire.

“If you think so, you can help me too.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“If you are a teacher, you should pay a little more attention to facial expressions.”

At the attention of Strong Muscle, a muscular old man with gray hair, Jun-seok adjusted his appearance. Indeed, he could not treat an old man who had lived twice as long as he did as he treated another fellow teacher.

“Has the cause been identified?”

“It’s not confirmed, but looking at the current situation, the dungeon core has been taken over. At least the last line is being kept, so there is no need to worry about it leading to a major accident.”

“Then now all that remains is responsibility.”

The final line refers to a device related to the students’ life and return. Even if the students received damage in subspace, it was necessary for them to return safely like they did during the exam.

It must be said that the teachers of Cheonmyeong High School are able to maintain the important core even in sudden accidents. Of course, it wasn’t just life-threatening, but there were still problems as we couldn’t figure out what was going on inside.

The reason these two people were taking it easy in the midst of their busy schedule was because there was very little they could do at this stage. It’s obvious that a simple swordsman or fighter can do something related to dimensionality.

“The school must be giving you a headache too. This is what happened as soon as I decided to use a large subspace for testing.”

“But doesn’t that mean you can’t avoid using this system? You have to keep up with the trend and it’s actually useful. Thinking about calls from parents complaining is already a headache──”

“Teacher Park Jun-seok, please come this way!”

What interrupted the conversation between the two was the teacher’s hurried practice. You could just send it as a message. Even while grumbling like that, Junseok followed the teacher towards the control room.

It was surprisingly quiet inside the control room. Of course, it was something like force majeure that occurred because everyone was so caught up in their own work that they didn’t even have time to open their mouths.

In a strange space where keyboards and tarot cards coexisted, the teacher tapped the shoulder of the female teacher, whose face was stuck in the crystal ball, twice and then flew off to another place.

“Teacher Park Jun-seok, can you break through that?”

Before I could even ask what was going on, a question came to my mind. At the place the female teacher pointed to, there was a crack that had hardened and become black.

If you ask if it is possible or impossible, it is possible. Junseok’s attack power is one of the best among heroes. If it were the concept he was dealing with, that dimensional wall would fly away without a trace.

The problem was that it wasn’t just the dimensional walls that were flying. Currently, we don’t know exactly what’s going on inside.

If any student gets caught in his attack, everything including the return technique will be destroyed. However, it was also impossible to make detailed adjustments to just hit the wall.

“It’s impossible.”

“What about making a small hole just for a short time? Is that not possible either?”

A short but definite silence. Perhaps feeling calculated, the female teacher changed the conditions and asked the question again. Junseok also answered in more detail this time, as he realized that he wasn’t trying to send general support.

“I think I can reliably drill a hole the size of a thumbnail in about 1 second.”

“It’s enough. Please do me a favor.”

Questions like why or how did not come and go. It was partly because of Junseok’s personality, but also because the female teacher seemed so busy that she thought such questions were a waste of time.

With a loud roar, Junseok’s arm was engulfed in lightning. The moment he was about to slam it into the crack, a conversation he had with Changhyuk came back to Junseok’s mind. A word like a prophecy that something you need will happen.

‘It can’t possibly be like this.’

Feeling the excitement in his chest, Jun-seok fired the magic power of his arm towards the crack as if he were pulling a trigger.

***

[The exam has been suspended due to an emergency. Students, stop fighting immediately and wait in a safe location. Even if you take damage, it will not result in death, so stay calm and follow the instructions──]

While moving, a notice came that the test had been suspended. After hearing those words, the thought that came to my mind was not doubt or wonder, but understanding.

That’s right, because the current situation was not normal no matter how you looked at it.

Cook, cook!

“Huh!”

An insect-type monster that charges at you while wielding a huge scythe. He sharply dug into the gap and kicked it away, then continued walking. There was no time to determine whether that monster was dead or alive.

Even though subspace has been mobilized, this survival is only a test. The purpose is to check how well students utilize the knowledge they have learned at school.

However, the monsters that kept attacking me were ones that had no correlation whatsoever with the surrounding terrain. It was too much to even consider as just watching them deal with an unexpected situation.

If you listen to the broadcast, you will understand that it was all an accident in the end.

“Phew… .”

To control my rough breathing, I forced myself to take deep breaths and exhale. There was not a single place on my body that did not ache. The curse that disrupted the magic power inside the body was having a much greater impact than expected.

First of all, it was responding immediately to the effects of the curse. However, no matter how delicately one controlled magical power, there were limits. The reaction itself was equivalent to hitting a wall with a fist, but that alone made this weak body creak in pain.

Still, Mari and Kang Seo-yoon were able to quickly discover whether there was any reward in putting their bodies through such hard work.

“Try a little faster!”

“Unreasonable… . Curses require a lot of preparation.”

“Ah, there’s Ami Kim. What were you doing and now you’re here!”

“I took a good shot.”

I think that expression really suits me. Without magical power, I would never have thought that my body, which is much weaker than that of an ordinary awakened person, would be attacked in this way. We may need to take serious measures against this.

Aside from hearing Kang Seo-yoon’s screams, the situation for the two was not as bad as expected. Marie’s combat power drops significantly in situations where it is difficult to use a curse, so this can be said to be entirely Kang Seo-yoon’s credit.

There was a long stab wound on his arm as if he had been ambushed, but that was the only visible injury. It was quite a sight to see him deftly using the whip in his hand and overcoming attacks from monsters around him. Other than in the sense of eye candy.

Isn’t there a need to help with this?

“Don’t just watch, work!”

“Yes, yes.”

Well, there’s no need to buy into that hysteria. I have something to ask.

The situation, which was already at a standstill, ended in an instant when I intervened. Now let’s take care of the necessary tasks one by one.

“Come here.”

“Why?”

“Wounds, it’s not good to leave them as they are, right? I’ll bandage it for you.”

The wound on Kang Seo-yoon’s arm was quite deep. That’s probably what I screamed when I got hit. Blood loss had a significant impact on the awakened person as well, so it was not desirable to leave it like that.

Although no one here has healing magic, my bandaging skills are top-notch as I have experienced numerous injuries. If this world were a fantasy game, the bandage wrapping skill would have been at least Lv.MAX.

So, I could have treated those wounds without any problem, but

“Ha. That’s it. Can you handle this much on your own? Why else are you trying to touch my body?”

Kang Seo-yoon lightly sewed up the wound with magic thread and then manipulated the suit to cover the wound. Of course, it was handled much neater than a bandage or something. You can use the suit in that way too.

… I felt a little depressed because I felt like a grandfather recommending folk remedies to his grandson. No, bandages don’t make great first aid either.

Anyway, now that Kang Seo-yoon’s wounds have been treated, the next thing is my curse. I asked Marie, who was probably the one who had placed the curse on me, if she could lift the curse.

“Sorry, that’s not possible. Because magic is not a very convenient power. Especially the curse. I don’t know if I can weaken it at least… .”

Unfortunately, the predictions turned out to be wrong. Well, not even a priestess could completely control the curse. Marie herself is probably suffering some damage as a result of the curse.

After asking Marie for a weakening ritual, I headed back to Kang Seo-yoon. The final purpose of coming here was to decide the next action.

Even so, the exam is already over. From here on, there is no need to forcefully catch monsters or fight with other students. If I had to pick one, it would be to help other students from monsters, but after listening to the announcement just now, the need for that seemed low.

This is what happened when Kang Seo-yoon didn’t say anything.

“Okay, then what do you want to do? Am I going to be able to rest in a suitable place like this?”

“That’s… .”

It must be difficult. Although she didn’t say it out loud, Kang Seo-yoon’s expression as she bit her lip said it.

“… No, that’s enough. From here on, I’ll go alone.”

“Are you okay? You never know if Eonryeongsa might be your opponent, right?”

Before this test started, Kang Seo-yoon clearly showed signs of nervousness. He was so obsessed with defeating Eonryeongsa that he even changed the details of his bet with me.

It was difficult to believe that that sudden action had nothing to do with the current situation.

“… I don’t know the details of the situation either.”

Kang Seo-yoon hesitated for quite a while, but eventually opened her mouth. I was a little worried about what would happen if he insisted on going alone like this, so I breathed a sigh of relief. Of course, just inside.

Seo-yoon Kang is a member of the family that owns the TG Group. It was also the reason why she was the second-in-command of the corporate faction. It seems that she is not as high in succession rank as Seol-ah.

It was something I knew up to that point. What’s important is what comes next. The company that received the order for Cheonmyeong High School’s hero training facility is TG Group, and the sub-space used in this test was also created by TG Group by gathering the essence of technology.

And this morning, Kang Seo-yoon was informed that there was a problem in that subspace.

“I didn’t hear exactly what the problem was. He said there was a possibility that there would be no problem. So, the only instructions I was given were to first go to where the dungeon core is and check to see if there is a problem, and if so, deal with it.”

“The place where the dungeon core is located is the boss room in the center of the island?”

“… It’s like that.”

Priority for the boss room challenge goes to the team with the highest points accumulated. Kang Seo-yoon’s goal was not to defeat Seol-ah, but to enter the boss room before Seol-ah. In the end, it’s the same thing.

“Then there’s no need to do anything now, right?”

Perhaps TG Group was trying to handle this quietly. Maybe you really thought there wouldn’t be any problem. Honestly, it would be a bit difficult for Kang Seo-yoon to defeat Seol-ah.

It’s a bit disturbing, but the school has already figured it out and taken action. It is impossible for Kang Seo-yoon to pretend that all those things never happened.

“No. We have to stop Eonryeongsa.”

“Eonryeongsa Temple? Seol-ah?”

The answer that came from Kang Seo-yoon was quite surprising to me. No, isn’t that really true?

Clearly, the one who benefited the most from the current situation was Seol-ah’s biological family, the Samhwan Group. Because a business competitor caused an accident.

However, that only applies if Seol-ah is being talked about individually. It was hard to think that Seol-ah, who was so naive as to worry about not having any friends, would participate in such a secret operation. Even in the original work, she was a heroine with quite a strong sense of justice.

Well, Kang Seo-yoon is a bit crooked. From my perspective, I think that Seol-ah, the successor to a large company, would be capable of doing something like that.

Here, I would like to talk about a few of the original Seol-ah’s heartful events.

“Ha, write a novel.”

The sweet story that started with, “This is what I heard~” ended with Kang Seo-yoon snorting. I cringed a little because in some sense it was a novel.

“Well, that’s just what I heard. Even Seol-ah, whom I spoke to in person, didn’t seem like she would do something like that so casually.”

“That’s because Eonryeongsa sees you as a human being.”

… ? What does that mean?

I didn’t suddenly become a hero in the world of hearing loss. I understand the meaning properly.

However, Seol-ah is talking politely and calmly with other students at school. Although it is a bit awkward because of the difference in opinions.

“Looking at that expression, it looks like he didn’t understand what I said at all. Okay, so tell me whether you want to help me or not. Because I’m sick of bragging about your friends.”

“… By the way, what if you don’t help me?”

“The condition of the bet was to beat Eonryeongsa and come in first place, right? If it continues like this, it’s a draw. Would you like to wear the girls’ school uniform for a week?”

I know there is no such thing as a choice from the beginning.

Well, I was planning on helping from the beginning. The fact that the teachers have not yet intervened means that there is a high probability that the dungeon core has been stolen.

If you listen to the notice, it seems like the necessary areas have been well defended, but if things continue like this, it will take time to resolve the case. It would be best if we could respond together from the inside.

It’s just that acting together with Kang Seo-yoon feels like antagonism to Seol-ah, which makes me a little uncomfortable.

“… ha. Then how about this? Anyway, the dungeon core needs to be secured for investigation. I need to do this before someone destroys the evidence, so I’d like your help.”

As I was groaning at the strange feeling, Kang Seo-yoon sighed and suggested a different direction. … huh? Is this it?

“What, are you being considerate?”

“What? Consideration?”

Ah, now the temperature in my gaze has dropped below zero. Potentially.

“Hey, I want to leave right now, right? But because of someone complaining about something strange, I’m in a situation where I have to repeat the same thing over and over again. What do you think about this?”

“Okay, I’ll leave right away.”

Certainly it is unwise to continue wasting time like this. Snap, snap, I didn’t threaten Kang Seo-yoon, who pulled the whip and threatened me. never.

Before leaving, I told Mari the location of Hwain’s. This is to prevent the two people from being attacked by the monster, and to ask them to come to the central area if the situation improves.

If it’s those two people, nothing major will happen, but you never know.

“Ha, really. I have good skills for no reason… ”

“I’m really strong.”

“It gives me goosebumps! When did you talk like an enemy!? And isn’t that a compliment?”

… I’m really hurt right now. Just wait and see, you too will get older someday.

***

It didn’t take long to get to the central area. There was also an easily identifiable sign indicating a temple built in the center of the island.

However, a passenger had already arrived in front of the huge stone gate.

“As expected, Amine. I thought you would come. It looks like it has a useless lump.”

“Oh my, the princess is very talkative today. Do you think things will go according to plan and you’ll be blown away?’

“We’re from the same corporate group. We should get along well, right?”

“That’s when there’s something we can use against each other. If you are doing something so openly and are greeted with a bright smile, you are a brat, a brat.”

“That’s what I’m going to say. Interfering with Cheonmyeong High School’s exam, even though it was disguised as an accident, isn’t that too much on TG’s part?”

Sure enough, as soon as the two met face to face, they said a few words to each other. It may have been a simple exchange of jabs, but that alone sent a chill down my spine.

A situation where each party is blaming the other for the cause of the accident. Of course, this does not mean that both sides cannot consider the possibility of accidents or third parties.

This is a company that creates sub-spaces that even I can admire. There is no way that something made with that level of technology could go wrong like this due to a simple accident.

In the end, Samhwan is trying to escalate this situation by making it an accident rather than a terrorist attack, and TG is trying to blame the terrorist attack on a rival company. The miniature of that composition was now a confrontation between two people.

“Well, weren’t you on the same team as Raon? Raon was eliminated?”

If you’re Changhyuk, it would be impossible for me to intervene and solve such a troublesome matter. It was best to somehow try to redirect the conversation in a constructive direction.

“I had other team members wait in a safe place. The teachers said you won’t die, but it might be dangerous to attack here yourself.”

“Hmph, I guess that’s because it would be difficult if there were witnesses when destroying evidence.”

“The idea is really confusing.”

Even that effort was in vain.

No matter how you look at it, the conflict between the two showed no signs of stopping. Now that things are like this, the only answer would be to get inside as quickly as possible.

First of all, there was no problem letting Kang Seo-yoon in there. No matter how you look at it, this incident causes far more harm than good to TG. Kang Seo-yoon’s nervousness that I saw in the morning was also real in terms of potential.

On the other hand, there is still a possibility that Seol-ah’s side, or more specifically Sam-hwan’s side, did something. Even if we leave aside the closeness he feels toward Seol-ah. Now the priority was to make sure of that.

“Well, I’m sorry, Seol. If possible, please help me and Kang Seo-yoon get in here… , how?”

Even if Kang Seo-yoon were let in, Samhwan would only suffer losses. There are plenty of excuses for Seol-ah to refuse this request.

In other words, if Seol-ah accepts this request, there will be some room for compromise for both sides.

As a bonus, when I made this suggestion, I was able to read Seol-ah’s emotions as potential.

Seol-ah stared at my face for a moment. I felt nervous for a moment because the emotion I felt from that gaze was resentment, but

“It’s too much.”

“Uh, huh?”

“My friend is me. ARMY just take the other side.”

I couldn’t help but be taken aback when the silver-haired girl spoke like that while puffing out her cheeks.

… Looking at it carefully, even if I were to call it a resentment, it was at the level of someone stealing the snack I had saved. Depending on the person, that might be quite a big deal.

Anyway, there was no way even ten mouths would have anything to say. I immediately shook my head on the spot.

“Army, you probably want the case to be resolved quickly, but I also want you to know that I am a bit disappointed.”

“I will engrave it in my heart.”

“Yes. Then I’ll take a look. Because we’re friends! Hehe, I wanted to try something like this at least once.”

Seol-ah smiled brightly and said she would help open the door in front of her. Although that last sentence is a bit sad.

I feel like a fool for doubting Seol-ah even for a moment. Look everyone, our Seol-ah is such a kind and simple girl. Telling a kid like this that he doesn’t see people as people shows how crooked Kang Seo-yoon is.

“… Friends? Really?”

“Best friends.”

Kang Seo-yoon tried to deny the truth in front of her as if she was shocked. However, it is clear that Seol-Ah willingly decided to help us. Seol-ah added an additional blow by declaring that they were best friends.

“After all, we were having a naked conversation.”

No, that went a bit too far.

“Hmm. Well, it was that kind of relationship. Me again.”

“Wait a minute, I’m mistaken!”

“Isn’t it okay? The heir of a large company is dating a girl who was his ex-boyfriend. It’s quite a provocative topic.”

Although her mouth was speaking in a mocking manner, Kang Seo-yoon’s face was completely red. Surprisingly, I may not have any tolerance for topics like this. No, no, this is not the time to be paying attention to such things.

In the end, it took a lot of effort to get Kang Seo-yoon, who was criticizing her with a look on her face as if she was on fire, and Seol-ah, who kept throwing fuel at her without realizing it, back on track.

I managed to finish the conversation well, but I already feel like I’ve lost all my strength… .

*****