Soon, a large screen floated up beside Lee Soo-dok, displaying a panoramic view of the city.
A city with a medieval fantasy vibe, yet showing signs of gradual industrialization.
Blacksmiths and various workshops stood out with unusual frequency.
“It’s an artificial dungeon replicating Craft Haven.”
Not just the city, but its residents, invading monsters, and even the Craftsman Dragon…. everything had been reproduced almost perfectly.
The reason wasn’t hard to guess.
“You’ll take on the role of participants, experiencing firsthand the process of the city’s collapse.”
– …….
– …….
The atmosphere in the classroom grew even heavier.
It had already been devastating just to hear about it in class. Now they had to experience it themselves.
But Lee Soo-dok’s explanation was just beginning.
“Some of you may have figured it out from the fact that the Craftsman Dragon was recreated. True victory is impossible.”
The artificial dungeon was similar to [Iron Maiden] used in the first semester finals.
However, unlike back then, this time there would be no rank adjustments.
In other words, to win, they would have to fend off waves of C- to A-rank monsters and ultimately defeat an S-rank dragon.
Even second- and third-years wouldn’t stand a chance. Let alone first-years.
“We’re not expecting victory in the first place. The grading criteria is ‘survival’.”
The moment a participant dies, they’re ejected from the dungeon, and their score is based on how long they survived.
Considering that Craft Haven collapsed in “less than a week”, the maximum survival time would be about six to seven days.
“Of course, the monsters will get stronger with each passing day.”
More precisely, the Craftsman Dragon would start deploying stronger monsters.
Like boiling a frog slowly by raising the temperature.
For those lacking skill, even surviving for a while would be difficult.
At the first-year level, lasting six or seven days was out of the question. Three or four days would already be an achievement.
Lee Soo-dok slowly looked around the classroom and then spoke in a tone that sounded almost generous.
“I suppose this is the right time to share some good news. Since it’s an artificial dungeon, a few extra features have been added.”
Soon, a glowing card appeared on the screen along with a detailed description.
[Campsite (1-Person)]
▷ Creates a space for one person.
▷ Duration: 6 hours
▷ The campsite cannot be detected.
“This is a midterm-exclusive item. If you use it well, survival should be a little easier.”
– ……!
“They’re hidden throughout the city, so keep an eye out. Monsters may also drop them. Naturally, the stronger the monster, the higher the drop rate. But you’d better be careful.”
The screen changed to show a horde of swarming monsters.
Among them were strange-looking entities. They were creatures that looked like a mix between humans and dragons, with bodies covered in scales and claws.
“They’re called Draconic Soldiers.”
Since the Craftsman Dragon spent his long life mastering all sorts of crafting skills, his personal fighting power was relatively low compared to other S-rank dragons.
He realized he needed powerful private soldiers to fill that gap and, after extensive research, created a skill.
[Draconic Forging].
It’s a skill that allows him to create monsters using his own body.
Using scales creates Scale Soldiers, teeth produce Fang Soldiers, claws become Claw Soldiers, and then there are Bone Soldiers, Wing Soldiers, and so on…
The more vital the body part used, the stronger the resulting monster.
For example, the Witch of Corruption belongs to the Blood Soldier class.
Lee Soo-dok continued his explanation.
“Their level is at least one tier above the surrounding monsters. If you recklessly engage or draw their attention, your midterm will end right there.”
– ……!
While the other students were making mental notes to steer clear of those things, a string of notification messages appeared in my vision.
[Side Quest: Midterm Exam (11th and 12th Weeks)] (In Progress…)
▷ Objective: Survive
▷ Reward: Varies based on number of days survived
[Would you like to use the ‘Handicap Scroll’?]
[Accept / Decline]
There’s no question. I’m accepting it.
Midterm and final side quests only happen four times a year. Since the stakes are high, so are the rewards.
And if there’s a way to increase that reward, whatever the handicap may be, it’s well worth the trade-off.
When I said “Accept” in my mind, one scroll disappeared from my inventory, and the quest was updated.
[Side Quest: Midterm Exam (11th and 12th Weeks)] (In Progress…)
▷ You’ll become easier for enemies to detect.
▷ Objective: Survive and eliminate Draconic Soldiers
▷ Note: If achievement rate falls below the standard, rewards will be reduced.
▷ Reward: Varies depending on performance
This handicap is already a joke.
The most effective survival strategy in this dungeon was to stay hidden. Now even that won’t be easy.
On top of that, while others were avoiding the Draconic Soldiers, I had to go out of my way to hunt them.
I didn’t know exactly what the “minimum achievement standard” was, but a couple of kills definitely wouldn’t cut it.
Looks like I’ll have to stay on the move.
If I wanted to avoid losing rewards or better yet, earn some bonus ones, I’ve got to stay active.
That could wait for later, though. For now, I focused again on Lee Soo-dok’s explanation.
“Lastly, everything about the midterm will be kept confidential.”
It won’t be saved as a replay, and no one from the outside will be able to observe it.
“In other words, no matter what choices you make, as long as you don’t get caught, there won’t be any consequences. Whether you cooperate, act alone, or…”
A chilling smile spread across Lee Soo-dok’s lips.
“…take down other participants to steal their items, or even betray humanity and side with the dragons. Some of the items can help you hide your identity, so keep an eye out for those.”
Here’s a summary of the rules mentioned so far:
1. Events from Craft Haven will be recreated.
2. The more days you survive, the higher your score.
3. Items can be acquired in various ways.
4. You’re free to do whatever you want.
5. Everything is confidential.
And I’d have to add one for me.
6. Eliminate Draconic Soldiers.
“The exam starts tomorrow morning. Don’t be late….gather at the dungeon building.”
***
Once class ended, Lee Soo-dok left the room.
As usual, Go Hyeon-woo and Seo Ye-in naturally took their places on either side of me.
Hong Yeon-hwa would probably join us soon too.
But unexpectedly, Song Cheon-hye started walking over.
It was obvious what she wanted to talk about.
“Um… I wanted to talk to you about the midterm.”
“Sure, what is it?”
There was a seriousness in Song Cheon-hye’s expression.
“I heard Craft Haven is originally meant for second and third-years. They brought it forward because of special circumstances.”
“Yeah, that seems to be the case.”
“Since the difficulty is so high, I think the entire first-year class should cooperate.”
“Not a bad idea.”
When I gave a small nod, Song Cheon-hye’s expression brightened a little as she continued.
“We’re gathering like-minded people. Several promising students have already agreed to join. If it’s alright… I’d really like you to come too.”
Well, it’s true that not just me, but my entire party is pretty strong.
For example, Go Hyeon-woo and Seo Ye-in were considered around 0.8 or 0.9 promising students before the tournament, but now they were basically promising students.
And Hong Yeon-hwa is a clear-cut promising student.
On top of that, we’ve already gone through tough trials together in both the midterm and final exams of the first semester. So naturally, she wants to team up again this time.
But I shook my head.
“Sorry. We’re planning to go separately.”
“You can survive a lot longer by sticking together.”
“I think there’s a limit to that. I guess it just comes down to a difference in perspective.”
“…I see.”
Song Cheon-hye didn’t push any further. She turned away with a somewhat bitter expression.
I offered a word of advice.
“Whatever strategy you’re going with, it’s better to focus on collecting items early on rather than grouping up.”
Song Cheon-hye looked like she was about to ask why, but then she seemed to figure it out on her own and let out a soft sound of realization.
“Ah…!”
The bigger the group, the more resources you need.
If dozens of people were trying to survive, then obviously, you would need dozens of item cards.
And since most of them are consumables, you’d probably need hundreds just to last a few days.
And items only get harder to find as time goes on.
The city will continue to fall into ruin, and monsters will grow stronger in inverse proportion.
There will come a point where either you can’t take them down at all, or the cost of doing so is too high.
And when that time comes, it’ll be better to survive using whatever items you already have.
From that perspective, spreading out and searching on your own at the start, then regrouping later, is a much better strategy in terms of securing resources.
Song Cheon-hye said,
“I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks.”
“Stay alive as long as you can. That benefits us too.”
“Yes, I intend to.”
Causing a commotion here and there would help divert the monsters’ attention, wouldn’t it?
And since a lot of items would disappear once the city gets destroyed, I figured it was better to share early information freely.
“If you ever change your mind, feel free to come find us.”
“If I change my mind.”
That’s what I said, but realistically, that wasn’t going to happen.
With the handicap of being easily exposed, joining Song Cheon-hye’s expedition team would only cause a huge burden.
And most importantly, just sticking together and surviving wouldn’t be enough to achieve the additional objectives.
After Song Cheon-hye left, Hong Yeon-hwa appeared shortly after.
Now that the whole party was gathered, I brought up the quest details first.
“—I used a handicap scroll. Things are going to get tricky, so if you’d prefer to team up with another party, that’s totally fine.”
It was basically an offer directed at Hong Yeon-hwa.
The other two aside, a promising student like her would have to care about her performance.
But Hong Yeon-hwa looked me straight in the eyes and said,
“I’m fine.”
“Let me say it again. We’re going to be doing the riskiest stuff. If we get wiped out on Day 1 or 2, you won’t even get a decent score.”
“Even if my score… drops a bit, it’s fine.”
“Alright, then.”
Since it was a decision she had made after thinking it through, I chose to respect it.
Go Hyeon-woo smiled faintly and said,
“A Draconic Soldier… I was curious from the moment I first heard of it. Getting to face it is actually a welcome opportunity.”
Seo Ye-in too was more proactive than usual.
“Additional slot.”
If we interpret her words, it meant that [Bond] slots would unlock with high quest achievement, so she was saying she’d give it her all.
I gave a nod and moved on to the main point.
“Then let’s come up with our own strategy. Like I told Song Cheon-hye, we’re going to focus on gathering items early on.”
I unfolded the map of Craft Haven in front of the group.
First, I drew lines to divide it into four zones.
“Everyone will probably start in different locations, so figure out where you are first and focus on farming in that area.”
As I spoke, I traced winding lines across the map.
These were the designated farming routes for each zone.
“If you land in Zone A, go this way. If it’s B, then like this.”
Since we didn’t know where we’d spawn, the only option for now was for all four of us to memorize everything.
Next, I pointed to the far western edge of the city.
“Once we’ve secured enough items, we’ll meet up here.”
“That’s fairly close to the barrier.”
“Practically right in front of it.”
I grinned as I replied.
“We’ve got business there.”
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