When I told her that the usage period for the Kim Ho pillow had expired, Seo Ye-in returned to the dormitory with a very dissatisfied expression on her face.
The remaining weekdays and weekend of the duel battle week were spent adjusting and fine-tuning the skills I had.
Monday.
Lee Soo-dok and Seo Cheong-yong returned to class as if nothing had happened.
Judging by the lack of noticeable injuries, it seemed that a full-scale battle hadn’t occurred, just as expected.
The fact that it took them quite a while to return probably meant they had chased after the enemies but ultimately lost track of them.
Perhaps because of this, Lee Soo-dok openly displayed his frustration, and the students had to endure class in a state of extreme tension.
On the other hand, Seo Cheong-yong showed no change at all from his usual self.
As always, he carried on the lesson with his characteristic friendly smile.
“We have a very important announcement this week,”
Seo Cheong-yong raised his hand slightly and continued.
“Alright, how about raising your hands? Who here has a score of over 5,000 points in the strategy battle?”
“……”
Those ranked at least mid-tier in the strategy battle should have already surpassed 5,000 points, and even those below that likely had around 4,000.
The students slowly raised their hands while glancing at each other.
More than half of the class had their hands up.
I passed that a while ago.
Before the midterms, my accumulated strategy battle score was already 5,040 points.
Adding the 2,250 points from the midterms brought the total to a staggering 7,290 points.
In terms of the strategy battle alone, I was ranked near the top.
Even before the midterms, my accumulated strategy battle score was already 5,040 points.
Seo Cheong-yong glanced lightly around the room before he spoke.
“Students who have surpassed 5,000 points will now be allowed to access the underground floor starting today, during each strategy battle week.”
“…….!”
At those words, the faces of the students who had raised their hands lit up, and they exchanged excited glances.
Those who hadn’t reached the required points looked on enviously.
It was understandable. Up until now, the underground level of the dungeon building had been a restricted area for first-year students, and anyone caught there, even by accident, would be penalized.
But now, they had earned the right to confidently go down there.
Seo Cheong-yong patiently waited for the excitement to die down.
Soon, one by one, the students focused their attention back on him and he continued his explanation with a small smile.
“It’s your first time going down to the underground floor, so it’s natural to feel excited. But that doesn’t mean you should let your guard down, right?”
Dungeon strategy battles aren’t a walk in the park.
Seo Cheong-yong’s usual gentle demeanor turned serious.
Since situations like this were rare, the students listened to him seriously.
“First, the most important thing to be aware of. There are no safety mechanisms in the underground dungeons.”
The dungeons on the ground floor, which we had entered for practice, were all artificial with various safety devices installed in layers.
For example, there was a practice mode allowing multiple attempts, devices that reduced damage and pain, and an emergency escape mechanism that would teleport participants out of the dungeon if their lives were in danger.
In contrast, the underground dungeons were all naturally occurring.
There were no safety mechanisms at all.
If the raid went wrong, one might not only suffer severe injuries but could even lose their lives.
“So, if you want to tackle the underground floors, it’s best to thoroughly research and prepare, review how your seniors cleared it, and watch their replays before you go in. Of course, the more dangerous and difficult it is, the greater the rewards will be.”
Unlike the ground floor dungeons, the underground dungeons provided rewards upon being cleared.
For example, Go Hyeon-woo was still making good use of the magic sword he obtained from the Feathered Serpent Altar.
I also obtained the priest’s dagger from the Feathered Serpent Temple and attached it to Root, and I secured the Sealing Demon Box from the Great Eagle Escort Agency, which allowed me to rapidly raise the rank of the Mysterious Yin Jade Demon Finger.
The random boxes were pretty useful, too.
As such, the risks of conquering the underground dungeons were high, but the returns were just as rewarding.
If you could continue to clear them steadily, it would be like endlessly mining a gold vein.
“Next point, first-year students are only allowed up to the F-floor. You’re not permitted to go any lower yet.”
At present, we were only authorized to challenge F-rank dungeons, and higher-level dungeons still remained restricted.
If you’re caught on the D or E floors, you’ll be punished just like before.
Of course, I still fully intended to sneak down regardless.
“Next, to earn strategy battle points, you must clear one of the ‘designated’ dungeons for that week. You also have to record the replay and submit it.”
The purpose of teaching students strategy battles was to make them experience and overcome various environments.
If you only picked dungeons that suited your preferences, that intent would be lost.
And so, the dungeons designated by the academy changed every strategy battle week, and only in those dungeons could you earn practical evaluation points.
Additionally, unlike the ground-floor dungeons where everything was monitored, there was no way to know what students did once inside the underground dungeons.
You could even have a second or third-year clear the dungeon for you and then pretend you did it yourself.
Because of this, submitting the replay was required to receive practical evaluation points.
“So what kind of strategy battle will we be facing this week? Those of you who are sharp may have already guessed.”
When a female student sitting in the front row raised her hand, Seo Cheong-yong pointed at her.
“A hostile environment?”
“That’s right! Correct.”
Last week, Ms. Jo Ok-soon had said this:
– We will focus on adapting to hostile environments for the remainder of the second semester.
So no matter what other rules were in place, the environment was bound to be unfavorable for the participants.
Like the volcanic zone where the volcano erupted constantly, and lava overflowed without rest.
Seo Cheong-yong pulled up the rules and environment on the board.
MAP: [Glacier Zone]
RULE: [Defense]
“Since we’ve done defense before, you should all be familiar with it. But it’ll feel different when you try it in another environment, right?”
Song Cheon-hye glanced over in my direction.
It seemed she remembered when we were paired up to defend the old temple together.
I too was suddenly reminded of something and raised three fingers.
Then I mouthed the words,
– Three. Wish. Tickets.
“……!”
The genie’s pupils darted from side to side before she hastily turned her head forward.
She probably hoped I had forgotten, but I never forget a debt owed to me.
Meanwhile, Seo Cheong-yong moved on to explain about the underground dungeons.
“If you want to challenge an underground dungeon this week, even if it’s not the [Glacier Zone], you have to choose a hostile environment. The rule must include [Defense].”
Then, with a snap of his fingers, the board filled up with a list of numbers.
They were the numbers of the F-rank dungeons designated for this week’s strategy battle.
“Any questions? Anyone curious about something?”
“…….”
No one raised their hand.
Both the hostile environment and the defense rule were things I had experienced before, and with the underground dungeons, all I had to do was pick one from the list, so there was nothing difficult about it.
Seo Cheong-yong wore a warm friendly smile.
“Alright, that’s it for today’s lesson. I wish you all the best of luck!”
When Seo Cheong-yong left the classroom, the room was instantly filled with lively chatter.
– Hey, hey, should we go down and check it out?
– Wouldn’t it be safer to just stick to the ground level?
– Nah, if we go down, we can get items.
– But they’re just F-rank items, what’s the big deal?
– You never know, we might hit the jackpot.
Some were excited about venturing into the underground dungeon for the first time, while others seemed indifferent and dismissed it as just another F-rank dungeon.
Go Hyeon-woo, who had been eavesdropping on the conversation, turned to me and asked.
“What do you think, Kim-hyung?”
“Of course, I’m going down. It’s better to start by gradually experiencing the F-rank dungeons.”
“I’m of the same mind. You can’t grow if you only seek personal safety.”
“Speaking of which, let’s head down tonight.”
Go Hyeon-woo’s gaze deepened.
“If you’re insisting on tonight, we must be going lower.”
“That’s right.”
The deal with the swordsmanship club was to complete the treasure map within this week.
However, it was better to secure and deliver this quickly rather than drag it out until the weekend.
Go Hyeon-woo nodded and asked.
“So what’s your plan for this week’s strategy battle?”
“I’m planning to finish it right away with her.”
I pointed to “her” lying face-down in the seat next to me.
Seo Ye-in who was half-awake by now slowly lifted her head and peeked out with barely open eyes.
But before I could say anything, she let her head fall back down.
She’s still mad.’
Go Hyeon-woo felt that something was off and asked us.
“Did something happen between you two?”
“I got tricked…”
Seo Ye-in mumbled while she was still lying down.
Go Hyeon-woo’s curiosity deepened.
“Tricked? By Kim-hyung?”
“Pillow… limited-time …”
“?”
Go Hyeon-woo looked completely baffled.
Well, there was no way he could understand what “limited-time pillow” meant without knowing the backstory.
Realizing it wasn’t something he should get involved in, he quickly backed off.
“Well, I hope you two can resolve things peacefully.”
“You’re surprisingly perceptive.”
“Haha, you flatter me.”
Go Hyeon-woo left the classroom first, saying we’d meet again in the evening.
I moved to the seat in front of Seo Ye-in and called to the sloth lying face down nearby.
“Excuse me, could you get up for a moment?”
“……”
“Are you asking for an extension?”
“Extension…!”
“Let’s decide based on how you do.”
“I’ll finish it…”
***
The underground level of the dungeon building was still quiet.
Even though it had been opened for first-year students, there was still hesitation about going in recklessly.
They likely wanted to gather at least minimal information before entering.
Of course, this didn’t apply to us.
Everything from start to finish was already in my head.
If it were a D-rank, we would’ve had to walk down quite a bit, but for F-rank, we only had to take a few steps down the spiral staircase.
It was fortunate since it meant less hassle for Seo Ye-in.
Soon, Seo Ye-in and I reached the entrance of the designated dungeon.
[No. 979] [Lightning Canyon]
“Let’s finish this quickly and get some rest.”
“I’ll finish it.”
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