It was early evening, just after sunset.
Although it was far from bedtime, Song Cheon-hye was already dressed in her pajamas and standing in front of her bed.
A soft smile spread across her lips and she dived onto the bed.
She rubbed her face against the pillow repeatedly.
“Ah~ This is so nice~”
A small, contented happiness appeared on her face.
Today, she was off duty from the disciplinary committee.
She was free from the suffocating workload.
On top of that, her usual partner Han So-mi was absent due to personal matters, so their strategy battle had been postponed for a few days.
As a result, Song Cheon-hye had stumbled upon one of those rare days—maybe once or twice a year—where she had absolutely nothing to do.
That was why she had already changed into her pajamas early in the evening.
Of course, she didn’t intend to just laze around doing nothing.
“Even if I rest, I should rest productively.”
After rolling around on the bed for a bit, Song Cheon-hye opened the student shop and started browsing through the replay list at a relaxed pace.
Even while resting, she figured she could learn something by watching various students’ replays.
“Hmm?”
Her eyes suddenly widened.
Something had caught her attention.
[Kim Ho_Seo Ye-in_Entry 979_Lightning Canyon.replay]
Song Cheon-hye had never admitted it to anyone, but she was actually an unofficial fan of Kim Ho.
Ever since she learned how to use the Hummingbird technique from one of his replays, she had purchased and watched almost every single one.
It did strike her as odd that Kim Ho hadn’t used the Hummingbird at all recently though.
Seo Ye-in also left a strong impression on Song Cheon-hye.
Ever since they clashed during the placement exams, she felt a subtle sense of rivalry with her.
The fact that Seo Ye-in was showing incredible growth and rising fast only fueled that feeling.
Just seeing both of their names was enough to make her buy the replay, but to top it off, the dungeon was called “Lightning Canyon”.
A lightning-type dungeon.
She couldn’t resist the curiosity about how the two had navigated through it.
After paying 100 points, a crystal orb dropped into her hand.
The replay began to play.
The sky was overcast as if lightning could strike at any moment.
A narrow canyon, with a statue of a goddess standing at its center.
When Kim Ho and Seo Ye-in took their positions at the front and back of the canyon, enemies began to appear.
Lightning spirits.
They were creatures very familiar to Song Cheon-hye.
She had often seen them near the Topaz Magic Tower.
This was an F-rank dungeon, so only the weakest creatures appeared, but letting your guard down could be a big mistake.
Song Cheon-hye focused a little more on the replay.
How would the two of them respond?
Whoosh—
Kim Ho raised his short spear and pointed it sharply at the lightning spirits.
A large whirlwind gathered them into one spot, and the tangled spirits caused a chain of explosions.
None of them could break through the whirlwind.
Perfect.
The whirlwind completely engulfed the narrow canyon.
It was as if the magic had been prepared specifically for this dungeon.
No, it was likely the opposite.
Kim Ho had probably understood the traits of his whirlwind and smartly chosen this dungeon.
And Song Cheon-hye had to admit that his choice was an excellent one.
However, the battle was so one-sided that there wasn’t much to see, so Song Cheon-hye quickly shifted her gaze to Seo Ye-in.
Ratatatatatatata!
Seo Ye-in fired her magic gun in rapid bursts.
As expected, her skills have improved significantly since the beginning of the semester.
Though the lightning spirits fell one by one, Song Cheon-hye couldn’t help but wonder.
What will she do next?
As the lightning spirits dissipated, they released static electricity, which slowly built up in the narrow canyon and formed lightning rods one by one.
And then, just as Song Cheon-hye had predicted,
Boom!
A bolt of lightning struck down, and waves of electricity spread wide.
Seo Ye-in couldn’t avoid it in time and ended up being electrocuted.
Fizzzzzzz!
Just when Song Cheon-hye thought, “Of course, this is how it ends,” she suddenly paused.
Huh?
[Seo Ye-in: 100%]
Seo Ye-in’s health hadn’t dropped at all.
For a moment, Song Cheon-hye thought she might have been mistaken, but the same situation repeated several times.
Fizzzzzzz!
[Seo Ye-in: 100%]
Seo Ye-in’s health remained completely untouched.
Even with her own high affinity and resistance to lightning, Song Cheon-hye wouldn’t have come out that unscathed.
Which meant…
Is her resistance higher than mine?
Whether she had acquired new equipment or developed a new trait, it was clear Seo Ye-in’s resistance had significantly improved since before.
When she thought about it, it wasn’t surprising. After all, it had been Song Cheon-hye who handed her a defeat during the placement test, so it made sense for Seo Ye-in to have prepared a countermeasure.
Song Cheon-hye imagined it in her head.
If she were to face Seo Ye-in now, how would it turn out?
…I might actually lose.
Song Cheon-hye’s expression darkened slightly.
Of course, her own lightning magic would be far stronger than the lightning in an F-rank dungeon, but its power would be significantly reduced by something Seo Ye-in possessed.
Even those fluffy clouds floating nearby looked like they would be troublesome.
On the other hand, Seo Ye-in had a significant advantage over mages as a gunslinger.
Hadn’t Hong Yeon-hwa also tasted defeat against Seo Ye-in in a duel battle last week?
Considering all these factors, it wasn’t a guaranteed loss, but victory couldn’t be certain either.
I can’t just sit around like this.
Song Cheon-hye sprang up from the bed.
She was overwhelmed by a sense of urgency and couldn’t rest easy any more.
Even while she was lazing around like this, Seo Ye-in was probably getting stronger somewhere out of sight.
To avoid being overtaken, she needed to train even harder herself.
Song Cheon-hye changed into her uniform and left the dormitory.
She then headed to the training center and began to relentlessly strike the wooden dummies.
Fzzzzzzt! Bang!
Sweat beaded on her forehead, but she paid it no mind and continued casting lightning magic with even more intensity.
Her training lasted late into the night.
Meanwhile, at that very moment, Seo Ye-in was sound asleep in her room.
She was tightly hugging a tiger plushie.
As she tossed and turned, murmurs escaped from her lips in her sleep.
“Kim Ho pillow…”
“Please extend the deadline…”
***
[Side Quest: 11th Week Duel Battles] (Completed)
▷Objective: Protect the goddess statue.
Goddess statue health (100/100%)
Participant average health (100/100%)
[Please select your reward.]
▷Wind Barrier
▷Wind Armor
▷Wind Wall
It was the first time I was learning a defensive skill.
There were three choices, but the effect was the same for all.
Each provided a certain amount of defense and resistance using wind.
The only difference was the form of the wind.
Barrier took the shape of a sphere, Armor was like a suit, and Wall stood in the form of a barrier.
So, which one should be chosen first?
I should go with the safest option.
Armor had high mobility but was thin, while Wall was thicker and offered better defense but only in one direction.
Barrier was somewhere in the middle of the two.
[Acquired ‘Wind Barrier (F+)’.]
Just like I had advised Hong Yeon-hwa, I intended to learn them all eventually.
Defensive magic could be layered, so the more the better.
Afterward, I returned to the dormitory for a short rest, then spent time cultivating my mana in the mana cultivation room.
And then, late into the night…
When I headed toward the dungeon building, Shin Byeong-cheol and Go Hyeon-woo were waiting for me.
They noticed me approaching and each greeted me.
“Oh, you’re here, customer-nim.”
“Hello, Kim-hyung.”
With the three of us gathered, there was no need to mention our next destination.
We naturally made our way down to the underground floor.
First-year students were now allowed to access up to the F-floor.
So we confidently descended the spiral staircase.
Unlike before, when Shin Byeong-cheol had been overly cautious, he now led the way and was chatting non-stop.
“Hey, I heard you already cleared your strategy battle? And on the underground floor, too.”
“There was no reason to drag it out. It wasn’t even that difficult.”
“Hehe, well, you’ve been going in and out of D-rank dungeons like it’s nothing, so F-rank must be a piece of cake.”
Go Hyeon-woo also had a faint smile on his face, though for slightly different reasons than Shin Byeong-cheol.
“Judging by your success in the strategy battle, it seems you’ve also made up with Miss Seo.”
“We never really fought to begin with. Anyway, it’s all sorted now.”
“Haha, that’s good to hear.”
I asked Go Hyeon-woo,
“Did you bring it? The Dharma Statue.”
“Of course, I always carry it with me.”
Go Hyeon-woo pulled the Dharma Statue out of his inventory.
It was a hidden piece we had found at an inn near the Black Snake’s hideout, and it possessed two effects.
The first was that the statue contained the enlightenment of the swordsman who had carved it. This made it valuable for research on its own.
“How has it been lately?”
“Hmm, the more I look at it, the more there is to learn. But I still can’t grasp its full depth.”
Go Hyeon-woo said with a faint bitter smile. I casually nodded my head in response.
It was only natural for it to be difficult, given that it was carved by a master several levels above us.
“Keep studying it, but let’s just use it for today.”
“Of course. I only borrowed it from you in the first place, so it’s right to return it whenever you need it.”
Go Hyeon-woo tried to hand me the Dharma Statue, but I raised my hand to stop him.
“Hold onto it for now. I’ll tell you when we need it.”
“Very well. I believe you mentioned it was for a formation, right?”
“You remember correctly. That’s right.”
The second effect of the Dharma Statue.
It can break through a “specific formation”.
In a way, it serves as a type of key.
And that “specific formation” could likely be found in the dungeon we were about to enter.
Meanwhile, Shin Byeong-cheol who was leading the way suddenly brightened up as if he had discovered something and shouted with excitement.
“Wow, finally!”
There, an elevator had been installed.
Both Go Hyeon-woo and I brightened at the sight.
“Finally free from walking, at least for F-rank.”
“Haha, still, it’s a good thing for us, isn’t it?”
Up until now, we had to trudge all the way down from the entrance of the underground floor to the D-floor and then trudge back up again.
We had passed by elevators and teleportation magic circles, but since we were sneaking in, we had to pretend they didn’t exist.
However, now that we had been granted access to the F-floor, we could use the elevator freely.
Considering how large the area F-floor covered in the underground levels, the walking distance was significantly reduced.
The three of us scanned our student IDs at the terminal in front of the elevator.
As soon as we stepped inside, there was a clunking sound and our bodies were rapidly pulled downward at an incredible speed.
“As expected, it’s comfortable.”
“Hmm.”
We all wore satisfied smiles on our faces.
The elevator dropped us off at the very bottom of the F-floor, right before entering the E-floor.
Since first-year students were still prohibited from entering the E-floor, we put on our anonymous badges and switched our tie pins.
As usual, Shin Byeong-cheol took on the role of guide.
Though he usually liked to slack off, at this moment he was more serious than ever.
He had improved his skills over time, and when he sensed any presence nearby, he quickly led us through this passage and that passage while skillfully avoiding detection.
Thanks to that, we entered the D-floor without any issues and reached our target destination.
[No.410] [Sealing Demon Chests]
Shin Byeong-cheol glanced at the teleportation portal and asked us.
“Do I just wait here?”
“Yeah, just wait for a bit.”
I’ll be back soon after I finish.
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