– Piiiieee—!
Chammy, who had flown ahead, spotted something and let out a long cry.
At that, we quickened our pace even more and soon were able to spot a familiar head of red hair.
Go Hyeon-woo spoke.
“It is Miss Hong. It seems we are but slightly late.”
“Only slightly.”
Hong Yeon-hwa was facing off against Geum Jo-han and Lee Seul-bi.
As expected, it seemed that the one who had used [Observe] earlier was Mo Yong-jun.
In terms of distance, they had arrived a step ahead of us, but we appeared just before the fight began.
“…….”
“…….”
After noticing us, Geum Jo-han and Lee Seul-bi seemed to hesitate, unsure of what to do.
Take down Hong Yeon-hwa quickly?
Even two against one, it wouldn’t be easy.
If they stalled even a little, they would end up being attacked from both sides instead.
But to run away like this would wound their pride.
After all, they were about to lose a team member.
While the two disciplinary committee members were stuck between a rock and a hard place, we reached the scene.
Han So-mi waved cheerfully.
“Hi, Geum Jo-han! Hi, Seul-bi!”
“……So you switched sides too.”
Geum Jo-han frowned as he noticed the “B” on her chest.
Han So-mi cleared her throat and put on an air before replying in Go Hyeon-woo’s tone.
“I did not switch sides! I have been on Kim-hyung’s side from the very beginning!”
“……Hmm. I did say something like that before, but hearing it from Miss Han herself is somewhat embarrassing.”
“To me, Kim-hyung is everything! Miss Han is but a mere stepping stone for the sake of martial arts!”
“That is an excessive exaggeration. Allow me to explain.”
Go Hyeon-woo led Han So-mi off to one side and began consoling her.
No doubt he had once again been going on and on about Kim-hyung and ended up provoking jealousy.
I decided to let them sort it out themselves.
Hong Yeon-hwa had already switched over to our team.
She came trotting over and stood beside me, so I said a word to her.
“Looks like you got [Transfer]. Good work.”
“Mhmm……!”
She looked unusually docile, unlike her usual self, and Geum Jo-han and Lee Seul-bi’s expressions turned strange.
It simply didn’t match the aggressive attitude she had shown just moments ago.
Anyway, I turned to the two of them and asked,
“What are you going to do?”
“You say that as if we have a choice. It’s not like you’d hand her back just because we asked.”
“Of course Hong Yeon-hwa’s case is over. I’m talking about you two.”
As I said that and took out a [Transfer] card, Geum Jo-han’s face hardened.
“You still had spares?”
“Of course.”
With [Duplicate], it was actually two, but there was no need to mention that.
“When Jeong Jin-myeong first reached out, I thought he was making a needless fuss. But now that I see this, I suppose it made sense.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment. So, anyone want to switch?”
If possible, I’d like to recruit Lee Seul-bi.
As a water- and ice-type mage, she would be well-suited for the volcanic terrain.
It seemed thanks to her they had managed to hold off the monster wave quite well, too.
However, the two of them shook their heads at the same time.
“I refuse.”
“Thanks, but no.”
It was more or less the reaction I expected, but just in case, I urged them once more.
“Are you sure? If you want first place, you’d be better off betting on us.”
With three promising students/disciplinary committee level members having switched sides, the balance of the three-way standoff had completely collapsed.
Team B also had the highest-level base, which meant our chances of taking first place were the greatest.
Geum Jo-han seemed to acknowledge that fact as well, but his answer remained firm.
“The disciplinary committee does not yield to such petty pressure. We cannot abandon the team we belong to just because of grades.”
“Hey, if you say it like that, what does that make her?”
When I gestured toward Han So-mi with my eyes, Geum Jo-han grew slightly awkward and shut his mouth.
“…….”
“So Han So-mi is a traitor who yielded to petty pressure because of grades?”
“……That is not what I meant. Her situation is different, is it not?”
“Because she’ll be leaving the disciplinary committee next year? So you’re saying she’s basically a stranger?”
At that, Han So-mi put her hands on her hips and puffed out her cheeks.
“Geum Jo-han! Is that what you’ve been thinking all this time?”
“Absolutely not, not in the slightest. I would appreciate it if you stopped slandering me.”
Deciding that was enough teasing, I said to the Team A disciplinary members,
“Anyway, got it. [Transfer] can’t be forced.”
“Then we’ll be on our way.”
“Hold on.”
I stopped the two of them as they were about to turn around.
“Shouldn’t you at least leave the cards and crystals behind?”
“What a ridiculous thing to say.”
Geum Jo-han curled up one corner of his mouth.
He and Lee Seul-bi each took out a [Return] card.
▷Teleport to your affiliated base.
“—If we use this, there should be no way for you to stop us.”
“Is there really no way?”
“I acknowledge your skill, but perhaps you should moderate your bravado. There is a saying: excess is as bad as deficiency.”
Flaaash—
The cards in their hands began to glow more and more brightly.
In that state, Geum Jo-hhan continued,
“The final exam is not over yet, so we shall see. We will do our utmost to reclaim first place.”
“[Caw?]”
As I held out the crow branch and I spoke the activation word, the light in the two [Return] cards went out in an instant.
The activation itself had been canceled.
“…….”
“…….”
Geum Jo-han and Lee Seul-bi blinked for a few seconds, then looked at each other before glancing down at their item cards at the same time.
Thinking there might have been some kind of error, they tried using them again, but the result was the same.
Item cards aren’t anything that special.
They’re merely one of the many devices within the artificial dungeon, and at their core lies magic.
Naturally, the Dimensional Crow’s spatial magic is superior.
As the two disciplinary committee members stood there awkwardly, Hong Yeon-hwa stepped forward, with flames rising in one hand.
Whoosh,
The other party members slowly formed a perimeter as well.
At this, Geum Jo-han and Lee Seul-bi reluctantly took out their item cards and showed them.
“…We didn’t bring any crystals. We were on our way back from the base.”
“Is that so. You’re not hiding anything else, right? If you get incapacitated, you’ll cough it all up anyway.”
“In the name of the disciplinary committee, that’s all we have.”
So much for not yielding to petty pressure just moments ago.
He sure invoked the committee’s name easily enough.
Anyway, I took most of the item cards and returned only the [Protection] cards.
“Take these.”
“…Why?”
It seemed he found it strange that I would give up something that wasn’t easy to come by.
In response, I casually handed over two [Discharge] cards as well.
“Use those instead.”
Their effect was to send three random targets in front of the user back to the base.
Our party consists of six people (Bum and Chammy count as one along with Park Na-ri), so with two cards, all of us could return.
If you have [Protection], [Discharge] gets deflected, which is why I gave it back.
A vein bulged on Geum Jo-han’s forehead.
“The more I look at you, the more it seems you’re planning to use people as a means of transportation.”
“Why are you overreacting? I’m not asking to ride on your backs. You just have to send us off.”
“…….”
“If you really don’t like it, fine. We’ll just walk.”
Of course, I’d have to get the cards back before that.
And since I was already annoyed, I might as well vent a little too.
Perhaps she caught on to that, because Lee Seul-bi snatched the two [Discharge] cards from Geum Jo-han’s hand.
“I’ll use them.”
“Now you’re finally making sense.”
Before long, I took my place in front of the two of them and called the party members over to gather close.
Then, facing Lee Seul-bi, I said,
“Pass a message to Mo Yong-jun.”
“What is it?”
“Tell him that when I use [Observe], that’s when I’ve made my decision.”
“What does that mean?”
“Just tell him that.”
“…….”
Though she looked at me with suspicion, Lee Seul-bi nodded in agreement.
Soon, she held out the two cards toward us.
Flaaash!
[Discharge] activated twice in succession, and the six of us were engulfed in a brilliant light as we were launched high into the sky.
In the blink of an eye, we crossed an enormous distance and came crashing down in the middle of Team B’s base.
Crackle-cracklet!
All of my party members looked around with amazement.
Seo Ye-in’s eyes sparkled as she added a comment.
“…Very convenient.”
The distance from the border area to here was considerable, so we had saved ourselves the time and effort of running all the way back.
The others didn’t show it, but the hidden piece mission had clearly worn them out as well, so I chose a quick return over keeping a few [Protection] cards.
Meanwhile, the moment we appeared, the base erupted into chaos.
– Hey, hey! What was that just now?!
– An attack?
– What about the barrier?
It was practically the first time anyone had flown in using an item card, so they were understandably flustered.
Members came rushing in from all directions.
Then, when they recognized us, they grew twice as confused and began whispering.
– Aren’t they from our team?
– Wait, isn’t that Go Hyeon-woo?
– Han So-mi and Hong Yeon-hwa are there too.
– Weren’t they C?
– Mhmm, so why are they with us?
Song Cheon-hye came running over as well.
Han So-mi waved brightly again.
“Cheon-hye! I’m back!”
“H-Huh? How did you…….”
“We flew! Whoosh—”
“That’s not what I meant.”
Soon, Song Cheon-hye realized she’d been asking the wrong person and turned to look at me.
“What happened?”
“We flew! Whoosh—”
“Stop joking.”
“Alright.”
I went through everything that had happened.
We recharged the crystals we had borrowed and used them for the hidden piece, obtaining [Freeze] and [Transfer].
The other three had heard the method during the preparation period as well, so they secured the hidden piece in the same way and then joined us.
Song Cheon-hye let out a quiet exclamation.
“Ah… I see. So that’s what you meant when you told us not to worry?”
“That was part of it.”
“You’ve worked hard. You must be tired, so please get some rest and have a meal too.”
“That’s the plan.”
We all headed toward the dining hall together.
As Han So-mi looked around, an imaginary exclamation mark seemed to pop up above her head.
“Nice house! Nice food!”
“Seems we can rest easy today.”
Go Hyeon-woo replied with a gentle smile.
Since the topic had shifted to the base, I asked Song Cheon-hye,
“How much have you upgraded the facilities?”
“I’ve put almost all the crystals that came in today into defense. We’ve just started upgrading the tower as well.”
She pointed to one side, and when I turned my head, I saw a structure that looked as if it had been carved from crystal, reflecting light in a spectrum of colors.
Even from a distance, it radiated a powerful presence, standing about chest-high.
[Crystal Tower (D+)]
Looking at the tower with proud eyes, as if admiring a well-grown plant, Song Cheon-hye said,
“Everything that comes in from now on will go there.”
“You’re doing well.”
There wasn’t much for me to comment on, so I simply nodded slowly.
Even after filling our stomachs in the dining hall, we relaxed for a while longer.
In the middle of it, Go Hyeon-woo approached me and asked,
“Kim-hyung, are you planning to head out again?”
“No. We’re defending the base today.”
“Then it seems something like this morning may happen again.”
By “something like this morning”, he meant the monster wave.
I lightly tilted my chin toward the volcano.
“It’s about time it erupted again.”
Sure enough, after idling around and waiting a bit longer, the vibrations beneath our feet gradually grew stronger.
Rumble……
But the sight of the volcano in the distance was clearly different from yesterday and from this morning.
Normally, it would be erupting violently, spewing fireballs and lava, but now everything was gathering near the summit.
“…….”
“…….”
As everyone watched with anxious eyes, flames continued to converge at the top of the volcano.
Meanwhile, Seo Ye-in tilted her head, as if a thought had just occurred to her.
“…Rechargeable?”
Booooom!
Three huge fireballs shot up into the sky in three different directions.
Leave a Reply