Team A main base.
Mo Yong-jun was receiving situation reports from his teammates.
Soon, his expression stiffened slightly.
“…You’re saying there’s no resistance at all?”
“Yeah. At first they were running around and seemed to be using cards, but now we can’t see them at all.”
“That’s strange.”
At first glance, it looked like Team B had given up, but if it was the Kim Ho that Mo Yong-jun knew, there was no way that could be true.
He would have easily anticipated a situation like this.
He would have even prepared countermeasures.
In other words, there had to be another reason for the silence.
But I can’t even begin to guess what it is….
Feeling an inexplicable sense of unease, Mo Yong-jun fiddled with an item card.
He was starting to think he should try using Reconnaissance or Observe.
Just then—
Flash—
Blue energy gathered in the air and formed the shape of a large eye.
That meant someone was watching him with Observe.
Since he was effectively the leader of Team A, that wasn’t unusual.
It had already happened several times before.
However, Mo Yong-jun exchanged a glance with Lee Seul-bi who was nearby.
Because the words she had said yesterday crossed his mind.
– Kim Ho asked me to pass this on: when the next Observe is used, that’s when the decision should be made.
…But it’s still not certain.
It could simply be someone trying to check his movements.
But if that really was a signal sent by Kim Ho—
At the very least, it’s worth confirming.
So Mo Yong-jun informed the nearby teammates and used Reconnaissance.
One card vanished in a flash of light.
Flash!
What appeared next was the scene at Team C’s base.
Everyone was shocked.
Even Mo Yong-jun himself.
How did it end up like this?
Everything had collapsed and burned, leaving nothing but ruins.
Here and there, members of Team C could be seen, but their spirits seemed completely broken as they simply stood there in a daze.
Seeing that, more questions arose in his mind.
Then where is Jeong Jin-myeong?
Mo Yong-jun immediately used Observe, but the card only glowed briefly before fading away.
Since the activation had been canceled, it meant the target was not in this dungeon.
In other words, he was outside waiting to re-enter.
Putting everything together, Team C’s base had suffered damage beyond recovery, and even their leader had been rendered incapacitated.
‘In that case, there’s really no point anymore.’
Maintaining the non-aggression pact would only hold them back.
Just as Kim Ho had said, it was time to make a decision.
After thinking silently for a while, Mo Yong-jun gave instructions to his teammates.
“Go to the site at once and spread the news. Most of them probably still don’t know yet. And…”
He paused for a moment before continuing.
“We will withdraw from here.”
“You’re planning to just maintain the current situation?”
Lee Seul-bi asked after understanding his intention, and Mo Yong-jun slowly nodded.
“Team C no longer has the capacity to continue competing. Whether sooner or later, their withdrawal is inevitable.”
“Then it’ll become a one-on-one situation with Team B.”
“That’s exactly right.”
And if it became a direct one-on-one confrontation, there was a high chance they would be pushed back.
There was simply a difference in the number of promising students and disciplinary committee–level members.
Lee Seul-bi and the other advisors did not strongly oppose the decision.
“It’s fine if we gather crystals within our own territory.”
“In the worst case, we can give up everything else and focus solely on defending.”
Even with just the Crystal Tower they had already built, second place was practically guaranteed.
The possibility of Team C overtaking them was almost zero.
Not only would Team C have to rebuild their tower from scratch, but most of the members who could gather crystals had already been incapacitated.
Even if they re-entered and hurried to act, it would be too late.
Mo Yong-jun spoke firmly.
“Our cooperation with Team C ends here.”
***
By now, the message should have reached them.
The message I sent.
Since Mo Yong-jun has a defensive and stability-oriented personality, he wouldn’t want to take on any more risk.
Ninety-nine out of a hundred, he would withdraw from our territory.
And Team C goes without saying.
So I said to Song Cheon-hye,
“We should be able to start moving again now.”
“Understood.”
Perhaps she had been thinking the same thing. Song Cheon-hye nodded calmly and sent the waiting team members out.
Then she asked me,
“Do you have anything else to do?”
“No, we’re going to collect crystals too.”
From our perspective, the biggest risk factors were the non-aggression pact between Teams A and C, and the draconic soldiers.
But the pact had now been completely broken, and the draconic soldiers must have expended a considerable amount of strength as well.
It would take them several days to recover and attack again, and by then the final exam would already be over and the dungeon reset.
At this point, even doing the basics meant first place was practically guaranteed.
Even so, I left Song Cheon-hye with one more request.
“Set aside some of the incoming crystals and gather them little by little.”
“For the card again?”
“That’s not it anymore. I’ll explain later.”
“……”
A deeply suspicious gaze turned toward me.
As if she were thinking, What exactly is inside that man’s head?
Still, there wasn’t any particular reason to refuse, so Song Cheon-hye let out a small sigh and said,
“Alright. Be careful out there.”
“Sure. Keep up the good work.”
I took my party members and went down the hill.
Just as expected, Teams A and C had almost completely withdrawn.
Even though our team members were openly charging crystals here and there, no one attacked.
Another change was that monsters, which had hardly been seen on the first and second days, had begun to appear.
When the volcano erupted once while we were lending the draconic soldiers to Team C’s base, it seemed to have had some effect.
– Piieeeee—
Chammy who had been flying in the sky on reconnaissance let out a long cry as if she had spotted something.
Following it, we soon found our path blocked by a river of lava.
Along the riverbank, giant turtles were crawling slowly, and on the shells of some individuals, large crystals had sprouted in clusters.
Go Hyeon-woo let out an exclamation.
“That’s quite a large amount. If we secure them all, our advantage will be even more solid.”
“On the other hand, if we give them up, we might get overtaken.”
As I said that and gestured to one side, my party members’ gazes turned in the same direction.
Cha Hyeon-joo’s party was watching us from some distance away.
I spoke to her as if greeting a familiar friend.
“Hyeon-joo, hi?”
Thud,
“Jut up… (Shut up…).”
“Why are you so prickly every time we meet? We even played minesweeper together, and I gave you a ride in the air.”
“I sheriouly kill ya… (I’ll seriously kill you…).”
She looked ready to start firing arrows at any moment.
The Team A party members beside her desperately tried to stop her.
“Hey, hey, calm down.”
“If we fight, we’ll definitely lose.”
“How many promising students are over there?”
I decided to support their opinion.
“Hyeon-joo, I think you should listen to your friends. Didn’t Mo Yong-jun tell you to come back as well?”
“……”
Cha Hyeon-joo’s face twitched violently.
But neither her party members nor I were wrong, so even while trembling with anger, she held it in.
Thud,
“You… you just wait. Whether it’s in the second year or the third year, someday—”
“You sure talk a lot.”
Hong Yeon-hwa cut in, unable to watch any longer.
“If you’re going to fight, then fight. If you’re leaving, then leave. Why make it complicated?”
“…Hong Yeon-hwa.”
Cha Hyeon-joo’s eyes filled with a chilling light.
Then she let out a laugh that was both hollow and mocking.
“You’ve gotten pretty bold just because you teamed up with Kim Ho.”
“I’ve never been timid. Especially not in front of you.”
“You just wait until next year.”
“That’s what I was going to say.”
Since their skills and duel battle scores were similar, it was inevitable they would eventually clash.
Soon, Cha Hyeon-joo left with her party members.
Watching them become small dots in the distance, I said to my party members,
“Now that the troublemakers are gone, let’s get started.”
“Let’s go!”
Han So-mi shouted energetically and began running toward the lava turtles.
Go Hyeon-woo and Beom did the same.
In response, the turtles opened their mouths wide and spewed flames like flamethrowers.
Whoooosh!
Han So-mi stepped with a movement technique slipping her body between the streams of flame.
Then she leapt high and thrust out her sword.
Swish-swish-swish-swish—!
Fierce sword energy filled the battlefield.
***
As a result of practically monopolizing the turtles,
By the time evening approached, we were able to return to the base with our arms full of crystals.
Thanks to the other teams also gathering crystals like worker ants, the tower had become more magnificent and dazzling than ever.
[Crystal Tower (B+)]
And beside it, just as I had requested, there was a separate pile of crystals set aside.
Song Cheon-hye glanced at it from the corner of her eye and casually remarked,
“If we add those too, it might reach A-rank……”
“It could, if we end up not needing them. But chances are we will.”
“What exactly are you planning to use them for?”
“Curious?”
Song Cheon-hye’s brows knit together.
“You’re going to pull the ‘not telling’ thing again, aren’t you?”
“If you don’t want to hear it, then forget it.”
As I coldly turned away, Song Cheon-hye quickly grabbed my arm.
“…Who said I didn’t want to hear it?”
“Then come somewhere with me.”
“…Where? Outside?”
“Mhmm.”
“What about defending the base……”
“Let’s leave it to Bukgong Han-seol for a bit.”
In any case, the time when a leader was truly needed had already passed.
It was near the end of the third day, and most of the members had already returned. Even if anyone brought back more crystals, they would all end up investing them into the tower anyway.
Perhaps reaching the same conclusion, Song Cheon-hye nodded.
“For a short while, it should be fine.”
“Good. Do you all want to come too?”
When I asked the party members, every one of them chose to follow.
After all, they were just as curious about the crystals’ purpose.
So each of us took a few crystals, and we began heading down the hill.
The moment I turned toward Team C’s direction, unease filled Song Cheon-hye’s face.
“…You can’t be serious, right?”
“That ‘can’t be serious’ is exactly right.”
“What are you planning to do there?”
“If you follow me, you’ll find out.”
At that, Song Cheon-hye tilted her head as if thinking, “This doesn’t seem like a good idea…” yet she quietly continued following me.
In the end, it seemed her curiosity got the better of her.
The other party members appeared to feel much the same.
After walking for quite some time, we finally entered Team C’s territory.
I stopped near the hill and gestured upward with my eyes.
“Call those guys over.”
“How?”
“With something flashy and loud.”
“What? You’re using a person like a signal flare?”
Song Cheon-hye shot back, sounding incredulous.
Then Hong Yeon-hwa stepped forward.
“If you don’t want to do it, move aside. I’ll do it.”
It seemed she was planning to double as a portable lighter and fireworks display.
After all, she could just cast a flame explosion spell.
At that, perhaps stirred by a sense of rivalry, Song Cheon-hye stepped forward as well.
“Who said I didn’t want to? I’ll do it.”
She quickly put on her gloves and began chanting a spell.
Crackling currents gathered around the topaz, forming a thick bolt of lightning.
Then she hurled it high into the sky like a thrown spear.
Fzzzzzzzt—boom!!
The sky flashed, and a thunderous roar echoed through the air.
“……”
“……”
Not long after, there was a flurry of movement at the top of the hill.
Soon, the members of Team C began rushing down the hill in a crowd.
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