Monday morning.
I headed to the student cafeteria with Seo Ye-in.
Hong Yeon-hwa had arrived first and was waiting for us nearby. Ever since the new school year began, we’d been eating breakfast together every morning.
We’d grown closer at the Ruby Magic Tower, and now we were even in the same class.
The moment she spotted us, she came running over.
“Morning…!”
“Good morning. Let’s go in.”
“Okay…!”
Breakfast was bite-sized rice balls, with a variety of flavors available.
Salmon, chicken mayonnaise, bacon-wrapped, cheese…
Each of us picked a few according to our own tastes.
“……”
In the middle of it all, Seo Ye-in suddenly stared at something.
Following her gaze, I saw a tray filled with bright red rice balls.
“Spicy ones.”
“Mhmm.”
“You tried one before.”
“…Defeat.”
She’d once picked one out of curiosity, and it had ended in complete disaster.
That was when I learned she couldn’t handle spicy food at all.
Even so, I teased her anyway.
“Want to challenge it again?”
– Shake, shake.
Seo Ye-in quickly shook her head and backed away from the spicy rice balls.
Hong Yeon-hwa, on the other hand, was the exact opposite.
The moment she spotted the red rice balls, her eyes lit up with excitement, and she happily piled them onto her plate.
As I glanced at her before looking away, something suspicious suddenly caught my eye.
A small tray tucked away in one corner.
The rice balls on it were even redder than the ones Hong Yeon-hwa was enthusiastically taking.
Are those rice balls or balls of hellfire?
Should food like that even exist in the student cafeteria?
While I silently questioned the chefs’ intentions, Hong Yeon-hwa also discovered the hellfire rice balls.
Her face lit up with absolute delight as she filled her plate with even more red.
Before long, we found an empty table and sat down together, popping the bite-sized rice balls into our mouths one after another.
For fun, I tried a few of the hellfire ones myself.
As expected, they were far beyond the level of spiciness an ordinary person could endure.
Still, they taste pretty good.
Just as you’d expect from food prepared for Dragon Slayer Academy’s future heroes, they had clearly put a lot of care into it.
While I was eating, I noticed Seo Ye-in staring at me again, so I asked,
“Want to try one? Half.”
“…No.”
“A quarter, then?”
“…No.”
“That’s unusual. You usually give it another shot at least once.”
“Today… I’m a coward.”
“I see.”
I simply nodded.
Everyone has days when they don’t feel like being adventurous.
I went back to diligently working through my breakfast when members of the Disciplinary Committee walked into the cafeteria.
The usual four: Song Cheon-hye, Jo Byeok, Geum Jo-han, and Lee Seul-bi.
It looked like they’d just finished their morning duties.
Song Cheon-hye’s gaze swept casually across the room before, as if guided by instinct, landing squarely on us.
She said something to the others, apparently asking their leave, then walked over by herself.
“Good morning.”
“Morning.”
“You don’t mind if I sit here, do you?”
“No. You can’t.”
The moment I answered with a completely straight face, a look of surprise flashed across Song Cheon-hye’s face.
But perhaps she’d learned from experience, because she quickly regained her composure and asked,
“…You’re joking, right?”
“I am. But why aren’t you eating with the rest of the committee?”
“I just… felt like it today.”
Then she added a little awkwardly,
“I’m with them all the time anyway.”
I gave a small nod, telling her to do whatever she wanted.
Song Cheon-hye set off while smiling brightly.
A short while later, she returned with a plate piled with mini rice balls.
After eating a few, she spoke.
“About this week’s dungeon raid.”
“Mhmm.”
“…Have you decided who you’re going with?”
“These two, of course.”
I gestured toward Seo Ye-in and Hong Yeon-hwa.
I didn’t hesitate for even a second before pointing at Seo Ye-in and Hong Yeon-hwa.
Looking slightly disappointed, Song Cheon-hye cautiously tried again.
“What if it’s a four-person dungeon…?”
“Go Hyeon-woo.”
“A five-person one…?”
“Han So-mi.”
“……”
“What? You wanted to come with us?”
“As if.”
Song Cheon-hye sulked completely.
She reminded me of a hedgehog curling into a ball until it looked like a chestnut burr.
Ignoring her reaction, I picked up another spicy rice ball and said to Hong Yeon-hwa,
“This is actually pretty good. The more I eat it, the less spicy it feels.”
“Right…?”
She looked oddly pleased, as if she’d found another comrade who appreciated spicy food.
My gaze then shifted to Seo Ye-in.
She seemed to know exactly what I was about to say and beat me to it.
“Spice noob.”
“So you’re admitting it without a fight?”
“I admit it.”
“Good.”
I’ll let her off the hook today.
I turned back to Song Cheon-hye.
“You can’t really handle spicy food either, can you?”
“It’s not that I can’t. I just don’t like it.”
“Looks more like you can’t.”
“There you go again. Give me one.”
As always, she was easy to provoke.
Maybe hearing Seo Ye-in call someone a “spice noob” had gotten to her.
Either way, I had to admire her willingness to take on the challenge. I picked up one of the hellfire rice balls with my chopsticks and held it in front of Song Cheon-hye’s mouth.
“Say aaah.”
“I can feed myself—”
“Ah…?”
“I’ve already picked one up.”
“N-No, but…”
“Come on, it’s not a big deal. Hurry. Aaah~”
Caught off guard, Song Cheon-hye parted her lips just a little.
The bright red rice ball slipped neatly into her mouth.
With everyone watching, Song Cheon-hye chewed quietly for a moment before saying as if nothing was wrong,
“It’s not bad. It’s not even that spicy.”
Despite her words, however, her hand was already reaching at remarkable speed for her cup of juice.
I immediately pointed it out.
“So the first thing you do is grab a drink? Sounds like it’s spicy after all.”
“My throat’s just dry. They’re rice balls, remember?”
“That’s a pretty suspicious level of urgency for someone who’s just thirsty.”
“No, seriously. It’s not spicy at all.”
“Really? Then have another.”
I picked up another rice ball and held it out to her.
Song Cheon-hye pursed her lips for a moment before reluctantly opening her mouth.
Another ball of hellfire disappeared inside.
“……”
“Wow, you really are good with spicy food. Two of them, and you haven’t even taken a sip of water.”
“…….!”
“That’s amazing, Song Cheon-hye! Everyone, give her a round of applause!”
Clap, clap, clap, clap.
Clap, clap, clap, clap.
We applauded. Not loudly enough to disturb the cafeteria, but long enough.
As a result, every time Song Cheon-hye thought, “Can I drink now?”, the applause kept going, and she completely missed her chance to reach for the juice.
The longer she endured the heat, the redder her face became.
Then—
“Sniff.”
A runny nose escaped before she could stop it.
Her eyes even started to water.
Keeping your pride intact under such extreme circumstances was no easy feat.
Especially for a spice noob.
***
This year’s teacher in charge of strategy battle was Seo Cheong-yong once again.
Just like Lee Soo-dok, his contract had been extended for another year.
The atmosphere, however, couldn’t have been more different.
When Lee Soo-dok walked into the classroom, it felt as though the end of the world had arrived ahead of schedule.
When Seo Cheong-yong entered, on the other hand, everyone greeted him warmly.
It just went to show how important your usual conduct was.
Wearing his customary easygoing smile, Seo Cheong-yong began the lesson.
“This is something we’ve covered before. Does anyone remember? What purpose are dungeons created for, and why do they have to be so maze-like?”
Several students raised their hands, and one of them answered.
“You told us they’re designed to force challengers to expend as many resources as possible.”
“Excellent. Next question. The higher a dungeon’s rank, the larger and more complex it tends to become. Why is that?”
“Well… because the challengers are stronger?”
“Correct.”
Seo Cheong-yong gave the student a smile before continuing his explanation.
“It’s only natural when you think about it. The stronger you become, the greater both the quantity and quality of the resources at your disposal. If a dungeon is going to force you to expend those resources, it has to answer with stronger monsters and more elaborate mechanics.”
“……”
“A representative example is role division. Some of you have probably experienced it already.”
Splitting roles meant splitting the party’s fighting power.
Not only did that increase the risk of being defeated one by one, but it also made teamwork much more difficult.
The chances of unexpected variables arising naturally increased as well.
Compared to dungeons where everyone simply moved together as a group, these were considerably more difficult.
A good example was [Eclipse Land (Replica)], the dungeon we cleared during the D-rank promotion examination.
The boss was sealed away in the center, while ordinary monsters launched relentless assaults from every direction in an attempt to free it.
As a result, some party members had to remain behind to defend the boss, while the others roamed throughout the dungeon collecting an item called Radiant Stones.
The basic objective was to throw those stones at the boss to weaken it.
“No matter how much I emphasize the importance of teamwork, it isn’t enough. Situations like this can arise anytime, not just inside dungeons. So this week’s training will focus on role division.”
A moment later, the rules and environment appeared on the blackboard.
MAP: [Random Dungeon]
RULE: [3+ People] [Role Division]
“Just in case anyone forgot, let me remind you. Only designated dungeons that match this week’s rules will count toward your grades. And—”
While Seo Cheong-yong continued his explanation, I checked the notification that had just appeared.
[Side Quest: 2nd and 3rd Week Strategy Battle] (In Progress…)
Objective: Clear a designated dungeon
Reward: Varies based on achievement level
At the moment, those of us at the top of the rankings had earned the right to enter D-rank dungeons.
With our current specs, clearing one would be effortless.
But I get a little something extra.
[Would you like to use the ‘Challenge Book’?]
[Accept / Decline]
The moment I selected Accept, the side quest updated.
[Side Quest: 2nd and 3rd Week Strategy Battle] (In Progress…)
Objective: Clear a dungeon designed for four or more (0/4)
Condition 1: Clear it with a party of three or fewer (0/3)
Condition 2: Party must consist entirely of mages
Condition 3: Clear it within 10 minutes
Reward: Varies based on achievement level
Clearing a four- or six-player dungeon with only three people demanded far greater individual ability from each party member.
Since the roles had to be divided, there was a limit to how much any one person could accomplish on their own.
On top of that, the “Mages Only” restriction narrowed our options even further.
And finally,
A time attack.
To clear the dungeon within the time limit, we’d need not only skill but also seamless coordination between party members.
The conditions were demanding in every respect, but by sheer coincidence, the two strongest candidates were standing right beside me.
I turned to Hong Yeon-hwa first.
“Want to go together?”
“Okay…!”
Recruitment successful in just one second.
After glancing at Hong Yeon-hwa, who practically seemed to be wagging an invisible tail, I made the same offer to Song Cheon-hye.
“How about you?”
“I thought you were going with the others. You already had everything planned out through the five-player dungeon.”
She was still sulking because of the conversation we’d had that morning.
And after feeding her Hellfire rice balls twice in a row, she was twice as sulky.
Looking at Song Cheon-hye, who now resembled a prickly little hedgehog, I spoke in an unusually serious tone.
“It wasn’t anything personal. I just talked to the people I usually team up with first.”
“……”
“But it’s better to stay flexible when putting parties together.”
“…I agree with that.”
“Especially since they said teamwork will be important this time. I remember we worked well together. What do you think?”
At that, the corners of Song Cheon-hye’s lips curled up as though she’d never been upset in the first place.
“We did work well together. Are we going as a group of three?”
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