NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 93 - The road we want to walk (4)
Turn back time just a little bit before the 2nd game starts.
It was right after Seo-joon made a counter-proposal to So Jin-hyeon.
So Jin-hyeon told Lee Jin-seong and Cha Hye-in about Seo-joon's proposal.
It was because they needed their consent to proceed with the second game.
“So… you mean accepting that nonsensical offer?”
Lee Jin-seong shouted at So Jin-hyun.
So Jin-hyun nodded his head wordlessly, and Lee Jin-seong frowned at So Jin-hyun's appearance.
“I would have told you. Even if I face Kim Seo-joon right now, I don’t have the confidence to win.”
“It is not against Kim Seo-joon. It’s just a dungeon raid competition.”
“What's different about that?”
“That's right. Why do you want to go ahead with the second game by overdoing it in the first place?”
Cha Hye-in, who had been quiet as if agreeing with Lee Jin-seong's words, opened her mouth.
“From the moment Lee Ha-yoon became like that, the situation was over. Shall I be more honest? Even if we intervene, the chances of winning are extremely low. It's embarrassing to lose...”
“That's why.”
At that moment, So Jin-hyun cut off Cha Hye-in and answered.
Lee Jin-seong asked with an incomprehensible expression.
“......What do you mean by that?”
“Like you two said, you can't beat Kim Seo-joon. Me too… I’m not confident.”
“Then why…”
A word from So Jin-hyun followed.
“But you're not the director of Dream Academy, are you?”
So Jin-hyun continued to speak.
“There is such a thing floating around in the community. Kim Seo-joon learns nothing at Dream Academy. Rather, Dream Academy is going to go on top of Kim Seo-joon.”
Lee Jin-seong and Cha Hye-in nodded slowly.
They did it, too, but it was because they actually did it.
However, to those who did not know the details, it still looked only suspicious.
“We just need to confirm that suspicion.”
“What does that have to do with planning this second leg?”
So Jin-hyun looked at Cha Hye-in and said.
“If you look at Kim Seo-joon's progress so far, Kim Seo-joon will show an overwhelmingly outstanding figure in the second match to win the prize money. However, the more you do, the more likely the director of Dream Academy will look far behind. And what do people think when they see the gap between the two? Do you think you raised Seojun Kim at Dream Academy? Or...”
“You'd think Kim Seo-joon was proud of himself. Not Dream Academy.”
So Jin-hyun nodded.
“We're not trying to win the second game, so we're going to beat Kim Seo-joon.”
“You mean to dismiss the director of Dream Academy.”
“Then, even if Lee Ha-yoon is thrown away, we can keep our pride and reputation as a top 3 academy.”
So Jin-hyun nodded as if he was right.
Seeing So Jin-hyeon like that, Lee Jin-seong thought for a while and said,
“But what if Kim Seo-joon noticed that intention? There is a possibility that you will not show all your skills on purpose.”
“It doesn't matter. Then we just have to go up and win. Then it proves that the potential of the three major academies still exists.”
Jin-seong Lee and Hye-in Cha kept their mouths shut at So Jin-hyeon’s answer.
It was because it made sense to them.
“At this rate, even the swordsman wouldn’t have anything to say. It’s because it happened in exchange battles.”
“......You're a perfect single-handed person.”
“To be honest, Kim Seo-joon cannot win. So, the championship goes to Kim Seo-joon.”
So Jin-hyun looked at Lee Jin-sung and Cha Hye-in alternately and said.
“Our 3 major academies were defeated by Seojun Kim, not by Dream Academy.”
#
Seojun pursued the lycanthropes who ran away.
And the Lycanthropes only thought of running away from Seo-jun, but did not resist at all.
The creepy power that Seo-joon just showed.
Seeing his own people being swept away by that power, he seemed to have keenly felt that rebellion and resistance toward Seo-jun had no meaning.
“Meal!”
“Beep!”
The only way they could survive was to run away.
“Wait a minute! If everyone runs away, time will be wasted!”
If you keep going like this, you'll spend all your time looking for them scattered.
Seo-joon stepped on Jang Sam-bong's footsteps to deal with the lycanthropes before they completely dispersed.
The Lycanthropes ran away, but they couldn't escape Jang Sam-bong's footsteps.
“Ah aww...!”
“Where!”
Those who flee and those who pursue.
Seo-joon hunted the lycanthropes one by one with mysterious movements using footwork.
“Keep it!”
“Hey there! Don't stand there!”
Literally hunting.
This is no longer a raid, but even if you call it hunting, there is nothing to say.
So Seo-joon entered the dungeon and about 5 minutes had passed.
I was able to defeat the last lycanthrope in the dungeon.
In a word, it was in line with the meaning that the time to clear a 7-star dungeon was about 5 minutes.
This was a difficult record even for an active S-class Hunter.
Of course, since it was a dungeon implemented with magic engineering, there was a big difference from the actual dungeon.
However, even considering that, it cannot be denied that it is a great record.
and true.
Seojun could have shortened it even more if the lycanthropes hadn't run away.
“What... did you make the monster implementation so detailed?”
Seojun murmured as he watched the last lycanthrope slope slowly disappearing.
Even if it was the actual monster's fighting method, the way it happened and even the habit was the same.
I don't know if it's because of that, but even though I knew it was a virtual existence embodied in a monster, I even looked pitiful for no reason.
“Rather than that… the power of the three-tiered field is certainly amazing.”
To be honest, it wasn't great, it was crazy.
So far, most of the lectures Seojun has learned only affect the skills taught in the lecture.
However, it was not a three-way battle.
It literally affected everything Seo-joon did.
Not only the footsteps, but also the sense of destructive power of the spear wielded.
It felt like the level itself had really risen, rather than all of those things.
What's even more surprising is that only the Danjeon (丹田) is open.
Seo-joon couldn't even imagine what would happen if he filled up the mana afterwards.
“Really... I must earn money diligently.”
Spaaaaaa!
At that moment, a bright light burst in front of Seo-jun's eyes.
After a while, something like a purple crystal came into view.
That seems to be the magic crystal needed to summon the boss monster in the 3rd dungeon.
Seo-joon picked up the magic crystal and went out of the dungeon.
Whoops!
What I saw with the reversing view was the scenery just before.
And the altar was empty, as if Seoyoon hadn't come out yet.
Seo-joon quickly approached the altar.
It was because the clearing time was measured only when magic crystals were inserted into the altar.
That's when I was about to insert the magic crystal into the altar.
Beep.
< Hunter Mill Academy >
[Boss attack time: 12 minutes and 1 second.]
A notification came to mind that the boss of the 3rd dungeon had been dealt with at the Hunter Mill.
It was the Hunter Mill that I entered first due to a problem with the dungeon implementation, but it seemed that I had finished defeating the boss in the meantime.
“By the way, was the clear time notified in real time?”
Anyway, the time Hunter Mill took care of the 9-star monster Basilisk was 12 minutes.
Even if there was a former S-class hunter, it was quite fast.
It was also because the basilisk was not summoned right in front of your eyes, but rather randomly summoned in this wide dungeon, so you had to find it yourself.
< Huntermill Academy >
[1 dungeon clear time: 35 minutes 14 seconds.]
[2 dungeon clear time: 11 minutes 38 seconds.]
.
.
[Last combined record: 58 minutes 53 seconds.]
Subsequently, the final record of the Hunter Mill was added up and announced.
And the difference between the records of the 1st dungeon and the 2nd dungeon was stark.
However, considering that the 1st dungeon was a student raid and the 2nd dungeon was raided by the academy representative, it was a natural result.
Above all, the record of 35 minutes at the Hunter Mill, where Lee Ha-yoon did not participate, was a very surprising record.
“Roughly... I think I earned about 30 minutes.”
You'll have to insert a magic crystal to know for sure, but Seo-joon's clearing time was roughly 5 minutes.
That means it took more than 30 minutes.
In addition, considering the effectiveness of the three-way battle that I experienced myself, it seemed that five minutes would be sufficient for the boss attack.
In fact, winning was not a problem at all.
Seo-joon placed the magic crystal on the altar... “Wait.”
One thought came to my mind then.
Seojun raised his gaze again and looked at the notice that came to mind.
< Huntermill Academy >
[Dungeon 1 clear time: 35 minutes 14 seconds.]
[Dungeon 2 clear time: 11 minutes 38 seconds.]
And this is the first thought that came to my mind while reading this notice.
‘The difference between Dungeon 1 and Dungeon 2 was stark.'
However, knowing that the person who entered the 2nd dungeon was the academy representative, he nodded right away.
Because it was only natural that the academy representative was superior to the students.
No, because I had to.
however.
Seoyoon didn't.
With Seoyoon's skill, the expected clearing time was around 30 minutes.
No matter how fast, it could have been shortened by five minutes.
If Seo-joon inserted the magic crystal as it is, the following situation could have been created.
< Dream Academy >
[Dungeon 1 clearing time: 5 minutes 26 seconds.]
[Dungeon 2 clearing time: 30 minutes 18 seconds.]
Of course, even in this case, there was no obstacle to winning.
But...
can this really be true?
That said, it wasn't without problems if he plugged the magic crystal into Seoyoon's tempo.
< Dream Academy >
[Time to clear 1 dungeon: 30 minutes 26 seconds.]
[Time to clear 2 dungeons: 30 minutes 18 seconds.]
The match is over before even clearing the boss.
In a word, it means missing out on winning.
In addition, 30 minutes was just Seo-jun's expectation, and Seo-yoon might not be able to come out in it.
I'm thinking about it now, but the difficulty of the 2nd dungeon is an 8-star dungeon.
Even though it was a dungeon implemented with sorcery, maybe...
Seoyoon could have failed the raid.
“......”
Only then did Seo-joon understand the true intentions of the second match.
They weren't aiming for Seo-joon from the beginning.
“......shit.”
The second game itself was a trap.
To be honest, I had a feeling that there might be some scheme.
However, I thought that it would be enough to break through with my own skills in the end.
So, he only focused on opening Samdanjeon (三丹田), but
it was clearly Seo-jun's mistake.
I was blinded by money and couldn't judge the situation properly.
‘Don't mind me. As the director, I have never been able to help Seo-jun, but I have to help at least once. And...'
‘It's nothing like those people's eyes.'
Beep.
< Gaon Academy >
[Boss attack time: 12 minutes 24 seconds.]
< Gaon Academy >
[Dungeon 1 clear time: 36 minutes 1 second.]
[Dungeon 2 clear time: 11 minutes 18 seconds.]
[Final combined record: 59 minutes 43 seconds.]
.
.
Beep.
< Ale Academy >
[Boss attack time: 13 minutes 2 seconds.]
< Ale Academy >
[Dungeon 1 clear time: 33 minutes 52 seconds.]
[Dungeon 2 clear time: 13 minutes 3 seconds.]
[Final combined record: 59 minutes 57 seconds.]
.
.
Even at this moment, clear notices from the other three academies began to surface one after another.
In the end, Seo-joon had two options.
Did Seoyoon win the championship, ignoring the people's eyes?
Or did you give up the prize money along with winning?
There was no other way... It was a single pass.
Seojun gently turned his head.
And the place where Seojun's sight reached.
Ugh...
The gate to the second dungeon where Seoyoon entered was still shaking.
#
Seoyoon was struggling in the battle with Salamander.
Roaring!!
The difficulty of the 2nd dungeon is an 8-star dungeon.
Among them, it was a dungeon where the Salamander, an 8-star monster, appeared.
Salamander is a monster commonly known as a fire spirit, and was a huge lizard whose entire body was covered in flames.
Like the word fire spirits, those with elemental properties were monsters that couldn't even be hit with tolerable physical strength.
In addition, even if it could strike, it was difficult to approach due to the scorching heat generated throughout the body.
Therefore, the strategy was to deal with Salamander with the help of a wizard.
However, Seoyoon was currently unable to receive help from such a wizard.
Roaring!
“Keugh...!”
Seoyoon raised her sword at the salamander's heat that swept over her face.
Then, he stabbed his sword at the running Salamander.
“Aagh!”
The blazing flames attacked Seoyoon's body.
Seoyoon thrust her sword into Salamander's body in pain
as her skin ripened.
But the pain was real.
“Kereuuk...!”
When the sword was stabbed enough to make his wrist tingle, the Salamander twisted his body in a fit of fuss.
The heat grew stronger, but Seoyoon steadfastly endured it.
Seoyoon continued to stab her sword like a stickler.
cooong.
In the end, Seoyoon's sword could not stand it, and Salamander fell first.
“Haha...!”
But Seoyoon also had to give up a lot.
Salamander collapsed, but Seoyoon couldn't come to his senses from the burning pain all over his body.
I wanted to collapse right now.
“Kerrureuk!!”
“Kerreuk!”
The situation did not leave Seoyoon alone.
“Keugh...!”
Seoyoon endured the dizzying pain and at the end wrapped her sword again.
must not fall You have to endure it somehow.
‘Only clear... even just clear...!'
Seoyoon thrust her sword at the two Salamanders rushing in.
Roaring!!
“Ugh!!”
Objectively, Seoyoon's talent wasn't that great.
As the granddaughter of one of the heroes of the cataclysm, the sword star, she studied under the sword star and achieved a pro hunter grade of B.
Even an 8-star monster embodied in sorcery was too much for a B-class professional hunter to handle alone.
“Keruk!”
However, Seoyoon continued to swing her sword as if she was desperate.
I wasn't sure exactly how much time had passed. I didn't even know.
However, quite a long time has passed and Seo-joon is waiting for him outside.
I could only vaguely perceive this.
With Seo-jun's skills that Seo-yoon had seen in the meantime, he would have been able to clear the dungeon right away.
So, even if you can't shorten the time, you have to clear it.
As the director of the academy, he had to do that in order not to get in his way.
“Kerrrruk!”
“Keruk!”
Roaring!!
“I thought I didn’t even want to do something like a hunter…”
For some reason, today was the moment when I regretted that choice.
Seoyoon swung her sword like tenacity with a will close to tenacity.
It's been such a long time.
Seoyoon was finally able to insert the sword into the body of the last Salamander.
“Haha...! Haha...!”
Seoyoon's body and mind were already in tatters.
His stamina seemed to be on the floor or he would collapse at any moment.
Spaaaaaaaa!
However, Seoyoon forced herself to stand up against the magic crystals that were being generated in front of her eyes.
Because the second round isn't over yet.
Seoyoon took the magic crystal and headed out of the dungeon.
And every time she took a turbulent step, thoughts flooded Seoyoon's head.
When Seoyoon first met Seojun.
Seoyoon thought it would be enough to just use Seojun.
As a student who looks like a cat, I thought it would be enough to blow the name of Dream Academy.
However, at the risk of being disqualified from the academy competition.
Risking his life to save a competitor in a dungeon sweeping contest.
Watching him challenge the Sword Saint to save Mancheol and Demonic Castle.
At some point, Seoyoon had the idea that she wanted to be with Seojun a little longer.
And at the same time, I was able to realize how ridiculous the idea was.
himself is not
Having no dream or talent to become a hunter, he is just holding on to his ankles.
So the thought must remain only as a thought.
Now that the pro hunter test is not far away.
In fact, after this exchange, his relationship with Seo-joon comes to an end.
It was destiny from the beginning.
It was a relationship that started like that.
As short as the short time, the short relationship has now reached its final destination.
At least in this way, if I could help Seo-joon one last time.
If you can be a stepping stone rather than holding on to your ankle.
That alone was enough, Seoyoon thought.
Uh uh...
So Seoyoon pushed herself out of the dungeon.
And the first thing you see is...
“Phew! The dungeon is really tough...”
As usual, a voice and expression that seemed to have a screw missing somewhere.
That's why I feel a strange warmth.
Seoyoon's footsteps suddenly stopped.