Episode 20
Gaon’s Grade 1 ranking. The strongest first grader that everyone speaks in unison. Adela Ortensia.
She was standing in one of the dungeons not far from Academy City.
[Sulfuric Acid Cave]
Like the name of the cave, the monsters that appear here are fire-attribute monsters with a level 3 difficulty level. But now, all that remained in the cave of Chloride Mountain was cold ice.
“…clear.”
Adela’s emotionless voice echoed through the cave. The colleagues who participated in the raid together looked at the covered ice and made a surprised expression.
“As expected, Adela…” Lee
Chae-hyeon, who cut her short hair to a ruler from the same class S as one of her colleagues.
“We didn’t really do anything. Can I take the commission fee?”
And the man who was smiling shyly was Min Seong-hyeok, who was also from S class. Adela made no reply. Adela possessed the characteristic ice-cold and blunt emotions.
But at the academy, there was someone who caught Adela’s attention.
‘…Eventually, that man took part in the contest.’
[Academy Dungeon Attack Contest]
Hosted by the association, a contest where the best geniuses from all over the world gather. Among them, the list of students participating in Gaon has always been a hot topic.
As planned, Adela and Kim Eun-ah will be competing at Gaon. Nonetheless, Jin Byeong-cheol, the principal, chose Shin Yoo-seong.
‘…Shin Yuseong. Did you think he had a better chance?’
Adela slowly closed her eyes.
‘I’ll have to check it myself.’
Let her beautiful, long eyelashes settle down. All the ice around it shattered.
jump! Great! Kwajangchang!
The monsters, who had been frozen like statues, were reduced to shapeless powder, and Adela walked out of the frozen cave of Chloride Mountain behind her.
“Wow…”
“Looking at Adela, the same S class is on a different level?”
While Min Sung-hyuk and Lee Chae-hyun were cleaning up with admiring expressions on their faces, Adela took out a square hot pack from her band-shaped pocket.
rubbish.
Apply mana to the military heat pack and rub your hands. The hot pack quickly radiated warmth and became hot.
Adela calmly warms her hands with a hot pack. Although the attribute was the ability to manipulate ice. Adela is from Florence, which is famous for its heat in Italy. Perhaps because of that, Adela hated the cold.
rubbish.
‘…warm.’
Adela, still expressionless, grabbed the hot pack and warmed her hands.
* * *
Lunchtime at Gaon Academy.
Yooseong Shin sits on a bench overlooking the lake. I was checking the data Yuchan Kang had made public.
[Dungeon 4]
[Name: Cemetery of Despair]
[Difficulty: Best]
[Reward: Black Dragon Cannon (Artifact)]
[Type of monsters…]
What was written in the data was brief information, but what the king wanted from Shin Yoo-seong was clear. did. To collect artifacts in preparation for attacking the tower later.
‘…Black Dragon Cannon.’
Among them, the black dragon cannon was an artifact that had a deep relationship with King Kwon.
‘Artifacts obtained by Master when he attacked the 30th floor.’
It was King Kwon who obtained the Black Dragon Cannon as a reward from the tower, and the power contained in the Black Dragon Cannon suited Kwon Wang, who was a martial artist, very well.
‘I don’t need it for Master, who is out of active duty now.’
For Shin Yoo-seong, who learned the technique as a disciple of King Gwon, the Black Dragon Cannon was an invaluable artifact.
‘… Instead, at least three people are required for the attack.’
Excluding the party leader, at least two people were required. Yooseong Shin looked at the grass next to the bench. Sumire and Lee Siu were sitting on a mat and enjoying an untimely picnic.
“and! You made this?”
“Rice is no big deal! It’s just… anyone can do… simple things.”
Although Sumire is now number 7, she has no worries about school fees. Previously, because of the excessively luxurious meals provided by Gaon, the cost of meals was a burden, so I had to bring a packed lunch.
Perhaps because of that, or because of her experience taking care of her younger siblings in Japan, Sumire excelled at cooking.
sneak
Sumire glanced sideways for a while. With skillful chopsticks, I picked up a piece of fried chicken.
“Hey there… Shin Yoo-seong, would you like to try one? Karaage tastes better than it looks…”
“No, it’s okay.”
However, Shin Yoo-seong cut off Sumire’s favor like a knife. Sumire’s shoulders looked more droopy than usual. Shin Yuseong asked Sumire, recalling the dungeon of despair he had seen in the materials.
“Sumire. Could you elaborate on your characteristics? All skills.”
Let Shin Yuseong ask a question. Sumire’s face turned red as if it had never happened.
“yes? yes I… it’s not a big deal… but if you’re curious about Shin Yoo-seong…”
The name of Sumire’s characteristic is [Dead Manager].
Of course, the grade was F. However, the reason for the low rating seemed to be a problem of versatility.
Perhaps because of that, Sumire’s skills were severely restricted.
[Skull Summoning]
A skill that uses a part of the body such as hair or nails to contract and summon a skeleton.
[Familiar]
A skill that allows you to summon familiars and control small animals.
[Call of the Dead]
And the last one was the Call of the Dead skill that allows you to control undead monsters with your own mana.
Outwardly, it was effective, but it was a skill that the academy had never used before, as students rarely had to deal with undead monsters.
However, Shin Yoo-seong discovered the possibility of Sumire by recalling the monsters in the dungeon that were written in the information.
‘…As expected, the grade isn’t everything.’
Characteristics depend on how you use them.
“I will continue to ask you well. Sumire.”
Let’s look at Shin Yuseong with a smile. Sumire nodded instead of answering with a red face.
* * *
[Grade 1-Class D]
The students of Class D were having a meeting in preparation for the class competition. Of course, the student with the strongest voice among them was the student with the top grade, and Joo Ha-jin was included in the three.
“Hey, look at this. Class A also lost to him in Dalian, Yuseong Shin. No wonder I lose.”
Let Joo Ha-jin step forward with a triumphant appearance. The girl from class D next to me raised her glasses and frowned as if she was annoyed.
“So… what do you want to say? Can you give me a compliment?”
Her name is So Ha Won. The 20th place with the highest grade ranking in Class D. He was the class president of Class D.
Joo Ha-jin slams So Ha-won’s words! He hit the desk and got up from his seat.
“No, it’s like saying shit…”
“Stop. Let’s calm down. Hajin-ah.”
Then Kang Min-soo, who was next to him, stopped Joo Ha-jin with a narrow-eyed smile. Contrary to his tone, Kang Min-soo was holding on to Joo Ha-jin’s shoulder with firm grip.
Joo Ha-jin glared at So Ha-won and sat down as if there was nothing he could do about it.
A student in Class D.
In particular, all students with grades capable of extracurricular activities were in a sensitive state.
So Ha-won, the class president, said coldly as she looked around at the students in class D.
“You know what happens when you come last in a class competition, right?”
After-school classes to improve skills.
A ban on going out during the weekend to encourage competition. Although there were various penalties for various reasons in Gaon, which is based on skill supremacy. Among them, the most fatal penalty was separate.
No extracurricular activities for 1 month.
“Me and Kang Min-soo have a request that we have for next week. If class D loses to class F and finishes last…”
Let So Ha-won sigh as he continued. Kang Min-soo opened his mouth.
“I will have to cancel. Not to mention asking for commission fees. Well, the credit rating we put on the Hunter Association… Haha, it will be cut a lot.”
“…Are you laughing now?”
Even when So Ha-Won appeared harsh, Kang Min-Soo did not lose his relaxed smile.
“calm down. Ha Won. Have you forgotten why Class F was last in class competition up until now?”
Jin Min-ah and Seong Ik-hyeon came forward at those words.
Both were students who were helped by Shin Yoo-seong when they were in danger surrounded by salamanders on Jewel Island.
Jin Min-ah began to persuade So Ha-won, the class president.
“There are 30 students in a class. We have to use that number. So, give me the control.”
“that’s right. I also think that Mina should receive the remaining operation control.”
A total of three people can have operational rights in the anti-war battle. In class D, So Ha-won and Kang Min-soo were fixed, and there was only one seat left.
“Can you do well?”
When class president So Ha-won asked, Jin Min-ah nodded.
“Uh, Ikhyun will help you.”
However, Joo Ha-jin had a bad expression alone in the atmosphere where everyone was in favor.
“Hey… class president. What are you talking about?”
Sigh.
Joo Ha-jin pushed the desk again and stood up. I gnashed my teeth while watching So Ha-won.
“In terms of grades, of course I’m in the last place!”
So Ha-won laughed at Joo Ha-jin.
“Poop. Who is it? The one who makes the choice is me, the class president.”
“You…”
Joo Ha-jin clenched his fists. So Ha-Won didn’t even look at Jin-Min-Ah and twisted her hair with her index finger.
“congratulations. Mina Jin. I’ll give you the operation rights. A strategy using the numbers you mentioned? What to look forward to.”
“thank you! Class monitor!”
Excited Jin Min-ah and Seong Ik-hyeon let out a high-five. Joo Ha-jin roughly got up from his seat and left the classroom.
The students in class D notice each other at Ha-jin Joo’s unexpected behavior. So Ha-won took off her glasses and waved her other hand.
“Leave it. I will tell you that.”
* * *
After nearly three hours of training in the training room, Joo Ha-jin returned to his dormitory.
“Are you going to give the operation rights to Jin Min-ah, who has a much lower grade ranking than me?”
Joo Ha-jin muttered with an angry face as if his anger was not going away. Joo Ha-jin didn’t covet the operational rights, but he didn’t like the fact that he chose Jin Min-ah over himself.
“So Ha-won. I will one day break the bridge of my nose…”
Joo Ha-jin, who was about to climb the stairs, checked the white envelope in the mailbox.
[Building B, Room 102]
It was clear that the letter was addressed to him.
“Ttk old, someone wrote a letter…”
Joo Ha-jin grumbled and opened the envelope.
“Seriously, this is…”
The letter contained a simple word, “Eat if you want to be strong,” and a pill.
Joo Ha-jin saw the pill and swallowed with a nervous face.
The envelope and the pills contained in it were ability stimulants used by active duty soldiers.
‘Who is this?’
Joo Ha-jin looked around and questioned. The entrance to the academy was heavily guarded, but the dormitory was a space where privacy was strictly guaranteed.
At that time, Joo Ha-jin opened the folded letter. As if it was expected, there were additional words written at the bottom of the letter.
[Don’t you want to beat Shin Yoo-seong?]
Cuckoo!
Joo Ha-jin crumpled the letter and frowned.
“What kind of bastard…”
The ability stimulant was one of the Hunter items that were difficult for students to obtain without permission from the Association. Joo Ha-jin did not readily guess the culprit who sent the stimulants to him.
If it’s short, it’s a short time of 3 seconds.
Joo Ha-jin started thinking in his head. Ability stimulants are hunter items that are difficult for students to find.
‘…Coming to think of it, it’s not a violation of school rules, right?’
Of course, I had no intention of using it that way. The reason hunters were reluctant to use stimulants was because of the possibility of [runaway].
Hunters were likely to be eaten by that power if they exercised abilities they were not prepared for.
But for Joo Ha-jin now, that power was desperate.
gulp.
Joo Ha-jin swallowed, looked around and put the pill in his pocket.
‘In case you don’t know… Let’s take care of it for now.’
Joo Ha-jin climbed the stairs as if nothing had happened.
