A Veteran Teaches Very Well

part 17

“Split into groups. Do you see the passages in front, behind, and to the sides? If you go to the end, there’s a barrier stone. If you touch it, you can exit the barrier. Of course, it won’t be that simple.”

Someone let out a short, sharp scream.

It was a clear sound, but in the tense atmosphere, it quickly faded away.

Sudden arrival of the practical training caught everyone off guard, but amidst the confusion, there was someone who maintained their composure.

“Do we send them off if we wake up first?”

The owner of the voice was Song Seok-hwan.

His voice, imbued with ease, seemed to say that this was nothing to worry about.

“Of course.”

“Wow, don’t scold me for leaving too early.”

“Right! Let’s finish quickly and get out of here.”

“It’s a day when class ends early, isn’t it? What a steal.”

With Seok-hwan’s bravado, the group members found their calm.

The presence of a reassuring leader.

It was like a massive tree that the members could lean against.

“When the lecture time is up, the barrier will collapse on its own, so if you’re not confident, don’t get hurt for no reason and just wait patiently. This isn’t a place so cruel as to chase down a coward who has given up. Now, I will begin the class.”

As soon as Cha Eun-woo finished speaking, the groups gathered together.

Seok-hwan spoke first to his members.

“The one who falls behind will die by my hand. We’ll break through in the shortest time possible.”

It was a fierce statement, but the members nodded in agreement.

An Se-ri eased the tension among the members more gently.

“There’s no need to rush; it’s not like a test. Let’s take it one step at a time… Wait, what are you doing?”

An Se-ri said, looking incredulous.

Seok-hwan’s group pushed past An Se-ri’s group and entered the passage first.

Seok-hwan wore a sly smile.

It was a childish provocation even before the start.

“You guys took what we had already planned to enter first, you know? If you had a problem with it, you should have gone in first.”

“What nonsense… No, forget it.”

An Se-ri clicked her tongue and led her members down another passage.

The strategy of shaking the mental state of the competing group was childish, but it seemed to work.

The other two groups muttered, seemingly displeased.

“Are they just competing among themselves?”

“Our group doesn’t even care, right? Let’s show them what we’re made of.”

“Those guys are going to get a real lesson this time.”

—

The murmurs faded as the other groups entered the corridor.

After all the groups had gone in, Cha Eun-woo stepped out beyond the barrier.

In the empty classroom, only Lee Ye-eun remained, who had just entered.

From now on, it was time for observation.

“Assistant, turn on the camera.”

“Yes!”

A screen appeared on the massive display in the classroom.

The footage from dozens of cameras installed in each of the four corridors filled the screen.

As Lee Ye-eun manipulated the remote, the split screen reduced to four, each showing one group.

Cha Eun-woo nodded and gestured, as if satisfied.

Lee Ye-eun handed him the popcorn she had prepared in advance.

Crunch, crunch.

The sight of him eating popcorn looked like a scene from a photo shoot.

For a moment, Lee Ye-eun was momentarily distracted by that image, barely managing to regain her focus.

With a worried expression, she asked,

“Professor, do you think any group will clear this? It seems too difficult…”

“It shouldn’t be easy. I made it intentionally challenging.”

She looked at him incredulously, but Cha Eun-woo spoke nonchalantly.

“Do you know when a person truly strives? It’s when they face a massive wall. No matter how strong-willed someone is, they can’t give their all without a stimulus.”

“But Professor, what if the kids give up?”

“Then that’s the end.”

Indeed.

What Cha Eun-woo needed wasn’t a mediocre majority.

If he could save the phoenix, he didn’t care what happened to the chickens.

“I just hope they don’t get too hurt.”

* * *

In the distant past, humanity’s first dungeon raid was a legendary event that is still recounted today.

Initially, in the United States, they declared that they would stuff all sorts of bombs into the gate and blow up the dungeon and its monsters.

Using such weapons in the city would harm the citizens, but within the dungeon, there were no restrictions on using modern weaponry.

It was a plausible attempt.

But it remained the most absurd failure in the history of humankind.

The lesson that the first dungeon raid taught humanity was that firearms and electronic devices could not be used within dungeons.

Countless speculations arose, but the reason remained undisclosed.

This was because all the instruments meant to analyze the dungeon were rendered useless.

An environment that seemed to deny everything humanity had built up until then.

That place was a dungeon.

“Light!”

As Seo Da-yoon called out the activation word in a clear voice, the cave brightened.

Before them lay a steep uphill path.

The red-haired warrior, Nam Hye-joo, stepped forward without hesitation.

“I’ll take the lead! The weaklings can follow my back!”

“Wait, if you rush in like that…”

An Se-ri tried to stop her, but it was already too late.

Nam Hye-joo was filled with the thought of showing off a magnificent display to her teammates.

Squish—

“Uh, uh? What’s going on?”

The moment Nam Hye-joo took a step, she realized something was off.

It felt as if her foot had sunk deep into a swamp.

She struggled to pull herself out, but instead, she sank even deeper.

Flustered, Nam Hye-joo moved her body frantically.

“Damn it! Why is this happening?”

“Calm down! Relax your body and don’t move!”

Only after An Se-ri shouted did Nam Hye-joo’s movements cease.

At that moment, her body stopped being pulled further into the swamp.

With a firm grip, An Se-ri managed to pull her out just in time.

“Wow, that was scary. Thanks.”

Nam Hye-joo smiled nonchalantly as if nothing had happened.

Seo Da-yoon spoke with concern.

“How do we get past this?”

“Right? We didn’t cover anything like this in the lectures.”

Everyone watched the uphill path with serious expressions.

It was physically impossible for the uphill to be a swamp. But if magic was at play, it wasn’t entirely out of the question.

The only hint given to pass through here was the content of today’s lecture, but I had never heard of anything like this.

In the end, the gaze of the group turned to Anseri.

“Seri, what should we do?”

“Um… I can’t think of anything right away. If it’s a swamp, wouldn’t it be better to crawl up?”

If we crawled, the area of contact with the swamp would be the largest, so we wouldn’t sink too deep.

Crawling up the sloped path didn’t seem easy, but with superhuman strength, it was certainly possible.

The golden sun spear master, Gamiseong, offered an opinion.

“Then let’s go one by one. Since something might happen while we’re climbing, the leader should cover us from the back.”

“Sounds good.”

As Anseri gave her approval, Nam Hyeju stepped forward.

“Then I’ll go first!”

When Anseri nodded, Nam Hyeju began to crawl up.

Gamiseong admired her swift movements.

“Oh, she’s fast.”

“It would be great if she could get up without any trouble.”

“Oh, oh! Lord!”

Suddenly, Abraham raised his arms high and shouted.

“Brothers and sisters! The Lord has spoken to me! Rejoice!”

“Spoken?”

“Yes! He said a disaster will soon be upon us! Ah, what a kind one. To deliver a message for our sake, today is truly a joyous day!”

“I don’t know what it means, but that’s good!”

Seeing Abraham rejoice, Seo Dayun smiled along with him.

Abraham was about to bow down to the ground.

Gamiseong, bewildered, asked.

“A disaster? That’s a bad thing! Why are you so happy?”

“Oh, right? Isn’t this a big deal?”

“We are joyful simply because the Lord cares for us, His little lambs. This grace…”

Dudududud─

As Nam Hye-joo climbed halfway up the slope, the cave suddenly began to shake.

The entire group realized that this was the disaster Abraham had spoken of.

An Se-ri shouted urgently.

“So what’s happening?”

“How can a humble human fathom the Lord’s will?”

“Just say you don’t know!”

“Damn it!”

Moments later, a round shape appeared at the top of the slope.

It was a massive boulder.

Multiple rocks began to tumble down.

Nam Hye-joo, who was crawling up the slope, screamed.

“Shit! What is that? H-help, someone!”

It was a life-or-death situation where staying still would mean being crushed by the rocks, and standing up would lead to being trapped in the swamp.

As the boulder approached, Nam Hye-joo squeezed her eyes shut.

Just when she thought it was over, An Se-ri stepped forward.

Whoosh—!

She quickly drew her bow and intercepted the boulder.

Though the arrow had little mana due to the hasty shot, the boulder wasn’t particularly strong and shattered easily.

After plucking the bowstring a few more times, all the incoming rocks were destroyed.

“I’ll cover you from behind, so keep climbing!”

“Okay!”

Debris from the rocks flew, but it was bearable enough to keep going.

The slope felt a bit steeper than before, but it wasn’t a major issue yet.

That thought lasted only a moment.

Once again, the hill began to transform chaotically.

This time, a strange sound echoed.

─Uhurukkuruhuh!

“Uh, uh-oh?”

The slope began to shake violently as if an earthquake had struck.

Nam Hye-joo tried to hold on as best as she could, but as she swayed up and down, she ultimately tumbled down the hill.

“Ugh…”

Nam Hye-joo glared at the uphill path with a frustrated expression.

It was pathetic to feel powerless against something as trivial as a dungeon.

If it had been Ahn Se-ri, she would have been able to endure and reach the top…

“Good job. Once you get about halfway up, rocks will fall, and when you reach about seventy percent, the ground will shake… I’ve gathered some information. Even if I don’t intercept the rocks, it seems like those who go up first can handle them.”

“What about the shaking ground?”

“That swamp is probably a trap created by magic… Dayun, do you think you can dispel it?”

As the group’s gazes turned toward her, Seo Dayun jumped in surprise.

After a moment of contemplation, she shook her head with a look of uncertainty.

“I think it’ll be tough… I tried to intervene when it was shaking earlier, but I couldn’t feel any mana at all… I’m sorry. I guess my level is just too low.”

“Sister, don’t be too disheartened.”

“Yeah! Cheer up!”

Ahn Se-ri briefly considered the intentions of the person who created this dungeon, the professor.

Did they create a trap that couldn’t be broken at all?

That couldn’t be true.

There was no way they would impart such a ridiculous lesson in a class teaching dungeon攻略 methods, saying, “If your specs are lacking, you can’t break the dungeon.”

That meant Seo Dayun’s skills couldn’t possibly be the reason for their lack of success.

It had been designed from the start so that a mage couldn’t dispel it.

“No. We’re going into the swamp from now on. There’s definitely a medium inside.”

Medium.

It referred to a tool that transmits magic.

The barrier stone that maintains this barrier is also a type of medium. The magic that manifests through a medium can only be dispelled by breaking the medium itself.

“But… isn’t it dangerous?”

“Right! We don’t even know what’s inside.”

“Sister, even the Lord says that the inside feels ominous.”

“…Do we really have to go in?”

“Yeah. We have to.”

The group recoiled at the ominous atmosphere of the unknown space.

But Ahn Se-ri was resolute.

The inside of the swamp was the key to escaping the dungeon.

No one opposed her, as her confidence was unwavering. Moreover, even if they had objections, there were no viable alternatives.

“Then… this time, Geumtaeyang, you take the lead.”

“What? Why me? And don’t call me Geumtaeyang. It makes me uncomfortable.”

“I just said it earlier. So, should I make you the healer? The archer? The mage?”

“Ugh, come on…”

With no counterarguments left, Gamiseong walked toward the swamp.

She felt a slight fear about just stepping in.

Holding the spear upside down, she poked at the surface, feeling a strange sensation as if she were tapping pudding with a spoon.

Nam Hyeju, watching her with a look of disdain, pushed Gamiseong’s back with all her might.

As a result, Gamiseong stumbled and was pulled into the swamp.

“Kyaaah!”

“Come on, let’s go too.”

With the two leading, the rest of the group followed into the swamp.

Inside was a space filled with mana.

There was no issue with breathing, but the resistance was much stronger than outside, making movement difficult.

“Wow, this is no joke.”

“…Something is coming.”

The archer class has the most acute senses among all classes.

To track a target, one must be able to identify the enemy through sound, smell, the flow of air, and by reading mana, even without sight.

The archer class, especially if it was Anseri speaking, could never be ignored.

As the tension among the group reached its peak, the enemies appeared.

“What the hell! What is that?”

“That’s so weird.”

Dozens of spheres adorned with peculiar patterns emerged.

The floating spheres each emitted their own light.

Training dummies.

But they were in a form she had never seen before.

There was no information on how they would engage in combat.

─Uhurukukuruhuu!

The strange sound they had heard earlier echoed again.

Anser’s mind suddenly flickered with a hypothesis.

“It seems those things were the ones shaking the uphill path.”

“Then we have to catch all of them to get up! Let’s go!”

Nam Hye-joo swung her sword at a sphere.

But the strike sliced through the air.

“Uh-oh?”

The sphere, flying at high speed, dodged the attack in an instant.

Not only that, but it immediately counterattacked.

As the sphere struck her abdomen, Nam Hye-joo was sent flying far away.

“Cough!”

Seeing Nam Hye-joo taken down by just one entity, Gam Mi-seong was horrified.

“What the hell, why are those things so strong?”

“No. We’ve become weaker.”

“Huh?”

“Inside this swamp, we can’t move properly due to the resistance. Besides, those things are probably designed to operate in here… it’s too disadvantageous for us.”

Upon hearing Anser’s explanation, everyone’s expressions darkened.

It looked like a fight with no chance of victory.

Creak—

The spheres began to move, each shining brightly.

There were dozens of them.

What followed was a one-sided beating.

“Damn it! Ugh, ahh!”

“Ahhh!”

Gam Mi-seong tried to maneuver with her spear, but she was only ravaged by the spheres that struck and retreated in an instant.

Nam Hye-joo was similarly surrounded by a number of spheres.

For Seo Da-yoon and Abraham, who had no hand-to-hand combat skills, only one sphere clung to each of them. Still, it was enough to torment the two as they ran around.

“Damn it!”

All the remaining spheres attached themselves to Anser.

Anser muttered curses under her breath.

What the hell, how do they know us so well and split up appropriately?

Pang—!

In my frustrated heart, I pulled back the bowstring, but it didn’t easily fall.

The arrow, so slow it was hard to believe it was shot by Anseri, barely grazed the tip of the rapidly flying sphere.

In my frustration, I swung the bow at the approaching threats.

Kwang!

I put up a much more resistant fight compared to the other members, but in the end, I couldn’t withstand the sheer numbers and got hit.

Biting down hard on my molars in indignation, I realized there was no way to turn the tide right now.

Reluctantly, Anseri gave the order.