A Veteran Teaches Very Well

part 71

The vanguard.

It played a critical role in determining the success or failure of the raid, yet it was the least rewarding position.

When an unknown dungeon appeared, it was customary for the vanguard to gather information before the full-scale assault began.

Naturally, it was an extremely dangerous role.

Entering a dungeon with no information was hardly an easy task.

Thus, it was a role everyone was reluctant to take on.

“Isn’t it standard to evenly draft personnel for the vanguard from each guild? This is clearly an unequal composition favoring the Unicorns.”

Christian replied.

“We divided roles based on ability. Splitting personnel by faction would be far less efficient. Wouldn’t it be better to group guilds that work well together?”

“This is an act that disproportionately harms a specific guild.”

John Dickel sneered.

“Commander Ederlyn is more selfish than she appears.”

“Excuse me?”

“With the crisis facing humanity, to worry only about your own interests? It’s disappointing to see someone who should be a pillar of the raid act this way.”

“Ha…”

Edeline was at a loss for words.

In a verbal battle, the most challenging opponent is one devoid of logic.

Edeline was a person with a strong sense of heroism.

With the joint task of conquering an S-rank dungeon ahead, she wouldn’t want to spoil the atmosphere from the start.

In the end, she kept her mouth shut.

“The composition of the advance team is as follows…”

“Rather than that…”

“I’ve heard Roberto has been looking quite impressive lately…”

What remained was a third-rate play.

They divided the prime spots for dungeon exploration according to their closeness to the Hero Association.

The heroes gathered from overseas grumbled.

However, since the most arduous advance team was led by Edeline from America, they couldn’t protest too strongly.

“Everyone, please confirm the final proposal.”

When gathered together, it was even more ridiculous.

The actions of heroes who protect humanity were less dignified than those of street thugs.

Jo Sung-woong clicked his tongue.

“Tsk, the Americans have really fallen low. At this rate, isn’t Professor Cha just going to end up as a cold dish?”

“Somehow, we have to squeeze in.”

“Oh, did Professor Cha also have the desire to achieve something?”

Desire?

If that were the reason, it would have been easier on my heart.

Looking at the situation, if I just sat back, it seemed we wouldn’t just return to America in the shortest time possible, but we might also fail the conquest.

“It’s nothing special. I just want to finish quickly and see the kids’ faces.”

SH is a terrorist group with the power to easily overthrow a small nation.

But the opponent is America.

While a significant number of S-rank heroes from America had gathered here, there were still quite a few S-ranks left on the mainland.

Moreover, all heroes below A-rank were still intact.

With that level of strength, defeating SH shouldn’t be a problem.

Yet, America had failed.

It was a serious situation that required the SS-level dungeon expedition team to be called back to the homeland.

That meant there was something I didn’t know.

It was probably the intervention of the evil god.

Damn those b*stards again.

“I will conclude the first meeting here.”

Chairman Daniel announced the end of the meeting.

We stepped back out onto the deck.

“Professor Jo, what do you think?”

“What is there to say? It’s a mess. Tsk, America is doomed. Heroes should be allies working together, not competing for scraps. This is why politicians shouldn’t interfere with the association.”

Jo Seong-woong’s expression looked bitter.

It was understandable; the strongest nation meant to protect humanity was in such disarray.

“It was different from the meeting I imagined. To think this is what a gathering of world-class heroes looks like…”

My naive disciple picked up on the atmosphere as well.

This meeting was that blatant.

“Professor Cha, what will you do? You’re also seen as one of Edeline’s people. No matter how capable you are, they won’t accept you.”

“If I prove my abilities, that will be enough.”

“Oh dear, you don’t get it. They won’t give you the chance to prove it! Even if you perform well in the strategy simulator, that doesn’t mean it’s perfect. They have more than enough grounds to reject you.”

“There’s no need to propose tactics.”

“Huh? Are you suggesting we go out and fight?”

The evil god.

Since they had intervened, this dungeon needed to be cleared as quickly as possible.

It wasn’t the time to be picky about means and methods.

“Professor Jo, please grant me permission to use one of the laboratories on the aircraft carrier.”

“Huh? What for?”

“You’ll see. Yeo-eun, you get ready too.”

“Ready for what?”

“Right. Let’s have some fun together.”

Chapter 5. The Sleeping Dragon

─Access approved.

Inside a research lab on an aircraft carrier.

Everyone was focused on the dungeon raid, leaving the lab empty.

True to its operation by the American Hero Association, it was filled with rare materials.

“Excellent.”

Lee Ye-eun asked me.

“Professor, why are we in the lab?”

“I’m trying to create something that might help with this dungeon raid.”

“Pardon?”

Lee Ye-eun.

She is a genius.

In the game, there are countless NPCs that assist players.

As combatants, they may not provide much help, but in their role as supporters, they excel.

If I were to recruit her as an assistant, she would yield countless research results that would make the game much easier to navigate.

I planned to borrow one of those results.

“Ye-eun, I’ll start a brief lecture.”

“Sure!”

“Did you know that the expedition to the Lair of the Abyssal Dragon lasted a whole month?”

“Yes. I’ve heard that defeating the monsters that emerge from the dungeon is a significant headache.”

That’s right.

When a gate appears, the biggest problem is that the monsters inside come out and attack civilians.

The longer the gate remains open, the more monsters emerge from within.

Moreover, at some point, the monsters inside begin to breed, increasing their numbers and making the situation even more troublesome, so it was crucial to complete the dungeon raid in the shortest time possible.

“Why do you think the Lair of the Abyssal Dragon dungeon took particularly long to conquer?”

“Um… because the dungeon is so complex and consists of many stages?”

Sending a vanguard to gather information about the dungeon was of such importance that no amount of emphasis could be too much.

In the Lair of the Abyssal Dragon dungeon, they spent a full two weeks just investigating inside.

“Exactly. That’s the problem. Since that vast amount of information is conveyed solely through human speech, it gets distorted and miscommunicated in the process. That’s why we had to abandon the expedition several times and send the vanguard again.”

It’s common knowledge that electronic devices cannot be used inside the dungeon.

So, nothing could be used, including cameras.

A vast amount of information about the dungeon.

—

It had to be conveyed solely through words and writing, so the advance team must have been driven to madness.

One of the reasons players find themselves in a cheating position appeared here as well.

Typically, tasks that couldn’t be cleared with those specs were easily overcome after consulting a strategy guide, making them fundamentally different from NPC heroes.

“You can’t leave videos inside the dungeon, so it can’t be helped.”

“Then let me ask you a question. How much faster do you think the strategy speed would be if that were possible?”

“Excuse me?”

Lee Ye-eun made a face of disbelief.

“If that were possible, who would have struggled until now? Everyone is doing this because it’s not possible.”

Originally, it wasn’t possible.

But then, a certain genius made it possible.

“It’s not that it can’t be done. It’s just that the method hasn’t been found.”

In the future, magic that can capture videos inside dungeons will be developed.

From that point on, players will unlock the ability to send NPCs as advance scouts to gather information.

It was a feature that became useless after seeing the ending once, but it was quite useful during the first playthrough.

“Do you know why the research has failed all this time?”

“…Well, I’m not sure?”

“The basic principle of a camera is to capture light reflected from objects onto film. The wizards also approached it in a similar way, and that’s the reason for their failure.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. They misunderstood it to mean that all human-made artifacts couldn’t be used inside the dungeon. The approach itself was wrong.”

Lee Ye-eun nodded.

But the fundamental question still hadn’t been resolved.

“I understand why it can’t be done. But that doesn’t mean there’s a sharp solution, right?”

It was a valid question.

I didn’t know the specific method either.

But there was an idea that came to mind.

The talent to view the game’s setting book, the teachings of Sethhet.

With just this, I could understand.

Zing—

My consciousness skimmed through the sea of information. It’s an unsettling sensation, no matter when you feel it.

Still, I found it without much difficulty.

“Let’s read the memories that Mana holds.”

Lee Ye-eun asked back.

“Mana’s… memories?”

“Yes. Mana’s memories. Mana knows everything. If you ask Mana kindly, she will tell you what she knows.”

Using Sethhet’s teachings, a brief aftereffect left my mind momentarily hazy.

So, words spilled out of my mouth uncontrollably.

And I regretted it.

Damn. What the hell is this nonsense?

Mana’s memories? It’s not even a spirit, what do you mean by asking kindly?

In the first place, there was no concept of spirits in this game.

It was a trash-like effect classified as a talent in the game.

Was it a metaphor for something?

Anyway, it meant that if I couldn’t interpret it, it was utterly useless.

“Professor…”

Lee Ye-eun looked at me with a complicated expression.

I felt like she would scorn me for making such a middle schooler’s delusion statement, being a professor and all.

If there were a mouse hole, I would want to hide in it.

“So that’s how it is! Ah! How did you come up with such an idea?”

Oh.

Surprisingly, Lee Ye-eun’s expression was bright.

She began to chatter excitedly.

“Mana… Yes, Mana! Why didn’t anyone think of this? Just like investigating land and seawater, Mana is also a substance that contains information!”

I had no idea what that meant, but for now, I just nodded along.

“Right. As expected of my prized student. You understood my words perfectly.”

“I think we can do this! Professor, let’s work hard together!”

I see.

Since it was the magic that Lee Ye-eun created, it made sense that she would understand it.

I had only thought of her as a teaching assistant in her youth, but now it felt like I had gained an army of a thousand.

Our research progressed very smoothly.

“How about this for the magic formula?”

“Let’s fill this in with this.”

“I think this side would suit an alt style better.”

The idea came from the future Lee Ye-eun.

The research was also led by Lee Ye-eun.

I sat beside her, looking through the settings book, sharing one piece of advice at a time that the future Lee Ye-eun had left behind.

As expected, it was my greatest talent, reminiscent of Sethhet’s teachings. I couldn’t understand which fool had framed this as garbage.

…In truth, it wasn’t our research; it was all done by Lee Ye-eun alone.

“It’s done! It’s complete!”

“Good job.”

The research wrapped up in half a day.

The issue was the concept; the actual development of the magic was simple.

Of course, from Lee Ye-eun’s perspective.

“Will this magic work well?”

“Of course.”

The magic was perfect.

The proof was in my skill window.

───────────────

＜Skills＞

▼ Magic Missile

: Offensive magic. It manifests a mass of mana and launches it.

.

.

.

▼ Memory of Mana

: Support magic. It allows you to read and glimpse the memories of mana.

PT Held: 1,500

───────────────

The appearance of skills in the window meant it had been recognized as formal magic.

Naturally, the magic would activate just fine.

Moreover, there was one more thing.

───────────────

Achievements of Legendary Status.

─Skill Development (1/1)

───────────────

The achievement in the system window also reacted.

Skill Development.

When I taught the fairy tale, it was a hidden achievement, Skill Creation, but this time, perhaps because it was a skill already present in the game, it appeared as a legendary achievement, Skill Development.

However, the impact of the magic I created this time would be far greater than that of the fairy tale’s skill.

“Since I’ve made one, let’s make another.”

“Another one?”

“Since we’ve attached a camera, wouldn’t it be nice to have a microphone too?”

“Sounds good!”

Although the first round of research had concluded, Lee Ye-eun’s enthusiasm showed no signs of waning.

In fact, she was even more motivated than before.

This time, I brought the settings book, and Lee Ye-eun interpreted it to create the magic.

I cheered her on diligently from the side.

Originally, research is something the professor assigns while the slave—no, the researcher—executes it.

A truly commendable division of roles.

Lee Ye-eun’s research continued throughout the night.

I sat in a chair, dozing off for a bit. No, I fell into a deep sleep.

And then morning came.

“Hmm… I must have dozed off.”

Just then, Lee Ye-eun called out to me.

“Professor! It’s finally all done!”

“Good job.”

Communication Magic.

Its official name is Whisper of Mana.

The settings book was filled with nonsensical claims about how mana communicates with one another.

Lee Ye-eun looked utterly exhausted, as if she hadn’t slept a wink.

The task of creating was more arduous than the magic of imagery, taking even more time.

“Good job. Let’s see.”

Once again, a new spell appeared in the skill window, and an achievement was unlocked.

The development of communication magic was also successful.

I pretended to casually look over the spells and said,

“This is perfect. As your advisor, I want to give you full marks for this result.”

“Heh, hehehe… really?”

“Of course.”

Thud—

Perhaps feeling relieved, Lee Ye-eun’s legs gave way.

I quickly rushed over to catch her as she collapsed.

I could hear her breath, a soft gasp escaping her lips.

She fell into a deep sleep.

After maintaining focus all night for research, it was no wonder she was exhausted.

“You really worked hard.”

I picked up Lee Ye-eun and carried her to the room, laying her down on the bed and covering her with a blanket.

Now it was time to repay her efforts.

* * *

We arrived at our destination.

In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, we witnessed an unbelievable sight.

Whoosh—

A massive whirlpool, spanning dozens of kilometers, had appeared in the sea.

The whirlpool was devouring everything around it like a predator.

My mouth fell open in shock.

“Whoa.”

“There must be a gate at the center of that whirlpool. This is terrifying.”

The ocean whirlpool, with a diameter of several kilometers, even drew a weak sound from Jo Seong-woong.

Of course, not everyone felt the same way.

The hero of China, Wang Sheng, scoffed.