Chapter 26:

Chapter 26:

Dungeon Practice (3)

Nam Daeun paused at my words, while Lumi and Lee Byunghoon watched me closely.

“So, what’s your plan here? There’s no wind and not much to see on the ground, considering the monsters we encountered on the way.”

To my surprise, Lee Byunghoon seemed to have a good grasp of dungeon exploration strategies.

He knew the basics of navigating cave-like dungeons—the flow of air and the traces left by monsters. Of course, there were more advanced techniques and deeper knowledge to it.

The defining feature of cave-like dungeons was their dense mana concentration. Since they were accessed through portals rather than traditional entrances, it wasn’t uncommon for there to be no breeze due to the enclosed nature of the setting.

But even without wind, mana still flowed, albeit subtly. Most people wouldn’t notice it due to its high density and gentle movement.

However, I was different.

Thanks to my Mana Sensitivity and Vision Enhancement abilities, I could perceive the mana’s subtle motions that filled the space.

“Vision Enhancement.”

Zing—

My eyes shimmered golden, and my pupils dilated as I observed the movement of mana.

“There.”

I raised my index finger, pointing towards the third passage from the left among the ten available.

All the mana flows converged and passed through that pathway. It had to be the right direction.

“What’s with the golden eyes? Sorry, but how can you be so sure about it? Can you at least explain it roughly.”

Lee Byunghoon expressed his doubts about my words.

“...Even if I do, I doubt you’d believe it. Will you just trust me and go along with it?”

“Our grade is on the line here. Can we just take your word for it like that?”

As my field of vision expanded, I noticed Nam Daeun giving me a curious look. It appeared she wouldn’t budge without a proper explanation either.

Lumi, on the other hand, clasped her hands together and blinked rapidly. Her lack of objections indicated she was up for anything I suggested.

“I sensed the mana flow. All the passages’ mana converge and pass through the third one, so I’m confident it’s the right choice. Don’t ask me how I sensed it.”

“Is it even plausible for a freshman to sense mana flow like that?”

Lee Byunghoon still seemed skeptical. But honestly, it didn’t bother me much, because the team leader seemed to have a different opinion.N0v3lTr0ve served as the original host for this chapter's release on N0v3l--B1n.

Whoosh—

Nam Daeun darted towards the third passage without hesitation.

“Huh?”

I grabbed Lumi’s arm and followed Nam Daeun’s lead.

Lee Byunghoon grumbled from behind, “Ah, damn it. I have no clue either,” as he raced along.

And so, with Nam Daeun dealing with the occasional monsters that crossed our path, and me occasionally casting spells to earn points, we ran for about 15 minutes straight.

We arrived at another junction, this time with eight different passages to choose from.

“Fourth one.”

Whoosh!

Pointing the way with my finger, Nam Daeun didn’t slow down and immediately headed towards that path.

“Wait, can we really trust... Ah, whatever. I’ll just follow along. I’ll follow along.”

At this point, we were sprinting through the dungeon to the extent that it was almost becoming mundane.

Of course, the other teams were probably on high alert, prepared for monster encounters, so they wouldn’t have any room to relax. But our bus driver was a monster.

“Lumi.”

“Yes?”

“Put a shield on Nam Daeun too. You should score some points as well.”

“Oh, I didn’t think of that because she was dealing with monsters so quickly. It’s a fundamental basic...”

No matter how influential she might become in the future, at the moment, Lumi was just a student. It was understandable that she would make mistakes during her first practical training. Even as a support mage, if she could simply put up a shield, she would be able to score some points.

While leading the way, I also took the opportunity to use magic and take down a few monsters here and there to collect some points.

Our team is definitely going to do well!

...Or maybe not? It feels like I’ve forgotten something.

Slash—

Nam Daeun effortlessly sliced through a lizard all on her own. The poor creature didn’t even realize it was already dead and continued thrashing around.

Perhaps because I constantly activated Vision Enhancement to navigate, Nam Daeun’s movements appeared even more precise.

The lizard she dealt with was sliced so cleanly, it was as if you could see the cross-section of its body.

Many people believed her ability was instant acceleration. They might consider that extraordinary cutting power as a skill, but both assumptions were incorrect.

Her ability was actually spatial manipulation.

“...I can handle it on my own.”

Nam Daeun furrowed her brows momentarily before uttering those words and then disappeared on her own.

“Ah, she never listens even when I give her proper advice.”

Well, at least her tone was less aggressive.

As a freshman, it’s expected for her teamwork skills to be lacking for now. However, if this pattern continues, it’ll become clear that she has a major issue with collaboration, and her score will suffer.

Sooner or later, Nam Daeun will learn that the hard way. I don’t even want to imagine what it’ll be like.

She’ll regret it. But for now, no matter how much I explain, she probably won’t understand.

***

[Swoosh! Pahng!]

“She’s a freshman? Should we immediately assign her to our guild’s second team?”

“Well, she has already completed a full guild-exclusive contract. They say she even disregarded an offer of three times the contract fee.”

“Tsk. From what I observed, she has some weaknesses. Everyone in the industry knows about the bad reputation of the buyer guild. Why would she just sign an exclusive contract without considering it?”

After the completion of the dungeon practice, the professors were engaged in a conversation in the monitor room, where dozens of screens were broadcasting.

Their attention was focused on a girl leading the charge, with three others following closely behind.

“She didn’t give her team members a chance to participate in the battles?”

“True, she seems completely uninterested in cooperating with her teammates.”

“Nevertheless, her talent is overwhelming. But if she continues like this next time, we’ll have no choice but to deduct points.”

“It’s still her first evaluation, so we should be lenient.”

Among them was Professor Kim Jinhyuk, the homeroom teacher for Class A.

“Indeed, her personality is lacking compared to her skills.”

Kim Jinhyuk moved his finger across the hologram. Next to Nam Daeun’s name, he made a note, “95 points. Her personality should be assessed more critically in the next evaluation.”

[Ah, I don’t care! Just kill them all!]

[Hey, hey! Wait a moment!]

Blam! Blam! Blam!

Kim Jinhyuk shifted his gaze to the next monitor, where magic was erupting loudly. On the screen, Lucy’s footage was playing, showing her effortlessly subduing a multitude of monsters at once.

If you were to describe her fighting style in one sentence, it would be “The best defense is a strong offense.”

It’s a battle strategy straight out of a manga, where she minimized her defense while aiming to defeat her enemies before they could defeat her. You could call it a boyish battle style in a positive sense, or a reckless one in a negative sense.

The monsters couldn’t withstand her magical onslaught and fell before they could even approach her. However, this tactic might not work against higher-level monsters in the future.

Kim Jinhyuk was aware that if Lucy’s style combined with her sister, Lumi, it would create incredible synergy. But assuming they wouldn’t be together 24/7, it wouldn’t be ideal to rely on that assumption.

In the end, Kim Jinhyuk left a note next to Lucy’s name, giving her a score of 83.

“These new freshmen are quite impressive. From the cute twins~ to the skilled fighters like Alice and Nam Daeun, they’re all gems.”

“That’s right. And students like Do Jinhyuk and Lee Hoyeon are also quite good.”

‘Lee Hoyeon...’

Kim Jinhyuk found himself more interested in Lee Hoyeon’s footage than in Alice’s or Nam Daeun’s.

Not only did he seamlessly integrate magic into Nam Daeun’s fast-paced combat, but he could also read the flow of mana and navigate the dungeon perfectly. For a freshman at a student level, it was reasonable to assume that he possessed skills specialized in that area.

In fact, one of the reasons why cave-type dungeons were difficult was due to the accumulating fatigue and stress from navigating through the twists and turns. By eliminating that aspect, Lee Hoyeon made a significant contribution.

Considering that Nam Daeun was in the team where Lee Hoyeon was assigned, and taking into account the lower skill level of the other team members, it could be said that he performed exceptionally well.

Although he didn’t show much in terms of combat prowess, his extraordinary nature was evident.

“Hmm...”

After much consideration, Kim Jinhyuk made a note, scoring Lee Hoyeon 86, three points higher than Lucy. He always had a preference for intelligent students.

“Everything looks good, but his mana capacity is a bit disappointing. It’s too low. His mana circuit is also narrow. I hope he hasn’t just started learning magic in the past month. But his mana manipulation is excellent. Its purity is also very high. He mentioned having a skill, so could it be a skill specialized in that area? I should definitely call him for further assessment... But conducting research requires me to... No, it’s all good, this is all for the sake of humanity...”

Mumbling... Mumbling...

“Hmm?”

Kim Jinhyuk turned his head at the mumbling sound from beside him. There, Professor Im Sol was intensely writing something down while watching Lee Hoyeon’s monitor.

“Professor Im Sol? What are you doing here?”

Given that Im Sol rarely attended such meetings, Kim Jinhyuk grew curious about why she was here and so enthusiastically evaluating Lee Hoyeon.

He also wondered about the truth behind the rumors circulating around the academy that Professor Im Sol had taken an interest in a particular outstanding student.

“Ah, um... It’s nothing!”

However, as soon as their eyes met, she hastily gathered her documents and rushed off somewhere.

“What the heck was that?”

In that moment, Kim Jinhyuk caught a glimpse of a flushed face on Im Sol as she turned away.

***