Chapter 745: Week 9–10 Midterms (22)

Originally, the condition for applying [Mutual-Destruction Eye(B)] was making eye contact with the opponent.

But when linked with a “vision”-type skill, that condition could be relaxed considerably.

Even if the power dropped somewhat, the debuff applied as long as the target was inside the range.

And of course, [Sky Vision(S)] had an absurdly wide range.

Naturally, this linked technique also had a few drawbacks.

The cooldown is long.

Since it cast a single-target skill over a wide area, the cooldown increased massively, even more than when linking it with [Octopus Arms].

If [Mutual-Destruction Eye(B)] worked on a scale of minutes, then this linked technique worked on a scale of hours.

And for the same reason, the power gets dispersed too.

Of course, those were not overwhelmingly serious drawbacks.

Unless it was a situation like this, I could simply use it on a single target as usual, or adjust it by linking [Octopus Arms].

And [Mutual-Destruction Eye(B)] had recently received a massive boost to its base performance through the dungeon-closure reward.

Even with its power dispersed, it was still usable enough.

On top of that, I had attached an unremovable effect with [Diamond Freeze(B)],

and with [Overreach], I had even gained rank superiority.

It was more than enough to restrict the enemies’ movements.

CRACKLE—!

The instant ice covered every direction, the expedition members broke formation and launched an aggressive offensive.

I had tipped them off in advance about what was going to happen.

Sword energy, fist strikes, fireballs, lightning, and more poured down wildly on the defenseless enemies.

SLASH-SLASH-SLASH!

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

“Ugh!”

“Kraaaagh!”

▷Objective 2: Defeat competitors(33/20)

▷Objective 2: Defeat competitors(38/20)

While the kill count updated like crazy in real time,

Sagong Uk was busy firing off every debuff-removal skill he had to escape the frozen state.

But he probably knew it himself.

That there was no way it would come undone.

“......Damn it!”

And as he spat that curse, something came crashing down from high in the sky toward him.

It was Chaemi the eagle.

“PIEEEEEK—!”

KRAAAASH—!

Along with an explosion like a missile had dropped, Sagong Uk’s desperate scream rang out.

“Kraaaagh!”

Watching that, I felt a deep sense of regret.

I feel like I let him go too easily.

This time, I really wanted to play ice-bubble golf.

Meanwhile, the field-boss raid was also flowing in a very one-sided direction.

“Grrrrrraaaah—!”

Beomi charged in with a roar.

He leapt into the middle of the ice monkeys, swinging his forelegs and body-slamming them as he wildly tore apart their formation.

As a result, the elder, which had been protected in layer upon layer of defense, was exposed, and Seo Ye-in and mirror-image Seo Ye-in caught that opening, their eyes gleaming.

“......Opening found.”

—Completely defenseless.

“Kim Ho timing.”

—When it looks like this is the moment.

And what they took out was none other than [Shackles(A)].

It had the effect of lowering the target’s rank for a set period of time.

Now that it had been grown to A-rank, it lowered the target by a full two stages.

FLASH—!

A beam of light immediately flew straight into the enemy formation and struck the frozen-solid Monkey Elder.

I felt its presence shrink noticeably.

The energy it had been spreading in every direction and its various buffs weakened visibly too.

Because its rank had dropped to C.

Next, the two Seo Ye-ins’ hair bleached snow-white.

At the same time, they reached out toward each other, and between their hands, dazzling light gathered, compressed, and transformed into the shape of a bullet.

The “Finichip” they had used when taking down the sloth.

They loaded the completed bullet into an assault rifle and aimed at the Monkey Elder.

“Direct attack.”

—Directly attacking the field boss.

“Strong, invincible, the strongest.”

A pure-white line crossed the battlefield and touched the Monkey Elder’s forehead, then caused a blinding explosion like a flashbang going off.

“.......”

The sloth and Fast-Luckless watched the sight with satisfied expressions, then promptly struck a pose.

—Smashing, crushing, thunderous applause.

Looks like Dark Dragon Lord taught them unnecessary knowledge again.

Still, as long as they got it, isn’t that fine?

▷Objective 4: Defeat field bosses(5/2)

▷Objective 4: Defeat field bosses(6/2)

It did not take long for all the remaining enemies to fall.

Now only Cha Hyeonju remained.

CRUMBLE.

As [Diamond Freeze(B)] ended, the thin layer of ice shattered and fell away.

Even so, Cha Hyeonju only stood in place, doing nothing.

Partly because she had already been surrounded by the expedition members, and partly because she had likely been hit with no small shock after seeing my move just now.

Her expression was also darker than usual, as if her thoughts were growing complicated.

“.......”

“Do you feel the difference in power?”

“Why.......”

Cha Hyeonju looked at me, paused for a moment, then continued.

“Why...... can’t I win?”

“You want the short answer, or the long one?”

“.......”

“Then the short one first. {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} Because this body’s skill is just that overwhelming.”

“.......”

Cha Hyeonju showed no reaction at all.

Normally, she would have ground her teeth or flared up in anger, but right now, she did not seem to have even that much energy left.

My mood deflated a little too, so I continued.

“The long answer is, it’s because you don’t use your heart kindly.”

“What the hell kind of bullshit is that?”

“I’m being serious this time.”

Answering that, I slowly swept my gaze around us.

Go Hyeonwoo, Seo Ye-in, Hong Yeonhwa, the Discipline Committee, the Nature Club.......

“No matter how outstanding you are, you can’t make it this far alone. We helped each other. That’s why I grew fast, and why they grew fast too.”

“......That method doesn’t suit me.”

Cha Hyeonju spoke with a dark expression.

At that, I shrugged.

“It’s not like people change easily. Still, I think it’s worth considering at least once.”

“.......”

“If there’s nothing else to say, let’s end this. We can fight again later or whatever.”

“.......”

Usually, Cha Hyeonju would keep her fighting spirit burning to the very end, saying things like “I’ll come again next time” or “I’ll keep coming until I win.”

This time, however, she only glared at me for a while before spitting out one short phrase.

“......Forget it.”

Then she vanished cleanly on the spot, ejected outside the dungeon after giving up on the midterms themselves.

Well, I guess it made sense for her motivation to bottom out.

She must have earned enough points anyway.

Watching that, Go Hyeonwoo and Seo Ye-in each said a word.

“To think Lady Cha would show such a dispirited side of herself. The shock must have been rather considerable.”

“Bad words subdued.”

And Hong Yeonhwa had an extremely complicated look on her face.

It was as if she felt a little fellow-feeling, along with distant memories and triggered trauma.

In any case, I looked around at the expedition members and said,

“Everyone worked hard. But it feels a little early to celebrate.”

“Brother Mo and Brother Jeong do not appear to be finished yet.”

“We should go help. It’ll be rough, but let’s move right away.”

We pursued maximum profit to the very end.

*****

The lone-wolf type boss looked exactly as we had expected.

It was slightly smaller than the giant gorilla we had defeated in the C zone, but its muscle density felt much higher.

On top of that, blue energy rippled all over its body, making it seem far more skilled at handling mana as well.

The nickname Seo Ye-in came up with for it on the spot was,

“Practical compressed gorilla.”

But numbers had a way of beating anything.

Once we joined in and poured attacks onto it, the practical compressed gorilla could not hold out for long and collapsed.

THUD!

Crystals and cards dropped, and the crown disappeared completely from the map as well.

Only then did everyone’s faces brighten.

Mo Yongjun and Jeong Jinmyeong also looked around and each said something.

“It is over. Everyone worked hard.”

“Great job, everyone!”

“It seems safe to declare our own end now.”

“There isn’t anywhere left to squeeze points from anyway.”

If we insisted on wringing out a dried squid, we could fight each other until the very end, but even then, what we gained would be extremely insignificant.

There was even less reason to do that while ruining the good mood.

So we declared the end of our midterms one after another.

WHOOSH!

Soon, the Great Forest vanished before our eyes.

We stepped outside the dungeon and set foot in a large hall.

Looking around, the faculty members were still standing in the same places they had been when we first entered.

Among them, Lee Sudok was sending an intense look this way, as if saying, You actually pulled it off.

In one corner, students waiting for reentry were huddled together.

They seemed intent on trying until the end, but perhaps because they were not expecting much, the atmosphere was somewhat gloomy.

But that mood quickly turned cheerful as the other students came walking out one after another.

They began exchanging compliments about how excellent their skill links had been and how good their teamwork was.

Song Cheonhye also approached me and said,

“Good work.”

“You too.”

“Now....... What are you going to do?”

The reason she asked this was because there would be a brief gap between the end of midterms and the start of the next week.

At that, Seo Ye-in, who was standing beside me, grabbed the hem of my clothes.

“Infinite rest.”

“Miss, didn’t you rest plenty in Hyeseong? You rested on the train ride back too.”

“More rest, best rest.”

“You’re just making up words now.”

“And occasional pecks.”

—And sometimes,

But before they could continue, I covered their faces with the pot.

Then I finished answering Song Cheonhye’s question.

“I should go around. See people I couldn’t meet while I was doing the outside request.”

“But....... You’re not only going to do that, are you?”

“What do you want to do?”

At that, Song Cheonhye tidied her hair and looked somewhere else.

“I think it’s about time....... we started tutoring....... again.”

“That’s true. I have good news too.”

“Good news?”

“Yeah.”

I nodded and added,

“I’ll be able to put [Austerity] on you often now. I got something from Hyeseong.”

“Ah......!”

Song Cheonhye’s expression brightened.

Thanks to completing [Golden Pocket Watch(S)], the cooldown problem had been alleviated massively.

It had gotten relaxed enough that [Austerity] could even go around to Han Somi.

However, I added one thing.

“If anything, it’ll be harder than before, not easier. Prepare yourself.”

“Understood.”

But Song Cheonhye only looked excited.

After that, I exchanged goodbyes with the rest of the group and left the dungeon wing.

Then, as I walked, I checked the notification message that had just arrived.

Sub Quest: Week 9–10 Midterms

▷Condition: Failure upon retiring

▷Objective 1: Party members reach A-rank(5/2)

▷Objective 2: Defeat competitors(56/20)

▷Objective 3: Seize competitors’ items(89/10)

▷Objective 4: Defeat field bosses(7/2)

▷Note: Rewards will be reduced if completion rate falls below the standard value.

Considering we started almost two days late, we wrapped this up pretty smoothly.

If I had to pick the biggest factors, one was following Lucky Charm Radar at the beginning and taking down the B-rank zone boss.

And the other was Cha Hyeonju and Sagong Uk actively helping us out and donating item cards.

Without those two, we would never have accelerated so explosively or overcleared the objectives this much.

This time, the reward is worth looking forward to.

Second-year quest rewards tended to be larger than first-year rewards, since stronger competitors had to be suppressed.

On top of that, this was the midterms, more important than most other sub quests, and the [Challenge Book] had been applied too.

And the message that appeared next did not betray my expectations.

Finally.

▷Reward: [Rank Up(A)]*2