Chapter 75
There had been a few incidents, but anyway, the individual practical exams ended without any problems.
Now, only the group practical exam remained.
It was practically the main event — the very heart of the midterms.
What made the group practical exam important was that Fragments of the Gate would appear during this period.
Once a Fragment appeared, the exam itself turned into chaos, so the group exam was often treated as a kind of tutorial event for the Fragments.
Of course, that didn’t mean one could take the test lightly.
Even for a “tutorial,” the difficulty was absurd — many newbies met their game over here.
Still, the situation of taking a group test using characters that hadn’t been trained wasn’t all bad.
By this point in the game, the bond between characters wasn’t so bad, and even untrained ones had their abilities raised decently.
After all, since the test’s purpose was to evaluate students’ overall abilities, the difficulty of the characters would fluctuate accordingly.
With the current Park Siwoo and Dan Chun-woo, even a boss fight would be an easy victory.
The real problems were the wretched maze navigation… and the traps.
Because the exam site — an instance dungeon that changed randomly with each entry — wasn’t something you could get used to even if you played the game many times.
So! I decided I wouldn’t get involved in this event.
The well-trained characters would handle auto-battle and earn the points for me. Why should I bother?
All the tedious parts — they could handle them.
Of course, there was a reason I could afford to relax like this.
Thanks to Yoo Iseo’s aggressive Demon purging, neither Berid nor any of his lackeys would be interfering this time, so it seemed the event would pass quietly.
Though, of course, I had no intention of letting it stay quiet.
Not that I planned to do absolutely nothing either.
Still — I had to take care of what needed taking care of, right?
The reason this “tutorial” was considered hellish was because the maze navigation wasted time, and the relatively weak bosses and mobs gave poor rewards in return.
However, there was one secret hidden inside this dungeon.
It was — a hidden dungeon within the dungeon, a Hidden Piece.
And the item that could be obtained from this hidden dungeon was extremely effective against Berid’s subordinates.
The reason I knew this so well was simple — I was the one who first discovered this dungeon.
Thanks to that, it was also the moment my name first spread through the community.
Ah, the memories of those glorious days as a veteran player came flooding back.
Just then, my phone buzzed.
It was a notification text regarding the team assignments for tomorrow’s group practical exam.
After checking the team members, I let out a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, they were all unfamiliar names.
The hidden dungeon, while dangerous, was also quite a troublesome place when entered with companions.
The next day arrived, and we received basic instructions for the group exam in the classroom.
The test itself was simple.
In one of the Academy’s mock dungeons, we had to subjugate the boss monster, a Golem, and bring back proof of it.
“There is an evaluation standard.”
Instructor Kang Jae-seok swept his sharp eyes over us.
“When the exam begins, all participants will be deployed randomly throughout the mock dungeon area. Since the boss monster is a Golem, it will revive at fixed intervals. Teams that miss the timing will only find the remains.”
A time attack — and a battle of awareness.
In other words, it was a competition.
I half-listened to the instructor’s explanation, letting it pass in one ear and out the other.
I already knew all of this — and once the mock dungeon turned into a real dungeon midway through the exam, none of it would matter anyway.
Before long, we gathered with the team members assigned by yesterday’s message and entered the mock dungeon.
“Wow…”
“So this is the mock dungeon?”
“The atmosphere’s totally different.”
The team members who entered the dungeon with me let out exclamations of awe.
Even though it was just a simulated dungeon, it must have seemed quite impressive to the eyes of the students.
Would they still be making those sounds an hour from now, I wondered.
I brushed my hand against the dungeon’s outer wall.
The cold chill and the rough texture of the stone surface could be felt clearly.
Though it was an artificial set, the quality was remarkably high.
The damp air, the occasional torches dimly illuminating the walls — the limited visibility gave off the feeling of being deep inside an underground labyrinth.
The sound of water sloshing underfoot echoed softly with every step, heightening the atmosphere.
After arriving at the designated starting point, the team realized there was still a short time before the exam officially began, and naturally started chatting among themselves.
They were sharing brief introductions and talking about their positions or specialties, but I didn’t pay much attention.
They were all nameless extras anyway — people I’d only see today.
I wasn’t sure how long that idle conversation went on before the instructor’s voice echoed in the air.
[The group practical exam will now begin.]
At once, my teammates rushed forward.
They must’ve thought it advantageous to attack the limited monsters first.
I had no intention of matching their pace, so I deliberately began walking slowly.
That, of course, irritated them.
The ones running ahead turned and shouted angrily at me.
“What are you doing! If we don’t move fast, another team will steal the boss!”
“Yeah! Don’t you know how important this exam score is?”
“They’re probably recording everything too!”
I replied coldly.
“You’re all out of your minds. Get it together. The instructor said the key word was timing. That means we don’t have to rush to kill the boss — we just have to strike at the right moment. And does anyone here even know what kind of place this is? If this dungeon was designed to be realistic, then of course it’ll be filled with traps. Let’s try to think rationally — with common sense.”
My sharp criticism made their expressions stiffen.
But they couldn’t argue.
Because they knew I was right.
In labyrinth-type dungeons, or in nest-type ones where monsters swarm, it was common sense to always be wary of traps.
Especially since this mock dungeon was created for an exam, it would be more likely to emphasize such dangers rather than lessen them.
Even so, until the dungeon fully manifested and the hidden dungeon revealed itself, I still had to move with them.
So, I might as well take control now.
Based on how things usually went, if an incident broke out again, these students would definitely be summoned for a meeting with Instructor Kang Jae-seok.
And if they testified that I had acted alone too conspicuously, the Academy’s suspicion level — which I’d finally managed to lower — would rise again.
I called them over.
“Looks like it’ll be better if I take command here. None of you seem capable of making proper decisions anyway.”
“What did you just say?”
One of the boys snapped back, glaring at me.
Earlier, I’d seen him trying to play leader — giving out random suggestions to the others.
I didn’t bother replying.
Instead, I deployed my domain and began walking forward slowly.
A flood of information within a radius of about three meters flowed into my senses.
Soil, wind, stone, and—
“Hey! Where are you going again—!”
“I’ll show you what happens when you charge in blindly, you moths drawn to a flame.”
I snatched the sword from the loudest one following behind me and hurled it toward the spot that had been tickling my senses.
The sword whistled through the air and embedded itself in the path ahead—
Click.
Clang!
Arrows shot out from the wall.
Had anyone walked through without a protective spell, they would’ve been instantly killed.
“Your score’s important, huh? I just saved that score of yours.”
“……”
Their mouths snapped shut.
Finally, some quiet.
I led the team forward at a slow pace.
The teammates silently followed behind me—carefully, step for step, planting their feet exactly where I had.
Good, good. Like a bunch of kindergarteners.
Rumble—
At that moment, a faint tremor rippled through the ground, and dust trickled down from the ceiling.
The entire mock dungeon vibrated.
Then came a chilling aura.
A wave of magic spread outward like ripples on a calm lake, freezing everyone in place.
“W-what was that!”
“An earthquake?”
“Could there be a fight going on somewhere?”
It wasn’t that.
The Fragment had activated, and the mock dungeon was beginning to transform into a real dungeon.
Of course, I had no intention of telling my teammates that.
It would only send them into panic.
I wanted to move quietly to reach the Hidden Dungeon.
“The mana’s too calm for a battle. Probably something the instructors are doing as part of the test. Don’t freak out.”
“R-right… I thought monsters were fighting or something.”
One of the students sneaked a glance at me.
Probably thinking of someone like Siwoo or Dan Chun-woo.
Well, I couldn’t blame them.
With that, we resumed walking through the dungeon.
I recalled how to enter the Hidden Dungeon.
It required following a Guide through a series of traps.
And if I remembered right, this was how to summon that guide.
I operated the Asura Divine Art and extinguished all flames in the vicinity.
The sudden darkness sent my teammates into a panic.
“Eek!”
“What now?!”
Their nervousness was almost palpable.
“Just stay still for now. Don’t use any light magic either.”
I extended my sensory field, scanning the surroundings—no sign of monsters.
If we just stayed put, nothing should happen.
It took about five minutes of stillness for the Guide to appear.
Then, from the pitch darkness, a faint, white mist began to gather.
Before long, it took the shape of a human.
“Eek! A g-ghost!”
Well, they weren’t wrong—it was a ghost.
The apparition slowly began to move in a certain direction.
All I had to do now was follow it to reach the Hidden Dungeon.
As I began walking after it, the startled teammates shouted at me.
“Where are you going! You don’t even know what that thing is!”
“We’re lost anyway, might as well do something. This happened right after it went dark—maybe following the ghost leads to the boss.”
I heard reluctant groans from behind me.
But since they had no better plan, I could feel them dragging their feet as they followed.
“Don’t use fire or light magic like before. Don’t attract monsters. I can roughly detect traps, so just leave that to me.”
“Got it.”
So far, whenever I sensed monsters or other teams nearby, I deliberately took detours.
But the Guide wasn’t such a kind existence.
It simply led the way to the Hidden Dungeon—nothing more.
Sure enough, I sensed monsters in the distance.
Even with limited vision, fighting them wouldn’t be difficult.
The monsters here weren’t particularly strong.
If I compared them, they were maybe one rank above the Imps we fought during the mock Wave Response Training.
Honestly, I didn’t even need to use the Asura Divine Art.
Still, there was no reason to waste energy fighting.
After following the ghost for a while, it finally stopped somewhere.
Had we arrived?
The ghost, as if it had finished its task, melted away like wet cotton candy.
“It disappeared!”
While my teammates were looking around in confusion, the ground beneath us suddenly gave way with a heavy clunk.
With startled screams, everyone fell through.
What an overreaction.
I controlled my mana to land safely, and the others managed to land one after another without injury.
The fall wasn’t very deep, so no one was hurt.
From here on, this space was separated from the main dungeon—this was the Hidden Dungeon.
It was safe to light the way now.
I activated the Asura Divine Art, summoning flames to illuminate our surroundings.
A wide cavern came into view, with a small cave at its far end.
Beside it sat a massive boulder.
One of the teammates—the same boy who had tried to play leader earlier—burst out in anger.
“So much for all that know-it-all talk! Look what you’ve done! We wasted all that time just to fall into a trap!”
“What a shame,” I replied flatly.
“You think this is funny?! Our grades are on the line! If I screw up this midterm and ruin my future, are you gonna take responsibility?!”
Grades? What grades?
Now that the dungeon had fully transformed, contact with the outside was cut off.
Evaluations? Impossible.
The moment the dungeon transformed, all outside communication ceased.
The instructors were probably in chaos right now.
“Well, who knows what’ll happen with grades. But if we stay put, at least we won’t run into any monsters or get dragged into fights.”
Saying that, I began walking toward the cave entrance of the Hidden Dungeon.
“Hey! Where are you going!”
“You said I should take responsibility. So I’ll go check what’s inside. Who knows—it might be a shortcut to the boss.”
“How can you be sure!”
“I’m not. But something’s bound to be in there. And if you don’t want to fall again, don’t follow me.”
As I said that, I drew upon a small portion of the Power of the Demon.
A faint wave of demonic energy spread out, pressing against their minds.
Instantly, the color drained from their faces.
A bit harsh, perhaps—but this way, they wouldn’t dare follow.
How convenient.
If Helena, Park Siwoo, or Dan Chun-woo had been in this team, that would’ve been troublesome.
This Hidden Dungeon had many restrictions.
The difficulty was one thing, but the clear condition was particularly insane.
There was no limit to how many could enter—but only one person could leave after clearing it.
The name of this Hidden Dungeon was The Chamber of Gu Poison.