Chapter 15

The core of a mimicry dungeon was to taint all senses of the entrants with elements of fear. Not only the visible attacks but also the sounds continued.

'We will now begin the English listening assessment for the first semester of the third year of high school.'

'All questions will be played only once.'

'Number 1.'

'Excuse me. May I...'

'Cough, cough cough, cough! Cough, cough!'

"Who made the coughing sound..."

Ayoung tightened her grip on her weapon.

'One minute left until the end of the test! Check your name and subject code.'

'This math test wasn't easy, right? The grade cutline will go up a lot.'

'... Ah, really? I'm not sure...'

And then, voices were heard from the faculty office.

'... I didn't put it there! Why would I cheat?'

'What do you mean, no? It was found in your desk.'

'Even if there's no evidence that you didn't cheat, there's evidence here that you did.'

'Are you going to sell your soul for good grades? Huh?'

"Ah, seriously! So annoying!"

Taking advantage of her hesitation upon hearing the voices, the classroom door swung open, and about ten desks with suspicious notes inside rushed towards Ayoung. Ayoung's weapon clashed with the desks. The other desks pushed against her weapon from behind. With a growl, Aila's foot took a step back.

"Oh, Lee Ayoung is being pushed back by a 4th-grade dungeon mutant."

"No, I'm not!"

Ayoung raised her weapon and plunged it deep into the desk. After a strange noise, the illusion of the desk disappeared, and she knocked away the other desks with a wide swing of her suppression baton.

"See!"

"It's good to have a strong sense of self, but isn't it too brazen to take credit for defeating five or six 4th-grade mutants? Ayoung."

"Ugh, really, you nitpicker."

Ayoung leaped up with Aila, her face flushed with anger. As Soram said, it was a level of dungeon that Ayoung's abilities could handle without much difficulty. However, the reason she hesitated from time to time was due to the fear elements that resonated with her as a fellow student.

After the sea of exams passed, a different atmosphere mixed in. The mutants that appeared this time took human forms.

"Hey, you fucking midget."

A faceless male student lifted something on the floor with the tip of his foot as if kicking it. From the empty space he kicked, a groan of "Ugh!" was heard.

The student who committed school violence soon had his neck sliced by Tae-un's sword and collapsed to the floor, turning into smoke. Soram exclaimed, "Oh..." in admiration.

"Usually, people have a hard time dealing with human forms at first, but you're doing well."

"I've always disliked people who bully other students."

"Still, it's difficult to stab them with a sword without hesitation."

"Was it the same for you, Jin Soram ssi?"

"Well, I don't remember very well."

Soram also slashed across the chests of the students gathered as if lynching them in the same manner.

"I probably dislike people who bully others with their age and size just as much as Han Tae-un ssi."

The two of them rushed towards the next mutant. Having gotten the hang of fighting in the narrow corridor, their speed was even faster than before. Ayoung, who had been shouting loudly amidst the waves of ghost stories and exams, silently focused on eliminating the mutants this time.

Ghost stories were fictional, and grades could be improved with more thorough preparation. However, there was no way to resolve the fear of school violence. Being ostracized was terrifying, whether one had the power of a 1st-grade or not.

"This won't do."

The morale of the team members, especially Ayoung, was gradually sinking. If it were somewhere else, they would have taken their time to observe each other's combat styles, but it seemed there was nothing good about prolonging the time here. Soram gripped his sword in reverse and kicked the floor once, the wall once, and the ceiling once as he charged forward.

"Han Tae-un ssi, step back."

Whoosh—

The wind blew through the corridor, following the path Soram had passed. The blue mist that bloomed from his fingertips spread widely along the remaining corridor. The mist that pooled above the delinquent students' heads soon flattened like a wide board. And then.

Thud!

Soram leaped onto it. Along with him, the blue board plummeted to the ground. The mutants were flattened under the blue board, crushed.

Swish.

As dozens of mutants were eliminated at once, black smoke swirled like a sandstorm. Amidst it, Soram rose to his feet.

"Ta-da."

He stretched out both arms like an athlete who had finished a gymnastics routine, boasting of his achievement. However, the reactions of his teammates were dry. They even reprimanded him.

"Why are you doing that now? Why didn't you do it on the lower floors?"

"It's called a finishing move. I saved it to do it coolly at the end."

"Don't lie. If that was a finishing move, the whole school would have collapsed. Why is it still intact?"

"In this world, there are finishing moves that are completely difficult to perform even if their power is not great."

"Then why is it called a finishing move?"

"The visual effect is good, isn't it?"

While Ayoung shook her head, Soram pointed to the open door.

"We've arrived. It seems to be over there."

Black shadows continued to surge inside the door, which was presumed to be the origin of the rift. Looking inside, a rift about 40 cm wide could be seen. The black lumps that crawled out from there wriggled as if trying to transform into something else. Soram stepped on them and approached the rift.

The rift trembled. And as if making a final struggle, it made a sound from the inside.

'With you alone, the school can feel at ease. Originally, we didn't have anything like this, but we specially created a scholarship system. Should we treat you even better?'

'Since it's an anxious time for all your friends, you need to reassure them.'

'○○, can you move this for me? You said you're a hunter? Whew, you're stronger than most male teachers.'

'Who's the one who came late? Ah, you're that hunter. Alright, sit down.'

"... Oh, oppa. This..."

"Yeah. I know whose fear this is."

'I want to attend school with peace of mind without having to pay 100,000 won a month.'

'The grades are given the same, so why do I have to study while reassuring others?'

'If by any chance a dungeon breaks out like this, then what about me?'

Tae-un also seemed to have realized the identity of this voice.

'Even during the vacation, when you come for supplementary classes, check the school once in a while for any rifts. You can do that much, right?'

'... ○○, there are high expectations for you.'

'Ah, Teacher Yoon. Let that kid pass. The school made that kid do something.'

'School Service Award. 2nd year, Class 5, ○○○—'

'What, do they give out service awards every semester? They'll go to college with a service portfolio. Do they also receive volunteer hours?'

'Nah, not that.'

Tae-un, who had been quietly listening to the conversation in the dungeon, asked.

"Is it possible for a dungeon to say such things?"

"The dungeon must have instinctively mimicked the fear of the strongest person in here first. It's something that often happens in mimicry dungeons that break out in awakener living areas."

"..."

Amidst the rumbling sound, a solemn silence flowed between the three of them. Soram ruffled his hair.

"Ah, no wonder that chairman or whatever guy gave off a bad vibe earlier."

"Exactly! If there's nothing to nitpick, why not accept the reconnaissance? No, and 100,000 won a month? Are you kidding me? It's exploitation, exploitation."

The two team members in front of Tae-un were people who had awakened in their teens. Although Tae-un also felt troubled upon hearing the sounds mimicked by the rift, the weight felt by the two of them was probably a little different.

"For now, let's block the rift first. Han Tae-un ssi, do you want to finish it off?"

Tae-un stood in front of the rift as Soram gestured. Nothing could be seen inside the rift. It was a complete jet-black color that seemed to absorb all colors.

"Even if it's a dungeonized rift, the process of eliminating it is the same as a normal rift. Think of it as practice and strike it with ease."

The boundary between the inside and outside of the rift. There was a small space that could be physically touched. If that space was attacked, the open rift would shrink. Still, since it had been dungeonized, it wouldn't be easy to eliminate it instantly like a small rift, and it would require several attacks...

The fist holding the sword flew in front of Soram with the sound of the wind. And then.

Bam!

"Aah!"

A loud sound rang out, startling Ayoung, who had been caught off guard. Even Soram was dumbfounded. If it had been a person, even a sturdy hunter would have lost half of their teeth from that impact.

Rumble...

"Hah..."

With just a single attack, the rift narrowed its gap as if running away. Tae-un swung his fist two more times. Bam! Bam! For the first time in his life, Soram thought the rift being beaten up was pitiful. Ayoung quietly covered Aila's eyes from the violent scene.

The rift was now almost closed, leaving only a hairline crack.

"Should I attack one more time?"

"... No. It's completely closed in the time it took you to ask that question."

Now even the black crack had completely disappeared. As the rift closed, the darkness remaining in the corridor was lifted. The blurry scenery outside the window, as if the illumination had been lowered, returned to normal. Then, the light coming in from outside fluttered down onto the corridor.

It was a season when the winter chill had not yet fully receded. The sun briefly illuminated the midday and was already preparing to sprinkle a small crimson hue on the blue sky. The darkest place, the origin of the rift where the three of them stood, gradually brightened as if opening the layers of curtains.

Eventually, the darkness created by the mimicry dungeon completely disappeared. Soram examined the spot where the rift had been and tapped his wrist.

"16:14. Confirmed complete deletion of the rift."

Having finished the report, he smiled at his two teammates.

"Good work, both of you."

"... Yes."

"Aah, is this really a 4th-grade dungeon? I came along lightly and I'm completely exhausted. No studying for today."

Ayoung, who had released Aila's summon, leaned against the wall of the study room. Although none of them had taken any physical damage, the mental fatigue was great, as she said.

At that moment.

Tap, tap. Tap.

The sound of something rolling came from where the rift had been. A crystal-shaped stone emitting a white color fell to the floor. The small stone rolled on the floor and stopped at Tae-un's feet.

"What is this..."

"Don't touch it!"

"Stay right there!"

Tae-un stopped his waist, which he was about to bend. Ayoung got up from where she had been sitting, and Soram took a step towards him.