novelraw Chapter 32 : Chapter 32
Chapter 32 : Chapter 32
Chapter 32: Waryong's Dungeon (3)
"What is this..."
It was difficult to understand the current situation.
As someone who had expected a battle that would take at least dozens of minutes, I was utterly bewildered.
However, I could not just stand there looking dazed forever.
I thought about why this had happened.
'Was the damage accumulated from before?'
No.
That made no sense.
I was the only one who had entered Waryong's Dungeon, so there was no way damage could have been accumulated.
In the case of dungeon-type Gates, it was common for them to reset once they were successfully cleared.
For the assumption I just made to be correct, someone would have had to challenge this place and fail...
"There were no such reports."
Failure meant death.
If someone had died here, access to this place would have been restricted.
But I had entered Waryong's Dungeon without any special procedures.
Therefore, that theory was dismissed.
'Then was the boss weaker than I thought?'
That was a somewhat plausible idea.
There were plenty of Gates with levels lower than their Rank.
However, even this was a lacking hypothesis to simply accept and move on.
'No matter how weak it is, falling in just one hit... that makes no sense.'
This was a C-Rank dungeon-type Gate.
Considering the events that would unfold in the future, it might be a low Rank, but at this stage, it was an ambiguous Rank to call low.
If so, there was only one possibility left.
"I am stronger than I thought."
I was not so foolish as to come this far and not realize that.
It was also the most likely explanation.
'Well, my talent is not just my own, after all.'
If I had fought with only my innate skills and achieved this result, I would not have thought this.
However, what I used was my talent, but at the same time, it was the talent of heroes.
The talents of heroes who had struggled and fought for the world.
Furthermore, this time I was lucky enough to fight with a favorable elemental match, so it was not an impossible feat.
'Yes. It is not impossible.'
I recalled the past days.
From the very moment I first started using the hero's talent.
'Come to think of it, my opponents were not weaklings.'
I had dismissed him at the time, but the first villain I killed was not an easy opponent.
If I had not possessed Shin Yu-hwan's talent, he was someone I would not have even thought of challenging.
'And that guy I fought in the Gate.'
Even though I fought while conserving my strength back then, that villain was also strong.
That kind of result was only possible because he ignored me and clashed with me head-on.
If he had fought while utilizing the characteristics of a dagger, it would have been difficult to face him without bringing out all my talents.
'Moreover, there is no need to even mention that guy Yu-hyeon.'
He was the kind of guy who would have likely fought on equal terms even if the real Shin Yu-hwan had shown up, rather than me borrowing his talent.
Thinking this far, I understood why the boss of a C-Rank Gate died in one hit.
It was just that I had met the wrong opponents until now; it did not mean that I was weak.
"...Phew. But I cannot just be happy about this."
I would admit it.
I was actually stronger than I had thought.
Even so, I could not jump around like a child out of joy.
"It means that even though I was strong, it was still that difficult."
Ultimately, strength is relative, not absolute.
Regardless of whether my elemental match was good or not, being able to defeat a C-Rank boss meant I was stronger than the boss, but that was not what was important.
What mattered was how far my strength would hold up in the events to come.
"...It is not enough."
It was a fact I felt keenly.
'I am in a position where I have to protect the heroes.'
Protecting someone is only possible when you are ahead of that person.
Therefore, it meant that not falling behind others in growth, or just being the same, was not enough.
"Well, getting impatient will not help anything either."
The important thing was to perfectly handle the tasks at hand, one by one.
Yes.
Having finished the first of three rounds, it was more important to finish the remaining two.
"Sigh, what a pain. Truly a pain."
But what else could I do?
I had to do it to get the rewards and become stronger.
Feeling once again that repetitive grinding was both the easiest and the most difficult thing, I left the Gate.
***
In a dormitory at Glory.
Ju Ha-yeon was enjoying a sweet rest after a long time.
"Mmm~ this is nice."
The reason she could take such a rest was the recent villain incident.
Because of that incident, classes at the Academy had been canceled entirely.
Unlike before, even things like self-study were all canceled.
Thanks to that, Ju Ha-yeon was spending time drinking tea in her dormitory for the first time in a long while.
"Ha, I wish this moment would last forever."
As someone who always lived life being pushed by family business and Academy classes, such a lament was only natural.
However, Ju Ha-yeon's small wish was quickly shattered.
Ding-dong!
The sound of the doorbell came from the intercom.
As soon as that sound echoed, a cracking noise came from the handle of the teacup Ju Ha-yeon was holding.
"Who on earth...!"
Who dared to disturb her precious rest time?
Ju Ha-yeon calmed her trembling hand and set the teacup down.
As expected, it was not a mistake; the handle of the teacup could not withstand the moment and broke off.
However, the handle of a teacup was not important to Ju Ha-yeon.
'Whoever it is, they better have come for something important.'
What mattered was which fool dared to disturb her rest and what the reason was.
Ju Ha-yeon walked toward the intercom with the venomous thought that if they had come for a useless reason, she would pull out all their hair and make them bald.
A moment later, after checking who had pressed the doorbell through the intercom, Ju Ha-yeon was forced to calm her anger.
'Eun-ha?'
The face shown on the intercom was Ha Eun-ha.
Moreover, it was a Ha Eun-ha who looked somewhat gloomy.
'Did she come because she is having a hard time?'
Ju Ha-yeon checked the intercom with a worried expression.
It was only natural to be worried about Ha Eun-ha, who had recently gone through such an ordeal.
She usually treated her coldly, but that was not her true feeling.
Therefore, Ju Ha-yeon did not hesitate and immediately opened the dormitory door.
Ha Eun-ha entered through the gap of the opened door.
Suddenly—
As soon as she entered the dormitory, she threw herself into Ju Ha-yeon's arms with a sorrowful face.
Seeing this, Ju Ha-yeon did not push her away and slowly tried to talk to her.
"Eun-ha. What is wrong?"
"..."
"You have to speak for me to know, right?"
"..."
"Sigh, fine. Let's talk whenever you feel like speaking."
After those words, time passed without any conversation.
***
Only after a significant amount of time had passed did Ha Eun-ha slowly open her mouth.
"Ha-yeon."
"Do you feel like talking now?"
"...Yeah. I am sorry."
"What are you sorry for?"
Ju Ha-yeon stroked her head and sat her down.
Then, she poured a fresh cup of tea, handed it to Ha Eun-ha, and spoke.
"So, what is the matter?"
"It is nothing much..."
"You make a face like that over nothing much?"
At those words, Ha Eun-ha was forced to remain silent.
It was understandable, as it was rare for Ha Eun-ha, who always showed a smiling face, to show an expression like this.
Ha Eun-ha hesitated for a moment, contemplating, but eventually gave in to Ju Ha-yeon's pressure and began to tell her story.
"The thing is..."
The story Ha Eun-ha told was about the events that had occurred inside the Gate.
Ju Ha-yeon listened quietly to the story.
Ha Eun-ha's story continued for over an hour.
"...And that is how it happened."
With those words from Ha Eun-ha, the long story finally came to an end.
One would usually be exhausted after listening for over an hour, but Ju Ha-yeon nodded without showing any such sign.
"You must have had a very hard time."
"No. He had a harder time than I did... I just fainted and could not do anything."
"That can happen."
Ju Ha-yeon offered appropriate words of comfort to Ha Eun-ha.
After comforting Ha Eun-ha for a moment, Ju Ha-yeon immediately fell into other thoughts.
She thought about the person who appeared most frequently in the story Ha Eun-ha had just told.
'Choi Yu-seong...'
899th place in the Academy entrance rankings, primary weapon is a one-handed sword.
He was reasonably handsome on the outside, but he was a person with no outstanding background.
That was the existence of Choi Yu-seong as Ju Ha-yeon knew him.
Because of her family business, it was her job to understand the Academy cadets as much as possible.
However, the evaluation of Choi Yu-seong was changing slightly within her.
'He seems like a more useful person than I thought.'
It was difficult to believe Ha Eun-ha's words 100%.
Since it was a desperate situation, there was no way it was an objective evaluation.
Furthermore, because she had fainted in the middle, she did not remember all the important details.
However, even setting that part aside, it was certain that he seemed like a useful person.
The fact that he did not panic even when a villain appeared, but instead provoked him to take an advantageous position.
The fact that he made cool-headed judgments until the very end, even in the worst situation.
And the fact that, although Ha Eun-ha did not know what happened next because she fainted, he ultimately exited the Gate without any problems.
Looking at this alone, he was a person who showed more use than expected.
'It was the same during the cooperative training before.'
His skills were immature, but the speed at which he read the situation and his judgment were very outstanding.
But hearing today's story, it seemed that those immature skills were also on a steep growth curve.
'I should try talking to him again later.'
Ju Ha-yeon reminded herself of her purpose for entering this Academy.
Not a superficial purpose like becoming a great Player or a hero active on the front lines, but her real purpose.
It was to secure major clients in advance for the family business she would inherit later.
'What I want are future clients, not current clients.'
Thinking about that, Choi Yu-seong was a candidate with high expectations.
Since he did not have anything particularly special yet and did not stand out to others, she might be able to claim him first.
Thinking that far, Ju Ha-yeon wore a pleasant smile.
Then, Ha Eun-ha tilted her head toward Ju Ha-yeon as if wondering what was happening.
"Ha-yeon, did something good happen?"
"Hmm? It is a good thing that your mood has improved."
"Is, is that so? Ha-yeon, you are usually brusque, but you are nice like this sometimes."
That is because hiding emotions is part of the job for the sake of the family business.
However, Ju Ha-yeon did not bother to say those words.
In any case, her life would not change just because someone else knew that.
Still, hearing such things right in front of her face was a bit annoying.
Therefore, Ju Ha-yeon delivered a small revenge.
"So, you have nothing more to say, right?"
"Huh? I guess not?"
"Then leave. I have work to do now."
"There she is. The brusque Ha-yeon."
Though she said that, Ha Eun-ha eventually stood up.
In the first place, it was a miracle that she had talked this much and received comfort.
If she said she would stay longer, it was certain that she would be kicked out rather than leaving on her own.
Ha Eun-ha, who did not know that this was actually a small revenge, eventually had no choice but to say goodbye.
"Then, I am going...?"
"Yes. Hurry along."
"Okay."
After that farewell, Ha Eun-ha returned to her own dormitory lonely.
Ju Ha-yeon, left alone, regained her leisurely time.
However, she did not continue her rest from before.
"Now that a potential client candidate has appeared, I have work to do."
Is he truly a person suitable to be her client?
She needed to find out more.
It was a bit insufficient to judge that with only the information she had now.
Thinking so, Ju Ha-yeon reached for her phone.
"Ah, hello? Manager Kim. I would like to look into a person."
The call was connected shortly after.
Ju Ha-yeon immediately got to the point and continued the call.
Not with an irritated voice from having her rest disturbed, but with an excited voice at a new discovery.