Repeated recorded voice and lively background music.
That was the last sound Judge Kim Yong-seok heard in this world.
When the hour hand of the clock hanging on the office wall had turned about 30 degrees.
The government, startled by the unprecedented attack on a national institution, mobilized Heroes and even the military to retake the Supreme Court.
But it was too late.
The assailants who raided the court were nowhere to be found, and all that remained were zombies left discarded with chunks torn from their bodies.
In particular, Judge Kim Yong-seok's corpse was so severely mutilated that he couldn't even become a zombie.
C-Class Hero 'Constructor' looked around the blood-soaked interior of the building and let out a small lament.
“What is this world coming to…….”
We, who had gathered at the main athletic field, followed Teacher Song Si-yeol toward the academy backyard.
In the backyard, there was a steel structure that didn't match the architectural style of the academy buildings.
Teacher Song Si-yeol manipulated the control panel in front of the structure.
Soon, the steel structure unfolded wide like a bird spreading its wings from a crouched position.
“Th-this is….”
“To think the academy had something like this!”
It was a Gate scattering sky-blue energy.
Teacher Song Si-yeol led the students inside.
“Now, now. Calm down. This Gate is the passage to a dungeon used by the academy as a training ground. You can freely enter and train from after school until 21:00, so make good use of it.”
The students entered the Gate one by one.
Inside the Gate, a vast great forest stretched out.
A field-type dungeon.
Most of them were dungeons so large that their ends couldn't be known, with even their clear conditions unidentified.
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[You have entered the 'Gigantic Great Forest'.]
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The academy had already been using this dungeon as a practical training ground for 10 years.
Near the Gate, the academy had built a base camp.
There were essential buildings like bathrooms and shelters, as well as defensive walls protecting the camp.
Teacher Song Si-yeol led the students to an open area.
The A-Class students were already there listening to the explanation.
“Now. If you look at the edge of the open area, various weapons such as swords, spears, and bows are equipped. From now on, each of you will take one weapon you want. You can change weapons for the time being, so just pick whatever your heart desires for now.”
As expected, there were plenty of various weapons around the open area.
Some had chipped blades or worn handles, showing signs of use.
I roughly picked a spear in good condition.
Daggers were what I was most familiar with, but I avoided them because it would be troublesome if my habit of using blades got exposed.
If I'm similar to the 'Dark Knight,' I'd get caught sooner or later.
Besides, spears had the highest value.
Whether facing people or monsters, long reach was a huge advantage.
As I took the spear and joined the line, I suddenly made eye contact with Park Ha-yeon from Class A.
She jumped in surprise and turned her head away.
‘What?’
Somehow, I felt like she had been looking at me since earlier.
Once all the Class B students had gathered, Teacher Song Si-yeol let out a sigh and spoke.
“For the next three days starting today, you will find a weapon suited to your aptitude. Each of you, take your desired weapon and hunt monsters in groups. Dismissed.”
The students had bewildered expressions.
To suddenly tell them to catch monsters.
It was understandable.
One student raised a hand.
“Teacher. How do we catch monsters?”
Teacher Song Si-yeol let out a deep sigh and answered.
“They are monsters, but there are no dangerous ones around here. Probably just Horned Rabbits or Slimes.”
This time, Yang Min-seo raised her hand.
“Do you not have guns by any chance?”
“I was wondering when that question would come out. Sigh, what a hassle….”
Did he just say hassle…….
Is he even a teacher?
“The academy does not provide a curriculum regarding guns. Because they are too expensive. Well, with your level of wealth, it might be worth trying, I suppose.”
“I see.”
Yang Min-seo hugged the bow she had brought since there were no guns, resigned.
She looked very disappointed.
Guns, the greatest weapon of human civilization.
Unfortunately, they were inefficient in a situation where status windows appeared and monsters poured out from Gates.
They could handle small fry with guns, but once you reached Orc-level, the mana barrier wrapped around their skin prevented normal bullets from dealing damage.
Since you couldn't exactly pour missiles costing billions per shot, the use of Awakeners became widespread.
Later, through repeated research, bullets imbued with magical power called Mana Bullets were developed, but they cost about 500,000 won per shot, so only the rich carried them.
The teacher opened his mouth with an expression that suggested he had just remembered.
“Ah. I almost forgot. Group leaders, come out and take a navigation device. If you enter the dense forest, you might get lost, so follow the navi to find the base camp.”
Navigation.
Since it was inside a dungeon, it didn't use GPS but was a wayfinding terminal using artifact technology.
On the outside, it looked like a smartphone.
‘To think you almost forgot something that important.’
The academy was a school that ran its students tough.
To think they'd let children loose in such a great forest.
I heard quite a few people went missing every year.
Thinking that the predecessor of the Hero Academy was the Hunter Academy, it wasn't hard to understand.
The reason students couldn't complain about such dangerous practical training was that entering the dungeon itself was a huge privilege.
For an Awakener to raise their rank, running dungeons was the fastest way, but guilds and management companies monopolized most dungeons.
Since Gates had started reappearing, the situation would change somewhat going forward, but.
“Then off you go now. You just need to catch prey and return by 12:30. If an emergency occurs, press the SOS button on the navigation device. The teachers will come find you.”
We roughly prepared our gear and entered the great forest.
Trees towering as if to touch the sky.
At a glance, they were almost grotesque.
The inside of the forest was quite dark because the trees blocked the sunlight.
Even I, who knew about this from the game, suddenly felt fear.
The isolation of being a stranger in a remote place completely different from Earth.
The terror that if I lost the navi here, I might never be able to return.
For some reason, I felt so wretched that goosebumps rose.
Ji So-yeon, holding a dagger, spoke carefully.
“Sh-shouldn't we not go too far?”
Oh Hye-na shot back at her as if mocking.
“Ha. We've walked maybe 300 meters at best?”
At that moment, a presence was felt from the grass thicket in the northwest direction.
I signaled to Yang Min-seo with my eyes.
Her skill was good for checking ambushing enemies.
Even if she couldn't see clearly, with the assistance of her skill, her vision would classify things in formats like 'grass,' 'grass,' 'Horned Rabbit,' 'grass.'
“It's a Horned Rabbit. Think you can catch it?”
A Horned Rabbit.
Literally an E-Class monster that looked like a rabbit with horns.
When cornered, it sometimes leaped forward with its horns first, so occasionally people got injured.
Yang Min-seo was holding a bow, but since she was presumed to have originally used guns, it was hard to expect much from her.
Ji So-yeon wielded a dagger, and Oh Hye-na a shortsword.
Since Horned Rabbits were rabbits too, they ran away at the slightest sign of people.
It would probably be impossible for them to catch a rabbit with their skills.
Am I the only one left?
“I'll throw the spear. Oh Hye-na, blow wind toward the Horned Rabbit with good timing.”
“Who are you to give orders? A D-Class like you.”
“Sigh.”
I looked at Yang Min-seo without a word, and she gave Oh Hye-na a look.
“Hmph. Just this once.”
Oh Hye-na eventually surrendered.
‘She keeps trying to pick a fight.’
It's a bit annoying.
I hadn't separately learned javelin throwing, but B-Class strength and agility weren't just for show.
I felt like I could do it.
As my stats rose, my motor skills seemed to have improved too.
I pulled back the arm holding the spear and gave it a powerful recoil toward the Horned Rabbit.
The spear flew through the air.
“Squeak.”
Something like an animal's death cry was heard.
We ran into the grass.
The Horned Rabbit, pierced by the spear.
Perhaps because it was a monster, it was still alive and twitching its legs despite being pierced.
A red gem was floating up, but I ignored it.
Reducing things to ashes with blue flames was a characteristic unique to the 'Dark Knight.'
I couldn't create any connection between Shin Noda and the 'Dark Knight.'
“Amazing.”
Yang Min-seo let out a small exclamation.
I brushed it off nonchalantly.
I was someone who had soloed C-Class dungeons.
It was rather embarrassing to get cocky over catching a Horned Rabbit.
Then a scream was heard nearby.
“Kyaaaaak!”
“Uwaack.”
The voices of a man and a woman.
They were likely students from another group.
“What?”
I muttered like that and headed toward where the sound came from.
Yang Min-seo chased after me and stopped me.
“Wait. You don't know what danger there is! Informing the teacher is the priority.”
“Then press the SOS button. I'm going to help.”
“That's not what I mean!”
Ji So-yeon and Oh Hye-na also chimed in.
“Listen to Yang Min-seo. This is a dungeon. A D-Class shouldn't recklessly step forward.”
“I-I think it's best not to go…. It could be dangerous…….”
Given my stats, there was hardly anything dangerous, but I couldn't say this, and it was frustrating.
Even without equipping items, my strength and agility are B-Class.
If push came to shove, I could try equipping the Dragon Lotus Sword and pumping up to A-Class.
I had no choice but to feign a righteous personality.
“I'm going anyway. With psychokinesis, I might be able to buy time for injured classmates to escape. And to say you won't go because it's dangerous. Didn't you come to the academy because you want to become Heroes?”
“…….”
A brief silence.
Yang Min-seo shook her head and raised both hands in a gesture of surrender.
“Sigh. Alright. Let's go take a look. But we're pulling out immediately if it's dangerous.”
“No, you don't need to take risks too. You can press the SOS button and wait here….”
“We can't do that. Because we're a team.”
Oh Hye-na had a look of resignation as if she had no choice but to comply with Yang Min-seo's words, and Ji So-yeon fidgeted restlessly with a frightened expression.
She whined in a worried voice.
“Ah, we shouldn't…….”
“Kwoooooo!”
A house-sized bear roared.
The bear was fucking strong, befitting its size.
Every time it swung its front paws, team members flew through the air.
Park Chang-ju.
I hadn't been close to him for long, but I had heard his ambition.
[I’ll graduate from the academy and return to my orphanage in glory, then I’ll teach the director a lesson with my donations!]
He died with his face bitten off.
‘Why am I so unlucky?’
When I was young, that bastard called my father ran away with the family wealth.
My mother worked in a restaurant kitchen and barely managed to feed me.
Then one day, an awakening came suddenly.
At first, I thought I could finally become something.
But my ability was the extremely common physical enhancement.
I failed the academy exam I first took.
I committed the unfilial act of retaking it.
I was sorry to my mother, but I thought if only I became a hero, I could turn my life around.
Then I could let her live in luxury without her having to lift a finger, I thought.
Preparing ambitiously, I attempted it a second time.
I got into the academy.
My mother and I embraced each other in our single room and shed tears.
The rank I received was Bronze, with no support whatsoever.
The tuition was a considerable amount, on the level of law school.
My mother had no choice but to take out a loan.
To pay for my tuition.
Still, she bragged a lot to those around her and seemed to relax a bit.
I was happy just with that.
But.
But…….
On the first day of academy attendance.
Things went wrong during the experiential learning where we went hunting lightly in the dungeon.
A house-sized bear suddenly appeared and started harming the team members.
‘I die like this?’
What on earth am I even…
The bear approached me.
Larger than a large cargo truck.
Up close, it looked even bigger.
Overwhelming terror.
Humans stand against such a monster?
‘Don't make me laugh.’
That's impossible.
This massive violence cannot be overcome by human strength.
The bear raised its front paw.
Sharp claws at the end of its paw gleamed.
So this is the end.
‘Mother, I'm sorry.’
To think you took out loans to pay for my tuition.
I wanted to become a hero and let you live in luxury….
At the moment I truly thought it was over.
A golden spark flew over my head.
At the same time, a female student fell above the bear's head.
Her pink hair was impressive.
She stabbed the bear's eye with a spear.
The bear thrashed in pain.
“Kwoooooo!”
The female student lost her spear from that violent thrashing and tumbled to the ground.
She turned her head, looked at me, and shouted.
“Run!”
“B-but what about you?!”
“I can hold out. Run!”
In an instant, the bear batted her away with its front paw.
The female student flew far away and crashed into a tree.
She raised her body with difficulty.
Even without her weapon, she didn't back down from the giant bear.
She dodged the bear's feet.
Occasionally got hit and flew away.
Even covered in blood all over her body, she didn't give in.
An unbelievable mental strength.
I thought.
‘So that's the kind of person who becomes a hero.’
I felt ashamed of myself, who had merely wanted to become a hero to earn money.
Then the bear's paw descended on top of the female student.
She was completely stomped on and invisible.
I covered my face with both hands and lamented at that terrible sight.
In that instant, golden lightning traveled up the bear's paw.
The bear was electrocuted, trembling all over, and collapsed.
“An electric shock skill! Did she take it down…?!”
The bear got up again as if lying.
“Uh, uhh?”
I didn't want to believe it.
The female student seemed to have been injured when she was stomped on earlier, so she couldn't get up well.
Soon the bear bit her.
And shook her like crazy.
Huge fangs pierced her pale belly and burst red liquid everywhere.
I wanted to help, but my body wouldn't listen.
Legs trembling violently.
My body was refusing to fight.
As expected, it was an impossible opponent.
If there were S-Class monsters, wouldn't they be like this?
‘Damn. Making excuses to rationalize myself.’
A terrible sense of self-loathing crushed my heart.
‘Coward… I'm a coward.’
I suddenly made eye contact with her, but I turned my head away.
I didn't have the confidence to see her resentful face.
She would die soon.
She who had tried to help me… would die.
At that moment, something like black fog flickered near the back of the bear's neck.
And soon Shin Noda appeared, holding a spear.
That D-Class guy who passed because the test equipment malfunctioned and he got lucky.
He grabbed the bear's fur and muttered.
“What the. Why is Park Ha-yeon losing? She won in the game.”