EST Ch 16

The endless fall continued. Darkness surrounded him, making it impossible to see or grasp anything. His consciousness slowly faded away…

— Thud!

At some point, his body collided with something soft like a wall and fell to the ground. Having been falling upside down all this time, blood rushed to his head, causing dizziness. Hae Gijun, while retching with his hands on the ground, soon realized that what he was touching was also soft.

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It felt as if he was touching intestines.

“…Where am I?”

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He thought he would die the moment he was swallowed by the monster. The monster’s mouth was so enormous that he expected his body to burst just by brushing against its teeth… Unexpectedly, Hae Gijun found himself inside the monster’s body.

Is this situation fortunate? Of course, he didn’t want to experience his body being crushed by teeth, but waking up inside these intestines wasn’t pleasant either. As his vision slowly cleared, the sight of the dark red intestines wriggling was somewhat disgusting.

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…Could this be the afterlife?

The scenery was so hellish that Hae Gijun became confused. His excellent vision allowed him to see every detail, causing significant visual discomfort. As he turned his head in distress…

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“Hey… Hae… Jun!”

He heard someone’s shout from afar. At first, he thought he misheard, but the voice gradually approached. It wasn’t just one voice.

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Lee Donghun and Ahn Youngah appeared from the darkness.

“Hey! You were here too?!”

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“Did you come to rescue us?!”

“…I was swallowed too.”

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Hae Gijun replied awkwardly to Ahn Youngah’s question. He felt as if he had been caught up in a strange flow without realizing it. He put aside his unnecessary feelings and looked around.

Not only them, but also Kim Sihyung, the student vice president Seo Chaekyung, and other students, making a total of thirteen people. Since Hae Gijun was the last to be swallowed, this must be everyone.

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They exchanged helpless glances with each other. A half-broken flashlight was the only light illuminating the place.

“What on earth is this?”

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“It felt like a huge hole was approaching…”

They were swallowed without even realizing what it was. To them, it looked like a black circle approaching, and then they woke up in this place, covered in darkness. They could only infer that the monster had swallowed them.

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Kim Sihyung cautiously raised one hand. She had seen ‘it’ from the side at the moment of being swallowed.

“It looked like a whale…”

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Everyone blinked blankly at her words, then sighed one by one. Some were surprised, some were scared, and some were just dumbfounded.

“Are we filming Pinocchio now?”

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Lee Donghun let out a laugh of disbelief, but Ahn Youngah suddenly nodded seriously with a serious face.

“If we follow Pinocchio’s escape method, we might be able to get out too. Oh, wait. But if we follow it exactly, will we get reported for copyright infringement? I heard that’s scary.”

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“What are you talking about…”

“Well, in the original story, it was a shark, not a whale, that swallowed him.”

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Following Kim Sihyung’s words, Lee Donghun wore a momentarily dazed expression. He wondered why they were having this conversation in such a situation and if he was the only one feeling disoriented. He glanced at Hae Gijun, looking for someone who could remain calm in this situation.

“Well, a whale is better than a shark.”

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Seeing Hae Gijun nod, Lee Donghun decided to drop the thought.

However, Gijun was seriously considering the possibility that it might actually be a whale. If the enormous sound he heard in the corridor earlier was a whale’s noise, it made sense.

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This was the first time he had seen such a monster in the eleven repetitions of the training camp. But after hearing that it looked like a whale, Gijun began to infer something.

“In the past, whales were sometimes considered monsters…”

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Around the 18th century, a monster that devoured ships, called the Tanju (吞舟魚), was recorded in Seonghosaseol, written by Lee Ik. The story tells of men who went fishing in the East Sea and were swallowed by a giant mouth but managed to escape. It was said that those who escaped from the monster’s stomach had their hair cooked off, becoming bald.

And the Tanju referred to whales in olden times.

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“Whoa, how do you know such things? Did you learn this from your sister?”

“…Yeah.”

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“Wow, your sister must have taught you a lot, and it happens to fit so perfectly.”

Hae Gijun made a subtle expression at the children’s admiration. In fact, he also found the situation to be quite ironic.

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It was really a coincidence that he had heard such stories from the same woman as his mother. Stories about fireballs, flowing leaves, and now the Tanju. Every time he tried to distance himself from these Eastern myths, that woman forcibly held him back and explained.

‘You never know when it might come in handy.’

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He used to think she did it just to bother him. She always forced chores on him, insisted he read comic books, and called him urgently to her room just to ask him to turn off the lights.

So he had buried those stories deep in his memory, but now that information was being used.

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“……”

As he carefully retraced his memories, he realized that the fox monster they encountered in the annex could also be seen as a fire fox from East Asian folklore. And the zombie-like child monster they fought a few hours ago. Its final form, resembling a mix of a lion and a dog, was similar to a monster from a legend.

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Is it okay for things to match up this perfectly?

As a series of coincidental situations occurred, a feeling of unease began to settle in, but then a plop – something fell from above.

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“Oh, something’s falling…”

“I hear a splashing sound from behind.”

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The students sighed one by one, looking around. An unusual change was taking place. Whether the monster was a whale or not, it had swallowed the students, and most creatures tend to digest what they’ve swallowed.

In other words, digestive juices had started secreting.

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Now, only a few drops of digestive juice were falling from above, but each drop was large enough to drench a person instantly. Although the splashing sound was still distant, there was no telling when it would come closer. Fear and anxiety etched across the students’ faces.

“Oh, what do we do? Can we break through this?”

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“Everyone, try stabbing it first!”

The student council urgently directed the students. Each student used their weapon or power to attack the monster’s inner wall. Lee Donghun joined in, swinging his hand axe vigorously, but…

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“What is this…?”

The interior looked soft, so he thought it would be immediately effective, but it caused no damage. The moment the axe struck, the inner wall split open, then quickly healed. The recovery speed was astonishing.

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Thinking they might succeed if they attacked quickly and more forcefully before it could heal, they combined their efforts to attack one area, but it was no use. The inner wall was incredibly thick, and the faster they attacked, the quicker the wounds healed. Their strength waned.

“We have bombs, but using them here would sweep us all away, right?”

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Ahn Youngah lamented with a tearful face. She had instinctively grabbed an artifact in her hand the moment she was swallowed by the monster. As the only one in the group with an explosive artifact, she could be considered lucky, but there was no suitable place to use it. If used improperly, they could all die here.

“We need to find the weakest spot…”

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Lee Donghun bit his lip and looked at Hae Gijun. In countless dire situations, even seemingly impossible ones, he had always found a direction. He wondered if he might have some solution. Even if it wasn’t an immediate solution, he hoped he at least had a potential plan.

“…?”

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However, when Hae Gijun turned around, he had a somewhat indifferent expression. He was poking around with a support stick that now looked like a spear, but his face showed a lack of interest.

It was similar to his first impression. When Hae Gijun was encountered in the school hallway, he seemed indifferent, uninterested, and uninterested in anything. However, the Hae Gijun seen at the training camp was different from what had been seen before, and it was momentarily forgotten…

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Lee Donghun was bewildered. They were in a situation where they had been swallowed by a monster, so why was he making such an expression? While the other kids were all afraid they might die, only Hae Gijun seemed indifferent.

“Hey, why… why are you like that?”

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“What?”

“…Why does it seem like you’re not trying?”

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“…?”

Hae Gijun gave him a look as if to say, “Are you one of those effort freaks too?” Such a cold gaze was familiar, but it still felt strange. Lee Donghun didn’t want to criticize him for neglecting to search the inner wall. It was just that the sight of him not making an effort to get out, to survive, created a huge sense of dissonance.

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Hae Gijun looked like a tired person.

Regardless of the strange gaze directed at him, Gijun turned his head indifferently. He looked up at the ceiling, which seemed to have no height, presumably the esophagus, and then lowered his gaze as if he was tired. The sight of the wriggling intestines was quite disgusting.

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In fact, although he was trying something with the kids again, the feeling he had when he first hit the ground was emptiness.

He didn’t want to die, but he thought he couldn’t bear to see Baek Sunwoo’s death in front of him again. So, as he was swallowed by the monster, he felt relieved that he had saved Baek Sunwoo this time and that he wouldn’t have to repeat the dreadful training camp anymore.

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But now, waking up in this place and having to figure out how to survive with the students again made him feel a little, no, quite tired.

“If I die here, will it not repeat anymore…”

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Hae Gijun muttered unconsciously. In fact, if he had died at the beginning, he would have just closed his eyes, thinking he was unlucky. Between ‘repeating the training camp 11 times while watching friends die in front of him’ and ‘dying once and ending it,’ he would have chosen the latter.

He was not a suicidal person and had never thought of wanting to die even once in his life, but… he was tired of repeating the regression.

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He had always lived peacefully, satisfied with the present, so if he had died, he would have closed his eyes without much struggle, thinking it was a disaster that happened to the entire school. ‘Ah, no wonder the potatoes tasted good, I had good luck…’ would have been his only thought.

But Baek Sunwoo kept dying while protecting him-

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“…Huh?”

Suddenly, Hae Gijun stopped.

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Come to think of it, almost every time, Baek Sunwoo died while saving him in dangerous moments. Retracing his memories, even in the first death he faced, Baek Sunwoo pushed him aside as soon as the monster appeared around the corner of the hallway. If it weren’t for Baek Sunwoo, he would have been attacked and killed by the monster’s foot.

Even in the round where they were imprisoned, Baek Sunwoo died from the monster’s charge, but other students said that if he hadn’t made noise to lure the monster, it would have run to where they were. At that time, Gijun was holding the dying Baek Sunwoo and didn’t pay attention to such stories, but he remembered the expression on Baek Sunwoo’s face as he held his hand.

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Every time he was dying, Baek Sunwoo always smiled as if he was relieved. It was a very faint smile, but as each moment came to mind, Hae Gijun felt extremely strange. It wasn’t just because he was a kind-hearted guy who smiled while sacrificing himself.

Hae Gijun fumbled and touched his lips. Did he also make such an expression a while ago?

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“…”

He couldn’t know the answer. Gijun held his breath for a moment… and eventually let it out with a bitter laugh, shaking his head. It must be a coincidence. Yet, on the other hand, the thought suddenly arose that now that he was gone, Baek Sunwoo, who always tried to sacrifice himself, might be okay.

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Although the situation was a bit twisted, he had figured out the background. He could also materialize mana, so if he prioritized his own safety, he might be able to survive alone. Whether by attacking the underground or just holding out for a few hours until morning…

At that moment, Seo Chaekyung suddenly shouted from behind.

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“Guys! Can you hear our voices?!”

[Static- Are you- alive…?]

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Gijun slowly turned to look there. The student council seemed to have found a walkie-talkie while searching the training camp. In a place where cell phone signals didn’t work, a walkie-talkie was an excellent means of communication.

Gijun, who had moved quite far, slowly returned there. There was no harm in hearing news from the outside.

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— Plop, plop… 

The digestive juices falling from above were getting thicker.

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“Can you see where the monster that swallowed us is?!”

[Uh, uh…! It’s floating almost on the third floor! We attacked it, but nothing… worked!]

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After confirming each other’s survival, they immediately exchanged information. As expected, the monster looked like a whale from the outside as well. It had initially swallowed a bunch of students with its enormous mouth and was now floating in mid-air, as if swimming in the sea.

So, the remaining members attacked the monster together, but its outer shell didn’t get any scratches. It was so hard that it felt like hitting a rock, completely different from the soft inner wall.

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“So, what’s the situation in the hallway? Any other monsters?”

[Well… -static- because of the commotion, more monsters… have gathered….]

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Hae Gijun’s face began to harden as he approached. More monsters had gathered outside while the combat forces were reduced? And it wasn’t just one or two.

However, the student’s voice conveying the situation didn’t sound fearful. It was just a bit flustered, stammering a few times before finally speaking.

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[Baek Sunwoo is… almost handling them all… alone….]

“What? What do you mean? Alone…?”

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As Seo Chaekyung expressed her confusion, the commotion on the other side was heard through the walkie-talkie.

[Baek Sunwoo, calm down!]

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[…Someone, stop him!]

[Who’s going to stop…!]

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[He’s going to die at this rate!]

What the hell?

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Hae Gijun’s eyes widened instantly. His previously indifferent eyes now showed a fierce determination. Why did he get swallowed instead, only to hear that someone was going to die?

He strode over and grabbed the walkie-talkie.

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“What about Baek Sunwoo?”

[No… the monsters- Ah… Aaaah…!]

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[Static- Bang, crash!]

[…Hey, we need to stop him… or he’ll die!]

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The walkie-talkie connection was poor. It was hard to tell what was happening on the other side, with loud noises and even the sound of the walkie-talkie being dropped. The distant sound of someone shouting to run away echoed.

It seemed like the monsters were gathering, and the students were fleeing.

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“…We need to get out.”

Hae Gijun muttered through gritted teeth, holding the walkie-talkie tightly. His voice carried a hint of anxiety. His previously indifferent expression was gone, replaced by a look of near desperation as he glanced around.

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Lee Donghun was both bewildered and somewhat pleased by his change. He believed that if Hae Gijun was determined to find a way, he would.

Meanwhile, the situation inside was also deteriorating.

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“The water is rising.”

“More is falling from above, ah!”

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The drops of digestive juice that had been falling thicker and thicker were now even larger. The splashing sound that seemed distant was now closer. The sound grew louder, indicating that the water level was rising.

— Plop…

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— Static.

As digestive juice fell on their clothes, it immediately burned, turning the fabric black. Everyone’s faces turned pale. If they touched the slowly approaching puddle, now looking like a sea, they would die. The sea even had waves crashing towards them.

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It looked like the tide was coming in. If they didn’t escape in time, they would drown.

“There.”

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At that moment, Hae Gijun pointed somewhere. The inner wall of the whale monster occasionally wriggled, but one spot seemed stiff and didn’t move properly. It was too dark for the other kids to notice, but he saw it clearly.

Hae Gijun guessed that it was the spot the students outside had concentrated their attacks on. While they couldn’t make a big scratch from the outside, attacking it from the inside would surely be effective.

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The students, confirming the spot with the faint flashlight, agreed and attacked together. Soon, their faces lit up with joy.

“It’s really healing slowly!”

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“Let’s pry it open as much as possible, plant the bomb deep, and move back.”

Even if they planted it deep, they would still be affected by the explosion, but they had to take some risks. The students nodded with determined faces.

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From behind, Ahn Youngah alternated her gaze between the vice president and Hae Gijun.

“Wouldn’t it be better for someone with a higher SPI than me to infuse mana?”

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Artifacts only activate when infused with the user’s mana. Even an F-rank can use it with a very small amount of mana, but Ahn Youngah wanted to pass it to someone else. She wanted the precious weapon to be used more accurately. So she was contemplating whether to give it to the student council with high SPI or to Hae Gijun, who had high trustworthiness.

However, Gijun refused the artifact she offered.

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“No, you do it. We need your luck.”

For a moment, Ahn Youngah was flustered, her mouth opening and closing. She seemed very burdened, with cold sweat forming on her forehead, and she looked like she wanted to ask if it wouldn’t be better to rely on a certain ability rather than uncertain luck in this situation, but she couldn’t say anything. Hae Gijun had already turned his head to direct the situation.

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So, all the students attacked a single point simultaneously.

“Haaap!”

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Each of them shouted as they struck fiercely. Nearby, Ahn Youngah waited anxiously, and as soon as their attacks landed, she infused mana into the artifact.

But at that moment.

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— Rumble…

“Aaah!”

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“Kyaaah!”

The monster twisted its body. It let out a huge roar as if writhing in pain, and though the movement was small, the kids inside had to roll on the floor. It happened just as Lee Donghun was embedding his hand axe, and he ended up hanging in the air, clutching the handle and screaming.

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Ahn Youngah’s luck stopped her from activating the artifact just in time and prevented it from falling from her hand, but…

“Aaah!”

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It didn’t stop her from rolling into the sea of digestive juices. Her vision spun, and she tried to grab the floor in a hurry, but she slipped on the soft inner wall. As she fell helplessly, Ahn Youngah screamed.

— Swoosh!

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“Got you…”

Kim Sihyung barely managed to grab Ahn Youngah’s arm.

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Her quick running skills came in handy here. Ahn Youngah, who thought she was really going to die for a moment, thanked her with a trembling voice, then widened her eyes in shock.

“Sihyung! Your arm is bleeding…!”

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She had been hit by a mana gun fired by a teacher in the hallway. Blood was streaming from her arm, likely from the force used to grab Ahn Youngah. But Kim Sihyung didn’t care and pulled Ahn Youngah up with both arms.

“It’s okay. Just a moment, I’ll get you up… ugh!”

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But as she exerted force, Kim Sihyung suddenly groaned in pain. Ahn Youngah, panicking, asked what was wrong, but Kim Sihyung just bit her lip and pulled her up.

When Ahn Youngah finally managed to get back up, she was shocked by Kim Sihyung’s condition.

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“Your back is injured…!”

Kim Sihyung had been hit by digestive juices while saving Ahn Youngah. The back of her clothes was burnt, and her skin was red as if it had been scalded.

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Feeling extremely guilty and flustered, Ahn Youngah couldn’t say anything, but Kim Sihyung shook her head.

“You guys know this situation best.”

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“…Huh?”

“You’re the only ones who can stop those bastards now…”

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She spoke with a faint smile. She also seemed to feel sorry for her earlier reaction when Hae Gijun suspected Yeon Mijeong. For a moment, Ahn Youngah was stunned, her mouth opening and closing.

Just then, Hae Gijun shouted from above.

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“Hey! If you’re both okay, come back quickly!”

The monster’s movement had caused a commotion, but it was clear that the spot was a weak point. They had to attack quickly before it could heal the wound.

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Ahn Youngah, supporting Kim Sihyung, returned with a more determined expression. It was unclear whether she was simply surprised or tense. More digestive juices were falling from above, and the approaching puddle from the other side was also ominous.

— Thud! Thud!

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Once again, the students gathered their strength and attacked the spot. As the inner wall was struck and began to split open, Ahn Youngah activated the explosive artifact and inserted it. They all hurriedly retreated and watched anxiously.

Beep- beep- beep- the sound rang out rhythmically until finally.

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— BOOM!

The artifact exploded. Since the explosion occurred buried in the inner wall, they were fortunately not swept away by the heat of the explosion, but flesh flew everywhere. However, that was not important at all. Everyone’s eyes were on the explosion site, and soon cheers erupted.

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A hole about 1 meter in diameter was created.

As expected, the monster began to twist its body. This time, they had prepared in advance by embedding weapons in the inner wall and holding onto ropes to brace themselves, but the shaking was severe. As the monster twisted, the floor they had been standing on became the ceiling. To reach the hole, they had to leap as if flying.

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Moreover, the next change shocked them.

“It’s healing too quickly!”

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The torn flesh of the hole began to heal rapidly. Even the digestive juices rose right up to the vicinity, sloshing as if they were about to engulf them all.

At that moment, the vice president’s walkie-talkie rang.

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[Static- Baek, Baek Sunwoo!]

[Hey, you’re really- if you keep going like that… static…!]

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[Screech! -Boom, crash!]

The monster’s roars and loud noises erupted in succession. Hae Gijun bit his lower lip hard and spoke.

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“Lee Donghun. You said you could climb walls, right?”

“Well, I don’t think it’s the same as the monster’s inner wall-.”

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“Give it a try. I’ll jump over too.”

Lee Donghun shot him a look, misunderstanding the earlier conversation about effort, but Hae Gijun responded with a glance. It meant to shut up and jump. They couldn’t miss the opportunity created by the only artifact. They had to make the wound bigger so it couldn’t heal.

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In the end, Lee Donghun shouted and leaped up.

“Haaap!”

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He climbed up using his axe and hands. After confirming that he wasn’t likely to fall, Hae Gijun took a deep breath. Using the rope he was holding, he slowly gave his body momentum and then swung to the opposite side.

He landed precariously near the hole. He immediately used the spear tip to stab the inner wall and used it as the next support. Lee Donghun also arrived there, and as they exchanged glances to attack together, Seo Chaekyung screamed from behind.

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“Kyaa! Guys, behind you…!”

— Splash

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Water poured towards them as if to prevent them from attacking the wound. They cursed under their breath and started climbing up.

They had no intention of dying from such acid. Moreover, they couldn’t stay here while Baek Sunwoo might be dying. At that moment, the danger to Baek Sunwoo felt more pressing to Hae Gijun than his own. He was furious.

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If he could just get out of here, he would grab Baek Sunwoo by the collar and demand to know why he was trying to die. Hae Gijun, who had tried to die in his place, shamelessly grew angrier without realizing his own fault.

How many times did I beg you, and you forgot?

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— Splash! 

At that moment, digestive juices surged like a tidal wave from right behind. It rose high as if to engulf them, and Hae Gijun ducked and rolled to avoid it, shouting irritably.

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“Damn it, stop it!”

There was no time to fight with water here. He shouted in frustration and immediately dodged to the side, but for some reason, he didn’t hear the sound of water pouring behind him. He had narrowly avoided it, so there should have been the sound of digestive juices hitting the inner wall…

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Hae Gijun glanced back and saw the wall of digestive juices collapsing and falling. He was puzzled but decided to focus on the task at hand. Lee Donghun was also barely avoiding the tidal wave and running towards the hole.

By now, the hole’s diameter had shrunk to about 50cm. As soon as they arrived, Lee Donghun quickly swung his axe, and Gijun stabbed the inner wall with his spear. They intended to tear it open. The recently healed area was weak.

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But the hole was closing faster than they could widen it. Lee Donghun, pale, shouted “No, no!” and struck more desperately with his axe, and Gijun cursed under his breath.

They had to get out of here.

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They had to protect Baek Sunwoo.

That thought, that obsession, and that determination finally flowed through Gijun’s hand. For a moment, the air around him distorted. Mana gathered as if flowing through a new waterway, swirling at the tip of his spear.

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— ROAR!

The wound was not just opened but completely pierced through. The monster’s flesh tore long and wide, causing it to scream in agony. It was a firsthand experience of what happens when you don’t chew properly and suffer from gastritis and acid reflux.

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“Aaah!”

The monster twisted its body, but now the students were falling not into a sea of digestive juices but outside.

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Thud, thud. They landed on the hard floor of the hallway, their knees and hands hurting, but their faces were filled with joy. The kids cheered and hugged each other. Even though they had been trapped together for a short time, a sense of camaraderie had formed.

While everyone was cheering, Lee Donghun looked down at his axe with a bewildered expression. He had attacked along with them, but…

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His gaze slowly turned to Hae Gijun.

He wanted to ask a question but was too confused to know what to ask, so he said nothing.

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Hae Gijun felt the same. He was also staring at his hand and the tip of his spear with a puzzled look. What was that at the end? The fleeting blue light. It looked almost like the shape of a horn…

“Guys, guys!”

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“Wow, you made it out!”

Shim Dokyung’s tearful voice was followed by other students looking up at them. They had fallen into the third-floor hallway, while the other students were on the second floor.

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Hae Gijun’s eyes caught sight of Baek Sunwoo. Leaning against the wall with his knees drawn up, he looked very gloomy and unwell. His white sweater was stained red in several places, causing Gijun’s eyes to widen. He cursed and quickly ran down the stairs.

Was he injured? How badly?

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“Hey, Baek Sunwoo! You’re bleeding…!”

Hae Gijun shouted as he leaped down two or three steps at a time. As he grabbed Baek Sunwoo’s shoulder to check his condition, he felt himself being pushed back and falling.

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Thud, he landed on his backside but had no time to complain about the pain.

“Gijun, Gijun…”

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Baek Sunwoo gasped for breath as he hugged Gijun. It was almost a clinging embrace. His trembling hands, tearful voice, and unfocused eyes made him look like someone whose mind had broken from extreme anxiety and fear.

For a moment, Hae Gijun was too shocked to say anything. Yet, he instinctively patted Baek Sunwoo’s back with one hand and tried to look around to gather information about the situation. But as he tried to turn his head, Baek Sunwoo grabbed his face, trembling violently.

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His fingers on Gijun’s cheek twitched with small spasms.

“Gijun, how… how could I… again…”

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“…Baek Sunwoo?”

“How could I, until now…”

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Baek Sunwoo mumbled, almost sobbing. His voice, barely squeezed out like someone being strangled, sounded unfamiliar and echoed in Gijun’s ears. Though the sentences were incomplete and just fragments of words, Gijun listened blankly.

At that moment, Nam Hyungwook approached. He seemed to have been holding out around Baek Sunwoo while he hunted the monster, looking quite battered and pale as he greeted them with, “You made it back alive…”

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Gijun immediately bombarded him with questions.

“Why is he like this? What’s with all this blood? Where did he get hurt-”

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“First of all, that’s not Baek Sunwoo’s blood…”

Nam Hyungwook answered in a drained voice. His response sounded like a sigh, as if he was bewildered by the question after seeing the hallway’s condition.

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Only then did Gijun slowly look around. Of course, as he tried to turn his head again, Baek Sunwoo clung to him, saying no, so he pressed Baek Sunwoo’s head into his shoulder and checked the surroundings.

At first, Baek Sunwoo struggled in surprise, but soon he buried his face in Gijun’s neck and gradually calmed down. His breath, trembling against Gijun’s neck, slowly steadied.

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In the meantime, Gijun scanned the entire area and sighed briefly.

“Could this be…”

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The hallway was littered with the gruesome corpses of monsters. The walls were shattered as if clawed at, and the fluorescent lights in the hallway were broken, with glass shards scattered messily. It looked like a space ravaged by a giant beast.

Hae Gijun combined the information he had heard over the walkie-talkie. The monsters that had gathered in the hallway, and Baek Sunwoo who had faced them ‘alone.’ The kids who had shouted that he might die…

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“Did Baek Sunwoo do all this?”

“Yeah… I finally understand what an S-rank is capable of…”

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Nam Hyungwook spoke with a slightly trembling voice. It wasn’t because of the trivial feelings of shame or embarrassment for having tried to keep Baek Sunwoo in check at Shin Hae High School. It was the fear and terror one feels when facing an overwhelming opponent.

Nam Hyungwook’s face was pale as if he had been drained of all color.

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“I thought his mana was going berserk, but now it seems that’s not the case…”

The time Hae Gijun and some of the kids were swallowed by the whale-like monster was only about an hour. But in that time, an incredible event occurred. From the moment they were swallowed, or more precisely, from the moment Hae Gijun disappeared from Baek Sunwoo’s sight, he lost control.

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At first, he stood frozen, then suddenly grabbed his neck as if he couldn’t breathe… and then his mana exploded outward. The red chains, which had previously been only three or four, increased to a dozen, instantly destroying the space.

He bound the approaching monsters and threw them against the walls, and the chains themselves became sharp, piercing their bodies. Nam Hyungwook witnessed for the first time that even monsters could flee.

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Of course, Baek Sunwoo’s chains didn’t let them escape. He chased down and slaughtered even the fleeing ones, as if that was the only way to vent his anger.

The chains flew dangerously close to the students, but they seemed enough to sweep them away if they made a mistake. Everyone huddled against the walls, trembling.

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Since it was revealed that Baek Sunwoo’s ability was ‘submission,’ the students at Shin Hae High School had feared and avoided him. But they still believed that Baek Sunwoo wouldn’t easily use that ability, and even if they were scared, it was just a slight sense of distance. Just an awkward discomfort among classmates.

But the Baek Sunwoo they saw today was truly terrifying and chilling. For the first time, his presence felt frightening. No one dared to make a sound in the face of his rampage.

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Only Nam Hyungwook tried to calm Baek Sunwoo. If mana rampage continued for too long, the body couldn’t withstand it. He could die, bleeding from every pore. In fact, the bigger concern was that his rampage might sweep away the other students…

Anyway, he tried to talk to him somehow, but Baek Sunwoo didn’t say a word. He just looked at Nam Hyungwook with cold eyes that seemed to glow red and then turned his head. With a cold expression devoid of the usual smile, Baek Sunwoo killed all the monsters.

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Nam Hyungwook shuddered, as if he didn’t even want to recall that time.

Hearing the brief account of the situation, Hae Gijun’s expression hardened. He too was shocked, and as he thought about it, he immediately cupped Baek Sunwoo’s face and asked.

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“Baek Sunwoo, are you not having a nosebleed? Did you not cough up blood?”

“No, I’m fine. But you…”

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“Stay still. Are you pretending not to be hurt again?”

He checked Baek Sunwoo’s neck, arms, and legs. There was only blood on his clothes, no cuts anywhere. It was proof that the monsters hadn’t even gotten close to him, but Gijun wasn’t reassured and checked more thoroughly. Meanwhile, Baek Sunwoo just breathed quietly, leaning his face against Gijun’s hand.

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“…?”

While Nam Hyungwook watched in bewilderment, Lee Donghun approached.

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“I understand.”

He said something incomprehensible and patted his shoulder. Nam Hyungwook looked back and forth between the three of them and then sighed briefly.

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At first, he thought Hae Gijun was monopolizing Baek Sunwoo. He criticized him for selfishly securing the most useful card for his own safety…

But seeing Baek Sunwoo calm down only in front of Hae Gijun, he wanted to beg him to keep him close and not let him loose. Just a few minutes ago, Baek Sunwoo’s mana was so sharp that no one could approach, and everyone had to stay away because they couldn’t even breathe nearby.

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But the moment Hae Gijun appeared, Baek Sunwoo calmed down. Seeing Baek Sunwoo quietly panting in his arms, it felt like seeing a completely different person. As if he was blindly submitting to him.

While Nam Hyungwook was lost in his troubled thoughts, Hae Gijun finished his inspection and sighed. Baek Sunwoo had no injuries. He had no fever, and his quick responses to questions indicated he wasn’t overly tired.

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But that made it even stranger.

“There’s no way you could use that much mana and be fine…”

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In the eleven repetitions of the training camp, Baek Sunwoo had never used more than ten mana chains. Usually, it was three or four, at most six or seven. But just now, he had used three times that amount? Gijun muttered in disbelief.

“Why did you become so strong?”

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“Because you almost died in front of me…”

Hae Gijun blinked at the murmuring response. His question was why Baek Sunwoo didn’t use that much power when he himself had died several times, but only developed so much when Hae Gijun almost died. He knew Baek Sunwoo was quite loyal to him, but this was a bit strange.

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Even while thinking that, Gijun gently stroked Baek Sunwoo’s cheek. He had been unconsciously caressing him since Baek Sunwoo kept leaning his face into Gijun’s palm. The focus in Baek Sunwoo’s eyes seemed slightly off…

Hmm, should I say his mind might be hurt if I look at it this way?

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While Gijun was contemplating, Shim Dokyung carefully approached and explained the situation. Since Baek Sunwoo had taken care of all the monsters, the other students were handling other tasks.

When she mentioned that the student council had broken into the small auditorium to rescue survivors after putting out a fire, Gijun’s attention shifted. Baek Sunwoo no longer seemed to try holding his gaze as he had calmed down.

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“How many survivors are there?”

“Ah, nine…”

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“…”

Gijun moved his lips slightly. He remembered there being over 50 people in the small auditorium. He wanted to ask exactly how many had died and if the class president was among the survivors, but… he swallowed all his questions. During his repetitions of the training camp, he had maintained his sanity by not dwelling on the deaths of each student.

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A student who died last time might have survived this time, and a student who survived last time might have died this time. Gijun thought that way and silently nodded.

“What about the homeroom teacher?”

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“Teacher Choi Sowon is sleeping right now. I should say she collapsed… Anyway, she’s resting now. Do you want to go see her?”

“…No.”

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Gijun hesitated for a moment but decided not to. The homeroom teacher had gone through a lot, and learning that a fellow teacher was a link must have been a big shock. He didn’t want to wake her up when she had collapsed from exhaustion. Besides, he didn’t really have much to say.

Then Shim Dokyung shared surprising news.

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“And since we used up all the bombs while dealing with the monsters, I brought some more.”

“By yourself?”

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“No, I asked my friends for help… Don’t worry! They are all very discreet!”

There are bombs not only in the second-floor east gate and the small auditorium but also in other locations at the training camp. Gijun had marked the places where there were flowery patterns, and Shim Dokyung said she had searched based on that information. She mentioned that there weren’t any big commotions, probably because most of the monsters with flowery patterns had already come out by the second night.

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Although she received suspicious looks and even faced doubts for knowing the locations of the bombs, Shim Dokyung’s friends eventually helped move the bombs.

Shim Dokyung felt uneasy about exposing the locations without Gijun’s permission. After a moment’s thought, Gijun shook his head.

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“No, it’s fine. Anyway, the students aren’t the links…”

The problem was with the teachers, not the students. He considered the possibility of a spy among the students but thought it was very unlikely. Besides… he wasn’t particularly worried since Shim Dokyung’s friends would likely have similar personalities to hers.

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He felt reassured about securing additional weapons and appreciated the risk they took in moving the bombs, despite the potential danger. When Gijun thanked her, Shim Dokyung smiled, looking both shy and pleased.

Listening quietly to the series of conversations, Nam Hyungwook spoke.

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“Hey, Hae Gijun. I have something to tell you. Can we talk for a moment… Ah, no, with Baek Sunwoo too! The three of us!”

“…?”

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Gijun shot him a bewildered look. Nam Hyungwook, who had been speaking seriously, suddenly met Baek Sunwoo’s eyes and quickly broke into a cold sweat, changing his words.

Gijun looked at Baek Sunwoo in confusion but only saw his endlessly gentle eyes and shrugged. Nam Hyungwook had always been unnecessarily conscious of and kept a check on Baek Sunwoo.

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Soon, the three of them moved together.

Nam Hyungwook seemed to want to show them something, leading them through a long hallway until they finally stopped in front of a window overlooking the forest behind the training camp. It was raining, so it was quite dark, but the shapes were distinguishable.

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“Why did we come here?”

“Uh, well… by the way, has Baek Sunwoo always stuck to you like this?”

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Nam Hyungwook asked, bewildered. Throughout the walk to this place, Baek Sunwoo had been clinging right behind Hae Gijun, and as soon as they stopped, he wrapped his arms around Gijun’s shoulders, standing as if hugging him from behind. At first, he thought it was just to stay vigilant, but now the situation seemed a bit, no, quite unsettling.

And in fact, Hae Gijun was just as puzzled by Baek Sunwoo’s behavior. Previously, he hadn’t stuck this close, but after being swallowed by the monster, his reactions changed. He became anxious in every situation and wouldn’t leave Gijun’s side.

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If it were someone else, Gijun might have found it annoying, cumbersome, and honestly questioned their sanity, but… Baek Sunwoo was an exception. Gijun concluded that as long as Baek Sunwoo was happy, it didn’t matter. If this made him feel stable, then discomfort in posture was insignificant.

“That’s not the case, but anyway, that’s not the important part. Hurry up and tell me.”

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“Well…”

Nam Hyungwook hesitated, looking between the two of them, and finally sighed and began his story.

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“I heard a bit from Shim Dokyung. That you’ve been trying to find the mastermind behind this incident and that you even went to the hidden basement.”

“It’s more than just a bit, then?”

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“Listen to me.”

“You’re being long-winded. Just the conclusion.”

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“I think I found another entrance.”

“…Tell me the whole process.”

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An unnecessary staring contest ensued between the two. They weren’t particularly suited for conversation from the start. Finally, Nam Hyungwook sighed and threw his gaze entirely out the window. Absolutely not because of Baek Sunwoo’s eyes on him from behind Hae Gijun. Really not.

“Since last night, we’ve been with the teachers of Class 1 and Class 3. During that time, the Class 3 teacher kept glancing out the window occasionally. At first, I thought he was just checking the monster activity outside the training camp, but thinking back, he was only looking at one specific spot.”

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“…That place being that mountain behind us?”

“Yeah. When I looked back then, I couldn’t see anything… but now with the rain, I understand. You can see it more clearly, right?”

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Nam Hyungwook pointed to a spot. Gijun’s gaze slowly followed his finger, and finally, he found ‘something’ as Nam Hyungwook had said.

The raindrops were breaking off in midair. Higher than the ground.

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“…What the? Why are the raindrops ending midair-.”

“Concealment artifact.”

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Baek Sunwoo’s voice dropped quietly. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary mountain, but the raindrops weren’t reaching the ground, bouncing off in the middle. It meant there was something hidden there.

And around the training camp, there’s only one space they could hide something now.

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Gijun’s memory from this morning surfaced. When he found the hidden door leading underground on the first floor, it was because of the muddy footprints on the floor. At that time, he had found it absurd, thinking they had leisurely taken a walk, but it matched up.

That place was probably another way into the underground.

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Though he couldn’t definitively say it was an entrance to the underground, he was certain it was connected to it somehow. Especially since the Class 3 teacher had barrier abilities, the connection was even more likely.

There might be sensors there too, but Gijun focused on the positive aspect for now. The entrance Yeon Mijeong had informed them about was surely completely blocked by now.

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“So, are you telling me this because… you want to go together?”

“No.”

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Gijun was surprised by the firm response. He had expected Nam Hyungwook to request to join them, considering he liked to be in the spotlight, and had even thought it would be tiring if he did. Clashing with Nam Hyungwook’s authoritative leadership would be cumbersome.

But Nam Hyungwook shook his head and said calmly.

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“I’ll be here rescuing other students. There are still kids being chased by monsters.”

“…”

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“So, you go and stop them there.”

Hae Gijun already had a group he had been working with for the past two days. In such a situation, having Nam Hyungwook join could disrupt the formation, and as the student council president, he judged what was more important.

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He didn’t know if the monsters in the training camp were more dangerous, or if the humans underground were. Clearly, the latter would be tougher and trickier to deal with… which made him think Hae Gijun and Baek Sunwoo had to go. Maybe because he was weak, or maybe because he trusted them.

Hae Gijun responded with a bewildered expression in front of Nam Hyungwook’s smiling face.

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“…Oh, um… we have a lot of explosive artifacts, so I’ll leave some with you.”

“Actually, I was going to ask for that favor anyway, so thanks.”

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“…”