Chapter 19
There was a slight, no, very big incident, but nothing particularly special happened after that.
No, it shouldn't have happened.
Because I immediately left the hot spring and ran to my room.
For a moment my head was ringing and I almost lost my mind, but fortunately, my mental strength was quite strong.
If my mental strength hadn't been strong...
Let's leave that to the imagination.
"My lord, how was my body? Did you like it?"
"You did that on purpose."
"Oh come on, that was clearly an accident."
Hwa-ryeon kept attacking during the incident, but fortunately I was able to fend her off.
Anyway, a day passed like that and the second day of the academy dawned.
"Shin-woo, what did you do during your major class time?"
The second day was class-by-class lessons.
Class-by-class lessons are basically high-level group lessons.
If major classes deeply delve into one field, these classes cover comprehensive lessons needed for all students.
Because of that, the S-class students were gathered in the classroom waiting for the professor, and I was sitting in a corner, talking with Rin whom I met after two days.
"I caught about 30 ghosts in the back mountain."
"...Is that something you can talk about so casually?"
Certainly, saying it like this was strange.
To begin with, it was strange to say there were 30 ghosts in the back mountain.
But it was true.
"What kind of ghosts?"
This time, it was Karen sitting across from me who asked.
Looking at her expression, she seemed expressionless as if she wasn't listening to anything,
But if you spent time with her, she remembered conversations eerily well.
"Half-soul ghosts. So it wasn't particularly difficult to catch them."
"Even if they're half-soul ghosts, they're still evil spirits. Catching 30 is a difficult task."
Rin said this while poking my side with her finger.
It seemed to be a habit of hers from before.
"You could catch them too, I think?"
"How could I when I can't even see them?"
"If you roughly sweep with an area-of-effect skill, about half would die."
I'm not sure about after that.
Well, if it's Rin, she'd probably do something when faced with that situation.
"Then let's go catch them together later. I'll show you it's not difficult..."
That's when it happened.
Bang!
Suddenly, the front door of the classroom opened violently and someone entered.
Someone boldly entered through the door that opened so roughly that a loud noise spread throughout the classroom.
"Nice to meet you, students."
The person who entered was Heo Si-won, the homeroom teacher I had seen before.
He was wearing the black suit he had on during course registration.
His left arm was empty, and his left eye was covered with an eye patch.
He quickly entered the classroom and stood in front of the desk.
"I'm Heo Si-won, the S-class homeroom teacher who will be with you for a year, no, maybe 3 years from today."
He said this while brushing up his gray hair.
Heo Si-won.
I had met him during course registration, but in the original work, he was a character who played quite a significant role as the homeroom teacher of the protagonists.
Basically, he has a personality that lacks motivation and seems to do things half-heartedly.
But he was someone who could give his life for his students.
'He actually died.'
In the original work, his end was dying while protecting his student.
He was quite a popular character, so it was regrettable, but seeing him like this felt new.
"Wow, it's Heo Si-won."
"Even though we saw him during course registration, it feels new."
Heo Si-won was already quite a famous hero in this world.
He was alive during the 2nd Outer God Invasion, and had achieved quite a lot of merits afterwards.
It wasn't strange for other students to know him.
"I don't like talking at length, so I'll get straight to the point."
Saying this, he went straight to the main point without any OT or other introductions.
The first activity in the class lesson.
It was none other than,
"Today we're entering a dungeon."
A dungeon.
A dungeon from the first day, it could be said to be rushed, but it wasn't incomprehensible given that Heo Si-won was more practical than anyone else.
Even with other professors, dungeon exploration is quite an early activity.
Contrary to his outward appearance, he liked to move with his body.
"Look here, the dungeon we're entering is a place called the Full Moon Garden."
Heo Si-won hit the blackboard behind him, and the blackboard changed to become a map.
What unfolded was a region like a mountain.
It was the interior view of the dungeon called <Full Moon Garden> that he mentioned.
'The first dungeon.'
It appeared in the original work too, and is one of the medium-sized episodes in the early part.
It doesn't have much significance.
It's a dungeon that sets the early academy atmosphere and gives moderate rewards.
It didn't have much meaning in terms of story or rewards.
But to me now, it approached with a slightly bigger meaning.
'There's a yokai there.'
I remember the boss monster of <Full Moon Garden> was a yokai.
Probably one that mainly used flowers.
It was described as quite strong, so I wanted to make it my familiar spirit if possible.
Since yokai are about half ghost, if properly subjugated, they could be made into familiar spirits.
Although I increased the number of familiar spirits with half-soul ghosts, the number of main familiar spirits is still small.
And the more the better, right?
"What you need to do is enter this place and catch the boss. Then today's class is over."
The center of a dungeon is the boss.
If the boss is subjugated, the dungeon ends.
The goal of this practical training was not only dungeon exploration but complete subjugation.
It seemed to be a set class because the dungeon's level wasn't high.
"Groups of 5. Enter today and finish within today."
"How do we decide the groups?"
"Decide among people you're close with."
Decide arbitrarily among people you're close with.
It was the cruelest order for loners, but
Fortunately, I had people who would team up with me.
"The three of us are fixed, right?"
"Yeah."
"Of course! I don't have many close friends yet anyway..."
First, I gathered Rin and Karen who had been with me from earlier as confirmed members.
Yoon Kang-woo, who was probably in the same group in the original work, would probably join too.
"Can I join your group too?"
"Of course! We welcome you!"
Like this.
Yoon Kang-woo joined at an incredibly fast speed, as if he had come to us as soon as Heo Si-won finished speaking.
Maybe it was natural given that our atmosphere wasn't bad during the entrance exam.
With this, 4 members from the entrance exam group were completed, but...
'Who should we have as the last member?'
I couldn't think of who the last member should be.
It seemed that not only me, but Karen, Rin, and Yoon Kang-woo couldn't think of anyone either.
'It's natural if you think about it.'
In Karen's case, true to her innate personality, she naturally has no friends.
Rin has good social skills, but many people are reluctant because of the evil spirits attached to her.
Yoon Kang-woo is... okay, but honestly, he has extremely few connections in the early stages.
'What should we do?'
How should we fill the remaining spot?
As I was thinking this, another voice was heard.
"Hey, is there a spot left in your group?"
A student walked towards us with a casual voice.
It was none other than Baek Seo-yun.
She asked this with her uniform loosened, true to her personality.
"Don't you have group members?"
"I don't. And I don't want to team up with weak kids this time either."
I nodded as Baek Seo-yun said this while shrugging her shoulders.
She was a loner too.
Come to think of it, none of the protagonists seemed to have many friends.
"Is this a gathering of people without friends?"
"Don't hit the nail on the head like that."
"I rather like it!"
Rin shouted as if she rather liked this situation.
Well, I don't think the situation itself is bad either.
Since we've gathered the original supporting characters, our combat power should be high.
"So will you accept me?"
Perhaps because a definitive answer hadn't come out yet, Baek Seo-yun asked once more.
"I don't mind, what about you guys?"
"I like it! It's good to have strong people!"
"I don't mind either."
"..."
Rin, Yoon Kang-woo, and I immediately gave permission.
Karen neither affirmed nor denied, as if she didn't care either way.
"Then it's decided."
A super team composed only of main characters.
As the group was completed like that, and not long after, other groups seemed to have been completed too.
Heo Si-won opened his mouth.
"Then we depart for the dungeon."
The transportation was by bus.
#
After riding the bus for about an hour, we were able to arrive at the dungeon.
The entrance to the dungeon was an ordinary mountain.
It didn't look particularly different from reality.
"This is the dungeon. It doesn't look much different from reality, does it?"
Dungeon.
It's the purpose for heroes in this world, and a place that's absolutely necessary in current society.
It looks like an ordinary space, but it's a place divided by magical power.
Inside, monsters were swarming.
There was a reason why ordinary people had a hard time coming out alive if they entered a dungeon.
"From now on, we'll conquer this place."
His explanation wasn't much different from what I heard in the original work.
Give it your all.
He won't help.
Come out immediately if you feel your life is threatened.
Don't be foolish.
He told these cliché yet most important elements.
'It's the most important.'
Yes, it's the most important thing above all.
Especially surviving.
Because there were countless characters who died after entering dungeons in the original work.
The reason I'm here like this in the first place is to save myself and these protagonists.
"Isn't it for my lord's house and money?"
"It's killing two birds with one stone."
I brushed off Hwa-ryeon's words that hit the nail on the head and looked ahead.
Heo Si-won, who had been continuing his explanation, soon stopped talking and gave the students instructions to enter.
"Then enter! The goal is the boss. The time limit is until 9 PM at the latest."
Probably if the boss isn't subjugated or they don't come out within the time limit, Heo Si-won will come.
"Wow, a dungeon!"
"We'll be first!"
Although they're S-class, they're still promising hero candidates and students, you could say.
They entered the dungeon without hesitation, full of excitement.
"Let's go in too."
We had no reason to delay either, so we stepped into the dungeon full of flowers.
And at the same time,
[The Flower Witch is watching you.]
[The Flower Witch is interested in you.]
[The Flower Witch wants to meet you.]
Numerous status windows blocked my view.
What's this?