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“Kkiiirrr! Kkiruk!”
“hehehe, got it.”
“Kkaak.”
“Uh-huh.”
Han Seyeon either widened her eyes at Parangi’s words or nodded in agreement, playing along.
Being naturally gifted with the ability to understand animals’ intentions, she comprehended everything Parangi said.
In response, Parangi got even more excited and started talking even louder.
His talks mainly revolved around how remarkable he was, emphasizing his greatness.
His words lacked structure and were filled with childish boasting, requiring a lot of patience to listen to, but Han Seyeon calmly paid attention to Parangi’s stories.
Of course, she only “listened” in the literal sense; genuine empathy or laughter while listening was mostly related to parts concerning Yihaesol.
Through Parangi, Han Seyeon could learn about everything Yihaesol had been up to.
“Parangi is truly amazing.”
“Kkaak!”
Han Seyeon affectionately patted Parangi’s head as he proudly raised it.
As Han Seyeon listened to Parangi’s stories, I comfortably observed the events unfolding on each floor through the four monitors placed on the 4th-floor central desk.
“That one’s critical.”
On the 2nd floor, Nikolai was focusing on trap layouts, team members’ positions, and distribution. Since he was a patient who even cleaned during preparation, I passed it off and turned my gaze to the adjacent monitor.
Training Tower 1st floor. The disciples of the Superhuman Team were entering a place filled with various traps.
Amelia and Elaine led the group, while the others protected from the rear.
However, even with the two leading, dismantling the traps was proving to be quite challenging.
“It’s taking quite some time.”
“Of course, it’s not easy to break through those traps.”
I turned my head.
Ascending to the 4th floor, the disciple was a typical glasses-wearing novice magician, Kindel.
A disciple who had flown alongside during the founding ceremony.
He was as sharp in magical theory as Amelia and Elaine.
“To release the hidden magic circles through magic detection and understand their patterns to deactivate them. It’s suicidal to proceed without doing so.”
“I see.”
Honestly, I didn’t quite understand even after listening.
That area was better left to Amelia and Elaine, as I had no experience in that regard.
At best, I could erase it with antimagic or physically remove it.
‘The Academy truly operates at a different level.’
Honestly, it was the first time I had seen Amelia and Elaine struggling in front of a magic circle like that.
Back in the outside world, anything related to magic was swiftly dealt with like a versatile magic wand.
“How long do you think it will take?”
“Well, maybe less than 20 minutes at the fastest? This was caught really quickly. It took 30 minutes just to set that up.”
Raising his glasses, Kindel revealed his confidence.
“So, it seems we have nothing to do.”
“That’s the case.”
Nodding, Kindel glanced at my actions and then smirked.
“What are you doing?”
“I said we have nothing to do.”
“No, but…”
Ignoring Kindel’s confusion, I laid out the snacks I had brought in my bag on the monitor table.
Melon bread, cup ramen, fish cake soup, hot dogs, bachelor kimchi, cola, thermos, all laid out as if by inertia…
“Hansuyeon! Are you going to eat ramen?”
“Yes!”
Hansuyeon by the window nodded as if it were obvious, leaving Kindel wide-eyed.
“Do you want some too?”
“Can I even have some?”
“Why not.”
“No matter what.”
Leaving the perplexed Kindel alone, I opened the cup ramen and poured the hot water from the thermos heated by Parang’s ability.
As the seaweed started to rise in the ramen, the steam fogged up Kindel’s glasses.
Then, when I added MSG to boost the flavor of the food, including the ramen, the smell changed instantly. A smile naturally formed on my lips.
“This is amazing.”
Indeed, adding flavor enhancer brings the ingredients to life. Impressed, I turned to call out.
“It’s ready! Come and eat.”
“Yes!”
Calling Hansuyeon, I blew on a spoonful of steaming ramen and slurped it down, then grabbed some kimchi.
“Wow, this is good.”
The noodles were chewy, and the kimchi was crisp, eliciting admiration.
“Mm, delicious.”
Beside me, Hansuyeon, who had quietly sat down, also smiled happily after tasting the ramen with a spoon.
Whenever we have a meal together, adding flavor enhancer always makes her so pleased.
*Slurp.*
Watching us eat ramen, Kindel swallowed his saliva.
“…I’ll have a bit too.”
From Noble mtl dot com
Despite saying he wouldn’t eat, he quickly changed his mind.
***
Eating ramen even in midsummer, the air on the 4th floor quickly became warm.
Slightly grimacing due to the heat, a refreshing breeze blew from the side.
Turning my gaze, I saw Hansuyeon holding a fan, sending a breeze my way.
“Oh, thanks.”
In response to my gratitude, Hansuyeon smiled silently.
“Your fortune is good too.”
Kendel, who had been watching the monitor, turned his gaze towards us.
Raising his glasses, his expression became serious.
“…The second floor is about to be breached.”
As Elaine and Amelia dismantled the magic traps set up to protect them, Cheon Woo-jin and Eun Ga-ye were literally “sweeping away” the students who were coming out.
Nicolai, holding a Buddishu, was trying to stop Cheon Woo-jin, but it was clear from the screen that he was gradually being pushed back.
It had been about 30 minutes since the class started. The speed of breaching was much faster than expected.
Contrary to Kendel’s estimate that it would take at least 20 minutes to capture the first floor, the traps were deactivated in just 15 minutes, leading to a chaotic situation.
Even now, Amelia was steadily finding hidden magic circles, while Elaine decoded the patterns of the magic circles, quickly dismantling the traps on the second floor.
“If we keep going like this, it could get dangerous. Don’t we need to go as well?”
Kendel voiced his continuous concerns about the advancing second floor.
But it was only Kendel who was anxious. Han Se-yeon seemed completely disinterested, not even looking at the monitor, and I didn’t pay much attention either.
Kendel frowned at our nonchalant attitudes.
“Hey, isn’t this dangerous? Don’t you see that?”
“Don’t worry, it’s not that urgent.”
I replied to Kendel and glanced out the window. Blue, who had gone hunting while I was eating ramen, had returned.
After briefly checking the CCTV on the second floor, I stood up from my seat.
“Well, I should at least go down for a moment.”
Just sitting here won’t do any good, so I should do something productive.
“Kkaak!”
Approaching Blue, I saw that he had insects like grasshoppers and beetles in his mouth.
I squatted down, took out a thread from my bag, and casually tied those insects to the dagger’s hilt.
“Haesol, what are you doing?”
Han Se-yeon, who had suddenly squatted down beside me, watched my actions with curious eyes. Behind her, Kendel also looked intrigued.
“Amelia is scared of insects.”
Hajinwoo had balanced the Super Team and the Mine Team “fairly.”
And that was the truth.
Compared to the Mine Team, the Super Team had significantly fewer “mages.”
As evidence, the only mages from the Super Team who stepped up to deactivate the traps on the first floor were Amelia and Elaine, with just two others.
Moreover, among them, only Amelia could skillfully locate traps.
However, Amelia was terrified of insects to the point of being paralyzed. She had no immunity to dirty things.
The story went that if you exploit this weakness and render Amelia powerless, the Super Team would struggle to remove the magic traps.
Although Cheon Woo-jin was strong, breaking through the traps while being obstructed by the Mine Team was a challenge.
“I see. That’s a good idea.”
Petting Blue’s head, Han Se-yeon nodded approvingly. But Kendel still wore a puzzled expression.
“Even if that’s the case, how do you render them powerless? There’s no way to approach the insects, right?”
“You’ll see.”
That’s why I tied the insects to the dagger.
“I’ll go down for a moment.”
After finishing my task, I got up from my seat and descended the stairs to the fourth floor.
***
On another note, on the third floor, the members from the second floor who had been concerned about Nikolai had already come up.
Out of the 15 people gathered on the second floor, 7 had retired due to their protective gear being broken, and only 8 managed to evacuate. Adding the two from the original third floor, there were a total of 10 people.
“Ihaesol, why are you coming down?”
Nikolai seemed quite exhausted, probably from the battle with Cheon Woojin.
His neatly combed blonde hair was now disheveled, and his always well-pressed uniform was wrinkled and torn.
Soon, the superhuman team that had disarmed the traps on the second floor would rush in.
Yet, despite not giving up and trying to block, his determination to continue was quite impressive.
“I came to help.”
“Who else would operate the barrier if you weren’t here?”
“Kindel is up there. And she’ll be back up soon, so don’t worry.”
After replying, I surveyed the third floor. Although not visible to my eyes, I remember that there were quite a few traps set up on the third floor, albeit fewer than on the second floor.
And on the ground, mud pouches prepared to entangle the superhuman team’s feet were scattered around.
They were made during the lunch break before classes began.
“Can’t you hang those from the ceiling?”
“It’s possible, but why would you want to hang them?”
“Well, to drop them.”
Simply dropping mud from the ceiling wouldn’t be effective if using magic due to the risk of being exposed. However, using a gram would allow the mud to be dropped without being noticed. Of course, you’d have to distract their attention beforehand.
Anyway, once the mud hits, the rest is simple. By using magic to harden the mud, the victim caught in the trap would have their feet bound.
And my target was none other than Amelia.
Amelia, who was scared of insects or anything dirty, would undoubtedly suffer a psychological blow, effective or not.
Nikolai’s expression turned grim upon hearing my plan.
“…Isn’t that too cowardly?”
“Is this the time to discuss that?”
I clicked my tongue. His actions were too ‘fair and square.’
“Anyway, do it quickly. I’m leaving.”
As the sounds from below suddenly reached us, I, who had scattered daggers throughout the third floor, went back up to the fourth floor as is.
***
At the same time, stairs leading to the third floor. The superhuman team.
“We have two more floors ahead.”
“We have 25 minutes left, which is enough. But we can’t let our guard down.”
Amelia confidently smiled in response to Cheon Woojin’s calm words.
“No need to worry, I’ll find all the magic circles.”
Although each floor in the training hall cleverly concealed magic traps, it wasn’t a difficult task for the magic-sensitive Amelia to find them. Cheon Woojin nodded, knowing this.
“Trust me.”
“Leave it to me.”
Amelia, smiling brightly, deliberately made creaking sounds as she opened the door to the third floor.
After glancing around inside, she wore a soft smile.
“Everyone is gathered here.”
The members of the mine team were positioned quite far from the door.
Surely, there are traps of magic set in between.
“Sigh. I’m really not getting tired of this.”
Amelia raised her head.
“These are quite impressive spells. If it were someone else, finding them would have been difficult. However…”
Thud.
Amelia flicked her wand.
Whoosh!
A blue magic swept through the fourth floor, centered around her.
Amelia displayed a look of pity at the dozens of detected magic circles.
“Unfortunately, it seems the magic from that team doesn’t work on me. How about surrendering now?”
“Hmph! Surrender? What surrender.”
When Nikolai snorted, Amelia, as if resigned, smiled brightly.
“You’ll change your mind soon.”
“Amelia, stop the act and let’s go quickly.”
As Eungaye glared coldly with narrowed eyes, Amelia, with a quick click of her tongue, resumed walking.
“Elaine, over there…”
As Amelia confidently walked, she pointed her finger towards the nearest magic circle.
Swoosh.
“?”
Suddenly, feeling something approaching, Amelia turned her head with a puzzled expression.
And then.
“Oh, my goodness!”
Turning pale, she took a step back.
In the floating mist, a huge locust clung to a leg, wriggling.
Moving aside to avoid the approaching locust, on the other side, a cicada wriggled.
“Uh, ugh!”
Clutching her buttocks, Amelia grimaced.
At that moment, a sound of tearing leather echoed, followed by a pile of mud falling from the ceiling.
Not missing the opportunity, the Mine team took advantage of Amelia being distracted.
“Clot!”
Deoric’s spell was cast, and mud bound Amelia’s body.
“Ugh, I’m caught…”
With only her head emerging from the mud lump, Amelia looked around at her teammates with a distressed expression.
***
“Got it!”
Kindel, who had been silently observing the situation on the third floor, jumped up from his seat and cheered.
“There’s less than 20 minutes left. We won.”
Even without Amelia, finding and removing magical traps was possible.
However, there were only 20 minutes left.
Within that time, it was a challenge for the Superhuman Team to remove all magical traps and break through the barrier on the fourth floor.
But I continued to watch the monitor with my chin resting on my hand.
I didn’t think Cheon Woo-jin would give up easily just because of this. And indeed, my thoughts were right.
Having abandoned the dismantling of magic, Cheon Woo-jin led his team in a breakthrough.
At first glance, it seemed like a reckless breakthrough. However, there was a certain strategy hidden within.
Using Eun-ga-ye’s gift of gravity, they suppressed the magic by pushing down the mana.
And the approaching magics were all repelled by Cheon Woo-jin.
Elaine and the other two wizards gave up on finding traps and instead assisted Cheon Woo-jin.
In the blink of an eye, the disciples advanced halfway through the third floor. But as it was a breakthrough, the risk was great.
More than ten team members scattered and withdrew.
Thus, sacrificing his teammates, Cheon Woo-jin clashed with Nikolai.
“Insane!”
Kindel, who was watching, spat out a harsh curse.
Meanwhile, I gazed at the red mana stone placed on the mana stone.
There was one thing I needed to prepare.
“All set.”
A faint black light flickered from the red mana stone. As I smiled upon seeing it, time passed, and with five minutes left on the countdown, the door on the fourth floor opened, and the disciples rushed in.
Cheon Woo-jin, Elaine, Eun-ga-ye, Oh Jin-hyuk, Kim Ha-yoon, Lee Soon-cheol.
The six remaining disciples seemed quite exhausted from the fierce battle they had just been through.
And upon seeing the scene on the fourth floor, they couldn’t help but look bewildered.
“What’s this?”
Eun-ga-ye muttered blankly as she looked at the empty food on the monitor table. In the meantime, I casually shook the thermos.
Seeing this, Eun-ga-ye furrowed her brows, about to say something.
Beep-beep-beep-beep-
“What’s that?”
A foreboding sound spread, and a blue barrier formed between them and the barrier room.
It wasn’t a typical barrier used for classes.
Cheon Woo-jin narrowed his eyes.
“Hmm, could this be…”
“Is, isn’t this the security system?”
“Yeah, it is.”
At my nonchalant response, the disciples all looked at me with shocked expressions.
Security system.
Every building in Eternity Academy has security measures in place to prevent intrusions.
I tampered with the security system using the red mana stone, resulting in the current blue barrier.
“It activates when you place the red mana stone.”
With my shameless attitude, Eun-ga-ye looked dumbfounded, incredulous, a mix of various emotions on her face, then turned her gaze to the side.
“Hey, Han Se-yeon. Can you say something about that? He just messed with the security system.”
“Huh?”
Still playing with a fan, Han Se-yeon seemed clueless about what the issue was and said, “Is it a big deal?”
Then, with a smile, he handed a fan to Yi Haesol.
From Noble mtl dot com
“······.”
“······.”
The disciples, lost for words, fell silent. Only Kindel remained, seated like a thorned cushion.