The Novel's Extra - Chapter 26 – Mock Dungeon Trial (3)
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Chapter 26 – Mock Dungeon Trial (3)

“I’m sure everyone knows what peanut flames are.”

Peanut Flames were low rank, grade 2 element type monsters. They looked like tiny will-o-wisps, but were actually lizards the size of an adult forearm. They looked like wisps of flame because they encased themselves in an oval flame barrier.

“We’ll have to kill the peanut flames first.”

The peanut flames only shot out fireballs, but they weren’t easy to deal with because they had tough barriers and traveled in groups.

“Who’s going to draw the salamanders’ attention?”

“I can do it.” Hazuki raised her hand at Jayden’s words.

“I’m pretty quick. I placed 5th in speed.”

“Perfect,” Jayden replied in English. 

Yoo Yeonha spoke with a soft smile, “Salamanders are a lot slower than peanut flames, so you just have to draw their attention.”

“Yes, I’ll leave you to cover me.”

Hazuki stretched before shouting, “I’m going!”

She reached the cluster of monsters in the blink of an eye and hurled her axe with a lively grunt. The angry salamanders waddled towards Hazuki. Using this opportunity, Jayden rushed into enemy lines.

“Huap!”

His sword clashed against a peanut flame’s barrier. A flash of light erupted from the collision. Jayden cracked its barrier as a magic arrow struck it. Kim Jingyu’s follow-up attack easily shattered the barrier and Jayden cut down the defenseless lizard.

They displayed perfect teamwork, but many enemies were still left.

Jayden turned to a different direction. A terrifying whip shot past his shoulder, grabbing 3 peanut flames together. He charged towards them.

I also made my move. I didn’t need to run around like the others. I pulled the trigger 4 times after spotting a peanut flame. Simple and elegant. Four bullets shot out in a line towards the peanut flame.

The first bullet struck its barrier and exploded. The barrier still stood, but the second bullet immediately struck the same spot. The barrier shook, but remained. Next was the third bullet. It struck the same spot and finally broke the barrier. With its barrier gone, the fourth bullet instantly killed the lizard.

“… What?”

Next to me, the sharpshooter Kim Jingyu expressed his shock. Admittedly, what I did must’ve seemed quite impressive. I simply killed a peanut flame by pulling the trigger 4 times instead of arduously weaving an arrow with magic power and pulling a bowstring.

“Guns lack destructive power, but have less recoil and delay.”

I boasted as I waved my gun around. Honestly, this was only possible against weak and slow monsters like peanut flames. My luck also played a role.

“…”

“Focus, focus.”

Seeing Kim Jingyu dumbstruck, I pointed at the other peanut flames. Yoo Yeonha struck them down with her whip, which elongated and swept through the ground. I could feel a spark of electricity from her weapon. That was Yoo Yeonha’s gift. It seemed she was close to achieving enlightenment.

Now wasn’t the time to feel impressed or congratulate her. I looked for another peanut flame. They became more aggressive now that they were fully aware of our attack. Killing them wasn’t as easy as before, but that didn’t mean it was difficult. Although I couldn’t break its barrier after 6 bullets, the seventh luckily pierced its magic core and killed it in one shot.

The battle was almost over by the time I killed 3 peanut flames. We attacked the 4 salamanders together once all the peanut flames died. Hazuki held them back and there was nothing they could do. I understood why salamanders were only low-intermediate rank. No matter how powerful their fire breaths, they couldn’t use it once their tails were tied.

“Whew, it’s over. I managed to kill 6 thanks to Yeonha.”

“That’s good to hear. Let’s count them.”

We approached the mana puppets. 1, 2, 3… 15. We had killed them all.

“Do we keep going?”

A light flashed from far away as Jayden spoke with a smile. I turned towards it and my mind blanked. A salamander breathed a beam of fire the size of a pillar. It hurled towards us and melted the ground. I felt my brain screaming. This would be a direct hit. There was no way to dodge. I would die if it hit. I had to block it, but how? Immediately, I thought of stigma’s magic power. I might be able to block it if I could form a water barrier like the peanut flames’ fire barrier.

Stigma shone blue as pain spread throughout my arm. The magic power released into the air according to my will.

A wave of fire swept through us. Tzzzzzzz— A terrifying amount of steam erupted from the collision. It clouded around like fog and blinded us. The fire breath destroyed the barrier I just created. A momentary silence descended until a deep voice spoke what everyone thought.

“… T-That was no joke.”

Thick terror could be seen on Jayden’s face. He was on the verge of a panic attack.

“That last attack, wouldn’t we be dead if it hit?”

Yeah, we would've been fried up good. I agreed in my head and collapsed. I couldn’t muster any strength left in my legs. My entire body felt numb and I thanked the dense fog of steam for hiding my pathetic state.

“Oy, sharpshooter. The salamander’s still alive, but we can’t see. Tell me where that bastard is before my heart explodes.”

Jayden’s voice still trembled. I also tried to stay calm. Calm down, Kim Hajin. It can’t see us either. We just have to kill it before the steam disappears.

“Follow the trajectory.”

I held up my gun. It was better to just show it than describe it with words.

“I’m shooting.”

I pulled the trigger. The bullet shot towards the salamander and left a blue trace. The trail lingered even though the bullet reached the salamander in under a second. The others immediately threw everything they had in the trail’s direction. The salamander died without a yelp, almost as though it had spent all its energy in the previous attack. I could hear the unpleasant sound of metal slashing through flesh.

“Wait, is this blood?”

Jayden murmured in surprise. Fresh blood streamed from the salamander’s wound.

“A mana puppet with blood? That’s impossible.”

“Then what the fuck is this? It’s sticky as hell. And what was that last attack? That was a real fire breath. I didn’t even touch it and my skin burnt a little.”

Mana puppet attacks were lowered by 2 ranks compared to their real counterparts. An attack from a low-intermediate rank mana puppet wouldn’t even be at the level of a low rank monster. Mana puppets in combat training attacked according to the data set by Cube scientists.

“Calm down.”

“You think I can just calm… Yes, you’re right.”

Jayden, who was about to erupt, calmed down in front of Yoo Yeonha.

“They didn’t say something like this wouldn’t happen. It’s entirely possible that a normal salamander naturally evolved into a monster. After all, we’re still in a dungeon even if it’s artificial.”

“…”

Jayden remained silent after Yoo Yeonha’s explanation. He collected his breath. Yoo Yeonha was always like this, but Jayden was fairly composed for a high schooler. The steam around us began to dissipate. Everyone was slightly wet.

“Are you okay?”

Yoo Yeonha asked, likely because I was directly in front of the fire breath. My luck was 9.1, so why did it aim towards me of all people? Was the world trying to tell me to gain more SP? Or was it because I was the only one capable of blocking it? Yoo Yeonha dying would’ve been a great calamity.

“I’m fine.”

I was fine, for now.

“Oh right. What the fuck was that?”

However, Jayden approached me with a fuss.

“What?”

“I said in the beginning that anyone with the water attribute should come out.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, please. How did you block that fire breath then? That fucking steam was created because it clashed with water, didn’t it?”

“Sharpshooters normally carry a shield or two to protect themselves.”

“What?”

Stigma’s magic power followed my will and created a water barrier. This shield blocked the salamander’s attack, but I didn’t have any magic power remaining. This wasn’t something I could explain.

“This son of a bitch…”

“Quiet. Let’s get out of here for now. What just happened… I’m sure we’ll be compensated with additional points.”

Yoo Yeonha spoke as she stared at the salamander’s corpse.

***

Yoo Yeonha stole a glance behind her while walking. A dumb-looking man brushed his sweaty hair up. It would’ve looked cool if he was Shin Jonghak, but it was a bit unsightly when he did it. In any case, Yoo Yeonha couldn’t hide the strange feeling inside of her. A water attribute had undoubtedly blocked the salamander’s fire breath, but could a cadet who wasn’t Shin Jonghak or Kim Suho have an attribute?

Yoo Yeonha recalled Chae Nayun saying that Kim Hajin was hiding his true strength.

Kim Hajin explained that he had a magic armament. Indeed, such defensive armaments existed. This equipment called cloth armor looked exactly like ordinary clothes, but could release magic power to protect its wearer.

For a moment, Yoo Yeonha wondered if Jin Sechan gave him cloth armor without telling her. Of course, that was impossible. Although salamanders were only low-intermediate rank, items that could block their fire breath cost at least 40 million won. Jin Sechan couldn’t have possibly afforded that. He also had no reason to either.

Only 2 possibilities were left. Either what Chae Nayun said was true or Kim Hajin actually prepared cloth armor in fear of his life. Yoo Yeonha found the former more likely. In that case, how Kim Hajin knew the mountain tyrant’s vital point would also make sense. The question was why he was hiding his power. She couldn’t understand. Just why…

“We’re here.” Kim Hajin spoke up as Yoo Yeonha flinched from a guilty conscience.

“W-What’s here? There’s nothing here.”

“We’re almost there. The dungeon boss is up ahead along with another team.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, let’s hurry. It looks like they’re in trouble.”

Kim Hajin took the lead and quickened his pace. Yoo Yeonha followed, still harboring suspicion.