After the material-gathering race ended, we left Cloud Island and boarded the bus.

“Mr. Abel, are we going back to the training center now?”

That question came from Jin Yuyeon of Martial God Academy. Her short twin-tails bounced as she spoke.

“Nope. We’re heading to the next dungeon.”

“Another dungeon already?”

This time it was Bella, her voice dripping with weariness.

“Of course. Look outside—daylight’s still bright, isn’t it?”

Seeing Abel’s cheerful grin made me sigh.

About ten minutes later, we arrived at the entrance to the dungeon. When Meiling and Seo Yui laid eyes on it, both of them widened their eyes.

“Isn’t this the place…?”

Meiling looked at me as she asked.

I nodded.

We stood at the old Yeouido Park, where the entrance to the independent dungeon Ashen Plains now lay.

“This time, your task is to defeat the dungeon boss as quickly as possible and return.”

Abel pulled out two drones as he explained.

“You’ll split into two teams. Each team must defeat the bosses up to the fourth floor. The first team back wins the race.”

The moment he mentioned splitting into teams, I felt several gazes fall on me.

“…Ah.”

Sensitive to stares, Lumina shrank back and hid behind me and Seo Yui.

“All right, team leaders, come forward to draw lots.”

Six of us stepped up to Abel.

Dai and Magica were assigned to red, Crystal and Martial God to blue.

When it was my turn to draw, the heavy stares returned.

A quick glance confirmed it wasn’t just the other team leaders but even those standing in the back—all of them had their eyes on me.

I picked one of the two slips in Abel’s hand.

It was red.

“Ah.”

“Damn it.”

“Yes!”

“Aaah…”

Voices of all kinds of emotions rippled through the group.

“Looks like we’re teammates again.”

Jang Taeil stepped closer, the faintest smile tugging at his lips.

“Let’s work well together.”

“Of course. Please take care of me.”

I turned my eyes to Rune.

“……”

Her expression was complicated.

“Keh. So we’re the blue team, huh.”

Rio, who hadn’t needed to draw, muttered in disappointment.

Crystal and Martial God didn’t look pleased.

“Ahem. Anyway, let’s all do our best!”

Perhaps realizing his slip, Rio forced a cough and raised his voice, though it wavered awkwardly.

I had to bite my lip to stop myself from laughing.

‘Might as well smooth things over a bit.’

I walked over to Rune, who had been silent all this time.

“Rune.”

“…What.”

“This is our first time on the same team. I’ll be counting on you.”

“….”

She pressed her lips together, then gave a small nod.

‘Next…’

I returned to my squad and faced Meiling.

“What.”

“You know what I’m about to say, right?”

At that, Meiling’s eyes went wide.

“W-what? No way, absolutely not!”

She leaned back, her face filled with disgust.

“I told you before—I’ll never hunt that way again!”

So she’d misunderstood.

“That’s not what I meant. We’ve got enough melee fighters and tanks this time. No need for me to ride on Senior’s back.”

“…Then what?”

Her tone lowered a little, suspicion easing.

“Don’t fight with Magica.”

“Hmph. That’s it?”

Meiling snorted.

“No need to worry. They’re not even worth fighting anymore.”

Not exactly wrong. Unless something truly unusual happened, neither Rune nor Zen would ever beat her again.

But there’s a time to speak the truth and a time to hold your tongue.

See? Rune and Zen’s faces are already darkening.

“Just… don’t say things like that.” I sighed, “Anyway, focus on the monsters this time. No pointless squabbles.”

“I told you, no need to worry.”

Meiling narrowed her eyes at me.

“I’ll hold you to that.”

“Fine, trust me.”

She gave a little snort. “Hmph.”

The boss of Ashen Plains was the Burrow Lord Worm, a giant that moved underground.

It appeared from the moment hunters entered the dungeon.

Chasing it down, it would periodically stop to summon monsters. After clearing them, it would flee again.

Finally, in its last phase, it would summon even more creatures and fight directly.

Defeat it, and a portal would open—either to the next floor or out of the dungeon.

If you took too long while it was summoning, it would burrow away repeatedly. So the key was to clear the summoned mobs quickly.

And in our squad, we had one girl who absolutely loved mowing down monsters.

“Ahahahahaha!!”

Her high-pitched laughter echoed as red and blue orbs tore through the battlefield.

Meiling alternated between magic bolts and Flame Bursts, annihilating everything in sight.

Ordinary monsters, even mini-bosses, fell in a single hit.

It didn’t take a tally to see it: from floors one through four, the one who killed the most monsters was unquestionably Meiling.

Even with eleven top students from various academies—excluding me, since I wasn’t much of a fighter—Meiling outshone them all.

The Magica team, after witnessing her rampage, simply closed their mouths and quietly hunted whatever scraps she left behind.

So, the worry I’d carried never came to pass. In the end, her words had been right—there had been no need to worry.

“Kkiipiriyaaak!!”

A bizarrely cute scream, so ill-suited to the scene, rang out as the fourth-floor Burrow Lord Worm collapsed.

A gaping hole yawned in its body, as if a meteor had struck.

The mark of Meiling’s Flame Prison Orb.

As its body dissolved into particles, two portals appeared simultaneously.

Two portals appeared: one leading deeper into the dungeon, the other for returning.

“We probably won’t lose anyway, but let’s head back quickly,” Jang Taeil said, glancing at me.

“Yes, let’s do that.”

We all moved toward the return portal. Of course, I didn’t forget to grab the rare material that had dropped from the boss.

No one else even tried to pick it up, so it went straight into my inventory.

Neglecting materials only comes back to bite you later. Sometimes, when you’re crafting, the one ingredient you didn’t bother to grab turns out to be exactly what you need, forcing you to dive back into the dungeon again.

When we emerged from the return portal, Abel was there, looking down at his smartphone.

“Huh?”

He raised his head and blinked in surprise when he saw us.

“You’re already out?”

“Yes. Here’s the drone.”

I handed him the drone that had recorded our performance.

Abel peered into the small monitor attached to the device.

“Oooh. Fast. Unbelievably fast.”

With a grin tugging at his lips, he lifted his head.

“Yep, it clearly shows you cleared up to the fourth floor. Well done, everyone. Go rest on the bus until the other team comes out.”

At that, the Dai Academy students high-fived and laughed excitedly.

The Magica students, on the other hand, all wore complicated expressions.

Mages are the main damage dealers of any squad. And this was the Magica team, made up only of the best among a school dedicated to magic.

Yet despite that, they had been overwhelmingly outclassed by a single mage.

Their pride couldn’t have survived unscathed.

“If only every assignment were like this. Low difficulty, stress relief… feels like a day trip,” Meiling said as she strolled past the Magica team, humming, her face blooming with smiles.

‘Oh, boy.’

The Magica four trembled with barely contained frustration.

About ten minutes later.

Students spilled out of the Ashen Plains’ entrance—Crystal, Martial God, and Ucheon’s joint blue team.

Most of them immediately scanned the surroundings, checking if the rival team had already arrived.

But two candidates stood silent, their expressions unreadable: Iris and Toby.

“Mr. Abel,” Ao approached with a tense face.

“Has the red team…”

“Unfortunately, they arrived before you.”

Disappointment clouded the faces of the blue team.

But Iris and Toby’s expressions didn’t change, as if they had expected it all along.

“How much earlier?” Ao asked.

She glanced anxiously at Abel as he checked his watch.

“About fifteen minutes.”

Ao’s lips parted in disbelief.

“…I see. Here’s our drone.”

“Good. Nice work. Get on the bus—you’re heading back to the training center now.”

Abel gave a strained smile.

The blue team shuffled to the bus, their steps heavy.

Back at the training center, the schedule didn’t ease up.

As soon as we returned, Abel drilled us in close-combat and magic training. After dinner, theoretical lectures awaited us.

It was exactly as Abel had said in the morning.

By the time the day’s agenda ended, it was 10:30 p.m.

“Well done today, everyone.”

Back at the dormitory, we were greeted by Jang Jinseong.

His drab suit, thinning hair, and slightly hunched posture felt oddly familiar—like the weary office workers you see on the subway ride home.

“From now until 11:30, prepare for bed. After 11:30, you’re not permitted to leave the dormitory. See you later.”

A collective sigh rose from the students.

“Finally over!” Rio stretched his arms wide.

“Today was way too long…” muttered Crystal’s Muimi.

“Tomorrow’s probably going to be just as bad. Ugh.”

“I’m exhausted…” Zen and Bella groaned.

I turned to my squad.

“Good work today, Senior. Lumina, Meiling—you both did great.”

“You too, Yein,” Seo Yui replied with a warm smile.

“Huaaah.”

Lumina covered her mouth as she yawned. She’d been on edge all day with sparring and dungeon practice—it was no wonder she was worn out.

Meiling, meanwhile, was glowing. She’d crushed Rune in their duel, slaughtered monsters to her heart’s content, and snoozed through theory class—her condition was perfect.

After exchanging goodnights, we each headed for our rooms.

“Phew.”

I was tired too—not as much as Lumina, but still. The unexpected duel with Iris hadn’t helped.

‘Shower and sleep, quick.’

I stepped into the room to grab my toiletries, only to pause.

Everyone but Jang Taeil was already there.

The moment I walked in, they all turned and stared at me.

‘…What? Did I mess up somehow?’

I quickly replayed the day’s events in my head. Then realization struck.

Except for Taeil, everyone here had been beaten by someone in my team.

Jin Cheongryong had lost to Seo Yui in their duel.

Toby and Zen hadn’t lost directly, but their schoolmates had—Iris to me, Rune to Meiling.

And Rio’s fellow Ucheon student, Ha Yugun, had been defeated by Lumina.

On top of that, Crystal, Ucheon, and Martial God had also been the losing team in the second exercise.

‘No wonder their eyes are sharp.’

But it couldn’t be helped. If you aim for first place, this sort of attention is inevitable.

“Yein.”

Rio spoke up.

“Yes.”

I met his gaze head-on. Even if they resented me, I saw no need to act submissive.

“What level is your squad, really?”

“…Sorry?”

Rio frowned deeply.

“My guess? At least forty-five. Maybe even over fifty.”

“Exactly. Otherwise, there’s no way to explain what we saw today,” Zen added.

“Cancelling out a mid-tier spell with nothing but a mana bolt… and in the dungeon, that Flame Prison Orb punched a crater straight through the Burrow Lord Worm’s body.”

Then Jin Cheongryong spoke.

“When I sparred Seo Yui, I could feel it. She was holding back. Like an adult teaching a child.”

His face was far stiffer than usual.

‘Seo Yui… this backfired.’

Just then, Toby stood and walked toward me.

“Tell me.”

He said it bluntly.

“How did you get so strong, so fast?”

His expression was deadly serious.

The other three stared at me the same way, their eyes burning with the same question.

…So that was it.

Not hostility.

They wanted the secret to growth.

(End of Chapter)