“One by one, starting with the first seed, you’ll each pick a teammate in order from one to eight,” the instructor explained. “After that, we’ll reverse the order—from eight back to one—and each student will choose a total of three team members.”

The instructor continued.

“Yu Hana, please begin your selection. You may choose freely from either Class A or Class B.”

At those words, Yu Hana slowly lifted her head and scanned the crowd of students.

Each time her gaze swept past someone, their shoulders visibly tensed.

Yu Hana naturally gave off a cold, sharp impression. When she smiled, it took the edge off a little, but with her current expression—completely devoid of any warmth—it created a heavy pressure for anyone meeting her eyes.

Casually, she pointed at someone with her finger.

A moderately high-ranked female student.

The chosen girl stood up stiffly, her face frozen, and walked over to Yu Hana.

Next was Johan’s turn.

He picked Jang Ho-yeon, a male student from Class B—someone he normally hung out with, known for his impressive physical abilities.

‘Nothing surprising so far.’

I thought idly as the next selections continued.

As each seed made their choices without any unexpected twists, the tension among the remaining students gradually mounted.

“Ha Sion, want to team up?”

Out of nowhere, someone who had been staring off into the distance called out to her.

It was Han Iri, ranked 13th.

Surprised by his words, Ha Sion blinked, clearly caught off guard.

She hesitated, then remained seated and cautiously asked the instructor,

“Um... Instructor, is it possible to decline a selection?”

The instructor nodded.

“Of course. Choosing to observe is also the student’s right.”

Ha Sion lowered her head slightly and gave Han Iri an apologetic smile.

“Sorry. I just wanted to watch and learn today.”

Han Iri stared at her blankly for a moment, then nodded, seemingly trying to act unbothered.

“O-oh! It’s fine!”

‘Oof. That was brutal.’

It was a rejection sharp enough to make anyone watching feel bad for him.

So Sion’s really popular, huh?

“Well then, Ju Han-gang, get over here.”

Han Iri quickly picked someone else to wrap things up.

He chose Ju Han-gang, ranked 36th. Ju Han-gang had been staring at me ever since the seeds were announced.

Almost like he believed he should have been the eighth seed instead.

My turn was drawing near.

Two of my three picks were already decided. I had a good idea of who I wanted.

“Next, Jeong Haein.”

At the instructor’s call, I slowly rose from my seat.

I stepped forward, feeling all eyes shift to me.

“Sung Siwoo.”

I had already decided on my choice.

Without hesitation, I spoke his name.

Lately, from what I’d seen, Sung Siwoo seemed a little subdued. He still carried his sword around, but...

Well, he needed some team experience. That’s why I picked him.

Besides, I doubted today’s mock dungeon class would be just about dungeon-clearing.

But instead of standing up, Sung Siwoo turned to the instructor.

“I’ll decline.”

This bastard?

So this is what it feels like to get rejected by a guy. It’s... not something I’d ever want to experience again.

“Mr. Jeong Haein, please select someone else,” the instructor said calmly.

I sighed and thought of my second planned candidate.

“Kim Daehyun.”

– Kim Daehyun?

– Who’s that?

I could hear murmuring around me.

Until now, all the selected students had been ranked within the top 100, but Kim Daehyun was in the 500s.

He himself looked shocked to hear his name called.

During the last unit class, Kim Daehyun had done pretty well. It wasn’t just a matter of doing better than his rank suggested.

I’d taken the lead and issued orders during that session, and he had trusted my judgment and followed through flawlessly.

My assessment was that he was an underrated student.

Kim Daehyun walked up and stood beside me, whispering,

“Thanks... Haein.”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

I said nothing and lightly tapped his shoulder twice.

Still, since my original plan had been derailed by that earlier rejection, I had to think longer about my third pick.

My gaze naturally swept around the training hall—and then, I saw her.

Sion?

She was looking right at me.

The same Sion who had just turned down Han Iri’s invitation was now openly fixing her gaze on me.

‘Ah, screw it.’

I went for it.

“Ha Sion, interested?”

I’d already been rejected once. What’s the worst that could happen?

The room instantly froze.

Han Iri looked at her with disbelief in his eyes.

Honestly, I hadn’t even considered Sion as an option at first—it would’ve been too overpowered.

She and I had trained together under the old man’s guidance for quite some time.

Five years? Six?

By now, that much time # Nоvеlight # must have passed.

Under everyone’s gaze, she slowly stood up.

“It’s not ‘Ha Sion.’”

Then she walked toward me.

“It’s just Sion. You should call me that.”

Thankfully, I was spared the humiliation of a second rejection.

Sion stood beside me, smiling gently.

The classroom buzzed with murmurs again.

“You sure about this?”

I asked her.

Han Iri stared at us, stunned.

“I figured... this much was necessary for the message to get through.”

She shrugged lightly, as if it were nothing.

“...Got it.”

I let out a small sigh and nodded.

Now I could see it—Han Iri must’ve had a one-sided thing going on.

Sion didn’t seem to care at all and calmly turned her head.

The round came full circle, and only one pick remained.

I asked my teammates if they had any suggestions, but none of them had any strong opinions.

When that’s the case, it’s usually best to just go with someone you know.

“Yoon Sanghyuk.”

From the waiting area, Yoon Sanghyuk jumped to his feet and shouted,

“Nice!!”

...Nice?

He sprang forward like he’d been waiting for this moment.

I froze for a second at the unexpected reaction.

Yoon Sanghyuk ran up to me and boldly declared his intention.

“I’ll give it my all!”

He wasn’t usually like this.

Something about it felt... exaggerated.

I looked at him, puzzled.

Yoon Sanghyuk scratched his head and gave a sheepish laugh.

“...I mean, the results from the last unit class were insane...”

“I was really sorry about back then!”

Only then did I nod in understanding.

The results of the unit class must’ve been announced while I was in the hospital.

I turned to Kim Daehyun beside me and asked,

“You too?”

He gave a small nod, scratching his head.

“Yeah... They called out the names one by one and showed the rankings. We did well.”

So that’s why they were so hyped.

But then a question popped into my mind.

Earlier, judging by the reactions of Ju Han-gang and the other students, it was clear they were confused about how someone without a rank got selected as a seed.

Among students, “no rank” usually implied someone who got in through connections—some high-ranking official pulling strings.

Which meant, in other words, they still didn’t know who I really was.

Kim Daehyun seemed like a cautious type, so I hadn’t worried about him talking.

But Yoon Sanghyuk and Lee Sangbong...

Hmm...

I was certain they’d spread rumors.

I turned toward him.

“But hey.”

“Yeah?”

“You’re surprisingly tight-lipped.”

Yoon Sanghyuk gave a mischievous grin and shrugged.

“Why would I go around blabbing?”

So he was the discreet type after all?

Maybe I’d misjudged him based on appearances...

“If you get famous, there’s no space left for me.”

“...Huh?”

“I gotta hitch a ride while I still can, before it’s too late.”

He clenched his fist and looked at me earnestly.

“So thank you for letting me on board!”

I sighed and shook my head.

“You’re a real character, huh...”

Next to me, Sion chuckled softly, her tone tinged with dry amusement.

“Seems like it.”

—KUUUNG–!!

As soon as the team selection ended, the massive device at the front of the training hall whirred to life.

Enormous metallic panels rotated and locked into place, eventually revealing a portal shimmering with blue light.

It resembled the portal to “Iano’s Tomb” I’d seen before—remarkably well-crafted.

“From now, the eight teams will enter the dungeon and begin the conquest.”

The instructor’s voice rang out across the training ground.

“The exercise ends when either you complete the conquest and receive your reward, are rendered combat-incapable, or run out of allotted time.”

Students began gathering into their respective teams.

Eight teams stood before the portal, and the mechanism beneath their feet activated, triggering a countdown.

It was a tense moment.

Everyone’s expressions were stiff with nerves.

Then, the instructor stepped forward, catching our attention.

“Before we begin, let’s run through a scenario, shall we?”

Her voice was calm—but carried an unsettling weight.

“Let’s say you’ve officially been granted clearance to explore a dungeon and you enter with full rights.”

–10

–9

–8

She slowly walked toward us as she continued.

“But during the exploration, you happen to encounter another team inside the dungeon.”

–7

–6

–5

“In that case, let me be clear.”

–3

–2

–1

Her voice dropped slightly.

“They are, without exception, your enemies.”

–0

“They could be demons. They could be tomb raiders. Or perhaps fugitives hiding from the law.”

Her lips curved into a subtle smile.

–Simulation complete.

“So if—just if—you run into another team in today’s mock dungeon...”

–Commencing entry.

“I wish you victory in that fight against your enemies.”

The moment her words ended, the glowing portal flared brightly and swallowed the teams, one by one.