The area where Yellow Tiger, Song Daesok, and Mok Wooram are.
Unlike the others who are busy fighting enemies, it was especially quiet around the area where the three were.
Only a small number of enemies approached them, and all of them fell under the hands of the Yellow Tiger.
The first enemy appeared while Yellow Tiger and Song Daesok were having a conversation, and with just one blow from Yellow Tiger, the enemy was defeated.
Yellow Tiger seemed more upset that their conversation was interrupted.
Fwaaa…!
Yellow Tiger’s face remained indifferent as the enemies’ bodies slowly fade after he lands a critical blow on them.
He just lightly swings his rod, and incredible power is produced from it.
‘I don’t think the enemy’s weakness is physical contact, but why are they all collapsing after one blow from him? Is the item that he’s using extremely rare? No, that’s an item provided by the school…!’
Song Daesok was shocked as he observed the Yellow Tiger’s actions.
The item that Yellow Tiger was using was an R-class item provided by the school, ‘Iron Rod of a Novice Fighter’.
He seems to have strengthened the iron rod with his golden energy wave, which means he has incredible control of it.
‘This happened during the youth retreat too. He easily defeated the enemy that I had a difficult time with, and he transported the other kids with his own magic. What the hell is this crazy-head?!’
Song Daesok recalled the red-eyed Ok Toyeon.
Ok Toyeon of the Moon Palace desperately tried to cover up her “benefactor” remark, but Song Daesok cannot forget it.
‘…Can this crazyhead really be someone of royal lineage? Ok Toyeon-ssi said that the benefactor was in our class and… No it can’t be. Why would someone of royal lineage be a freshman student in a player-specialized high school?’
Song Daesok reminded himself that he was also a freshman.
He thought about what would happen if Min Geurin finds out.
He stared at the Yellow Tiger again.
“You are very strong! I’ve got a problem then. At this rate, my contribution to this attack would be zero, and the bounty that I’d receive would be zero too!”
Mok Wooram usually acts like he has a loose screw on his head, but he managed to stop panicking and started to get a grip on himself.
Seeing a very strong guy in his class made him feel at ease that the Class Zero students are all very strong, and so “Lena-nim” would be safe.
Thanks to Yellow Tiger’s display of power, which he had no intention of hiding, Mok Wooram and Song Daesok have regained stability.
They knew that they’d reunite with the other kids in no time, seeing the overwhelming power of the kid in front of them.
However, Song Daesok’s sense of security didn’t last long.
“I organized my thoughts as we moved. Considering your current affiliations, I can guess where you got the clue.”
Yellow Tiger doesn’t seem to be acting act like he usually does.
“You got the idea from that damned moon rabbit, didn’t you?”
Before Song Daesok could reply, their conversation was interrupted again.
Crash! Shake!
A powerful force seemed to be shaking the walls of the labyrinth.
It was a great enough power for Mok Wooram and Song Daesok to detect.
Something inside the labyrinth was moving straight.
Yellow Tiger closed his mouth and immediately ran in the direction where he felt the source of the strength was, and Song Daesok and Mok Wooram ran after him.
* * *
The floor master enemy and the other ones didn’t dare to come near the Hongryong.
When an enemy tried to take a step towards them, the Hongryong bared his teeth and breathed out a burst of flames.
Fwaaaa!
The enemy stepped back just right before the flames reached his feet.
The enemies didn’t dare attack the red dragon, but they noticed that its presence was getting weaker.
Screeeech!
The floor master enemy lifted its trident and scratched it on the floor, making a sharp sound.
Attracted by the screeching sound, more enemies began to approach them one by one.
Instead of fleeing, it seemed to have called for backup and seek for an opportunity to attack.
The number of enemies quickly exceeded five.
“O-oh no. We’re surrounded…!”
“R-right. What are we supposed to do during this situation again…?”
They stand no chance against these enemies, so the two have to choose to escape.
Perhaps their heads have become blank from panic, the two couldn’t think of it.
To escape using the red dragon as their shield.
They could use emergency escape items.
They were flustered as they couldn’t immediately think of the two options.
“R-right, we can use an emergency escape item!”
The emergency escape item allows players to escape from an otherworld.
Ham Geunhyung lectured them several times not to forget that they have such an item, but it was only at this moment that the two remembered its existence.
They also belatedly remembered that an emergency escape item doesn’t instantly work, rather it needs time for the item to take effect.
The emergency escape item was produced to be a necklace-type that can hang from players’ necks so that they could use it in situations where their hands or feet are incapacitated.
The two immediately blew an energy wave towards the item that they were wearing around their necks.
Fwaa!
A gauge bar appeared in front of them, indicating the amount of time left until the escape item was activated.
The speed at which the gauge was ticking felt infinitely slow.
Before the remaining time turned to zero…
The Hongryong disappeared.
“The red dragon is gone!”
Dung… Dung…
At the same time, the sound that kept ringing in the two’s ears became louder.
The two were in such a panic that they couldn’t tell if it was the sound of their hearts beating or the sound of an enemy approaching.
Dung! Kwang! Kwang…!
As the floor master enemy advanced with its trident, the other enemies followed suit and they all rushed towards Kwon Lena and Saeum of April.
Saeum of April tried to build a wall of wind to protect them, but it disappeared in an instant when the floor master enemy used a skill.
They glanced at the gauge bar and saw that it still has more than half left.
The two closed their eyes tightly.
Crash!
…
With a loud sound bursting right next to them, the two opened their eyes again.
“No wonder there weren’t many enemies where we were at earlier. They were all here.”
Someone appeared between the pulverized walls of the labyrinth.
Fwa!
Hit! Crash!
A jade-colored space burst and brightened the dark labyrinth.
Unlike his usual appearance, Yong Jegun had his long cyan hair exposed and his eyes opened wider than usual.
“The floor master looks like it’s quite rare. I guess he’s getting buff from this floor.”
The enemies nearest to them fainted, but the floor master and a few enemies beside it were still alive.
The floor master’s armor cracked, and it started to gather energy wave at the tip of its trident.
“Leave that guy to me. Take care of the other enemies.”
“Alright!”
Behind Yong Jegun, Maeng Hyodon, Hani, and Min Geurin appeared.
Kwon Lena and Saeum of April looked behind them and saw a path of rubble as if the group had been breaking down the wall of the labyrinth to make their own way.
‘The sound that we’ve been hearing all this time wasn’t enemies, but Professor Yong Jegun braking the walls?!’
Even after destroying the walls of the labyrinth, Yong Jegun seemed to be still full of strength.
Yong Jegun, who sealed the floor master’s movements with his spatial skills, scanned around the area and looked disappointed.
Yong Jegun asked Kwon Lena and Saeum of April.
“Guys, have you seen a dragon that was just here?”
‘…! So Professor Yong Jegun sensed the Hongryong’s energy and ran towards here!’
That’s what the two thought.
During the Hwanmong Auction, they saw how angry the Red Lion and the Dragon Clan were when they found out that Yeom Junyeol was involved.
The two canceled their emergency escape items before answering Yong Jegun.
“No! What? What dragon? What are you talking about?”
“A dragon? No. Only murlocks were here!”
Kwon Lena and Saeum of April spoke in an obviously fake manner.
They smiled very awkwardly at each other.
“Really? I see some traces of soot here though. And you guys’ abilities have nothing to do with fire.”
“W-well, you see… The floor master shoots light from his trident, and I think that’s where that came from!”
“That’s right! I think so too!”
“…Really? Did the floor master enemy attack its own troops? There are traces of burning on some of those enemies too.”
“W-well, uhm…”
The conversation was interrupted right away.
The other three, Song Daesok, Mok Wooram, and Yellow Tiger appeared too.
“Geurin! Are you alright?”
“Lena-nim! Are you alright?!”
Lena still despised being called “Lena-nim”, but this time, she responded brightly as she was thankful that they saved them from the confrontation with Yong Jegun.
Right at that moment…
The otherworld began to lose its structure and turn into light.
“What the? This is the effect that comes out at the end of the simulation! Is the attack over? Was the boss enemy that we knocked down?”
“No. The boss enemy stays inside the boss room and controls this whole world. We haven’t even entered the boss room yet.”
“Then who caught the boss? Ah… Come to think of it… He’s not here.”
“Yeah. Someone who’s not here is probably the one who knocked him down.”
While Maeng Hyodon and Hani were talking, the communication signal was restored.
Each of their devices received a message indicating that the attack on the otherworld was over.
— Player SAT-K has successfully accessed the local recording device.
— Player SAT-K: currently analyzing the context of the attack on the otherworld.
— Biggest contributor: Nameless Supernova
The kids who saw the contents all looked convinced.
“I was wondering what the vice president was up to. I guess he went hunting the boss enemy on his own.”
“…I haven’t caught a single enemy yet. Is it over?”
“Work hard on your part-time job and stop buying weird stuff.”
“Eh? I’ve never bought anything weird.”
Mok Wooram remains to be broken.
The only ones injured were Kwon Lena and Saeum of April, but they weren’t badly hurt.
‘Euishin protected us all by going after the boss alone! As expected, he’s so amazing!’
Saeum of April was lost in thought as he looked at the stats on the hologram once again.
‘But has Lena ever met the Red Wall Thief? If so, when and where did they meet…? As far as I know, the Red Wall Thief has only used the Hongryong at the Hwanmong Auction.’
Saeum of April’s questions deepened.
On the other hand, Yong Jegun had a strange face, one of disappointment and ecstasy at the same time, when he checked who was the biggest contributor to the attack.
Some of the kids saw his expression and decided to keep a distance from him.
After confirming that the boss enemy was down.
I returned the Sangbosimgeumpa to my inventory and treated myself with a recovery item.
I planned on ending the boss enemy with my weapon as soon as I entered the room, but its agility was higher than I expected, and my concentration level was already quite low.
— What an impressive mental strength. I didn’t expect that you could maintain the Hongryong’s presence for teen more seconds even after you entered the boss room.
The Hongryong disappeared after some time.
There was no guarantee that I successfully protected the others, but if I concentrate all of my mental energy on this place, it was more likely that they’d be safe once I defeat the boss enemy.
So I decided to gamble their safety on a different dragon, Yong Jegun.
‘Yong Jegun once interrupted my lesson with Yeom Junyeol and tried to take off my mask. I know he’ll come to follow Hongyrong’s presence.’
Just as I predicted, Yong Jegun immediately sensed the Hongryong and rushed to it while he broke the walls of the labyrinth.
Yong Jegun wanted to see me take the form of Yeom Junyeol and use his powers.
Since Yong Jegun was far away, I need to buy some time and keep the Hongryong present even after I entered the boss’s room.
“When should we settle the deal? You won’t be able to take the item card with that appearance.”
— Sooner or later.
Sooner or later my ass.
Don’t tell me he’ll make the deal once I’m on my deathbed?
This is just a cruel joke, isn’t it?
— It would be difficult for me to move around in the Tiger Clan’s territory. Before the season changes, I will meet you sooner or later.
It’s already autumn.
If he intends to meet before the season changes, that would still be a lot of time before the demon world scenario.
As I nodded my head, Sidelentium’s silhouette gradually faded.
— I will allow you to speak comfortably with me. Didn’t you drop the honorifics when you said you accepted my conditions?
Did I?
Come to think of it, it seems like I did.
When Sidelentium was almost completely transparent, he raised his finger and pointed to my sleeve.
— Let me give you one last piece of advice. You better prepare an excuse.
What does he mean by that?
Before I could ask, Sidelentium was already gone.
‘Ah, is he talking about this?’
I already used the recovery item, but my sleeves were still soaked in blood.
My shirt was black so it won’t be too obvious, so instead of preparing an excuse, I rolled up my sleeves.
After that, the otherworld collapsed and I was transported back to our world.
And…
I regret not preparing an excuse.
“…It smells like blood.”
This damned old man has the nose of a sensitive tiger.
