“Professor Jegal!”
Kwang! Boom!
At the same time that Jegal’s name was called out, a huge explosion broke out.
The lights blinked between the smoke left by the aftermath of the explosion, and it revealed the pulverized facilities of the underground parking.
“What the hell, what happened?!”
“There was an enemy! It suddenly appeared from the floor. This isn’t the entrance to an otherworld, so how…”
“Was it hiding its presence? No, that’s not right…”
“Professor Jegal! Where are you? Are you okay?”
“Professor’s presence is far away!”
Boom! Kwaaaaa!
The only thing that responded to the Class Zero students’ voices was another series of explosions.
At the same time, they could feel a swaying energy wave around them.
Signs of enemies flowing out from the otherworld.
“Enemies are coming out again!”
“But the professor is…!”
The broken lights made the underground parking darker, and the players’ physical strength and energy wave are almost consumed.
It’s a situation where they don’t know how long it would take before backup comes.
Confusion and anxiety about what might have happened to Jegal, their professor and pillar.
The players contained their trembling hands as they continued to fight the enemies.
At the time, Maeng Hyodon pointed to a dark area.
“Over there!”
“Huh…?”
A calm voice echoed through the dim underground parking lot.
“I’m alright. Don’t worry.”
Faaaaa…!
A gentle light illuminated the floor along with Jegal’s voice.
Jegal used his Spiritual Word skill, the words he wrote on the floor shining with light.
He jumped away from the place where the first explosion occurred earlier deliberately to lure the strong enemies away from the students.
“It took some time to catch the enemy since I couldn’t use my skill earlier. I had to improvise, but it worked out in the end.”
The students released the breath they were unconsciously holding when they saw the enemy that attacked Jegal.
At first glance, it seemed like the enemy’s eyes and ears, which were two to three times larger than Jegal’s, were sewn together.
Seeing the bizarre appearance further raised the players’ awareness.
“I’ve seen that in textbooks before. An “Inhibitor” enemy, one that increases destructive power by suppressing some instincts and senses…!”
The enemy tried to rush to the players several times as if it were guessing their location at first.
The words engraved by Jegal prevented their attempts now.
An inhibitor enemy repeatedly pulled out its foot and stopped just before touching the words engraved on the floor, knowing that stepping on it would not end up well for him.
‘Professor blocked them well, but is this really a good thing?’
Maeng Hyodon felt a chill go down his spine.
The enemies they’re faced with don’t have a sense of sight or hearing.
In other words, Jegal’s Spiritual Word skill wouldn’t work very well with these enemies.
‘He blocked the enemies by putting letters with energy waves on the floor to trap them, but I have a bad feeling about this. It’s the same gut feeling I had earlier!”
Out of all the kinds of enemies that could appear, enemies who are sort of immune to the Spiritual Word skill have spawned.
Not just that, but the enemy that attacked Jegal earlier didn’t spawn from an otherworld entrance but directly behind his back.
As if having the same feeling, Jegal warned the players.
“Leave these enemies to me! Stay far away!”
“B-but professor, these enemies are immune to Spiritual Word and…”
“Considering their energy wave and destructive power, these enemies are at least SSR-rank. It’s difficult for freshmen to deal with such high-level enemies without weapons!”
Silence fell on the students when they heard the rank of the enemies.
“I thought the otherworld they came from was SR-rank though!”
“Aren’t enemies supposed to conform to the level of the otherworld they came from?”
The players had legitimate questions, but before they could get an answer, an unexpected incident happened on the battlefield.
Jjjwaak… Dduuduuk…!
The floor and the walls began to rise.
There wasn’t anyone using a skill or light skill to make an illusion, rather the place they were at was physically changing.
The inexperienced freshmen students weren’t aware of what it is, but Jegal and the adult players looked stunned.
“…This is the effect that happens when a floor master enemy or a boss enemy changes the space.”
“Impossible! We’re not even inside the otherworld!”
Maeng Hyodon still doesn’t know what was what yet, but he guessed what was going on based on the other players’ words.
Maeng Hyodon, who had extraordinary fighting IQ, grasped the situation.
‘They’re saying that an SSR-rank enemy is using a boss enemy’s ability on this world?”
A number of players lost their composure due to the increasing variables and unexpected situations.
In the meantime, Jegal dealt with the battlefield by re-engraving the letters that were distorted because of the deformed floor.
But then, another thing happened.
“P-please save me…!”
In one corner of the parking lot, inside a crushed car.
A person with a broadcasting staff’s nametag around his neck was asking for help through the broken window.
A member of the professional player team in charge of security lamented.
“Didn’t I tell you to evacuate civilians as soon as possible…!”
“He must’ve been inside the car all along. Let’s get him out of there! I’ll go!”
Jegal, who was closest to the car, ran to it immediately.
Maeng Hyodon got a glimpse of the staff member’s face and muttered with a surprised expression.
“Oh, that guy is…!”
It’s a face he saw somewhere.
He couldn’t remember where and how he met the person, perhaps because he was an insignificant figure or Maeng Hyodon’s memory was just not serving him well.
‘I can’t remember, but it feels wrong.’
Maeng Hyodon was sure that the person was not someone he had good relations with.
Maeng Hyodon isn’t very bright, and he doesn’t have insight skills or magic-related light skills.
His skills are only related to fighting.
That’s why Maeng Hyodon hesitated before acting since even he can’t trust the ominous feeling that he has.
Before Maeng Hyodon began to act, Tak Geosan’s words suddenly came to his mind.
— You’re not smart, but you are born to fight.
He didn’t like the fact that Tak’s words were engraved in his mind, but Maeng Hyodon knew he was right.
— On the battlefield, your instincts are your number one friend!
Maeng Hyodon, who recalled his teacher’s words, immediately invoked his light skill, Fighter’s Gravity.
Fwaaaa!
As soon as the light skill was activated, a large area of energy wave formed in the shape of a boxing ring around Maeng Hyodon, and a fist-shaped lump of energy wave emerged.
This light skill greatly raises Maeng Hyodon’s status and binds a target to a certain area until he deactivates his light skill or until he is knocked out.
Several fists appeared behind Maeng Hyodon and pointed at the designated target.
Fwaaaa…!
As long as his light skill is activated, the target cannot leave the space created by Maeng Hyodon.
The targets that Maeng Hyodon took were the enemies that still haven’t been defeated.
And Jegal.
“Hyodon, did you just use your light skill on me?”
Before he could reach the stranded civilian, Jegal was pulled back to Maeng Hyodon.
Since he can’t leave the space that Maeng Hyodon created, Jegal just looked at Maeng Hyodon with a flustered face.
And at that moment.
Kkung! Hit!
“Eeeuuaaak!”
Someone landed on the roof of the car that Jegal headed for earlier, and he immediately hit the head of the person who was shouting for help.
“I see I’m not too late.”
The Year One Class Zero Crazyhead, Hwang Jiho.
* * *
It’s true that I was in battle, but I couldn’t detect Yeom Junyeol’s presence at all even though he was this close to us.
I was happy with my student’s improvement, but I felt sorry since he must’ve witnessed everything.
Step, step…
Yeom Junyeol walked this way with weak footsteps.
In the meantime, Yong Jegun took off the crow mask, and Yeom Junyeol’s eyes briefly landed on the school uniform with my nametag.
He stopped about two steps away, but he didn’t speak.
‘Is he thinking about how he should address me?’
The crow mask that I gave to Yong Jegun is what I usually wear during our lessons.
The smart Yeom Junyeol must already know the whole situation just by looking at our state right now.
From his perspective, he would surely get mad at me no matter if I’m his hoobae or his teacher.
But it would be more difficult for him to express that anger if he addresses me as his teacher.
So I decided to talk to him as his hoobae Jo Euishin.
“Yeom Junyeol sunbaenim, are you hurt?”
At my words, Yong Jegun let out a loud sigh.
I don’t think that was the best thing to do, but I didn’t know what else to say.
‘Ah…!’
Yeom Junyeol’s fierce eyes were staring at me.
Seeing that stare made both me and Yong Jegun startled.
“…If you call me like that, then I’m supposed to talk to you as ‘Yeom Junyeol sunbaenim’.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Yeom Junyeol’s eyes had a hint of moisture.
Color completely disappeared from Yong Jegun’s face too.
I don’t know what the hell I’m doing right now, but…
Yeom Junyeol closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and when he opened his eyes again, the hint of tears already disappeared.
He stared at me with sunken eyes.
His gaze made my stomach sink to the floor.
‘I need to apologize to Yeom Junyeol again later. But right now, we don’t have time.’
I suppressed my bitter guilt and spoke again.
“Communication signal will return soon. The disabled CCTVs here will also be activated again. We need to get out of here.”
I turned away from Yeom Junyeol and looked at Cadmus, who was still collapsed in the field of arrows.
Considering the future scenario where Cadmus would appear, I already knew what we needed to do to him.
“Professor Yong Jegun, please get him out of here and take him to the home of the Dragon Clan on the Korean Peninsula.”
If we leave him here, the Players’ Association will be the one to take Cadmus.
From the Dragon Clan’s perspective, they wouldn’t want a dragon slayer to be in the hands of the association.
The Dragon Clan and the Players’ Association do not have a very good relationship, but they aren’t enemies yet.
Still, it’s safer than having Cadmus with the Association.
Yong Jegun looked at me and nodded.
Since I made Yeom Junyeol cry, Yong Jegun must be feeling disdain for me too, but he has no choice but to follow what I said.
“What about you?”
“I’ll leave here first. I have spare clothes so I’ll change into them first before going.”
“What?”
“I’ll pay you back for your clothes later on, Professor Jegun.”
“Euishin-ah… The problem right now isn’t the clothes but…”
My light skill is one that lets me change my physical appearance so I always carry around spare clothes in my item window.
I brought clothes a little too big for 17-year-old Jo Euishin, but it’s better than Yong Jegun’s bloodied clothes.
‘If I join the others in this state, Hwang Jiho will surely scold me. That could delay things, so in order to prevent that from happening…’
It’s a shame that I wouldn’t be able to watch Dokgo Miro’s performance live.
While I calculated my next move in my head, Yeom Junyeol spoke to Yong Jegun.
“Euishin saved you and me today, Jegun hyung.”
Yeom Junyeol spoke with his usual kind face.
“Jegun hyung, please take Euishin, our benefactor, to our house and treat him.”
