Academy Munchkin Grew Up To Become a Genius

Episode 13 Hidden Piece (3)

Kang Seo-jun and Jin Se-rin’s security team passed through the thick stone gate and entered a huge cavity.

One of the bodyguards muttered while keeping a watchful eye.

“The darkness feels especially heavy here.”

It was not an illusion.

The darkness of this boss room is the materialization of the malice flowing from the dungeon boss, Guibul.

It was a malicious intent that had been concentrated for hundreds of years, so the people who lived there could not help but feel ominous.

“It’s so creepy.”

“It seems like there’s a strange smell…”

“It’s a bit like a rotten corpse…”

Jin Se-rin hugged Seo Eun-ha’s arm and hugged her.

“Uh, sister…”

Ominous darkness itself tests the will of the living.

The security team was able to advance somehow because they had at least B-grade willpower, but Jin Serin’s willpower was only 17 points and C grade.

It was a high score for a cadet, but it was not enough to participate in such a veteran-level dungeon attack.

Seo Eun-ha whispered softly as if she was in trouble.

“If you stick too close, I won’t be able to escort you…”

“Joe, just a little…!”

When Seo Eun-ha tried to pull her arm away, Jin Se-rin held her arm tighter.

Seeing that, Seo Eun-ha gave up on letting Jin Se-rin go.

Yes. It might be better to stick together like this.

“In case of emergency, don’t hold on to my arm. Come to the back.”

Jin Serin lowered her voice as if she had no shame.

“Uh, yeah…”

Kang Seo-jun and Jin Se-rin’s group arrived at the center of the common.

There was a small shrine standing there.

The shrine standing alone in the thick darkness was like looking at a crouching evil spirit.

It was an extremely naughty space.

The security guards frowned at that appearance and said one word at a time.

“I guess the rotten me is coming from here….”

“Oh…What’s inside?”

“I feel a bit chilled. Ugh…”

It was their own way of relieving tension.

“Ugh, uhm. Khum…!”

Jin Serin also tried not to show it on the outside, but it seemed like she was having a hard time due to her physiological sense of rejection.

Kang Seo-jun passed them and moved forward.

Then, they applauded with their backs to the shrine, attracting people’s attention.

-Party!

“Then, I will give you a briefing before entering the boss battle.”

I was briefed on the boss battle before entering the dungeon, but since it was so simple, I needed additional briefing.

Hearing that the briefing was about to begin, the security guards quickly stopped chatting and focused on Kang Seo-jun.

“First of all, there is a Ghost Buddha inside this shrine. It is a Buddha statue with an evil spirit in it. Once you start purifying that Ghost Buddha, the boss battle begins.”

“Jeonghwa?”

Hearing the word Jeonghwa, one of the bodyguards tilted his head and asked a question.

Purification is the power to return evil and all kinds of unclean things wriggling in the darkness to pure things.

It was something that only hunters with special powers, such as light attribute magic or high elemental sensitivity, could do.

“If it’s a place that requires purification rather than combat, wouldn’t it be impossible to proceed from here? I think there was a mistake, but there’s no one on our team with the purification skill.”

Of course, among the security team, there was no one with light attributes or spirit sensitivity.

Such a special ability was an aptitude that was considered one of the rarest in the world.

Kang Seo-jun answered as if it was no big deal.

“You don’t have to worry about that. I’ll take care of the purification.”

“Huh? You also do the purification yourself?”

The security guards became upset at those words.

“A light attribute holder? No, a spiritist?”

“No… Team leader. Who the hell is that person…”

“Didn’t you say you’re a new cadet at the academy?”

Seo Eun-ha pretended not to hear.

“…….”

I don’t know either.

I really don’t know anymore.

That was my honest feeling, but I couldn’t bear to say that.

From knowing unregistered dungeons, reacting to ink iron traps, solving the ancient fish cube in 2 minutes, and even having the ability to purify… ?

I could have picked many more strange things, such as the fact that he was learning martial arts, having no past history, and the strange balance of his abilities.

At this point, it felt pointless to think any more.

“That’s not important. Please pay attention again.”

There were a few misunderstandings, but Kang Seo-jun did not bother to correct them.

The only important thing now was conquering the dungeon.

“Anyway, when the purification process begins, miscellaneous demons will come like hordes of zombies from all directions in this cavity. That is the start of the boss battle. The entire battle will be held in a defense format. While the demons are being purified, I cannot fight. Since there are none, the security team must pay special attention to prevent miscellaneous spirits from invading the shrine.”

The ghost Buddha in that shrine is like a food source for the miscellaneous ghosts that inhabit this dungeon.

The law of this world is that even if it is a ghost-type monster without a body, it must eat something to exist.

Miscellaneous spirits and demons could only maintain their existence by eating malice toward the world, and those ghosts contained enormous malice toward the world.

Purifying such demons was like setting fire to a farm for the miscellaneous demons.

So, when the purification work begins, all the ghosts in this dungeon will grit their teeth and rush towards you.

“Please place all of the flashlights you brought on the ground in the direction that illuminates the shrine. The more light there is in the shrine, the faster the purification process will be. Most of the ghosts that come in are grade C, so you can catch them as you have done so far, but occasionally you can catch B Grade B demons will also appear. It is difficult to deal with Grade B demons alone, so please cooperate with two people.”

Kang Seo-jun finished the briefing after providing other precautions.

“Then, if everyone is ready, let’s get started right away. Do you have any questions?”

There were no questions this time either.

However, each member of the security team was curious about Kang Seo-jun’s identity.

“Okay then. Let’s begin. Everyone to your location!”

When Kang Seo-jun announced the start of the boss battle, the security team dispersed to surround the shrine.

Seo Eun-ha led Jin Se-rin.

“Lady, go behind me.”

“Uh, yes…!”

Jin Se-rin followed Seo Eun-ha as if she was half-hanging on.

Kang Seo-jun entered the shrine after carefully examining the positions of the security teams and the angle of the light.

Inside the shrine, there was an eerie foundation, and on top of it sat a Buddha statue with flashing red eyes.

Kang Seo-jun had a snowball fight with his ears and took out a small glass bottle from his pocket.

The beautifully crafted glass bottle contained water and fragments of light that twinkled like stars.

It was the ‘favored saint’s holy water’ that Kang Seo-jun purchased through the dimension store.

-Knock!

Kang Seo-jun stepped on the foundation and opened the lid of the glass bottle.

And then he shouted, squeezing out his hoarse voice.

“Let the purification begin! Everyone prepare for battle!”

The security guards repeated their names as if they were ready.

“Ready for battle! You can begin!”

“Then let’s begin! Purification begins! Three! Two! One!”

Kang Seo-jun poured holy water on the top of the Buddha statue.

-Cheeeeek!

Holy water was bubbling and emitting smoke, as if water had been sprinkled on a heated iron.

-Kyaaaaa――――!!

At the same time, a scream that shook the entire cavity echoed from all directions.

Holy water boiled and penetrated the top of the Buddha statue, and smoke as red as blood came out from the hole in the top of the head.

-Kyaaaaa――――!!

It would probably feel like being suddenly hit with acid.

No matter how many hundreds of years old it was, it was a poor match for the holy water of a saint who was favored by light.

It was even more effective because it was a long-standing vengeance.

– Kuguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguguu――――!!

Soon, the sound of countless footsteps echoed on the ground and ceiling, getting closer and closer.

“Ugh…!”

“It’s the beginning…!”

“Miss! Come back!”

“S-sssss…”

-Quaaaaa――――!!

Soon, something poured in from every crevice in the cavity.

They were vaguely visible in the darkness, resembling the stem of a black waterfall.

“It’s coming…!”

“There are more birds than I thought…!?”

“Barrier! Prepare for collision!”

-Wow!

A round barrier surrounded the shrine with a protective shield and gave off a soft blue light.

-Kyaaaaa――!!

As the black tsunami got closer to the barrier, its ferocious appearance became clearer.

“Crash!!”

-Kwasik! Sigh! Wow!

Soon the black tsunami collided with the protective formation of her bodyguards.

-Kiaaa!!

“Whoops…! Looks like mana flowed back…!”

“Hold on! Keep the barrier up!”

“Gunner loaded!”

“An evil spirit appears at 12 o’clock!”

-Kyaaa!

The guards wielded cold weapons covered in auras beyond the barrier and fired mana arrows the size of parasols.

With each of their blows, a large gap was created in the black tsunami, but the gap was quickly filled, as if cutting water with a sword.

“What is the sudden difficulty level…!”

“I thought it was too easy to get into a dungeon…!”

Originally, the standard strategy for this dungeon was not to take a shortcut, but to progress slowly while reducing the number of miscellaneous ghosts.

The hardships that security guards are currently experiencing are the price of taking a shortcut.

Because we entered the boss room without almost reducing the number of miscellaneous ghosts, the difficulty of the boss battle increased.

-Kyaaaaa!

“Crazy… There are too many…!”

“Barrier! Barrier!”

“Support at 3 o’clock! Shift!”

“No time to reload! Take out the knife!”

“An evil spirit appears at 9 o’clock!”

-Whoosh! Kwasik!

“Ugh…!”

“Fuck!”

“Evil!”

We fought like that for more than 15 minutes.

Even if they were level B or higher hunters with stamina that was completely different from that of ordinary people, it was difficult for them to last long against the enemies that came at them like a tsunami.

-Kiaaa――!!

In the end, a demon broke through the barrier and bit one of the bodyguards.

“Evil!”

-Puck!

Seo Eun-ha struck the demon’s head off with her shield and checked the bodyguard’s condition.

“Tea, team leader…! Heh…!”

“Oh my…!”

The demon’s teeth were deeply embedded in my collarbone.

Even if you use the potion, you will have to leave the room for a few minutes.

“Go Assistant Manager! Support at 3 o’clock!”

“An evil spirit appears at 6 o’clock!”

The enemies are more fierce than expected, and their numbers are much greater.

The difference in difficulty between the dungeon and the boss room was like heaven and earth.

The barrier in the 3 o’clock direction has already been breached, and the other direction will soon meet the same fate.

Of course, that didn’t mean he was in danger of dying.

Because Seo Eun-ha had an emergency escape artifact that allowed her to escape with Jin Se-rin and the entire security team.

However, only pre-registered people can escape with the artifact.

If this artifact is used, Kang Seo-jun will be left alone in this dungeon.

For some reason, I don’t think that man would die easily in a crisis like this, but betrayal is betrayal.

When I activated the escape artifact, I was actually more concerned about leaving behind a legacy for that man than with him dying.

Even while I was thinking that, the situation was rapidly worsening.

-Pajik!

“It opened at 6 o’clock!”

“A demon appears at 3 o’clock! Team leader!”

“You damn…!”

“Huh, huh…!”

It may be shameless, but I can’t last even 30 seconds like this.

In the end, Seo Eun-ha had to make a choice.

“Emergency escape…!”

The moment she placed her hand on her emergency escape artifact necklace and was about to infuse it with her mana,

Kang Seo-jun dropped the last drop of holy water on the ear burnt.

-Paaaaa!!