Chapter 1151 – 1151. Savior Of The Academy
Standing before Ryu Hana, I infused mana into the Azure Dragon Spear in my hand. Water began to form around the spear, defying gravity and swirling in all directions. The surreal currents made it feel as if we were underwater.
『You are qualified to challenge the trial. Will you begin the Azure Dragon’s Trial?』
‘I will.’
The water currents gathered in one spot in the air, creating a door leading to a dungeon.
I looked at Ryu Hana. Her eyes were resolute as she nodded. She grabbed my shoulder. As if it had been waiting, the dungeon sucked us both in.
『You have entered the special dungeon, ???.』
‘Another ??? special dungeon… It must be Laplace’s doing again.’
I gritted my teeth. If I ever got the chance, I would kill Laplace.
•••
Ryu Hana and I were at Namsan Tower.
It was Seoul again. Seoul was the most familiar place to me, which was why it was chosen as the setting for my trial.
For the same reason, the previous dungeon was also set in Seoul. Ryu Hana had lived in Seoul before she started living in the dorms.
“Ryu Hana, let’s stick together this time.”
Last time, I didn’t know about Laplace’s interference, so I let Ryu Hana move on her own.
“Okay.”
She nodded calmly, but her eyes were burning with determination.
I held the Azure Dragon Spear and looked out at Seoul. It was different from the Seoul I knew. There weren’t as many tall buildings. Also, even considering it was a weekday, there were very few people at Namsan Tower.
‘Seoul is… a mess. Parts of the city are destroyed. Why haven’t they rebuilt it?’
The atmosphere of the city, which should have been the most vibrant in the Korean Peninsula, was cold and subdued.
I asked a nearby person what year it was.
“Ryu Hana, you’ve probably already noticed, but this dungeon is also set in the past. Is there anywhere you want to go?”
Ryu Hana tilted her head to one side. It was in the direction of Seocho-dong.
“…No. There’s nowhere I want to go.”
“Then how about we go to the academy? It’s the old academy. Aren’t you curious?”
My goal was Seong Hari. At this time, Seong Hari would have been at the academy.
“This is just a dungeon. Does it even matter?”
“I’m curious. I want to know what the old academy was like. Changing things here won’t change reality, but… we might learn some forgotten facts. Well, it’s a parallel world, so it could be completely different.”
“Okay. Let’s go to the academy.”
We went down from Namsan Tower to the parking lot. I looked around the parking lot and headed towards a luxury sports car. I smashed the window and forced the door open. Ryu Hana blinked in surprise at my violent actions.
“…Is it okay to do that?”
“This world has nothing to do with reality. People, objects, everything is fake. Don’t forget that.”
I got into the driver’s seat, and Ryu Hana got into the passenger seat.
“How are you going to start the engine?”
It was obvious, but even if you opened the door and got into the car, it wouldn’t move forward without starting the engine. And to start the engine, you needed the car key.
‘I could use hacking to solve this, but…’
I tapped the watch on my wrist. *Charrrr*. The watch seemed to shatter and transformed into a small human figure.
“This body has arrived!”
Makina, with her hands on her hips, appeared with her chin held high. It was impossible to summon a contracted spirit in this dungeon, but it wasn’t impossible to bring one along into the dungeon.
“…A fairy?”
A small human with a cute appearance, about 60cm tall. Perhaps because of her cute looks, Ryu Hana thought of her as a fairy rather than a spirit.
“She’s a mechanical spirit. A rather special one.”
“Hi! I’m Makina! What’s your name?”
“……Ryu Hana.”
“Your name is Hana! That’s a nice name! Nice to meet you!”
Makina raised her small hand. Ryu Hana also raised her hand, a little bewildered. Their different-sized palms overlapped. *Clap!*
“Makina, start the car.”
A little mana drained away.
*Vroom vroom.*
The car engine started. I grabbed the steering wheel.
“You can’t even start a car? Should I drive instead?”
“I’ll drive, so just stay still, please.”
“Hmph.”
Makina turned her head away from me and sat on Ryu Hana’s lap. Ryu Hana seemed flustered, but she didn’t seem to dislike it. Makina’s cute appearance had worked on Ryu Hana as well.
“Let’s go! Holy Knight! I’ll be watching how well you drive!”
“I’ll give you a comfortable ride.”
I was confident in my driving. I wasn’t the old me. I was confident I could win first place in a racing competition.
I stepped on the accelerator and instantly increased the speed to 100km/h.
“Oh, you’re pretty good.”
“…Too fast.”
Makina was enjoying it, but Ryu Hana’s face stiffened. Ryu Hana held Makina’s belly with one hand and gripped the door tightly with the other.
‘Oops.’
I immediately slowed down. This wasn’t a pleasure trip. It would be annoying if the police started chasing us.
“What? You suddenly slowed down. Speed up!”
“Shut up.”
I ignored Makina’s grumbling and maintained a reasonable speed.
“Hana, isn’t the Holy Knight a terrible driver? If I were driving, we’d be twice as fast. Ah, I want to show Hana my driving skills. Holy Knight! I’ll drive!”
Makina kept chattering. Ryu Hana seemed to find Makina cute, gently stroking Makina’s head as if she were petting a fragile kitten. Makina didn’t avoid the touch. It seemed she had gotten used to it since Seong Hari often stroked her head.
I turned on the radio to escape Makina’s noisy voice. Instead of a lively song, a calm female announcer’s voice filled the car.
-A gate has opened at Mapo Bridge, and monsters have appeared. The Hero Association is responding. No evacuation order has been issued. Those near Mapo Bridge, please remain calm.
It was boring news. I changed the channel.
*Static.*
A male announcer’s voice could be heard.
-The evacuation order issued in Daegu has been lifted. Citizens of Daegu, you can rest assured. Thanks to the quick response of the Hero Association, there were no casualties in Daegu. Heroes, thank you for your hard work! Thanks to you, Korea is safe today.
*Static.*
-A typhoon is approaching Jeju Island. At the same time, marine monsters have been observed. Residents of Jeju Island, please prepare to evacuate. I repeat, residents of Jeju Island, please prepare to evacuate.
*Static, static, static.*
-Monsters in Gangneung…
*Static*
-Wando is currently isolated…
*Static, static!*
I kept changing the radio channels. There was no music anywhere. It was all news. 30% of the news was good, and the rest was all related to monster disasters.
‘I knew the 90s were quite chaotic… but was it this bad?’
I looked out the car window again. The asphalt road was cracked, some buildings were destroyed, the streetlights and trees were broken, and the pedestrian walkways were overturned. Looking at it again, Seoul was a mess, so desolate it was almost eerie.
‘Above all, there are too few people in Seoul. The damage recovery must be difficult…’
Feeling an inexplicable unease, I continued towards Maruhan Academy in Gangwon-do.
•••
The academy building was also a bit different from the modern one.
The location was the same, but the building was old and small. The area where the downtown should have been was empty.
‘The downtown area in front of the academy was formed in the early 2000s, so the current scenery is natural.’
I drove the car confidently into the academy entrance. A security guard was guarding the entrance. He seemed to be a current hero and walked towards the car.
“This is Maruhan Academy. Are you affiliated with the academy?”
“Can’t you tell by our uniforms? We’re academy students.”
“……Why is a student driving a car… *cough!*”
Using a moment of opportunity, I stabbed the security guard in the neck. The security guard, who had been momentarily careless, died instantly and collapsed. I got out of the car and put the security guard’s body in the trunk. Makina had manipulated the CCTV at the entrance. It was easy since there was only one security guard at lunchtime.
I opened the entrance and got back into the car. Ryu Hana’s face was stiff.
『Ryu Hana’s Favorability: 31』
The favorability I had raised by sparring with her for the past two weeks had dropped by 4.
“…Was it necessary to kill the security guard?”
“We’re outsiders. We don’t have any identification. And as I said before, this world is fake. Don’t forget that.”
“……There are ways to sneak in.”
“It’s impossible because of the barrier. You know that.”
“……”
Ryu Hana seemed like she wanted to argue but gave up and closed her mouth.
The sports car entered Maruhan Academy. I parked the car in the parking lot.
Stepping onto the academy grounds, I felt awkward. The atmosphere of the academy from about 20 years ago was different. It felt heavy, or maybe suffocating. I scratched my neck for no reason. Makina flew up and clung to the back of my head.
I decided to ignore her since she would definitely argue back if I said anything.
“Ryu Hana, is there anywhere you want to go?”
“Not really.”
Ryu Hana really didn’t seem interested in the old Maruhan Academy. I nodded.
“Let’s look around to get a sense of the layout.”
My destination was the Spear Arts Department.
At this time, the Spirit Department would be at its peak, but Seong Hari, who had the Spirit Devourer trait, entered the Spear Arts Department, not the Spirit Department.
‘I don’t want to go to the main building where there are a lot of people… and let’s avoid the cafeteria since it’s lunchtime.’
First, I headed towards the Spear Arts Department building that I remembered. A newly built, large building was standing there. I checked the inside through the window. Students with bows in their hands could be seen. It was the Archery Department.
I called out to a passing Archery Department student.
“Excuse me. Do you know where the Spear Arts Department is?”
The student looked at me with a puzzled expression.
“You don’t know the Spear Arts Department?”
“I’m not in the Spear Arts Department. I’m in the Magic Department.”
*Zap.*
Electricity crackled between my index finger and thumb. The Archery Department student nodded, seeing the electricity. He had mistaken it for magic.
Surprisingly, people who aren’t mages can’t easily distinguish between a trait and magic.
“If you’re in the Magic Department, it’s understandable that you don’t know where the Spear Arts Department is. The Spear Arts Department is over there.”
“…In the back mountain?”
“I heard from a friend in the Spear Arts Department that the back mountain is a good environment for training.”
“Thanks for letting me know.”
I said goodbye to the Archery Department student and headed towards the back mountain.
There was no back mountain in the Maruhan Academy I attended. Instead, the Sword Arts Department was located there. It seemed they would remove the mountain and build a new building in a few years.
‘Putting aside removing the mountain, seeing the Sword Arts Department being built means an incident will happen in a few years.’
The Spear Arts Department and the Sword Arts Department were like cats and dogs. They would growl at each other whenever they met. It was very rare for them to cooperate.
As I got closer to the back mountain, the Spear Arts Department building came into view. The old-fashioned building was as big as the main building.
Just then, the entrance to the Spear Arts Department building opened, and someone walked out. It was a beautiful female student with long, black hair and a pale face.
It was Seong Hari.
She looked at me and her eyes widened.
