Chapter 73
Chapter 73 - Raid Battle (1)
The official name of the team competition Seo-jun participated in was ‘Raid Battle'.
And raid battles were not organized by government or associations, but by private organizations.
Here, the private organization meant a large guild with professional hunters.
To be precise, it could be said that the tournament was held under the auspices of a large guild.
And the reason large guilds held such a tournament while sponsoring a huge amount was simple.
It was none other than to preoccupy exceptional students.
To put it bluntly, Hunter Academy is, after all, a place where students stay only during their student days.
When you become a professional hunter, you go out into the world and start a real fight.
Of course, in the same academy, there were cases where we got along well and teamed up together.
However, the world of professional hunters is a world that ultimately speaks of the logic of profit.
It was only during their academy years that they were able to endure and overcome difficult times together and build friendship.
However, the reality was that if you become a professional hunter, you will eventually head to a place that benefits you.
Whether it be money or other personal support.
It was the professional world to follow good treatment, not affection.
That's why large guilds needed to determine how much investment was worth investing in their students.
There are pro hunters who work alone, but most pro hunters belong to a guild and work as a team.
Therefore, not only as an individual, but also as a team member.
The intention to figure out what kind of potential there is and to embrace it in advance while a student was hidden in this raid battle.
Accordingly, large guilds began lobbying the government and associations for sponsorship.
Various broadcasting stations and various organizations who smelled the money and rushed at it harmonized and the current competition was born.
However, since it was a competition to preoccupy exceptional students, only Hunter Academy belonging to the 1st and 2nd divisions could participate in the raid battle.
After hearing the explanation up to this point, Seo-jun tilted his head and asked Seo-yoon.
“what? Seo Yoon. Wasn’t our dream academy in the 3rd division?”
Then Seo-yoon said to Seo-jun with an expression that she forgot.
“Ah, the other day, when Seojun won the Hunter Mill Mock Test, we went up to the second division together.”
“Ah...”
Seojun nodded.
The Hunter Mill Mock Test also seemed to be included in the academy's evaluation.
“Then, did the level of the raidable dungeon go up?”
Seoyoon shook her head slightly and answered.
“no. In fact, there is no big difference between the 2nd and 3rd parts in terms of benefits. However, if you go up to the 1st division, you can go up to a 6-star dungeon with the participation of an A-rank hunter.”
If it was a 6-star dungeon, it was virtually the domain of professional hunters.
The period where profits in the unit of 100 million start to occur in one dungeon.
“If I win this competition, can I go up to the first division?”
“I don’t know… the possibility is high.”
One more reason why you must win.
Seoyoon shook her head as she looked at Seojun, who was burning her eyes.
It was obvious that he was thinking about money all over his head.
What the hell is that bastard's money...
Seoyoon kept talking.
“anyway. In that sense, Hunter Mill Gaon Ale also participates in this competition. So...”
Seoyoon stopped talking and looked at the three people staring at her blankly.
Originally, as the director of the academy, I had to give him various words of encouragement and precautions.
“......You can do it on your own.”
Seoyoon decided to simply omit such precautions.
There was nothing particularly noteworthy, because it meant nothing to them anyway.
“All competitions are made up of dungeon raids.”
Seoyoon explained the way the contest proceeded instead of boring things like precautions.
The competition was held in a total of 5 rounds, and the winner was determined by measuring points in each round.
And the dungeons assigned in each round had different goals.
Some dungeons require pure brute force.
It was such a way that some dungeons require teamwork.
“Then I'll be watching from the stands!”
After the rough explanation, Seoyoon went inside.
Seo-jun looked at Seo-yoon's back and said to Min-yul and Su-yeon.
“Let’s go too.”
Seo-joon took Min-yul and Soo-yeon to the waiting room.
The waiting room we arrived at.
buzz buzz.
The waiting room was crowded with students who had already arrived.
For some reason, it seemed more than during the Hunter Mill mock test, but it seemed like it was because it was a tournament where three people competed as a team.
“There are so many people in the company…”
And Soo-yeon muttered in a slightly trembling voice.
Perhaps it was because of the fact that all of them were outstanding students in the 1st and 2nd academies, but they seemed to be suppressed.
Seo-joon said with a smile to relieve Su-yeon's tension.
“If they knew that you were a disciple of Demonic Spirit, wouldn’t they be even more depressed?”
In fact, it would not be suppressed, but would simply evaporate.
“Is that so…?”
After Seo-joon shrugged his shoulders, he found a quiet place and sat down.
And just then.
“uh? Isn’t that Jeong Siwoo over there?”
“Jeong Si-woo? Gaon’s Siwoo Jeong?”
With someone's cry, people's eyes began to turn to one side.
Seo-joon also naturally followed the people and turned his head.
When I turned my head, I saw two men and a woman proudly entering the waiting room.
At that moment, the voice I had heard for the first time was heard again.
“Wow, that’s right. But next to him is Park Eun-jung... Do Min-joon?”
“what? Even Jung Si-woo wasn't enough, so Park Eun-jung and Do Min-joon appeared? You came out of Gaon very determined.”
After those words, everyone in the waiting room became agitated.
That would be true too, Siwoo Jung, Eunjung Park, Minjoon Do.
It was because they were the top 5 players in Gaon Academy.
Excluding Jin Dong-min from the last Hunter Mill Mock Test, it could be said that he is the best among Gaon's best.
People looked at the three people and each one started to say a word.
“crazy. At Gaon, that's about it... Who's coming out of Hunter Meal and Ale?”
“I don't know. However, given that Gaon sent Si-woo Jeong, Eun-jung Park, and Min-joon Do, wouldn’t they send them as the best?”
“Then, no way… isn’t Lee Ha-yoon appearing in Hunter Mill?”
“Lee Ha-yoon? Oh, that student who is said to be the greatest talent in the history of pro hunter?”
The first person to speak nodded and said.
“Honestly, wasn’t it time to come out at least once?”
“That is true. Because it was so wrapped up at the Hunter Mill that no one really saw what it was like. Sometimes I wondered if it was noise marketing at Hunter Mill.”
“There are rumors that you are a disciple of five heroes, right?”
Then the person who was talking to me shouted, saying that it was nonsense.
“Don't talk nonsense. What are the five heroic disciples?”
“Still, it’s a bit strange that it doesn’t come out like this.”
“Anyway, it is. What kind of people are they and will they only accept students as disciples? There are many S-class hunters who want to learn.”
“Well, that's true too.”
Then, I couldn't hear the words properly due to the murmur of people who were entangled and shook.
Seojun turned his head again.
Then, Min-yul suddenly shouted as if he was unfair.
“Our captain is also famous! Why don't you find out?”
Seo-joon tilted his head and asked why Min-yul was acting like this all of a sudden.
“What am I famous for?”
“You’re the winner of the Hunter’s Mill Mock Test. Even now, the leader’s name appears in the community, and this is famous!”
Of course, as Minyul said, Seojun's name was known to some extent.
However, since he was a student, it was not enough to surpass the prestige of Korea's top three academies.
Above all, this competition was a team competition.
He didn't seem to think that Seo-joon, who was always alone, would participate in this competition.
Seo-joon shook his head and said to Min-yul.
“If that’s the case, aren’t you the same? And… why do you keep calling me captain from the last time?”
“You are the boss. I am the captain, so I call him the captain. Then what do you call it?”
“Does it really have to be called Captain?”
“Um...then the team leader?”
“......Just do as you please.”
Afterwards, Seo-jun, Min-yul, and Su-yeon spent time talking about various things.
How much time has passed like that.
[We'll start the first round of the raid battle in a moment.]
The first round of the raid battle has begun.
#
The first round of the raid battle was a round to evaluate the pure strength of the students.
A round where the key is how quickly you clear the raid without any other restrictions.
“Wow... This is a dungeon realized with Master's sorcery.”
Upon entering the dungeon, Soo-yeon turned her head and looked inside.
Apparently, Soo-yeon had entered a place called a dungeon for the first time, and seemed more curious that it was a demonic realization.
“It looks so real… How can it be implemented like this?”
Meanwhile, Soo-yeon began to pour out incomprehensible words while touching the objects around her.
It had been a long time since she had been a student, but she already had the scent of a magician.
Seojun and Minyul just shook their heads.
And just then.
“Kieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
A terrifying noise erupted from somewhere.
Seojun reflexively grabbed Longinus's spear and looked at the source of the sound.
Then, what appeared there was a huge spider-type monster.
“Arachne?”
It was none other than Arachne, a 7-star monster.
Of course, it was not the real Arachne, who is said to be the origin of spiders in Greek mythology.
It's just a powerful spider-type monster, so it's just a name given to it.
‘I'm sure the Arachne instructor would faint if he heard it.'
That's why Seo-joon's smile leaked out without even realizing it.
That would also be true, because the real Arachne was teaching tailoring to beginners in the crafting profession at the Transcendent Academy.
“Keeeeek!”
“Kieek! Kieh!”
Soon after, the Arachnes began to gather one by one.
Arachne's horrifying scream that he had just heard seemed to be a threat and at the same time summoning his fellow tribesmen.
Even a rough count of the Arachne gathered there seemed to exceed 10.
‘Let's save Gungnir for emergencies.'
Then Seo-joon ran forward, kicking off the ground without hesitation.
It is also true that Seo-jun was followed by Soo-yeon.
No matter how much Maseong praised Suyeon's talent, Suyeon had no experience fighting monsters.
To Soo-yeon, Arachne is a very daunting monster.
It was better to avoid direct combat right now.
And did he realize Seo-jun's intention?
Tadadak.
Even though he didn't say anything else, Min-yul followed Seo-jun straight after holding two daggers.
“Keeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeg
When Seo-jun and Min-yul rushed in without warning, the Arachne group was agitated.
But for a while, the Arachnes started to move as if they were planning a strategy.
Some tried to bind Seo-joon and Min-yul by shooting spider webs.
Other hordes raised sharp fangs and legs to attack the chained two.
Hey profit!
Arachne's sticky web was flying toward Seo-jun and Min-yul.
The spider's web, which boasts tremendous strength and elasticity, was the pattern that made Arachne a particularly difficult monster among 7-star monsters.
but.
Awesome!
In front of the spear of Longinus wielded by Seo-joon, it was just a ball of thread.
“Kieek?”
Arachnes panicked as the spider webs crumbled helplessly.
And Seo-joon and Min-yul rushed in between the embarrassed Arachnes.
The fierce battle that ensued
... Kwajik!
Rather, it was more like a massacre.
“Wow…”
Soo-yeon was stunned at the tremendous inaction of the two.
“Keeeeek!”
“Kieek!”
That would also be the case, and the Arachnes were powerless and perished in the two pincers.
I tried to counterattack, but to no avail.
And Minyul was also Minyul, but Seojun in particular was overwhelming.
Because when Min-yul was fighting one, Seo-joon was fighting two at the same time and cutting down one of them.
I heard that he was great on the Internet, but the Seojun I actually saw was not something I could describe as great.
So, the Arachnes were not even interested in Soo-yeon.
“I can’t stay still either.”
Soo-yeon quietly closed her eyes.
I haven't learned much magic yet, but I was able to help at least in my current situation.
Woo woo woo.
After such a short time passed, Suyeon suddenly touched the ground with her hand.
and momentarily
Deude Deuk!
Suddenly, a thick tree trunk rose from under the land of the Arachnes and began to bind the Arachnes.
“Kieek!?”
The Arachnes twisted their bodies and tried to cut off the tree trunk, but for some reason it didn't break easily.
It was already a daunting situation, but as their bodies were restrained, Arachnes had no choice but to be helpless.
And only then did the Arachnes recognize Suyeon's existence.
“Where!”
squeak.
I couldn't continue my thoughts any further with Seo-joon's spear.
It took less than 5 minutes for all the Arachnes to be eliminated.
#
Unlike other tournaments, the proportion of scouts in raid battles was considerably higher than that of general spectators.
In the first place, it was because this tournament was held for a purpose with their lobby and intentions.
Of course, in terms of absolute figures, the proportion of spectators was overwhelmingly high, but the proportion of scouts was still significant.
Lee Do-hyun was one of those scouts.
As a scouter of none other than the Ares Guild, it was a sound guild that was ranked in the top 10 in Korea.
It was a guild that was not inferior anywhere in Korea, and Lee Do-hyun himself was also a B-class pro hunter.
And skills were also skills, but Lee Do-hyun had an excellent talent for seeing potential.
The master of the Ares Guild also recognized Lee Do-hyun's talent, so he was able to come as the representative of the Ares Guild.
[Sudra Academy - Hunter Team: 37 minutes 12 seconds (failure)]
[Nature Academy - Sunshine Team: 51 minutes 38 seconds (failure)]
But even Lee Do-hyun couldn't understand what he was seeing right now.
In the end, Lee Do-hyun couldn't stand it and asked a colleague who came with him.
“no. Why do so many teams fail in the first round?”
Then the colleague shrugged and replied.
“The dungeon set this time must be a bit difficult.”
“Even if it is difficult. Anyway, aren’t the dungeons and monsters implemented with magic?”
“I heard that they implemented a 7-star dungeon?”
“what? You implemented a 7-star dungeon?”
The monsters implemented through magic were about 2 stars behind the actual monsters.
Therefore, even if it was a 7 star, it should have been considered to be at the level of a 5 star, but even taking that into consideration, there was a very difficult level for the students.
“Anyway, the level of the students this year is high. Every year the level goes up, but this year it doesn't tend to be that way.”
“So there's no reason to fail this far?”
So, Lee Do-hyun couldn't help but be more confused.
The Raid Battle was a competition in which students from Hunter academies belonging to the 1st and 2nd divisions competed.
A competition where the best among them participate as a team.
Literally, it was not a failure because it was a ‘team', not alone.
Then the colleague nodded and said.
“I thought that was strange too, so I looked it up, but it seems Jung Ji-min did research this time. what was that...? mutation? Anyway, you said you found something there, and it's because you applied it to the Sorcery Dungeon?”
“Mutation? What is that?”
“I don’t know either. I don’t even know what magic science really is.”
The two of them stood in a daze, at a loss of words for a moment.
Then, Lee Do-hyun opened his mouth again.
“Anyway, does that mean the demonic disciple did something?”
“Go there.”
“Is that why the student teams are failing one after another without being able to clear?”
“That’s how it is.”
Lee Do-hyun sighed in response to his colleague's answer.
When this happened, there was nothing to evaluate and sleep on.
Of course, even if you failed, you could evaluate how you failed, but in the end it was just a fact of failure.
And in the professional world, failure meant death.
‘The Master will say something.'
Lee Do-hyun sighed when he saw the master who was going to make a living, asking where he had gone to play.
‘Should I take a look at the teams that had endured...'
It was just then that I turned my gaze back to the display board.
Beep.
Suddenly, an alarm sounded from the display board.
When I hurriedly turned my gaze, there was a record of one team clearing the dungeon.
[Gaon Academy - Class Team: 30 minutes 12 seconds (clear).]
“The first clear team to appear in round 1.”
At someone's words, the scouts around them began to look at the electronic signboard one by one.
“Let's see... Gaon? Hunter wheat or ale?”
“I guess I haven’t cleared it yet. There must be a time difference because the entry order is different.”
“Oh, yes. Then you should see the clear time.”
People checked the electronic display board once again.
“30 minutes? Wow... Isn't the average clearing time of a 5-star dungeon at the student level 40 minutes on average?”
“There are variables because it was implemented with sorcery, but... it's fast.”
“Besides, the difficulty of this dungeon is quite high. Hey, Gaon is definitely Gaon.”
Each of the scouts nodded and praised Gaon.
And Lee Do-hyun was no different from them.
It wasn't called Korea's three major hunter academies for nothing.
Beep.
At that time, another team had cleared the dungeon, and a notification sound was heard.
“uh. Looks like someone else cleared it.”
“Who are you this time? Hunter Mill? ale?”
Each of the scouts scrambled to turn their attention back to the display board.
however.
[Dream Academy - Dream Team: 9 minutes 34 seconds (clear).]
“...?”
“...?”
“...?”
The name that appeared on the screen was neither Hunter Mil nor Ale.
No, it was completely different information that could not be expected exactly.
“Dream Academy...? no wait 9 minutes? Nine minutes?”
“....What?”
“9 minutes instead of 19?”
“No, there are quite a few problems with 19 minutes?”
Then one of the scouts shouted to a nearby official.
“Hey! Do you think this is a mechanical error?”
Then an official came running and asked.
“Do you have any problem...?”
“The clearing time is 9 minutes written on the signboard over there. Isn't this a typo?”
“Ah... Let me check for a moment.”
Then, the official put his hand on the earphones in his ears and started muttering something.
Then he nodded once and spoke.
“ah. Sorry, there was a momentary error in the measurement.”
As expected, the machine malfunctioned.
“Isn’t that true?”
“Somehow, 9 minutes and 34 seconds makes sense.”
“The meter malfunctioned for a while, so it was pushed back 30 seconds.”
Then the scouts each nodded as if they knew that would happen...
pause.
“What did you just say...”
“Push...?”
Isn't that ahead of time?
The scouts then looked at the officials with bewildered eyes.
And a word that came out of the official's mouth.
“It’s 9 minutes 4 seconds, not 9 minutes 34 seconds.”
what is he saying now?