As we emerged from the portal, the artificial dungeon where we had first entered came into view.
“Oh? The students are out!”
Voices echoed from somewhere nearby.
Turning my head, I saw a large crowd gathering around us. Among them were people who appeared to be journalists, as well as some familiar-faced teachers.
At that moment, one of the teachers ran toward us, their eyes filled with concern as they looked back and forth between me and Lee Seo-jun.
“Are you two okay? No injuries?”
“Yes, we’re fine.”
“You both seem unharmed, thank goodness. Did you clear the dungeon?”
“Yes.”
At Lee Seo-jun’s response, the journalists surrounding us lit up with excitement.
“Wow. They cleared it in a day? And they’re just students?”
“As expected of Lee Seo-jun. This is headline material. Get the camera ready.”
“Lee Seo-jun! Could you give us an interview?”
“Lee Seo-jun! We’re from SBC. We’d love to hear more about the hidden stage!”
A swarm of people quickly surrounded Lee Seo-jun.
Of course, they didn’t seem particularly interested in me. Not that I minded. More than anyone, I understood just how significant Lee Seo-jun was in this world.
Observing the scene, I quietly slipped away. A few teachers asked if I needed to go to the infirmary, but I reassured them that I was fine.
“Whew.”
As I stepped outside the dungeon, the warm sunlight dazzled my eyes.
After spending so much time in darkness, it felt good to be back in the light.
“Hey! They said Lee Seo-jun is out!”
“Damn! We’re late! Hurry!”
It seemed that the chaos surrounding Lee Seo-jun wasn’t just limited to inside the dungeon.
People were running around frantically at the news of his return.
A journalist who recognized me approached and asked about Lee Seo-jun’s performance.
I gave a brief answer before continuing on my way.
“Hm…”
As I walked toward the dormitory, I spotted two familiar-looking figures ahead.
A beautiful woman and a man.
They passed by me naturally.
Even though they were wearing baseball caps pulled low over their faces, there was an unmistakable aura about them that instinctively drew my gaze.
The woman, in particular, bore a striking resemblance to someone I knew.
I watched her retreating figure.
Sensing my gaze, she turned around.
Now that I saw her face clearly, the resemblance was even stronger.
She looked just like Yoo Ara.
If Yoo Ara were about five years older, she might look like this.
“….”
She must have recognized me too, as she gave a slight nod.
I returned the gesture.
The man beside her, looking puzzled, also bowed his head in response.
This woman was someone so famous in Korea that no one could fail to recognize her.
The Flame Witch, Yoo Ah-yeon.
The master of the Dawn’s Blade Guild.
Yoo Ah-yeon acknowledged the male student with a nod before continuing forward.
She knew exactly who he was.
Kim Sunwoo.
The student who had been trapped in the hidden stage alongside Lee Seo-jun.
But there was another reason she recognized him.
During the Mage Academy’s demonic attack incident, he was the one who had saved her only sister, Yoo Ara.
“That student, he’s the one, right? The one who cleared the hidden stage with Lee Seo-jun?”
“Yes.”
“Still… I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before. His face is really familiar…”
“He’s the one who saved my sister during the demonic attack.”
“Oh, right! That’s why you greeted him.”
Yoo Ah-yeon nodded lightly.
As they continued their conversation, Lee Seo-jun finally stepped out of the dungeon, walking slowly.
“Oh… it’s Lee Seo-jun. He’s even better looking in person.”
The man next to her murmured in admiration.
Yoo Ah-yeon, however, silently observed Lee Seo-jun without any reaction.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing.”
At her indifferent response, the man simply nodded.
Then, as he scanned the crowd surrounding Lee Seo-jun, he muttered,
“But do you really think they came all the way here?”
“They must have. To them, Lee Seo-jun is no ordinary person. When they heard he had fallen into the hidden stage, I bet they were more shocked than even Chairman Kim Jin-cheol.”
“Heh. That’s probably true.”
They were searching for a notorious terrorist group that had disappeared thirteen years ago—Jaun.
It was a secret not yet known to the world, but to Jaun, Lee Seo-jun was someone special.
And those who knew that were convinced that members of Jaun would make an appearance.
But had they hidden themselves perfectly?
Even as Lee Seo-jun walked toward his dormitory, none of Jaun’s members revealed themselves.
“…Let’s go back.”
“Man, that’s kind of disappointing.”
“We expected this outcome anyway.”
At Yoo Ah-yeon’s words, the man nodded.
“Oh, right. Since we’re here, why don’t you at least stop by and see your sister?”
“No thanks. Ara’s busy.”
“Liar. You just don’t want to hear her nagging.”
The man smirked playfully.
Yoo Ah-yeon, hit right on the mark, fell silent.
But to avoid making it obvious, she forced a smile.
“What nagging?”
“Wait… You’re not doing that again, are you?”
“I quit. It’s been four years.”
Yoo Ah-yeon subconsciously clutched her left wrist, covering an old scar.
The scar on her wrist was a remnant of the past—wounds she had inflicted on herself when she was struggling with depression and stress from her trauma.
Although the trauma still lingered, at least she had stopped self-harming.
Because she didn’t want to worry the only family she had left—Yoo Ara.
Instead, all that remained in her heart was a burning hatred.
Just as they were about to leave the Mage Academy and return to headquarters—
“Ugh…!”
Yoo Ah-yeon clutched her head as a sudden pain flared up.
Startled, the man quickly turned to her.
“Noona! Are you okay?”
—Ah-yeon! Take Ara and run!
A hallucination.
She heard that voice every day, but she never got used to it.
The nightmare from thirteen years ago resurfaced.
“Noona!”
“…I’m fine.”
The voice didn’t go away.
In the past, she could only silence it by harming herself.
But she didn’t do that anymore.
Acting as if nothing had happened, she lifted her head and walked forward.
—Run! Run!
Clenching her teeth, she forced herself to ignore it.
“Aigo.”
As soon as I returned to the dormitory, I washed my dirty body clean and sat down on the sofa. When I turned on the television, a breaking news report immediately appeared.
It was about Lee Seo-jun. Of course, there was a mention of me as well.
「Lee Seo-jun and one other student, who had fallen into the hidden stage of the dungeon behind the Magic Academy, have successfully cleared the dungeon and returned safely.」
That “one other student” was me.
“…Ahem.”
As expected, Lee Seo-jun’s star power was immense.
The entire media was in an uproar. Some broadcasting stations were even advertising a special documentary on him.
“Still, calling me ‘one other student’ is a bit much.”
They could at least mention my name. Forget about fame points—shouldn’t they at least acknowledge that there were two of us?
[124 mages have taken an interest in you.]
[You have received 3,000 points as a reward.]
Well, seeing this message meant that people were talking about me to some extent.
I flipped through the news channels and saw Lee Seo-jun talking about my contributions.
It felt like he was trying to make sure the name “Kim Sun-woo” was known. But the reporters didn’t seem particularly interested.
They probably thought he was just being humble.
With a bitter smile, I picked up my smart student notebook.
Ding! Ding!
“…It’s been going off like crazy.”
The message alerts had been ringing non-stop.
I checked the messages.
The senders varied. Some were from people I didn’t even know, while others were from familiar characters.
Shin Young-joon, Yoon Hayoung, Choi Seo-yoon… and more.
[You escaped the dungeon with Lee Seo-jun? Lol.]
[Sunwoo, are you okay?]
[Senior! I heard you cleared the hidden stage with Seo-jun senior!]
I skimmed through the messages but didn’t reply to any.
If I started responding, it would never end.
“Let’s check the reward items instead.”
I retrieved the hidden stage’s clearance rewards from my subspace and placed them on the table.
There were two items in total.
Originally, these items would have ended up in the hands of some nameless extras in the original story.
But since I had taken their place, they were now mine.
I picked up the magic inscription first.
━━
[Magic Inscription: Air Walk (B)]
Category: Magic Enchantment
Description: Imbues a designated tool with magic.
[Effect]
▶ Air Walk
Allows the user to walk in the air for 5 seconds.
*Cooldown: 2 minutes
*Can only be enchanted onto footwear.
━━
Air Walk.
Just like its name, it allowed the user to walk in the air.
The duration was only 5 seconds, but with a short cooldown, it was still quite useful.
“I should get a new pair of shoes.”
It would be a waste to use this on my cheap sneakers.
I stored the magic inscription back into my subspace.
“Next…”
━━
[Paralysis Dagger (B)]
Category: Dagger
Description: A dagger coated with paralyzing poison. Piercing an enemy causes paralysis.
[Passive Effect]
▶ Paralysis Poison
A successful strong strike has a chance to paralyze the target. (Poison Grade: B)
(Effect varies depending on the target’s poison resistance.)
Increases Strength, Endurance, and Agility by 4.
Durability: B
Destructive Power: C
━━
A paralysis dagger.
As the name suggests, it contained a paralyzing effect.
I had been looking for a secondary weapon for close combat, so this was perfect.
But before that, I had another use for this item.
I planned to take advantage of the poison in this dagger.
“Haa.”
Taking a deep breath, I drew the dagger from its sheath. The pristine white blade gleamed under the light.
I was going to stab my own wrist with this dagger.
For one purpose only.
To acquire an adaptive trait related to paralysis.
Since the paralysis poison in this dagger was B-grade, stabbing myself with it had a better chance of granting a trait than simply ingesting regular paralysis poison.
Was this reckless?
Maybe.
But if there was a chance to gain an adaptive trait, then I had to take that risk.
Thud!
“…Urgh!”
As the dagger pierced my wrist, crimson blood trickled down. I gritted my teeth at the pain.
But surprisingly, the paralysis effect didn’t kick in.
“…What?”
[If a strong strike lands successfully, there is a chance of activation.]
Did I fail because of the probability?
“…Shit.”
What terrible luck.
Taking a deep breath, I stabbed my wrist again.
“Ghh…!”
…Success?
I began to lose sensation in my arm.
After about thirty seconds, it felt as if my arm had completely vanished.
“Ngh…”
I clenched my teeth and made additional wounds on other parts of my body—my thigh, my forearm…
If I failed to acquire a trait, I wanted to at least make sure I had given it my best shot.
The paralysis poison spread rapidly throughout my body.
Eventually, my entire body froze up.
No matter how much I tried to move, I couldn’t.
‘…Did I overdo it?’
My consciousness started fading, as if I were intoxicated by the poison.
My eyes closed.
…Damn it.
I think I went too far.
…And I lost consciousness.
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