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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“Haa… Haa… If it’s like this…”
The weekend would be effectively wasted for training due to the MT.
Therefore, in the remaining time, I put all my energy into the final preparations for the dungeon.
Still, compared to the first day of admission, my physical abilities had improved dramatically.
My basic stamina had become quite useful, and the mana too…
I concentrated mana on my fingertips and tightly gripped the practice sword.
A small, bluish energy flickered at the tip of the blade, albeit faintly.
I swung the sword until my stamina ran out and lay sprawled on the gym floor.
Phew… Guryong Mountain dungeon.
The difficulty level of the Guryong Mountain dungeon itself was average, but the place I was aiming for was not there.
A hidden dungeon within the dungeon.
Inside the Guryong Mountain dungeon, there was a hidden dungeon.
A dungeon of a completely different level from what was known to the world was located at the bottom of the Guryong Mountain dungeon.
Even in my previous life, the existence of the hidden dungeon was discovered much later in the future based on the current timeline.
From what I remember, hunter trainees and some novice hunters had gone missing here.
It was even reported on the news, and the Hunter Association formed a team, including S-rank hunters, to start a search.
The investigation seemed to end without progress, but the association finally asked me, who was making a name for myself at the time, to cooperate with the investigation one last time.
I wondered if anything would change even if I went, since S-ranks had already come and gone a few times, but I discovered a somewhat bizarre structure on the last floor of the dungeon.
Inside the space that I cut open by pouring mana into the weapon I drew…
‘That guy’ was waiting, who shouldn’t have been inhabiting a low-level dungeon.
* * *
I woke up to the bright sunlight and checked the time.
11:43 AM.
…Huh?
11 o’clock in the morning…?
The hour hand was moving towards 12.
Fortunately, today was the weekend, so there was no problem with academy attendance, but…
Today was definitely… the day of the Deforme MT.
Yesterday, after finishing training and taking a shower, I didn’t go straight to bed.
I had planned to wake up after just 10 minutes, book the tickets, and pack my bag…
It was my mistake.
I checked my phone in a hurry and slapped my forehead.
[Missed calls 14]
[Unread messages 67]
I was afraid to press the message button, but as expected, it was filled with the president’s nagging.
[In-wook! Did you leave?]
[In-wook! Can you let me know where you are now?]
[In-wook. Can you answer the phone?]
[In-wook. Doesn’t it sound like I’m talking nonsense?]
Tae-su’s emotions were directly captured in each message in real-time.
[Choi In-wook. It’s troubling if you act like this.]
[Um… In-wook… You don’t have any complaints about me, do you…? Let’s talk it out.]
[If you really don’t come, we’ll have to return all the support funds, you know?]
[Are you sleeping…? Is he sleeping…?]
[Please In-wook… At least give me some response…]
…At first, it seemed like he would be really angry and press me, but by the last message he sent, even I felt sorry for him.
The time he pretended to be an authoritative senior was less than an hour.
This wasn’t a situation where I should laugh, but the president’s reaction was so funny that I couldn’t hold back a chuckle.
Phew… Still, I should at least contact him.
When I called the president, he answered right away, not even 5 seconds later.
[In-wook!]
[Ah. Yes. Senior. I’m sorry. I overslept…]
[Thank goodness… What a relief…!]
Why are you getting emotional over me oversleeping? You.
Did he really think I was tired of the club and would quit?
[In-wook. Even though it’s a bit late, leave right now.]
But as Ye-na warned, all the transportation was already sold out.
[Oh… No, no, no, no!]
When I explained the situation, the president’s miserable scream echoed through the phone.
[Then… then you can’t come? Eek!]
The president made a crying sound like a monster.
[Sigh… I’ll try to come somehow, so for now, go and have fun.]
Still, they all went to play, so I didn’t want the atmosphere to be dampened because of me.
[You must. You must let me know when you’ll arrive… Okay?]
[Yes. Everyone, enjoy yourselves with ease!]
[I trust you. In-wook.]
I hung up the phone and let out a deep sigh.
Sigh… How do I go…?
I didn’t have a license yet, so I couldn’t even rent a car.
Hmm… Someone around me who could give me a ride…
* * *
As expected, a sports car really shows its value when entering the highway.
Inside the car with the loud engine sound.
Si-hwa was driving next to me with the convertible roof open.
[Hello.]
[Hello? Si-hwa. It’s me, In-wook…]
Although I had already received too much, I couldn’t think of any other option, so I ended up contacting Si-hwa, the only acquaintance who currently had a car.
[Can you give me a ride somewhere?]
Honestly, I thought she might not like being asked for a favor on the weekend, but I decided to ask even if I got rejected.
[Where?]
When I explained the destination, Si-hwa asked another question in a slightly incomprehensible tone.
[Why are you going there?]
[Actually… Today is the club MT day…]
I was embarrassed, but I honestly told her that I was in a very difficult situation because I overslept.
[…I’ll be at your house by 1 o’clock.]
Si-hwa accepted it too coolly.
She didn’t particularly reprimand me or take credit for helping me.
[Thank you so much, Si-hwa. You’re really the only one.]
[As long as you know.]
As soon as I hung up the phone, I quickly took a shower and finished getting ready to leave.
The originally estimated time to arrive was about 3 hours, but the arrival time displayed on the navigation was much shorter than that.
That was because Si-hwa’s driving was literally like a beast.
“Si-hwa… You don’t have to rush and go fast…”
“You said you were late.”
She was someone who was thorough in self-management and hated the very concept of being late.
“Still, safety comes first…”
We had already exceeded 160 km/h a long time ago.
If she was twenty, she must have gotten her license not long ago, but Si-hwa’s driving technique looked as skilled as a 10-year veteran.
Did you attend a racing academy in the winter or something?
“I’ll handle it.”
Si-hwa seemed to dislike my nagging, so she turned up the radio loudly..
An unknown foreign hip-hop song flowed out, and Si-hwa pressed the accelerator even harder.
I silently checked my seat belt again.
* * *
“Choi In-wook~~ I believed in you~”
The president enthusiastically welcomed me, who arrived earlier than expected.
“I’m sorry for being late.”
Scratching my head and smiling awkwardly, I bowed my head in apology.
“But you arrived much earlier than I thought? So the lady behind you is…?”
The president’s gaze turned towards Si-hwa, who was leaning against the car and looking at her phone screen.
“Ah… my friend. Si-hwa.”
“Si-hwa…? Ah, that’s the famous first-year friend!”
“Uh… well…”
It was unexpected that the president, who seemed uninterested in worldly affairs, knew about her.
Still, he’s a school senior after all, so should I tell her to at least say hello before leaving…?
But my concern was unnecessary.
The president had already approached Si-hwa and started talking to her.
“Hello. I’m Oh Tae-su, the president of the Hunter Academy’s Monster Drawing Club. Deforme.”
Si-hwa raised her head and looked at the president.
“Yoo Si-hwa.”
The president looked at Si-hwa’s car and his eyes widened.
“Wow. This car model is the latest! It must be really expensive. Wow~”
The president seemed to be very interested in cars, as he enthusiastically circled around the sports car and rambled on about the specs.
From what I remember, Si-hwa didn’t seem to have much interest in cars…
As expected, Si-hwa was nodding appropriately and seemed annoyed by the president’s words.
“Senior. What about the rest of the people?”
I deliberately tried to change the subject to stop him from excitedly talking about cars.
“The guys all went grocery shopping. Right now, only Ye-ji and Ye-na are here, but Ye-ji is probably taking a nap because she’s tired.”
“Is that so?”
“But Ye-na, I told her you arrived, but why isn’t she coming out?”
The president turned his back and called out Ye-na’s name loudly towards the building.
“Ha Ye-na. Come out! In-wook and In-wook’s friend are here!”
“Ha Ye-na…?”
Si-hwa repeated Ye-na’s name with a subtle expression.
“Uh… Do you know Ye-na by any chance?”
“Are you saying that Ha Ye-na is in the same club as you right now?”
Si-hwa asked me again as if to confirm.
“Yeah. That’s right, but. Why all of a sudden…”
“No. It’s nothing.”
Si-hwa closed her mouth tightly and glared at the building.
And not long after, Ye-na, who came out of the building, slowly walked towards us.
Her bright brown bob cut swayed with each step she took.
“I thought you would arrive late, but you came quite early.”
Ye-na spoke in her usual blunt tone.
“Hello to your friend too.”
Ye-na slightly bowed her head to greet Si-hwa.
“Yoo Si-hwa.”
Si-hwa’s voice was as stiff as it could be.
It was a much more businesslike tone than when the president was rambling about the car.
“Aha. Si-hwa. I’ve heard a lot about you from In-wook.”
…Ye-na, who had been calling me Choi In-wook all along, for some reason called me In-wook in a friendly way.
Ye-na held out her hand to offer a handshake to Si-hwa, but the two didn’t let go of each other’s hands for a while.
Judging from the slightly protruding veins on the back of Si-hwa’s hand, was Si-hwa the one not letting go…?
“I’m very curious about what you heard. That.”
“You haven’t heard about me, Si-hwa?”
The two continued their conversation with expressionless faces.
The atmosphere was a bit too cold for a first meeting, so the president quickly intervened between them.
“Si-hwa, you also had business around here and gave In-wook a ride, right?”
The president spoke to her with a broad smile.
“No.”
“Huh? Then you came all this way just to drop off In-wook?”
“Yes.”
“Oh my~ You must be so tired~ No. We have plenty of food and a spacious accommodation, so would you like to hang out with us for a bit before leaving?”
Si-hwa was definitely not the type to enjoy this kind of event or atmosphere.
I was about to speak up and decline on her behalf, thinking she would refuse.
“Sure. Then I’ll be in your care for a day.”
Si-hwa gave an answer that was completely unexpected.
“Great~ Then come this way.”
The president tried to guide us to the accommodation.
No. You call this hanging out?
Si-hwa was definitely malfunctioning. This was an absurd story.
I asked Si-hwa again in a small voice.
“Are you really okay with playing here and then leaving?”
Then Si-hwa nodded.
“Since we’re here. We should play properly before leaving.”
Contrary to the content of her words, Si-hwa’s expression looked as cold as ice.
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