Chapter 59: 4th Week Strategy Battles (1)

Chapter 59: 4th Week Strategy Battles (1)

Go Hyeon-woo became busy with report writing and the additional assignment I gave to him.

He was in for a tough time with his head buried in work over the weekend.

Meanwhile, I spent more time in the magic engineering workshop.

My tasks werent much different from the previous days.

I prepared the groundwork in Workshop 4, and occasionally, I dismantled failed creations brought in by the seniors of the magic engineering club.

Whenever a spot opened up in Workshop 1, I quickly moved in to craft items.

This time, however, the materials I used were of a much higher quality.

[Magic Engine]

[Levistone Extract]

[Weather Chip]

I used all these along with high-quality materials given as rewards by other seniors in my crafting.

And so, after several days that felt like running on a treadmill

Came the morning of the weekend.

When dawn just ended and the first light began to break through the windows.

I put down the tools in my hand.

Its finished.

A thin and elongated core-shaped part.

After struggling with this for a few days, I finally finished it.

When I infused mana into the part, a faint air current formed that caused various small items scattered across the workbench to levitate.

As soon as I ceased the flow of mana they all gently fell back down.

!

Just then, some seniors who were taking a short break caught sight of this phenomenon and their eyes widened in amazement.

Perhaps thinking not to overwhelm me, they didnt all come over at once; instead, only Bong Jae-seok and one female senior I had seen before approached me.

Curiosity was written all over their faces.

So this is what youve been so eagerly gathering materials for Youve made something fascinating again.

May I take a closer look?

Yes, senior-nim.

When I agreed, the two seniors leaned in close to the part and started examining it thoroughly.

They took turns exclaiming in surprise.

What an interesting design

I was wondering why you needed levistone extracts, but theres a use for everything

Wow, look at this. Its amazing, really amazing.

The principle of this part was divided into three main stages.

When mana was supplied through the [Magic Engine],

the [Weather Chip] would induce climate changes within a certain range,

and the [Levistone Extracts] would determine the type of climate.

Bong Jae-seok asked as he handed me the part.

It looks like its meant for a weapon, perhaps a staff or a scepter?

Something like that.

Have you acquired the main body?

It was merely a part at the moment and it required installation into something to serve as an item.

I pulled out a meter-long iron rod from my inventory.

I plan to make do with this for now.

It was a slightly modified F-rank iron rod provided for free by the Dragon Slayer Academy.

Upon fitting the part into the rod, they seamlessly integrated.

[Levitating Iron Rod (E)]

Levitate Zone (F) constantly activated.

Levitate Zone. A floating area.

It was wind magic that created an updraft, causing everything within its range to float.

Whether it was objects or monsters, since each had different weights and magical resistances, there was variation in how much they floated. However, even the slightest levitation made them more susceptible to physical forces.

In other words, within the range, everything became more vulnerable to [Wind Force].

However, the rank of this [Levitating Iron Rod] was merely E.

The constantly activated [Levitate Zone] was only F-rank.

Its power was minimal and its range was limited. If I were to compare it to something, maybe its range would be as big as a small room.

This is because I used an iron rod.

Magical engineering items are greatly influenced not only by their part but also by the material of the metal that forms their main body.Visit no(v)eLb(i)n.com for the best novel reading experience

Using an iron rod as a temporary measure meant that E-rank was the best I could hope for.

Naturally, if I were to use a better metal to create a superior main body, it would increase both the rank and performance.

So where do I find such better metal?

I need to go down.

To the underground of the Dungeon building.

I placed the iron rod back in my inventory.

Bong Jae-seok must have sensed that it was time for me to leave as he looked at me and said with a slightly regretful tone.

You wont be coming around for a while now.

The reason he was so certain of that was because I used up all the materials I had gathered here just in time to complete the [Levitating Iron Rod].

If I had been planning on making more, I would have saved some materials.

I didnt deny him because it was true.

Thats right.

What if that seemingly trivial thing is actually a core element of the dungeon?

For example, what if its a device that triggers traps throughout the area?

Or perhaps a device that summons additional monsters?

Or an entrance leading to hidden chambers?

Theres no telling what good might come from simply passing by without a second thought.

Now, onto the theme for this weeks strategy battles

MAP: [Random]

RULE: [Clearance] [2-Person Dungeon] [Random Matching]

which is Clearance.

Clearance.

How thoroughly can you clean out the dungeon?

For example, if there are 100 monsters present how many of them can you find and defeat?

Of course, its highly unlikely that all 100 monsters will swarm in as soon as you enter the dungeon; theyll likely be hiding throughout.

To earn high scores, youll need to carefully examine every nook and cranny of the dungeon.

Teacher Seo Cheong-yong raised a finger.

Heres something important. Theres no time limit this time. Anyone can achieve top marks as long as they take their time and look carefully! Hows that?

The students faces lit up.

They had been beaten in one-on-one battles, timed attacks, by the Strong Enemy, and even in two-on-two battles, and now, they were confronted with such a relaxed strategy battle.

Seo Cheong-yong grinned and folded his second finger.

Two important things. The terrain is random. It could be a jungle, ruins, a cave Each person faces a different dungeon in these strategy battles.

A student in the front row quickly raised his hand.

Teacher, does that mean the practice mode and the real battle mode have different terrains?

They do.

Then is there any point in practicing in the practice mode?

Do you really think theres no point at all?

Ah.

The student who asked the question seemed to realize something and lowered his hand.

Even if they entered different dungeons every time, they continued to accumulate experience.

And with each experience, their powers of observation grew sharper.

Such improved observation skills would eventually prove helpful not only in real battles but also in future strategy battles during the semester.

Dont just focus on the scores; try practicing the practice mode several times for the sake of experience. And for the fellows thinking of cheating, lets save our points this time.

Several students looked sheepish as they avoided Seo Cheong-yongs gaze.

After all, in randomly generated dungeons, tricks like watching someone elses replay and copying their moves wouldnt work.

Seo Cheong-yong checked the time and wrapped up the class.

Before you go, you have some homework for this week.

When Seo Cheong-yong uttered the cursed words, the students faces quickly turned into expressions of betrayal.

Even you whom we trusted would assign us homework

Seo Cheong-yong smiled sheepishly and spoke with an apologetic tone.

You just need to draw a map while watching your replays. Dont forget to mark the monster locations. The deadline is next Monday. Thats it for todays class! See you next time!

Today, I decided to move separately from Go Hyeon-woo and Seo Ye-in.

After all, my teammate would be assigned randomly for this dungeon.

Building experience was important for this dungeon so starting with practice mode would be the way to go for them.

On the other hand, I was overflowing with experience so practice mode would just be a waste of time.

I decided to dive into real action from the get-go.

I headed straight to the upper floor of the dungeon building.

I scanned my student ID at the terminal and took some time to think while waiting for my teammate to appear.

I hope I get a useful partner

I then checked this weeks quest,

[Side Quest: 4th Week Strategy Battle]

Objective: Clear the strategy battle dungeon

Deadline: ~Sunday midnight

Reward: Variable based on clearance (??/100%)

As long as Im here, 100% completion is a given no matter who gets chosen as my team member.

Honestly, I could handle everything alone if needed from start to finish.

So, what does useful partner mean in this context?

It refers to someone with skills worthy of copying.

Since my tasks at the magic engineering workshop were completed for now, I wont be using the [Magical Engineering] skill for a while.

I was planning to replace it with a combat-oriented skill.

How long had I been waiting?

Suddenly, a teleportation portal opened nearby.

As I stepped inside, the air instantly refreshed.

Judging by the uneven terrain, this seemed to be a mountainous region.

And my partner was

You again, huh?

Red hair and fiery ruby-like eyes.

But as soon as she saw me, the color drained from her face.

It was Hong Yeon-hwa.