TRPM 382

chapter 382

The reason I came to see Chairman Shin Han-ji today wasn’t anything complicated.

I simply wanted to ask why he allowed the Education Office to go ahead with a practical exam using virtual reality equipment.

“Ah, you mean that.”

Hearing my question, Chairman Shin nodded as if it was only natural to wonder about such a thing.

“The Black Fog is becoming increasingly dangerous.”

That much, I already knew.

The Black Fog kept evolving, spawning all sorts of new dungeons—corrosive dungeons, concealed dungeons, and more.
It would continue tormenting humanity.

“At this rate, the situation might become even more serious than before Student Geon-woo’s rise… in other words, before the Artist appeared. Unconquered dungeons will frequently release monsters into the world.”

Naturally, adult Awakeners would be stretched thin fighting those monsters…

“And of course, plenty of monsters will try to avoid Awakeners altogether and attack civilians.”

If that happened…

“Even though they’re only high schoolers, there’s a good chance they’ll be deployed into actual combat.”

“…You mean child soldiers?”

“If things deteriorate to that point, then laws and ethics won’t matter anymore. It’ll be a situation where humanity uses any means necessary to survive.”

“……”

I didn’t deny the chairman’s words.

Because in my previous life, that was exactly what happened.

Before my regression, the corrupt Taeguk Guild controlled most of Korea’s Awakeners, and the manpower shortage had become critical.
To solve that, they forcibly conscripted middle and high school students—kids who hadn’t even received proper training—and threw them onto the battlefield.

“At the very least, we need to prevent them from being deployed without proper preparation. That’s why we’re using virtual reality—to give them experience fighting in environments as close to real combat as possible.”

Compared to those who had never experienced dungeon raids at all, even a single VR experience could drastically increase survival rates.

“…Hmm.”

I had to admit, I understood.

The chairman was preparing for the future in his own way.

Of course, the best outcome would be to avoid sending high school students into combat altogether—but the world doesn’t always move in the best direction.

“By the way, the fact that you’re asking me this… I take it nothing like this happened before?”

Before…
He was referring to my life prior to regression.
Shin Han-ji knew I had regressed.

“…Before?”

“……”

But since others were present in the office—people who didn’t know—I had to choose my words carefully.

Woo Ji-min didn’t know about my regression.
Chloe Greenwood did, but…

“No, it didn’t. Someone was always far too busy for that.”

“I see. I can guess who you mean, but I am curious about why they were so busy. Could you explain it to me sometime?”

“I would, but I’m rather busy with my duties now.”

“Of course. I’ll make time another day.”

“Ah, and by the way—since Ji-min and Instructor Chloe aren’t scheduled for duty today, could you take them with you when you leave?”

“?”

At that, I turned to look at Woo Ji-min and Chloe Greenwood.

“Since my level rose so suddenly, I need to adapt. I was planning to head into a dungeon, but there’s a risk I might overuse my strength and collapse. So I asked Instructor Woo Ji—”

“Ji-min.”

“…Ji-min to accompany me. We arranged to meet at the academy, but since you were already coming here, I decided to meet you here instead.”

Chloe explained why she was there.

Now that I thought about it, she had broken through the Wall just last week.
It had been a little over a week, but perhaps she still hadn’t fully adjusted.

“In that case, should we call Elena too? She might need some adjustment as well.”

“…Student Elena?”

Since I had to enter a dungeon for adaptation anyway, I figured it would be better if Elena joined us.

But at those words, Chairman Shin reacted.

“So Elena has recently grown stronger as well?”

“Well…”

Should I say it?
Elena seemed to want to keep her level hidden, if possible.

“…It seems it’s not just simple growth, is it?”

The chairman noticed my hesitation and thought for a moment. Then, with a hint of shock, he asked:

“Don’t tell me… Elena also broke through the Wall?”

“……”

“……”

Chloe and I couldn’t respond right away.

It was only a moment of silence, but more than enough for the chairman to reach his own conclusion.

“I see… I always believed Elena would break through the Wall one day, but this quickly…?”

“……”

“……”

Neither Chloe nor I said anything further.

“So… you mean Chairman Shin found out?”

“Sorry.”

“I was just so startled when he said it…”

“…No, it’s fine. I know very well it’s impossible to keep anything hidden from him.”

Elena accepted our apologies.

“To be honest, I was planning to reveal it subtly anyway.”

“Hm? Really? I thought you wanted to keep it secret because it was too much of a hassle.”

“That too. But realistically, it’s impossible to keep it completely hidden. And politically speaking, making my advancement known benefits me in the long run.”

It also improves the image of the British royal family—since they’ve essentially produced a Spirit Master who broke through the Wall.

“…Royal family?”

Hearing that, Woo Ji-min blinked in surprise at Elena.
She clearly hadn’t known Elena was royalty.
Which made sense, since this was their first meeting.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Woo Ji-min. Please, just call me Elena.”

“…Lady?”

“Ah, in Britain, the first heroes who Awakened and fought were granted titles. So women are addressed as ‘Lady,’ and men as ‘Lord.’”

Woo Ji-min looked bewildered, hearing Elena treat her like nobility.

But then…

“Then, on behalf of the living descendants of this world, let me say… thank you for protecting it.”

“……”

Woo Ji-min’s eyes grew misty as she spoke.
She must have been moved by Elena’s words without even realizing it.

‘Well, well…’

It was obvious Elena was trying to win Ji-min’s favor, but I didn’t stop her.

Thanks to those words, Ji-min finally let herself cry freely.

Elena embraced her gently as she wept…

“……”

“……”

Chloe and I decided to cast a barrier for Ji-min’s sake.

After all, we were in the plaza near the academy’s entrance.
People were still coming and going.

There weren’t many today since no lectures were scheduled, but still…

“Done.”

“Same here.”

I set up a barrier to block outside gazes, while Chloe set one to keep sound from escaping.

That way, Ji-min could cry as much as she needed.

“…Ahem!”

After she had shed a good amount of tears, Ji-min cleared her throat and spoke.

“So. Which dungeon are we going to?”

“……”

“……”

It was an obvious subject change, but we decided not to point it out.

Instead, I explained the dungeon we’d been assigned.

“I asked the Association, and since I’m on the team, they designated one dungeon for us.”

According to the data, it was a dungeon that had appeared about three months ago and been deemed unconquerable.

A guild assigned by the Association had been regularly cleaning it out to prevent monsters from spilling forth, but because of its location, nearby residents were anxious. And of course, no guild could devote itself indefinitely to just one dungeon. So, if possible, they wanted us to clear it.

“And where is this dungeon?”

Instead of answering directly, I showed them a photo of its location.

“…A river?”

“Wait. Is that… the Han River?”

Yes—the Han River, running through Seoul.
The dungeon had appeared beneath it.

“They say the reason it’s unconquerable is because of how unusual the internal environment is.”

“Unusual how?”

“Let me check again…”

I pulled out my phone and reread the data.

“They confirmed strong toxic substances mixed in the air. Metal equipment rusted within an hour. The ground isn’t solid, just sticky, so people’s feet kept sinking…”

“Ugh…”

“…Yeah, that sounds…”

“No wonder it was labeled unconquerable.”

Even before I finished speaking, they were already grimacing.

“There’s more. Because of the toxic air, eating inside was impossible. Drinking water was only manageable with military-grade gas masks and issued canteens—and both had to be replaced after every trip. On top of that, most monsters inside were heavily armored, making them hard to fight with rusted equipment. They resorted to blunt weapons to manage somehow, but still… And…”

“There’s more…?”

“The dungeon cycles between day and night every hour. Each time it switches, the types of monsters that appear also change. Here, the details are listed.”

“…I almost respect the guild that’s been cleaning it all this time.”

At Elena’s words, I found myself nodding.

That guild probably hadn’t volunteered for such a nightmare dungeon, but just holding it back for three months was already impressive.

“And now they want us to clear it?”

“Yes. Probably because they know I cleared an ‘unconquerable’ dungeon in Britain before.”

That one had only goblins, but the sheer size had earned it an unconquerable rating.

Publicly, it was announced that Arthur cleared it, but now that my true identity was revealed, most people knew the truth.

“Wait, hold on. You’re saying you want to take us into that place?”

“Yeah.”

“…Maybe you could handle it, Geon-woo. But what about us? Could we even survive in that environment?”

Elena and Chloe didn’t look confident.

They still hadn’t fully realized how much stronger they’d become.

“The dungeon’s biggest problems are the toxic air that harms Awakeners and their gear, and the ground being too soft to use as footing. But…”

For Spirit Masters who have broken through the Wall, those things won’t be problems.

I told Elena and Chloe exactly that.