TRPM 398

chapter 398

“Alcohol? Where?”

“Here!”

Ryu Ah-young immediately brought over Teacher Son Ji-hye, who was in the next room.
She then pointed at a glass bottle she had found in the refrigerator.

“Oh my. Is this really alcohol?”

Teacher Son Ji-hye pulled the bottle out of the fridge and asked us.

‘Damn it.’

Thanks to Ryu Ah-young, the plan to use that bottle as a prank was shattered.
Now that it had come to this, we couldn’t insist it was alcohol, so we had to be honest…

“Shall we check what’s inside first?”

Before we could say the bottle was just sports drink, the teacher opened the cap and smelled it.

“…Hmm. It’s not alcohol.”

She put the bottle back into the fridge as if it was only natural—almost like she had known from the beginning that it wasn’t alcohol.

‘Ah, of course.’

Her room was right next to ours. Unless the walls were perfectly soundproof, she could have heard everything earlier when we were unpacking and planning.
She must have overheard everything from the start.

‘So Lee Doo-min’s scheme was already exposed.’

After putting the bottle back, the teacher said:

“No problem, right? Then I’ll go back to my room.”

Of course there was no problem.

“…Tch… We failed.”

As soon as she left, Lee Doo-min muttered in disappointment. He then reluctantly pulled the bottle of sports drink out of the fridge.

“Still, we might as well set the mood. Geon-woo, didn’t you say you had some shot glasses? Bring them out.”

The plan had failed before it even started, but since he hated wasting the preparations, he suggested that.
I, also feeling regretful, pulled some shot glasses and snacks out of my sub-space. The others opened the snacks, and we poured sports drink into the shot glasses.

“Hmm… I’ve seen this in Korean dramas, but the glasses here are really small.”

…But before that—

“Mr. Geon-woo, why on earth do you even keep shot glasses in your sub-space?”

“…I once bought a kitchenware set, and the shot glasses just happened to be included.”

That was how I answered Elena’s question.
It wasn’t a lie—though the real reason I bought the set was because of the shot glasses.

“Hmm… Alright then.”

Elena didn’t look convinced, but she didn’t press further.
Anyway, we ate the snacks and drank the sports drink as if it were liquor.

‘…Tch…’

It felt strange because it wasn’t real alcohol. The other kids, who had never had a drink before, didn’t notice.

The next day—

The second day of the retreat began. There were four programs scheduled today, and the first was…

“Ugh…!”
“Student? Relax your legs and trust the rope!”
“But if I fall…!”

The zipline we had seen from the bus on the way here.
But once at the top, some students got scared and refused to ride.

“Student, it’s not dangerous. If you’re scared, a staff member will ride with you.”
“Th-then it’ll be heavier…!”

And the one currently frozen at the start was—Ryu Ah-young.
Not Kim Eun-yeon, but Ryu Ah-young, the most energetic girl in our class.
Who would’ve thought she’d have a fear of heights?

‘Come on, it’s not even that high.’

The zipline cable could hold hundreds of kilograms.
Even if the connection failed and someone fell, the height wasn’t enough to cause real injury.
There were safety nets and trampolines below, too.

Yet Ryu Ah-young stubbornly refused to move.

“…If you really can’t do it, then go back down! I’m not going to force you!”

“……”

But she didn’t retreat either, probably too prideful to quit.

“…Hyaaah!”

Eventually, she squeezed her eyes shut and launched herself forward.
Of course, nothing went wrong, and she safely reached the ground with the staff’s help.

“Whew… Finally, it’s my turn.”
“Student, let’s check your equipment.”
“Yes, please.”

Next up, Elena calmly rode the zipline, in stark contrast to Ryu Ah-young’s fear.

The second program of day two began: the dungeon entry simulation.

Lee Doo-min had thought it was an actual dungeon, but it was only a facility designed to mimic one.

“…Isn’t it hot?”
“They modeled it after a volcanic zone, so of course it’s hot. Compared to a real volcano, this is nothing.”

Indeed, the temperature was high enough that it felt like we were cooking.

“What’s the big deal? This isn’t even hot.”

Ryu Ah-young, clearly embarrassed about her earlier fear, put on a tough act.
But the more she tried to look strong, the more we remembered her crying before.

‘And the redness from the heat makes it even more obvious.’

Still, for her dignity, no one said anything—

“Pfft… Did you think acting tough would make us forget how you screamed?”

—except her twin sister, who took joy in her misery.

“…You little…!”
“It’s already hot enough, don’t make it worse.”
“Grr… Just wait until later!”

She looked ready to prove why she was called the “Nut Crusher,” but thanks to Teacher Son Ji-hye stepping in, she didn’t act on it.

The boys, however, broke into cold sweats. Even joking with Ryu Ah-young could be fatal.

Meanwhile, I noticed how inefficient this facility was.
It consumed massive space and maintenance costs.

‘Most training halls can replicate dungeon conditions like this with just temperature, humidity, and lighting adjustments. They don’t even need full terrain like here.’

The environment soon shifted—from volcano to glacial zone.
Students who had taken off jackets earlier quickly bundled up again.

A staff member started explaining about ice-type dungeons, but few students listened.
Everyone already learned this in school, and no one was interested.

‘Unlike paintball yesterday or the zipline earlier, this program just isn’t exciting for them.’

At least, that’s what I thought—until the next program.

The third program: The History of Awakeners.

But it was just a plain lecture.
Not only boring but also unhelpful, unlike yesterday’s special lecture by a celebrity.

‘I remember this used to be a museum tour with historical models. That was much better received.’

So why was it only a lecture this time?

“Haha… Everyone bored?”
“…Yeees…”

Even the staff acknowledged it.

“Sorry. The old exhibition hall was replaced by a large low-frequency generator. The new hall isn’t finished yet, so this lecture is just a substitute.”

Ah. So that was the reason. Probably another butterfly effect of my actions.

“Don’t worry, we’ll finish quickly and give you free time. Hang in there.”

And so, the third program ended. Only one remained.

“What’s the last program called again?”
“Camping.”
“…Ah, so we pitch tents?”

Similar, but closer to building a defensive camp.

“If you had to stay overnight in a dungeon, do you think just one tent would be enough?”
“…Fair point. A tent alone would feel unsafe.”

That’s why you need to build a defensible camp around it, with traps to alert you if monsters approach.

“Large dungeons take days or even months to clear. This knowledge is essential.”

“…Hearing that from you somehow makes it less convincing.”

After all, would I really need days to clear a dungeon?

“…Hmm.”

I shook my head.

“Usually I can finish in under an hour.”

Even the so-called “uncleared dungeons” I’d entered recently could have been cleared in ten minutes if I wanted.

“……”
“……”
“……”

The others fell silent.
They knew I wasn’t exaggerating—so none dared to argue.