The Heroine Stole My Regression

21 – Mock Dungeon (5)

The morning Cheon Yeo-ul submitted her absence form, Choi Eun-ha, the mock dungeon instructor, was lost in thought.

“Instructor Park Chang-myeong, could you take a look at the seed assignment revisions?”

She held out the seed list, drafted based on the unit scores, excluding Cheon Yeo-ul.

Forming teams based on scores and reflecting the instructor’s on-site observations were two entirely different things.

She sought the opinion of a colleague, just in case.

Instructor Park Chang-myeong scrutinized the list carefully before coming to a conclusion.

“…Jeong Hae-in is better suited for the seed than Ju Han-gang.”

“Understood.”

She accepted his advice without giving it much thought. Truthfully, she’d been deliberating between the two students. Jeong Hae-in was slightly ahead in terms of grades, but she’d opted for Ju Han-gang, who had a higher rank.

“And you should set the dungeon to Lahala’s Maze. Starting from the entrance.”

“The entrance?”

Choi Eun-ha asked back, sounding slightly surprised.

This was something she couldn’t readily agree with. Lahala’s Maze was Gaon Academy’s traditional internal assessment dungeon, known for its high difficulty and usually reserved for top-performing students only.

“Jeong Hae-in is exceptional, apparently. Instructor Do Han-seong said so himself.”

“Instructor Do Han-seong did…”

“He said the student manifested a sword aura.”

Exceptional.

A bit of jargon shared amongst the instructors at Gaon, meaning a student who, contrary to their given rank, showed exceptional promise after enrollment.

And when multiple instructors agreed, it was wise to trust it.

“Understood. Let’s proceed as such.”

Ultimately, Choi Eunha accepted the advice. All that remained was to see if Jung Haein would live up to the expectations.

And, Jung Haein was fulfilling them perfectly.

“Whoa! Damn, he dodged it again!”

“No, seriously, what is he?”

The training room grew increasingly heated.

Even students fresh out of the dungeon couldn’t rest, everyone drawn one by one to the screen.

Kang Arin, who had just finished tearing through the opposing team, watched the spectacle, her eyes gleaming.

The murmuring that filled the training room faded away, all attention fixed on a single screen.

At this very moment, a new comet was being born.

*

Ju Hangang, thrown off by the detection of his trap, quickly formulated a plan.

‘Let’s focus on Jung Haein, quickly, with both of us.’

“That b*stard’s standing in the front lines without a shield? We can finish this if we overwhelm him together.”

Normally, they would target Hashion, the ranged dealer, first.

But Hashion was a high-ranking archer; even with Han Iri and Ju Hangang working together, they wouldn’t be able to easily subdue her.

Han Iri felt that the collaborative attack wasn’t exactly sporting, but she went along with it anyway. Victory was the priority, especially after deploying a trap.

“If you insist I come out, then I shall oblige.”

Ju Hangang, with an unruffled expression, slowly descended.

Han Iri and the rest of the team followed.

“Why the hell are you acting so confident?”

Yun Sanghyeok barked out upon seeing them.

“If it were me, I’d have surrendered out of shame.”

“Enough about that.”

Ju Hangang cut him off curtly, drawing the sword from his waist.

“Let’s get straight to it.”

The moment his words ended, three or four mana bombs came flying.

The bomb streaked towards Jeong Hae-in with a sharp whine.

-Clang clang clang!

-Boom-

A magic bomb flew.

Jeong Hae-in deflected the bomb with a turn of his spear, stirring up dust.

But the bomb had been launched to force a defense from the start.

Through the scattering dust, Ju Han-gang and Han Iri surged forward in unison.

Jeong Hae-in didn’t wait for their approach, stepping aside.

Two swords sliced through the air.

Han Iri belatedly swung his sword, adjusting his stance, but Jeong Hae-in was already on the side, far removed from the main force.

Ju Han-gang grew increasingly agitated.

‘I thought I could catch him quickly…’

Jeong Hae-in’s movements appeared momentarily to engage in combat, yet he deflected every attack, maintaining his distance.

And with each step of distance he gained, the gap between him and the main force widened.

“Wait, Han-gang, you’re getting too far…”

“Are you just going to run away?!”

Ju Han-gang’s agitation finally morphed into irritation.

Han Iri warned him, but his patience had already worn thin.

It was a combat style designed to provoke.

With each missed attack, Jeong Hae-in’s calm, composed demeanor was more than enough to grate on his nerves.

Jeong Hae-in took another step back, gazing at Ju Han-gang.

His expression remained impassive.

A chilling gaze devoid of any emotion, and Ju Han-gang felt a shiver run down his spine.

But he didn’t stop. Ceasing his offensive was something his pride wouldn’t allow.

Meanwhile, on the main force’s side.

As Ju Han-gang and Han Iri’s joint attack began in earnest, Yoon Sang-hyuk couldn’t resist and tried to join them.

But his arm was firmly restrained by Zion’s hand.

‘No matter what, hold your position.’

Words that Jeong Hae-in had impressed upon him before entering the heart of the enemy.

Yoon Sang-hyuk hesitated, turning to Zion, who was drawing back the bow beside him, to ask again.

“Still, shouldn’t we help her?”

Sion raised her gaze calmly.

Then, with the bowstring drawn taut, she looked at Yun Sanghyuk and said,

“Who?”

“Us? Haein?”

Sion took a short breath, aimed the bow precisely, and added,

“No, that’s not it.”

-Thwack!

The arrow sliced through the air.

The alchemist and archer, having lost their vanguard, panicked as the arrow narrowly missed them, and hid among the debris.

“Haein is helping *us*.”

Her eyes shone sharply.

“So, let’s do as she says.”

Her voice held unwavering conviction, mixed with a touch of vague regret.

She drew the bowstring again, staring ahead.

“It’s always been that way.”

*

Like they’re about to fight, but just from a bit of teasing, they’re rushing at me like they want to die.

Ignoring the main force like that, you’re not leader material.

At least Han Iri pretends to worry about the back lines…

But strangely, he only joins in the attack, and there’s no sign of him returning to defend the main force.

An arrow fired by Sion passed between the two hounds rushing at me and slammed into the opponent’s main force.

‘Is this it, then?’

This distance from their main force is enough. Behind me is the wall of the ruin, there’s nowhere further to retreat.

I retreated further back, intending to take one last deep breath. Enough to touch the wall.

Seeing that, Ju Han-gang wore a relaxed smile and charged forward.

“Got you, yo—”

-Thud!

Before he could even finish his sentence, his face was struck squarely by my foot, and he staggered backward.

Using the force of pushing off the wall, I spun in mid-air and accurately kicked him in the face.

Dusting myself off with a flick, as if shaking off mere motes, I spoke.

“What’s the hold up?”

Ju Han-gang groaned, sprawled on the ground. Behind him, Han I-ri, face etched with alarm, adjusted his grip on his sword.

I prodded at Han I-ri’s hesitation.

He grit his teeth and charged, but his blade felt heavy, his movements lagged far behind.

His sword swept low, aiming for my ankle.

I stepped aside with an easy grace, evading it.

The blade sliced through empty air, a sharp whistle in its wake.

“Too short. Against a spear, two paces more.”

As if sparked by my words, Han I-ri’s gaze sharpened, if only for a fleeting moment.

Then, his sword tip lunged at my shoulder with surprising speed.

I smoothly turned my spear to deflect his attack, thinking to myself.

‘Not bad, I suppose…’

Not terrible. I liked his immediate effort to apply the feedback.

However, the main forces behind him seemed to have things sorted out, more or less.

Best to end this here, I figured.

“Even so, you’re…”

Just as he tightened his grip on his sword, attempting to force his way in,

I turned the spear smoothly, targeting the vulnerable space between his sword and his arm.

The spear tip found its mark with precision.

-Clang!

He recoiled in surprise, trying to yank his sword back, but it was already too late.

I twisted the spear slightly, whipping the sword backward.

The weapon flew from his grasp, clattering to the ground.

“…better than Seong Si-woo, at least.”

-Ting!

I spun the spear in a brief flourish, kicking his fallen sword further away.

Han I-ri stared at his empty hands, dumbfounded for a moment, before his jaw clenched.

Now, all that was left was Ju Han-gang.

Right on cue, Ju Han-gang, still groaning, rose from behind with a shout of pure rage.

“You little b*stard!!!”

A wave of sword energy erupted from the tip of his blade.

Azure light sliced through the air.

I narrowed my eyes slightly, studying his movements.

Unfortunately.

‘Even you are better than Seong Si-woo.’

Of course, they were talents within the top 10, but it was a truly depressing point.

This scene I dedicate to Seong Si-woo, who must be watching.

Even sword auras are getting tiresome. This time, I wanted to show him something new.

I lowered my spear to the side and slowly gathered mana at my fingertips.

‘Strength Qi Emission.’

The mana meticulously coalesced according to my will, beginning to form a single entity.

A small wave of mana from my fingertip caused the air to tremble lightly.

Precise control was always my forte.

However, something was off.

The flow of magical power felt different than usual.

Energy surged more explosively than anticipated, beginning to lose its balance.

An immense amount of mana, incomparable to the norm, poured into the channels I’d created.

The sphere grew excessively large and powerful, its form wavering unstably.

“Why, why is it like this?”

I struggled to gather the magic back into my hand, but it was already beyond control.

Pure mana explosively expanded along the channels, refusing to be restrained at my fingertip.

Ultimately, the lump of pure mana, insufficiently condensed, detonated at high speed.

-KWA-GWA-KWAANG!

The mana sphere tore through the air and struck Ju Han-gang squarely.

With a fierce impact, his body slammed deep into the wall.

-Rumble…

Large cracks appeared on the wall’s surface, and it slowly began to collapse.

Falling bricks buried Ju Han-gang, and the last thing I heard was his dying gasp, “Ugh!”

“Oh, jeez… I’m sorry….”

I lowered my head in bewildered haste, staring at my hands.

My palms trembled faintly.

I pressed a hand to my wrist to check the wildly racing pulse.

The mana, lost and surging, still coursed through my veins, ricocheting through every corner of my body.

An unusual flow.

‘Too… much.’

Something I couldn’t contain was overflowing within me.

My condition feels… strange.