Episode 94 Week 6 Mentoring, Strategy Battle (1)
Strategy class.
Teacher Seo Cheong-yong entered the classroom with his usual friendly smile.
And then he took out a pile of papers from the subspace.
“I’ve finished grading your homework. I’ll return it to you.”
Week 4 [Sweep] Strategy.
The rule was to carefully observe even the smallest details of the dungeon and find and kill monsters in ambush.
And the homework was to watch the replays and draw a map and mark the ambush sites, and now they’ve graded it.
When Seo Cheong-yong put down a pile of papers on the desk, the homework assignments came to life and flew away to find their original owners.
The murmur began to grow louder as students checked their scores and compared them with those next to them.
– How many points out of 100?
– I got 92 points. What about you?
– No, what? You said you never did anything.
– Of course it was a joke.
Due to the atmosphere, I naturally started comparing scores with the calligraphers sitting next to me, Ko Hyun-woo.
Perhaps out of curiosity, Go Hyun-woo leaned towards me first.
“How are Kim Hyung’s grades?”
Instead of answering, I showed him the map.
A map that records everything inside the dungeon in perfect detail and without any flaws.
[Kim Ho 100/100]
Of course, the score is full marks.
If you fail in writing, you will be disqualified as a veteran.
Go Hyun-woo looked around the map and exclaimed in admiration.
“As expected, Mr. Kim Hyung-dap. There is always a lot to learn.”
“Okay, how many points do you have?”
This homework assignment was quite simple in content.
If you just roughly follow along while watching the replay, you are guaranteed a basic score.
So I thought everyone foolishly did well, but it’s human nature to be curious about the outcome.
In response to my question, Go Hyun-woo and Seo Ye-in simultaneously showed me the map as if they had made a promise.
[Koh Hyun-woo 86/100]
[Calligrapher 91/100]
One unexpected thing.
The calligrapher’s score is slightly higher.
One more unexpected thing.
The calligrapher’s map is pretty good.
I was wondering if it would be a distorted aesthetic sense like when baking cookies, but it has all the features necessary as a map.
It was sharp and sharp, as if it had been drawn with a sharp knife, but wouldn’t it be enough if the viewer could see where the monster was lurking?
Seo Cheong-yong also thought so and gave it a generous score.
Next, let’s look at Koh Hyun-woo’s map… … .
This one had relatively higher artistic value, and it looked like a single ink painting painted with a brush.
The problem was that it was somewhat difficult to understand.
More like… … than a dungeon map.
‘… … Jang Bo-do?’
That also seems like a fairly encrypted document.
It’s a map that shows monsters’ ambush spots, but it’s hard to read, so it doesn’t make sense, and even as Seo Cheong-yong, I couldn’t give it a generous score.
After comparing the scores, the two people reacted differently.
“Wow. That’s amazing.”
Go Hyun-woo was a little shocked, as he had expected his score to be a little better.
The calligrapher quietly raised one hand and made a V sign.
Where on earth did you learn that?
Go Hyun-woo had a bitter smile on his lips.
“It was my own defeat. But Miss Seo, next time it won’t be this easy.”
Maybe it was because his face was supporting him, but even though he was reciting lines like a third-rate villain, it was heartwarming.
The calligrapher nodded his head silently and then fell back to his half-slumped, half-prone position on the desk.
– Clap clap.
At that moment, Seo Cheong-yong’s applause rang out.
Although it was a soft voice, it had a strange power, and the commotion in the classroom died down immediately and everyone’s attention was focused on it.
“Did you check everything? In general, it’s good to have a wide field of view in dungeons, but if you look closely at even the smallest details like this, it will definitely help. Let’s come back to this later.”
Seo Cheong-yong wrote a word on the blackboard.
[Guardian]
“Today’s topic is a word that everyone has heard at least once: Guardian. What is a Guardian? Who wants to answer?”
Two students gave different answers at the same time.
“Mid-boss.”
“The final boss.”
And they looked at each other with expressions like, “What kind of strange thing are you talking about?”
With his eyes, he asserts that he is right and you are wrong.
Seo Cheong-yong smiled softly.
“Both are correct. Depending on the role taken, they can be either mid-boss or final bosses. Each boss monster has a different disposition. Bosses with subordinates will naturally have mid-boss level guardians, and if they guard the dungeon alone, the final boss will be the guardian. So what is the role of the guardian?”
This question’s answer was so obvious that it took a long time to answer.
Everyone is guessing that there is some hidden intention behind the question.
As everyone else looked around and no one took action, the female student sitting in the front row raised her hand in a hesitant manner.
“Guarding… … something?”
“That’s right. The Guardian’s role is literally to guard something. Whether it’s a middle gate, a boss monster, or the dungeon itself. One thing is certain: in order to conquer the dungeon, you have to break through whatever it is guarding.”
And the more efficiently you can do that, the easier it will be to conquer the dungeon, Seo Cheong-yong added.
“Okay, so this week’s strategy is to better understand the role of the Guardian—”
MAP:[Old Temple]
RULE:[Defense][2 people][Random rules]
“I’m going to take the time to step into the role of Guardian.”
If you want to learn how to attack properly, it’s more effective to get hit once rather than just attacking repeatedly.
Because bad experiences are more vividly imprinted in our memories.
The intention is to remember the difficult parts while directly blocking the enemy’s attack and use them in reverse later.
As Seo Cheong-yong waved his hand, a simple picture appeared on the blackboard.
A ruined temple with a statue of a goddess in the middle.
And monsters flock from all directions towards the statue of the goddess.
As the attack focuses, cracks appear on the statue and it eventually collapses.
The blackboard was erased and the same picture appeared.
Monsters flocking towards the statue of the goddess.
But this time, a warrior with a sword and shield is blocking the monsters by striking them down.
“The goal of this [Defense] is to protect this statue from destruction within a limited time.”
The less damage the Goddess Statue has, the higher the score is awarded, and monsters killed while protecting it are also included in the score.
“And just like last week’s match, [random rules] will be added this week. If you don’t listen to the mentoring, it will be random, and if you participate, it will change in the direction the mentor wants.”
At these words, most of the students participating in the mentoring session had a crumpled expression on their faces, probably because they had not been in a good mood last week.
Even in our group, we had a rule that required magicians to remove stickers through close combat, which caused all sorts of trouble.
Who would like to repeat the same hardships this week?
‘There is one.’
While everyone’s faces have darkened by a shade, Go Hyun-woo alone looks happy.
“I’m looking forward to it. New challenges are always fun.”
The embodiment of positivity that burns with motivation, the positive boss, the half-glass-full-of-water-left-glass was Go Hyun-woo.
On the other hand, if you look at the calligrapher side, it is the complete opposite.
It’s a battle royale, mentoring, arbitrary rules, everything just seems annoying.
‘The butler must be having a hard time.’
I sent my heartfelt support to An Jeong-mi who must be somewhere.
Stay strong, butler.
* * *
After class.
I walked to Dungeon-dong, the location of the mentoring appointment.
While walking aimlessly, a familiar back figure catches my eye from quite a distance away.
Red medium length hair that reaches down to her shoulders, and a ruby embedded in a short wand.
It was Hong Yeon-hwa.
“… … ?”
Hong Yeon-hwa suddenly felt an ominous feeling and slowed down her pace, looking around.
Then he spots me and for a moment his whole body freezes.
Judging from his usual attitude towards me, I thought he would just run away to the dungeon, but he approached me hesitantly and cautiously greeted me.
“Oh, hello… … ?”
Maybe working together in the big match last week helped me overcome my fear a little.
Considering that we hadn’t even made eye contact, let alone said hello, this was a step forward.
I’m gradually building contacts with Ruby Matap through dealings and we’re even receiving mentoring from each other, so it wouldn’t be bad if our relationship improved.
And since greetings are not meant to be ignored, I responded with a light greeting.
“hi.”
“… … !”
Hong Yeon-hwa’s face brightened.
I wonder if it’s something to be so happy about being greeted, but if it’s something you like, then it’s okay.
However, it seems that I don’t have the courage to go beyond that.
Maybe it took a lot of courage to say hello.
As we walked together, he kept fidgeting and looking around, so I tried to speak first.
“Do you have anything to say?”
“Huh? Huh, something to say? No, uh, nothing! Ha, haha… … .”
Hong Yeon-hwa answered hesitantly, then suddenly shrank down again.
Is it still difficult to go beyond this?
I decided to give it enough time.
If you say hello every time, you’ll start talking more little by little.
* * *
When we arrived at the upper floor of the dungeon building in awkward silence, Dang Gyu-yeong, Song Cheon-hye, and Kwak Ji-cheol had arrived before us and were waiting for us.
“They’re all here. Let’s begin.”
Dang Gyu-yeong stood in front of the four mentees, including me, and explained the environment and rules.
MAP:[Old Temple]
RULE:[Defense][2 people][Random rules]
“You’ve probably heard the basic explanation from the strategy teacher, so let’s move on to the additional rules. Is that okay?”
Since they had just heard it, everyone gave a silent nod of agreement.
Dang Gyu-young snapped his fingers,
MAP:[Old Temple]
RULE:[Defense][2 people][Close combat][Random rules]
Added rule, [Close Combat].
Everyone’s reaction was that it was meant to happen.
All we did last week was close combat, and there was even talk that ‘there’s still a lot to improve on’, so it’s only normal for something similar to come out.
Dang Gyu-yeong gently pulled me to a spot and took a couple of steps away.
The distance from me to Dang Gyu-yeong,
“This is considered ‘close range’. Within this range, the skill’s power is fully demonstrated.”
Dang Gyu-yeong continued his explanation while slowly taking steps back.
“And the farther away you are from your opponent, the more the skill’s power decreases. If you hit from a safe distance where you usually use magic, it’ll be less than half.”
If the power is less than half, it is better not to use it in most cases.
So [close combat] means this.
Whatever skill you use, use it while staying close.
Although the constraints were certainly tricky, the expressions weren’t that dark.
The first reason is that it is less shocking because I expected something similar to come out.
The second reason is that I’ve gotten a little more practice in close combat thanks to enduring the tough last week.
And the third reason is that even if you engage in close combat, your opponents are not Dang Gyu-yeong but monsters, so it’s worth a try.
However, the [random rules] in the environment and rule creation have not disappeared yet.
It means there is more to add.
“And next.”
Dang Gyu-yeong snapped his fingers again.
– Exactly,
MAP:[Old Temple]
RULE:[Defense][2 people][Close combat][Commander]
“I will command the monsters.”
