31 – Illusion (2)

Tuesday when the resumption of practice classes was announced.

However, the dungeon training experience did not proceed properly.

This is because the preliminary investigation of the practice dungeon located inside the academy has not yet been completed.

“Today, instead of experiencing the dungeon practice as previously announced, we will visit Gwangmyeong Cave located here in Suwon. It’s a form of exploring a normal dungeon, not a special dungeon, mainly in the safe zone, but just in case you don’t know, I hope you act with safety as your top priority.”

At the signal of the advice of Hannah Yang, the assistant instructor for dungeon practice, the cadets formed a rank and entered the dungeon.

Yang Hanna said.

“Today’s evaluation will be replaced with a report on the tour, so observe carefully. Also, please submit the practice field trip to the academy homepage by 00:00 today. If you are late, it will be deducted points.”

Most of the cadets were intent on observing the actual dungeon with their eyes shining, but I wasn’t particularly interested.

It was more so because I had already seen it in my past life.

As I was walking along the ranks, I fell behind and walked, but something caught my eye.

Hey, what is this?

I was curious and brushed off the covered soil to find a jet-black key.

A key?

A closer look reveals that it is not an ordinary key, but rather large and thick, like a key from the Middle Ages. When I checked the information using mastery, it was not an ordinary key.

◆Suspicious Key◆

You can enter the hidden area of the dungeon.

When mana is transmitted to the key, the key points in one direction like dowsing. Perhaps there is a hidden dungeon inside this dungeon.

Why is this here?

Sometimes there were cases where monsters in the dungeon would drop these additional dungeon tickets.

Perhaps the person who subdued the monster left without properly checking the dropped item.

But why is that here…….

I was thinking about it.

Suddenly, I heard a thud behind me.

I looked back and saw Ko Soo-young banging her head against the wall and frowning.

“… Ah, Mr. What is it?”

I realized at that moment.

Ah, this is the key Ko Soo-young originally picked up.

I remember it belatedly.

Come to think of it, there is definitely something about Go Soo-young looking for the key to access the hidden dungeon and asking Choi Ji-seong to break through the dungeon together because there is no one to go with.

Wow, Ko Soo-young. Good luck.

But that luck is mine now.

I have to take care of it for now.

If I remember correctly, there is no problem clearing the dungeon with three people.

I took the key and took Ko Soo-yeong and joined the ranks of the cadets.

* * *

A day has passed since I submitted my report on the field trip. So wednesday. After class, I headed to the library. When you enter the reserved 3rd floor, a notification comes to mind.

[Identification: Cadet Ymir]

[Reservation confirmation completed.]

[Welcome to the third floor of the library.]

After arriving at the corner with familiar steps, I started organizing books as usual. I was able to get the reward right away because I had met the target quite a bit before.

[Hidden Achievement: Achievement of ‘Master of Old Books 5’!]

[I got 10,000 points as an achievement reward.]

As expected.

This time it’s a whopping 10,000 points.

“Awesome.”

But the reward didn’t end there.

[You have completed all achievements of Organizing Old Books.]

[Complete the list of hidden achievements: ‘Master of Old Books’!]

[I got 30,000 points as an achievement reward.]

[Additional Ability Intelligence +5]

“Ugh.”

I didn’t know these achievements were hidden… This is an unexpected reward. It seemed that additional rewards could be obtained by completing all the chained achievements.

Good.

It took a while to laugh at the unexpected windfall.

Checking the clock on the smart watch, it’s not long before the library closes.

As I was thinking about going back soon, I suddenly remembered the last secret note.

As I use Mastery to scan the surrounding bookshelves, I feel dizzy as the information surges like a wave.

It wasn’t impossible to confirm as I limited the information and looked at the book bit by bit.

As expected, not this time either.

I washed my hands after a long search.

What the hell is that note about?

I was thinking about it, but I suddenly felt very dizzy.

“Mmm.”

I feel a strange hunger inside my body as I hold onto my forehead and stumble.

When I think about this heterogeneous hunger, one fact immediately comes to mind.

Come to think of it, the void tentacles were currently on an empty stomach.

[Void Tentacles]

– Digestive capacity: Ready to eat

It’s already been digested.

It seems that digestion time passes much faster than expected.

What should I feed this time?

Just in time, there is a necklace you got from the last hunt.

But I feel like it’s a waste for some reason.

If I had magic stones, I would have fed them.

If I had known this would happen, I would have bought one at the market.

However, only processed magic stones are sold in the market.

Processed magic crystals inevitably have different effects from normal magic stones.

“… ….”

I was thinking about it.

Suddenly, my gaze landed on an old book on the bookshelf.

If I feed this, maybe something special will happen.

Just in time, the place where I work is a place where CCTV is rare.

It’s a mess where even the books are organized, so even if one book disappears, there’s no chance of getting caught.

After much thought, I picked up a book around the corner, fed it, and digested it.

[The fire extinguishing ability has been used. Void Tentacle mastery increased by 0.1%.]

The skill level went up, but the ability didn’t go up.

As expected, this doesn’t seem to work.

Perhaps there is no increase or decrease in stats even if you feed a target without special energy.

Sorry for a while, I had no choice but to feed him the [Clay Worm’s Spinal Cord Necklace] Obtained last time.

[The fire extinguishing ability has been used. Void Tentacle mastery increased by 11%.]

[General resistance increases by 1.]

[Fire resistance increases by 1.]

However, resistance increased, not ability.

In addition, the general resistance and fire resistance rose two at once.

“What is this?”

If you feed an item, do you get a random ability among the options the item has?

I also tried the [Durability Defense Ring] I bought the other day while I was away.

[The fire extinguishing ability has been used. Void Tentacle mastery increased by 11%.]

[Time remaining until digestion is completed: 80 hours….]

[Health increases by 0.5 After digestion is completed.]

However, unlike necklaces, the ability to rise is terrible.

In addition, it takes 80 hours to digest.

I was able to infer two facts through this.

First, items made of monster materials are far more efficient in increasing stats than industrial products.

Second, items take longer to digest than magic stones.

* * *

After I finished my errands, I came out of the third floor and went downstairs.

I see a familiar face as I round the corner of the landing of the stairs and am about to come down.

It was Ha Yeon-si.

“… ….”

She was just coming out of the second-floor entrance of the library with two books slung between her sides.

It seems that he borrowed a book to read in preparation for the reading circle OT.

She must have felt my gaze. Ha Yeon-si spotted me and said.

“… What you looking at.”

Bitter, what else are you looking at?

She hid her belatedly borrowed book behind her back and frowned arrogantly.

She had the expression on her face like that of her bad-tempered sister who hides behind her back because she doesn’t want to give her delicious sweets to her sister.

Whoops, you nerd.

On the day of the OT, she must have scolded her father and had all of her bodyguards defeated.

I looked at her, sighed, and passed her just as she was.

As I was passing by, I looked at the book she borrowed, and her title is Spectacular.

“… Is it a romance novel?”

She insinuated, but Ha Yeon-si suddenly made a strange noise.

“… This is not about you.”

Who said what?

Certainly, this guy isn’t normal either.

I shook my head and left the place.

* * *

Ha Yeon-si got into a big fight with her father after checking the reading circle’s OT schedule.

She was because of her last job at the hunting circle.

As a result, the reading circle OT succeeded in defeating the bodyguards.

Perhaps it was judged to be less dangerous than the hunting circle.

Immediately after that, she checked the reading circle’s chat room.

Checking the list of OT participants, Ymir also exists.

Looks like he intends to stick with it until the end.

“Hmm….”

Maybe Ymir’s presence made her father so easily backed off.

Thinking that way, she thinks it’s better to pretend she doesn’t know about Ymir’s existence.

“… Shall I borrow a book?”

It would be good to have at least one book in preparation for the OT of the reading circle.

Ha Yeon-shi headed to the second floor of the library with that thought.

Then she looked through the books to borrow, and there was a novel that caught her attention.

From noble mtl dot com

[The returning SSS-class bodyguard and the possessed EX-class lady.]

Looking at the title, it was a romance novel.

“… ….”

Because it’s an OT of a reading circle, we might do something like a recital or perhaps a reading appreciation event. If you think about that, it’s good to choose a book that you can recommend to others.

“Hmmm.”

In the end, Ha Yeon-si borrowed two books.

A romance novel and a strange philosophy book.

She And She Feels Good She leaves the library and at that moment she runs into Ymir coming down from the third floor.

Ha Yeon-si hid the borrowed book behind her back without even realizing it.

But Ymir must have seen the title of the book while passing by himself.

“… Is it a romance novel?”

Ha Yeon-si’s ears stood up pointy.

“… This is not about you.”

The title of the book and the situation are bizarrely similar, so it is a situation that can lead to misunderstanding.

She spoke hastily, and Ymir shook her head and disappeared.

What is the reaction?

“Ah….”

It’s embarrassing.

Her ears burned red.

* * *

It is Saturday after I spend time frantically with classes and training.

It’s OT Day for the Reading Circle.

When we arrived at the portal site, many people had already gathered.

I looked at the OT participants while checking my personal belongings.

The cadets of the reading circle, Choi Ji-seong, Ha Yeon-si, and Mo Ye-ji.

Mo Yeji is also here.

Looking at her neatly dressed, her butterfly effect comes to mind.

In this case, Oh Chun-hwa won’t act as her true body, not as a dummy.

I feel a bit uneasy.

At that time, Oh Chun-hwa, who transformed into Han Ga-rin, the leader of the reading circle, appeared.