Kim Seo-jun, who arrived first, was awarded four magic stones.
Everyone looked at Kim Seo-jun with envy.
Four orange-grade magic stones meant that, in eight days, Kim Seo-jun’s mana would increase by at least twenty.
Considering each magic stone cost tens of millions of won, even for the golden spoons, it was impossible not to be jealous.
Kim Seo-jun, indifferent to their envy, calmly stored all four magic stones in his spatial glove.
Without a word, he strode toward the cave where the orcs had fled.
The time limit of the MPSP had already passed, so everyone had recovered their mana.
With nothing to fear now, the cadets immediately followed Kim Seo-jun.
The cave was large and complex.
Every few dozen meters, there was a fork in the path, with slopes mixing up and down, twisting together.
From time to time, they encountered orcs who had gotten lost, but those orcs fell like autumn leaves before the cadets’ attacks.
But the further they went, the more unusual the energy pervading the cave felt.
It was unpleasant and uncomfortable, like sticky spiderwebs wrapping around their bodies, and it made everyone uneasy.
“Something’s not right, is it?”
Choi Cheol-min stopped at a fork in the road.
“I think it’s dangerous to go any further. How about we turn back now?”
Since they’d marked each fork as they came, turning back wouldn’t be a problem.
“If it looks dangerous, isn’t that all the more reason to keep going?”
Yang Hwi thought there would be a boss room at the end of this cave.
Since they needed to find the boss room anyway, he wanted to push through while they were already here.
“We’re all exhausted. Let’s call it a day, get some good rest, and come back early tomorrow morning.”
“You noticed there’s a boss room here too, right, hyung? Then let’s at least go and check it out. We can rest plenty in front of the boss room.”
“Anyone else have thoughts?”
When Choi Cheol-min asked for opinions, the cadets exchanged glances.
Then, as if deciding in their hearts, they started to reply one by one.
“Let’s go for it, what the heck.”
“I think it’d be better to finish early and rest well.”
“I’m still full of energy, don’t worry.”
Not a single person objected.
In the end, the cadets decided to venture even deeper.
An hour passed like that.
During that time, they encountered groups of orcs five times, but managed to defeat them all without difficulty.
They’d already taken out over a hundred orcs inside the cave, and from those, two more magic stones had dropped.
Choi Cheol-min decided to hold onto those for now.
At last, an unusual stone door appeared before them—a door that looked suspicious at a glance.
Rather than a stone door, it was more like a cave entrance blocked by a huge rock.
The strange energy they’d felt was now pouring out even stronger from the rock engraved with bizarre patterns.
“This totally looks like a boss room, right?”
When Lim Hee-joo stroked the rock and spoke, everyone nodded.
“It’s practically screaming at us that we’ll get screwed if we go in, don’t you think?”
At An Ji-woon’s slightly anxious words, Park Hae-sung, who had been quietly following behind, finally stepped forward.
“I’ll take the lead, so don’t worry—let’s go in.”
Ever since the Corsica basil leaf incident, Park Hae-sung had been uncomfortable being here. He wanted to finish the mission and return as soon as possible.
“I’d feel safer following an orc than following you.”
Even at Jo Tae-seok’s mocking comment, Park Hae-sung didn’t bother to retort.
He knew all too well that getting worked up here would only be a disadvantage to himself.
“No one seems to have a problem, so let’s head in as is.”
Yang Hwi figured there wasn’t much point in resting any longer before going in.
Rather than waste time here, it made more sense to get into the boss room and finish the mission as soon as possible.
Yang Hwi’s suggestion was accepted by everyone.
Now that they were in front of the boss room, all anyone wanted was to resolve things quickly and return to Earth.
“Since everyone seems to agree, let’s go right in. But whatever happens, don’t be startled and keep your cool.”
“Okay!”
“Of course.”
The cadets gathered in front of the rock entrance.
Choi Cheol-min placed both hands on the rock and drew up his mana.
As a Jaeger in training, one of the most important things he’d learned was how to handle mana.
In the past, all he could do was use mana to cast Mysteries, but in Jaeger Camp, he’d learned how to use that mana to strengthen his physical abilities.
Of course, controlling mana was no easy feat.
But now, all of them could enhance their bodies at least a little with mana.
Even if the enhancement was limited, being able to unleash great strength without using Mysteries was still an incredible achievement.
As Choi Cheol-min pressed his hands into the rock and pushed—
Ku-gu-gung.
With a heavy rumble, the rock rolled aside.
Then—
Hwaaaaaaaaaaah!
A wave of hot air surged out from the now open cave.
Choi Cheol-min took the blast head-on and stepped inside.
One step at a time.
Not knowing what might jump out at them, he moved cautiously.
The inner cave was a vast chamber.
Massive rocks were scattered everywhere, and the walls were studded with grotesque stone formations.
At the top of the huge chamber, there was a hole letting sunlight stream in, so it wasn’t too dark.
That made it possible to get a good look around.
There were three large holes in the chamber.
Each was about five meters wide, and at a glance, they looked extremely suspicious.
The sticky, unpleasant energy was pouring out from inside those holes.
“Which one should we start with?”
Min Sora stepped up confidently, suggesting they pick a hole to attack first.
“Shouldn’t we start with the center?”
“No, the hole on the left looks less well-defended.”
“I think the energy from the right one feels weaker, though?”
As everyone was debating—
Ku-ung. Kung. Ku-gung.
Heavy, thumping noises echoed from all three holes as something massive approached from within.
Yang Hwi, startled, shouted,
“Everyone, fall back!”
The cadets, alarmed, quickly retreated.
Moments later, a giant shadow emerged from inside one of the holes.
A hulking figure over four meters tall.
Its head looked like a crushed basketball, and its whole body was a mass of muscle, like it was made out of pure protein.
Two long fangs jutted out of its mouth, and in its hand was a massive mace studded with spikes.
The monsters that appeared from the three holes looked similar in build and gear.
Orc Tribe warriors.
According to what they’d read about this Rift, three elite monsters of the Orc Tribe were appearing as the bosses simultaneously.
“What the…? All three at once?”
Everyone was clearly shocked.
They knew there would be three bosses, but they’d assumed they’d appear one by one in stages—not all at the same time.
“So that’s why we were told not to go past Phase 2!”
“Stay focused! Yang Hwi, Shin Tae-yang, and Kim Seo-jun—let’s form three parties around you!”
Choi Cheol-min made a quick decision, and the cadets split into three groups.
Yang Hwi’s team included Jo Tae-seok and Park Hae-sung; Shin Tae-yang’s had Min Sora, An Ji-woon, and Choi Cheol-min himself; Kim Seo-jun’s was joined by Irina and Lim Hee-joo.
“I’ll take the center with Shin Tae-yang. If either side gets overwhelmed, we’ll jump in to help right away, so don’t worry!”
Choi Cheol-min intentionally teamed up with Shin Tae-yang to cover the central orc so he could assist left or right at any time.
“Don’t let this drag out! Don’t try to test them—go all out from the start!”
Choi Cheol-min’s commands were swift and precise.
Whether he was used to this kind of raid or simply naturally gifted, he quickly calmed the flustered cadets and got them focused on the fight.
Battle broke out immediately.
The orcs, wielding their enormous strength and muscle, tried to smash the cadets mercilessly.
Kwaang! Kwang! Kwang!
Every time the maces swung, the cave floor caved in, stone shards flying everywhere.
Even a glancing blow from an orc would be enough to shatter bones.
But the cadets’ attacks were formidable, too.
All of them gave their all from the start, just as Choi Cheol-min had warned.
Irina used the Mystery Shaman Knight to summon two white knights, while Lim Hee-joo dove through the orc’s defenses and unleashed her ultimate, ‘One Hit Kill.’
Yang Hwi used a gravity field to pin the orc’s massive body, while Park Hae-sung conjured a barrage of weapons and rained fire on the orc.
Jo Tae-seok used Connect to interfere with the orc’s mind, causing it to become confused and unable to counterattack properly.
Min Sora used her Phasing Mystery to fluidly dodge the orc’s blows and draw its aggro—when struck by the mace, her body dissolved like liquid and took no damage, an amazing sight.
An Ji-woon, using Battle Mode Mystery, did his part as well.
His whole body turned red, like a berserker, and he assaulted the orc with speed and strength many times greater than usual.
The most dazzling performance came from Shin Tae-yang.
At first, he barely dodged the orc’s attacks, but soon he was analyzing their patterns, growing faster and stronger.
Eventually, he even started mimicking the other cadets’ Mysteries—a ridiculous spectacle.
Though the copies were only about 30% as powerful as the originals, Shin Tae-yang’s ‘Evolution’ ability to use a variety of Mysteries as if they were his own was truly impressive.
While everyone else fought aggressively, Kim Seo-jun took a more passive approach, relying on physical prowess alone.
He was busy watching and analyzing the cadets’ displays of Mysteries.
Not one of the Mysteries was ordinary.
Their strength came at the cost of great mana, but because their effects were so strong, they managed to drive the orcs back with little trouble.
Then, suddenly—
Puh-eo-eong!
One orc’s head burst under Yang Hwi’s gravity field.
As if that were a signal, Shin Tae-yang punched a hole through the central orc’s heart with his knuckled fist.
In an instant, two of the orcs fell.
The last was Kim Seo-jun’s.
He’d barely moved until now, but when the orc swung its mace, his eyes flashed gold.
Huuuuung!
The mace crashed down, crushing even the air itself.
Kim Seo-jun caught it with his bare hands.
Kwaang!
A tremendous explosion sounded, shockwaves radiating outward.
But then—
Chuaaaaaak!
The surging shockwave was sucked instantly into Kim Seo-jun’s hand, which glowed red-hot. At that moment,
Puhwaak!
A blast of ki shot out from the center of his palm with terrifying force.
Like a wave of fire, the crimson energy swept the orc’s head away and soared up toward the ceiling.
Puh-eo-eo-eong!
The third orc’s head exploded.
“We did it!”
“That wasn’t so bad after all, right?”
“Not as tough as they looked, huh?”
Everyone was satisfied with their victory.
And for good reason—no one was injured, and they still had more than half their mana left.
At this rate, it seemed they’d have no problem handling Phase 2 or even Phase 3.
Then—
Ku-du-du-du.
The three orc corpses, sprawled on the floor, began to twitch violently, then suddenly sat upright.
Then, something unbelievable happened before their very eyes.
From the neck stumps of the two orcs whose heads had exploded, new heads began bubbling up and burst out.
The orc with the hole in its chest had the wound writhe with thin, snakelike muscles, sealing the hole shut with fresh flesh.
But that wasn’t all.
A massive magic circle appeared beneath the three standing orcs, its light swirling around their bodies.
Moments later, their hulking bodies swelled from four meters to six meters.
Their muscles thickened, and two new arms sprouted from their backs, transforming them into Four-Handed Orcs.
Kim Seo-jun activated his Insight and checked the orcs’ mana values.
[143/Elite]
Their mana, which had been at 97, now exceeded 140.
At this level, it was not just C-rank, but B-rank.
Monster mana values were measured differently from humans—their strength was considered at least twice as much as it appeared.
That meant these boss orcs were already above A-rank in power.
‘So now Phase 2 begins?’
With the mana levels surging, the energy pouring from the orcs was overwhelming.
The cadets tensed up.
Their spirits, so high after breezing through Phase 1, quickly chilled.
Even Choi Cheol-min, always the calm leader, seemed at a loss for words.
At that moment, Kim Seo-jun stepped forward and casually tossed out a line.
“What are you scared of? Whether it’s those guys from before or these ones now, they’re all just dumb orcs with brains made of muscle. Let’s see if they can really function with their heads chopped off.”
Imitating Instructor Park Mun-ho’s tone, Kim Seo-jun faced the now even larger Four-Handed Orcs.
He waited for the magic circle’s light to fade, then took a big step and stomped on the floor.
Kwaang!
The ground caved in from his stomp.
Swaang!
Kim Seo-jun vanished from where he stood.
He was already brushing past the side of the orc’s head, now six meters high. And then,
Seogeok.
A chilling sound echoed through the entire cavern.