I Became an Academy Overpowered Growth Genius

I Became an Academy Overpowered Growth Genius – 13

EP.13 – Hidden Piece (3)

Kang Seo-jun and Jin Se-rin’s security team passed through thick stone doors and entered a massive chamber. One of the bodyguards, while patrolling, muttered.

“There’s an unusually heavy darkness here.”

It wasn’t a misconception. The darkness in this boss room materialized from the malice emanating from the dungeon boss, Ghost Buddha. Concentrated for hundreds of years, the malice made the atmosphere ominously disturbing.

“It’s creepy.”

“I sense a strange smell too….”

“A bit like the smell of rotting corpses….”

Jin Se-rin clung to Seo Eun-ha’s arm.

“Uh, Unni….”

The ominous darkness itself tested the will of those in its presence. The security team, possessing a minimum B-grade willpower, could somehow progress, but Jin Se-rin’s willpower was a mere 17 points, a C-grade. Although high for a novice, it fell significantly short for veteran-level dungeon conquest.

Seo Eun-ha whispered softly, expressing concern.

“If you stick too close, it’s challenging to provide proper protection….”

“Just a little…!”

As Seo Eun-ha tried to pull her arm away, Jin Se-rin held on even tighter. Seeing this, seo Eun-ha gave up trying to pry her off. Well, maybe sticking together like this isn’t such a bad idea.

“In case of emergencies, don’t grab my arm. Stay behind me.”

Jin Se-rin spoke in a somewhat embarrassed tone.

“Uh, okay….”

Kang Seo-jun and Jin Se-rin’s group reached the center of the chamber. There stood a small shrine alone, surrounded by dense darkness. In the dim light, the shrine seemed to resemble a crouching ominous presence. It was an incredibly eerie space. The bodyguards, frowning, muttered to themselves.

“I feel like I’m rotting away in here….”

“Ugh… What’s inside that thing?”

“It feels a bit chilly. Ugh….”

Their own way of easing tension was unusual.

“Uh, uhm. Cough…!”

Jin Se-rin tried not to show it outwardly, but due to physiological aversion, she seemed uncomfortable.

Kang Seo-jun passed them and moved forward. Then, facing away from the shrine, he clapped his hands, drawing people’s attention.

– Clap! –

“Now, before entering the boss battle, let’s have a briefing.”

Although there was a briefing about the boss battle before entering the dungeon, it was brief and needed additional details.

At the mention of starting the briefing, the bodyguards quickly stopped chatting and focused on Kang Seo-jun.

“Firstly, there is a Ghost Buddha inside this shrine. It’s a statue tainted with evil spirits. When we start purifying this Ghost Buddha, the boss battle begins.”

“Purification?”

At the mention of purification, one bodyguard raised his eyebrows and asked a question.

Purification meant the power to revert wriggling evil and all sorts of negativity within the darkness into something pure. It was a task only hunters with special abilities, such as light magic or a high affinity for spirits, could perform.

“If it’s a place that requires purification instead of combat, we can’t proceed here. It seems there might have been a misunderstanding, but our team doesn’t have anyone with purification skills.”

Naturally, among the security team, there was no one with the rare ability of light magic or a strong affinity for spirits. Such special abilities were considered extremely rare in the world.

Kang Seo-jun responded casually.

“You don’t need to worry about that. I will handle the purification myself.”

“Huh? You’ll personally handle the purification?”

The bodyguards became noisy at his words.

“A light attribute user? No, a spirit user?”

“No… Team leader. Who is that person, exactly?”

“Didn’t they say he’s a new student at the academy?”

Seo Eun-ha pretended not to hear.

“……”

I don’t know either.

Now, it felt futile to think any further. While it was an honest feeling, it wasn’t something I could say. Knowing about the unregistered dungeon, reacting to the Ink iron trap, solving the ancient language cube in two minutes, and possessing purification abilities? On top of that, mastering martial arts, having no past records, and having an odd balance of abilities, there were countless strange points to note.

At this point, thinking about it any longer felt meaningless.

“That’s not important. Please pay attention again.”

While there were some misunderstandings, Kang Seo-jun didn’t bother to correct them.

What matters now is solely the dungeon conquest.

“Anyway, once the purification process begins, malevolent ghosts will swarm from all directions in this chamber like a zombie horde. That marks the start of the boss battle. The battle will proceed in a defense formation throughout. While I’m purifying Ghost Buddha, I won’t be able to participate in combat, so the security team, please pay special attention to prevent malevolent ghosts from infiltrating the shrine.”

The Ghost Buddha in that shrine is essentially a source of sustenance for the spirits dwelling in this dungeon. Even if they are ghost-type monsters without physical bodies, the laws of this world dictate that something must be consumed for their existence.

Evil spirits and malevolent ghosts needed to consume the negativity in the world to sustain themselves, and the Ghost Buddha contained a substantial amount of evil related to the mortal world. Purifying such Ghost Buddha was like setting fire to a farm for the spirits.

So, when the purification process begins, all the spirits in this dungeon will rush to attack it.

“Please place flashlights on the ground in the direction of the shrine. The shrine should be well-lit for the purification process to be faster. Most of the approaching malevolent ghosts are usually of C-grade, so handle them as you have done so far. However, occasionally, b-grade malevolent ghosts might pop up. Since dealing with B-grade malevolent ghosts alone is challenging, please cooperate in pairs.”

Kang Seo-jun continued to provide additional precautions and concluded the briefing.

“Now, if everyone is ready, we’ll start right away. Any questions?”

Once again, there were no questions. However, each member of the security team was curious about Kang Seo-jun’s identity.

“All right. Let’s begin. Everyone to your positions!”

As Kang Seo-jun announced the start of the boss battle, the security team dispersed around the shrine.

Seo Eun-ha led Jin Se-rin.

“Miss, stay behind me.”

“Uh, okay…!”

Jin Se-rin followed Seo Eun-ha, hanging on half-heartedly.

Kang Seo-jun carefully examined the positions of the security team and the angle of the light, then entered the shrine.

Inside the shrine, there was a creepy altar, and on it, a statue with red eyes was seated. While locking eyes with Ghost Buddha, Kang Seo-jun took a small glass bottle from his pocket.

The beautifully crafted glass bottle contained shimmering fragments of light mixed with water. It was the ‘Blessed Holy Water of the Cherished Saint’ that Kang Seo-jun had purchased through the dimensional shop.

– Click! –

Stepping onto the altar, Kang Seo-jun opened the lid of the glass bottle. Then, squeezing out a stern voice, he shouted.

“Purification will begin! Everyone, prepare for battle!”

The bodyguards, as if confirming their readiness, echoed back.

“Battle-ready! You can start!”

“Then, let’s begin! Purification starts! Three! Two! One!”

Kang Seo-jun poured the holy water onto the forehead of the statue.

– Sssss! –

As if water were splashed on hot iron, the holy water bubbled and emitted steam.

– Kiiaaaaa! –

Simultaneously, screams that shook the entire chamber echoed from all directions. The holy water, bubbling, entered the forehead of the statue, and red smoke spewed out of the hole in its forehead, resembling blood.

– Kyaaaaa! –

From the perspective of Ghost Buddha, it must have felt like unexpectedly getting splashed with hydrochloric acid. No matter how ancient the evil spirit that had been dormant for centuries, it was no match for the holy water of the cherished saint blessed by light. In fact, being an ancient evil spirit only made it more effective.

– Kugugugugugu! –

Soon, Countless footsteps reverberated through the ground and ceiling, drawing closer.

“Ugh…!”

“It’s starting…!”

“Miss! Come behind me!”

“Huh, hng…! I-if there’s anything I can help with… um, a spell…!?”

– Kwaaaaa! –

Soon, something poured in from every crevice in the chamber. Vaguely visible in the darkness, these entities resembled streams of black waterfalls.

“They’re coming…!”

“There are more than I thought…!?”

“Barrier! Be prepared for impact!”

– Woong! –

A round barrier enveloped the shrine, emitting a subtle blue light.

– Kyaaaaa―!!-

As the black tsunami approached the barrier, its sinister intent became clear.

“Impact!”

– Kwajik! Kwak! Kwaack! –

Soon, the black tsunami collided with the security team’s protective barrier.

– Kiaaaaaa!! –

“Cough…! It feels like a mana backlash…!”

“Hold on! Maintain the barrier!”

“Reload!”

“Evil spirits emerging at 12 o’clock!”

– Kyaaaaa! –

Beyond the barrier, the security team swung cold metal rods and unleashed mana arrows resembling parasols. Although significant gaps appeared with each strike, the openings were quickly sealed, as if cutting water with a knife.

“Suddenly, what’s with the difficulty…!”

“For a dungeon, it’s going too smoothly…!”

Originally, the standard strategy for this dungeon was not to take a shortcut but to progress slowly while reducing the number of malevolent ghosts. The current ordeal the security team is facing is the price paid for taking a shortcut. By entering the boss room without significantly reducing the number of malevolent ghosts, the difficulty of the boss battle increased.

– Kyaaaaa! –

“This is insane… there are too many!”

“Barrier! Maintain the barrier!”

“Support at 3 o’clock! Switch!”

“No time to reload! Draw your swords!”

“Evil spirits emerging at 9 o’clock!”

– Kwak! Kwajik! –

“Ugh…!”

“Damn it!”

“Ah!”

Thus, the battle continued for more than 15 minutes. Even hunters with B-grade or higher stamina, which far exceeded that of ordinary people, found it challenging to withstand the onslaught of enemies rushing like a tsunami.

– Kiaaaaa―!!-

Eventually, one malevolent ghost broke through the barrier and attacked one of the security team members.

“Ah!”

– Thwack! –

Seo Eun-ha swung her shield, knocking off the head of the malevolent ghost and assessed the condition of the security team member.

“Team leader…! Ugh…!”

“Oh no…!”

The fangs of the malevolent ghost had deeply penetrated the collarbone. Even with the use of potions, they would have to vacate the position for a few minutes.

“Manager Go! Support at 3 o’clock!”

“Evil spirits emerging at 6 o’clock!”

The enemies’ momentum was fiercer than expected, and their numbers were much greater. The difficulty gap between the dungeon and the boss room was like heaven and earth. Already, the barrier at 3 o’clock had been breached, and other directions were likely to face a similar fate soon.

Of course, it didn’t mean they were in mortal danger. Seo Eun-ha had an emergency escape artifact that could take both Jin Se-rin and the security team out. However, only pre-registered individuals could escape using the artifact. If they activated the artifact, Kang Seo-jun would be left alone in the dungeon.

Though he seemed unlikely to die easily in such a crisis, betrayal is betrayal. Using the escape artifact would leave more of an aftermath than his potential death.

While pondering such thoughts, the situation was rapidly worsening.

“6 o’clock breached!”

“Evil spirits emerging at 3 o’clock! Team leader!”

“This damn…!”

“Heuh, heuat!”

It was humiliating, but at this rate, they couldn’t hold out for even 30 more seconds. In the end, seo Eun-ha had to make a decision.

“Emergency esca―!”

Just as she raised her hand to the emergency escape artifact necklace to infuse mana, Kang Seo-jun dropped the last drop of holy water onto Ghost Buddha.

– Paaaaaaaah!! –