I Became an Academy Overpowered Growth Genius

I Became an Academy Overpowered Growth Genius – 14

EP.14 – Hidden Piece (4)

– Paaaah!! –

As if a rock had been dropped onto a calm surface of water, rays of light erupted in the shrine.

The once densely dark courtyard brightened as if it were broad daylight.

“What the!”

“What, what is this!?”

– Kyaaaah!! –

The evil spirits and ghosts were frozen like rocks in that brilliant radiance, and even the bodyguards, casually glancing back, screamed in awe at the blinding light.

– Paaaah!! –

Soon, an explosion of light emanated from the shrine, spreading a sacred shockwave across the massive courtyard.

The force of that light seemed to be pulling taut a demonstration sign.

– Kyaaaaah! –

The evil spirits and ghosts, frozen like statue, were swept away like dust in the sacred shockwave.

– Saaaaah….

–

The light dyed the entire area in dazzling white before gradually fading away.

Once again, darkness descended, and the courtyard fell silent as if holding its breath.

The bodyguards, still rubbing their stunned eyes, quickly scanned the surroundings.

“Uh….”

“Is everyone okay?”

“Something’s off in the 3 o’clock direction.”

“W-what was that just now?”

“I-is it over?”

Seo Eun-ha hastily put down the emergency escape artifact she had almost activated until the last moment.

“Uh, um…! Cough!”

– Ssshhhh…

–

A gust of wind passed, stirring the remains turned into dust.

The ghosts, who had rushed like a starving horde, disappeared along with the light.

The bodyguards, who had been cautiously guarding the area, checked the now silent battlefield and gradually relaxed.

“Phew…. That was close….”

“I thought I was going to die.”

“Is it over…?”

“Yeah. Seems like it.”

The bodyguards couldn’t hide their excitement as they caught their breath.

“But that last part….”

“Who didn’t see it…?”

“Of course. My eyes are still tingling.”

“Even though it’s a light attribute, what power is this…?”

“I don’t understand….”

The light shockwave that obliterated the ghosts’ march, which was rushing like a black tidal wave, in one blow.

The range, speed, intensity of the light, and its power to instantly dispel all kinds of negativity.

“Among light attribute holders, it’s top-notch….”

Even if you underestimate the level of such light magic, it should be at least A+ grade, visible only to top-tier hunters.

“But what’s the identity…?”

While the bodyguards be amazed, looking towards Kang Seo-jun, he spoke hastily as he walked outside the shrine.

“There’s no time to sit. The shrine is about to collapse. Everyone, get up quickly and follow me!”

The statement that it’s not over yet made Jin Se-rin and the bodyguards’ faces turn contemplative.

“Oh, it’s not over yet…?”

“Ugh…. This is at least a Epic-level difficulty…!”

“I-I… I’m almost out of mana…! Ugh…!”

“Hey! Hey! Grab your colleagues and move quickly!”

Kang Seo-jun staggered with his heavy body, taking occasional steps, and Jin Se-rin and the security team quickly followed behind.

– Kugugugugugugu! –

Soon, an earthquake signaling the start of the second phase shook the massive courtyard.

“Run!”

– Thud! Thud! –

As if the shrine was collapsing with a bone-cracking sound, it seemed to sink into the ground as if being sucked away.

As the central ground sank deep, it dragged Kang Seo-jun, Jin Se-rin, and the security team like an ant hell.

To avoid being swept away by the torrent of dirt, they frantically moved their legs, two and four at a time.

“Ugh…!”

“If you fall, it’s over! Stay focused!”

Kang Seo-jun did his best, but due to the limits of his mediocre physical abilities, he couldn’t maintain balance.

“Damn…!!”

– Kuuuuuu! –

Kang Seo-jun was swept away by the dirt like a straw in a rapid current.

“Ugh!”

Jin Se-rin’s face turned pale as she witnessed it.

“K-Kang Seo-jun…!?”

As Jin Se-rin froze, seo Eun-ha pulled her.

“Miss! Worry about others later!”

Though Seo Eun-ha was initially taken aback seeing Kang Seo-jun collapse without energy, at this moment, prioritizing Jin Se-rin and her team over a man with several unknown origin was crucial.

“Get up!”

“Run! Run!”

Jin Se-rin and the security team supported each other and ran without a break.

After about five minutes.

– Kugugugugu….

–

The noise that shook the ground gradually quieted, and the ground movement ceased.

The bodyguards, making dying sounds, sat down exhausted.

“Heugh…! Heueuk…!”

“This is tougher than extreme training!”

“The last time I was this exhausted was after the selection test…!”

Seo Eun-ha caught her breath while checking for any casualties.

Fortunately, both Jin Se-rin and her team members were unharmed.

However, Kang Seo-jun, who had stumbled and been swept away by the ground, was nowhere to be seen.

“Oh no…!”

It was only then that Seo Eun-ha realized.

Without that man, there was no one to brief the current situation.

“Everyone, wait here.”

Seo Eun-ha gave the order for her team to wait and headed back to the center of the yard.

“T-Team leader? Where are you going?”

“The guide is missing. He might be buried behind, so I’ll go check.”

At her words, the expressions of the bodyguards also turned to realization.

“Oh.”

“We were so focused on each other…”

“I didn’t see it either… This is bad…”

Without Kang Seo-jun to guide them, Jin Se-rin and the security team had nothing they could do.

Trying to calm her trembling insides, Jin Se-rin spoke.

“Let’s all go back and search. If he’s buried in the ground, we have to rescue him before he runs out of air!”

“Miss is right….”

“Get up! Get up!”

“Team leader, let’s go together!”

There was a sense of obligation to rescue him from a humanitarian perspective, but there were also many other reasons to save Kang Seo-jun. Coming to a place like this, surviving a life-threatening situation, and returning empty-handed after losing the guide would be quite unfair.

To successfully conclude the strategy, that man had to be present.

Seo Eun-ha glanced back at the group following her.

“Stay quiet for now because we don’t know the situation….”

Just as she was about to command them to wait in that spot, a scream erupted.

– Aaaahhh!!! –

Now, at the center of the yard, which had become a deep and wide pit, a chilling scream erupted.

The scream echoed loudly, bouncing off the round ceiling in various directions.

“Ugh!?”

“He, hit!?”

“Eek!?”

“Plug your ears!”

Someone unidentifiable shouted.

This scream was a curse of the Piercing Affliction type, inducing fear in the hearts of those with lower resistance and stiffening their bodies like stone.

– Splurt! Squick! Squaak! –

Regular sounds, as if rocks were breaking beneath the deep and dark pit like a sinkhole, erupted.

– Splurt! Squaak! –

As the sound resonated again, it felt like the origin of the noise was getting closer and closer.

Sensing the approaching sound, Jin Se-rin and the security team could feel it.

“This, this is….”

“What… something….”

Something ominous and negative. Something massive.

It was crawling up from the pit.

– Whoosh! –

Soon, a long, peculiar figure emerged from the sinkhole in the darkness.

– Thud! Squick! Thud! –

A gigantic monster emerged from the hole, placing its foot on the ground and crawling up.

Red eyes. An unrecognizable face. Abnormally thick arms. A centipede-like long body. Red flesh and pus clinging to various parts of its body.

At a glance, it was the appearance of a monstrous being beyond the ordinary.

Jin Se-rin and the security team paled at the emergence of this giant.

Even without anyone explicitly stating it, they could tell.

This creature was the real boss of this dungeon.

The true form of the Ghost Buddha, the king of all demons sealed in this dungeon.

“Ugh….”

“Ah….”

As soon as that creature appeared, the darkness in the yard became thick and oppressive again.

The intense malice, foul stench, and the red eyes emanating from the creature, evoking both physiological disgust and fear—all of it contaminated the once-purified courtyard.

– Thud! –

“Uh….ugh….”

Jin Se-rin’s legs gave way, and she sat down heavily, feeling drained.

“Ugh…!”

Seo Eun-ha, who was facing the monster at the closest range, was not much different. Just facing the creature’s aura brought a repulsive feeling as if toxic snakes were crawling all over her body.

Seo Eun-ha was not a person of low rank, she was a Grade A Hunter with an impressive willpower of 26, Grade A-. Yet, she felt overwhelmed by the creature’s size, and her body trembled from its foul smell.

This implied that the creature had at least the rank of a Epic-level boss or higher.

Seo Eun-ha gritted her teeth.

The average rank of Jin Se-rin’s security team was Grade B, and the party rank needed to face a Epic-level boss monster was at least Grade A.

“It’s too much….”

Finding a missing guide in front of a creature of this caliber was impossible. Faced with this situation, there was only one action Seo Eun-ha needed to take.

She had to activate the emergency escape artifact to safely evacuate Jin Se-rin and her team.

Seo Eun-ha grabbed the necklace containing the emergency escape spell and shouted.

“Escape…!”

– Peuk! –

“Cough…!”

However, Ghost Buddha couldn’t just stand idly by in the face of such actions. Closing the distance with hundreds of legs on its centipede-like body in an instant, it swung its arm, thicker than most trucks, down at Seo Eun-ha.

– Thud! –

Even though she blocked with a shield, the hefty weight was transmitted clearly.

All the joints in her body felt out of place, experiencing pain as if they were being crushed.

Despite the pain, seo Eun-ha tried to activate the artifact again.

– Thud! Kwang! –

“Ugh…!”

As Ghost Buddha continued to rain down blows like a piledriver, seo Eun-ha knelt, spitting blood, trying to activate the artifact once more.

With just three punches, the shield Seo Eun-ha held was destroyed beyond repair.

– Goooooo! –

Ghost Buddha raised its hands high towards the ceiling as if signaling its intent to completely crush Seo Eun-ha.

A crimson magic gathered in Ghost Buddha’s two fists.

“Ugh…!”

A partially broken shield. A crumbling stance. A body depleted of all stamina.

In this state, taking a hit from that strike would not leave Seo Eun-ha unscathed, even though she had reached Grade A.

“Team leader!”

The security team rushed to help Seo Eun-ha.

“Run! Team leader, we’ll take care of it!”

“Manager Go! Take young lady and evacuate for now!”

However,

– Squeeaaaak! –

No matter how much they sprinted, they couldn’t match the speed at which Ghost Buddha swung down right in front of them.

The massive and sturdy fist of Ghost Buddha, charged with magic, approached Seo Eun-ha quickly.

‘… Is this how it ends…?’

Seo Eun-ha unknowingly sensed her impending death.

There was no time to think about where things had gone wrong.

In her mind, the looming death grew larger and larger.

At that moment,

“Blink.”

The calm voice of a man, as if he was in a completely different situation, echoed in Seo Eun-ha’s ears.

– Flash! –

Then, with a flickering violet light, Kang Seo-jun appeared in front of Seo Eun-ha.

“……!?”

She was surprised, but there was no time for that surprise to lead to any judgment.

Ghost Buddha’s fist, filled with intense malice, was about to land, with less than a second left.

However, there was no sense of danger from the man’s back.

[Skill ‘Counter Time’ is activated.]

The more intense the malice, the more unexpected it was for Kang Seo-jun.

[Critical Hit! A lucky strike hits the enemy’s vital point!]