I Became an Academy Overpowered Growth Genius

I Became an Academy Overpowered Growth Genius – 12

EP.12 – Hidden Piece (2)

Inside the dark cave.

– Click!

As the bodyguards each turned on their flashlights, the previously dark dungeon interior brightened, revealing structures hidden in the shadows.

“Oh…”

Carvings in the shape of a sun engraved on the cave walls.

Colorful threads tied to the roots of the ceiling, forming intricate patterns.

They were seals used to imprison ghosts when necessary.

Beyond them, it was likely that various malevolent ghosts, harboring centuries-old grudges, were roaring in captivity.

Manager Go blinked his eyes, examining each structure.

“Well… I have quite a bit of experience conquering dungeons, but this eerie design is something new.”

Casually, he approached Kang Seo-Jun and started a conversation.

“The monsters coming out here are Ghost types, right? When should we be on guard?”

Kang Seo-Jun answered without looking at her, focusing on what lay ahead.

“From the areas without these threads and sun-shaped carvings onward, it’s the territory of the malevolent ghosts. Still, they won’t easily approach us because we have flashlights. Just be careful not to let the shadows touch you; they might ride shadow to approach.”

“I see…”

At the mention of malevolent ghosts riding shadows, Manager Go shuddered, slightly hunching his shoulders.

“But about this dungeon. From what I can see, it seems like an unexplored one. How do you know the dungeon structure so well?”

– Swish.

–

As Manager Go posed the question, seo Eun-ha perked up her ears, then smoothly approached Kang Seo-Jun, walking side by side with him.

Her arms creaked with each step.

“Um… Hey. It’s too close.”

“This is my formation. Can’t help it if I have to protect.”

More like surveillance than security…

Walking side by side with two women on either side, from Kang Seo-Jun’s perspective, it wasn’t that difficult to walk, despite his twisted legs.

It’s not like I can walk smoothly like this…

Balancing with his arms was necessary for comfortable walking…

While thinking about this, he also pondered what answer to give to Manager Go’s question. Although he didn’t care if the bodyguards were suspicious of him right now, showing an overly suspicious appearance was not advisable. Especially, if he seemed more suspicious to Seo Eun-ha, there might be trouble even before reaching the boss room.

So, as Kang Seo-Jun pondered what answer could instil some trust in them even a little,

“Huh…?”

Due to the narrowed walking space, Kang Seo-Jun’s twisted leg got caught in his foot.

His unbalanced body leaned quickly to the right.

Kang Seo-Jun struggled to grab onto something with his arms.

– Snap! –

“Ugh…!”

Kang Seo-Jun’s hand, which was flailing through the air, ended up on Seo Eun-ha’s nape.

– Whoosh! –

“Uh-huh!?”

Before Seo Eun-ha could react, her body floated into the air.

Although it wasn’t intentional, it turned out to be an excellent somersault.

“Eek!?”

Soon, seo Eun-ha tumbled down as if being thrown to the ground, and Kang Seo-Jun fell on top of her, crushing her.

– Thud! –

– Clang! –

“Cough…!”

“Ugh…!”

Sharp rock edges struck their backs, and with a hefty man on top, even the A-class hunter Seo Eun-ha couldn’t help but feel her breath being cut off.

“Cough, ugh… Move, get out of the way!”

Struggling to catch her breath, seo Eun-ha forcefully pushed Kang Seo-Jun to the side.

“Uh-oh…!”

Kang Seo-Jun wriggled and rolled a few times to the side.

Upon hearing the commotion, Jin Se-rin and the bodyguards who were leading turned around.

“What’s happening?”

“What’s going on?”

Manager Go responded with a serious expression.

“As soon as he grabbed Captain, this black arrow flew over his head.”

“What, what the…?”

Seo Eun-ha wore an expression of disbelief.

She, who had reached the A-class realm, hadn’t sensed anything with her heightened senses, yet this arrow suddenly shot out from somewhere.

One bodyguard approached on foot and inspected the arrow lodged in the wall.

“No, this is Ink Iron?”

“Ink Iron?”

Ink Iron.

A special steel favored by assassins for its ability to hide mana and presence.

Memorabilia made of Ink Iron was particularly famous for leaving no trace, not even a breeze, when shot.

“Moreover, it’s quite pure. You must not have noticed this easily…”

Even considering the high purity of Ink Iron, it made sense that it went undetected by Seo Eun-ha’s senses, who had reached the A-class realm.

However…

How did this man detect the Ink Iron that even A-class senses couldn’t pick up…

The bodyguard holding the Ink Iron arrow looked at Kang Seo-Jun with a puzzled expression.

“Unni, are you okay?”

Jin Se-rin supported Seo Eun-ha.

“Uh, yes…?”

Seo Eun-ha was bewildered.

‘Then, did he just save me…?’

She unexpectedly received significant help from the man she was suspecting.

However, the confusion didn’t end there.

‘During the fall, I couldn’t even react…’

She, who had never allowed anyone to easily turn the tables on her since her academy days, found herself on the ground the moment she thought she was caught by this man.

Not only was the speed impressive, but the angle and control of the pull were also so mysterious that even if she had reacted to the speed, she wouldn’t have been able to withstand it.

‘What on earth was that technique…’

Seo Eun-ha looked at Kang Seo-Jun with confused eyes.

Kang Seo-Jun, struggling to get up, was holding his side.

“Ugh…”

His expression was twisted in pain, as if a rib were broken.

The pain was probably because Seo Eun-ha had forcefully pushed him away.

His complexion was noticeably pale.

Seeing this, seo Eun-ha, in a state of confusion, quickly apologized.

“I’m, I’m sorry…! I got flustered, and…”

“Cough! Well… it’s fine….”

While Kang Seo-Jun grimaced in pain, he waved it off with an indifferent tone.

“Let’s continue the task quickly.”

For him, finishing the job as soon as possible and avoiding further fatigue was the best option.

‘If my Luck stat wasn’t 50, that could’ve been disastrous.’

The trap just now was a random encounter trap.

Even though Kang Seo-Jun was well-versed in all the information about the dungeon, he couldn’t predict traps randomly placed.

Of course, he was aware of the possibility of encountering random traps, and he did mention to be cautious of sudden traps during the briefing. However, since traps rarely appeared from the beginning, Kang Seo-Jun himself had become somewhat complacent.

If it weren’t for Luck 50, one of them could have been seriously injured. In that case, he might have withdrawn from the dungeon without completing the exploration.

Then the Jin Se-rin event would have ended in failure, and they would have incurred substantial penalties for the quest.

Even though they rolled on the ground, kicking up dust, the fact that the situation didn’t turn completely disastrous was a huge relief.

“Let’s continue moving then.”

After tidying up the formation that was momentarily disrupted by the commotion, the group resumed their journey.

However, they were more alert than before.

Occasionally, there were malevolent ghost running like beetles, riding on shadows at intersections, but monsters like C-rank creatures were torn apart like tissue paper by the bodyguards’ cold weapon.

With everyone fulfilling their roles diligently, the group quickly reached the front of the boss room.

Once they arrived at the boss room, they could finally take a breath.

There were no traps or monsters appearing in front of the boss room.

Kang Seo-Jun relaxed and spoke.

“Here is the boss room.”

The bodyguards also sighed with relief.

“We arrived earlier than expected.”

In truth, if they had followed the correct path, they would have had to walk about 3 to 4 times longer than this.

The dungeon felt short mainly because Kang Seo-Jun guided them through a shortcut.

“The guide is excellent.”

“Seriously, this dungeon seems untouched by human hands. How can you find the way so well?”

The bodyguards, who had plenty of dungeon exploration experience, knew that this was Kang Seo-Jun’s expertise.

“But how do we open this door?”

Manager Go pointed to the boss room’s door.

A massive stone door, likely more than ten times the height of a person, stood in front of them. In front of it, a watermelon-sized bronze-colored cube floated in mid-air.

One bodyguard approached the mysterious bronze cube.

“Do we need to solve this puzzle? But this… Ancient Language Cube!?”

“An Ancient Language Cube?”

“What? Ugh. How unlucky.”

“What’s going on? We finally get dungeon rewards after a long time, and now we have to turn back?”

The Ancient Language Cube, infamous for its brutal difficulty among puzzles that appear in dungeons.

The difficulty of the Ancient Language Cube was on a different level from the standard 3×3 color matching cubes available in stores.

While the standard cubes could be easily solved by elementary students with known formulas, the Ancient Language Cube had no existing formula. It was divided into a whopping 15×15 grid, and the solving method was not as simple as matching colors. Each square had engraved characters, and they had to form the correct paragraphs on all sides.

It was a hellish puzzle that required not only knowledge of Ancient Language but also a deep understanding of cube principles and sharp cognitive abilities.

Therefore, dungeons where the Ancient Language Cube appeared required the accompaniment of an expert solely dedicated to the Ancient Language Cube for successful exploration.

Naturally, among the security team, there was no one capable of solving the Ancient Language Cube, and everyone exchanged disappointed glances, as if today had been a fruitless endeavor.

“Ah….”

Especially disappointed was Jin Se-rin.

The vitality in her eyes quickly dwindled.

At that moment, Kang Seo-Jun stepped forward with determination.

“Please wait for three minutes.”

“Yes? What are you going to do?”

“I’ll solve the cube.”

Kang Seo-Jun began swiftly turning the cube without waiting for the words to finish.

– Swift! Swirl! Swirl! –

“What, what?”

“Hey, don’t touch it recklessly!”

“If that gets messed up once, even experts can’t fix it…!”

Ignoring the protests of the bodyguards, Kang Seo-Jun rotated the cube rapidly.

The 15×15 cube spun relentlessly.

“Do, do we need to stop him?”

“Well, wait a moment. He seems to be solving it now. It’s not turning smoothly if you turn it wrongly like that.”

“What? Solving it?”

“He’s way too fast for that, right? Even experts can’t turn it that quickly!”

Naturally, Kang Seo-Jun had no knowledge of Ancient Language or understanding of cube principles. He lacked cognitive abilities, with an intelligence attribute of only 8.

No matter how much of a veteran Kang Seo-Jun was, he couldn’t possibly memorize the order of a 15×15 cube.

Nevertheless, Kang Seo-Jun’s hands manipulated the cube without hesitation.

[Interpreting the Puzzle with the Eye of Providence]

Since the Eye of Providence was guiding him to the correct answers, Kang Seo-Jun’s eyes flickered with numerous formulas.

He swiftly moved his eyes and hands, aligning the cube.

In less than the promised three minutes, Kang Seo-Jun completely solved the Ancient Language Cube.

– Click! Ping! –

With a sound as satisfying as a lock opening, the mana device echoed its activation.

– Woong, Gooooo…….

–

As the cube vibrated, the massive stone door, firmly closed until now, slowly parted, opening from side to side.

“He solved it…?”

“I-it’s not even three minutes…?”

“I-it’s unbelievable…! The world record is in the 40-minute range…?”

The bodyguards exchanged astonished glances, unable to hide their disbelief.

“W-who on earth is he…?”

Even Seo Eun-ha gazed at Kang Seo-Jun with a face no different from that of the bodyguards.

“Ah….”

On the other hand, Jin Se-rin stared at Kang Seo-Jun with a blank expression.

Then, very slowly, a smile spread across her face.

This person was fundamentally different from all the trainers she had met so far.

A strange sense of anticipation stemming from that intuition spread within Jin Se-rin’s chest.