The Academy Geniuses I Raised and Dressed

“Oh! Thank you for waiting! With this, your squad registration is complete!”

The staff member’s voice was unnaturally spirited.

That was the Meiling effect—she was standing behind me with her arms crossed.

“And we’d like to head out for our first self-directed practice right away. Is that possible?”

“Of course it is! Where will you be going?”

“To the Seawater Cave, please.”

“Yes, of course! I’ll print your permit right away!”

A moment later, I stepped out of the office holding a Seawater Cave access permit stamped with the name of Gwangcheon Academy.

“I called a cab on the way down. Let’s head to the front gate.”

“Ah, okay!”

Lumina replied, her voice laced with a bit of nervous excitement—not quite as intense as the staffer, but close.

It was her first squad, her first practice, so it made sense she was a little tense.

Meiling, on the other hand, was pouting like a child, clearly unhappy. Still, the fact that she followed without protest meant my morning talk had left an impression.

The taxi was already waiting at the school gate.

Now that I had control over Eleanor’s workshop, there was no need to pinch pennies by taking the bus.

I got in the front passenger seat, and Lumina and Meiling climbed into the back.

“You kids headed for the Sea Cave checkpoint?”

The driver was just confirming the preset destination.

“Yes, that’s right.”

I buckled my seatbelt as I answered.

About 20 minutes later, we arrived at the Sea Cave.

“Why’d you choose this place, though? It’s full of bugs. Gross.”

Meiling wrinkled her nose in disgust.

“It’s an open-type dungeon. The flow of time is different inside, so even if we go in the evening, we’ll still make it back to the dorms before 10.”

“Next time, pick somewhere else.”

She really hated bugs.

That wasn’t something I’d seen mentioned in the game, so it was kind of refreshing.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Of course, that wasn’t the real reason I chose the Sea Cave.

I didn’t tell her the real one.

Once we stepped through the portal, the familiar, eerie cave came into view again.

The damp, moldy smell tickled my nose.

“Meiling.”

“What?”

“Try hunting alone on the first floor.”

“What?”

She frowned, then scoffed.

“Hah. So after all that talk about chains and power, you dragged me here just to do something this lame?”

She had zero intention of obediently following directions. As expected.

In that case, it was time for a little magic phrase.

I smirked and said:

“If you’re scared, just say so.”

Pure fury flashed across Meiling’s face.

“Lumina. No choice. The young lady’s too scared of bugs, so we’ll handle it.”

“Ah, uh, I…”

While Lumina faltered, Meiling brushed past me.

“If you don’t want to die, stay back.”

She pulled an item from the inventory at her waist.

It was a short wand, about 20 centimeters long, glowing with a deep crimson light.

“Whoa… a rare-grade weapon…”

Lumina’s eyes sparkled as she stared in awe at the wand.

A dark aura spread out from around Meiling’s body.

It looked like the brightness and saturation in that space had dropped—pure magic.

With the black field deployed, Meiling moved forward.

Since the field had a radius of about 7 meters, Lumina and I kept a safe distance behind her.

Soon enough, giant moths, worms, and armored porcupine-like monsters began approaching Meiling, but the moment they entered her shadowy domain, they froze… then went limp.

“Woooow! That’s incredible! She’s completely dominating the monsters!”

Lumina couldn’t close her mouth as she watched Meiling slay dozens of monsters just by walking through them.

She really was powerful.

‘That weapon’s definitely helping her.’

I used my Craftsman ability to inspect the wand she was using.

[Mana-Amplifying Magic Stone Wand]

A wand embedded with a magic stone that resonates with the user’s mana to greatly enhance magical power.

‘Yeah. That’s absurdly strong for a low-level weapon.’

For comparison, the Bloody Bone Dagger I gave Lumina had 65–88 attack.

Even if that dagger was a magic item, the difference was massive.

That’s because Meiling’s wand had a bonus option that increased magic attack by 50%—naturally making it overpowered.

But that wasn’t the kind of item Meiling really needed.

‘What she needs isn’t just raw firepower.’

We continued following Meiling and collecting monster drops. After about six minutes, we reached the portal to the second floor.

Even the boss monsters were helpless before Meiling’s black field, so Lumina and I hadn’t had to do anything.

“How’s that? Still think I’m scared?”

Meiling turned to us with her arms crossed.

“That was amazing!”

Lumina cheered.

“You were so fast and strong! The monsters couldn’t even fight back!”

“Hmph. Of course. No way those weaklings could withstand my black field.”

Whether it was Lumina’s praise or the stress relief from obliterating monsters, Meiling looked a lot brighter than she had earlier.

“Why aren’t you saying anything? Shocked speechless?”

She looked at me.

“No. It was exactly what I expected.”

I gave her a slow, steady round of applause.

“Thanks to you, we made it to the second-floor portal nice and easy.”

“…What?”

“Alright. Let’s move on.”

I passed the stunned Meiling and headed toward the portal.

“What are you doing just standing there?”

“You… you used me like some kind of mob sweeper—!”

I stepped through the portal before she could finish.

Just before that, I caught a glimpse of Lumina’s awkward expression as she glanced back and forth between us.

The second floor was just as moldy and damp as the first.

“Hey! Don’t ignore me! You think I’m your servant or something?!”

“M-Meiling… p-please calm down…”

I looked at the two of them as they emerged from the portal.

“Meiling. Try using your black field again and hunt the monsters here.”

Her face turned red—so red I thought she might burst if I poked her.

“Stop ignoring me! I’m not your servant or your underling!”

“I’m not giving you orders. I’m helping you confirm something.”

“Confirm something? What exactly are you trying to confirm?!”

“How foolish your fighting style really is.”

“!!!!!”

The atmosphere around Meiling shifted.

Just a moment ago, her anger had been like wildfire racing through a bone-dry forest—now it was like an iceberg submerged in a polar sea—heavy and cold.

“You… you really are looking down on me. Completely, utterly underestimating me.”

“I’m not looking down on you. I’m just being objective. If you think I’m wrong, prove it.”

I pointed toward the passage ahead.

“If you can use your Black Domain to defeat even one monster on the second floor, I’ll admit I was wrong and give you a sincere apology.”

“That’s not enough.”

Meiling marched right up to me, raised her head, and stared me down.

“Not just an apology. Get on your knees in front of me, bow your head, and lick my shoes. If you do that, I’ll consider accepting your apology.”

“Gladly.”

I chuckled lightly as I agreed.

Immediately, Meiling turned away and activated her Black Domain.

The dark space spread out slowly, sealing off the corridor ahead.

“Yein…”

Lumina stepped up beside me, looking worried.

“Don’t you think you were a bit harsh with her? And… the bowing and shoe-licking thing… you saw her take down those monsters on the first floor, didn’t you?”

“I did. That’s why I said it.”

“W-what?”

“Lumina, go into stealth. Just in case it gets dangerous.”

Though still confused, Lumina did as I asked and activated her stealth.

At that moment, a deep rumble came from the direction Meiling had gone.

“Let’s go.”

I figured Lumina had understood me, even if she didn’t respond, and took a step forward.

What the hell!?

Meiling was stunned.

In her line of sight, a bug-type monster had emerged from the ground.

It looked like a giant pill bug, enlarged to the size of a human—and it was clearly inside her Black Domain.

The creature slowly crawled toward her.

This had never happened before.

Any monster that stepped into her domain instantly crumpled in agony and collapsed.

Is it because it’s a second-floor monster? No, that can’t be. The wand I’m using was said to work even here…

Sweat trickled down Meiling’s face as she stared at the approaching monster.

Look at how slow it is. That has to mean it’s losing HP rapidly…

Just as she thought that—

The pill bug curled into a ball and rolled straight at her.

And its speed was nothing like before.

I have to dodge—

Her brain screamed at her to move, but her body couldn’t match the creature’s acceleration.

THUD!!!

“!!!”

Meiling’s body flew through the air and was sent crashing backward.

At the same moment, her Black Domain vanished from the area.

“Urgh!!”

Without even time to scream, Meiling clutched her stomach with both hands, her eyes wide in pain.

The blow had been so severe it felt like her ribs and internal organs had all been shattered. She couldn’t even breathe.

Just then, her ears caught the sound of stones scattering nearby.

She grit her teeth and turned her head toward the source—and her eyes widened.

The pill bug was rolling at her again.

A second hit.

Unavoidable.

Certain death.

As Meiling realized what was coming—

Thunk!

A dagger embedded itself in the pill bug’s back.

Lumina, who hadn’t been visible at all just moments ago, suddenly reappeared and launched a follow-up attack.

Drawing her sword, she slashed again—blood spurted from the bug’s back.

The Bloody Bone Dagger’s bleeding effect had triggered.

“How’s that? Not so easy, is it?”

Yein’s voice rang in Meiling’s ears.

He had approached her side at some point, now opening a potion bottle.

Yein poured the recovery potion gently into her mouth.

“Urgh!!”

The brutally bitter taste shocked Meiling back to her senses.

She jerked upright, her face twisted in frustration.

“T-that was just a moment of carelessness!”

“That’s the most textbook line you could’ve said.”

“Shut up!”

Meiling’s cheeks flushed bright red.

Grrrr…

Both of them turned toward the sound.

At the end of the passage near the portal stood a wolf twice the size of a man, baring its fangs.

In open-type dungeons, monsters could respawn at random locations.

“Well, perfect timing. Another chance.”

Yein stepped behind Meiling.

“Show me that you can win—as long as you’re not careless.”

“Don’t be stupid! If I use my Black Domain here—”

“Don’t worry about me. Your domain doesn’t affect me at all.”

At that, Meiling’s brow twitched in anger.

“You asked for it!”

She gripped her wand and activated the Black Domain.

But the spreading darkness was far too slow compared to the wolf’s speed.

It leapt off the wall and soared through the air, aiming straight for her head.

The domain hadn’t even fully deployed when its fangs were already at her face.

Meiling instinctively raised her arms to shield herself.

Thwip!

Yelp!!

The wolf faltered and tumbled right in front of her.

A bone-made shuriken was buried in its face.

“Step back.”

Yein pulled Meiling by the shoulder and stepped forward.

He hurled a volley of shurikens at the wolf, which had just regained its footing.

Eight shurikens embedded themselves into the beast, and with a final whimper, it collapsed again.

That easily…?

Meiling stared at the fallen wolf.

Where the shurikens had struck, its flesh was already rotting away.

“Meiling. Accept it. Face it.”

Yein turned toward her.

“This is your limit right now.”

“….”

Meiling bowed her head.

The girl who had been yelling just moments ago couldn’t say a word.

Yein’s earlier words echoed in her ears—If you can take down even one monster with your domain, I’ll apologize.

“Your fighting style is fundamentally flawed. But don’t be too discouraged. From now on, I’m going to rebuild you.”

Rebuild me?

As she lifted her head, something red and gleaming entered her vision.

Yein was holding a ring adorned with a large black pearl.

(End of Chapter)