The Academy Geniuses I Raised and Dressed

“You should’ve told me if you were going to the Hunter Market!”

It was Sunday at noon.

Because Meiling didn’t want to eat the dorm food, we had come outside Gwangcheon.

“What are you talking about?”

I looked at her while holding a slice of pizza.

“I mean… I wanted to sell my materials!”

Meiling’s face flushed red.

‘Ah.’

I realized it a moment too late.

A few days ago, Meiling had cut ties with Kai.

Which meant the identity of ‘rich young lady’ no longer applied to her.

Now that she couldn’t rely on financial support, of course she would want to sell her hunting spoils.

Pocket money aside, tuition fees would be a bigger problem.

“Then let’s go to the Hunter Market after we finish eating.”

“Huh…? Really?”

She looked dumbfounded at my immediate answer.

“It’s not far anyway.”

I bit into my pizza as I replied.

“O-okay.”

Her voice was weak and flat, like soda that had lost its fizz, as she poked idly at her pizza.

“But, Yein.”

Lumina, who had been listening quietly, turned to me.

“What is it?”

“Why didn’t you let us acknowledge Eleanor last time?”

“Eleanor?” Meiling tilted her head.

“…She’s talking about what happened on the third floor of the Seawater Cavern.”

Since there was no hiding it, I decided to bring it up myself before needless misunderstandings arose.

“That armored person who was with us—that was Eleanor’s sister, Iris. I didn’t want the topic of workshops to come up and risk exposing my item-crafting ability.”

“Ah, I see.”

Lumina understood immediately, but Meiling’s expression only grew more puzzled.

So I explained to her who Eleanor was and what had happened.

“What?! So the items you gave me… you really made them yourself?”

Meiling shouted in shock.

I quickly pressed a finger to my lips, signaling her to keep quiet.

The shop was empty except for the owner, so there was no chance of eavesdropping.

But I still needed to make this crystal clear.

“The fact that I can craft items is a secret. Only our squad and a very small handful of others know about it.”

I lowered my voice as I spoke.

“Why hide it?”

“Because it’ll cause too much commotion and restrict my actions. Think about it. Rare items can only be produced in small numbers by a few craftsmen. Now imagine if people find out about someone like me, who can mass-produce them. What do you think will happen?”

“…Companies would all come after you, trying to recruit you. That would be exhausting.”

“Exactly. So keep it absolutely secret.”

“Hmph. Do I look like the kind of girl who blabs my friends’ secrets to everyone?”

She said that proudly, then froze like a statue.

“Huh? Just now—” Lumina’s face brightened.

“Sh-shut up! Just eat your pizza!”

“Mmfff~!”

Meiling shoved a slice into Lumina’s mouth.

After that, we headed to the Hunter Market.

Lumina used her experience to help Meiling sell her materials.

Though she didn’t show it outwardly, Meiling looked genuinely happy once she held the cash in hand.

Unlike before, this wasn’t money handed down from Kai—it was something she had earned herself, from hunting with her own hands.

The weekend passed, and Monday came again.

“The end-of-month assignment should be coming up soon,” Lumina said as we met in the classroom.

“Yeah. Can’t believe it’s already the end of April.”

It had been twelve days since the midterms.

“The difficulty will be higher this time, won’t it?”

“Most likely.”

But that so-called difficulty meant little to us now.

Our squad could clear the second floor of dungeons with ease, and we were already challenging the third.

Our current levels were around 20, about five levels higher than what the game considered appropriate.

‘Time to change gear.’

The equipment we had now was still in the late teens.

It worked well enough for hunting on the third floor, but if we wanted smoother progress—and to reach the boss chamber—we’d need gear in the mid-20s range.

‘My Craftsman skill has leveled up again. Now I can make items up to level 30. Perfect timing.’

By gathering materials on the third floor and combining them with what I had from Eleanor’s workshop, we could upgrade without much trouble.

“Good morning~.”

Our homeroom teacher, Jeong Yeongyeong, entered with a bright smile.

After a few announcements, she looked directly at me.

“Lumina, Yein. Can you step outside with me for a moment? I need to talk to you about HAUT.”

At the mention of HAUT, my mind instantly sharpened.

Soon, the three of us stood in the hallway.

“You two don’t have to do the end-of-month assignment,” she said.

“What? Why not?” Lumina asked, startled.

“Because starting today, you’ll be working on a special assignment instead. The principal prepared it personally.”

‘Im Seongyeon?’

There was nothing like this in Latesai. No such storyline or quest.

Suppressing my confusion, I listened closely.

“The assignment is this.”

She handed us each a printed sheet.

“Within one month, you must completely clear the third floor of the Bag Toter Mine dungeon…” Lumina read aloud.

‘The Bag Toter Mine…’

My head throbbed.

Scanning the sheet, the key points were as follows:

[You may use any means necessary, but all three first-years must participate in the clear.]

[If you fail, your HAUT candidacy will be nullified.]

“Te-teacher, this part at the bottom…” Lumina stammered.

“Yes. It’s exactly what it says.”

Her face had hardened.

“The principal added this as well: If you don’t want the disgrace of having your selection revoked, then work hard. And she seemed quite serious.”

“So ‘any means necessary’—we can take that literally?” I asked.

“Yes. I even asked her about it myself. She said to take it at face value.”

“…Understood.”

I folded the paper and tucked it into my pocket.

“Both of you, do your best. I’m rooting for you to succeed and make it to HAUT.”

“Th-thank you, Teacher! We’ll do our best!” Lumina clenched her fists.

Later that afternoon, our squad gathered in the hall.

“You’ve heard the news, right?” Meiling asked the moment she saw us.

“One month to clear the third floor of a dungeon? That doesn’t sound so bad! We cleared the second floor the same day we formed the squad! And we’ve already been exploring the third floor!”

Her voice brimmed with confidence. But what I heard in it was pure naivety.

“Exactly. Which is why instead of talking about it, we should go and see the reality for ourselves.”

“…What?”

“Let’s head to the Bag Toter Mine today.”

I looked at both of them.

But first, I needed to brew plenty of potions.

About eight minutes after entering the third floor of the Bag Toter Mine—

We were fleeing for our lives.

“Why the hell are they so relentless?!” Meiling screamed, pumping her arms as she ran.

“H-hhic…!” Lumina was sobbing as she sprinted beside her.

Meanwhile, I was running with everything I had, desperately trying to close the gap as the monsters closed in behind us.

After an all-out sprint, we finally reached the portal leading back to the second floor.

Since we had already defeated the boss there, the chamber lay empty and silent.

“Lumina. Give me your arm.”

As soon as we were safe, I reached out my hand to her.

Still sniffling, Lumina extended one pale arm. It looked as if it had been wrapped in plaster.

She was petrified.

I took a pink potion from my inventory and poured it over the stone-like limb.

Slowly, the color returned to her arm.

“How is it?”

Lumina clenched and released her fist a few times, then her face brightened.

“It’s fine now… Thank you, Yein. I was so scared my arm would stay stone forever…”

“What the hell are these monsters?!”

Meiling shouted furiously.

“They’re tough as nails, impossible to kill, and they breathe some weird gas that turns you into stone!!”

‘That’s the Bag Toter Mine for you.’

The Bag Toter Mine.

An independent dungeon, like a treasure chest filled with ores—magic stones, magic steel, and countless others found in the game.

But it was also home to infamously difficult monsters.

For example, Iron Men—creatures with skin mixed with stone or metal, boasting extreme resistance to physical damage.

And Stone Clouds—gaseous monsters immune to physical damage altogether, spewing petrifying mist.

One might think this was Meiling’s stage to shine, since physical damage was useless here and she was a mage.

But it wasn’t that simple.

For a mage to attack, the frontline had to hold.

And Lumina, who currently served as our vanguard, relied mainly on physical strikes, with elemental or status effects only as support.

That meant she couldn’t exert her full strength in the Bag Toter Mine.

Because the monsters wouldn’t die fast enough, the aggro dispersed. And since I, with my paper-thin health, couldn’t hold it, Meiling ended up unable to cast her spells at all—just running for her life.

What if she used her ability, Dark Domain, to deal with them?

If Meiling activated Dark Domain and waited for the monsters to die…

Then all the aggro would fall on her, and she’d be swarmed by creatures that wouldn’t drop dead right away.

On the second floor, maybe we could handle it. But on the third? There was no way Lumina and I could withstand such a barrage alone.

“This should make it clear what we’re lacking.”

I looked at the two of them.

“Yeah! We don’t have enough power!” Meiling exclaimed.

“We need a powerful skill that can wipe them out in one blow!”

“No. That’s not the answer.”

“What? Why not?!”

“Even with your Magic Bombs, you can kill them. The problem is you don’t have enough time to deal the damage.”

“Then we do need stronger power!” Meiling shouted, swinging her wand dramatically.

She wasn’t wrong. Stronger offense was often a universal solution.

But to reach overwhelming levels of power required an enormous amount of preparation.

And there were always enemies immune to certain elements or statuses—situations that raw damage alone couldn’t solve.

On top of that—

“Stronger magic also means longer cooldowns. Which means you’ll be vulnerable for longer.”

“Ugh…”

At my point, Meiling finally closed her mouth.

“So it’s really because I’m not strong enough…?”

Lumina muttered gloomily.

“Because I can’t hold the monsters in place, you and Yein end up in danger…”

She wasn’t exactly wrong, but this wasn’t her fault.

“Lumina. Your place in the squad isn’t at the front line.”

Her eyes turned to me.

“You’re best suited to the middle guard—harassing enemies that break through and striking weaknesses with your Stealth.”

But right now, she had no choice but to serve as our vanguard.

I was the supporter and leader—using items to adapt to situations and direct the fight.

Meiling was a mage and debuffer, firmly in the rear.

“Which means what we’re missing… is a tank. Someone who can hold the monsters on the frontline and buy time for the mid and rear lines.”

And that required at least an A in Physical Aptitude.

But for us? C, D, and F.

With the highest being Meiling, the mage. Hopeless.

“You’re right… If we had someone to defend up front, hunting would be so much easier.”

“I’m against it!”

I turned.

Meiling stood with arms crossed, lips jutting out.

“You’re saying we should add another member to our squad.”

“The assignment said: By any means necessary, clear the third floor of the Bag Toter Mine—with the three of you included. That was the condition.”

I recalled the printout.

“The principal must have seen what we lack. That’s why she gave us this task.”

If “by any means necessary” still required us three, then adding more members was permitted.

“But…”

Meiling swallowed her words, looking frustrated.

She probably felt embarrassed to say it.

She didn’t want anyone else.

She had only just learned to trust Lumina and me, after all.

Knowing her distrust of people, it wasn’t surprising.

But I couldn’t indulge her sulking now.

“Meiling. If things stay like this, we’ll lose our chance at HAUT. That means losing the opportunity to grow stronger.”

“Urgh…”

“And if we do get into HAUT, we’ll definitely gain sponsors. With a sponsor, you won’t ever have to worry about tuition again.”

“…”

Meiling fell silent.

“Don’t worry. We won’t add anyone we can’t trust. I wouldn’t bring someone in unless I was sure.”

“Yein… you already have someone in mind, don’t you?”

Maybe because she’d seen me do this before with Meiling, Lumina read my thoughts right away.

“Yeah. Negotiation comes next, though.”

Their ability was solid. But this person also came with messy baggage.

“For now, let’s head back.”

“Okay.”

“Tch. Just you wait, you ugly mine monsters.”

Meiling muttered through clenched teeth as she glared back at the portal.

(End of Chapter)