The Academy Geniuses I Raised and Dressed

Lumina and I stopped in our tracks, looking down at the spot where the Flame Men had fallen.

“Oh! Flame Stones!”

Lumina exclaimed loudly.

Two crimson gems, glowing with flickering flames, lay on the ground.

As I picked them up, my Awakened Ability, [Craftsman], activated, revealing the Flame Stones' stats.

Feeling a gaze, I looked up and saw Lumina staring at my hand.

“Here.”

I handed her one of the Flame Stones.

“Fair’s fair. One each.”

“B-but that was all thanks to your bomb…”

“We’re tackling this dungeon together, right? Let’s split it evenly. Take it.”

When I offered it again, Lumina nodded and accepted it.

“What are you planning to do with your Flame Stone, Lumina?”

“I… I’m thinking of selling it to the materials vendor at the academy…”

Now that she mentioned it, there was a vendor inside the academy in the game too.

It was a basic shop with very little for sale and bought items for next to nothing. Hardly anyone ever used it.

“What about you, Yein?”

“I’m not selling mine. I’ve got other plans for it.”

“O-oh, I see.”

We started walking again.

As we moved, I opened my Ability status window.

[Craftsman]

I still had 40% to go until the next level.

Reaching 60% had been thanks to all the Spike Bombs I’d crafted yesterday from the magic stones, Giant Spikewilds, and Demon Iron I’d gathered in the dungeon.

But now, I don't have any more materials to work with.

I’ve got dozens of Spike Bombs, but that alone won’t get us through the Path of Crimson Flame.

The Spike Bombs dealt physical damage.

While physical attacks worked on most monsters, they weren’t particularly effective. Just your standard damage type.

And some monsters had high resistance to physical attacks.

There were even a few of those in the first floor of the Path of Crimson Flame.

“Y-Yein!”

Lumina called out in a panicked voice.

Here they come.

About fifteen meters ahead, three more Flame Men crawled up the cliff. Then something else floated up from the ground.

It was about the size of a five-year-old child, with a shiny black metallic surface and a sharply angled body.

Iron Doll.

Just like the name suggested, it was a monster made of metal.

“They’re coming!”

The three Flame Men charged forward side-by-side, with the Iron Dolls following behind.

“Lumina, on the count of three, throw a bomb at the one on the right. I’ll take the left.”

“O-okay!”

This time, Lumina quickly pulled out a Spike Bomb without hesitation.

“One, two… three!”

“Take this!”

We threw our bombs simultaneously and ducked.

The bombs flew to the left and right, striking the Flame Men directly and exploding.

Once again, the Flame Men were instantly reduced to ashes.

The problem was what came next.

The Iron Dolls, which had paused for a moment, resumed their charge toward us.

Unlike the Flame Men, they were completely unharmed.

Just as I thought.

Iron Dolls weren’t affected much by physical damage due to their high resistance.

If I remembered correctly, physical attacks only did about one-fifth the normal damage to them.

A basic Spike Bomb did about 200–300 damage. Against Iron Dolls, that meant only 40–60.

“W-what do we do? Should I throw another bomb?”

“No, using Spike Bombs on those things is a waste.”

I said, handing her a crimson orb the size of a fist.

“Roll this toward them.”

“What is it?”

“You’ll see. Just roll it—before they get any closer!”

“O-okay!”

Lumina followed my instructions and rolled the orb hard toward the Iron Dolls.

It bounced and tumbled like a missed outfield ball, rolling right beneath the Iron Dolls—and the moment it got there, it lit up.

FWOOSH!!

“Eek!”

Startled by the sudden blaze, Lumina fell backward with a thud.

A large burst of fire erupted from the orb, engulfing the Iron Dolls completely.

Even in this already scorching dungeon, the sudden wave of heat could be felt against my skin.

It was just a low-tier item in the game, but now that it’s real, this thing’s no joke.

I stood up and watched the flames.

The charging Iron Dolls were caught in the fire, stopped moving, then dropped to the ground with a thud—and shattered into pieces.

“Whoa! W-what was that just now!?”

Lumina asked, face full of excitement.

“A fresh new bomb, nice and toasty.”

I grinned as I answered.

It was a consumable item crafted by combining a Inferior Flame Stone, Demon Iron, and a Magic Stone.

Thanks to crafting that bomb just now, my EXP had gone up by 10. I only needed 30 more to level up.

If I can find just a few more Flame Stones, I can probably level up my ability in this dungeon.

Just then, I noticed a crimson glint at the spot where the Flame Men had fallen.

Lucky me.

I couldn’t help but smile.

Sure enough, I found another Flame Stone and a piece of Demon Iron from the Iron Doll.

I kept the Flame Stone for myself and handed the Demon Iron to Lumina.

She took it and quietly stared at me before asking,

“Y-Yein… is your ability making bombs?”

“……”

When I didn’t respond and just looked at her, she quickly covered her mouth, realizing what she’d said.

“S-sorry! I didn’t mean to pry… That was rude, wasn’t it?”

“Not at all.”

I smiled.

“It’s natural to learn each other’s abilities when fighting together.”

Relieved by my response, Lumina’s tense expression eased.

“Your ability is to hide yourself, right?”

To be exact, it was called [Stealth].

“H-how did you know!?”

Lumina looked genuinely shocked.

Of course, I knew because of the game—but I couldn’t say that.

“I figured it out during yesterday’s dungeon run. Even after all the chaos, your clothes were spotless, and you didn’t have a scratch. The Seawater Cavern isn’t that big, and after the battle ended, you were already near the others. So I guessed that you must’ve been hiding and avoided the monsters’ attacks.”

Lumina stared at me, her mouth hanging open in disbelief.

“T-that’s… exactly right.”

I nodded.

“You were really paying attention to me…”

She mumbled with a slightly flushed face, then suddenly lowered her head.

Seriously? Why are you spiraling into self-doubt again?

I was confused when Lumina suddenly spoke.

“I… I’m so pathetic, aren’t I?”

A bitter smile tugged at her lips.

“Everyone else was risking their lives fighting the monsters, and I just stood there, hidden, watching.”

Ah, I see.

Now I understood why her mood had dropped.

But understanding didn’t mean I could just let her sink further into that hole.

She needed to change—for my sake, too.

“Lumina.”

She looked up at me.

“If a monster hits me even once, I’ll die.”

“W-what?”

Her face clearly said, What the heck are you talking about?

But I went on anyway.

“Even so, I fight monsters. Do you know why?”

“B-because… you’re braver than I am?”

“No. Not at all. I’m not brave.”

I shook my head and continued.

“The reason I can fight monsters is because I have the power to kill them. If all I had was stealth like you, I’d never step forward. I’d stay hidden until someone else killed them all. The most important thing in the world isn’t courage or self-sacrifice. It’s my own life. Don’t you agree?”

“Uh… I… I…”

Lumina’s eyes wavered, unsure how to respond.

“It’s only natural. What’s the point of being cool or respected if you’re dead? Game over.”

I smiled.

“But we’re Hunter trainees—and one day, we’ll be real Hunters. We’ll keep fighting monsters, and we’ll need the strength to do it. So…”

I looked straight into Lumina’s eyes and said,

“I’ll make up for the parts you’re missing.”

“The parts I’m missing…? You’ll make up for them?”

I nodded and took her hand.

“Let’s go.”

I pulled her forward along the narrow path—

Imagining what awaited us at the end of the road.

Lumina couldn’t understand what Yein meant by those words.

What did he mean by "fill in what's missing"? Just yesterday, he told her she was the strongest in the class.

Could I have some hidden power I don't know about?

No way.

Lumina knew her own situation all too well.

Those aptitude grades were far from impressive. And her ability? A chicken-rib kind of skill—something you couldn’t bring yourself to throw away, but couldn’t do much with either. It couldn’t even defeat a monster on its own.

Yein said he’d die in one hit from a monster, but that’s the same for me.

She assumed Yein had exaggerated to cheer her up.

That whole thing about helping me awaken my strength… it must’ve just been words. All I’ve done so far is throw the bombs he made for me.

Thanks to that, they were making steady progress through the waves of monsters. But no matter how she looked at it, it was all Yein’s doing.

“Lumina. Get down.”

Suddenly, Yein pushed down on her shoulder, guiding her to the ground.

She was puzzled by his unusually quiet voice but then looked ahead and understood.

Across the path, a large turtle stood guard with six Flame Men.

The turtle, as big as a car, had a pitch-black metallic shell like the Iron Dolls. Its extended neck and legs glowed a deep red.

The monsters stood silently, like puppets with no master.

Ah. The portal.

Behind the turtle were two portals.

One was a return portal leading out of the demon realm, and the other a depth portal, heading to the next floor.

They had reached the final area of the first floor of the Path of Crimson Flame.

“We can handle the Flame Men with Spike Bombs. But that turtle’s going to be a problem.”

Nam Yein whispered into Lumina’s ear. The breath against her skin made her shiver slightly.

“That turtle is called a Shellfire Tortoise. If you get too close, it blasts you with fire—and it’s really strong. Even if you manage to push through the flames and attack, it just hides in its shell. And once it's in there, no ordinary attack can hurt it. Worst of all, its shell is resistant to both physical and fire damage—so neither our Spike Bombs nor Fire Orbs will work.”

“Th-then how do we beat it?”

Lumina wanted to cry.

If what Nam Yein said was true, it was a hopeless situation.

She hadn’t expected Instructor Jeong Jooil to assign an easy challenge—but she never imagined they’d be up against a monster that couldn’t be beaten at all.

Yet Nam Yein showed no signs of panic or despair.

“You're going to defeat it.”

“…What?”

Lumina’s mind went blank.

“I-I can’t. There’s no way I could handle a monster like that…”

Just then, Nam Yein placed something in her hand.

“This is…”

“Trust me. And trust your ability.”

Nam Yein smiled and began explaining the operation in detail.

“B-but what if something goes w-wrong?”

“It won’t.”

Nam Yein’s voice was certain.

“With your power, it’s absolutely possible.”

Five seconds, four, three, two… one.

After finishing the countdown in my head, I took a deep breath.

I stood up straight and materialized two Spike Bombs from my inventory icons, gripping one in each hand.

Then, I walked straight toward the monsters.

The moment I stepped into range, the Shellfire Tortoise and the Flame Men all turned their eyes to me.

The battle had begun.

The Flame Men were the first to charge.

I rolled the two Spike Bombs forward in quick succession, then crouched low.

BOOM! BOOM!

Explosions roared in succession, and the shrapnel shredded through the Flame Men’s bodies.

Meanwhile, the Shellfire Tortoise had retracted its head and limbs deep into its shell.

It had entered full defense mode.

The spikes were useless against its shell, scattering across the ground.

To make that bastard stick its head out again, bombs wouldn't be enough—I’d have to get close.

I grabbed a throwing knife and sprinted toward the tortoise.

Even with an F in stamina aptitude, my body moved far better than when I was Hong Heecheol. Being a Hunter made that much of a difference.

As the ten-meter gap closed in a flash, the Shellfire Tortoise extended its limbs and neck again.

Here it comes!

Flames flickered at its mouth.

It was the prelude to its flamethrower attack.

Its fire did roughly 50 to 80 damage per second. And without an evasion skill, the area-of-effect made it practically unavoidable.

With only 15 HP, I wouldn’t survive even a moment. Healing with a potion wasn’t an option.

But I didn’t stop.

I didn’t throw the knife in my hand either.

Because I didn’t need to.

Just as the tortoise’s flames reached their peak—

SCHLK!!

A chilling slicing sound rang out as blood burst from the tortoise’s long neck.

It was a deep, clean strike. The volume of blood pouring out made it clear—it was a fatal wound.

Seeing it, I smiled.

There, beside the tortoise, one knee on the ground, was Lumina—clutching a crimson dagger in her hand.

“Wh-what…?”

She stared blankly, wide-eyed in disbelief.

(End of Chapter)