Even though he followed the teacher’s advice and closed his eyes, he could still feel a bright light pouring through his eyelids. A strange sensation wrapped around his entire body—he couldn’t tell whether the ground was breaking apart or if his body was floating. Dizziness followed.
Just as nausea from severe motion sickness began to churn his stomach, his vision seemed to spin once—and the foot that had been stepping on empty air finally touched solid ground.
“Teleportation complete! Please open your eyes!”
At the teacher’s friendly guidance, Sihyeon slowly lifted his eyelids.
A wasteland stretched out before him.
A dry, desolate expanse that could hardly be called a settlement.
The wind whistled as it blew, stirring only brittle, parched sand across the ground. It hadn’t even been a full minute since they arrived, yet it already felt like his skin was drying out. It was that bleak of a place.
“…This is the Orc settlement?”
Yesol asked. Sihyeon took in the barren scenery before turning to the teacher. What lay before them wasn’t just a simple settlement.
It was a cliff. A steep—extremely steep—cliff.
Standing about halfway up the cliff, Sihyeon took several steps forward and confirmed the sheer drop awaiting them. Just glancing down was enough to make his head spin.
Is this really Korea?
He couldn’t tell where they had been brought. As he questioned whether this suspicious place was even within the country, the teacher, who had been observing Team B’s serious expressions, let out a small laugh. It contrasted sharply with Ha Yeon’s groan of distress.
“Do you remember the ‘safe zone’ we mentioned during the briefing?”
“Then….”
“This is the safe zone. The Orc settlement is down below this cliff.”
“What?”
The students’ voices all rose in unison. As if on cue, they shouted together, but the teacher simply told them to head down once they were ready. Easy for him to say.
“How are we supposed to get down?”
“That’s also one of the tasks you’ll have to solve!”
“…Looks like you’re in for some work, Kang Haeun.”
There were only two ways to safely descend the cliff: receive Haeun’s Flight buff or have Sihyeon create footholds with his Barrier. However, in Sihyeon’s case, unnecessary mana consumption had to be avoided if he wanted to properly support Shin Yijae.
As he subtly tried to pass the responsibility off, Haeun frowned and complained that he didn’t want to do it.
“Sihyeon can do it too! The foothold thing!”
“Hang in there.”
Ignoring the complaint, Sihyeon patted Haeun on the shoulder—though it was a bit too forceful to be called comforting. As he tried to console the now sulking Haeun, clap clap, the teacher brought their attention back by clapping his hands.
“Alright, let’s begin preparing for battle!”
At the mention of battle preparations, it finally hit him—they had really come to take the monthly evaluation.
“…Does the fight start immediately after we go down?”
“If the Orcs appear right away, then yes. But just because you descend doesn’t mean you’ll immediately see the settlement. However, if you encounter scouts, it could lead to combat, so be careful. I’ll stay here and film your performance. Good luck to all of you!”
The teacher clenched his fist encouragingly and smiled. Sihyeon walked forward and stopped right at the edge of the cliff, looking down. Sure enough, in the distance, he could see what looked like wooden houses. That must be where the Orcs lived.
Thinking to get a closer look, he took a step forward—
Whoosh—
Someone suddenly grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
“If you fall, you’ll die.”
The voice was cold. Thinking he might be worried, Sihyeon turned to Hamin, who frowned and pulled him further inward. Only after he stepped a full pace away from the edge did Hamin let go.
Sihyeon turned to look at the one still clutching his clothes.
“…What are you doing?”
“…I thought you might fall if I let go.”
“I’m not that careless.”
“…….”
At his words, Haru only let out a low hum, as if he didn’t quite agree.
I don’t think I’ve ever acted that absent-minded.
As Sihyeon looked at him with confusion, Haru quietly avoided his gaze—an unmistakable sign of disagreement. Just as Sihyeon was about to ask what exactly made him seem careless, Haeun tapped his shoulder.
“The others are ready.”
“Already?”
“Yeah. It’s not like there’s much to prepare anyway.”
“That’s true.”
It wasn’t like combat would start immediately, and preparation only meant readying their weapons and taking a few deep breaths. Turning around, Sihyeon adjusted his pink staff and nodded at Haeun.
With a swing of his staff, a golden aura enveloped all eight of them. Having already experienced it once through Copy, Sihyeon relied on the buff and lightly lifted off the ground. Haeun, the caster, his partner Hamin, and Haru—who had received flight support several times before—also rose naturally.
The only ones awkwardly stiff like robots were the others.
Among them, Hajin looked especially unstable, as if he might fall at any moment. Sihyeon clicked his tongue briefly.
“You won’t fall, so try to relax. Think of it like floating in water.”
“L-like this?”
“Yeah.”
Not bad.
At the quiet praise, Hajin seemed to gain confidence, and his flight gradually stabilized. After checking on the others, Sihyeon glanced down. The distance to the ground was enough to make it clear they were high in the air.
“Let’s go.”
“Good luck, everyone! I’ll be cheering for you!”
As they descended, the teacher called out from above—completely unlike the students, who swallowed nervously.
Emotions were contagious. When you saw others tense up, you couldn’t help but feel the same. Seeing Yesol’s pale face, Sihyeon let out a sigh and sharpened his focus.
It seemed he’d need to be more careful than usual.
After flying for a while, they finally neared the ground. Sihyeon straightened his body, landed, and looked around. The desolate space had only two colors—sand and wood.
Wondering how anything survived here, Sihyeon stared at the forest visible beyond the Orc settlement. That was probably where they gathered food.
“Doesn’t seem like there are any scouts.”
“…It’s too quiet. Something feels off.”
“That’s because we’re still pretty far. The houses look tiny, like miniatures!”
“Stop saying things that ruin the tension.”
Carelessness was fatal in situations like this. Sihyeon pointed it out and began walking. Step by step, he moved toward the settlement, and the others followed. The dry ground crunched beneath their feet.
“Chwiik, chwiik!”
A faint cry echoed.
Already on edge before battle, the students sharpened their senses at the sound. As they moved closer, the wooden houses became clearer.
At the center of the village stood a tall heap that looked like stacked dead trees. Sihyeon glanced at it, then turned his head, and suddenly stopped.
His blue eyes narrowed.
“Wait.”
“What?”
“What is it?”
As Sihyeon halted in front of the village, the others asked. He scanned the surroundings, spotted a large rock, and quickly hid behind it.
“Come here.”
“…?”
The others tilted their heads at his sudden behavior, but at that moment—
“Chwiik—”
A cry rang out nearby.
Only then did they hurriedly hide behind the rock.
“What, a scout?”
“…They just appeared.”
“What do you mean?”
“I was looking around the village, and one spot started shimmering like heat haze. Then it opened—and Orcs came out.”
Peeking out slightly, Sihyeon spoke calmly as he watched the group of Orcs walking into the village.
“Then… does that mean it was empty until now?”
“Seems like it.”
“Then what you saw was….”
“Yeah.”
A Rift.
There was no other way to explain Orcs suddenly appearing like that. Recalling the scene he had just witnessed, Sihyeon tightened his grip on his staff. The sight of space splitting open and Irregulars pouring out was unsettling.
Thud.
The ground trembled.
It felt like an earthquake—an abrupt, violent vibration. Hearing Hajin gasp beside him, Sihyeon quickly identified the source.
“Chwiiiiik—!”
“…W-what is that?”
Yesol stammered in a small voice. An Orc—far heavier in presence than any they had seen—was heading toward the village.
Thud. Thud.
Each step it took shook the ground.
A body so massive that eight grown men would barely be able to wrap their arms around it, a height easily exceeding three meters, and a menacing club dragging along the ground. It was clearly no ordinary Orc.
That was—
“Lord….”
As if echoing his thoughts, Shin Yijae muttered the word. The students stared at the Orc’s retreating figure.
It was huge. Far too huge.
If it curled up and rolled, the entire Team B could be crushed beneath it.
“…No one said the Lord would look like that.”
Hajin said, his face pale.
“How are we supposed to kill that?”
Sihyeon gripped his staff tightly. He had expected it to be stronger than regular Orcs—but not this big. If they got hit by that club, it would be the end.
“We’ve already chosen the mission. There’s no going back.”
Cutting off any talk of backing out, Sihyeon silently observed the scene before turning around.
“…For now, Ha Yeon and Hajin—you two get up on that pile over there and secure a safe position. Unless the Lord deliberately attacks it, that’s probably the safest spot. Still, just in case—”
Trailing off, Sihyeon reached out to them. A thin Barrier wrapped around their bodies before turning transparent.
It was different from the barriers he had used before.
“I’ll put up a Barrier. It’s shaped like armor around your body, so it won’t interfere with movement or attacks. And it’s transparent, so it won’t be visible.”
“…Thank you.”
The two stared blankly at their bodies before responding. Haeun let out a whistle, and Hamin smirked.
“Guess you haven’t just been slacking off.”
“I can’t keep using basic dome barriers forever.”
Sihyeon replied casually, then lowered his gaze from Hamin.
“Kang Haeun, do you need a Barrier too?”
“Hmm, I’m good!”
“Alright. Then you three go up there and handle support—keep the regular Orcs from approaching. The remaining three—when I give the signal, rush in all at once and hit the Lord.”
“Just like that? We’re not luring it out or anything?”
“How? And how long would that take?”
At Sihyeon’s words, Haeun nodded in agreement.
Since Hamin was on the team anyway, Sihyeon suggested they just charge head-on if no one had objections. The others hesitated but eventually agreed.
Sihyeon looked at Hamin.
Their eyes met, and a brief silence passed.
Sensing the mood, Haeun quickly cast a strength enhancement buff on Hamin. Letting out a sigh, Sihyeon stepped closer—
“Chwiik—! Human… smell… I smell it. Chwiik—!”
That was when the Orc’s voice rang out.
