Chapter 721: Starmascus
While I spent peaceful time with Seo Ye-in.
The pillar of the magic circle the dragons had installed kept glowing white day and night, stealing the gazes of everyone in Hyeseong New City.
And only after more than two full days had passed did it finally fade.
Which meant one thing.
So [Consecration] is done.
Just as expected, Sky-Healing Dragon Jupiter soon came to find us and cast flying magic the same way as before.
We left the city in an instant and arrived at the mansion, where Meteor Dragon welcomed us warmly.
“Welcome. I imagine you already know why I called you.”
“It must be finished.”
“We were able to produce something very fine. I think you will like it.”
Her tone carried powerful confidence.
From their perspective, I was a [Sovereign], an unknowable being who had driven back the Blood Cult Leader with ease.
On top of that, I was also the one who had provided the Starmascus, so my standards had to be extremely high.
The fact that she was making such a bold claim despite knowing that meant she had that much confidence in it.
Soon, with a gesture from Meteor Dragon, an ingot appeared.
It looked similar to the one I had handed over a few days ago, but whether because it had been compressed during [Consecration], it was now slightly smaller.
And as though proving that the power of meteors now dwelled within it, it was glowing with a faint white light.
[Starmascus(EX)]
No wonder she was confident.
This was the second EX-rank item I had encountered since entering the world inside the game.
And it was even a fairly important material-type item.
It did feel quietly possible.
The base materials alone had included two S+-rank meteoric iron ingots, and Meteor Dragon, also S+-rank, had infused it with power while the guardians joined in as well.
Still, I’d half given up on it.
The greater your expectations, the greater your disappointment.
Even if it stopped at S+, my mindset had been that if [Consecration] made the future options attach well, that would already be more than enough.
But the dragons had done even better than I expected.
I estimated it on the spot.
Two main pieces of equipment will probably be difficult.
The usual formula was one ingot per major piece of equipment.
Large items like longswords, staffs, shields, armor, and so on.
Since Starmascus was an alloy made from two ingots, by that formula, it should have been possible to make two major pieces of equipment.
But perhaps as the price of rising to EX-rank, its size had shrunk to about 1.7 ingots’ worth.
One main piece of equipment and about two auxiliary pieces should be the right estimate.
Or instead of making auxiliary gear, I could upgrade something I already had.
I glanced sideways at Seo Ye-in.
More precisely, at the pot she was wearing on her head.
[Immortal Kim Ho Kim Ho Pot(S+)]
▷Indestructible
▷[Force Aura Block(S)]
▷[Impact Nullification(A+)]
▷[Severed Space(S)]
▷Upgradeable
There happened to be one slot left, so if I added Starmascus there...
Would an EX-rank pot come out?
For some reason, I had a feeling it would get a terrifying option too.
I would pick a day and take it to the crows.
For now, I bowed my head to Meteor Dragon with boundless gratitude.
“I like it very much. You worked hard for this.”
“It is nothing compared to what you have done for us.”
Originally, she would have suffered grave injuries in a fierce battle against the Blood Cult Leader and entered a sleep cycle, separating her from her family for a long time.
She was saying her gratitude for preventing that was far greater.
Meteor Dragon added with a gentle smile.
“We will have to keep repaying this debt from now on. Always remember this. We stand with you.”
“Just hearing that already makes me feel secure. Thank you.”
“Now go. I hear you have lost quite a lot of time.”
We needed to return to Dungeon Island as soon as possible.
The dragons knew that too, so they kept the business brief and sent us off.
Seo Ye-in started to turn away, then stopped, went into Meteor Dragon’s arms, and hugged her tight.
“...Grandmother.”
“Stay well, and take care of yourself.”
“You stay well too, Grandmother.”
After that, we also said goodbye to Dark Dragon Lord, Sky-Healing Dragon Jupiter, and Mad Sea Dragon one by one before leaving.
The place we headed as soon as we returned to Hyeseong New City was the train boarding platform.
“We’re late. Very late.”
“Extremely late.”
The original plan had been this.
Finish our quota on the first day of PvP week and head to Hyeseong.
Then quickly clear the outside request and come back after playing until the weekend.
But thanks to unexpectedly scuffling with the Blood Cult and then spending several more days on the [Consecration] of Starmascus...
Not only had a week already passed, it was now Wednesday afternoon.
Obviously, midterms must have started in the morning.
And according to Lee Sudok, there were no makeups whatsoever.
We were already late, so we had to return before we became even later.
For reference, we had said our goodbyes to the others in advance while waiting for [Consecration].
We had also eaten separately with the Chairman, Father Seo, and the others.
There had even been the unfortunate incident of the Chairman grabbing the back of his neck at Seo Ye-in’s sudden marriage declaration.
If she had brought up the kissing too, I think he would have collapsed.
Still, I would have to tell him someday.
As I waited for a while with that thought in mind, the train arrived, and we immediately boarded it and took seats in an empty compartment.
“......”
Seo Ye-in stared silently out the window.
Then, when she saw the train begin to move, she slowly tilted her head toward me.
“Pillow.”
“We’ve barely even left. Already?”
“Comfortable.”
Meaning, she did not know about anything else, but it was comfortable, so she was going to use me as a pillow.
Her gray head slowly leaned toward my shoulder.
Normally, I would have gone, fine, whatever, and let her win, but this time I stopped her midway and said,
“This is not the time to sleep.”
“Why.”
“We need to prepare for midterms.”
“I see.”
Considering the train’s travel time, we would probably arrive sometime between Wednesday night and early Thursday morning.
That alone meant we were going in after losing more than a full day.
So at the very least, we needed to familiarize ourselves with the rules and environment in advance so we would not flounder there.
Seo Ye-in seemed to accept that, because she nodded slowly and brought a hand to her ear.
“Listening mode.”
“Good.”
I had been ready to get mad if she said something like, “Wake me when we arrive and tell me then,” but she did what she needed to do when it mattered.
I explained the midterm content according to what I had heard from Song Cheonhye and the others.
“First, they said the rules and environment are like this.”
MAP: [Great Forest]
RULE: [Fixed Zone(Variable)][Rank Up]
[Crystal][Item Card][Random Party]
Just like in first year, the entire grade would be thrown into a massive dungeon.
Since it was a great forest, the terrain would vary widely, and of course, it would be crawling with monsters.
“The most important rules are [Fixed Zone(Variable)] and [Rank Up].”
In a fixed zone, the ranks of all skills, traits, and equipment were fixed.
However, the word “variable” being attached meant that multiple ranks existed simultaneously within the Great Forest.
In one zone, ranks might be capped at E, then after moving for a while, the cap might become C, and if you moved a little in another direction, it might become F.
“[Rank Up] is appearing for the first time this time, but it isn’t difficult.”
At the start of the exam, everyone was F-rank, and you gradually raised yourself to E, then D, and so on.
Seo Ye-in tilted her head and asked,
“How do you raise it?”
“You have to use crystals or item cards.”
Of course, the certain method was the former.
As with the [Crystal] rule until now, you found an empty crystal and brought it to a “sanctuary.”
Once you charged it and brought it to a separate structure called an “altar,” you gained experience and ranked up.
As for item cards, some were used for rank-ups, but most existed to assist with attacks, defense, or convenience.
Even in the final exam at the end of first year, they had all sorts of effects, and to name a few of the regulars among them,
[Watch], which observed a target for a set period of time,
[Ejection], which sent targets in front of you flying to random locations,
[Duplication], which turned a designated card into two copies,
and [Protection], which blocked the effect of a card used by the opponent.
The details might differ slightly, but that was not something to worry about right now.
I continued explaining.
“They seem to be allowing parties freely.”
Who entered, and how many people entered together, was up to us.
It would be possible to form a party like Cha Hyeonju’s group, with one prospect-class member and many others attached as guards and support, and I expected the Discipline Committee would probably form parties among themselves.
“If you only hear this much, it sounds like numbers are all that matter, right?”
“Yeah.”
Variable or not, it was still a fixed zone, and the [Rank Up] rule existed too.
The larger the party, the more advantageous combat naturally became.
Of course, there was no way the academy side would not know that.
The condition they added because of that was...
“They divide the final score by the number of party members.”
For example, if a five-person party earned 1,000 points, each individual got 200 points.
If it was a four-person party, each person got 250.
There was a clear limit to the resources and points you could gain by moving around in a clump, so it was necessary to adjust the number of members appropriately.
“And returning to [Rank Up] again.”
“......?”
“You don’t necessarily need to raise everyone evenly.”
It was also possible to concentrate experience on a single party member.
Most people would choose that strategy.
After all, even if a whole truckload of first-years charged in, a few sword swings from Lee Sudok would sweep them all away, so one A-rank was far stronger than multiple C- and B-ranks.
“But if the rest are too weak, they can’t move around with you.”
For example, suppose a four-person party made up of A, F, F, F ranks clashed with B, C, B, C.
The former’s chance of winning would be much higher in itself, but all the F-ranks would be incapacitated.
Having the A-rank survive was better than being wiped out, but surprisingly, there was not that much one person could do alone.
“You also have to consider the fixed zones.”
What if an A, F, F, F party entered a C-rank fixed zone?
It would be the same as becoming a C, F, F, F party.
In that case, they would suffer major problems in item farming too, and if they ran into the B, C, B, C party from the earlier example, their defeat would be guaranteed.
Therefore, finding the right balance between “concentrating everything on one person” and “distributing evenly” was the key to this midterm.
Seo Ye-in nodded as if she understood, then asked another question.
“How many are we?”
“We’re going as a five-person party.”
Once the midterm contents had been revealed, I had already finished discussing things with the rest of our group through messages.
Go Hyeonwoo, Han Somi, and Hong Yeonhwa would enter first, and we would join them later to form a five-person party.
However, for now, since they had fewer people, their combat power in the fixed zones would be somewhat lacking.
I did not want to burden them, so I had sent a message about that too.
[Kim Ho: If it feels too hard, just add some other kids and go with them.]
[Hong Yeonhwa: No.]
[Hong Yeonhwa: I’ll wait.]
[Hong Yeonhwa: (dog guarding the house emoticon)]
[Hong Yeonhwa: But you have to come quickly......!]
That was the reply I got.
For some reason, I could picture a dog sitting in front of the door and endlessly staring outside.
For reference, Song Cheonhye was apparently forming a party with Jo Byeok, Geum Johan, Lee Seulbi, and the others.
She seemed disappointed deep down, but since she belonged to the Discipline Committee right now, it could not be helped.
As I was thinking that, a notification message appeared in the air.
[Sub Quest: Week 9–10 Midterms](In progress....)
[Will you use the ‘Challenge Book’?]