Chapter 56

With a thunderous boom, system windows flooded the screen one after another.

No one in Korea would believe that someone sliced off over 60% of an SS-rank boss monster’s HP with a single sword strike.

But with buffs, nothing is impossible.

Control? Stats? Of course they’re important. But in a fight between equals, the decisive factor was something else.

Novice dealers might think they’re great at dealing damage, but any decent dealer knew the truth.

Damage is created by buffs!

“What is the meaning of this during sacred class time?!”

The Math Teacher’s sharp voice rang out amid the sound of the classroom wall shattering.

Sorry, Teacher!

It just seemed faster to take you down than to clear the exam papers!

Hunter So Yeri’s ice prison-like skill poured into the spot where Shin Jae-heon had brought his sword down.

Shin Jae-heon’s buff window sprang back to life.

They were going to finish it off right here.

It wouldn’t match the explosive ‘opening damage’ from the start of the fight, but with plenty of buffs still active, piling on more damage now to end the boss was the better play.

—KABOOM!

The deafening roar made it hard to tell if they were slashing the boss or demolishing the building.

A cheerful system window was overlaid by a glaring red one.

“What the hell is that?!”

Hunter So Yeri and I screamed in unison.

I could see Hunter Joo Yian’s face go pale as she was casting her heal skill.

Joo Yian handled it quickly, but the situation wasn’t good.

“SS+?”

Not a curse. That’s what it said. But it was curse-worthy.

“If it reaches the same floor, my skills won’t be able to dispel it.”

Joo Yian said, her face ashen white.

—Boom! Kaboom boom!

In the meantime, Shin Jae-heon’s HP gauge was dropping and refilling repeatedly.

The Math Teacher was clearly dealing insane damage.

That was the moment I thought that.

“I told you! Not to fool around! During class!”

The Furious Math Teacher’s voice boomed thunderously.

—Thwack!

At the same time, Shin Jae-heon was sent flying back toward us.

That was when Joo Yian’s healing skill poured out from her hands.

—Rumble… boom!

Dust settled, revealing the Math Teacher’s silhouette.

“You punks!”

Thoroughly pissed off, it pulled out a massive compass the size of a person.

The needle alone was as long as a person’s palm? We must have poked the wrong bear.

Our four faces turned sheet-white in that instant.

What’s a reach? Kropul’s food spots?

Before we could even be surprised, damage hit and our vision turned red.

As countless buffs were stripped away, strength drained from my body.

At that moment, the 4th-floor floor we were standing on caved in with a thud.

“Waaah!”

Joo Yian’s healing enveloped me as I screamed, filling my HP, but the situation was still on a knife’s edge.

“Th-the dean’s coming! Run!”

Our bodies lifted into the air along with the system window.

Being on the 4th floor doesn’t help if it’s coming up!

A massive roar from below, followed by the Student Dean’s lightning-like voice.

“What the hell are you doing at school?!”

Damage came with every syllable. This was no joke.

“We absolutely can’t tangle with the Student Dean.”

That was when Shin Jae-heon said it with a grave expression.

Target? What’s that?

The moment we widened our eyes.

“Huh?”

A massive targeting reticle, like something from a missile lock-on, overlaid Hunter So Yeri.

“It’s a missile or something!”

Hunter So Yeri freaked out.

“I’ll head far away for now!”

She dropped us off in a suitable hallway on the 4th floor, turned, and seemed headed for the window.

“I’ll go with you!”

Hunter Joo Yian hurriedly followed her.

Not knowing what the Discipline skill did, it made sense for the healer to go along.

Splitting up in an SS-rank dungeon was never ideal, but with the Math Teacher gunning for Shin Jae-heon, having him join would only spell doom for So Yeri’s future.

“You scum! Where’d you go?!”

—KABOOM! Boom boom!

Because the Furious Math Teacher had leaped up after us.

“!”

Did this Math Teacher only study math? It jumped straight to the 4th floor in one bound.

Startled, Shin Jae-heon grabbed me and dodged.

“Where do you think you’re going?!”

—Crash!

The Math Teacher’s giant compass pulverized the hallway lockers.

“Taking that thing on is overkill.”

Shin Jae-heon said with a look of disgust.

“Still, with HP below 20%, one solid hit should do it.”

Even with just dealers, you can’t just nail the kill shot.

That was when I was thinking that.

“Who the fuck got a perfect score?!”

“Who leaves their answer sheet on the damn floor?!”

Expletives burst out simultaneously.

—Boom! Kaboom! Boom!

Meanwhile, beyond the window on the sports field, a giant hammer crashed down where Hunter So Yeri had passed.

Definitely the Student Dean’s skill.

“It came out because we wrecked the school!”

The Student Dean and Math Teacher are wrecking it more!

The rage level’s over 100!

—Boom!

As Shin Jae-heon grabbed me and dodged again, I clutched my head.

“We don’t have any perfect-score exam papers!”

Does that mean we just have to wait for that guy—er, that teacher—to calm down?

That was when the giant compass slashed the floor again.

Gazing at the wrecked hallway, a memory from ten years ago flashed by.

Back then, I really wanted to demolish the school… no, not that.

“Wait, won’t we automatically move to 4th-period classroom when 4th period starts?”

“Why?”

Shin Jae-heon asked, puzzled.

“This is our school.”

In an RP dungeon, location traits take priority. His expression changed at my words.

He looked back at me.

“True. If you skipped class and got caught, they’d drag you back to the classroom even if there were only three minutes left.”

No idea what penalty or scolding from which NPC, but it might be better than taking down the Math Teacher.

“So, we hold out until 4th period?”

Shin Jae-heon asked back.

Dodging attacks wasn’t hard, so even without Joo Yian, my HP gauge was nearly full.

“Then are we killing that thing?”

I countered. That teacher’s completely lost it?

I pointed at the Math Teacher charging with bloodshot glowing eyes.

“Or do you want to go get a perfect mock exam score?”

Shin Jae-heon pondered seriously at my words.

“With S-rank eyesight, cheating might be possible?”

“Then you should’ve cheated earlier!”

At that moment, the giant compass slammed down between us.

—Boom!

“!”

In my shock, I dodged in the exact opposite direction from Shin Jae-heon.

What the hell is that?! As I tried to turn toward Shin Jae-heon.

“Hey!”

I used to be S-rank too! As I scowled.

His chat appeared then vanished.

“No talking during class!”

The Math Teacher’s max-rage voice boomed right after.

The Hunter Chat was audible too?

Freaking out, I decided to scatter in the opposite direction as Shin Jae-heon said.

No way I’m getting a perfect math score anyway, and sticking by Shin Jae-heon was just asking to get smashed.

Of course, I wasn’t planning to just run blindly.

“If I can’t get a perfect score, just bring someone who can!”

But how?

With the Math Teacher this pissed, you think it’ll calm down with some academic chat from you?

Hoping for another way, I opened God’s Shop in the corner.

There it was—the answer.

“This is it!”

I clenched my fist tight.