At my words, the guy started frantically waving his hands as if that would absolve him, but does he not realize he's only digging his own grave?

"What the hell are you talking about? Black God Cult? What Black God Cult?"

This idiot definitely got dumber after becoming a monster. It's obvious what's happening.

"You idiot, the sea urchin tattoo on the back of your neck is proof enough, you moron. Not to mention, you're practically drenched in demonic energy. Are you advertising your cult membership or something?"

This guy’s a classic case of someone becoming even more brain-dead after turning into a monster.

"You bitch! I swear I’ll violate you in the most humiliating way today!"
"Yeah, no thanks. Hard pass. Kyaruruk, kyaruruk."

Never thought I’d be spitting out words like that.
But, whatever. I’m a biological female anyway, so who cares?
It seems my words hit the mark, as he flew into a rage, his eyes bulging with blood vessels popping.

Losing his mind, the guy charged at me.

Clang!

At the same time, the flaming bat swung her trusty weapon, slamming it into his body. He flew like a shooting star, straight into the dungeon entrance.
Kim Ji-hye, covered in blood splatter from her baseball bat, looked every bit the formidable instructor she was.

"Nice strike, instructor. So, did you kill him?"
"I hit him pretty hard, but I need to figure out who’s behind him, so I didn’t kill him."

I already know who's behind him, though.

"So, how do we get him out of the dungeon?"
"That’s what my amazing subordinates are for, isn’t it? Now, let me give you all a new trial."

A trial? Is this woman insane?

"Enter the dungeon and bring back the monster named Kim Seungjun. If it’s too difficult, you can beat him within an inch of his life! If you succeed, I’ll give you all top marks!"

She’s just too lazy to deal with it herself.
She’s making the cadets handle a monster. Sure, if we defeat him, she’ll give us high scores, but the real reason is that she won’t have to teach us anymore.
She’s not a flaming bat; she’s just flaming garbage.
What kind of instructor sends first-year cadets to deal with a monster?
Kim Seungjun has already lost his mind. He’s likely waiting inside to ambush us the moment we enter.
This is life-threatening.

Expecting undertrained cadets to face off against a monster is like handing pitchforks to farmers and sending them against Genghis Khan’s Mongol horde.

"Instructor."
"What?"
"We don’t all need to go in, do we? If some of us die, it’s only your precious reputation that’ll be tarnished."

In the original story, more than half the cadets at Hansung Academy were killed by monsters.
Hansung Academy is one of the top three hunter academies in the country. If half the academy dies, along with similar casualties at other schools due to the Black God Cult’s attacks, the future becomes grim.
The author of the original liked to play with "what if" scenarios, creating multiple alternate endings.
For instance, in a timeline where fewer cadet casualties occur, future hunters are preserved, making it easier to deal with villains like the Chinese warlords.
In our case, it’s better if Reina, Hansooji, and I go into the dungeon. We need to save as many future hunters as possible.

"I suppose you’re right, but now I feel like the bad guy."
"You're not becoming the bad guy; you already are."
"Ahem. Anyway, if you bring back Kim Seungjun, I’ll cancel the midterm exam for Class A."

Seems like she has some guilt, considering the generous offer.

"Do you think we can really beat the monster?"
"Kim Seungjun already got whacked by the bat. We’ll manage somehow."

It’s just a dream anyway. Might as well go for it.

"Yaaay!"
"Let’s do this!"

The naive cadets cheered.
The rest of the class had already entered their respective dungeons, so it was just me, Reina, and Hansooji entering our dungeon.
That doesn’t mean the rest of the class is weak.
Class A is filled with special recommendations and talented cadets, many of whom are affiliated with guilds or from prestigious families.
Of course, I’m also here because I’m the sister of the Divine Sword user, which got me placed in Class A to begin with.
Not going into the dungeon wouldn’t have made a difference.

"So, it’ll be me, Reina, and Hansooji going in, right?"
"Yeah, that sounds better."

Honestly, if Choi Siwoo had been in our group, taking care of Kim Seungjun wouldn’t have been too hard. Even with just Reina, we could’ve come up with a plan.
But since the instructor insisted on "balance," I ended up in this ragtag group. Now that Kim Seungjun’s in the dungeon, taking along the wielder of a mythic-grade weapon and the descendant of elves seems like the best bet.

"Let’s get Bbeommi-jang to come along too."

I gathered Reina, Hansooji, and our magic girl, Kim Bbeommi.

"On this side, we have Reina, who uses Spirit Arrows, and Hansooji, the fiery spear wielder. This is Bbeommi-jang, the mascot of the Reform Guild. Her real name is Kim Bbeommi. She and I went through a dungeon together before."
"Hawawa, my name’s Kim Bbeommi! Nice to meet you all!"

Bbeommi introduced herself with a shy smile. Reina and Hansooji exchanged puzzled glances before speaking.

"When did that happen?"
"When I was absent from school."

Reina tilted her head in confusion, but Hansooji narrowed her eyes and glared at me.
What’s her deal?
Is she mad because I kissed her and then brought another girl along? That’s ridiculous.
In nature, the most capable male always has multiple females.
Even though I’m Yoonha in body, my heart is still that of a guy who likes girls. I can’t let myself be tied down by Hansooji.

"Now, let me explain Kim Seungjun’s situation. Unless he has some hidden unique ability, he’s just an idiot who uses body enhancement."

The real issue is his improved magic control. For some reason, I created a dragon instead of a sphere.
Depending on how well he controls his body enhancements, he might be stronger than in the original.
If I had Reina in the group, the plan was to use the other two as meat shields and work together with her to take him down.
With Hansooji and Reina in our party, we’ll have to rely on them to deal the finishing blow.

"Hawawa, who are we catching again?"
"A cadet who became a monster by embedding a monster core."
"Hoee, so it’s the monster who went into the dungeon earlier?"
"Yes."
"Can I take the core after we defeat him?"

No, of course not. That would kill him. We need to capture him alive and interrogate him.
That way, we can delve deeper into the Black God Cult storyline and flesh out the story.

"The Hunter Association will probably get involved too, since this is a monster incident."
"Hawawa, that’s a shame. But don’t worry, Bbeommi-jang will still help White-haired sis!"

I was starting to get used to Bbeommi’s weird speech patterns, but Reina and Hansooji’s faces twisted in disgust.
They were clearly wondering why I was associated with such a strange girl.

"She’s a good person, okay?"
"So that’s the kind of girl you’re into?"
"What kind of misunderstanding is this? She’s doing this to improve her magic skills, nothing more."

Bbeommi is a conditional ability user, that’s all. She may have a strange way of speaking, but her power is no joke.
She’s definitely a C-rank hunter at least.
It’s just her strange speech pattern that’s the problem.

"Hawawa, Bbeommi-jang is Bbeommi-jang, you know."
"See?"

Even though I tried to explain it clearly, Bbeommi-jang completely missed the point, like always.
But mark my words—I’ll eventually expose the Reform Guild for all the shady things they’ve done.

Goblin Maze Dungeon

The Goblin Maze Dungeon is structured like a forest.
Typically, the boss would be a goblin chief or goblin mage—just your standard low-level monsters. But now, Kim Seungjun is probably the boss.
It’s only logical. No matter how bad he is at controlling the monster’s power, he should’ve taken down the goblin boss by now.

"So, in this practice dungeon, we’ll encounter goblins and horned rabbits."
"Horned rabbits? Those cute little rabbits with horns?"
"Be careful. They could bash in your skull and kill you."

Goblins and horned rabbits—both are among the weakest of monsters.
I don’t need to explain what goblins are. They’re the classic weak enemies you find in most games and fantasy stories.
Horned rabbits, on the other hand, are rabbits with a horn like a unicorn.
They might look cute, but they’re vicious little creatures. If you get too close, they’ll tear you apart, or if they’re in a group, they’ll leave nothing but bones.

"Hawawa, look! There’s a horned rabbit over there!"

Sure enough, not far ahead, a horned rabbit with glowing red eyes was staring at us.

"Seriously? You’re a hunter, and you’re getting excited over that?"
"Fireball!"

Before I could even say anything, Bbeommi threw a fireball at the horned rabbit.

"Huh?"
"It’s cooked!"

In an instant, the horned rabbit was engulfed in flames and turned into a roasted meal. Bbeommi cheered at having created food.
But there’s no way we’re eating that. It’s burnt to a crisp, fur and all, with the insides still intact.

"Bbeommi-jang, that’s a no-go. Toss it."
"Okay."

Bbeommi obediently pouted and discarded the charred rabbit.
Where did Kim Seungjun go?
If he’s deeper in the dungeon, then dealing with the goblins and horned rabbits is going to be a pain. The deeper we go, the more we’ll run into them.

"Screeech!"
"Ew, it’s a filthy goblin."

We encountered a group of goblins.
Their lecherous gazes scanned our bodies.
Oh, great. These guys definitely want to use us to satisfy their perverted desires.
Based on everything I’ve seen in fiction, these goblins are probably getting aroused just looking at us.
Their eyes practically undressed me, and I could feel my blood boiling in rage.

"Where do you filthy goblins think you’re looking?"
"Y-yeah, you perverts! How dare you stare at us like that!"

Hansooji, who had been glancing at my chest along with the goblins, suddenly flared up, igniting her spear and aiming it at them.
Reina’s Spirit Arrows pierced through the goblins’ necks.
Hansooji’s flaming spear exploded their heads.
Bbeommi-jang roasted them with her fire magic.
And I just stood back, watching the show.

"Wow, you ladies are amazing."

I gave them a round of applause.

"Wait a minute, why aren’t you helping? We’re out here killing goblins!"
"Yeah, stop smoking back there and pitch in!"
"Hawawa!"

I mean, it’s just too much effort. Besides, I need to conserve my strength for the fight against Kim Seungjun.
But these girls are all Choi Siwoo’s heroines.
Hansooji, maybe not, but Reina’s probably crushing on Choi Siwoo, even if she’s not showing it.
If they defeat Kim Seungjun and run to Choi Siwoo to tell him, it’ll just create more hassle for me.
I placed a hand on each of their shoulders and quietly whispered.

"I trust you two. You’re strong enough to handle goblins on your own."

At my words, both Reina and Hansooji’s faces turned bright red.
Hansooji scratched her head with a shy grin, while Reina suddenly squeezed her legs together, standing demurely as if trying to flirt.
Even Bbeommi-jang reacted, her eyes sparkling as she trembled.

"You’re so commanding!"

Looks like I’ve gained another heroine.
Why, though? Why does this keep happening?