A Veteran Teaches Very Well - Chapter 54



part 54

Even in the game, when I had NPCs analyze high-difficulty dungeons, they often returned with terrible reports.

“Tsk, now that I see it, the quality of the report is awful. There’s nothing recorded in seconds.”

I was used to this kind of work, but for them, analyzing a dungeon through footage was a first, so such a mistake was understandable.

Still, considering their reputation as the world’s top experts, it was disappointing.

Jeongal So-yeon asked.

“Master… do you usually do it this way?”

“Do it this way, how?”

“Like, analyzing the footage while timing it down to the second….”

“No. Surely not?”

“Ah, I see.”

“If you measure so imprecisely, errors will occur, and you won’t get accurate data. You need to include decimal points.”

“Y-Yes?”

“If you’ve had a habit of measuring in seconds until now, you should correct it.”

There was no color in Jeongal So-yeon’s expression.

It seemed that the air in the room was chilly for her.

She slowly opened her mouth.

“Ah, but… Master, you didn’t just rewind the video or slow it down; you watched it at four times speed. And you said you analyzed it down to the decimal point?”

“That’s a strange question. That’s basic, isn’t it?”

“Is that so…?”

Lee Ye-eun whispered into Jeongal So-yeon’s ear.

“That’s just how the professor is. You need to get used to it.”

It was a statement I couldn’t quite grasp, but if she was going to whisper, I wished she would at least do it quietly enough that I couldn’t hear.

“Anyway, rather than clashing unnecessarily, it’s better to avoid confrontation and just go around. The third red seawater is…”

That is the ‘red current.’

I had seen it so many times in the game that I already knew the solution, but it would be strange to act like I knew here, so I played dumb for now.

“…Since the information we have is lacking, we need to see it directly. After deploying the raid party, let’s investigate the strategy a bit more thoroughly.”

Saying that the information was lacking was a lie.

This place was filled with the world’s top experts.

It wasn’t a good idea to unravel information from sources that couldn’t be disclosed.

“Now, let’s look at Stage 2. Stage 2 doesn’t have minor traps, but the monsters’ levels are high. With the current firepower of the raid party, it will be tough.”

“So what should we do?”

“We need to gather all the firepower we can. We’ll assemble a new party with the dealers from the three parties. The rest will support them.”

“Y-yes?”

Jeongal So-yeon was surprised. She strongly opposed it.

“That’s ridiculous! Gathering all the dealers in one place goes against the basic principles of strategy!”

“It’s fine. There are no enemies specialized in ranged attacks, so the dealer party won’t be exposed to threats.”

“Still, in real combat, there’s always a possibility of ‘what if.’ It’s better to keep a few tanks close…”

“That would be more dangerous. If the dealer party has too many numbers, they’ll easily attract aggro. The melee classes should stay far away and work hard to draw aggro away from the dealers.”

“Ugh, I understand.”

Jeongal So-yeon looked half-convinced, but for now, she nodded.

Half of her was persuaded by my logic, and the other half had no alternatives.

Jeongal So-yeon and I continued discussing the detailed composition.

Lee Ye-eun initially tried to chime in a little, but when she couldn’t keep up, she just stood by and watched quietly.

A considerable amount of time passed, and the strategy was complete.

Clunk—

The sound of the door opening echoed.

Edeline entered.

“Professor, it’s time for the raid party to depart.”

“Understood.”

From now on, it truly begins.

* * *

The heroes summoned for the first raid gathered.

I began the tactical briefing before them.

“Temporary designation: Pacific Dungeon. This is an underwater dungeon. You all may not be familiar with it. You will board this destroyer and set off on your expedition.”

One of the heroes raised a question.

“Isn’t it impossible to operate the engine inside the dungeon?”

“Yes. It is impossible.”

Murmurs—

The room buzzed at my response.

The hero who first asked the question pressed on.

“Then how are we supposed to move the destroyer?”

“We’ll have to pull it ourselves. The warriors will take turns rowing or swimming while dragging the ship through the water.”

Another hero chimed in.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to use a wizard’s magic to move it?”

“The wizards have other important tasks to attend to. They don’t have the magic or mana to waste on pulling a ship. It’s the warrior classes with relatively more leeway who need to step up.”

Yet another hero inquired.

“Then is it impossible to create an engine using magic stones as materials?”

“Where would such technology come from? Who would even think of taking a ship into a dungeon?”

The response came from another hero.

Using magic stones to build a ship was a good idea, but the problem was that the research would take too long, so it was discarded.

Even if we started research now, we wouldn’t complete it by the time the dungeon raid was over.

For reference, this is also one of the research projects that future Lee Ye-eun will create.

I continued with the briefing.

“Inside the dungeon, there are a total of 11 types of monsters. The distributed materials have their characteristics well organized, so please refer to them.”

“They look pretty strong, don’t they?”

“They’re grotesque. A monster with tentacles, how disgusting.”

“Why? I think it’s cute.”

“Cute? What’s wrong with its head?”

The heroes each expressed their own impressions.

A party composed of S-rank heroes who had experienced everything from various countries.

They had all ruled their nations like kings and had always led the charge in dungeon raids.

Their egos were just as strong, and if they deemed my opinion unreasonable, they could easily rebel and dismantle the party.

It was impossible to assert authority and reputation in front of them.

I had to convince them solely through logic.

Could I persuade them?

This was the critical moment.

If I couldn’t convince them, the party would fall apart, and the raid would fail.

If that happened, my standing in the expedition would be over.

The consequences would lead to the collapse of America.

I had to make them understand.

I needed to present my logic and make them follow me.

“I will now begin the briefing on the dungeon raid strategy.”

* * *

Inside the strategy room.

Daniel, the head of the American Hero Association, watched Cha Eun-woo with interest.

“From the moment we enter, we can pass through the first two minutes without any crisis. We will encounter the first enemy as early as 2 minutes and 10 seconds, or as late as 2 minutes and 30 seconds.”

“Very detailed.”

“Hmm.”

Cha Eun-woo.

The professor from the East, called by the guild master of the Unicorn.

Since Daniel became the chairman, the relationship between the Hero Association and the Unicorn Guild had been at its worst.

Because of that, Daniel did not regard him with a favorable eye.

Moreover, he knew that Cha Eun-woo had written an impressive paper, but after all, he was just a mere professor.

—

After all, there was no way he had the ability to achieve anything in a dungeon raid of this scale.

That’s why I had no intention of using him in a key role.

But then──

‘Communication magic? What’s that?’

‘It was created by that professor from Korea.’

‘What’s so great about it that you’re making such a fuss?’

‘It’s a groundbreaking tool that can cut the expected duration of this expedition in half, which we estimated to be a month.’

From noble mtl dot come

‘Is it really that impressive?’

──That Korean professor had created something extraordinary.

Daniel was a born politician.

He was confident in his ability to make anyone look foolish.

Just like with the unicorn, he thought it would be easy to do the same with Cha Eun-woo.

‘I should give him the most difficult task.’

‘The most difficult task, you say?’

‘I’ll assign him to lead the first raid party.’

The party members were inexperienced, and there was insufficient information.

No matter how skilled they were, success was unlikely.

Tactics were about maximizing the party’s capabilities.

No matter how great, one could not create something from nothing.

Originally, this was a place prepared for that arrogant little brat, Zhuge So-yeon, but Cha Eun-woo’s presence was even more bothersome than that brat’s.

‘Hehe, I’m looking forward to this.’

No matter how skilled he was, it would be impossible.

There were times I thought that way.

But then, why?

The situation progressed in a strange direction.

“This is the crucial part. You’ll probably enter the third zone between 1 hour 10 minutes 21 seconds at the earliest and 25 minutes 3 seconds at the latest.”

“Yes, yes.”

“At that moment, there will be area attacks, so the dealers shouldn’t cluster together. Spread out as much as possible to disperse the aggro. Then, the two tanks need to take all the aggro. Can you do that?”

“It’ll be tough, but I’ll try.”

“Good. I believe you’ll do well since you’re S-rank heroes.”

—

Daniel, who was not an awakener, did not know much about heroes.

However, as the president of the Hero Association, he had heard and seen a lot.

For someone like Daniel, this was a first.

Cha Eun-woo’s briefing was something truly special.

The tactics that meticulously broke down time and analyzed actions to the second, designating what needed to be done, were unlike anything he had ever seen or heard before.

The orders that specified even the few meters of distance party members should maintain from each other were almost a work of art.

“It doesn’t make sense at first, but when you break it down, it all seems possible, doesn’t it?”

“Wow, that’s insane. It’s like he’s not even human, but some kind of machine.”

One by one, the members of the raid party showered him with praise.

Daniel felt a twinge of anxiety.

Everything seemed like it would unfold exactly as Cha Eun-woo said.

“Hmm.”

Daniel let out a heavy sigh.

With a worried expression, he turned to Christian.

“Commander Christian, what do you think the chances are that Professor Cha’s tactics will work?”

“…Every little detail has its reasoning. Everything fits perfectly. Their chances of success don’t seem low.”

“Ah. That’s quite good to hear.”

“Yes. It’s indeed a good thing.”

The smooth progress of the strategy was good news for the president of the American Hero Association and the commander of the expedition.

But despite their words, their expressions were cold.

It was good to tackle the dungeon.

However, the involvement of the unicorn side made tackling the dungeon a terrifying prospect.

“I think we should wait a bit longer.”

While the atmosphere among Daniel and several key figures in America had dampened, the morale of the other heroes soared to new heights.

In particular, the excitement of the first raid party heading out reached its peak.

The commander of the raid, Li Xiaow, spoke.

“Brothers! We may differ in nationality and race, but we are united in purpose here. To protect humanity! Let’s go out and fight! And return victorious!”

As Li Xiaow’s brief speech concluded, the heroes climbed aboard the destroyer.

The destroyer sliced through the water with ease.

The progress of the raid could be confirmed by everyone through video magic.

They advanced with the same momentum as at the beginning.

─First zone, faced a giant octopus!

─Octopus cut!

─Current time: 2 minutes 40 seconds!

It was a good start.

The party members moved according to Cha Eun-woo’s instructions.

And just as Cha Eun-woo had said, monsters and traps awaited them.

─11 minutes 42 seconds. Entering the second zone!

─Be careful below! Just proceed slowly.

Everything moved exactly as Cha Eun-woo had designed.

It felt like running a well-crafted program.

“Remarkable. It’s really happening just as you said, isn’t it?”

“Perfect, without a single error.”

However, the heroes of the raid were not as flawless as Cha Eun-woo.

They occasionally made mistakes.

─Right side is breached! Sorry!

─Uh, uh-oh! If we let that through…

“It’s okay. Don’t panic.”

Cha Eun-woo held a mana stone imbued with communication magic.

His voice was calm, soothing the hearts of those listening.

“Everyone, focus on your roles. If one person falters, it will all collapse like dominoes. Keita, you just need to come out in 40 seconds. The northeastern defense that you were supposed to handle will be taken care of by Wang Sheng.”

With precise instructions, Cha Eun-woo minimized the impact of the mistakes.

His ability to strategize was not the only thing that stood out; his quick response skills were impressive as well.

─Look, I see red seawater!

─Professor, what should we do?

“Can we increase the mana stone’s magnification to observe the seawater in detail?”

─That should be easy.

“Try using synthesis magic. With purification magic and water attribute magic.”

─Will that really work? I’ll give it a shot… Oh, what is this? It’s disappearing nicely!

Cha Eun-woo effortlessly resolved even the unknown traps.

Everything was in the palm of his hand.

“There was such talent in Asia.”

“The dormant dragon lying by the calm waters has begun to soar into the sky!”

Daniel’s intuition screamed.

This strategy was successful.

“A dormant dragon, a dormant dragon… Hmm, I need to change the plan.”

While everyone was focused on Cha Eun-woo and the strike team, Daniel moved outside unnoticed.

Deep within the cabin, in a certain storage room.

There, the association’s executive, Andrew, was waiting.

“Andrew, what do you think of Professor Cha?”

Director Andrew.

A man who had once served as a Class S hero in the United States before retiring and joining the Hero Association.

Meeting him was a great fortune for Daniel.

Thanks to Andrew playing the role of a bridge, Daniel was able to easily establish his position in the hero society.

Andrew was, in fact, the primary reason Daniel became the association president.

Moreover, he communicated with Daniel better than anyone else.

“It was a mistake to assign the first strike team to that author.”

“And what then?”

“Rather, we should have pushed him to the rear. Given his significant achievements in magical research, it would have been more fitting to say he belongs in the lab. Now he has become such a colossal presence that we can no longer touch him.”

Andrew looked extremely anxious about Cha Eun-woo’s success.

Daniel clicked his tongue.

Even Andrew, who seemed like the ideal subordinate, had one flaw.

His thinking was too one-dimensional.

“Heh, why do you think Professor Cha shouldn’t succeed?”

“Well, he is a person of the unicorn, isn’t he?”

“A unicorn? Hmph. That’s still just a shallow connection. It can be easily severed.”

“Surely….”

“We’ll make Professor Cha our ally.”

Stirring discord was also one of Chairman Daniel’s specialties.

The relationship between Cha Eun-woo and the Unicorn Guild had already been investigated.

Aside from receiving help from Professor Cha once at the Unicorn Guild, there was nothing else.

This meant there was no basis to definitively label him as one of the Unicorn’s people.

After creating a suitable distance, it was time to entice him just enough.

Positions in the Hero Association or high-ranking roles in major guilds, or even a professorship at a prestigious academy in the United States could easily be handed to him.

Then, Cha Eun-woo’s achievements would also become one of Chairman Daniel’s accomplishments, ensuring a landslide victory in the next presidential election.

“Hehe, I can’t wait. Edeline, I wonder what that little brat’s expression will be… Gah!”

His stomach felt hot.

For a moment, Daniel’s thoughts came to a halt.

He couldn’t grasp what was happening.

“What is… this…?”

Daniel discovered an arm protruding from his own stomach.

Even with his slowing thought process, he could easily comprehend the situation.

An arm is coming out of my stomach? That can’t be.

An arm had pierced through his back and emerged from his abdomen.

“I’m sorry. I thought you and the chairman would be on the same page.”

“Andrew… you little brat…!”

“I’m sorry, Chairman. If we leave Professor Cha as he is, I feel like this dungeon raid will end too blandly.”

“W-what do you mean…?”

“The raid on the Pacific Dungeon shouldn’t end easily.”

Daniel’s vision began to blur.

The last thing he saw was Andrew, wearing a ring engraved with the symbol SH.

Ah, so that was it.

The subordinate he had trusted, Andrew, had betrayed him.

No, perhaps he had from the very beginning…

“America, America is in danger…”

Those were the last words left by Chairman Daniel.

For the president of the Hero Association, known as the guardians of the world, it was a pitiful end.

Chapter 6. Raid (1)