Ch. 65

- It was a flawless evaluation with no unnecessary elements.

- You've fulfilled your duty as expected of a Gatekeeper.

- Required value section has been updated.

Just as I was catching my breath beside the now headless lizard Alpha, an undeniably congratulations message suddenly appeared.

TN: Congratulations... Congratulations... Congratulations... if anyone got the reference hahaha.

Required value section update. This is exactly what I needed most right now.

I had barely managed to conclude student evaluations to end the required value's waiting period. Then suddenly, the required value section displayed question marks instead of numbers.

After that, no matter how many evaluations I conducted or how many times I performed Gatekeeper duties, the question marks never disappeared to reveal actual numbers.

'Has the question mark finally been removed?'

◎ Number Blocked : 97 ( 97 / ??? )

...It's still the same? No matter how much I examine it, it remains unchanged. The only difference is that the number has increased by one... wait a minute. Could it be that the number that was 96 yesterday has been updated to 97?

'No, really. That can't be it. Shit, no way. That can't possibly be it.'

This is a message that has never appeared during my time as a Gatekeeper. If this appears for doing evaluations well, it should have appeared at least once before.

I was certain there must be something else, that this couldn't be the end.

But increasingly, it's starting to feel like that's exactly what it means.

"Sigh."

I've forgotten another life motto. They say if you have expectations, you'll be betrayed. If you don't have expectations, you can't be betrayed.

I sat back down and looked around. Having defeated the boss, the dungeon should now be recognized as cleared. And by now, the students' battles should have concluded too.

"Examiner!"

As I expected, in less than two minutes, Kang Hana appeared. Behind her, I could see students who, though not in great shape, were thankfully walking on their own.

"I'm over here."

I raised my hand slightly to greet the approaching Kang Hana, when—

"Are you insane?!"

Something darted out from behind Kang Hana. It moved so fast that even Kang Hana paused with an "Eh?" sound.

For a moment, I thought it was a monster. I thought I was being ambushed. The one rushing towards me, looking ready to grab my collar, was...

"Student D-Dasom! What's wrong?"

"Are you crazy?! No matter how skilled you are, how could you disappear without saying anything! And then go alone without anyone to support you! What if you had gotten hurt!"

Yoo Dasom, usually full of mischief and always smiling. Now she was completely serious and angry.

"Um, Student Dasom. I'm sorry, but this was unavoidable..."

"What if you had been seriously injured? Do you know how miserable the healing staff feels when that happens?!"

At that moment, I could see it. The urgency in Yoo Dasom's eyes. That was a look only someone who had 'lost something' before could show.

Despite healing and saving so many people, Yoo Dasom herself was still holding onto someone she couldn't save.

"...Don't do that again next time. Absolutely not."

Only after saying that did Yoo Dasom step back a few paces. Then she quickly checked my body and sighed in relief.

I deliberately ignored the slight trembling I noticed in that sigh.

"Ahem."

Kang Hana, who had been watching Yoo Dasom, finally joined the conversation.

"Dasom is right. We were so shocked when you disappeared during battle. We were so worried that we even searched the ground thinking you might have collapsed somewhere."

"Didn't you think I might have run away?"

At that, Kang Hana shook her head with an "As if!" exclamation. It feels awkward when a joke is met with such a serious response.

"How are the students' conditions?"

"There were some injuries, but Dasom and other support types treated them all."

"That's a relief. It was a bit touch-and-go during the battle."

Glancing at the students, they clearly show signs of having gone through a tough time. Fatigue that hasn't been fully wiped away clings to their faces.

"Um, Examiner."

Kang Hana, who had been reading the atmosphere, cautiously opened her mouth.

"This monster, it's the boss monster, right?"

"Yes. It was the Alpha. Lizardman King or something. Anyway."

"By any chance... was the boss, like the lizardmen we fought earlier..."

The question being: was it much stronger than expected, like the others? To that, I erased my smile and put on a serious expression.

"Yes. This one too was completely different from what we've been told."

"I knew it... so it wasn't just those specific specimens that were unusual!"

Kang Hana clenched her fists as if she had expected this.

More precisely, rather than calling them unusual specimens, it's more accurate to say they've changed. And this change will gradually become more widespread and significant.

Right now, this phenomenon has only appeared in the later monsters and the boss. But as time passes, all monsters will change like this. Becoming stronger, faster, and more ferocious.

From there, only adapting ability users will survive. Those who can't will simply perish, just like during the initial Gate crisis.

"So... if it weren't for you, Examiner, our third squad might have been in serious trouble."

"Eh?"

"Think about it. Imagine a boss monster, much stronger than usual, attacking from behind while we were already preoccupied with battle. If that had happened, maybe... ugh!"

Kang Hana shuddered as if the mere thought was terrifying. The other students seemed to agree, whispering "That's true" among themselves.

"Thank you, Examiner. Thanks to you, we could focus on our battle without additional danger."

"No. This was just what I had to do. And actually, I acted on my own, so instead..."

"That was the best choice at that moment. Even Dasom will understand. Right?"

Kang Hana's words made me feel a bit strange, and I just scratched my cheek. That alone made me feel embarrassed, but suddenly the students' sparkling eyes focused on me.

Feeling like I was receiving some strange attention, I quickly changed the subject.

"Anyway, since we've cleared the dungeon, let's exit promptly. We need to report what happened today, and most importantly, I'm worried about what situations the first and second squads might have encountered."

"Ah! You're right. There's no guarantee only our area was affected like this..."

Yoo Dasom, startled, began urging everyone to leave quickly. She doesn't usually have that character, so she clearly has some history.

*

"What's going on? Why are you so late coming out!"

"Oh. Why do you all look like that?"

After rushing out of the dungeon with all sorts of worries about the first and second squads, what we encountered were the perfectly fine students of those squads.

Seeing the completely disheveled third squad students, they showed bewildered reactions. But the more bewildered ones were probably our students.

"Hey, were you guys okay?"

"What do you mean? The dungeon? Except for the annoying swamp area, everything was fine."

"No, no! The monsters! The lizardmen!"

"What about them? Why? Were there more archers and shamans?"

"No! I mean! Weren't there any creatures that were much stronger than normal specimens on your side!"

In response to the third squad students' questions, the first and second squad students shook their heads. They said even the boss monster, Alpha, was exactly the same as they had faced before.

"What's wrong? Did something happen to you?"

Receiving a barrage of questions from our side, the two squads also sensed something was amiss.

"What happened? Oh yeah!! The lizardmen on our side suddenly became incredibly strong!"

"I seriously thought I was going to die. Like, when it struck once, I thought my arm was going to fall off."

"Are you sure you haven't been slacking off in training? That's what it looks like to me."

"Oh, come on! I'm not joking right now. It was really serious."

The first to sense the gravity were the Platinum-ranked students who led each squad. After listening to the students' conversation, they turned their gaze towards me. Their eyes asked if this was real, not just a joke.

"Everything the third squad students are saying is true. The monsters on our side were different from the usual specimens."

"Um... really?"

"But our side was just the same as always..."

Well, that's because the monster mega-transformation hasn't fully begun yet. A kind of transition period. And our third squad just had bad luck during this period.

'The problem is, there's no guarantee it was only this dungeon.'

We need to return to the Academy quickly. I hope nothing similar has happened among the other teams.

"Are you finished?"

The ability user we greeted earlier waves at us from up ahead. From his appearance and that of the other ability users, they don't seem to have had a tough time. They, like the first and second squads, don't seem to have experienced the transformation.

"Good work, Examiner. But... why is the third squad in that condition?"

"Well..."

I hesitated briefly, wondering if I should be honest. What if my words cause unnecessary confusion?

But I soon made a decision. They need to know the current situation to prepare for it.

"Actually, the thing is..."

And at that point, my memory suddenly cuts off.

*

"What exactly happened?"

Another Platinum-ranked student approached Kang Hana. In response, Kang Hana took a breath and explained what had happened in the dungeon.

At first, when they engaged the monsters, they were identical to the usual specimens.

But the lizardmen they encountered later were completely different from the others. They even withstood her magic attacks, she said.

"...Is that even possible?"

"It shouldn't be. But it really happened. That's why the other students, me, and the Examiner..."

Kang Hana's words were cut short before she could finish. There was a loud noise, and then they were caught in an explosion.

Despite this, true to their Platinum rank, both Kang Hana and her fellow student managed to cast defensive magic at the last moment.

An unexpected, sudden event that no one predicted.

But Kang Hana and the Platinum-ranked students' response was incredibly fast.

"Combat ready!"

After completing a dungeon subjugation, there was only one group who would cause such a situation. It was the appearance of villains, whose activity had sharply increased recently.

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