The Academy’s Time Stop Player
chapter-36

"The children have left."

Inside the headmaster’s office at the Academy.

Choi Jungwon was leaning back, gazing at the night sky beyond the window.

"It’s tragic. The fact that adults, who should be protecting these children, are ineffectively sacrificing them..."

"Indeed."

Riella Harnis, seated on the sofa, nodded in agreement.

She quietly observed Choi Jungwon’s back as he sipped his tea.

For some reason, Riella felt she could guess what Choi Jungwon was thinking.

"That boy wasn’t there."

"Are you talking about the student Hajoon?"

"Yes. I’ll ask again. Do you still believe that he will replace you in the future?"

Choi Jungwon responded with silence.

After quietly observing Choi Jungwon for a moment, Riella spoke.

"I don’t think so."

"Hmm, why not?"

"I don’t think that boy can handle the burden of being a savior."

To save someone is not a choice, but a responsibility.

The more he saves as a hero, the more people will depend on him.

But that boy will be crushed by their faith.

He won’t be able to handle it.

That was his nature.

He seemed to desire a normal life, despite his power.

"Hiding his power must be why. You should already know this, Choi Jungwon. There’s no way you wouldn’t understand his nature."

He’s lazy and finds everything bothersome.

Looking at all the incidents he has resolved so far, he was merely swept into them.

Unless it directly harms him, he won’t move a muscle.

"I see, so that’s what you think."

And Choi Jungwon simply nodded.

He then turned to look at Riella.

"You..."

Choi Jungwon was smiling.

Riella narrowed her eyes and glared at Choi Jungwon at the sight.

"Riella..."

Choi Jungwon spoke.

Still smiling, he called out to Riella.

"Shall we have another bet?"

"What kind of bloody bet now?"

"It’s a bet on whether the boy will act or not."

"Damn it, you’re hopeless. Have you seen the future or something?"

In response to her words, Choi Jungwon slowly shook his head.

"I’m just... testing my fate."

"Your fate?"

"Yes. If the boy doesn’t act, then as you said, I would be wrong, wouldn’t I? What do you say?"

"And what are the stakes?"

Choi Jungwon moved closer and whispered faintly into her ear, a whisper meant for her alone.

The moment she heard his words, Riella’s eyes bulged as she glared viciously at Choi Jungwon.

"You damn snake..."

The clock struck midnight.

Using his Time Stop (SSS), Hajoon stealthily ventured outside, reaching the site where the Dimensional Dungeon had erupted.

He stopped before the police line, observing the scene with curiosity.

’It would be great if the others could come as well...’

Notably, he dared not contact Liam or Anna via the Alliance.

After all, the two were mythic-level Artifact users in America and a princess in Britain, respectively.

Even if they agreed to help, it was certain that both the American and British royal families would oppose it.

As for Haruna Ruel, she couldn’t be reached at all.

Considering her circumstances, it was understandable.

’Well, that should be enough, I suppose.’

Han Siyoung, Lee Joohee, and Yoo Seolah.

Additionally, the top and runner-up students from the second grade, as well as the runner-up from the third grade.

The crème de la crème of the Korean Hero Association were all gathered.

He didn’t expect them to fail, at the very least.

"But, what about her?"

My gaze settled on Yoo Seolah.

For some unknown reason, she was sending a text with a gloomy expression.

-Beep. Beep. A notification sounded from Hajoon’s phone.

Pulling out his phone, Hajoon checked the message.

A small smile escaped him as he read the text.

[You’re not coming, are you? I signed up thinking you’d be there. I’m scared to death ㅠㅠ]

It was from Yoo Seolah.

She was acting charmingly nonchalant.

Hajoon promptly replied with a text.

[Nope. Not going.]

[I think it would be reassuring if you were there...]

[Stick right next to Han Siyoung. You won’t die that way.]

[Still, if it’s dangerous, you have to come. Okay?]

[I’ll think about it.]

Hajoon grinned as he pocketed his phone.

Then, about ten minutes later.

The children, having finished their preparations, finally began entering the dungeon.

As they boldly marched towards the entrance of the dungeon, a commotion ensued around them.

Some shouted cheers of encouragement, some joined their hands in prayer, and the press began a ceaseless volley of camera shutter clicks.

Hajoon stared blankly at the spectacle before muttering,

"It’s time to go."

He turned to leave, activating Time Stop (SSS) as he did so.

Returning to the Academy dormitory, Hajoon threw himself onto his bed.

Thankfully, despite the accelerated future, he found no significant changes.

Believing that things would proceed normally, he closed his eyes.

The next morning.

The clock was nearing 7 AM.

"Yawn~"

Surprisingly, he had slept well and felt refreshed.

After a light stretch, Hajoon turned on his smartphone to check the news.

However, contrary to Hajoon’s expectation, the article he was hoping for was not there.

"...It should be out by this time, right?"

What’s going on?

A sense of unease began to creep in.

In a rush, Hajoon threw on a hoodie and trousers, activated Time Stop (SSS), and arrived at the site of the Dungeon occurrence.

The scene that greeted him was dreadful.

"Jun-ah!!" A man’s desperate wail echoed.

"Oh no! Han-yoon! Han-yoon!"

Beyond the police line, many were submerged in sorrow, crying.

All of them were family, friends, or lovers of those trapped inside the Dungeon.

Soon, a middle-aged man kneeling helplessly in front of the Dungeon gate, tears streaming down his face as he gazed blankly at the Dungeon, caught Hajoon’s eye.

It was undeniably Kim Jeongyong, the chairman of the Hero Association.

His eyes, vacant as though he’d lost everything, merely stared blankly at the entrance of the gate, calling out the names of his son and granddaughter.

"Jung-woon... Min-ji..."

They all watched the gate, their hearts heavy with despair.

What Hajoon saw at the gate was an entrance blocked by a gigantic metal plate.

The entrance to the dimensional dungeon was sealed.

"What...?"

His head spun for a moment.

It was as if he’d been hit with a blunt object, his mind clouding over.

That’s when it happened.

"No, don’t!"

A young girl dashed towards the dungeon gate, crossing the police line.

The association’s agents tried to stop her, but the girl eventually collapsed, tears streaming down her face.

"Heuk! Waaah! Unnie!!"

It was a girl Hajoon knew well.

Lee Jooah.

She broke down into sobs, letting her tears flow as she stared at the dungeon.

Hajoon watched her blankly, then pulled out his phone.

He quickly found a prominent article.

[First Rescue Team for Dimensional Dungeon Fails. Chairman Kim Jeongyong of the Hero Association Decides to Seal the Dungeon to Prevent Dungeon Break...]

The time was 7 in the morning.

Seven hours had passed since the first assault team entered the dungeon.

They had yet to return.

"Ha..."

Various complex thoughts passed through Hajoon’s mind.

How long would it take if I entered? A few months at least?

Three months? Four?

Considering the structure of the dungeon, it would take a significant amount of time.

’I didn’t want to go in because of this...’

Of course, that was a problem, but how to get in was the primary concern.

The iron door was made to prevent a dungeon break.

Naturally, it would be equipped with a magical device that couldn’t be broken by simple brute force.

He didn’t want to struggle to break that down.

Of course, he couldn’t just let the main character disappear either.

’This is driving me crazy...’

His head began to throb with irritation and complexity.

What was the problem? While thinking about this...

Ding-

[Sub Quest]

Possible Quest Character: Kim Hajoon (Liber Laphilton Phil Ehrman)

Description: Conquer the Dimensional Dungeon.

Reward: 1000P

Suddenly, a notification popped up.

Seeing the notification, he exclaimed,

"You mechanical piece of..."

He felt as though the thread of reason he had been clinging onto had been severed.

Veins bulged on his forehead, his face twisting into a savage scowl.

With his mood already rotten, the quest notification felt like pouring fuel onto a burning house. He didn’t know why things weren’t going as they should,

But the system’s meddling was clear.

Hajoon gritted his teeth, pulling the hood of his hoodie over his head and pulling out Maharazu.

He crossed the police line and approached the dungeon gate.

"Hey! You can’t cross!"

"Stop!"

"Hold on a moment?!"

As several agents of the association rushed to block the boy, they stopped in shock, recognizing something.

The hammer the boy was holding.

They all realized what it was.

"No way!"

"From the footage...?"

The ensuing chaos was instantaneous.

All eyes previously veiled with sorrow, and the reporters’ cameras, began to turn towards Hajoon.

More precisely, they began to turn towards the hammer that Hajoon was holding.

"Tha, that’s a hammer! The golden hammer!"

"Tha, that’s the hammer from the video!"

The boy from the video, considered one of the city’s legends.

The owner of the hammer in the video, ’the Irregular,’ appeared on the scene.

A moment of surprise flickered in everyone’s eyes.

Without hesitation, the boy started approaching Kim Jeongyong, the association chairman who had been sitting in front of the gate.

Hearing the approach, Kim Jeongyong slowly raised his head and looked up at the boy.

Soon after, Kim Jeongyong started to look at the boy with an expression of shock.

"Who are you?!"

"Open the gate."

Upon hearing the boy’s calm statement, Kim Jeongyong looked at him with disbelief.

Kim Jeongyong’s eyes began to tremble as if an earthquake had occurred.

The golden hammer.

The moment he saw it, a spark began to float in Kim Jeongyong’s eyes.

Facing Kim Jeongyong, Hajoon calmly warned.

"Before I break down the iron gate."

Deep within the Dimensional Dungeon, a voice rang out in frustration.

"What kind of damned dungeon is this!"

The exasperation was clear in the voice of Kim Yungjun, the top sophomore. He was caught in a vexing situation.

To cut a long story short, the rescue team’s civilian extraction was successful.

Obviously, since the dungeon was of lower rank, the monsters that appeared were also low-ranked.

This ensured the safety of the civilians.

There were a few awakened superhumans among the trapped civilians, which helped their cause.

"Ah… where the hell is the way out…"

The issue was that the dungeon was a labyrinth.

Although they successfully rescued the civilians, they couldn’t find the exit, no matter how hard they tried.

They had left markers to find their way back when they entered, but the markers had mysteriously disappeared.

"Ah… it’s a good thing you and the senior are here."

Yungjun turned to Han Siyoung, Lee Joohee, and Yoo Seolah.

Frankly, the first assault team was at their physical limit.

Even though the dungeon only spawned low-ranked monsters, their bodies were bound to get exhausted after approximately 7 hours of fighting.

Had it not been for these kids, a total wipeout would have been inevitable.

Of course, the situation hadn’t improved.

-Grrrrrr…

-Kieek!!

Monster howls echoed once more.

As everyone prepared for combat, Han Siyoung lunged first, severing the throats of about 20 monsters in an instant.

His swordsmanship was astounding.

The movements were so swift that the eye could hardly follow.

Han Siyoung sheathed his sword and returned to the group.

"Ah… we really owe you our lives."

"It’s a good thing Joohee and Siyoung are here…"

7 hours had passed since the rescue team had been trapped in the dungeon.

Everyone in the rescue team was exhausted from 7 hours of combat.

That’s why Han Siyoung and Lee Joohee, who had energy to spare, were taking down almost all the monsters.

"Rest if you’re tired. We can alternate."

"I’m still okay."

Lee Joohee smiled at Han Siyoung.

Given the difficulty of determining the path in the dungeon and not knowing when they could escape, everyone had to conserve their energy.

Aware of this, Han Siyoung deliberately charged ahead alone to defeat the monsters.

Being the leader of the rescue team, he felt grateful.

"Let us know when you’re tired. We can switch anytime."

"Understood."

Then it happened.

Thud! Thud!

The ground started to shake as if an earthquake had occurred.

The sound of something massive approaching.

Just from the ground’s vibration, Lee Joohee could tell that this wasn’t a low-ranked monster.

At that moment.

Thud!

When the creature’s footsteps finally stopped and it arrived at a close distance.

-Kick- Kieek…

With the last roar of some monster, a giant figure revealed itself.

It had the head of a bull and a massive body.

In its left hand was a massive axe that looked to be twice the size of its body, and in its right was a stretched, blood-dripping monster.

The creature started to arrogantly look down at the people, tearing apart the low-ranked monster in its right hand.

"A m-monster!"

"Aaaah!"

"It’s a Minotaur?!"

People could only gawk at the sight of the monster.

It was a creature famous enough to be recognized without anyone mentioning its name.

An Intermediate-level beast, the Minotaur.

The legendary beast from myths revealed itself.

Certainly, it was not a creature that should appear in a lower-level dungeon.

Roooaaarrrr...

The Minotaur arrogantly looked down on the humans, huffing out coarse breaths.

Immediately after, thump! thump! It started to approach the people, making the ground rumble.

In that moment, Lee Joohee swiftly charged and managed to make a shallow cut on its arm.

Just with that one strike, she successfully caught its attention.

She immediately turned her head and shouted at the second year’s top student, Kim Yungjun.

"Kim Yungjun! You lead the people and evacuate!"

"I’ll help too, senior!"

"No. Protect the people."

For a moment, Yungjun looked at Lee Joohee with shaky eyes.

Lee Joohee looked back at him and firmly commanded.

"Evacuation is the priority."

Just as she said, evacuation was indeed the priority.

Currently, the priority was not to exterminate the beast but to protect the citizens.

"I’ll catch up soon."

Lee Joohee stared at the Minotaur and once again charged in with a determined leap.

Han Siyoung, who had been watching, soon trusted her and turned away, and Yungjun also shouted at the people with a stern face.

"Hurry up! Follow me!"

As his words marked the start, everyone started to flee from the Minotaur, following Yungjun.

Then, Lee Joohee was left alone.

She calmly closed her eyes and activated her ability.

The moment she did, the temperature around her began to drop sharply.

The ability of Lee Joohee, the chairman of the Student Council, was ’Absolute Zero.’

The power to freeze everything, except herself.

That’s why she couldn’t use this ability in front of people.

But now was different.

There were no entities to protect around her.

Immediately after.

-Roooaarrr!

The beast started to become sluggish.

It staggered trying to escape the space of Absolute Zero, but the more it moved, its legs and arms gradually stiffened and began to shatter with a crunching sound.

Thump!!

-Whooooosh...

The harsh breath that was heard a moment ago gradually faded and soon stopped.

The beast froze to death with its eyes wide open.

After confirming that the beast was dead, Lee Joohee sheathed her sword.

That was when it happened.

Thump! Thump! The trembling of the ground resonating.

Turning around, Lee Joohee looked at the current scene and narrowed her eyes seriously.

Because five Minotaurs had appeared through the labyrinth wall.

"This can’t be..."