I’m Here to End This Fight

Chapter 112: General Quest (2)

Wooden pillars were widely positioned around the crack.

Yuri hadn’t initially planned for the project to become such a large-scale construction.

The reason he chose this location as his residence was that it provided a perfect environment for hiding in peace.

If the construction became too noisy, it would be like shouting, “Hey, I’m here!” and essentially giving up the hideout’s function.

So, the initial plan was to conduct the construction quietly, without causing much disturbance, and in such a way that no one would even know it had been done.

That was Yuri’s original intent, until Arin, Poppy, and Theresia joined him.

‘Wait a minute? But why am I… no, why are we even thinking about hiding?’

As that thought suddenly crossed his mind, Yuri began to reconsider their combat strength.

He, Arin, and even Poppy had once fought against the Black Sword Corps together.

Of course, the Black Sword Corps members had been handicapped, but it still proved that they could handle them.

And now, they even had Theresia, the top cadet of the 49th class.

Yuri knew better than anyone about her skills.

‘With this level of strength?’

Not only could they deal with the 50th class, but they could also fend off an attack from a dozen members of the 49th class.

That realization dawned on Yuri.

‘Ah, I see… I was still planning the construction as if I were alone.’

Yuri had always chosen his hideouts based on the principle that he could handle things on his own.

This was a mindset formed because Yuri had never truly had comrades before.

However, after working alongside Theresia, Arin, and Poppy, this “solo mindset” had started to change.

And now that Yuri realized this, his thoughts shifted.

‘I shouldn’t have been planning to build a small fortress that only serves as a hideout.’

That would have been a waste of the considerable strength they had gathered.

Instead of just a hideout, it needed to be a structure capable of withstanding an attack from powerful enemies and allowing them to fight back effectively.

‘A powerful enemy might invade…’

At that thought, Yuri grinned.

After all, there was someone perfect for testing this—a person who had abruptly shown up as if this place was his own home and then left as quickly as he came.

‘Heh, you’re dead meat, old man!’

Of course, a fortress of this level wouldn’t be able to deal with Johan, who could leap across the sky.

‘But if I design it well enough, I can at least give him a good scare.’

And if they could surprise Johan, they could easily eliminate any other intruders without them knowing what hit them.

That was the first reason why Yuri decided to expand the construction.

The second reason was also related to Arin, Poppy, and Theresia.

‘Is it because they’ve trained in the Redner family’s secret magic body technique? All of them have incredible stamina.’

Not only was his own stamina impressive, but even Arin, who primarily focused on archery, had physical abilities far beyond those of an ordinary person.

Arin’s strength and stamina were several times greater than that of a regular person.

Especially Poppy, who was specialized in strength and stamina, was performing the work of dozens, if not hundreds, of people in the current construction.

As a result, in the past three days, the work completed by Yuri, Theresia, Arin, and Poppy equaled the amount of work that would have taken hundreds of ordinary people more than a week to finish.

In other words, people trained in the Redner family’s secret magic body technique were the top-tier workforce for construction.

So how could Yuri not be tempted to expand the project?

‘At this rate, we might finish sooner than expected.’

Although they were still in the early stages of laying the foundation, at this pace, they could complete the work in less than ten days.

All Yuri had to do during that time was keep the high-level workforce moving efficiently by keeping their bellies full.

Looking at the ever-increasing number of large wooden pillars, Yuri shouted loudly.

“Let’s eat before we continue!”

Seeing three pairs of ears perk up at his words, Yuri smiled brightly.

‘Eat plenty and work hard, my… friends!’

And thanks to the efforts of these “slaves”… no, friends.

Exactly six days later.

A bizarre space surrounded by towering trees had sprung up in the northern region of the North District.

On the day the foundation of the fortress was completed, Yuri went out for the first time in a long while.

His sole purpose was to earn some points.

Seeing this, Arin and Poppy stuck out their tongues and remarked, “Even with so many points, he doesn’t rest.”

Of course, they were speaking out of ignorance.

‘What points? I’ve got none left.’

Yuri’s point balance was already drained, having been squandered on the luck-of-the-draw boxes.

And February was a short month.

He had already spent ten days on the foundation work, leaving only 18 days remaining.

This meant that the end-of-month evaluation and next month’s special sale were just around the corner.

‘It’s going to be tight.’

So, as soon as the foundation work was done, Yuri had no choice but to set out on a quest.

He even suggested that Arin and Poppy come along.

[I’m hungry!]

[You’ve got plenty of points, so why bother? We’re going to rest! So don’t get in our way and scram!]

The two of them flatly refused and shooed Yuri away.

Instead, Yuri was accompanied by an unexpected person—Theresia.

The reason they were together was because of a proposal Theresia had made that morning.

[If you’re going to do a general quest, there’s one that’s perfect for you. It gives more points than other general quests. I was planning to go for it anyway… want to come along?]

Yuri had no particular reason to refuse Theresia’s offer.

So they went out together to accept the quest…

But as they walked in the direction they were heading, Yuri tilted his head in confusion and asked.

“Where are we going? Don’t we have to go to the arena to receive the quest?”

Theresia slightly shook her head at his question.

“Not all general quests are like that. The one we’re going to do can be accepted directly at the site.”

“Really? Hmm, I see. But are we even allowed to do a quest together, Tessa?”

“To be precise, we’re not exactly doing the quest together.”

“Then?”

“There’s a quest facility that both first and second-year cadets can use together at the place we’re going.”

“So, we’re just traveling companions. Is it far from here?”

“Not far. We’ll get there soon.”

With that, Theresia resumed walking with a determined stride.

Yuri quickly caught up and asked again.

“So what’s the quest we’re going to do?”

“It’s called ‘Facility Breakthrough,’ a quest that’s been around for about 15 years. The difficulty ranges from two stars to seven stars…”

“Two stars? Seven stars?”

“It’s the grading system for general quests. You can look into it later. And if you keep interrupting me, I won’t tell you any more.”

“Yes, ma’am. I’ll be quiet.”

When Yuri playfully zipped his lips, Theresia let out a small sigh and continued.

“The quest we’re going for is called Facility Breakthrough. It measures how quickly you can pass through a 50-meter-long trap facility.”

The quest name was Facility Breakthrough.

To take this quest, cadets had to go to the designated locations according to their year. There were four Facility Breakthrough quest facilities positioned around the arena, one in each cardinal direction.

Theresia explained that the facility shared by first and second-year cadets was located to the north.

Upon hearing this, Yuri’s eyes lit up in understanding.

“So that’s why you said it’s the perfect quest for me.”

“Exactly.”

Theresia nodded.

She had observed that Yuri, like herself, was training in a magic body technique that emphasized agility.

Due to the nature of the Redner family’s secret magic body technique, the Facility Breakthrough quest was a perfect fit for someone like Yuri.

Just as it had been for herself.

“You won’t have any trouble getting a top rank.”

“Top rank?”

Seeing Yuri tilt his head in confusion, Theresia paused her explanation.

“We’re almost there. You’ll understand better once you see it yourself.”

“Works for me! But, you know…”

“…?”

“Why are you being so nice all of a sudden?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, normally, after giving me this much information, you’d demand a sparring fee, right? But today, you’re just telling me everything so easily?”

“…Just because. Sometimes, there are days like this.”

Theresia replied to Yuri’s question like that, but in truth, her real thoughts were different.

‘I want to know.’

Theresia, who sparred with Yuri daily, probably knew better than anyone how fast he was.

But until now, she had only vaguely sensed his speed.

That’s why she wanted to know exactly.

How fast was Yuri really?

How much of a difference was there between them?

That’s why she brought him here.

With this quest, she could directly see how fast he was and how much difference there was between them.

She roughly brushed off those inner thoughts.

Finally, Theresia and Yuri arrived at the Facility Breakthrough quest site.

Yuri pursed his lips in slight admiration at the sight before him.

“Oh?”

What lay before him was a massive cliff.

The cliff had 21 holes, with stairways leading up to them, meticulously carved out.

About 30 people were gathered at the base of the cliff.

Yuri asked as he took in the scene.

“Is that the entrance to the trap facility?”

“Yes, if you look closely, you’ll see a button that starts a timer at the entrance. You press it, go inside, then press it again when you exit to record your time.”

As if to demonstrate Theresia’s explanation, a man at one of the cave entrances pressed the timer button and dashed inside.

Theresia and Yuri stood in place, observing the scene.

A little over two minutes later, the man who had gone inside reemerged and stopped the timer.

Theresia pointed at him lightly with her finger.

“That’s how it’s done.”

“Doesn’t seem too difficult.”

“Right, it’s not that hard.”

“But what’s that? That entrance.”

Yuri pointed to the very top of the cliff, where one entrance stood out conspicuously.

While the other 20 entrances were painted green, this one was alone in being painted red.

Moreover, it was firmly sealed with an iron door.

Theresia knew exactly what Yuri was asking about.

“That’s…”

Just as she was about to explain.

“Hang in there!”

“You can do it!”

“If anyone can, you can!”

The area below the cliff buzzed with sudden cheers.

Receiving this support, a boy began to climb the stairs energetically.

One step at a time.

He climbed the stairs without hesitation and finally stood before the red entrance that Yuri had pointed out.

Theresia’s brow furrowed slightly.

“Is he from the 50th class?”

“Looks like it.”

“…No wonder there are more people here than usual. So that’s why.”

Smoothing out her furrowed brow, Theresia let out a small sigh.

It was a sigh full of regret.

In the meantime, the boy standing before the red cave entrance pressed the timer button with a determined expression.

Then.

Rrrrrumble-.

The iron door lifted, revealing a dark passageway.

The boy gripped his sword and bravely dashed inside.

At that moment, Theresia spoke again.

“Do you remember what I said earlier?”

“What did you say?”

“I mentioned that the difficulty of this quest ranges from two stars to seven stars.”

“Yeah, you did.”

“The reason this quest’s difficulty can suddenly spike from two stars to seven stars… is because of that.”

“That?”

Yuri asked, his eyes fixed on the red entrance.

Theresia continued without much concern.

“The other green cave entrances are dangerous too, but if you stay calm and keep your wits about you, you can get through them. You might get hurt if you’re unlucky, but usually, it’s just minor injuries. However…”

Theresia trailed off just as—

Rrrrrumble—Thud!

The iron door of the red cave entrance suddenly slammed shut, sealing the entrance completely.

The people watching from below began to murmur in concern.

“What, what’s happening? Why did it suddenly close?”

“Charlie’s still inside! He hasn’t come out yet!”

Those who had come to support the boy named Charlie began to look around in panic.

But no matter how long they waited, the entrance remained closed.

“No way… Charlie, that guy…”

Someone seemed to realize what was happening and shouted.

“Is… is he dead?!”

Theresia’s voice continued over the echo of the shout.

“…That red cave entrance is a place where you can only survive if you’re lucky.”