It’s an Academic Fact That Rankers Are Model Students – Chapter 79

Chapter 79: About That Time When I Went to the Dungeon and There Was a Paladin (4)

Kyung-joon and DPSPaladin arrived at the final boss room before they knew it.

[King Slime]

▶The culmination of slime research created by the Slime Sorcerer, Limurimu. Although it’s a slime, its colossal size alone makes it a formidable opponent, even without any special abilities.

▶Level: Lv.207

▶Attribute: Water

▶Characteristics: Boss Monster, Physical Attack Immunity, Physical Attack Reflection, Slash Resistance, Regeneration, Body Modification, Weak Point Evasion

The King Slime was still unaware of their presence.

Thud.

DPSPaladin stood in front of Kyung-joon.

He had the resolute expression of a warrior facing a decisive battle.

He held up a picket sign.

『This boss will be an incredibly difficult fight. I’ve challenged this dungeon dozens of times, but the number of times I’ve cleared it is truly countable on one hand. Moreover, it seems like it’s gotten even stronger than before.』

“Yes.”

Scribble, scribble, scribble.

DPSPaladin erased the writing on the picket sign and wrote again.

『We might not be able to clear it. We might even get wiped out before we can deal any significant damage. But…… I believe.』

“Yes?”

『I believe that if the two of us combine our strength, if we can draw out our true bond, we can definitely defeat it! I have not a single doubt in my mind. Do you believe, Kyung-joon-nim?』

“Um…… It’ll be fine. I’m sure we can clear it in one go.”

DPSPaladin made a cool expression at Kyung-joon’s words.

‘Heh, our bond has already come this far. I was a little worried at first, but it seems my worries were unfounded. This is a green light.’

‘I need to study, so I don’t have time to challenge it twice. Let’s finish it in one go.’

After they finished their subtly mismatched vows,

It was time to strategize.

DPSPaladin was about to suggest various strategies based on his experience,

But Kyung-joon stopped him from writing on the picket sign and nodded.

“That’s enough. We can start the attack right away. Just go and go wild.”

DPSPaladin’s eyes widened at his words.

‘A relationship where words are unnecessary! Has our bond already reached this point……!’

『Understood!』

DPSPaladin snorted with excitement and immediately stomped on the ground.

Clank, clank!

He charged into the heart of the enemy lines, leading with his heavy plate armor and large, beautiful shield!

And immediately used a taunt skill.

[Rare Skill 『Divine Taunt (Lv.6)』 ]

[Consumes divine power to taunt enemies.]

━Sla! Slaat~!

━King~ Slaa~

It was the moment when the King Slime and its minions all rushed towards the Paladin.

“Teemo, I need your help with calculations.”

< (•̀ᴗ•́)و ̑̑>

<I’m always ready.>

“Good.”

While DPSPaladin was drawing the attention of the monsters, he had to prepare.

A secret strategy to defeat the King Slime in one fell swoop.

Woooong!

Kyung-joon began to gather mana.

He created multiple mana channels with 『Multi-Casting』.

Then, using 『Fine Mana Manipulation』, he compressed and compressed the mana in each channel.

Just like when he defeated the Mutated Minto Morco at the Fairy-Elven Magic Academy, he was about to create a new, extremely powerful magic…….

……Or not.

There was no need for that.

There was no need to use a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

He was just going to conduct a simple experiment.

“I’ve been doing nothing but physics experiments to make air conditioners.”

This was going to be his first chemistry experiment in a long time.

He had already finished designing the experiment.

He needed only two experimental materials.

First, the King Slime in front of him was one of the two materials.

And the other one was…….

[Salt 20kg]

▶One bag of salt is 20kg. Salty.

▶Item Grade: Common

Salt.

It wasn’t any special kind of salt, just ordinary salt that would taste salty if you touched it with your tongue.

Perhaps the only unusual thing was that it was quite expensive, unlike in reality, probably because of the medieval setting.

Kyung-joon lifted a bag of salt and tossed it with a whoosh!

His strength and stamina were honed from lumbering and construction!

Throwing a 20kg bag with all his might wasn’t that difficult.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Kyung-joon threw the bags of salt in succession.

Whoosh!

And the moment Kyung-joon threw the last bag,

<Input of all initial values of the salt bag complete.>

<Calculating the time it will take to reach the King Slime and its coordinates at that time. Applying Mana Mechanics and Classical Mechanics equations to set the initial vector and velocity of the energy projectile.>

Teemo finished all the calculations.

All the calculated information flowed into Kyung-joon’s mana.

Only then did Kyung-joon release the magic he had been compressing and delaying.

What kind of magic was it?

Just Energy Bolt.

[General Skill 『Energy Bolt (Lv.10)』 ]

[Advanced Skill 『Spell Modification (Lv.8)』 ]

But with a little modification.

[Fires 5 high-energy projectiles containing 50 times the normal amount of mana.]

It was just a normal Energy Bolt, except that it contained a very high amount of energy.

‘If I convert this to temperature, how high would it be?’

He wasn’t sure because he hadn’t done the exact calculations yet.

But one thing was for sure.

It would probably melt all the salt bags he had just thrown in 0.1 seconds, right?

[Rare Skill 『Multi-Casting (Lv.7)』 ]

[General Skill 『Energy Bolt (Lv.10)』 ]

Shuuuuush!

Five high-energy projectiles flew towards the King Slime with a slight time difference.

To be precise, right above the King Slime.

Where the flying salt bags were.

Pwack! Chiiiik!

Intense heat!

The salt, which had been in bags, instantly turned into a burning liquid.

Pshhh! Chiiiik~!

The other bags followed suit!

Rumble!

Molten salt rained down on the King Slime like rain.

━Ki, King! Slaaaat?!

Sizzle!

As the red-hot molten salt touched the King Slime’s body, steam erupted rapidly.

The water on the surface had evaporated.

Seeing this, DPSPaladin frowned.

‘Ugh……! Slimes are water attribute monsters! Fire won’t do much damage!’

As he thought, slimes were the most representative water attribute monsters.

Their entire bodies were practically made of water, so it wouldn’t be a big deal if they got hit by some fire.

After all, it was a matter of course that water was stronger than fire in terms of attribute compatibility.

But what Kyung-joon was aiming for wasn’t some attribute relationship.

What he was really aiming for was this.

“Osmotic pressure.”

Sizzle! Sizzle!

The steam didn’t stop erupting from the King Slime’s body.

The presence of steam meant that there was water nearby.

Bubble, bubble!

The water from the King Slime was boiling violently around the molten salt.

Salt dissolves in water.

But now it was the other way around.

The water began to dissolve in the salt.

As it did, the color of the molten salt changed from bright red lava to a whitish, thick brine.

And so it grew in size.

But as it grew in size.

Sizzle!

The King Slime began to emit even more steam than before.

━Ki, King Slaaaat……!!

The King Slime, whose internal water was constantly being sucked out!

Kyung-joon walked slowly towards the King Slime, giving off the air of someone who had caused this situation.

And explained.

“Osmotic pressure gets stronger as the temperature rises and the number of ions increases. Liquid salt is literally 100% pure ions. It won’t be able to handle it without spitting out all the water inside.”

Of course, the King Slime couldn’t understand Kyung-joon’s words.

━Ki……! King Slaaa!

It just responded with an attack.

Fwoosh!

Dozens of bouncy gel fists stretched out from the King Slime’s entire body and shot towards Kyung-joon.

The King Slime’s characteristic, 『Body Modification』!

It was a powerful characteristic that allowed it to transform its body at will to attack its target!

However.

The King Slime’s body was already covered in thick brine.

It had to pay the price for abandoning its spherical shape, which had the smallest surface area per volume, and throwing a punch.

Shriveled……!

━Sl, Slat?!

The fist the King Slime had thrown instantly shrunk and turned into a paper fist.

Kyung-joon easily slapped it away and dodged.

Slap.

And by the time Kyung-joon stepped on the brine-soaked ground and stood in front of it…….

━S……Slat…….

The King Slime had already shrunk smaller than a normal slime.

Its body was shriveled up, having lost almost all of its water.

Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle…….

He could see its core floating around helplessly inside.

As if it was desperately trying to survive until the very, very end.

This was the King Slime’s characteristic, 『Weak Point Evasion』.

The ability to constantly move its core to avoid destruction.

But even if it moved around inside its tiny body, it couldn’t escape the approaching death.

“Paladin, please finish it off with your lance.”

“………”

DPSPaladin silently followed Kyung-joon’s words.

Wasn’t it ironic?

The strongest slime, which had tormented countless rankers, was so easily defeated by mere brine.

It might seem absurd.

It might seem pathetic.

But what could he do?

That was science.

It was the law of nature.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

The two finished the dungeon and came outside.

It was time to distribute the items.

DPSPaladin handed over all the items he had obtained from the dungeon to Kyung-joon.

『I didn’t do anything. Therefore, I don’t deserve to receive any items. Kyung-joon-nim should take everything.』

It was true that Kyung-joon had played a big role.

However, it was a separate issue from taking all the loot.

If DPSPaladin hadn’t put his body on the line and pulled aggro with all his might in the final King Slime room, Kyung-joon wouldn’t have been able to use his magic so easily.

So Kyung-joon was about to tell him not to worry about it and just split it fairly according to their contribution ratio, but…….

“Alright, then I’ll gratefully take it all.”

……As the saying goes, ‘Take it when it’s given’, so he just took it.

‘Wow, I got to use the 6th Ranker for free. Sweet.’

Kyung-joon was happy to have hit the jackpot.

But

‘Hehehe…… Just as planned.’

Kyung-joon didn’t know.

In fact, there was a reason why DPSPaladin made this choice!

As the saying goes, there’s no such thing as a free lunch.

DPSPaladin immediately asked Kyung-joon for a favor.

『Would you do me the honor of becoming my friend? The experience in the dungeon was truly unforgettable. I would like to continue being friends with you in the future, if it’s not too much trouble?』

“Hmm.”

Kyung-joon pondered.

DPSPaladin was definitely a good Paladin, but he couldn’t shake off a strange feeling when he thought about the time he spent with him in the dungeon.

━Kyung-joon-nim. Please look at my shield. What do you think? Isn’t it big and beautiful?

━Why do I have to touch your body when I buff you? Heh, I’m a cultivation Paladin who specializes in healing by utilizing the flow of the body and its connections based on holy power…….

━So, I’m a cultivation Paladin. This is more efficient. That’s why I can deal, heal, and tank.

This was just a part of the conversation they had while running the dungeon.

Besides, the sticky gaze he felt from behind when he went ahead first, the way he kept looking back and forth between the slimy liquid on the floor and him, his face flushed……

Thus.

Based on the big data he had experienced in the dungeon today, Kyung-joon could only come to this conclusion.

‘Yeah, I think I know why the rumors are going around. With an ID like that, he’s just a freaking pervert. I need to get out of here.’

There’s a limit to how long one can be delusional.

Kyung-joon, who had realized the truth, moved faster than ever.

“Let’s think about being friends after we get to know each other better. I have something to do, so I’ll be going now.”

『W, Wait a minute……!』

Whoosh!

Kyung-joon quickly left the scene with his agility of over 600.

Fortunately, he wasn’t slowed down by some kind of debuff.

DPSPaladin, who had been rejected as a friend.

His head drooped, perhaps from disappointment.

But.

“Hehehe.”

He was smiling.

[The 『Chat Ban』 has been lifted.]

[You can now chat and talk normally again.]

[Please refrain from doing anything that could get you reported next time! You’re on my blacklist! -From GM Lee Unyoung-]

DPSPaladin, whose chat ban had been lifted, put the picket sign back into his inventory.

And then he raised his head and stared intently at the spot where Kyung-joon had disappeared.

And muttered in a deep voice…….

“Hehehe, I like men who play hard to get. See you later, my little oriole.”

Wink!

It was the moment his intense wink reached Kyung-joon in the distance.

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