I Became an Illegal Cheat User

24 – Behind the Simulation World (Part 4)

A massive cave, precisely a simulated alternate world.

As soon as we entered, I confirmed the practice objectives that Kang Cheol-su had mentioned.

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【’Team 1′ Practice Objectives】

[Virtual Situation Explanation]

Due to the sudden appearance of a rift, several citizens have been drawn into the alternate world.

This alternate world takes the form of a labyrinthine cave with numerous intersections, and monsters roam around.

Given the urgent situation where citizens could lose their lives, quickly rescue them.

Objective: Rescue Survivors (0/3)

– Time Limit: 30 minutes

※ The current survivors are in injured condition and cannot move due to nearby monsters.

※ Once all survivors are rescued, the location to escape the alternate world will be transmitted to the smartwatches.

Tip. Survivors make noise every 5 minutes.

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“Oh, we have a survivor rescue mission.”

Luckily, a very easy target appeared.

But unlike me, Park Garam and Im Dahee showed no signs of excitement.

“A-survivor, rescue?”

“…In a maze-like cave?”

Park Garam and Im Dahee expressed their hesitation towards the practice objective of rescuing survivors in a maze cave.

Well, I understand.

That’s the normal response.

Who would think it’s easy to rescue three survivors in a wide and pitch-dark maze cave?

Moreover, these “survivors” that are supposed to be found throughout the cave are not actual people, but dolls embedded with “magic stones,” as part of the simulated practice.

And in my inventory, I have the magic stone detector that I used during the first test of the entrance exam, the “Wisdom Test.”

I opened my inventory and took out various items, including the “magic stone bugs.”

Upon seeing my sudden actions, Park Garam and Im Dahee were bewildered, with questions like how difficult the practice objective is and whether it’s even possible.

“W-what are you doing, team leader?”

“…What are you going to do with those items?”

Ah, they don’t know?

Then, I should explain the items I took out.

But before that, I need to solve the issue of the dark visibility.

I held onto the 15cm-long light stick that I had placed on the ground and broke it.

Tick.

With the sound of a branch snapping, the stick emitted a yellow light.

Finally, the visibility improved a bit.

But I didn’t stop there. I broke two more sticks, revealing purple and green lights.

“Now, put these on.”

“Uh, okay.”

“…Thank you.”

I handed the purple stick to Park Garam and the yellow stick to Im Dahee, instructing them to put them on.

I told them to wear the light sticks not only to brighten their visibility but also for blood identification.

In dark places, where visibility is poor, other senses become more acute.

Because of this heightened sensitivity, even small sounds or touches can elicit a strong response, potentially leading to accidentally attacking allies.

To prevent this, they distributed glow sticks.

“…When did you get these?”

Lim Dahee, with a glow stick strapped to her waist, asked in her characteristically spirited voice.

In response to her question, I, wearing a glow stick behind my tactical vest (which we brought along from the training ground), replied.

“I got these before the entrance exam.”

“…Before the entrance exam?”

This time, while wearing a military-grade lantern in front of the tactical vest, I said,

“Yeah, before the entrance exam. I wasn’t sure what kind of test it would be, so I bought a bunch of different things.”

“…Impressive.”

It sounded like a compliment, yet her face seemed a tad queasy.

Well, maybe that’s understandable.

Presenting preparedness as if predicting the future might unnerve people.

But by my standards, the current preparedness is insufficient.

“If only I had a bit more money.”

With a little more preparation, things wouldn’t have been this lacking.

“Get a cheat for unlimited items or something.”

To showcase not just readiness but perfection.

So, while inwardly hoping that the next cheat I’d obtain would be for unlimited items…

“Su-Su-se-nior… I-I-I can’t, I can’t wear this car, car.”

Park Garam approached, tears welling in her eyes.

The glow stick tightly clenched in her hand.

It was then that I realized she was wearing a dress.

“No… Oh…”

I was at a loss for words.

Sure, there might be my fault for not checking properly, but even for a magician, really?

Wearing a dress for training exercises?

Surely, we had a 10-minute armament inspection before departure.

“Why, why are you like this?”

Grabbing my forehead with one hand, I let out a sigh, leaving Park Garam looking bewildered, as if wondering what mistake she had made.

“…No, you, the dress…, why….”

Due to sheer incredulity, the words didn’t come out properly.

Fortunately, Im Dahee, who had checked Park Garam’s attire like me, spoke up instead.

“…Park Garam, do you think your attire is appropriate right now?”

“My, my attire?”

At Im Dahee’s words, Park Garam lowered her head to check her clothes.

“Why is this?”

But, seemingly oblivious to whatever the issue was, Park Garam tilted her head with a completely clueless expression.

At that moment, Im Dahee let out a short sigh and explained what the problem was.

We’re here for practical training, you should have worn comfortable clothes for activity. While a dress is comfortable for movement, it’s not suitable for training, etc.

In a calm explanation that seemed as if she had taught many children before, Park Garam, now realizing her outfit was inappropriate, looked genuinely apologetic as she turned to me and Im Dahee.

“Sorry. I, I didn’t know.”

In response to Park Garam’s apology, I let out a short sigh.

…She’s a bit awkward and honest, but she’s kind.

I accepted her apology.

“…Next time, wear something comfortable other than a dress.”

Saying that, I took out a spare tactical vest from the inventory and handed it to Park Garam.

However, she just stared at me with a puzzled expression.

Seeing that, I immediately realized that she might not know whether to wear it or not.

I personally put the tactical vest on her and attached a glow stick.

“There, ready.”

Now we were ready to move forward.

The remaining target time, confirmed with the smartwatch, was 25 minutes.

I thought some time had passed, but whether it was just my perception, there was still plenty of time left.

Still, considering that the world behind this simulated reality might turn into the ‘real’ world, we had to move quickly.

With that in mind, I picked up the item on the floor, a ‘glass jar with a stone bug.’

Seeing me holding the jar with the stone bug, Park Garam pretended to recognize it.

“Is that, um, a stone, bug?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“What, what are you going to do with that?”

I know it’s a magic stone beetle, but I don’t know what purpose it’s going to be used for.

Well, of course you wouldn’t know.

How could students know that the ‘survivor’ they need to manipulate with the magic stone is in fact a doll?

So, I simply explained to them that it will play a significant role, but I didn’t provide any specific details.

“Now let’s begin.”

I resolved the dark vision problem as well.

Taking a handgun from my inventory, I moved forward.

Bang! Bang!

Crash, screech!

Not long after entering inside.

The demons revealed themselves and started attacking.

The name of the attacking demon is ‘Shadow Monkey’.

It’s a demon that hides in the darkness and attacks by surprise.

However, thanks to the lantern and flashlight stick that I brought along, my vision wasn’t dark.

I was able to easily deal with the surprise attack from the Shadow Monkey.

– Kiyaaak!

The demon hit by my rubber bullet let out a painful scream.

And a small bead-sized light marked appeared on its forehead.

The reason why that mark appeared.

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【Holy Gun (B)】

A gun used by hunters to hunt evil creatures.

It has a sacred blessing engraved on it.

– When shooting, ‘Sacred Impact (C)’ is applied.

– When shooting, ‘Sacred Target (C)’ is applied.

– Dexterity +2, Mind +2

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“Sacred Impact (C)”

Inflicts additional damage on enemies with a magical attribute.

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“Sacred Mark (C)”

A mark engraved on the enemy upon being struck.

When the marked target is hit, the mark explodes, dealing sacred damage.

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It was all thanks to the weapon I obtained with the ‘B-grade Item Selection Ticket’ from the dormitory yesterday. Originally, I had planned to use training weapons until this place became ‘real,’ and then switch to this weapon. However, as I encountered demons, I wondered if there was any need to use training weapons, so I simply used the newly acquired one.

Bang!

A rubber bullet hit the marked demon’s forehead again.

Kwaang!

As if to announce the sacred damage, a small explosion of white light occurred.

– Grraaah!

The demon staggered backward.

I thought the rubber bullets wouldn’t cause any damage, but thanks to the effects on the gun itself, they dealt surprisingly substantial damage.

However, rubber bullets were still rubber bullets.

While primarily dealing sacred damage, they couldn’t inflict practical harm.

Even so, it was okay.

I wasn’t the only one in the fight.

Bang!

The mark was engraved on the demon’s forehead again.

I shouted as I looked at the mark.

“Im Dahee!”

“…Got it!”

Hearing my shout, Im Dahee charged forward and thrust her spear into the demon’s forehead.

While observing that sight, I shouted again.

“Charge electricity to the spear tip!”

“…Uh, got it!”

Crackle!

However, the electricity spurted not from the spear tip but from Im Da-hee’s body.

Zap… Zzaang!

The spear, devoid of the electrical charge, pierced straight through the demon’s forehead.

Then came the subsequent effect of the firearm.

Thud.

The demon with a pierced forehead collapsed, turning into dust.

In the true demonic realm, a corpse would remain, but this simulated realm was undeniably crafted for training. Thus, the dead demons turned into dust, later to be reused in training.

Here, these demons were counterfeit, lacking the peculiar ‘magi’ characteristic of real demons. So, Da-hee’s spear merely punctured through without encountering ‘magi.’ In contrast, real demons possessed ‘magi,’ requiring weapons enveloped with magical power to pierce through their extraordinary mana.

Certainly, Da-hee could also infuse her weapon with mana, but that was a skill anyone with supernatural abilities could perform—a mere technique.

For Da-hee to become as formidable as a main character, she needed to know how to imbue her weapons with ‘electricity’ skills.

Therefore, to uphold the promise of making her stronger and to ensure she could imbue her weapons with electricity before this place turned ‘real,’ there had to be more demons, more battles.

‘The remaining time now…’

Gazing down slightly, she checked the remaining time on her smartwatch.

[Remaining Target Time: 18 minutes.]

’18 minutes… I can fight for another 3 minutes.’

After just three more minutes of battling, she’d go in search of the remaining two survivors.

However, why was she searching for not three survivors, but two?

Because she had already found one survivor.

‘Luck was on my side.’

A tip mentioned in the practical exercise guidelines.

“Survivors make noise every 5 minutes.”

And precisely five minutes since our movement had passed.

From a nearby vicinity, I heard a cry for help.

Following the sound, I found one survivor doll continuously pleading for help, its legs shattered.

And that doll now rested in my inventory.

Why?

The survivor said that taking oneself along is considered a rescue.

So, I put it in the inventory.

When all three survivors are found, I can take it out of the inventory at that time.

Anyway, there are 18 minutes left, so I can train Im Dahee for another 3 minutes.

With that, I shouted to Park Garam, who was throwing fireballs at the monsters from behind.

“Park Garam! Can you use a loud magic?”

“Uh, yeah! I-I can use it, I know!”

“Okay, then, unleash a loud magic spell!”

“Now?”

“Now!”

“Ah, okay!”

At my command, Park Garam stopped throwing fireballs and gathered magic in both hands.

Then, raising his arms, he brought his hands together.

Zzaaak─!!

Suddenly, a tremendous applause sound spread throughout the cave.

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And then.

– Kkyeeek!

– Kyaaah!

– Kkirrr!

The cries of the monsters echoed.

Dududududu….

Through the vibrations on the ground, it could be felt that a large number of monsters were rushing towards us.

“…Leader?”

Im Dahee looked at me with a pale face.

But instead of saying anything, I laid the mines in the inventory on the ground.

To make Im Dahee stronger, I did some monster hunting, but the quantity shouldn’t be too much.

“…Lee, Euyjin!”

Im Dahee called me again, this time not by the title of “Leader,” but by my name.

As much as that, she must be bewildered.

I finished setting up the mines and approached Im Da-hee.

Grabbing her shoulders, I spoke.

“I promised, didn’t I? I’ll make you strong.”

“….”

Im Da-hee, with her mouth slightly agape, stared at me in a daze.

But her eyes seemed to ask, ‘Is this really how you become strong?’

I nodded.

“You will definitely become strong.”

But I didn’t say it would be easy.

Still, I could assure her of this.

When pushed to the limit, people become strong.

“I, I won’t die, right?”

Im Da-hee trembled as she faced the emerging horde of monsters.

While reloading next to her, I said,

“Absolutely not, so trust me and fight.”

“….”

As I spoke with confidence, Da-hee’s trembling body gradually settled.

And she, who had been staring at me, nodded slowly.

“…Alright. I’ll trust you and fight.”

So, Da-hee added,

“Don’t make me die. Please don’t make me die.”

Don’t make her die.

A very simple request.

“Sure.”

I nodded with a slight smile.

And pointing my gun towards the oncoming monsters, I said,

“I’ll make sure you don’t die, so just focus on getting stronger.”

“….”

No audible response.

Instead, what reached their ears was a faint crackle—the sound of electricity wrapping around the edge of the window.