After the quarterly evaluation ended, the cadets who had gone outside gradually returned to their headquarters.
Overall, this quarter's evaluation was negative.
Not only was the evaluation harsh for first-year cadets, but even second-year cadets faced missions of extreme difficulty, making successful completions rare.
From cadets feeling anger, helplessness, frustration, and sadness to those who succeeded in their missions and experienced joy and a sense of accomplishment—
The expressions of the cadets who had been through real combat carried complex emotions.
"The return of Class 5 from the first years is delayed."
As soon as each class returned, they gathered in the conference hall for debriefing and reporting.
The first reports were from the first-year cadets.
Class 1: Mission success.
Class 2: Mission failure.
Class 3: Only met half of the mission conditions.
Class 4: Gave up the mission midway and returned.
The results varied, but overall, there were many casualties.
The situation was not much different for the second- and third-year cadets.
And Class 5, assigned an even more dangerous mission, was no exception.
"Are they the only ones still missing?"
"They did improve their grades, but that's so typical of Class 5. Did they just give up like Class 4?"
"Well, it would make sense. It was a Special Grade 6 dungeon. No way Class 5 could have succeeded at their level."
"Especially with reports of anomalies occurring there."
This evaluation had been the harshest in the entire history of the cadet corps.
Even for a class as capable as Class 5, the instructors assumed they must have failed.
And then, after some time—
"Apologies for the delay. We had multiple injured members, and we were late because we had to admit them to the medical ward."
Lee Jung-ho entered the conference hall.
"There must have been quite a few casualties. We received confirmation of your return about 30 minutes ago."
The cadet commander observed Lee Jung-ho with a peculiar expression.
Lee Jung-ho, as always, maintained a calm demeanor and nodded.
"Shall we begin right away?"
"Catch your breath first. By the way, where is the class leader of Class 5… the young master?"
The class leader was required to attend post-mission debriefings without exception.
Their report was more crucial than even the instructors' assessments since they had been on-site.
"Don't tell me he was injured?"
"Well… he was injured, yes."
For once, Lee Jung-ho hesitated in his words.
The cadet commander's expression grew intrigued.
"But that's not the reason he's absent, actually—"
"I understand. That's enough."
If it had been a direct descendant, it would have been a different matter, but a concubine's son?
'If the class leader, the one giving commands, was injured so severely that he couldn't attend the debriefing… does that mean they failed? But…'
The cadet commander furrowed his brows in confusion.
"The preliminary report stated that the mission was a success, didn't it?"
"Yes, the mission was successful."
How?
He nearly voiced the question but held it back.
"Hmm… I see. Have you organized the data?"
"It's somewhat messy, but it's sufficient for a report."
"Then let's begin."
"Yes."
Lee Jung-ho stood up slowly and connected his computer to the main screen in the conference hall.
"Now, I will begin the report. Class 5's mission was to gather information on anomalies in the Special Grade 6 dungeon, the Forest of Faceless Beasts. The given condition was video recording, with at least one adult specimen's behavior captured—"
The data itself was unrefined, but Lee Jung-ho's tone remained steady throughout his report.
"I'd heard about it, but what a brutal mission."
"A reconnaissance mission in the Forest of Faceless Beasts, of all places… That's not something cadets can just sneak their way through."
The instructors all chuckled dryly.
And yet, they claimed to have succeeded? They must have just recorded a few adult creatures near the outskirts.
After all, drone technology had improved significantly lately.
"So first, Class 5 split into four teams and deployed 132 M4-1 explosives inside the dungeon."
Silence fell over the room.
The instructors and senior officers exchanged incredulous glances.
The cadet commander waved his hand in disbelief.
"Hold on. Wait. Did I hear that correctly? You used explosives?"
"Yes, that is correct."
"One hundred thirty-two explosives? Were you trying to wipe out the whole place?!"
A dungeon's magical balance is always precarious.
Using magical explosives there wasn't just adding fuel to the fire—it was dumping gasoline on it.
"Additionally, we used 52 more during encounters with monsters, bringing the total to 184."
This was getting worse by the second.
The cadet commander's expression twisted.
"M4-1… You mean those incendiary grenades, the magic combustion bombs?"
"Yes, that is correct."
M4-1 wasn't a standard high-explosive bomb. It wasn't a fragmentation grenade either.
It was an incendiary device designed to consume magic in the surroundings and generate extreme heat.
"And what about the dungeon?! Setting off that many would have turned it into a wasteland! No, wait—your mission was supposed to be anomaly observation! Are you telling me you collapsed the dungeon and still consider it a success?!"
No one could predict the consequences of a dungeon collapse.
That's why no one ever used explosives inside dungeons.
"The mission… was successfully completed."
"Nonsense! Even detonating 30 or 40 explosives would cause chaos in the dungeon, but didn't you say you set off more than 100? I was never informed of such an operation!"
Of course.
That was the expression on the faces of those gathered in the conference room.
From the start, it was a difficult mission, so it was hard to believe that Team 5 had succeeded.
As the cadet commander said, it was difficult to call this a success.
"Is the footage you recorded at least of the dungeon being completely devastated? Hurry up and show the video…"
Just as the cadet commander was shouting loudly—
Creak—
The sound of the conference room door opening echoed.
A boy, covered in bandages and plasters in several places, entered the room.
All eyes turned toward him.
"Sorry for being late. The recording device was damaged, so it took some time to recover the footage. Here it is."
In the youngest illegitimate son, Lee Cheol's hand, was a storage device.
***
As the video played, the expressions in the room shifted by the second.
"…He really filmed inside the nest?"
"N-No way. Did he get captured on purpose?"
"This is insane."
At first, there was disbelief.
No matter how well he knew the monsters' habits, letting himself get poisoned and captured?
All eyes shifted toward the youngest illegitimate son, Lee Cheol.
Now, they seemed to understand the reason for all those injuries.
Before long, the footage showed the adult creatures gathering and displaying strange behavior.
"That's…"
"Does the Inmyeonju species really have such tendencies? There should only be hatchlings in the nest."
The observers whispered in confusion as they watched the scene.
Then, the next scene appeared—the queen's egg.
"A mutation?"
"No, at that size, it's a boss monster."
"But Inmyeonju isn't supposed to have boss monsters in the first place."
"There's never been a reported case of this in academia."
Suddenly, the screen shook violently as flames erupted.
The incendiary bombs had begun to explode.
The adult monsters scattered in all directions, trying to put out the fire.
"So that's what the bombs were for!"
Lee Jung-ho quickly pulled up the monitoring data.
Seo-hyun, the eighth sibling, who had quietly approached me, muttered in a low voice.
"You crazy bastard."
"What?"
"I mean, setting off bombs in a dungeon—do you even realize how reckless that is? What were you thinking? And why the hell did you get captured on purpose?"
"Inmyeonju monsters paralyze desirable prey with venom before transporting them to their nest. It's a well-known habit. If we wanted to record footage, this was the most reliable method."
I explained the situation calmly.
Seo-hyun looked at me like she was horrified.
"W-Were you okay…?"
"When they caught me, they tried to inject the venom by stabbing me with their fangs. That part hurt a little, I'll admit."
"You're saying that like it's no big deal?! I knew you were crazy, but this is just…"
Seo-hyun trembled and instinctively backed away from me.
The video continued.
The queen appeared.
Flames blazed higher, and the footage shook violently.
'And right about now…'
Static—! Pop!
The footage cut out right as the boss appeared and the battle started.
'The recording device was damaged, but the memory was safe. The problem was that the footage was too clear.'
In truth, the delay wasn't because I had to recover the footage.
It was because I had to edit it.
Just enough, only what was necessary, was left visible.
The original footage revealed too much of my power, so I had no choice but to trim it.
'Thanks, Nanny.'
I silently thanked my ever-capable nanny.
A heavy silence settled over the conference room.
"…This is insane."
"So that's why he used firepower."
"But still, how could he detonate bombs in a dungeon without knowing the consequences…?"
"The dungeon might have collapsed by now."
"Who handled the aftermath? Did you request backup?"
The cadet commander and the noble representatives observing from the academy all shook their heads.
The footage was far removed from standard tactical manuals or common sense.
Their gazes shifted to the illegitimate son, wrapped in bandages and covered in plasters.
Now, they were beginning to understand the reason behind those injuries.
"The leader of Team 5… Young Master, please come forward and answer our questions."
At the cadet commander's words, I stood up and walked over to stand beside Lee Jung-ho.
Lee Jung-ho handed me the microphone with a reluctant expression.
It was the squad leader's responsibility to report on the mission.
"Who came up with this plan?"
The first question came from a warrior representing the academy.
"I did."
The unshaken tone of my words only left the academy's officer flustered.
"Captured alive, filmed the scene, and even used firearms… Are you saying all of that was intentional?"
"Yes."
"What kind of operation—no, why did you even think of this in the first place? Did you consider what could have happened?"
"I don't know how many times I have to explain this. It should all be in the report, shouldn't it?"
The expressions of those gathered in the conference room soured.
No one could outright say they didn't trust the report.
"Using explosives was like walking into a burning house while hugging a barrel of oil. Do you call this a proper plan?"
"I simply devised the most probable plan for mission success. If I had stuck to a textbook strategy, do you really think cadets—who haven't even been promoted to junior officers—could have succeeded in this operation?"
"That's…"
"I would rather use every means possible to succeed than fail or give up."
"Hmm…"
It was a sound argument.
The Cadet Commander let out a long sigh.
"Even if we set aside the firearms, what about deliberately getting yourself captured? That was reckless—no, that was an extreme move. You do understand how crucial it is for a commander to be present on the battlefield, don't you?"
"Unit 5 does not fall into chaos just because the commander is absent. We have a competent desk officer, and every cadet has undergone thorough training. As far as I know, the academy teaches cadets to make sound judgments in any situation."
I glanced around the room.
"Or is that not the case for the other units?"
A provocative remark. A weak argument.
But no one could refute it.
There was a peculiar charisma about him.
Even those flimsy words, when spoken by Lee Cheol, felt like an undeniable truth.
'A leader in the making.'
That was what the Cadet Commander thought.
Even so, Unit 5's operation plan was far from conventional.
"…Still, in the end, luck played a major role in this mission. The venom of the Inmyeonju was far more potent than expected. If things had gone slightly wrong, we could have had a boss monster or a fully matured specimen on our hands…"
"You're talking nonsense."
I frowned.
"Sungmuiga* judges based on results. Are you seriously saying there are no variables in real combat? Regardless, Unit 5 overcame all those variables and successfully completed the quarterly assessment. That's all that matters. If you want to keep nitpicking over a mission that's already over, do it somewhere else. This is Sungmuiga."
A mere young cadet lecturing a Cadet Commander who had dedicated his life to Sungmuiga.
It was absurd.
Yet, there was nothing incorrect about what he said.
'…It wasn't just luck. Nor was it mere chance.'
The Cadet Commander's eyes sank deep in thought.
The plan, the logic—it was all ridiculous.
At first glance, it seemed as if this illegitimate son had relied purely on luck, executing a haphazard plan.
No. It only appeared that way.
'It looks reckless, but in the end, it was planned. It seems like he relied on passion and luck, but that bastard had conviction in this strategy. That's why he carried it out.'
To others, it looked like a series of fortunate events piling up.
To this illegitimate son, it was nothing more than executing his plan.
"Since the dungeon collapse occurred as a result of this mission, the warrior corps will be dispatched for follow-up measures."
"They should already be on their way."
"But Unit 5's mission was only to record the unusual phenomenon. Since they successfully carried out their mission, the rest falls under the jurisdiction of the family that issued the order."
The Cadet Commander gave a faint smile.
"Your strategy was so unconventional that even if we record the data, no one will be able to use it as a reference. It would be difficult to even assign a score to it."
I silently observed the Cadet Commander.
Just as I was about to think, 'Here we go again…'—
"However, since you completed the mission without a single casualty, it is fair to call this a perfect score. Congratulations. In this quarterly assessment, Unit 5 is the only team across all grades to achieve a perfect score."
The conference room buzzed with murmurs.
As I met the Cadet Commander's meaningful gaze,
I smiled in silence.
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