The Academy Geniuses I Raised and Dressed-Chapter 191 : The Uncovered Lid (3)

The next day, 10 p.m.
Cheon Jiweon was on his way to the Fortress Dungeon with Nadia.
A few members of the Peacekeeping Force accompanied them.
Officially, it was to personally investigate the depths of the newly appeared dungeon in Seoul together with his old comrade, Nadia.
But in truth, the force only followed them as far as the first floor—just to the gate itself, where the entry portal still shimmered.
“You will wait here. If Nadia and I do not return within eight hours, go out and the situation.”
Jiweon looked at the squad standing at the portal.
“Will you really be all right, sir?” asked the squad captain, Lee Seon.
“We’ll be fine. If something happens to us in there, you wouldn’t be able to handle it anyway. We’re only going to take a look today and return. It’s too dangerous to rush into unknown depths without knowing what lies ahead.”
“You’ve grown timid in your old age,” Nadia scoffed.
Jiweon answered with a bitter smile.
“See you later, then.”
Jiweon and Nadia crossed the drawbridge and stepped through the gate.
At once, skeletal monsters appeared—but they shattered into dust before they could even blink.
The two walked leisurely through the collapsing monsters as though they were merely out for a stroll.
“Mayor’s power is always overwhelming,” one of the squad members murmured, staring at their receding figures.
“Yes. Truly a man deserving of the title strongest awakened,” Lee Seon replied.
Moments later, the two disappeared from view.
“…All right, let’s head back,” Lee Seon said.
“Yes, sir.”
Ignoring the mayor’s order to wait eight hours, he led his men out of the portal.
Ten minutes later, Jiweon and Nadia had already reached the third floor.
“This is almost too easy,” Nadia said, glancing back at him.
The blue aura radiating from Jiweon glowed faintly around them.
“It’s like carrying around a totem that keeps all the monsters away.”
“Are you certain this dungeon leads to a portal connected to where they are?” Jiweon asked, his eyes scanning the left corridor.
Undead monsters rushing toward them collapsed as though slammed into the ground, disintegrating into dust.
“Yes. These new dungeons all extend to the tenth floor. Defeat the boss there, and a red portal appears. That portal always leads to the true Demon Realm. I’ve confirmed it with my own eyes in several dungeons.”
“How many?”
“Eight.”
“You cleared eight dungeons alone?”
“Of course.”
Nadia walked ahead.
“Going with others only slows me down. They wouldn’t move the way I want them to, and they’d just expect me to carry them. Why bother?”
“So that’s why you insisted on bringing only me tonight.”
“What? Are you complaining now? You agreed. You said if people learned too much about the deeper Demon Realm, it could cause panic.”
She arched a brow at him.
“I’m not complaining. Just confirming.”
“Confirming? You’re getting forgetful already? Old age catching up to you?”
“Sometimes I do forget to turn the bathroom light off,” Jiweon replied dryly.
He glanced back—the skeletons clawing up from the ground crumbled before they even emerged.
“Ha!”
Nadia laughed and continued forward.
Jiweon bit his lip as he stared at her back.
The reason she insisted on bringing only me, without reinforcements, is because she doesn’t want any witnesses… right, Nadia?
Everything Yein had said matched perfectly. Nadia claiming she had found a way to reach their comrades in the true Demon Realm… and bringing Jiweon into the newly emerged dungeons.
But… is Nadia really brainwashed?
Doubt still lingered in his heart.
Could Yein’s story really be true?
Or was it a deliberate distortion to manipulate him?
Could someone from a parallel world truly exist?
The questions kept circling in his mind.
And Nadia—speaking and acting exactly as she had decades ago—made it even harder to believe she had fallen to the Latesai.
Dozens of minutes later, they reached the seventh floor.
Nadia still hadn’t drawn a weapon once. She hadn’t needed to.
Ordinary monsters, elites, even bosses—everything had disintegrated into motes of light before Jiweon’s overwhelming power.
The ground behind them was littered with materials and demonic relics.
“So the seventh floor really does open a Mind Realm portal,” Jiweon muttered.
“What? You’ve never seen one?” Nadia asked, watching him stand before the swirling gateway.
“That’s right. This is my first time.”
“Your ass has gotten heavy.”
“I’ve had a lot on my plate.”
She snorted.
“We’re close now. Let’s pick up the pace. I’ll join in too.”
She reached under her cloak and drew two daggers.
“Wait.”
“…Huh?” Nadia frowned.
“I’ve been thinking. We should turn back tonight.”
“What kind of nonsense is this?”
“The risk is too great. If our comrades truly are in the deeper Demon Realm, there must be a reason they haven’t returned. If we rush in and get trapped as well, it will all be meaningless.”
“Cheon Jiweon.”
Her expression turned dark.
“Just admit it. You’re scared.”
“If that’s what you want to hear, fine. I
am
scared, Nadia. Precisely because this might be our only chance to save them.”
“What do you mean?”
“If I squander this opportunity… I don’t think I could live with myself.”
“…Haa.”
“Let’s go back. We can thoroughly investigate the Demon Realm first and—”
“Enough.”
Nadia’s voice was icy. She slid her daggers back into their sheaths.
Jiweon’s face relaxed slightly.
And then, in her hands, appeared a crossbow aimed directly at his face.
“Nadia…”
“Looks like all those years in office turned you soft. Don’t worry. I’ll beat that softness out of you until the old fire comes back.”
“You mean to drag me by force.”
“Hmph. Took you long enough to figure it out.”
“I don’t want to fight you.”
“Then come quietly.”
“Is it so wrong to want caution?”
“Is it wrong to want to confirm our comrades’ safety as soon as possible?”
“Nadia. Do you have any proof they’re really there? Did you see them with your own eyes?”
“Shut it, coward. If you want to know, see for yourself.”
“…Very well.”
Jiweon pulled a long black staff from his inventory, holding it tightly with both hands. His expression twisted in anguish.
Fwish!
Nadia pulled the trigger.
The bolt glowed red and ignited in flame as it shot toward his face.
Jiweon tilted his head slightly—dodging with ease.
The next moment, Nadia’s knee buckled and her body faltered.
“Urgh…!”
She straightened up forcefully, shaking off whatever hindered her, and reloaded at blinding speed.
Fiery bolts erupted like machine-gun fire.
Jiweon dashed forward, dodging every shot with nothing but footwork.
“Tch.”
Nadia clicked her tongue. Again her knee dipped.
“Pointless!” she shouted.
“Your ability is nothing more than a slowing debuff when the level gap is this wide!”
“So you really
have
been running dungeons alone!” Jiweon shot back, altering his path straight toward her.
The ring on his finger gleamed.
Nadia swung her crossbow back up to fire.
Thud-thud-thud!
Every flaming bolt shattered against a glowing blue barrier. A rare-grade mana shield skill.
Jiweon closed the distance in an instant.
Nadia stowed her crossbow and drew her twin daggers.
Clang!
Her right-hand dagger met Jiweon’s staff in a flash. With her left, she slashed for his abdomen.
Jiweon twisted away—
—but Nadia’s ring flared red.
Boom!
The ground shook, a shockwave rippling outward.
“!”
Jiweon stumbled, dropping to one knee, hand braced on the floor.
He rolled aside with gritted teeth—
Whoosh!
Her blade cut the air where he’d been.
“…Haa.”
Jiweon exhaled with genuine relief. His shirt was torn wide open
A long gash marked his chest, the muscle beneath bloodied. But the bleeding stopped quickly, the wound knitting shut.
“You’re still as fast as ever.”
“And you’ve gotten sly. Back then you only relied on brute force.”
Indeed—Nadia’s strike had been aimed at his throat. But in a split second, Jiweon had slowed her movement with his ability, letting the blade graze lower.
The next instant, Nadia vanished in a flash of green light.
Jiweon instantly cast another mana shield behind him.
Clang!
“Tch.” Nadia clicked her tongue.
Her dagger slammed against the mana shield.
“Nadia. Even now, you can still stop this. We have no reason to fight.”
“Shut up.”
She pressed forward, unleashing a flurry of blows.
Jiweon parried with his staff, locked in pure defense. Every clash of their weapons shook the air and sent dust flying in all directions.
He couldn’t find an opening for skills, only barely holding her off. His expression grew darker by the second.
Even slowed by his ability, her attacks were so fast he couldn’t fully keep up. He managed to avoid fatal strikes, but shallow wounds multiplied across his body.
His clothes were shredded rags. Blood smeared his skin faster than it could heal, painting him red.
As Jiweon sweated under the pressure—Nadia’s form shimmered, briefly turning translucent.
The moment he saw it, Jiweon ducked low without hesitation.
Swish!
Slice!
Two sharp sounds split the air—followed by a third, sickening one.
“Urgh!!”
Jiweon gritted his teeth and teleported away in a flash of green light. He reappeared a short distance off—but collapsed and rolled across the ground.
Thud!!
“Urghh…”
Sweat poured down his face. He glanced at his ankle.
The flesh was carved so deep bone was exposed. Black rot crept outward—poison.
“Nadia… you remember?”
“Our sparring record.”
“Forty-five matches. Forty-three wins, two losses. All mine.”
Her voice came from three directions at once.
“…Yeah. I could never keep up with your combat sense. And your level was always higher, so my ability was useless against you. Meanwhile, yours was damn near cheating. I hated it…”
Jiweon lifted his head with a bitter smile.
Three Nadias stood before him.
The ability—
Clone.
As far as he knew, it created a copy with half the user’s power.
He’d always thought her gift absurdly unfair. Her clones lasted indefinitely. Every spar, he’d been forced to fight
two
Nadias at once.
The penalty—halving available MP—barely mattered, since she still had enough for skills.
“Now you have three. And stronger than before. Your ability level must’ve gone up.”
Jiweon pulled antidote and HP potions from his inventory and poured them directly on the wound.
“!!”
He clenched his teeth. Smoke hissed as muscle and skin knit back together.
Unsteady, but standing once more.
“Nice potions you’ve got,” Nadia sneered.
“But I won’t let you patch yourself up again.”
“Understand? This is your last chance.”
The three Nadias spoke in unison:
Put away your weapon and come quietly. If you want to save our comrades, I need your power.
“……”
Jiweon studied them in silence. Then he stowed his staff in his inventory.
One Nadia’s mouth curled upward—then flattened.
In his hand now was a magic staff.
The ring on his finger glowed blue. The floor around them blackened instantly.
“What is this…!?”
Nadia’s expression stiffened.
Her clones consumed 45% of her MP each. With two summoned, she had only 10% left.
And that 10% just vanished.
“What kind of skill is this?” Her eyes wavered.
“A curse. Anyone within range loses part of their MP. You can’t use skill gems now.”
Nadia tried to dismiss a clone, to regain MP.
“!?”
But nothing happened.
“Why won’t it—?”
“Because you don’t even have enough MP left to cancel them. Seems your gift has that little flaw.”
Jiweon raised his staff.
“Nadia… I’m sorry.”
The tip glowed with blue light.
She paled. With no skills, she couldn’t dodge or block—only attack to interrupt him.
She and her two clones charged.
But halfway across the gap, Jiweon’s spell detonated.
The blast engulfed the rooftop, swallowing her whole.
Flames roared. Nadia and her clones writhed within.
“Aaaghhh!!”
Her scream made Jiweon flinch, eyes squeezing shut.
But he cast again. Then a third time.
Only that would be enough.
Even wreathed in fire, she still drew her crossbow—aiming at her own head.
“Nadia. Did you know?” Jiweon’s voice trembled.
Blue aura poured from him.
“You’re not the only one whose ability has grown these past decades.”
Suddenly—her hands holding the crossbow flattened as if crushed in a press.
“Kyaaaahhh!!”
She shrieked, dropping the weapon.
“If I narrow the range and focus the target, I can hurt even those stronger than me.”
His face twisted with sorrow. Staff leveled at her.
Her clones had already vanished. Nadia knelt, head bowed, trembling.
“…Pathetic… So you’ve been going easy on me all this time?” she whispered hoarsely.
“You always lost to me, cried like a kid… at least you were cute then. But now… your eyes… are like a snake’s.”
“I’m sorry.”
His second apology.
A massive fireball blasted from his staff.
Boom!!
His old comrade was swallowed by the explosion.
When the smoke cleared, Jiweon stared down at her scorched body. His eyes closed—then opened.
He took a small inventory case from his pocket.
It was a Peacekeeping Security Force kit—potions meant to subdue awakened.
He doused her with sleep and silence potions until she couldn’t fight back. Then he confiscated her inventory and weapons.
Finally, he bound her like a mummy in Blackwater roots and slung her over his shoulder.
He approached the return portal—then paused.
Not like this.
Stripping his ruined rags, he changed into simple cloth armor from his inventory.
Outside the dungeon, the waiting Peacekeeping Security squad spotted him.
“…Well done, sir,” Lee Seon said, eyes fixed on Nadia’s bound form.
Jiweon laid her gently on the ground.
“Take care of her.”
“Yes, sir.”
The squad lifted her unconscious body and carried her away.
Jiweon followed silently.
“Isn’t that the mayor?”
“Who’s that all tied up?”
“Did he kill someone?”
“No way.”
“Then why’s he here?”
Murmurs rose from the onlookers.
Jiweon pulled out his phone and typed a message.
[Yein. Nadia has been subdued. Your plan worked perfectly.]
A reply soon came:
[Thank you for your hard work. I’ll continue preparing for the Latesai.]
Jiweon slid the phone back into his pocket.
Latesai… the root of everything.
He clenched his jaw.
Even if it costs me my life, I’ll destroy them.
The sound of grinding teeth echoed in the dark.
(End of Chapter)