Chapter: 84
Thanks to Arthur’s willing agreement, the team was ready to head into the dungeon immediately.
“Karl?”
He’s fine; he comes running with his tail wagging the moment I say a word.
Just before we arrived at the dungeon entrance, recalling last time’s events, I hastily stopped and asked Arthur.
“Arthur, you don’t have any trauma regarding dungeons, do you?”
“Pitiful prince, you’re not going to wet yourself when you see the dungeon entrance, are you?”
“Is it because of Joy’s incident? If that’s the case, it’s alright. To her, threats to life were a daily occurrence.”
Arthur joked lightly, but I knew it wasn’t just a joke.
The struggles over the royal succession rights in this country are quite deadly.
With no one to back him up and no mother to protect him, Arthur had nearly faced deletion multiple times.
So, he wouldn’t be shaken by mere threats to his life.
He’s been through too many hardships to be flustered by that.
“I’d rather ask in reverse. Lucy Alrn, how about you? Don’t you want to cry when you see the dungeon entrance?”
‘I’m fine!’
“The pitiful prince trembling behind me is actually caring? Don’t worry, I’m okay.”
“Your Highness, you trembled?”
“I did not! I wasn’t scared at all!”
Arthur’s lips gradually stiffened at my mocking tone and Frey’s innocent question.
I guess it’s hard to bear a question hurled at him from the side without any malice when I manage just fine.
“Karl, how do you endure this?”
“You get used to it. The human heart slowly wears away.”
“Tough times indeed, really.”
While the two men comforted each other, we continued moving until we reached the dungeon’s entrance.
“So how many floors are we planning to climb today?”
‘We’re not climbing the dungeon today!’
“What? Was the pitiful prince planning to use me for a climb? What a pity. I’m not planning to go up any floors today.”
A dungeon conqueror from Soul Academy typically emerges exactly two weeks after midterms end.
Which means, if I conquer the academy’s dungeon completely before that, I could snag the reward given to the first conqueror.
I’m someone who could conquer an entire dungeon in just a day if I set my mind to it.
No need to rush into conquering a dungeon for rewards I don’t even need right now.
Last time, I genuinely gave it my all thinking I was in a speed run competition with Arthur, but this isn’t that scenario, after all.
“Hmm? Then why are you going into the dungeon?”
‘For leveling up!’
“To gain experience.”
My level has significantly risen since last time, now sitting at 15 already.
Considering the nearby characters hover around levels 4 to 5, that’s quite a high number.
However, it’s still insufficient.
In this reality-turned-game, what I need to pursue first and foremost is safety. Second is safety again.
Soon, the main story will kick off, and we’ll face the Apostle of the Evil God, right?
I need to be ready to subdue any variables that might arise.
The plan is to reach level 23 by today, considering future events, and stack my proficiency like mad.
Back when the game was just for fun, I deliberately kept my levels precariously low so I wouldn’t lose interest in grinding.
Those were the good days. Damn.
“Experience, huh? Do you really need something like that?”
Arthur asked, perhaps doubtful about the ambiguity of the word “experience” I used.
Explaining levels and proficiency to Arthur, an NPC in the game, sounds tedious, so I’ll just gloss over it for now.
‘Of course!’
“Pitiful prince, I’m also a person, you know?”
“Hmm, right. Given what you’ve shown, I thought you might be relating to trolls or evil beings.”
“Prince, I agree with that.”
Is Arthur trying to bounce back after all the insults I’ve thrown?
He blurted out something about trolls and evil beings.
Frey nodded vigorously next to him, while Karl struggled to hide his expression, turning his head away in a hurry.
Wait, why should I be the one hearing that I look like a troll?
While I admit that Lucy’s father, Benedict, is like a troll of a human, it’s strange for that to carry over to me!
‘Where do I even look like a troll?!’
“Pitiful prince, are your eyes that blurry? Calling me a troll, huh?”
“I wasn’t talking about your appearance. I was talking about your behavior.”
Arthur eagerly presented his rationale.
He mentioned my incredible recovery from facing the Minotaur last time.
The unnatural tenacity I exhibited during training.
The absurd strength coming from my small frame.
Listening to each point, it doesn’t seem unreasonable if they think I’m not human after all.
“I think those are about all the reasons I can gather. Got any arguments against them?”
Arthur’s meticulous mockery shows just how dedicated he is to teasing.
The confident smile on his face just irks me.
Is he planning to label me a troll no matter what I say?
Fine then, let’s see how I can turn this against him unexpectedly.
‘If Arthur wants to label me a troll, I’ll grant him that.’
“Pitiful prince is so desperate to tease a girl like this. So sadly, don’t worry; I’ll grant it.”
I covered my mouth and flashed him a playful grin, making Arthur stare blankly at me.
Ha! He probably didn’t expect me to go for a frontal assault!
With that, he’s become a petty prince hell-bent on teasing girls!
“Wait, Lucy…”
‘Let’s go!’
“Let’s go, into the dungeon. How long are we going to keep chatting?”
He left without giving me a chance to reply.
A flawless victory.
“Didn’t you just admit to being a troll though?”
Frey muttered something from behind, but I ignored it.
Frey, read the room!
Are you trying to get stomped during our next sparring session?
To grind experience efficiently, the best option is to head to an external dungeon like Evans’ dungeon, which persists instead of disappearing.
Repeatedly conquering such dungeons is efficient.
However, to access external dungeons from Soul Academy, you must be a second-year student.
During the first year, you’re stuck in the academy’s dungeon.
No issue there.
Gamers are people who always seek the best efficiency in any situation.
Naturally, the optimal ways to level up as a first-year student in Soul Academy have already been researched.
There are several routes available.
Now, since I plan to raise my level from 15 to 23, I’ll start from the 34th floor.
As I entered the dungeon, I tilted my head, looking at the surrounding scenery.
Surely, I set it to start from the highest floor, yet why are we on the 7th floor?
‘What gives?’
“Hmm? Why is it the 7th floor?”
I swear I cleared up to the 30th floor last time.
While pondering this, I remembered that Arthur was a new addition to the team.
‘Ah, right. Arthur could only clear up to the 7th floor, huh?’
“Oh right. The pitiful prince could only conquer up to the 7th floor — what a loser!”
I let that slip out unintentionally, but my Mesugaki skill turned it into a taunt.
Glancing at Arthur’s face, he was smiling, but his eyes stayed the same.
“Sorry for calling you a loser, troll young lady.”
‘No, it’s fine! I can go up in no time!’
“What? No worries. Unlike the pathetic pitiful prince, I can go up in no time.”
“Yeah? I’ll hold you to that.”
*
“When we pass through the alley, a useless goblin is going to shoot some pathetic arrows. I’ll block them, so Frey, take its head.”
Lucy was right.
The moment we reached the end of the alley, a goblin waiting on the opposite side shot an arrow. As soon as it was blocked, Frey swung his sword, decapitating the goblin.
Lucy, confident in her actions, embraced certainty while Frey, who didn’t doubt her words, created a wonderful harmony.
Truly marvelous. Arthur admired this inwardly.
He felt the same during their previous trap misadventure; Lucy Alrn’s ability to conquer dungeons was nothing short of transcendent.
If someone were to say Lucy had been involved since the inception of this dungeon, Arthur would nod his head in agreement.
Even aware of the dungeon layout through blessing effects, executing such commands isn’t merely based on carrying information.
That’s talent.
It’s the instinct to know how to use the information given by the gods most efficiently.
With skills like that, isn’t Lucy Alrn likely better than most command leaders of knight orders?
No wonder Armadi delivered a blessing upon her.
If someone like her existed, even I would want to support her.
Arthur thought this but refrained from voicing it out loud.
Complimenting her would no doubt elicit more remarks about being a loser or some jab about being garbage.
Thus, the party continued to conquer the dungeon at an amazing pace under Lucy’s command.
Visi, who had been a burden, was now transformed into viable combat power as Arthur stood strong.
Naturally, they conquered the dungeon far faster than last time.
It took less than 10 minutes to go from the 7th to the 10th floor, and only 30 minutes to reach from the 10th to the 20th.
Lucy reached her goal of the 34th floor about two hours after they entered the Academy dungeon.
“What’s this, pitiful prince? Struggling? You were so confident at first.”
It genuinely felt like I was about to die.
We had hardly fought, yet just sprinting like this had me feeling this way.
As Arthur clutched his knees, struggling to catch his breath, I heard a voice laced with mockery from the front.
“Is it because you have such pathetic stamina that you’re getting humiliated, poor prince?”
When he lifted his head slightly, Lucy Alrn’s calm face, unmarred by stress, came into view.
A tiny bead of sweat trickled down, but otherwise, her breathing was normal.
How can she remain so calm after running with that heavy armor and shield?
Is she genuinely pure human?
No matter how I look at her, she seems like she has some not-human blood mixed in.
“If I had my way, I’d prefer to keep moving.”
Push forward with more strength?!
Is this girl a demon?
If she continues like this, she’ll collapse before even facing any monsters!
“If the pathetic pitiful prince earnestly wishes for a break, I’ll allow us to rest briefly.”
You’re kidding me?
As the kingdom’s third prince, I’m going to appeal to you?
“What will you do then, pitiful prince?”
Her eyes curved into a crescent as she looked down at Arthur.
Lucy’s intentions were crystal clear.
She was teasing him, fully aware he’s already at his limit.
What to do?
My body had already reached its limit.
Even if I grit my teeth and try to keep moving, soon enough I’ll crumble, and I’d just give her another reason to mock me.
I didn’t want to give her any ammunition.
But rather than allowing my pride to collapse, it might be better to—
“…Can you let me rest?”
Arthur murmured those words softly, much like a sigh escaping him. Lucy tilted her head in confusion.
“Pardon? What did you say, pitiful prince? I didn’t catch that.”
This girl!…
There’s no way someone with your superior physical abilities couldn’t hear that!
She intends to humiliate me, doesn’t she?!
Am I being teased just because I’ve been called a troll?!
How petty! Truly petty!
Arthur internally exploded with frustration, yet he had no proper method to retaliate.
“I said I’d like to take a short break.”
“Aha, understood. If the pitiful prince wishes to take a break that badly, then let’s take a short one.”
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