Chapter: 235
After smashing the head of the boss at level 100 with my divine mace, I was rewarded for being the first to conquer the dungeon.
The reward for the second semester dungeon was nothing less than sheer excellence.
Gold coins.
Based on a four-person party, that means I received 100 coins per person, totaling 400 gold coins all at once.
Although I now held a staggering amount of money, it felt utterly empty in front of me.
If only this had been during the last auction… no, I still wouldn’t have been able to buy the tablet. My opponent was one of the continent’s top merchants, after all.
[Doesn’t seem like this one’s as strong as the necromancer I faced last time.]
‘Well, if you’re just looking at stats, maybe.’
The reason that guy was a pain to deal with was because he was a gimmick-type boss.
Skip the gimmicks, and his stats aren’t that impressive.
I tossed the hefty leather pouch into my inventory and waited for the message window to pop up while lightly responding to Grandpa.
With my victory in the Academy dungeon already assured, I thought the rewards would come, but the Pathetic God remained silent.
What’s going on? I tilted my head and opened the quest window again.
[Teach the Second Prince a lesson!]
[The Second Prince of the Soladin Kingdom has challenged you! Show him his place!]
[Defeat the Second Prince!]
Reading it again, the conditions for completing the quest were quite ambiguous. It didn’t say to win against the Second Prince but to make him surrender.
There’s a huge gap between winning and making someone surrender.
The former doesn’t matter what the Second Prince thinks, but the latter does. To clear the latter, I need to make the Second Prince acknowledge deep down that he’s lost.
If that phrase means exactly what it says, things could get complicated.
As people often say, my ominous predictions were not wrong.
Even when I emerged from the dungeon to receive congratulations from Joy and the others, I wasn’t given any reward.
The dungeon studies professor, looking half out of it, came to congratulate me on my achievement, and still, no reward.
Instead, a meeting time was set up with the professor later.
Hours passed and as dusk fell, when the Second Prince stepped outside to check the rankings, it was the same story.
Even though he recognized his defeat, the Pathetic God said nothing.
At this point, I could only be certain that the word surrender held its literal meaning.
So, I provoked the Second Prince, getting him to swing his weapon at me.
The Second Prince is an idiot, but he’s also a martial artist. He values individual strength above all.
To make him surrender, the easiest way would be to smash him outright.
I started the taunt as soon as he stepped out of the dungeon, aiming to trample his pride.
Right now, worn out from tackling the dungeon up to level 60, was the perfect moment to overwhelm him.
I looked at the desperate black aura seeking to break through the divine shield.
The Second Prince’s sword was heavy.
In terms of pure power, it couldn’t even compare to Frey at his peak.
Sure, Frey might be better in pure sword skills, but in a head-to-head match? Frey would probably lose.
It would be hard to overcome the difference in specs with just skill.
If he were at his peak, he’d definitely be quite a threat.
But that’s only if he was at his best.
After pushing through the dungeon, the exhausted Second Prince wouldn’t be able to surpass my shield.
“Seems like the aura of a second-year isn’t a big deal, huh? ♡ What can you even cut with that? ♡ It looks like it would bounce off a beetle’s shell! ♡ How about that, Bug Prince?”
With a grind of his teeth, the Second Prince tightened his grip on the sword.
He probably thought he could suppress my shield with his strength, but I wouldn’t allow that.
I didn’t mind doing a power struggle, but that would lead to a tie.
And that’s something I can’t allow.
I have to completely overwhelm the Second Prince.
He needs to think he was defeated without being able to do anything.
I must shatter the Second Prince’s pride.
That’s what it means to make someone surrender.
As he focused on his shield, I kicked the second prince’s exposed abdomen, launching his body into the air.
That must have been quite a shock, yet the Second Prince skillfully landed without a scratch.
As the distance widened, a momentary lull followed.
Yet no one interfered between us.
Because I had foreseen this turn of events.
Even the observing professor, other students, and friends like Joy were just watching this battle passively.
Normally, someone would have sensed something unusual at this point, but the Second Prince had no such luxury.
The taunt from the Mesugaki skill worked on Karia, the boss of Menestel.
How could the now-weaker Second Prince withstand the taunt?
His reasoning had already flown out the window.
His mind was solely filled with one thought.
To smash me to bits.
To teach that little mesugaki a lesson.
What a sad tale, but he could never realize his wish.
This place isn’t a battleground for me to be taught a lesson; it’s one for me to teach the Second Prince a lesson.
“Lucy Alrn!”
With a bruised shout mixed with blood, the Second Prince charged forward.
His massive form, likely double my size, combined with his intimidating muscles and magical energy amplifying his assault, was a charge that most people wouldn’t even be able to keep track of with their eyes.
But I remained calm as I watched him.
In the game Soul Academy, the Second Prince was a character you could ally with, but you’d meet him more as an enemy.
So, naturally, I was familiar with the techniques he used.
The perfect timing for just-parrying his charge was 0.8 seconds after his feet moved.
So now.
Ching!
The Second Prince’s sword, aimed to split my shield in half, effortlessly bounced away into thin air.
As he lost his balance, countless openings appeared.
If the Second Prince had been at his best, he would’ve forced himself to maintain his footing and continue the assault.
But in reality, even if he succeeded in just-parrying, he couldn’t inflict a blow.
Yet right now, the Second Prince couldn’t do that.
Even with his fury pushing away fatigue, his body still remembered the exhaustion.
There’s a limit to what you can accomplish with sheer will. I seized that gap.
Using a shield imbued with divinity as a blunt weapon.
The thick iron shield was an excellent club in and of itself.
What happens if you get hit in the face with this?
The Second Prince looked at the shield rushing toward his face and seemed to see his future.
Unknowingly, he squeezed his eyes shut.
But the shield didn’t reach his face.
It stopped right in front of his nose.
I controlled it that way on purpose.
Why?
To give him humiliation.
As I lightly tapped his nose with the shield, the Second Prince stumbled back, clutching his face.
Seeing that bewildered look in his eyes, I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Puhahaha ♡ Look at you! Closing your eyes like a child! ♡ Are you scared, my Bug Prince? ♡ Need a little help? ♡”
“How dare you demean me!”
The battle continued.
The clash of sword and shield reverberated as the Second Prince was pushed back again and again.
The outcome was already clear.
He was thoroughly exhausted,
Provoked into losing his mind,
And swinging his sword wildly without any thought.
He can’t reach me.
He couldn’t cross my shield.
How many times did we repeat this?
Once again, the Second Prince fell to the ground.
“Could you please give up? ♡ Nothing’s more pathetic than a man clinging onto a girl! ♡”
As I called out to the swaying Second Prince, he didn’t respond.
“Your Highness…”
“It’s futile!”
“Just retreat for now…!”
The shouts of his followers behind him were the same.
Consumed by his own fury, his pupils had disappeared, reaching a point where he could no longer stop himself.
This is getting annoying.
I never thought the taunts would captivate him so entirely.
If he loses all reason, making him surrender is impossible.
Ugh. Why the hell does this idiot prince have to be so stubborn?
You weren’t this kind of person!
I thought you’d be the type to throw in the towel, shouting, “I’m trash!” by now!
Having come to the conclusion that I needed to break his mind to bring him down, I glanced at Luka from the faculty side.
I still wasn’t confident in controlling my strength.
I could pulverize him, but making him lose his mind was a bit tricky.
So I meant for the professor to step in and tidy things up, but Luka interpreted it differently.
“It seems the Young Lady doesn’t wish for any intervention!”
No.
What the heck is this guy talking about?
I’m asking for help!
I’m asking to stop the Second Prince?!
Why are you twisting it like that!
“Since you initiated this, surely you want to see it through to the end! Just like the heir of the Alrn family!”
Hey, you did that on purpose, didn’t you?
You’re just trying to make me look bad!
You little troublemaker!
“…Not yet.”
Just as I was about to give in, the Second Prince’s voice rang out.
After a tremendous effort, he finally stood up, gripping his sword with both hands.
At that moment, a dark aura enveloped the sword.
Not just any black aura, but one that felt heavy and oppressive, as if it presses down on everything around it.
An aura with its own unique characteristics.
That’s something the Second Prince shouldn’t be able to access right now.
[Is he awakening near the brink of extreme circumstances, huh?]
Huh?
Huh?!
…
No way!
Why is the idiot prince awakening like a protagonist in a crisis?
Am I the bad guy?! The villain?!
No way!
He started all this petty nonsense, so how come he gets this epic moment?
[To think I’d see something I’ve witnessed on the battlefield again.]
‘Grandpa?! Aren’t you a little too relaxed watching this? I’m in a major crisis right now!’
[What’s the big deal? It’s not like you can’t handle it.]
Listening to Grandpa’s utterly unconcerned voice, I let out a sigh.
He really knows me too well.
Taking a deep breath, I focused divinity at the tip of my shield.
What I’m about to do is a clumsy representation of the legendary hero who could withstand the wrath of the evil god with just his shield.
Even though I still can’t completely master divine martial arts, this representation is far from perfect.
But it’s alright.
My shield isn’t weak enough to break under an attack like that.
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