Chapter: 423
As I climbed through the academy dungeon, I mentally sketched the map.
I wasn’t preparing for the next step just yet.
The academy dungeon has at least ten or more configurations.
What difference would it make to know just one of them right now?
Of course, I planned to memorize all of the dungeon’s layouts.
I intended to devise the optimal route from that knowledge!
But the reason I was currently roaming through the academy dungeon was for now, not the future.
While analyzing the dungeon’s structure, I could naturally perceive trends. I was trying to guess what the next gimmick might be.
What I felt was that this dungeon was undoubtedly influenced by me.
It had explicit clues mixed with subtle hints here and there.
It focused on combat mechanics to break through, yet there were physical ways to get through as well.
Even parts where I was sure it deviated from the creator’s intention had endings prepared.
Just looking at it now, I could tell.
When I purified the hordes of ghouls on the 49th floor with sacred magic, they thanked me and disappeared.
They even tried to throw hints my way.
Thanks to me getting annoyed and telling them to stop messing around, it merely ended in an attempted hint.
Ah, thinking back, it still frustrates me. Why were they trying to spoil things I hadn’t even asked for?
Dungeons are all about the thrill of conquering the unknown. Why are they trying to steal my fun?
Grumbling, I arrived at the boss room and opened the door without hesitation.
What awaited inside was formless liquid.
It bore no strength, no weakness, nor any sacred or unclean qualities—it felt strangely empty yet possessed an unsettling power that could terrify a person.
I’d never seen this type of monster before.
Maybe it was a new creation?
As I watched it crawl across the floor, I noticed its liquid form extending like a sharp spear, prompting me to move my shield.
Clang!
The impact that transmitted through the shield was quite strong.
A person unaccustomed to fighting would probably have died from that hit.
Perhaps this year’s first-year students would come out of their dungeon experience traumatized.
I dodged its successive strikes by twisting my body and swung my mace at the center of the liquid.
Upon contact, with a splattering sound, the liquid surged outward, but its attacks didn’t cease.
Physical attacks seem pointless.
Next, I tested a sacred attack, but it yielded no different results.
Even in its scattered state, the liquid retained its will to attack me.
Hmm. Seems like it’s not the type that can be defeated just by beating it up.
Evading the projectiles shot from the scattered liquid, I glanced around the boss room.
The dark basement was made of stone. Shards of glass lay scattered around. Some faded magic circles sprawled across the floor.
Taking in all that, I realized the situation had become troublesome, and my lips pursed.
This area seems to require quite a bit of magical knowledge.
[At last, the moment of classics has arrived.]
‘…Grandfather, why do you sound so interested instead of worried?’
[Because worrying about you in a dungeon would be the most pointless thing to do.]
His advice to flip my perspective made me unexpectedly concede.
Thinking about the outrageous acts I’d shown my grandfather so far, it was normal for him not to worry.
But that didn’t lessen my annoyance.
It’s frustrating when someone who should give advice is munching on popcorn!
It’s only fair revenge!
‘Oops! My hand slipped~’
[…Lucy?! What the hell are you—]
I slyly tossed my grandfather into the liquid and pulled out an extra mace from my inventory.
Compared to my grandfather, it was truly a piece of junk, but it wouldn’t hinder my fight with this boss.
After all, this isn’t an enemy to be tackled with physical prowess.
Amused at the sight of my grandfather floundering in the sludge, I dodged the mass of liquid that sought to crush me and shifted my focus back toward the inner part of the boss room.
Nothing visually striking caught my eye. The only answer I received was the grossness of everything here.
But identifying the weakness was different. The boss’s desire to remain hidden illuminated a spot glaringly bright in my eyes.
The problem is, that spot was in the middle of that filthy liquid.
Eww. The thought of jumping in there feels wrong.
What should I do?
Ah, right. I realized I didn’t necessarily need to jump into the liquid.
I could just blast it from the center without stepping into it—why bother contemplating this?
Deciding quickly, I gathered sacred energy at the tip of my mace.
Although a non-legendary mace wouldn’t absorb the sacredness smoothly, that was nothing for me now.
When I first started handling sacred energy, it had been a challenge.
Now, dealing with it was second nature.
As I channeled the energy into the tip of my mace, the liquid seemed to sense something amiss and began a ferocious assault against me.
It tried to swallow me whole.
It tried to crush me.
It aimed to pierce me.
Yet, none of its attacks even grazed my shield.
The signs of its attacks were so obvious that there was simply no way to get hit.
Thus reaching near the center of the liquid, I jumped up and slammed down onto it while unleashing the sacred energy gathered within my mace.
The liquid, unable to withstand the shock, exploded outward, revealing the place my eyes had pinpointed.
At first glance, there was nothing visible.
Maybe below? Good, then let me strike again with my mace.
…Wait? Why is the head of my mace gone?
Did it explode along with the liquid just now?!
I let out a hollow laugh at the absurdity and discarded the weapon that now only had a handle.
Gathering sacred energy onto my fist, I punched down on the floor at that moment, revealing the boss who was controlling the liquid from the concealed space above the magic circle.
Hmm. So that’s why I couldn’t sense the presence down here—there were all kinds of spells set to block detection above this floor.
Much effort was put into this.
But even that was futile now.
As the mage who was hidden below tried to cast magic upon seeing me, my hands were faster as I clasped around their neck.
With the disappearance of the mage controlling the liquid, the sludge began to flow down the hole.
As I stared in bemusement at him wrinkling his nose, I maintained my grip on my grandfather who was about to plummet along with the sludge.
Ugh. Will the purification magic clean this up?
I worried about the possibility, but thankfully, the cleanse magic did its job effectively.
After confirming my grandfather now looked spotless, I shook my head and held him tightly.
‘Grandfather, I’m sorry. This was all due to my mistake.’
[…Mistake? Mistakeee?]
‘You must have had a tough time. But it was only for a moment, and now you’re clean!’
[Is that what you call a justification?!]
“Gah!?”
Startled by his loud shout that rattled my head, I was forced to sit down on the filthy ground while facing his lecture.
[Lucy! You, seriously! You have no sense of respect! Respect! Back in my day!…]
Ugh. This time, I probably went a bit too far.
Next time, I should do my best to not let them catch on that it was intentional.
If I pretend to be forced into a mistake after a rough hit, it should be fine.
[Are you even listening to me?!]
‘I’m listening! Just don’t yell so loudly, it gives me a headache!’
*
Arthur, who fainted while raiding the boss on the 90th floor of the academy dungeon, woke up outside the dungeon.
The bright sky he saw before entering had now turned into a sunset.
“Is it already this time?” He staggered as he got up, feeling hunger pangs in his stomach, and let out a heavy sigh.
It’s only natural to be hungry after moving non-stop since eating breakfast before entering the dungeon.
First, he thought about having dinner and continuing forthe conquest until the dungeon entrance closed.
As he thought that, he shifted his gaze toward the board indicating students’ scores.
Just this morning, Arthur’s group’s names were at the top, but now, another name had been inscribed there.
Lucy Alrn. She had entered the dungeon a day late due to restrictions and had now surpassed Arthur’s group.
So even with all sorts of restrictions applied, that’s how formidable she was.
“Looks like disregarding Lady Alrn’s complaints and adding more restrictions might have been a mistake.”
Following that, Joy, who had been expelled from the dungeon outside, spotted Lucy’s name and let out a bitter laugh.
Even though they were moving at an overwhelming pace compared to other students, Lucy had single-handedly surpassed them all, leaving them with no choice but to feel deflated.
“Already on floor 99, huh?”
“It’s impossible to turn it around at this point, right?”
“Probably.”
“Damn. It can’t be helped. Let’s just go eat. We’ll worry about what kind of terrible penalty Lucy Alrn will impose later.”
Since Arthur’s group thought that the gap was too wide to close by speeding up, they discussed waiting for Lucy to come out while they ate.
However, Lucy Alrn did not exit even after they finished their meal.
By the time they returned to the dungeon entrance, her name remained fixed at floor 99.
Seeing this, Arthur tilted his head, while Joy asked the Young Lady nearby how long Lucy’s name had been there.
The Young Lady from the Rumley family blinked and estimated, saying that it seemed like it had been about two or three hours.
But the boy next to her corrected her.
“It’s been exactly two hours and twenty minutes since it was stuck on floor 99. Something must have gone wrong.”
Upon hearing the boy’s words, the four of them exchanged silent glances and then dashed back into the dungeon.
Their wager with Lucy Alrn was not finished yet.
*
On the 99th floor of the academy dungeon.
I, who had been charging through the dungeon with the momentum to conquer it all in one day, was blocked by a wall just before the end.
What’s the problem, you ask?
The monster isn’t so strong that I can’t handle it.
This dungeon’s motto is that all students of the academy should be able to conquer it, so there couldn’t possibly be anything I couldn’t handle.
It’s not that I don’t understand the gimmicks.
No matter how creative the academy professors are, they’re still just NPCs inside the game.
To me, who had faced all sorts of absurdities outside the game, it was nothing at all.
So what’s the issue, you ask?
It’s simple.
This is the 99th floor.
This damn place is structured so that it can’t be conquered without a four-person party!
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