Chapter: 103
Naturally, the dungeon strategy was going smoothly.
“Why are you trying to get close to the Young Lady!”
Every time a monster appeared, Karl made sure they wouldn’t step a foot closer to me, slaughtering them instead.
“I’ve disarmed the traps. You may pass.”
Alsatine, one of the higher-ranked Thief-type NPCs, simply disabled all the traps in the dungeon.
‘From now on…’
“Shoddy. From now on.”
As the party leader and a makeshift healer, I assisted them.
Excluding myself, they all had specs that were excessive for the early levels of this dungeon.
Just the presence of a single sword in this dungeon would be considered a disaster, yet with Alsatine added to the mix, the power we had was beyond enough.
With my knowledge as a veteran gamer factored in, this ship could be called a fast vessel sailing smoothly in favorable winds.
I had originally planned to tackle only one dungeon per day, but at this rate, two or three wouldn’t be a problem.
I knew Karl was capable, but Alsatine exceeded my expectations.
To think I could command someone like this because of debt!
I don’t even know how much profit I’m gaining from the involvement of the Newman Family.
Should I ask that old man Kurze later to recommend a good wig?
While I was having those thoughts, a message window popped up in front of me.
It’s almost never the case for the Shoddy God to send me messages without reason, so this one was from that petty Evil God.
[Agra is looking at you.]
Hello, you petty, cunning, and spiteful Evil God who tries to kill someone just because you’re slightly inconvenienced.
I knew you’d come.
I’d been expecting this since the last time you cast a shoddy trash-like curse on me and opened a window.
Did you think I brought Karl for no reason and half-threatened Alsatine too?
It’s because I anticipated you’d attempt something petty like this.
Come on, show me your foolish acts.
Are you planning to create a new dungeon?
With the current power, we can tackle almost any dungeon, so no problem there.
Are you going to teleport me again?
At this dungeon, I could handle it by myself, just with a bit of added time.
Or what are you going to do?
I’m curious.
How are you going to mess things up this time?
To be honest, saying it’s messing things up might be a bit much right now.
If I had to change the words, it might be more like farming support.
If possible, I’d appreciate something other than teleportation.
Teleportation just unnecessarily prolongs time and yields nothing beneficial.
[Young Lady, something is approaching from afar.]
‘Really?’
[It's a powerful opponent for a dungeon.]
A high-tier named monster appeared.
You really do give me the best farming opportunities.
This is the cleanest and most convenient thing.
‘Which direction?’
[In about 10 seconds. From the front.]
The voice of the Grandpa giving the warning was remarkably calm.
It’s the first time I’ve seen Grandpa so relaxed while giving a warning.
In the past, he used to shout during these moments.
Back then, my life would be hanging by a thread, so it was understandable.
What Grandpa told us was almost spot on.
Around the 9 to 10 seconds mark, a monster revealed itself before us.
With a silver mane holding the moonlight and fierce golden eyes encompassing the moon.
Wollang.
A wolf born under the moon.
A named monster that appears rarely in dungeons not located here.
That thing is definitely strong.
It has magic nullification properties, is fast, has high attack power, and thanks to its skin, has high defense too, making it quite troublesome.
On top of that, it could utilize several types of magic.
It’s no wonder it’s said to be harder than the boss of the dungeon it spawns in.
If I had encountered that thing while I was with Joyna or Arthur, I would have had to brace for death. But not now.
“It’s Wollang. A finicky beast.”
Upon seeing it, Karl leisurely raised his sword.
“Shoddy knight, please handle it without damaging its hide. It’s worth money.”
“Hey, information peddler. No one can call me shoddy except the Young Lady.”
“Is that so? I apologize, then.”
As the two, who had become somewhat friendly while conquering the dungeon, bickered, Wollang bared its teeth and charged at Karl.
With teeth that could chew through iron, it unfortunately couldn’t devour anything as it was struck down by Karl’s empty fist.
“All the income will be going to the Young Lady, right?”
“Can I at least get my selling commission?”
Watching their tension-free banter from the back, I felt I didn’t even need to give minimal commands.
Thank you, petty Evil God.
Not only are you sending me high-tier named monsters for experience points but also making my wallet fat!
Thinking back, it’s also thanks to the petty Evil God that I could get somewhat closer to Joyna and Arthur.
Since you put me in crisis by trying to mess things up, I made connections.
To think such a curse would bring me so much help.
Are you a tsundere by any chance?
Hmph. “I hate you so much!” is it?
You’re quite different from that one god I know who continuously reveals their perverted tastes while being utterly shoddy and useless.
Oh. Of course, I’m not referring to anyone specific.
I’ve just heard of a god like that.
Anyway, I’d appreciate your continued support going forward.
Because I’m planning to smash your head into pieces as soon as possible.
“Lady, it’s done.”
“Knight, it’s not done yet. We need to process it.”
While I stood back with my arms crossed, Karl had taken down Wollang without damaging its hide, and Alsatine pulled out a dagger from her waist to start cutting the hide.
Simultaneously, I felt an energy surging within my body.
Back when I was working on farming in the Soul Academy dungeon, I had to grind for hours, but thanks to the petty Evil God, I level up in one hit now.
I can’t voice my gratitude because of my Mesugaki skill, but just know that I’m truly thankful.
What if it’s not intended that way? What of it?
If you’re upset, deal with it directly… No, wait.
Saying unnecessary things might lead to strange situations, so let’s leave it at that.
So then, shall we carry this momentum and take on three dungeons today?
*
With the previous year’s magic power examination problems gifted by her older brother, Joy opened the answer sheet with a confident expression.
There were no questions she didn’t know.
Moreover, she even finished verifying her answers just in case she would make a mistake.
She would definitely get a perfect score.
Without a shred of doubt, Joy raised her red pen but frowned upon discovering an error in the fourth question.
What’s this? I had no mistakes when I checked?!
Perplexed, she glanced back and forth between the answer sheet and the question several times but couldn’t figure out what she had done wrong.
Could it be that her brother’s answer sheet had an error?
“Foolish Young Lady. Didn’t you make a mistake here?”
Looking up at the scornful voice coming from behind, she found Arthur Soladin standing there.
He pointed to the question and revealed where Joy had made a mistake.
Her mistake was trivial and rather amusing.
Joy couldn’t even figure out why she didn’t notice it, to the point of lamenting.
“You seem to be getting more foolish by the day.”
“You’re being too accusatory, Your Highness.”
“However, even though you’re improving, you still make mistakes in these basic parts.”
Joy couldn’t find any reply to offer and kept her mouth shut.
Joy and Arthur had been close since childhood.
Arthur knew all too well how often Joy made trivial mistakes.
So, trying to refute any further would only dig up Joy’s embarrassing past.
As Joy sulked, staring at the ground, Arthur naturally took a seat opposite her.
“Why are you studying alone? What about everyone else?”
“Just ended up this way.”
Normally, Joy would have studied with other young ladies.
She had received offers to join them today, just like in the past.
But Joy had declined those offers.
It was rather awkward due to something that had happened with the Young Lady of the Rumli Family recently.
“Really?”
“Your Highness, what brings you here?”
“I came to study. The midterm exam is just around the corner.”
Hearing that he came to study intrigued Joy.
Arthur usually didn’t like showing off his efforts.
He had a mindset that he must appear perfect, so while he always pretended to be relaxed on the outside, he actually continued pushing himself to the limits behind the scenes.
For someone like him to be here studying in the library?
That was something that would never have happened in the past.
“To beat Lucy Allen, I have to do everything I can.”
“So you’re trying to win in this midterm exam?”
“Right. I heard Lucy Allen spends all her time glued to her desk during class. Her academic performance must be lacking. This is the perfect opportunity.”
Arthur was grinning, determined to put Lucy Allen under him this time, showing a strong competitive spirit.
It didn’t seem to mix with any hatred or rage like last time.
“I’ll be giving my utmost this time, preparing better than ever for this exam. No matter how talented Lucy Allen is, she won’t be able to beat me with such laziness.”
“So after winning, you aren’t going to ask to be called by a different title?”
“Of course, I’ll say that, but there’s something else I want to discuss.”
Something else to discuss?
Joy questioned that word, but seeing the determined look in Arthur’s eyes, she kept her lips sealed.
Just as Arthur hadn’t inquired about Joy’s situation moments ago, it was Joy’s turn to consider Arthur now.
“Ah, by the way, Joy. I have something to ask you. Haven’t you been getting closer to Lucy Allen recently?”
“Maybe?”
Rather than getting close, it was more like being rolled around under Lucy, but Joy nodded her head nonetheless.
“Is Lucy studying somewhere that I don’t know about?”
Arthur’s question made Joy ponder deeply.
Is she studying?
She wakes up in the morning, trains until the academy classes start.
During class, she usually just sleeps.
And after class, she trains again until she falls asleep.
Not to mention that during weekends, she dedicates her entire day to dungeon exploration and physical training.
“I don’t know.”
“A secret, is it?”
“No, I genuinely don’t know.”
No matter how she thought about it, Lucy seemed to have no time for studying, right?
But wait, she did say she was confident about this exam last time.
What could that mean? Is Lady Allen actually making efforts somewhere hidden like Prince Arthur?
Sorry, but had she come up with that confidence with no basis?
Nah, that can’t be it.
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