Chapter: 235
I smashed the head of the 100th-floor boss with my mace infused with divinity, and lo and behold, I was rewarded for the first dungeon clear!
The reward for the second semester dungeon was simply the epitome of simplicity.
Gold coins.
With a party of four, that meant I just received 400 gold coins all at once!
Even though I held an overwhelming amount of money, I felt nothing but emptiness in front of it.
If this had happened during the last auction… Nah. I still wouldn’t have been able to buy the tablet. My opponent was one of the richest people in the continent, after all.
[Hmm, this guy seems weaker than the necromancer I saw last time.]
“If we’re just looking at simple specs, that might be true.”
The reason that guy is bothersome to fight is precisely because he’s a gimmick-type boss.
If you skip the gimmick, his specs are actually nothing special.
Tossing the heavy leather pouch into my inventory, I casually replied to grandpa while waiting for the message window to appear.
Since I had completely cleared the Academy dungeon, my victory was already confirmed. So, I thought I would receive my reward, but Shoddy God remained silent.
What’s going on? As I cocked my head in confusion, I opened the quest window again.
[Teach the Second Prince a Lesson!]
[The Second Prince of the Soladin Kingdom has challenged you! Show him where he stands!]
[Make the Second Prince submit!]
Upon reading it again, the conditions for completing the quest were rather ambiguous. It doesn’t just say to win against the Second Prince, but to make him submit.
There is a significant gap between winning and making someone submit.
The former doesn’t matter how the Second Prince thinks, but the latter does. To clear the latter, I need to make the Second Prince acknowledge his defeat deep in his heart.
If that line truly means what it says, then this could become quite bothersome.
As everyone often says, ominous predictions never go wrong.
Even when I stepped outside the Academy dungeon and was congratulated by Joy and others, I did not receive my reward.
Even when the Dungeon Studies Professor, looking half out of it, came to congratulate me on my achievement, it was the same story.
No reward. Instead, I was informed that a meeting with the Dungeon Studies Professor was scheduled for later.
A few more hours passed, and during dusk, when the Second Prince came out to check the leaderboard, it was the same.
Despite recognizing his defeat, Shoddy God had nothing to say.
At this point, I could only conclude that the word “submission” indeed held its literal meaning.
So, I provoked the Second Prince. I made him swing his weapon at me.
The Second Prince is a pitiful prince, but he’s also a martial arts master. He’s one who values personal strength above anything else.
To crush his lofty pride in his strength, the easiest way would be to smash him head-on.
As soon as the Second Prince stepped out of the dungeon, I teased him to stomp on his pride.
Now, while he would have depleted his resources battling through the dungeon, would be the perfect moment for me to overwhelm him.
Seeing the desperate black aura that pierced through the divine shield, the Second Prince’s sword was heavy.
In terms of sheer power, it’s a level that cannot compare to Frey at this moment.
While Frey might excel in pure swordsmanship, if it comes to an actual match, I think Frey would lose.
Overcoming this gap in specs through skill would be difficult.
If he was at his peak, he could have been quite a threat.
But that’s only if he were at his peak.
After tirelessly clawing his way up to the 60th floor without a break, the Second Prince’s sword could never surpass my shield.
“Is that all a second-year’s aura can do? ♡ What can you possibly cut with that? ♡ It looks like it’ll bounce off a beetle’s shell! ♡ Bug Prince?”
Chak!
As I heard the sound of him grinding his teeth, the Second Prince gripped his sword tighter.
He thought he could crush my shield with his strength, but I wouldn’t allow that.
I would’ve been fine with a test of strength, but that would just create a stalemate.
And that wouldn’t do.
I needed to completely overwhelm the Second Prince.
I had to make him think he lost without being able to do anything.
I had to shatter the Second Prince’s pride.
Making someone submit is about that.
With a kick to the exposed stomach of the Second Prince, who was too busy focused on blocking with his shield, his body soared through the air.
It must have been an unexpected impact, yet the Second Prince landed smoothly on the ground without a scratch.
As the distance between us widened, a moment of stillness emerged.
However, nobody intervened between us.
I had predicted this would happen.
Watching from the sidelines were the professor and other students, including Joy and my friends. They simply stood by, observing this battle.
Typically, by this point, someone would sense something off, but the Second Prince had no room for that.
The Mesugaki Skill’s provocation worked even on Karia, the boss of Menestel.
The Second Prince, clearly weaker than her, wouldn’t be able to endure the provocation.
His rationality had already flown away.
The only thing in his mind was one thought.
To smash me to bits.
To teach that damn Mesugaki a lesson.
How unfortunate for him, but he wouldn’t be able to fulfill that desire.
This wasn’t a battlefield for me to be taught a lesson, but one to teach the Second Prince his lesson.
“Ruuushi Alruun!”
With a blood-curdling scream, the Second Prince charged at me.
His bulk and the impressive muscles that made him nearly twice my size, paired with the magic power amplifying his assault, were an onslaught that ordinary folks couldn’t even track with their eyes.
But I remained calm as I watched him.
Though the Second Prince could be used as an ally in the game Soul Academy, he was a character I encountered more often as an enemy.
So naturally, I was familiar with the techniques he used.
The timing for just parrying his charge was 0.8 seconds after his feet moved.
So.
Right now.
Chaeng!
The Second Prince’s sword, aimed to split my shield in half, was flicked away into the void without any resistance.
As a result, countless openings emerged for the now off-balance Second Prince.
Had he been at his peak, he would’ve forced himself to recover his center and continued attacking.
In reality, even if I succeeded in just parrying, I couldn’t cause the opponent to be knocked back.
But the current Second Prince could not do that.
Even if he were caught up in his rage and forgot his fatigue, his body still remembered it.
There are limits to what one can achieve merely with willpower. I wouldn’t miss that opening.
Using the shield infused with divinity for the strike.
The thick iron shield is an excellent bludgeon in itself.
What would happen if that hit someone in the face?
The Second Prince seemed certain of his future when he saw the shield coming towards his face.
He unwittingly squeezed his eyes shut.
But the shield never touched him.
It stopped just in front of his nose.
I had intentionally adjusted it that way.
Why?
Because he had to be humiliated.
As I lightly tapped his nose with my shield, the Second Prince staggered back, holding his nose.
Seeing the bewilderment and confusion in his eyes, I couldn’t help but chuckle, even if I hadn’t meant to.
“Puhut! ♡ Pu haha! ♡ How adorable! You squeezed your eyes shut like a child! ♡ Is our pitiful prince scared? ♡ Should I give you a comforting pat? ♡”
“How dare you belittle me!”
The battle continued.
Swords and shields clashed again and again.
The Second Prince was forced back repeatedly.
The outcome was already clear.
He was thoroughly exhausted,
Provoked to the point of losing sanity,
And in a frenzy, swinging his sword recklessly at me.
He couldn’t reach me.
He couldn’t get past my shield.
How many times had this happened?
The Second Prince, who had fallen again, supports himself on the ground.
“Isn’t it getting a bit tedious? Why not just give up? ♡ There’s nothing uglier than a man clinging on to a girl like this ♡”
As I spoke while watching the Second Prince, who was struggling to rise, he offered no reply.
“Your Highness…”
“It’s impossible!”
“Step back at least!…”
His gang’s voices cried out from behind, but the Second Prince was beyond hearing them.
Having succumbed to his own rage, he had already reached a point where he couldn’t halt his own actions.
This was becoming bothersome.
Provocation was working so effectively that it had consumed him entirely.
Once his reasoning had flown away completely, making him submit would be impossible.
sigh Why is that pitiful prince so needlessly resilient?
You’re not normally like this!
I figured you’d shout how trash you are and give up by now!
Upon concluding that to defeat me, he had to lose his mind, I exchanged glances with Luca on the professor’s side.
I still wasn’t confident in controlling my strength.
I could easily smash my opponent to pieces but controlling how much to mess with their mind was a different story.
So, I wanted the professor to step in and wrap this up, but Luca misconstrued my meaning.
“Seems the Young Lady doesn’t want any interference!”
No.
What the hell is that brat saying?
I’m asking for help!
I’m asking you to stop the Second Prince!
Why are you twisting it like that!?
“Since it’s a matter you started, I suppose you wish to see it to the end! So like the heir of the Allen Family!”
Hey. You did this on purpose.
You’re trying to mess with me!
You damn troublemaker brat!
“…Not yet.”
Just then, as I was about to let my voice drop, the Second Prince spoke.
Having finally managed to stand on his own two feet after countless struggles, he gripped his sword with both hands.
Dark aura enveloped his sword.
Not just any ordinary black aura,
But an aura that seemed to weigh down the surroundings, exuding physical pressure.
An aura with its unique characteristics.
He shouldn’t be able to unleash that at this moment.
[Is this an awakening achieved in dire circumstances?]
Huh?
Huh!?
…
Nooooo!
Why is the Pitiful Prince awakening like a protagonist in a crisis!?
Am I the villain?! The bad guy!?
No way!
That brat started all this petty business first, so why is he getting to shine in this moment?!
[How am I seeing something repeat that I've seen countless times before on the battlefield?]
‘Grandpa?! Aren’t you too relaxed just watching? We’re in a serious crisis right now!’
[What does it matter? It isn’t something I can’t stop.]
Hearing the grandpa’s voice, which held no sense of crisis, I sighed.
Honestly, grandpa knows me too well.
Taking a deep breath, I gathered divinity at the tip of my shield.
What I was about to do now was a poor re-enactment of the hero who supposedly faced the anger of the Evil God with just his shield.
Even though I still couldn’t perfect the Divine Technique, this representation is far from being perfect.
But it’s fine.
My shield wouldn’t break under such an attack.
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