Chapter: 323
When Toby heard the news that Lucy Allen would demonstrate a dungeon strategy, he dashed to the Dungeon Studies exam hall, abandoning even the expensive meal that Avery bought for him.
The young lady Allen, who designed the interesting dungeon, is personally going to teach us how to tackle her dungeon!
There must be so much to learn!
I can’t miss this precious opportunity!
‘Isn’t it a bit disgusting to always strut around with your shoulders stiff?♡ You look like a beast trying to appear bigger than you are♡ But deep down, you’re just a sloppy little premature idiot♡’
Just as Toby arrived at the exam hall, running at full speed.
Lucy Allen appeared on the video floating in the middle of the hall, strolling down the corridor and hurling insults at someone.
For words coming from a high-ranking noble, they were rather low-class.
As those remaining in the exam hall felt confused about how to react, Toby, who was feeling flustered, asked a commoner he was friendly with what was happening.
“…The young lady is proving that this video isn’t a recording in that manner.”
The fact that she was cursing the person who had just picked a fight with him to demonstrate that the video was live left Toby speechless.
Can a renowned lady from the Allen family behave like this towards another noble?
In a scene that defied common sense, while Toby blinked in disbelief, Avery, who had followed him, spoke up.
“Honestly, she’s being milder than what she used to be in the social circle.”
“L-Lumley Young Lady?!”
Toby’s friend gasped at Avery’s disheveled hair.
The fact that an aristocrat, known for her difficult personality and leading several young ladies, was speaking to them filled him with fear.
“What brings you here?!”
“Ask the dungeon fool beside you. I had planned to treat him to food, something a commoner wouldn’t experience in a lifetime, but he bolted the moment he heard it was about dungeons.”
“Well, this is more important to me than food.”
What the?! Is Toby crazy?! He doesn’t even find Lumley Young Lady scary!?
Avery shook her head in disbelief at Toby’s nonchalant behavior, but she didn’t get too angry since she acknowledged him during their dungeon exploration.
Of course, Toby knew this as well.
Growing up in a mercenary group, having such intuition was almost instinct for him.
Had Avery not shown a somewhat relaxed demeanor, Toby wouldn’t have dared to act like this.
“By the way, Lumley Young Lady, what do you mean by being milder than before?”
Sigh.
Avery sighed at Toby’s unfazed question, shrugged her shoulders, and turned her head toward Lucy on the screen.
“I mean it literally. The Lucy Allen who was active in the social circle back then was even worse, not better.”
If one looks past all the insane things Lucy did, just her conditions alone would qualify her to be at the center of the social circle.
As the only daughter of the kingdom’s hero, Benedict Allen, her status alone would draw attention from all directions. Plus, she possessed beauty that everyone in the social circle envied.
When Lucy Allen first appeared at a party in the capital, she could dominate the ball simply by her presence and attracted even more attention than royalty.
However, it took less than a year for her to be hated by everyone.
The thorns of the rose called Lucy Allen were not merely prickly but formidable weapons ready to stab anyone approaching her.
“If you had seen the young lady then, you would understand why many nobles tremble at the name Lucy Allen.”
Had Lucy’s personality remained the same as it was back then, she would have become a colossal force, roughly opposing Joy.
Her position as the daughter of a hero and doll-like appearance could easily overshadow several faults.
But then, Lucy’s personality was wicked to a degree incomprehensible compared to now.
“She once asked why a party was held in a pigsty, and then claimed it was because pigs lived there. She pointed at a baron and asked why he had no children, calling him a eunuch! She even smashed a vase over a young lady’s head who picked a fight with her!”
Avery, who had witnessed the numerous mishaps caused by Lucy and had been a victim of many herself, considered it a miracle that Lucy was still alive.
“Now, what Lucy Allen is doing isn’t even that bad. It’s cute, really. Cute.”
Hearing stories that far surpassed what he imagined made Toby understand why most nobles couldn’t even approach Lucy.
If just hearing about it was so dizzying, how would those who witnessed it react?
“They’ve moved to the first room.”
As Toby listened to Avery, who seemed to have more stories to tell, he turned his head with effort.
On the screen, Lucy stood in front of a soldier without any weapons or armor.
The soldier suggested arming up, but Lucy’s response was a mockery, fearing her excuses would run out.
Was the soldier angry after hearing Lucy’s laughter? The tendons in his hands bulged, and he thrust a spear toward her.
Swish! What speed! This opponent is much stronger than the soldiers we faced.
Is this dungeon not meant for first-year students but for upperclassmen?
Toby, a martial arts prodigy, easily intercepted the spear thrust, and caught a glimpse of Lucy dodging to the side well before the soldier’s attack was launched.
“…She didn’t just dodge that, right?”
Toby nodded at Avery’s muttering.
Lucy didn’t dodge the soldier’s attack; she was already in position to evade because she knew what attack was coming.
“The soldier’s attacks follow a pattern for the first ten strikes. The young lady who designed the dungeon would certainly know that.”
The attacks by the enemies in the first room always follow the same order for the first ten strikes.
Therefore, memorizing their actions allows anyone to overcome the soldiers.
‘No way there’s an idiot who can’t do even what a small girl like me can?♡’
It seemed the young lady wanted to convey this, but the way she expressed it was too provocative.
Thanks to that, most people took it as mockery and chuckled incredulously.
Afterward, Lucy continued in her own way, kindly explaining how to tackle the dungeon.
Pfft! Look at them scared of exposing their weakness♡ Isn’t this just too pathetic?♡
Since the soldiers prioritized protecting their weakness, one could notice their weak spot just by observing their movements.
Hoo boy! Acting as if they are tough when they think the illusion is real♡ Who would fall for such shoddy antics?♡
One can notice something odd about the wolves in the second room if you look closely. It’s an illusion, after all.
Eek! It’s true that I’m cute, but to charge in like that while saying you want to be stepped on is just… so disgusting♡ I don’t even want to touch you♡ It’s too much for my system♡
In the third room, you must only attack designated opponents.
At the same time, it’s possible to suppress them without dealing too much damage to the golems.
‘… That’s it!♡ With this many hints, there’s no way there are idiots who can’t figure it out!♡ If there are such fools, I’d recommend they try asking a dog to be friends!♡ Aww, would even a dog run in fright from such idiots?♡’
An explanation about the multitude of clues that can reveal that the fourth room is a dream.
Though Lucy’s tone when discussing herself was clearly not commendable, the contents she delivered were all useful.
Even Toby, who had finished the dungeon run, found things he hadn’t considered.
As a result, the overall atmosphere among those watching Lucy’s dungeon strategy in the exam hall gradually shifted.
As she casually strolled through the dungeon like a walk in the park, her demeanor contained the dignity of a dungeon designer.
More and more people became interested in learning from Lucy rather than wishing to prove her abilities.
This is the cute and nice tutorial I prepared!♡ Surely no one failed in this?♡ If there’s someone like that, they should spend another year in a shoddy academy and regret why they were so foolish!♡
“Crazy?! You’re being held back?!”
“I planned to join the mercenary group right after graduation!”
“No wayyyyy!”
Screams echoed from all over the exam hall, but Lucy Allen continued on with the dungeon as if she were unaware.
Meeting the dungeon boss, the opponent, Lucy landed without reducing her fall speed.
To most, it would be an unimaginable act, but Lucy casually dusted off her school uniform as if nothing had happened and spoke in a calm voice.
“Alright!♡ Attention, academy losers!♡ I’m going to point out how dumb you all are now!♡”
As she said that, Lucy didn’t head down to the basement but instead moved toward the mansion.
“Look at this dilapidated mansion that would make even a ghost flee in terror!♡ Even with brains as dumb as yours, you should see something here!♡”
With her finger that looked like it could break with just a touch, she pointed to the window.
A window that showed no view of the outside.
Next, she pointed to the ceiling.
A ceiling that appeared sound as it had just been demolished, unbelievable as it might be.
Lucy’s finger didn’t stop there.
A clock stuck at the same exact time.
A blurred portrait of a face.
The bizarre year inscribed below it.
A door that couldn’t be opened by any means.
Some neglected it entirely,
Others dismissed it as poorly made,
While others recognized it but couldn’t make anything meaningful of the numerous elements she pointed out.
In the end, Lucy arrived once more in front of the crystal ball with the number 0 marked on it.
“Last one!♡ The most important hint!♡ Why did this crystal ball suddenly appear?♡ Huh?♡ By now, even the densest should feel that something’s off!♡”
…Was there this many clues?
Though Toby reached the answer to the dungeon Lucy had created, he still hadn’t noticed every single clue left in the mansion.
A few of those clues alone would have sufficed to find the answer.
She was genuinely considerate. Far more than he had imagined.
“To help the b~lind ones who still don’t get it, here’s one more clue♡ What functions does this crystal ball have?♡ One is to save locations, and the other is?♡”
“…Moving freely between the previously conquered floors.”
At the murmuring of a man nearby, Toby turned his head.
There stood the Third Prince, who looked completely flustered, unable to manage his expression.
What’s with that face? Didn’t he already conquer the dungeon, having understood all the gimmicks?
Of course, he knew about those elements, but still, why?
As Toby was puzzled by Arthur’s expression, Lucy on the screen let out a Pfft sound.
“Time’s up~♡ For the dunderheads who couldn’t figure it out till now, just listen to my cute voice and lament that I was this foolish!♡”
As soon as she finished speaking, Lucy Allen placed her hand on the crystal ball, causing the scenery on the screen to change.
The initial corridor.
A place that anyone who had challenged the final exam dungeon would have encountered at least once.
Where it should have been blocked by walls.
There was a staircase leading down to the underground.
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