Chapter: 425
The Dungeon Studies professors of the Soul Academy were gathered early in the morning at the monitoring station, sipping tea.
Even those who had just recently become professors and those with long careers and high reputations had come together, which was quite unusual.
Normally, they would be busy managing graduate students and rolling along with them, but they had abandoned their usual tasks to gather here because the effort they had put into this dungeon was significant.
From the start of the Academy’s vacation until now, everyone involved in the Dungeon Studies had worked together to create this dungeon, which could truly be called the fruit of their efforts.
“It’s enjoyable to see the students struggling and eventually overcoming hardships,” one said.
“It’s quite amusing when they despair as we intended,” another replied.
“I understand why Lady Allen enjoyed watching others tackle the dungeon,” one of them mused.
Typically, Dungeon Studies professors were not keen on creating dungeons for the Academy.
Before being instructors, they were researchers.
Instead of pondering over creating dungeons for others, they focused on producing research to present in academic circles and building their own achievements.
That’s why the task of creating the Academy’s dungeons had been delegated entirely to juniors.
However, this year, the professors changed their minds due to the shock brought about by the dungeon created by Lucy Allen last time.
The dungeon she created was so sleek it was hard to believe it was made by someone who had never produced a dungeon before, and it had a freshness that deviated from conventional molds.
Anyone could attempt to conquer it, but not everyone could succeed; this dungeon had a significant impact not only on Soul Academy but on the entire Dungeon Studies academia, and it was recognized as the best dungeon of the year without dispute.
The professors of the Dungeon Studies, who had witnessed that scene right beside her, realized they had been under a huge misconception.
The purpose of Dungeon Studies was ultimately to analyze the various existing dungeons in reality and disseminate knowledge to those who challenge the dungeons.
Creating a complicated and bizarre dungeon to gain recognition in academia was far from the origins of Dungeon Studies.
Determined to return to their original intentions, the professors focused their efforts on this dungeon.
To teach students how to navigate dungeons.
So those who succeeded in conquering this dungeon wouldn’t have to struggle in any dungeon outside.
And most importantly, to witness their students scream in the dungeons they created.
So far, everything was flowing in the direction the professors intended.
The new students were growing accustomed to the dungeons while conquering the lower floors.
Those experienced in dungeon raids were breaking through the gimmicks from the 30th floor onwards and growing.
The competent ones were, as if possessed by something, heading toward the highest floor.
And Lucy Allen, the reason the professors were devoted to creating the Academy Dungeon, was suffering on the 99th floor.
“Seeing Lady Allen enjoying herself while tackling the dungeon means this dungeon will surely receive good reviews,” one commented.
“Except among the academia. They will probably throw a fit, claiming it’s a dungeon that can only be made at the Soul Academy,” another replied.
“Oh. That’s certainly been the case for a while. They caused a stir, saying it was possible because of the residual magic present at our Academy.”
“It’s really hard to rebut that without being completely accurate, which is quite frustrating.”
While the Dungeon Studies professors engaged in light banter as they awaited the opening of the dungeon door, the junior professors assigned to the monitoring duty today were sweating profusely.
Behind them were the elders who were essentially the history of the Academy.
The moment they upset those professors, it was uncertain what would happen to those poorly positioned in the current power dynamics.
“Oh. Here comes Lady Allen.”
“She was completely blocked at the 99th floor yesterday and was super annoyed, right?”
“Hahaha. I suppose even a talented young lady like her wouldn’t have predicted that something she prepared for herself would turn out this way.”
“Has a night passed? I wonder if she’s caught on to something yet.”
The 99th floor of the Academy dungeon required four party members to perform their designated roles to open.
It wasn’t enough for just one person to excel; all party members had to fulfill their roles to break through the dungeon.
However, there were alternative methods.
The Dungeon Studies professors devised a way to overcome that obstacle alone.
It was much tougher and more complicated than the standard approach, nonetheless, if one wanted, one could surpass the dungeon by oneself.
This exception was, in fact, a tribute solely aimed at Lucy Allen.
The professors, who had caused their own missteps and inspired each other, offering a sort of gratitude towards Lucy for preventing the accidents that might have occurred due to their overstretched focus on creating the dungeon.
The professors, who had wracked their brains for that one exception, looked at Lucy as she entered the dungeon, filled with hope.
And then they felt disappointment. The sight of her entering a specific corridor proved she had not found the solution yet.
“Hmm. Not yet, huh?”
“Lady Allen is indeed amazing, but she’s still a student. It’s tough to realize right away.”
“True, considering it was made by those knotted old folks in academia.”
“Let’s wait patiently. She’ll surely find the answer soon.”
As she had done the previous evening, Lucy entered the dungeon and, as if perfectly memorizing the route, reached the end of the dungeon in less than ten minutes.
Facing the dungeon boss was flawless as well. She was alone but managed to accomplish the tasks of four people.
While the professors were admiring her newly gained proficiency, instead of finishing off the dungeon boss, Lucy twisted its limbs to immobilize it and poured something liquid into its mouth.
As Lucy emptied the contents of the potion onto the boss while exiting the boss room, the boss screamed. Only then did the professors realize Lucy had poisoned the boss.
“Did she know how to handle poisons too?”
“What’s she trying to do?”
“I don’t know.”
“Since it’s a young lady’s action, it shouldn’t be meaningless, right?”
“Could it be…”
“Is she trying to time it perfectly to kill the boss all at once?”
A professor’s utterance momentarily silenced the monitoring room.
“Is that even possible? Timing the death through poison?”
“Of course, I think it’s nonsense, but if that’s not the reason, then what else could it be?”
“…That’s true.”
While the professors were flustered, Lucy Allen, who entered the next dungeon, quickly completed it again and left the boss half-dead.
The boss in the second dungeon was made of rock, so it wasn’t susceptible to poison like before.
Thus, Lucy chose something different this time.
Bombs.
Lucy retrieved bombs from her spatial pouch and set them up nearby, intending for them to explode at a designated time.
“Why is she so proficient with explosives?”
“…She’s really multi-talented.”
“Is this really the time to be worried about that?! Lady Allen really is planning to take down her boss in one go, isn’t she?”
Upon arriving at the third dungeon, she was greeted by a Wraith, which was an enemy immune to physical means.
However, that trait held little significance for Lucy. As a Holy Knight who wielded divine power, she easily crushed the Wraith and created a domain brimming with holiness that incinerated the already-dead Wraith once more.
Then, running toward the final dungeon, just before she was about to defeat its boss, the 99th floor reset.
Lucy’s divine power had been so overwhelming that the third Wraith perished first.
“Yeah. That’s ridiculous. How could she perfectly synchronize the moments all four bosses die?”
Seeing Lucy’s failure, the professors let out a sigh of relief.
If Lucy Allen managed to conquer the dungeon this way, then the gift they had created for her would be rendered useless.
However, the professors’ relief was short-lived. Lucy Allen, now back, dashed back into the dungeon again.
“…She’ll give up eventually, right?”
“Don’t worry. Lady Allen herself will realize soon enough that it’s ridiculous.”
“I hope so.”
“Even if she doesn’t give up, it can’t possibly succeed! It’s unnecessary worry!”
Those who deliberately turned a blind eye to Lucy’s challenge shifted their gaze towards other students attempting the dungeon.
The first thing that caught their eye was Arthur Soladin’s party, trailing right at Lucy Allen’s chin.
That party was composed of some of the most exceptional talents among the Academy students, and they were progressing toward a standard strategy while surveying the 99th floor.
*
Second attempt. The poison given initially was too potent, causing deviation.
Dungeon reset.
Third attempt. Failed to control the divine power.
Aargh! This guy is such a sloppy Wraith! If you’re on the 99th floor, can’t you be a bit sturdier?!
Dungeon reset.
Fourth attempt.
I took down the final boss too quickly.
That wasn’t intentional! I never expected it to rush its head into the mace!
Even a masochistic perverted dude should value his life, right?!
Fifth attempt.
While being distracted with various matters, the bomb detonated prematurely.
Sixth attempt.
I slightly overheated and mismanaged my strength. The second boss got smashed to bits.
Seventh. Eighth. Ninth.
I kept challenging and retrying.
An inner voice questioned whether it would be quicker to find the correct route at this point, but I ignored it.
How much time had I invested here? I couldn’t just run away! There’s pride in being a stagnant puddle!
[Sometimes wisdom lies in knowing what to abandon, even if it’s precious.]
‘Please don’t hit me! It hurts!’
Amidst the repeated challenges, adjusting the discrepancies, I stood before my thirtieth attempt, filled with confidence that this time I could succeed.
I had perfectly aligned the timing of the deaths of the first three bosses.
Now I just had to synchronize the timing of the fourth boss’s death!
Let’s gooooooo!
To the 100th floor!
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.