Chapter: 305
As soon as the dungeon doors swung open early in the morning, Arthur stormed in, unleashing a torrent of grievances aimed squarely at Lucy.
That lunatic!
How many times have I told him not to set the difficulty based on his own standards? What in the world is this madness?!
What kind of powerhouse am I facing right from the first room of the dungeon?
From the moment I confronted the first soldier, I sensed something was off, but this knight at the end of the room has taken things too far.
Isn’t this guy practically a monster, way beyond the level of a normal knight?!
“Your Highness, the Third Prince!”
“I know!”
Ducking and weaving to avoid the knight’s sword, Arthur retaliated with the fire magic he had prepared in advance, hitting the knight right in the face.
As the magic crashed down with a tremendous boom, gray smoke billowed up.
Arthur had hoped to inflict some real damage since he cast the spell with the intention of blowing the knight’s face off, but his expectations were completely shattered.
Emerging from the gray smoke, the knight’s face looked suspiciously intact, leading Arthur to suspect the spell had missed its mark entirely.
“Damn it!”
As the knight charged toward him, Arthur enhanced his speed with wind magic to dodge the knight’s sword.
Blocking just wasn’t an option; the gap in strength between the knight and Arthur was far too great to survive a half-hearted defense.
Cornered, just when Arthur was gritting his teeth in determination, Frey unexpectedly appeared from behind the knight and lunged for its neck.
Powered by Peiby’s buff, Frey surged like a beast shaped by the wind. Despite the overwhelming strength of the knight, it was impossible to completely disregard Frey’s sword.
As the knight stepped back to counter Frey’s attack, Arthur finally got a moment to catch his breath.
“Joy! Are you ready yet?!”
“Almost!… Casting finished!”
“Great! Frey!”
“Roger that!”
Acknowledging the cue, Frey swiftly coated her sword with a powerful aura and unleashed her strongest attack.
Boom! The sudden, lethal strike caught the knight by surprise.
Peering from beneath his helmet, the knight widened his eyes and desperately raised his sword to block Frey’s blow.
Yet, he lost the chance to prepare for what would come next.
“Burn!”
A red magic circle appeared at the knight’s feet, flames bursting forth to consume him.
“Grrr!”
Like the fiery forge melting iron, a pained gasp escaped the knight’s lips.
If he were an ordinary human, he would have surely been incinerated by now, but this knight was anything but ordinary.
After a brief struggle, he seemed to adapt to the flames, gritting his teeth and swinging his sword to slice through the magic circle.
The flames scattered, revealing the knight, who exhaled ragged breaths.
“Was that not enough?”
Frowning, Arthur clicked his tongue just as the knight beneath his helmet sported a smile.
“Impressive. You have passed the test.”
With that, the knight instructed them to exit through the door ahead and then vanished like an illusion as he sheathed his sword.
One by one, all the knights that had filled the training ground disappeared.
“I thought I was a goner.”
Perhaps feeling safe now, Frey, who had just been on the front line, instantly flopped down on the ground without a second thought.
“Frey Kent. Don’t let your guard down.”
Maybe annoyed by her actions, Arthur frowned and chastised her, but Frey simply plugged her ears as if she hadn’t heard a single word and showed no signs of getting up.
“Hey! We won’t move forward until Joy finishes her checks.”
“It’s okay, Your Highness. I just finished checking. This area is now safe.”
“See? It’s safe, Your Highness.”
“…Tch.”
Arthur clicked his tongue, sheathed his sword, and then sat down with a long sigh.
“I guess striking anywhere on the armor was a valid suggestion, since I couldn’t tell where to aim. Good job, Joy.”
“That wasn’t me; it was Peiby’s idea, Your Highness. I merely executed the plan.”
“No, without Joy’s magic, we wouldn’t even have been able to execute it.”
“R-Really?”
“Definitely, Joy. Your contribution was significant.”
“Yup! The fire was totally impressive and blazing hot!”
As the three others voiced their praises one after another, Joy quickly conjured a fan from her pocket to hide her blushing smile.
She probably didn’t want her loose grin to show too much.
Unbeknownst to her, however, her chuckling made her gaze soften a little.
Arthur, beaming as he looked at Joy’s face, chuckled lightly and checked the time.
Having just barely broken through the first room, was it really already time for the first exam?
“Lucy Alrn, what on earth was he thinking setting the dungeon difficulty like this?!”
Even with the four most capable first-year students of the Soul Academy gathered, clearing the first room was a hassle.
This meant that most students would likely face failure and be pushed out of the dungeon.
“The Dungeon Studies professors too. What’s the point in just egging Lucy Alrn on with praise when he’s causing chaos? They should be keeping him in check instead!”
If the first room is this tough, just how high will the difficulty climb as they go further in?
Clearly, they didn’t open up the dungeon for the finals just for fun.
Without that time frame, no one would even have a chance at mounting a proper assault. Peiby, who had been quietly listening to Arthur’s grumbling, responded with a soft voice, laced with laughter.
“Well, it’s not all bad. If the difficulty’s this high, even the upperclassmen will struggle too.”
“…You’re right there. If the first-year exam is this challenging, what kind of monsters are the upperclassmen facing?”
Having struggled even with the support of the Saint, they were forced to contend with this knight.
The challenges faced by the upperclassmen would undoubtedly be far tougher. Could an average second- or third-year student even hope to take that on?
A sense of sympathy for them inevitably blossomed.
“Your Highness.”
“What is it, Joy?”
“Are we continuing from here, or should we head back?”
“…Hmmm.”
Considering the time it took to clear the first room, it seemed impossible to tackle the second room before the next exam began.
“It’s better to proceed, I guess.”
After all, moving forward felt right. Given the set difficulty of this dungeon, it was bound to drag on for a long haul.
So even if they faced failure, it would be better to imprint the next room in their memories and seek clues for conquering it.
“Well, I think we should get moving soon. If we take too long, we won’t be able to participate in the other exams.”
“True enough. Frey, get up. It’s time to move.”
“Ugh.”
After gingerly nudging the grumbling Frey to her feet, they moved on to the next room. Ten minutes later…
Just before Arthur was nearly devoured by the massive wolf’s teeth, he confirmed that his neck was still intact and sighed in relief, bowing his head.
“…Lucy Alrn!”
Then he made a mental note.
If he succeeded in conquering the dungeon, he would leave an unforgettable nightmare etched into Lucy Alrn’s mind.
*
At lunchtime on the day of the finals.
Having just finished the Kingdom History exam, I was humming a tune while walking towards the Dungeon Studies exam location.
When Grandpa refused to cooperate, I seriously considered just guessing all the answers, thinking, “Eh, whatever happens this time, I don’t care.”
Even if I botch the exam, the penalty would just be missing out on rewards given by the academy, which didn’t matter much to me right now.
But when I thought about the terrible possibility of failing the exam, I realized I absolutely couldn’t afford to half-ass my preparations.
Joy celebrating her success?
That’s fine. It’s cute.
Yay! Great job! I can laugh it off.
Arthur looking smug as he puffed out his chest?
That’s a bit annoying, but fine, I can tolerate it up to this point.
If it really gets on my nerves, I can always crank up the intensity of training more.
But Frey calling me pathetic with her poker face just isn’t something I can forgive.
If she snickers at me condescendingly, I might very well swing my divine-powered mace at her.
Deciding to prepare properly for the exam to ensure Frey’s safety, I sought out my enslaved helper, Avery, to ask about the exam scope.
I didn’t assume that our poor little servant would have all the answers, but I was planning to direct her to gather all the necessary intel for me.
But to my surprise, she actually knew all about the exam content.
Why was she so diligent in studying despite her sassy villainess daughter character vibes?
Ugh, how annoying. This makes it feel like I’m the only slacker around!
“Why are you upset when I answered you properly? …No, I’m sorry. I made a mistake. Please forgive me.”
Regardless, I didn’t study based on the exam guidelines Avery provided… Nope, I used the log feature to engage in some legal cheating.
“What do you mean legal cheating?”
Of course, it’s legal as long as you don’t get caught!
It’s common sense.
If you didn’t know that before, then it’s time you learned.
Anyway, having successfully passed the first exam using the log feature, I was now heading to the place where the Dungeon Studies exam was taking place to check on how my constructed dungeon was doing.
The professors and teaching assistants had all praised it, so the academy students must be impressed too, right?
“Oh! What do you think of this marvelous dungeon!”
“Oh, Lady Alrn is amazing!”
I stepped into the dungeon’s entrance, expecting to be met with such reactions, but the scene before me was completely different.
“How many times have they died inside the dungeon?”
“I must’ve tried more than twenty times but couldn’t even clear the first room.”
“What were you thinking when you made this dungeon?!”
The space was painted with despair and resentment, resembling a kind of hell.
“The second room is even worse. Ugh, my hands are still trembling.”
“My friend went to change after peeing his pants.”
“Is that about you?”
“It’s about my friend!”
“Ugh! I lost track of time while tackling the dungeon and missed the exam. I feel suicidal.”
Among those slumped on the floor lamenting, there was no sense of awe for the dungeon.
Only pure hatred was evident in their voices.
“I want to kill the bastard who made this dungeon!”
“Wasn’t it Lady Alrn?”
“Do you really believe that? It’s probably just professors collecting praises.”
“Then should we be swinging our fists at the Dungeon Studies professors?”
“Seriously?”
“If I could, I totally would.”
The atmosphere felt like they’d hang the dungeon’s creator up onto a tree and set them ablaze. I quietly took a step back.
I could just imagine how bad it’d be if I opened my mouth and said something silly.
…
I should definitely avoid wandering around at night for a while.
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