Chapter: 308
After successfully conquering the first room in about thirty minutes, Arthur relaxed his shoulders while watching the dispersing knights.
“Looks like we’ve gotten accustomed to tackling the first room.”
When Arthur and his party first set foot in the dungeon, they spent several hours just trying to get through the first room.
Because they had to figure out each dungeon gimmick while dealing with various soldiers and knights without a clue.
But not anymore. Now that they knew how to navigate the obstacles, Arthur and his crew could clear the first room without getting a single scratch.
“The difference between knowing the gimmicks and not knowing them is huge.”
As the combat ended without giving her a chance to use magic, Joy shrugged her shoulders while Arthur forced a smile.
“Of course, Lucy Alrn would’ve designed it so that every student can clear this dungeon. Knowing the strategy makes a big difference.”
Being strong or weak isn’t that important.
If one could grasp the gimmicks to conquer the room, anyone would be able to get through it.
Otherwise, it wouldn’t even be possible for such a twisted dungeon to be part of the test.
“The second room ahead will probably be the same. Let’s go!”
None of the party members expressed doubt about Arthur’s suggestion.
With Lucy around, they had already endured harsher trials, so this was just expected.
As soon as they entered the second room,
Phoebe illuminated the area with light and cast several buffs on her party members.
Joy set up multiple magic circles around her to shoot spells whenever needed.
Frey, on the other hand, gripped her sword with both hands, ready to move at a moment’s notice.
However, Arthur did nothing. He simply rested his hand on his sword hilt, leisurely scanning his surroundings.
“Your Highness the Third Prince?!”
Joy looked perplexed at his unusual demeanor, but Arthur didn’t respond to their voices at all.
Instead, he stepped forward with a smile as a wolf emerged from the darkness.
“Are you here to die, Prince?”
“No, I’m here to conquer this. Just watch.”
As the prey approached, the wolf naturally opened its mouth wide.
An ordinary person would have stepped back.
They would flee to survive.
They would tremble in fear.
But Arthur didn’t do any of that.
He stood there, merely watching the scene.
The massive jaws that could easily swallow his head.
The fangs capable of piercing steel.
The tongue that would savor his flesh and blood.
And then, the wolf’s mouth closed around Arthur’s head.
“Just as I thought.”
Then something strange happened. Arthur, who should’ve been thrown out of the dungeon by the wolf, was fully intact and speaking inside its mouth.
“…Huh?”
“What… is going on?”
“What the hell is happening?”
Regardless of the astonished expressions from the other three, Arthur took a step forward.
At that moment, his face, which should’ve been trapped in the wolf’s mouth, pushed through its bulk and delved inside.
“Lucy Alrn is really something else.”
As Arthur kicked something at the center of the wolf, it let out a whimper, and the wolf’s form shattered, revealing what it had been concealing.
“…A baby wolf?”
“Right. This is the true identity of the wolf that kicked us out of the dungeon several times.”
Thinking about it, it was absurd.
This “wolf”, which was so fast that it was nearly impossible to shake off, had overwhelmed even Arthur’s party that barely lasted a few tens of minutes before succumbing.
It was impossible for ordinary students to gather clues while dodging such a monster.
“…Then why did we get thrown out when we faced that wolf?”
“Well, if you’re attacked without realizing the wolf is an illusion, it spits you out.”
“It’s a possible method since it’s in the academy’s dungeon.”
“Exactly. Ha, Lucy Alrn, that clever girl.”
Thanks to that, they had entirely fallen for its deception.
If Toby hadn’t tackled the dungeon, they would’ve wandered around for ages before finding the answer.
“I assumed Lucy Alrn would create a problem of much higher common sense.”
She had operated on a much more reasonable level than he had expected.
Whether it was because the professor had intervened or Lucy Alrn had taken the time to craft it, it made things easier.
It meant the upcoming rooms would likely show similar patterns.
Assuming that every room was designed for the academy’s students to conquer, it would make finding answers easier.
“Well, then all those desperate attempts we made until now…”
“Weren’t worth a penny. We were just played by Lucy.”
“Whaaaaat…”
“That’s just so anti-climactic.”
“It’s kinda draining.”
As the realization dawned on the three that all their frantic actions were meaningless, Arthur shrugged his shoulders.
“Since that’s the case, let’s check out the next room. I wonder what kind of madness awaits us.”
Considering the difference between the first and the second rooms, the third room would also likely boast a nightmarish difficulty level.
But it was fine. Now that they had grasped the tendencies, the next challenge would be much simpler.
Having successfully conquered the second room, an overly excited Arthur overlooked one important fact.
Lucy.
Lucy Alrn, who possessed skills better than anyone else when it came to conquering dungeons.
Hadn’t she thought about the fact that the conquerors would uncover those tendencies?
Unaware of this, Arthur moved on to the third room, not long after he would pay the price for his reckless ignorance.
“Cancel! Cancel! Lucy Alrn has no concept of common sense! Neither do the dungeon studies professors! What on earth were they thinking giving all authority to Lucy Alrn?!”
On the first day of the academy’s final exam, countless students took on the dungeon studies test, but not a single one managed to get past the third room.
*
‘No one cleared the third room?’
“Wow~ How terrible are the academy students if no one’s passed the third room yet?”
Hearing the progress report from the dungeon studies professor, I couldn’t help but feel flustered.
While I expected the pace of conquering the dungeon wouldn’t be fast, this was a bit too much, don’t you think?
“Only the top students of each year made it through the second room. Most are stuck at the second room or haven’t even passed the first one.”
‘…Really?’
“Puhaha! They’re a jaw-dropping level of pathetic! At this point, even the teachers should be worried! A foolish professor?”
“I honestly can’t help thinking that, especially after witnessing the sight of the wolf being smashed while still an illusion.”
Wait, what?
You mean they broke the wolf, which was designed to be unbeatable?
What kind of lunatic pulled that off?
“Do you know the second prince of the Ravbi family?”
…Ah.
That makes sense. If you’re facing a monster that embodies the phrase “enough strength means no brain,” then it fits.
The second prince of the Ravbi family, Kurten, was a type of dream character blessed by the God of Destruction, Seft.
He had stats and skills that seemed to be built for delivering max damage, making him a frequent mention when discussing theoretical peak damage.
As with all dream characters, their practical use was nearly non-existent, and unless one was into concept play, no one wanted to touch such a character.
But still, it wouldn’t be too surprising for Kurten, armed with the God of Destruction’s blessing, to have smashed the wolf.
The blessing itself would have shattered the magic creating the illusion.
“Focusing on power to defeat the wolf while waiting for his allies to hold out? That’s not something a third-year student should be thinking.”
No doubt he had been taught with the utmost care; it made me chuckle at the absurdity of becoming such a fool.
It seemed less about the professor’s failings and more about Kurten being the main issue.
‘Professor, don’t worry too much…’
“Why shouldn’t I? Anyway, as they proceed through the dungeon, even a blockhead like this prince will have to think about it at some point.”
“Even if that moment comes, I worry he’ll just keep trying to solve it with brute force until the exam ends.”
Meh. No matter how much of a meathead Ravbi Kurten is, he can’t be that dense.
…But that’s kind of a scary thought if he really could.
“Haah. Is my teaching method really the problem?”
I didn’t know how to comfort the dungeon studies professor trapped in thought, so I glanced aside.
Let’s see: Who was attempting the third room now?
The first name that caught my eye was, of course, Arthur.
So Toby was the second one to realize the wolf was an illusion.
Being second out of all the academy’s students was undoubtedly impressive, but honestly, it was a bit below my expectations.
Considering how many hints I’d given him, there was no way he should be struggling in the third room.
He should have breezed by!
If things keep going this way, he wouldn’t become the magic swordsman I had in mind!
Fine, Arthur. It looks like I’ve been too careful in my guidance.
Initially, I planned to just let him train during the break, but I need to change that now.
I was thinking of bringing Jackal to train, but I should throw Arthur into the mix too. If he rolls around enough, surely he’ll learn something.
Now, who else is on that name list…
Avery was thrown under the bus by Toby, so I didn’t have to worry about her.
And seeing the second prince’s name on the list was a tad surprising.
How did this muscle-head figure out the wolf was an illusion?
Ah, Jeff is with him. If he was doing the thinking, I could see how that made sense.
Aside from the whole sis-con thing, Jeff was leagues ahead of the second prince.
Hmm. The rest are mostly third-years.
That experience from conquering several dungeons can’t be dismissed.
A couple of second-years are in there too, but no need to worry about them.
Among the first-years…
Visi?
Wait, how did she pass the second room?!
I doubted she could even manage to get through the first room without facing that wolf!
Oh! That’s right! Adri was with her!
If that old hag gave her any tips about the gimmicks, I could understand her performance.
That girl’s insight is practically a cheat code among academy students.
Still, the fact that she hadn’t made it past the third room means she probably wasn’t giving her everything away.
I should probably tell her to rein it in later.
This is the kind of situation that spoils the meaning of the exam you know?
“Almost forgot the main topic. Young Lady Alrn.”
Just as I checked the entire list, the professor who narrowly escaped the meeting called my name.
“It’s about the hints that will be given one by one starting from the second day of the exam.”
What she presented was a hint list that I had written myself.
Think about it.
If the exam turned out to be too hard and a bunch of students failed, where would the blame land?
That’d be right on me.
I’m already hated by people; it’d be bad if the situation worsened.
So I prepared hints to cover my bases for the worst-case scenario.
If they read it and work hard, they should be able to avoid failing.
So far, that sounds like, “Wow! Young Lady Alrn! Totally an angel!” but there was one significant flaw in my hint list.
“Should I really distribute it without correcting this? ‘Hey there~♡ All you trash looking for hints, did your eyes come from the trash too?♡ Didn’t you notice something weird about that pathetic soldier?♡ Oh wait!♡ If you’re here looking for hints, it seems you’ve done nothing and failed horrendously!♡ Puhaha! Totally lame! Are you scared to enter after reading this hint?♡…’”
The fact that I wrote it!
‘No! Please, correct it! Revert to the original content!’
“Why are you even asking? For those trash clinging to hints, that’s more than enough.”
Gyaaaah! What’s considered “more than enough”?!
If that line gets distributed as is, my reputation will hit rock bottom!
Stop with the pointless translation and say it properly! Just say it properly!
‘Please, fix it!’
“Haah. How many times do I need to repeat myself? What do you expect from a professor who’s dumber than a goldfish?”
Noooooo!
My image!
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