Chapter: 317
As I watched Arthur and his party struggle to conquer the dungeon, it struck me why they weren’t even thinking about figuring out the gimmicks.
“Joy!”
“Tch! I’ll block his movements with firepower for now!”
“Can’t be helped! Better that than to crumble!”
The reason was simple: they thought they could charge in without considering any other methods.
When I designed the boss on the 5th floor, I ensured they couldn’t just brute force their way through. This dungeon exam was all about testing their ability to tackle the gimmicks.
Of course, the way to defeat the final boss should fall right in line with that principle.
This dungeon, unlike some in the Soul Academy universe, was set up to require piecing together various clues scattered throughout to take down the boss. It needed to unfold through some messy defeats, leading them to discover things as they went.
Now, the problem was I adjusted the boss’s difficulty to be approachable for all the students at the Academy. I figured that if the final boss was too strong, they’d end up obliterated before they could grasp the gimmicks.
But for Arthur and his party, who had specs far above the average first-year students, this level was no longer a challenge; it was just about being able to take it on.
“Freya!”
“Got it! I’ll step back!”
On top of that, using the existing gimmicks of the dungeon as part of the boss’s mechanics was causing major issues.
Patterns where attacks would actually heal the enemy.
Patterns where they needed to focus fire to disable it.
Patterns that demanded hitting certain parts to deal damage, and so on.
This boss, aptly called the culmination of dungeon mechanics, was fulfilling the test’s intent by being a complete jumble of all those gimmicks.
“Deploying the barrier! Everyone, gather here!”
Watching the four of them go at it under Arthur’s command, while they each did their part to take down the boss, made my head throb as I pressed my forehead hard.
If I was sure they’d fail, I might not have thought too much about it.
Whether they eventually found the right approach or just kept failing like the dorks they were, either way, I’d happily welcome it.
If they managed to conquer the dungeon, good for them! And if they didn’t get annihilated by that pathetic god, well, that wouldn’t be so bad either, right?
But, you know what? Right now, they’re trying to just blow through the dungeon I created using their own methods!
They’re trying to tackle it in ways that should absolutely never work!
Gah! Is this how the creators felt when I was rampaging through dungeons without a care?!
I don’t regret my past foul mouthing… Nah, they deserved being told off!
Muttering all kinds of nonsense at the shocking scene unfolding before me, I suddenly realized something.
Wait a minute. The entire top group is stuck on the 5th floor.
So that means…
“Lady Alrn’s suspicions were correct. Both Prince Cecil’s party and Duke Curtain’s party are trying to take down the final boss with brute force rather than clever tactics,” the Dungeon Studies professor sighed.
They were in their second and third-year exams, yet they still didn’t want to back off against a boss that’s even tougher than what Arthur’s group was facing.
Noo!
It’s one thing for Curtain to be a meathead, but why, Cecil!? I thought you’d changed, but you’re just as much a musclehead as ever!?
And Jeff! What on earth are you doing over there!?
Why’s the one who should be brain of the party charging in without thinking!?
Other than being a siscon, you should be a perfect guy!
I was so heated that I somehow managed to cool off my temper, taking a deep breath and leaning back in my chair.
Honestly, it’d be better if they just failed the whole thing.
Then I’d get to look down on those foolish students of the Academy and properly educate them on how to approach things.
“Damn it. Is this the time to fail?”
While I watched Arthur’s disappointed face, I let out another sigh.
Sigh.
If I knew it would come to this, I should’ve just made the first-year boss even tougher.
*
Joy, having been kicked out of the dungeon while battling the 5th-floor boss, lay sprawled on the ground, staring up at the sky.
Almost a whole day had passed since they hit the 5th floor, yet the boss showed no signs of going down.
“Can we really defeat this guy?”
Joy, lost in her thoughts, found herself closing her eyes without realizing it as she lay there, feeling a bit of discomfort amidst her embarrassing antics.
At that moment, what reflected in her mind was the beautiful scenery of the dungeon they had been tackling thus far.
The dungeon created by Lady Alrn was certainly marvelous.
It made perfect sense to feel proud of one’s creation.
Joy had her first spark of this thought process while they were going after the 1st-floor boss.
Their party had gotten all riled up upon confronting the term 0th floor during that time.
Just imagine! How furious they felt facing a phrase that rendered all their past effort meaningless.
They had suffered pretty untold amounts of frustration, especially when Prince Arthur was going off about how he’d give Lady Alrn a smack on the head, leaving Phoebe unable to object—it was quite the atmosphere.
Things turned around the next day, though, when they figured out how to beat the 1st-floor boss.
The strategy for taking down the knight guarding the last part of the 1st floor was to attack its weak point in sequence.
By breaking through its defense and repeatedly exploiting its weaknesses, they managed to best the knight, which had seemed like an impossible to topple opponent at first.
So that was how they applied the gimmick from the first room to the 1st floor, meaning all their earlier efforts hadn’t gone to waste.
The change in perspective all stemmed from a phrase Kent Lady had blurted out.
“This is the weak point we recognized in the first soldiers and knights we faced.”
“What? No way… Wait, it actually fits! If we list out all the weak points we’ve uncovered, they match perfectly! Hah! Are we recognizing how to tackle this from the get-go?!”
That gimmick was a declaration they wouldn’t ignore the efforts they’d put in, consequently melting away the anger that had built up among them.
With a newfound calm, they could spot these threads of realization sprinkled throughout the dungeon.
Little things, like a small wolf that would scamper away the moment they approached, and…
A shortcut they could pass only if they realized the illusion.
Lots of ghosts, whether they could tell the illusions apart or not.
And the boss in the 2nd floor who mixed false and true attacks.
By the time they reached the 3rd floor, Joy thought something like this as she gazed at the stairs heading up.
“This dungeon sure feels like it’s showing us how to use the illusion gimmick.”
As if it were saying, “Go ahead and use everything you learned from the 2nd-floor fight!”
Progressing in the 3rd floor was pretty similar.
Enemies that appeared to swarm could be taken down all at once if they defeated the leader.
The correct door among many doors would lead them to where they needed to go.
Demons that kneeled as soon as they saw her and pretended to show them the truth.
The boss that required them to destroy the precise magic circle among countless others.
By the time they reached the 4th floor, they found themselves questioning if they were in a dream or reality at every door.
Kent Lady groaned about it, but Joy found it quite entertaining.
She could cast magic without worrying about consumption since it felt like a dream.
Well, she did get scolded by Prince Arthur after getting exhausted from casting magic while mistaking it all for a dream.
Then came the 5th floor.
Confronting the boss that had sent them back to the 0th floor, they understood just how tough walls could really be.
This opponent was so ridiculously well-rounded that it made sense to consider getting completely destroyed by it.
Once they realized this wall of a boss used every gimmick lingering from the dungeon as if proving its ownership of the domain…
They started feeling like they had met an unbeatable foe.
In the midst of this helpless situation, it was Phoebe who rallied them.
As the saintess of the God’s Church, she had encountered more despair than most, yet never showed defeat against overwhelming odds.
“Everyone. Doesn’t it feel too disappointing not to give it your all considering how much effort we’ve all put in?”
“Remember where we’ve been. Lady Alrn would never put us up against an impossible challenge.”
“In other words, Lady Alrn believes we can take down this final adversary, right?”
“We can’t betray the trust that Lady Alrn has given us after all the help we’ve received!”
“Let’s try again. Up on our feet and face this challenge again!”
Amid the hellish scenery, the saintess’s voice cultivated the flower of hope within them.
Thus, they proceeded to tackle the dungeon once more without faltering amidst despair.
Continuing.
“That guy’s foundation is all about the gimmicks present in the dungeon! So, taking on those gimmicks can’t be that far off!”
Continuing.
“When the red aura surrounds that sword, it’s an ominous attack! I’ll block it with my barrier.”
Continuing.
“I feel like I can finally start reading him. Kinda resembles Professor Karl in a way.”
Continuing.
Even now, right before they took down the boss, Joy had the sense they were succeeding in dealing with most of those attacks.
Just one thing left.
Breaking the final struggle of the boss.
Blocking the spell it would cast, which would unleash its red mana throughout the room.
What could that be?
How could they break through that gimmick?
Surely, Lady Alrn wouldn’t create a gimmick that couldn’t be solved.
There’s definitely a clue hidden within the gimmick itself.
Sigh.
I really have NO idea.
Let’s think it over once more.
What kind of shape did that magic circle take?
As she sketched the shape of the magic circle in her mind’s eye, Joy suddenly had an idea.
…What if.
What if, just what if…
What if we prevented that magic circle from forming in the first place?
If I mix my mana in as soon as the magic circle starts forming, preventing its very creation…
Joy’s eyes widened with determination, and she bounced up like a spring.
“Joy, are you awake? You’ve really been pushed hard, so you should take a break.”
“Got it!”
“…What?”
“I’ve figured out how to take down the final boss! Prince Arthur!”
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