Chapter: 85
After taking a short break, Frey and Arthur looked revitalized.
For me and Karl, we were used to pushing ourselves beyond this point, so it was no big deal, but they weren’t.
Honestly, kids these days lack tenacity.
If you look at what Captain Possell does to train his knights, at least he lets them sleep sometimes.
I wonder if I should tempt them with the chance to experience Alrn family training later.
Wouldn’t it hook them if I said they’d understand how I got strong?
“Lucy Alrn. So, what are we going to do now?”
When we reached the safety zone on the 34th floor, Arthur, who had a face like he was about to die, was suddenly looking all motivated.
It’s quite a sight.
‘We’re going to hunt monsters!’
“We’re going to massacre those pathetic monsters.”
“Huh?”
My plan is pretty straightforward.
To go up and down between floors 34 and 35 to hunt monsters.
Hunting here at this level is the most efficient thing to do.
The monsters appearing on the 30th floors are armed orcs, and I don’t know if it’s due to their characteristics, but there are tons of them.
They rely more on numbers than individual specs.
Originally, that would be a terrifying concept of sheer numerical violence, but from a gamer’s perspective, it’s different.
More goblins means more grinding opportunities.
If I can kill orcs until we get kicked out of the dungeon, my level will definitely go up!
“Is that all?”
After I shared my plan, Frey asked with a disinterested tone.
“Fighting orcs would just be boring.”
“I agree. In a party of this level, fighting orcs isn’t even useful for experience, right?”
What were they expecting?
When you enter a dungeon, it’s either for exploration or grinding.
There’s no other option, is there?
And honestly?
It kinda bugs me to see the two who were panting just from running here grumbling like that.
Do they think grinding is easy?
In RPGs, grinding is the hardest and most exhausting part, you know?
Try doing it yourself, and you’ll see it’s totally different!
‘We’ll know if it’s boring once we try it.’
“Boring, really? You are confident, huh?”
Maybe they sensed something from my words.
Arthur subtly glanced around, but Frey was different.
She voiced her opinion without hesitation and nodded firmly.
“Of course. Fighting orcs is no problem.”
‘Really? No matter how many there are, right?’
“Pathetic knight. Really? You wouldn’t have any issues even if a horde of pathetic orcs came pouring out?”
“Yep. Of course.”
Didn’t you just nod your head?
So, does that mean you’ve agreed to this relentless grind starting now? Right?
That means I can now push you and Arthur as much as I want guilt-free.
Thank you, Frey.
I feel like I’ve lightened my mental burden a bit.
‘So, let’s get started!’
“All right. Shall we move? I don’t think there’s any slackers complaining here.”
*
About three hours after Lucy’s hunting began.
Arthur had to admit he had overlooked one crucial fact.
Lucy Alrn was trained in the prestigious Alrn family, known as the most renowned martial family on the continent.
The training regimen in the Alrn family is notorious for its intensity.
Even quite famed knights often snap and flee in a panic.
And Lucy trained alongside those knights.
There was no way she would use simple orc hunting as a means of training.
When she initially described this grind, Lucy Alrn used the term “massacre.”
At that moment, Arthur thought she was just being her usual arrogant, self-assured self.
But that wasn’t the case.
No word could explain the current grind as appropriately as “massacre.”
“Four pathetic orcs in front. I bet there’s no loser lagging behind me!”
“Three squealing pigs around the corner.”
“Six this time? Do they think grouping will help them win? How pathetic.”
Battle. Battle. And more battle.
Arthur couldn’t even remember how many orcs they had hunted.
He could only guess that they had easily surpassed a hundred.
Naturally, fighting orcs wasn’t difficult at all.
With Lucy Alrn readily tanking the orcs’ attacks at the front and Frey accurately slicing their necks whenever there was an opportunity, how could it possibly be hard?
Arthur just needed to juggle their positions between the front and back to provide support, and they easily claimed victory.
No matter how many orcs there were, they were just orcs in the end.
At times, Frey would even dash out alone to wipe out orc groups and then return.
In the early stages of the hunt, Arthur thought orc hunting was ridiculously easy.
However, that was only the case after one or two battles.
No matter how easy a fight is, if it repeats, fatigue gradually starts to set in.
Arthur couldn’t move as he had at the beginning, making the battles more challenging and causing communication among party members to falter.
As breakdowns became more frequent, battles dragged on longer, consuming more stamina than before.
In a normal party, they would have taken a break before reaching this point, but Lucy Alrn didn’t do that.
“Wasn’t it nothing? And yet you’re already tired? Truly, the poor prince has pathetic stamina. Want me to carry you? Shall I give you some tender loving care?”
With that response to the suggestion of a break, Arthur thought.
If it were any other time, he would prioritize a rational decision over his humiliation, but there was something peculiar about Lucy Alrn’s words.
He found himself unwilling to lose to her.
Holding back his shame, he replied that he was fine.
After over twenty battles had ensued, the communication among party members dwindled.
While Lucy Alrn continued giving briefings and commands, responses had faded away.
They simply didn’t have the energy left to reply.
Frey’s once sharp swings had dulled, and Arthur’s judgment became slightly delayed, often resulting in mistakes.
Even Lucy Alrn, who typically had the best stamina, began to falter occasionally.
And nearing thirty battles, they had hit their limit.
Arthur felt the mana within him running low.
Frey wasn’t doing anything extraordinary and was just gasping for air.
Even Lucy Alrn showed signs of exhaustion.
They were all breaking down.
“Professor Karl. Is this okay?”
No matter how safe it was in this dungeon, that only meant they weren’t facing death threats.
Injuries and damage could occur anytime.
Maintaining this relentless grind with such a broken party would surely lead to someone getting seriously hurt.
When Arthur voiced this concern, Frey perked up her ears from the back.
She couldn’t vocalize her exhaustion due to pride, but she was equally fatigued.
“Is there a problem?”
Arthur hoped for some reassurance, but Karl’s response was far from what he anticipated.
“Is there absolutely no problem with this grind?”
“Yes. This is training pushed to the limit. It’s absolutely necessary experience.”
Karl said.
When they entered the dungeon, the party wouldn’t be able to control every situation.
The idea that one could take a break whenever needed was nothing but a fantasy.
“It would be great if a safe zone could be accessed whenever needed, but real scenarios don’t work that way. It’s possible to never find a safe zone before finishing a dungeon conquest.”
“So this is training for that?”
“Yes. That’s why I didn’t stop it.”
That cocky, arrogant girl thought of such a thing?
Upon hearing Karl’s words, Arthur turned his gaze forward.
There, he saw Lucy walking ahead, trying to appear relaxed.
Now that he thought about it, she was the one suffering the most here.
Always at the front, taking enemy attacks, she was in the toughest position and probably doing the most work.
And yet, she never once suggested they take a break.
Lucy Alrn was driving herself into a hellish situation.
She said she was going out to gain experience. Was this what she meant?
“I’m sorry. I was just being a burden. Please forget it.”
“Yes. Understood, my prince.”
With a definitive answer from Karl, Arthur took a deep breath.
Right. He still had the energy to complain.
He couldn’t collapse before Lucy Alrn did.
What kind of humiliation would that be?
*
Leveling up was more sluggish than I anticipated.
There were many issues, but the biggest one was definitely stamina.
When it was all a game, I didn’t need to care about my party members’ stamina.
They wouldn’t know how to say they were tired.
But now that it’s reality, it’s different.
Arthur and Frey are humans too.
No matter how extraordinary they are, they still have limits.
Just like in the game, they can’t maintain the same pace from the first hunt to the last.
Until now, they had forced themselves to keep up, but their limits were starting to show.
Even Frey, once reckless, started flinching upon hearing about orcs.
‘Hey guys, should we take a break?’
“You there, slackers. Are your legs wobbling? If you bow your heads, I might let you rest.”
“I’m fine.”
“Not a problem.”
I thought they’d be raising their hands to welcome a break, but the responses from Arthur and Frey were different.
“We can still move.”
“Orcs are trash. Still easy.”
They looked like they were about to collapse, so they were okay with pushing on?
Could it be they didn’t want to lose to me?
Well, in any case, if they want to roll around more, I have no reason to stop them.
*
To my surprise, Arthur and Frey kept up with my relentless pace until the end.
They did take short breaks now and then under Karl’s guidance, but that was it.
In the end, despite nearing their limits, they gritted their teeth to follow behind me.
Thanks to that, I could hunt until we got forcibly evacuated from the dungeon.
The result? I leveled up three times today.
So my current level is 18.
Way too slow.
I was starting to think I might not hit my target by the end of the day, but I didn’t expect it to be this miserable.
The higher my level, the harder it gets to level up, so it might take me a few days just to level up once.
Originally, I’d have gone to the dungeon again tomorrow to grind, but unfortunately, tomorrow I have prior commitments.
I have things to do in the streets of Soul Academy.
As a gamer, I can’t miss the spectacle of the main quest beginning, can I?
I wonder who the Evil God will be that wreaks havoc all year in the first year of Soul Academy?
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