Chapter: 234
Currently at 93rd Floor.
I was jumping off the cliff to save time and realizing that free falling was way more thrilling than I thought.
When I first threw myself off the cliff, I thought, “This is how it goes,” and felt light-hearted. But the endless fall was changing my mind slowly.
Next time something like this happens, I’ll choose a safer route.
This isn’t something I want to do twice.
[Young lady, I have one thing to ask.]
While I was watching the long hair fluttering in the wind, Grandpa spoke up.
“Why? Make it quick. I need to focus on my timing; it’s kinda tight.”
Even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t be able to handle the impact from the fall. If I didn’t manage to offset it halfway, I’d be taking fall damage and retiring right there.
Since it’s the Academy Dungeon, the moment I get impacted, I’d be kicked out of the dungeon, but I don’t want to experience this fall twice, so I’d like to finish this in one go.
[Then I’ll ask you after this is done.]
It’s been 20 seconds since I jumped off the cliff, so it’s about time to pull out a scroll from my inventory.
Having prepared in advance, the long fall, which seemed endless, finally showed its end.
The ground made of grayish rock appeared.
Not yet.
It’s not time to unleash the scroll yet.
A little lower.
Lower still.
After waiting and waiting…
…
Now!
Timed perfectly, I unleashed the magic within the scroll.
What I want to create is a storm.
A massive wind surging up from below.
My body, which had been accelerating down with gravity, gradually began to slow down.
At last, when my falling speed neared zero, my body floated about 3 meters off the ground.
Before long, the magic from the scroll wore off, and I, once again under the influence of gravity, landed on the ground.
I was so scared that I rushed it a bit. If this were a game, I would’ve taken fall damage.
There is definitely a huge difference between clicking a mouse from the other side of the monitor and doing it yourself.
Unless it’s a moment where I’m risking my life, it’s better to choose a safe path. A little mistake could get me killed.
While brushing my hair, which had become a mess from the fall, I called out to Grandpa.
“So, Grandpa, what’s on your mind?”
[Is there someone among the Academy professors managing this place?]
“There is, right?”
[Then that person must be observing all your strategies.]
“… Yeah, I guess?”
[Surely in the future, that person will ask you various questions.]
Listening to Grandpa’s words, I imagined it.
I’m the one who created the dungeon, and someone else is clearing it in a bizarre way.
First, they’d probably wonder what I was doing, find it so strange it’s almost unbelievable. Then they would get curious about who this crazy girl is, and finally, when she comes out, they would drag her away to question her.
How on earth did you come up with such a strategy, they’ll ask.
“How do I even explain?!”
I had no confidence to explain my strategies. If this were a game, I could proudly say, “I cleared it this way,” but this isn’t a game world!
[Why are you asking me? I don’t know. I’m not confident.]
“Exactly!”
Ugh. I can’t undo what I’ve already done.
Once I wrap things up with the Pitiful Prince, I’ll think about it slowly.
If worse comes to worst, I’ll just go for the unlucky genius concept.
Can’t believe I didn’t even think of that? Just like a sloppy professor from the Sloppy Academy, I’d say.
I might be looking rather ridiculous, but what can I do? There’s no way out.
Even while sighing, my feet kept moving forward. Towards the end of the Academy Dungeon.
Having just bypassed the strategy for 93rd to 99th Floors by jumping off the cliff, only one remains.
100th Floor.
Where the boss guarding the end of the dungeon resides.
[Are you sure you won’t rest?]
Just as I grabbed the handle to the boss room, Grandpa spoke out, sounding worried.
His judgment was correct. My current state was far from perfect.
No matter how good my stamina is.
No matter how many crazy moves I pulled to get here.
I dashed from the 1st to the 100th Floor in just half a day.
I wasn’t so exhausted that I couldn’t move, but it certainly wasn’t my best.
Normally, it’d be right to take a good break and replenish my stamina before moving on. But I didn’t do that.
I wasn’t obsessed with records. I’ve run through speed runs more times than I can count. I’ve long since let go of that obsession.
So why am I choosing to push forward without resting?
The answer was pretty simple.
I can handle the boss ahead in this state.
“Don’t worry. It’ll be over soon.”
[What kind of extraordinary conduct are you planning this time?]
“It’s not extraordinary conduct.”
There are glitches here, but those are methods only possible inside a game. I can’t apply that to reality.
[Then?]
“Straightforward method.”
Since it’s the last stretch, I should swing my mace around a bit.
I grasped the door handle and skillfully prepared for battle.
Spreading the Divine power in my body.
Enhancing my body with various Divine Magic.
Drinking potions to replenish my stamina and magic power.
Finally, wrapping the mace with Divine power, I opened the door.
There, in the center of the room, was a dark figure.
The final boss of the second semester dungeon showcasing various gimmicks.
A being fused with Corruption.
He’s a foe testing whether all those gimmicks I’ve faced up to now were properly cleared.
Normally, you would have to break through all the gimmicks from the 1st to the 99th Floor to take him down, but there’s another method.
From his ominous appearance, you can tell he’s the boss of the necromancy type.
So, if one has a certain level of Divine power, they can simply overpower him with sheer force.
The moment I stepped into the room, the door shut, and the boss in the darkness flashed a red smile at me.
Seeing him, I couldn’t help but smile back.
“Just by smiling, you can make someone sick! ♡ This dungeon seems to place more revolting enemies at higher levels! ♡ It suits the topmost floor perfectly! ♡”
Time to crack that skull.
*
Confirming the door to the next layer had appeared, Cecil withdrew his aura and let out a long sigh.
He had been continuously moving and strategizing for nearly half a day since entering the dungeon without rest.
Even though Cecil was physically exceptional, he couldn’t escape feeling fatigued.
The other party members were in a more critical state. After confirming the boss’s death, they had collapsed to the ground, panting so hard that speaking a word was nearly impossible.
Observing them, Cecil was sure that continuing the strategy any further was impossible.
But this was enough. They had conquered more than half the dungeon on the first day. Tomorrow, they should be able to see the end of the Academy Dungeon.
Hah. Is he about to set a new record in the history of the Academy?
Squashing Lucy Allen and erasing the records set by his previous seniors, inscribing his name upon it?
Imagining that sight, Cecil leaned against his sword, chuckling, then called out to his party members.
“Let’s head back. Today we rest thoroughly and finish it tomorrow.”
Upon leaving the dungeon, Cecil gazed at the evening sun before turning his head in another direction.
He wanted to check the rankings.
Of course, his name should be at the top, but where exactly would Lucy Allen’s name appear?
Considering her abilities, she was likely trailing just below him.
Thinking that, as Cecil turned his gaze towards the rankings, he froze at the sight written there.
His expectations were wrong.
To be precise, some were right, and some were wrong.
Cecil’s name and Lucy’s name were lined up at 1st and 2nd place respectively, but in reverse order.
[Lucy Allen. Current: 100th Floor. Strategy Completed]
[Cecil Soladin. Current: 60th Floor. Strategy In Progress]
Above was Lucy Allen. Below was Cecil Soladin.
Cecil, who had pursued victory using all sorts of dirty tricks, had been beaten by Lucy.
Strategy completed?
Finished her strategy?
Before a full day had even passed?
… What kind of nightmare is this?
At that moment, as Cecil stood frozen, a voice came from behind him.
Slightly high, clear, and beautiful, yet all the more irritating because of it.
“You’re finally out? Making a lady wait is quite rude. Or is it that you’re so inept you can’t keep up with etiquette?”
Lucy Allen.
The rival Cecil had decided to compete against.
The very person he resolved to win against no matter what.
She was looking at Cecil in a neatly groomed outfit that made it hard to believe she had entered the dungeon at all.
“… How.”
Cecil’s voice escaped naturally upon seeing her.
How could she have cleared the dungeon already?
It doesn’t make sense.
The dungeon’s path?
Cecil knew that too.
The strategy?
He knew that just as well and had prepared to strategize.
The way to hunt the boss?
He had all the knowledge.
So the conditions must have been perfectly the same. So wouldn’t it make sense that their overall specs being higher would allow them to clear faster?
Then why?
Why?
How did Lucy Allen surpass us, me?
For what reason!
“Did you bring a professor with you?”
“Sorry, but unlike that Pitiful Prince, I don’t need help to clear such a sloppy dungeon. I’m perfectly fine on my own. I’m a competent genius, after all, unlike some.”
“Did you use underhanded means?”
“Underhanded means? Like I said, I’m different from that Pitiful Prince, right?”
She entered the dungeon alone.
She didn’t use any underhanded means.
But she cleared it faster than me, than us?
That doesn’t make sense!
No matter how competent she is, there should be limits.
All other conditions were the same; there should be no way for such a gap to exist!
The only explanation for such a difference could only be one!
If she didn’t possess a greater power than me, there shouldn’t be such a thing as this!
With eyes filled with blood vessels, Cecil pointed to Lucy who was drawing her sword from her waist.
“Prove it.”
“What should I prove? ♡ The Pitiful Prince’s incompetence? ♡”
“That you’re stronger than me. That’s why it’s only natural for you to have such overwhelming results.”
I’m challenging a duel.
Lucy, who had been staring at Cecil’s blade, burst into laughter.
A laugh filled with derision and, without care about Cecil’s furrowed brow, she continued to laugh, eventually covering her mouth and giving a playful wink.
“Not gonna happen! ♡”
“… What?”
“Why should I? ♡ The incompetence of the Pitiful Prince has already been proven, and I don’t want to drive the nail in any deeper! ♡ That’s consideration! ♡”
“…”
“Oh my. If you want to ask politely, you should show some proper manners in return! ♡ Want to kiss my feet? ♡ Oh wait, that won’t do! ♡ It’s too degrading for me! ♡”
Cecil’s face flushed redder than the sunset as he began to move his feet, the black aura enveloping his sword.
The overwhelmingly powerful sword that had split countless enemies’ heads thus far.
Even though it had weakened due to consumption during the dungeon clearing process, it was still a formidable sword.
The sword that Cecil was most confident and proud of.
He thrust that sword towards Lucy Allen, but—
“An ambush? ♡ There’s a limit even to sneaky tactics, isn’t there? ♡ Oh dear. Seems like the Pitiful Prince was a fool who didn’t even know the boundaries? ♡ Heh, makes sense now! ♡”
The sword didn’t reach Lucy Allen.
Her shining white shield that she had taken out blocked Cecil’s blade.
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