Chapter: 303
The moment I stepped into the dungeon for the test, the surrounding scenery flipped upside down.
It looked like a serene mansion.
The scene was exactly how I had imagined it.
The various paintings hanging on the walls.
The heavy atmosphere naturally formed by the slight darkness.
The echo that spread around with every step I took.
I couldn’t help but smile, feeling pleased with it all.
The Dungeon Studies Professor had said it would be surprising, and it really was!
The feeling when I stepped into the academy’s dungeon and the one I designed was completely different.
As I walked down the hallway with a racing heart, enjoying the sounds around me, Grandpa let out a slightly raised voice in surprise.
[Incredible! How can you create something like this just from looking at such a lousy painting?]
‘Are you talking about the background of the dungeon I drew?’
[Of course! I'm talking about that painting that looks like a 5-year-old drew it in the dirt!]
‘A 5-year-old can’t draw like that?!’
My drawing skills might not be fantastic, but I’m still better than a kid who just runs around without any thought!
At least I know about perspective! I know about depth! I know a thing or two about detailed descriptions!
Of course, I don’t know them thoroughly, nor can I utilize them well, but I’m not to be compared with little kids who don’t know any better!
[One kid I know mastered shading by 5 years old.]
‘…Isn’t that person just a crazy genius?’
[That may be, but it doesn't change the fact that you're worse than a 5-year-old.]
‘If we use that as a standard, then most people in the world would be worse than a 5-year-old?!’
As I rebutted Grandpa’s nonsense, I took in the scenery of the dungeon.
Once the excitement settled, I noticed some detailed things.
There were a few areas that were somewhat lacking in detail.
Especially, the year under the last portrait should be accurate as it’s one of the clues later on.
I should jot it down in my notepad to request corrections later. After walking down the hallway for a few minutes, I came upon a dead end.
I headed towards the empty cradle in front of the wall and picked up the paper contained within.
– To escape the maze, you must find the exit.
The moment I read the phrase that someone would nod at saying, ‘that’s the maze for you,’ the scenery of the mansion crumbled, replaced by something else.
Bricks sprung up where the carpet used to be.
The crimson walls scattered, revealing what looked like a training ground.
Where the portrait was, countless soldiers’ faces were engraved.
The background transition was clean. It felt like I had moved to a new space. If a student saw this for the first time, they would definitely gasp in awe!
Hehe. I’m excited. I’ll definitely ask Joy later what she thought of it.
“Hey! You there! No time to space out!”
While I was imagining Joy making a fuss, a rough-looking knight raised his voice from afar.
“Do you think you’re the only one taking the test today?!”
As he spoke, a soldier appeared in front of me.
Clearly, he’d gone through some intense training with an imposing physique.
The hardened calluses on his hands gripping the spear.
The overwhelming talent evident in his movements.
Anyone could feel that this soldier had remarkable skill as he assumed a stance, and the knight in the distance shouted again.
“I will begin right away!”
‘Excuse me…’
“Hey, you loudmouthed knight! What test are you talking about?”
“If you’ve already forgotten what I just said, you might as well drop out! Just figure it out yourself!”
Alright. The tutorial is exactly as I envisioned.
They call it a test without telling me what it’s about; I love the unfairness of it.
That knight will not tell us the details of the test no matter what. So those who came to conquer the dungeon must figure it out themselves.
As I pondered and checked every little detail, the soldier in front of me smiled.
“He says so. Are you ready?”
‘Yes, of course.’
“What do you need to prepare for when dealing with someone like you? Come at me! You’re not scared of a little girl, are you?”
As the soldier clicked his tongue and charged at me, I pulled out my shield from my inventory.
The spear thrown from a distance looked sharp enough to pierce right through my heart if I let my guard down for even a moment.
However, the power that should back that sharpness was lacking.
It doesn’t take a great skill to block that spear.
Just extending the shield is enough.
Clang! The tip of the spear hit the shield and bounced off without piercing through.
Consequently, a massive opening appeared on the soldier’s body.
Hmm. Even if this is a tutorial, don’t you think the opponent is too weak?
At this rate, who would bother figuring out the conditions of the test? I’d just smash the soldier and move along.
This tutorial needs to teach that I have to figure out the gimmicks to break through; otherwise, it won’t work.
I should suggest increasing the difficulty.
With that judgment made, I dashed towards the horrified soldier and smashed the wooden board attached to his armor’s right side.
“The first test is over! You’ve passed splendidly!”
Then, the knight who had been yelling like crazy announced the end of the test.
I had only just stepped into the dungeon, but it seemed like the big framework was properly set up.
If I just fix the details a bit, I could perfectly recreate the dungeon I envisioned.
“Then I will proceed directly to the next test!”
The subsequent tutorial was not much different from the first one.
The gimmicks worked normally, but the soldiers were too weak.
No matter how much dungeon a first-year would conquer, isn’t this a little too easy?
The person who created the dungeon seemed to have underestimated the first-years significantly.
‘What do you think, Grandpa? Isn’t it too weak?’
[It is certainly weak. At this level, anyone could break through with sheer force.]
‘Right? My standards aren’t too high, are they?’
Once the dungeon exploration was over, I would definitely need to tell the Dungeon Studies Professor to increase the difficulty of the tutorial.
Otherwise, the tutorial won’t serve its purpose.
“…Congratulations. You’ve passed the trial to become an adventurer.”
The moment I finished the tutorial by smashing the loud knight, the scenery around me changed again. This time it appeared as a dark cave.
An air so thin it felt suffocating.
The only light source was the dim glow shining down from the ceiling.
As I smiled with satisfaction at this ominous scene, I heard a sound coming from behind me and turned my head.
The red eyes nestled in the cave’s darkness looked almost as big as my hand.
Threatening fangs that seemed capable of piercing steel effortlessly.
Harsh-looking fur that looked like it was made of wire.
Claws scraping the rocky cave floor like dirt.
As I stared at the terrifying sight that anyone would feel fear from, a grin slipped out unbidden.
Oh, really.
It would be troublesome if everything is made this well.
At this rate, I’m too excited to stay calm about what’s beyond this.
I had originally intended to focus on the QA rather than conquer the dungeon, but my mind has changed.
With this racing heart, I can’t observe the details carefully!
So for now, I will conquer the dungeon!
And then later, I will take my time to look around and supplement the details!
Having made that decision, I raised the corners of my mouth and gripped the mace tightly.
*
“NO! Professor! I can’t rewrite that thesis from the beginning!…”
Margen, a graduate student of Dungeon Studies, who barely woke from a nightmare, realized it was just a dream and let out a sigh of relief.
That was truly horrific. A dream where the professor tore apart his thesis, declaring it rubbish and ordering him to rewrite it from scratch.
If that had happened in reality, I would have smashed the window and jumped out right away.
Wiping the cold sweat off his forehead, Margen stretched and looked around.
Here and there, people lay sprawled out like corpses.
They had all spent several nights working hard to create the dungeon for the final exam and had collapsed.
Just moments ago, Margen had shared the same fate as that heap of corpses, struggling to remember how things had come to this.
The start of this nightmare was the dungeon created by Lady Lucy, who belonged to the Allen family.
The dungeon she created was so beautiful that anyone specializing in Dungeon Studies would be left in awe.
When Margen first saw that dungeon, he became envious of the talent possessed by Lucy Allen.
However, the amazement of the several graduate students vanished the instant they heard their supervising professor’s next words.
“Now, you all will make this dungeon yourselves. What do you think? Are you not thrilled to create this artwork yourself?”
The dungeon was so beautiful that those walking the path of academia found it awe-inspiring, but it also meant it was bizarre and finicky.
You want us to create something like this? Two weeks before the final exam?!
To meet that deadline, it’s not a matter of not being able to leave work; I would have to give up sleep for the entire duration!
Hearing the supervisor’s story, all the graduate students screamed out in their heads but did not voice their complaints to the professor.
Having been graduate students for a long time, they had become accustomed to being treated like slaves.
Thus, how many days had they spent locked in the research room, saying that they had slept a lot if they managed to sleep for just an hour?
By yesterday, the graduate students had successfully completed the dungeon.
After handing it over to the professor, they all collapsed, like fainting.
Let’s see. Is it around 4 PM now?
I’ve been out cold for nearly half a day.
But why do my eyes still feel heavy?
Yawn. Lucy Allen, the one in charge of the dungeon’s design, said she would directly conquer it to find the areas needing revision, so it will take a while for the QA.
So it’s okay to sleep a little longer.
As Margen thought he would sleep until tomorrow morning, the moment he closed his eyes again…
“Wake up, you graduate students worse than slaves.”
With the door swinging wide open, a vivid, beautiful, yet annoying voice floated into Margen’s ears.
“You trashy little shoddy ones. Let’s see how much you turned my magnificent dungeon into garbage.”
…Already?
She has completed the QA of the dungeon already?!
Considering the dungeon’s difficulty, there’s no way she could finish the QA at this hour?!
“You might have worked hard, but your efforts don’t change the fact that you’re all shoddy! This kind-hearted me will tell you the areas needing revision, so remember them well with that little brain of yours.”
The moment Margen saw Lucy Allen’s triumphant gaze, he couldn’t help but shed tears.
It seems that he would have to endure a few more hardships before he could get a proper sleep.
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