Chapter: 310
In front of the door leading to the third room, Phoebe is praying to a great being.
A prayer for blessings for those present here.
As the clergyman, who has served the God since birth, brings her hands together, divinity begins to emanate around her.
Standing in the center of the warm light, Phoebe’s appearance is so holy that no one could deny she is a saintess.
Arthur, Joy, and even Frey, who usually couldn’t stay still, had to be calm in front of Phoebe’s prayer.
How long did her prayer continue?
At some point, the warmth that filled the dark cave enveloped the three of them.
A comforting warmth.
Vitality spreading from deep within their bodies.
A body that felt lighter than ever before.
Unlike her usual erratic demeanor, her magic exuded politeness.
Arthur couldn’t help but smile at the overwhelming change in his body compared to before receiving the blessing.
Receiving blessings from the saintess isn’t something new, but he marvels every time.
When he first received the blessing, the change was so great he couldn’t even move properly.
Although he’s somewhat adapted now, if asked if he can handle his changed body, he couldn’t honestly say yes.
He isn’t a genius like Frey or Lucy; he seems to be an average Joe in every aspect.
Look to the side. Isn’t Frey, who usually bounces around, nodding her head?
It seems she’s already figured out how to move.
Haha, that’s true genius right there.
Someone like him, who is average at everything, should be called an average guy.
Just when Arthur was feeling bitter about his own talent, Phoebe opened her eyes.
“The blessing has ended.”
“Thank you as always, Saintess.”
Arthur expressed his gratitude to the smiling Phoebe and then turned to Frey.
“Are you ready?”
“Yeah. Perfect.”
“Joy, what about you?”
“I finished preparing long ago.”
“Great. Let’s give it a try.”
At the signal, the four of them leapt into the door all at once, and the scenery around them shifted.
A barren wasteland with not a blade of grass.
On it were golems swarming, taking the shape of demons.
Normally, they would need to identify which of them bore the markings first, but Arthur’s party boldly skipped that process.
It wasn’t like they had a way to find the golem to defeat.
They just decided there was no reason to find the markings.
“I’m going to go.”
As planned, Joy prepared a great spell targeting the entire wasteland while Phoebe constructed a divine barrier just in case. Frey charged forward, leaving just one golem behind.
Perhaps they thought Frey was their prey.
Several golems without markings charged towards her.
A coordinated attack from at least ten of them.
Frey met them with an emotionless face, swinging her sword lightly as if unfazed.
In that instant, cuts appeared on the golems’ legs, and their bodies fell forward, severed from their limbs.
Arthur watched the scene with wide eyes.
If his prediction was accurate, the golems should not go berserk.
Based on previous observations, the condition for their rampage was whether the core of the golem was damaged. If he had cleanly sliced off their legs, then surely…
“Got it.”
Arthur confirmed that the golems did not go berserk and clenched his fist with a grin.
That means there’s no need to waste time identifying the golems.
Not only that, but they could also quickly clear the way to the third room by dispatching the immobilized golems.
Delighted that his plan was coming to fruition, Arthur tried to draw his sword to help Frey.
“Prince Arthur, stay put.”
However, Frey blocked him.
“These guys are trickier than expected. It’s too much for you, Prince.”
“I may lack swordsmanship skills compared to you, but this much should be fine.”
“Look.”
Frey interrupted Arthur’s words and swung her sword at the golem.
A clear intention to target its legs.
The moment Arthur watched the path her sword took, he didn’t doubt for a second she’d achieve her goal.
But that was Arthur’s misconception.
Just before the blade could strike, the golem suddenly twisted its body.
Not its legs, but its core was about to be sliced away.
“If you don’t pay attention, this happens.”
As if she had anticipated it, Frey stopped her sword mid-swing.
That allowed the golem’s twist to actually create an opening for her, and her sword moved again, cutting off the golem’s arm and leg, rendering it powerless.
“So just stay put, Prince. I can handle this alone.”
With her usual nonchalant tone, Frey made Arthur grip his sword hilt tightly before eventually letting it go.
Despite feeling uneasy, he acknowledged that Frey was the right person for this job.
“Understood. I’ll just prepare for any emergencies.”
“Thanks.”
As Arthur stepped back, it wasn’t long before Joy completed her spell.
A miracle created by weaving four magic circles drawn around her.
One of the most potent spells Joy could cast at that moment.
“Young Lady Kent!”
“Got it.”
As she called Frey’s name, Frey dashed to the side of her party, and as if waiting for her, Phoebe immediately surrounded them with the divine barrier.
“All set! Joy!”
“Understood! Everyone, close your eyes and cover your ears!”
On a rainy day, a disaster sent from afar descended upon the wasteland, delivering fear to the living as if judging the demons.
Overwhelming light even felt through closed eyelids.
Awe-inspiring shock transmitted beyond the barrier.
A roar that could obliterate their hearing.
After all of that passed over the wasteland, only the trace of lightning remained, and nothing else could be found.
“I didn’t expect this much power.”
Arthur chuckled while taking in the scene created by Joy’s spell.
He had asked for a cleanup of the wasteland, but wasn’t this too much? Even half this power would have sufficed.
Just as he turned his head to comment, he noticed Joy’s pale face and realized the situation.
“Joy, you didn’t predict this power, did you?”
“…It’s a difficult spell, so.”
“And you even ended up exhausting all your magic while getting swept up in your own spell.”
Why does this girl always slip up at critical moments?
At this rate, she’s going to become a burden today!
Seeing Arthur’s lips tremble, Joy pulled out a fan from her chest, covering half her face and subtly casting a glance over at Phoebe.
Though it was a childlike plea for help, Phoebe’s expression was unusually resolute.
“We were almost in danger this time, Joy.”
“…How could this happen?”
“I know you’ve improved, but…”
As the scolding began from someone she had trusted, Joy hurriedly glanced at Arthur for help.
Were you really praying for rescue from the one who was upset with you just moments ago?
Ah, this is so absurd that I don’t even know what to say.
“Saintess.”
“…Ah. I’m sorry. Prince Arthur. I was thinking about scolding Joy.”
“No, I was going to say you’re doing well. Please keep scolding her until she comes to her senses.”
“Ah, then I’ll gladly accept that consideration.”
Seeing Phoebe’s smile, Joy’s eyes trembled.
“Phoebe? I’m completely exhausted.”
“It’s okay, Joy. Just relax and note my advice.”
After Joy had her joyful sermon time with Phoebe, Arthur furrowed his brow and began to consider the future.
With their party’s powerhouse rendered useless, proceeding through the dungeon today would be difficult.
He must think of an alternative.
Given how Lucy Allen structured her dungeons, the fourth room would likely prioritize analysis and understanding of gimmicks rather than raw skill.
At first, they’d check for clues head-on, and although the analysis from the outside might slow the pace, it wouldn’t fall too far behind.
Having made that judgment, Arthur awaited the end of Phoebe’s lengthy sermon and then headed towards the next room with the seemingly dazed Joy and the refreshed Phoebe.
“…Isn’t this the corridor where the dungeon began?”
The fourth room of the dungeon looked similar to the corridor they had seen upon entering.
The carpet on the floor.
The dim lighting.
The color of the walls.
However, the other difference was that all the decorative items that adorned the corridor had disappeared.
“Joy, I can’t analyze… I’ve exhausted all my magic.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“That’s fine. We can consider this an experience of what lurks here.”
The party decided to proceed down the corridor as they had when entering the dungeon, but unfortunately, they failed to see the end of the corridor.
It wasn’t that a threatening enemy appeared, nor was there a life-threatening trap.
They didn’t get lost in branching paths either.
The corridor simply didn’t end.
“Let’s stop and look for clues.”
Determining that proceeding any further would be pointless, they rummaged through various spots in the corridor, trying to find some clue.
Searching under the carpet.
Checking the walls and floors for any hidden devices.
They even attacked the walls and floors, the lights, but Arthur’s party found no clues at all.
It was so hopeless that they wished for the appearance of some monstrous wolf, causing Arthur to frown.
Lucy Allen.
Given her nature, she wouldn’t have created a hopeless maze.
Just like in the second room.
She intentionally filled it with parts that seemed odd.
To ensure the wolf could recognize the hallucination. There must be some clue in this room as well.
“I want to revisit the corridor we saw at the beginning. If there’s no clue here, there will surely be one there.”
Looking back now, he wondered why he had missed it.
That meticulous Lucy wouldn’t have created that corridor for no reason, would she?
“For that, we’ll need to escape the dungeon.”
While Arthur pondered whether he needed to injure himself to escape, a piece of paper appeared in front of him as if hearing his voice.
[If you wish to escape the dungeon, please follow the steps below and speak them aloud.]
Did she anticipate this scenario and even create a method to escape?
Arthur thought of Lucy Allen as he checked the back of the paper, just in case.
If that mischievous girl had left a clue in an unexpected place…
[Did you expect something to be there?♡ Want to praise your sparkling observational skills?♡ Huhahaha♡ You’re truly foolish♡ There’s no way I’d place something like that in a final exam♡ If you enjoy shortcuts, you’ll live forever as sloppy!♡]
Crumpling the paper before burning it with his fire magic, Arthur vowed to humiliate Lucy once more.
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