Chapter: 322
The last day of the academy’s final exam.
After going through relentless hardship, Visi had finally reached the 2nd Floor of the final exam dungeon, but this was her limit.
Their party lacked the power to go beyond the 2nd Floor.
They had repeatedly been smashed to pieces before they could even figure out what was real and what was fake, and they ultimately had to admit that their limits were here.
“If only Adri hadn’t shut her mouth in the middle, things might have been different.”
Visi’s party had certainly been able to take the lead early on thanks to Adri.
Her wisdom, honed over many years, was like a cheat sheet in a dungeon testing gimmick strategies.
If Adri hadn’t clammed up around the 4th Floor, wouldn’t Visi’s party have been able to tackle the dungeon too?
– You can’t always rely on me.
“What’s wrong with a necromancer getting help from the soul?”
Visi pouted and grumbled, which made Adri give an awkward smile.
– But I can’t just be called Visi’s soul.
“That’s… true.”
The current Adri was not someone Visi could contract, as she was still just an apprentice necromancer.
The reason Visi could seek Adri’s help was solely because Adri liked her.
In a typical soul and human relationship, Visi would already have been a sacrifice to Adri.
Despite her efforts to become a proper necromancer, Visi understood what Adri was trying to say, but just understanding it didn’t stop Adri’s words from feeling harsh.
“More importantly!”
To hide her disappointment, Visi raised her voice and continued speaking as if she were sulking.
“Adri. You really figured out the dungeon strategy, didn’t you? You weren’t just quiet because you didn’t know anything from the middle, right?”
– Of course not. I knew everything. Lady Allen fed me the problems quite kindly.
“…Kindly? What about that?”
– Well, since the finals are over, should I explain it to you?
“Sure. Let’s see if it’s bravado or not.”
– First…
“Look here!♡ Shoddy ones!♡”
Just as Adri was about to continue, a girl’s voice echoed from the entrance of the exam hall.
Clear, beautiful, irritating, and annoying. A voice that any student in the current academy would recognize instantly.
Lucy Allen.
The one who created the questions for the academy’s dungeon study exam and became an object of hatred for the students taking the exam due to her tricky gimmicks and malicious hints.
“Pffft♡ It’s hilarious to see the defeated ones crawling on the floor♡ The kind-hearted me made such an easy dungeon for you, but you can’t even tackle it♡ Totally shoddy♡ Not only do you look pathetic, but your brains must be tiny too♡ What’s that thing you’re wearing on your neck?♡”
As Lucy’s laugh spread throughout the exam hall, negative emotions began to seep into the eyes of those looking at her.
“Creating something twisted and not tackling it yourself..”
“Did she come all this way just to snub us? She’s got a really nasty personality.”
“A beautifully wrapped poison.”
“Ugh. I’m getting really pissed off.”
The countless people in the exam hall murmured in protest.
The atmosphere was a cocktail of hatred and anger.
Even someone as tough as Visi might show a little fear in such an oppressive air, but Lucy Allen remained calm.
“From now on, I’ll show you just how shoddy you all are♡ I’m even giving learning opportunities to idiots who won’t change as they grow up♡ I must be too kind to myself♡”
With not a trace of trembling in her voice, Lucy finished and let out a giggle loud enough for everyone to hear.
It was as if she hoped everyone in the exam hall would become her enemies.
Seeing this, Visi couldn’t help but tilt her head.
Unlike before, when Lucy Allen was unbearable, this current Lucy wasn’t someone who deliberately stirred up trouble.
Aside from the occasional crazy antics, she had recently shown to be more rational than most nobles.
Visi, who was somewhat forced to maintain a connection with Lucy, couldn’t understand why she would intentionally want to provoke people’s anger.
Did she really have to do that?
– Yes, she does.
‘…Adri, you read my thoughts again?!’
– What can I do? Even if I plug my ears, I can still hear it.
As Adri shrugged her shoulders while pretending to cover her ears, Visi sighed.
‘…Sigh. So Lucy Allen is intentionally acting like this right now?’
– Precisely, it seems to be half intent and half sincerity. She genuinely seems to think the students are pathetic.
Visi frowned at Adri’s comment that seemed to passively drop hints, even though she found it irritating.
‘Hey! That means you were annoyed watching me tackle the dungeon!’
– I misspoke.
‘Misspoke, my a! It’s intentional!’
While Visi was fuming, a student stepped up in front of Lucy.
The guy who had recently gotten into an argument with Lucy about the dungeon.
He had stuck his nose into things and ended up getting beaten up by a girl who was several heads shorter than him.
“Good to see you again, Lady Allen. I’m I-nam from the Common family.”
“I’m not at all curious about a shoddy one’s name~♡ Don’t waste my precious time and just get to the point.”
“…To put it bluntly, Lady, since you are the one who created the dungeon, you must know what’s inside. Simultaneously, given the power you possess, incomparable to an average first-year, you could easily stroll around the dungeon with a professor. Snickering at others while doing such an easy task as that raises questions about your dignity as a noble.”
I-nam from the Common Count family spoke, suppressing his rage. What he said was clearly a valid point, despite the trashy behavior just a few days ago.
What meaning was there in tackling a dungeon with power one couldn’t prepare for?
As he spoke, some of the students in the exam hall nodded in agreement.
“Pffft♡ Pffft♡ Hahaha♡”
Lucy, unable to contain her laughter, clapped her hands while giggling.
With the endless laughter as if a clown had told a joke just before her, the muscles in the man’s neck twitched.
Had it not been for the lesson he learned a few days back, I-nam from the Common family might have swung a fist.
Even as those who looked down on Lucy prepared to confront her, others stepped in to stop them, but Lucy continued to guffaw until her breath ran out.
“Didn’t you learn that listening to someone until they finish speaking is a courtesy?♡ Shoddy dura?♡”
“…What are you trying to say?”
“I already told you!♡ I’m going to show you how shoddy and trashy you all are!♡”
“Then that’s…”
“I’m going to tackle the dungeon I made for the third-year dimwits all by myself now♡ That’s how I’ll prove just how shoddy your minds are!♡”
At Lucy’s proclamation of tackling the third-year dungeon alone, the exam hall fell into temporary silence.
It was absurd.
Even the third-years, about to graduate from the academy, struggled with it.
Even Prince Kurten, who possessed extraordinary talent in the field of power, said it was impossible.
A first-year, Lucy Allen, saying she’d tackle it solo?
No matter how outstanding her power was, it simply couldn’t be done.
Most students judged it as nonsense.
They thought Lucy was just indulging in bravado, not wanting to lose in a verbal fight by saying anything.
However, their thoughts were shattered when Jessel, the dungeon studies professor by Lucy’s side, nodded in agreement.
“Everything lady says is true. She plans to enter the third-year dungeon alone and demonstrate that power is unnecessary in tackling this final dungeon while also showing the strategy to conquer it.”
“Did you hear that?♡ I’ll prove that you’re just incompetent and shoddy, and that the dungeon I made is perfect!♡”
Supported by Jessel’s words, Lucy Allen took a step forward, surveying those who stared at her.
“So don’t get in my way and step aside♡ Shoddy dura♡”
“…I hope you stick to that.”
As I-nam from the Common family stepped aside, a path naturally opened.
Arriving at the third-year dungeon without any hindrance, Lucy Allen stepped right into the dungeon without any preparation.
With no armor, no shield, no weapon, just her school uniform.
Phew…It must be a performance, right? She’ll pull out a shield and a weapon from her space pocket later, right?
As Visi muttered this in her mind, a voice came from somewhere, as if predicting her thoughts.
‘Is there any shoddy one who thought she’d pull out a weapon after entering the dungeon?♡ If there is, I’ll give you a compliment♡ Being such a fool is also a talent, right?♡’
– Pffft. She’s praising you?
Visi snapped at Adri for being noisy, gnawing on her lip while turning her head toward the direction where the voice came from.
There was a massive screen playing for everyone in the exam hall to see.
‘You didn’t forget what I said, did you, goldfish?♡ I said it’s unnecessary to have power to tackle this dungeon♡’
As Lucy walked down the hallway, she let out a giggle before hitting a tone of amazed surprise.
‘Oh!♡ Right!♡ There might be some fools who think this is pre-recorded♡ Hmm~♡ What should I do?♡ Should I talk about how the shoddy dura who just stirred things up looks so much like a monster?♡’
The insults streamed out like they were coming naturally; I-nam from the Common family’s face turned red, gradually morphing into something monstrous.
Those watching knew this wasn’t a pre-recorded video.
I-nam’s changes in expression were far too genuine to be acted out.
‘Oh no, the hallway’s ended!♡ I still have so much more to roast!♡ It’s so disappointing~♡’
After saying she’d describe just how artistically ugly the shoddy dura was next time, Lucy grabbed a note in her cradle as the scenery around her changed.
The first room. It was a place where defeating soldiers and knights was nearly impossible through mere power. You had to attack specific points to take them down.
‘There shouldn’t be any shoddy trash who couldn’t conquer the first room, so I’ll skim over this♡ If there really is such a fool, make sure to read the hints I wrote well♡ Got it?♡ And for those idiots who still can’t clear it, hmmm~♡’
“Hints or not, the knights are just too strong! Dammit!…”
Someone, unable to hold in their frustration after hearing Lucy’s words, shouted, but that voice was cut off before it could finish.
The fact that they couldn’t get past the first room alone marked them as failures.
Those chuckles echoing from everywhere forced the shout to fall silent.
As the minor disturbance came to an end, Lucy in her school uniform was already at the front of the first soldier.
‘Hey, at least get a weapon.’
‘Why?♡ Afraid you’ll get beaten by a defenseless girl?♡ Hahaha♡ You should be afraid♡ Then you can’t make any excuses!♡…’
Before Lucy’s words could finish, the soldier, his eyes turning wild, added power to his hand.
Visi couldn’t keep up with the soldier’s speed.
The soldier’s movements were too quick for Visi’s reflexes to follow.
All she could do was watch the outcome of the spear that was thrust through the air.
‘Pffft♡ You’re impatient, but your spear is sluggish~♡’
The result was that Lucy Allen had penetrated the void of the soldier’s body.
Touching the hollow abdomen of the soldier, Lucy wiggled her way to the next soldier, her voice ringing out.
‘This is how you do it♡ How about it?♡ There’s no way there’s a shoddy fool who can’t do what a little girl like me can do, right?♡’
“…Is she seriously saying that?”
Someone from the crowd raised their voice in disbelief, but no one refuted her.
Most students were thinking similar thoughts.
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