The dungeon has been cleared.
The Circulation’s Red Horse decided to leave this place through conversation and received a ‘persuasion’ judgment, concluding the dungeon.
However, here, the persuasion was done by me, not the Red Horse, so the dungeon disappeared completely.
Now, the horses of the prairie will not be resurrected, and once they die, only their souls will wander the world or be reincarnated as something else.
[Oh]
[Wow]
[Sub-Mythical]
[So sweet, lol]
[Is it a mythical item?]
[Saddle?]
And with 94% of the dungeon clear share, I obtained an item called ‘Saddle of Circulation.’
As expected of a sub-mythical item, it has various stats, but the most important ability is ‘Riding.’
Depending on the creature I want to mount, the length and size can be adjusted, and when mounted, additional buffs are given to both the creature and myself.
I haven’t tested the limits, but I could probably ride a decent dragon without much trouble.
─…It has shrunk quite a bit.
It can even fit the main body of the Circulation’s Red Horse.
I nodded as I checked the saddle placed on the Red Horse.
Well fitted.
“If it’s too big, it’ll be uncomfortable to move. We need to reduce it a bit.”
─So, what do I do now?
“First, you’ll usually be in the place you used to go. Then occasionally, if there’s a need, you can come out and help.”
─…That place again?
The Red Horse shook its head in disbelief.
I shook my head as well.
“You need to get close to your new friends.”
─…Those people.
“Not ‘that person,’ friends. They’re all nice people.”
Even if they’re a bit strict, whether it’s Lasty or Pharaoh, they’re not bad at heart.
Compared to the ancient beasts filled with malice, they’re like angels.
[Nice?]
[From what I saw in your previous teaching, it didn’t seem that way, Professor.]
[LOL]
[That guy uncle is such a ranker bully, it was hilarious to see the dinosaur broadcasting.]
[The Progenitor is so over the top.]
[The class level was insane.]
[Lasty, hey…!]
The expression on the Red Horse’s face grew more somber.
If I leave it here in the Space of Despair, it seems like the Red Horse’s lifespan will diminish endlessly.
Even though endlessly diminishing means forever.
“Well, actually, there’s an empty spot somewhere. Would you like to go there?”
─Which place are you talking about?
The Red Horse’s eyes brightened.
It was as eager as a little lamb wanting to escape from hell.
Just in time, besides Lasty, we needed another professor about powers.
Lasty only dealt with students who could keep up with her class, so there were many rankers who couldn’t attend classes about powers due to having mediocre talents.
The Pharaoh indeed had outstanding powers, but he only taught summoning and combat techniques.
Although not as much as the two professors, a Jeokma with powers who has lived for a long time could certainly be of help.
If it’s a suitable subject… how about illusions and resurrection?
“You’ll know when you go.”
─?
[Professor +1]
[Slave Recruitment lololol]
[When will the newcomers be picked again?]
■
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“Thanks, Sister!”
“…Yes. Good work.”
After sending the newly appointed professors of illusions and resurrection, Jeokma, to the academy, we faced the Jeokwol Guild.
Still, Wind Rapid Blade wore a faintly happy expression, having cleared the dungeon, while Jeoksa seemed to experience a headache as he held his head.
They received a 6% share of the strategy and, since it was a top-tier dungeon, they gained quite a lot of experience points and wealth.
It was comparable to the rewards of a typical hidden dungeon clear.
However, losing a respawning high-level hunting ground was significant.
Respawning high-level monsters are extremely rare, and those that give full experience points and wealth are few and far between.
For Jeoksa, his younger brother might be someone he’d want to strangle.
“…Still, I’m glad you cleared it without any problems. We were pressed for time since you came over while preparing for the raid.”
“I heard roughly from my younger brother.”
“Younger brother… Haha. Hahaha.”
[Hahahahahaha]
[Seriously, it sounds like you want to kill him…]
[Jeoksa, hang in there]
[Just got hit with a bolt from the blue before the raid lol]
[Boss goooAAAACK lol]
[But you got a lot of rewards, right? lol]
Jeoksa hit his younger brother one more time and swallowed his anger.
It was absolutely unacceptable for him, but he didn’t cross the line, like attacking me.
Whether his younger brother suggested something to me or not, I was the one who cleared the hunting grounds and dungeons of a different guild.
Naturally, he should have some resentment towards me, but Jeoksa didn’t show it.
Before I left, I handed invitations to both of them.
“What’s this—”
“This is that thing!”
Wind Rapid Blade yelled, receiving a piece of white paper while sulking after being hit.
It’s something you must go through to enroll in Eli Academy…
“Admission Permit!”
“Admission… is it?”
“Not exactly an admission permit. It’s a challenge for the entrance exam. We plan to accept new students soon. About ten or so?”
[Oh]
[Really?]
[Why didn’t you tell us!]
[Me too, me too, me too, me too!]
[Wow]
[Ah lol, no way!]
[Wow, this is such a score lol;;]
“Feel free to challenge whenever you want, the door is always open!”
“Oh! Then I… Hey, why are you taking that away!”
“Huh?”
“No, that was given to me…”
“What kind of nonsense have you been hearing all this time?”
Jeoksa lowered his head, having snatched the invitation from Wind Rapid Blade.
“It’s difficult for now. I’ll try it when I have time.”
“Please challenge at your convenience. We have some ease anyway.”
“Yes.”
■
Time flies by swiftly.
As October approached, it raced toward November, and the newly appointed Red Horse professor continued classes with Lasty and Pharaoh.
Since everyone was talented rankers, their skills were improving dramatically, but they were still lacking.
They weren’t quite at the level to face a disaster yet.
Anyway, there was a bit of anxiety due to the lack of information on Red Horse, but surprisingly, he didn’t seem to have much trouble teaching.
In fact, it seemed like he was quite accustomed to teaching, passing on tips and knowledge about powers to students from different majors.
When asked about the reason, he replied:
“I once tried to let other beings perceive the cycle. A futile endeavor, but still.”
The one who made the words of the plains live forever.
Because Jeokma wanted equals rather than subordinates, he tried such things, but ordinary horses could never understand.
“…I can’t catch it.”
And I was in the queue for a rank battle.
[Matching…]
Currently ranked 15th.
Since nothing much had happened in the past month, I spent my time alternating between classes at the academy and occasionally visiting Pharaoh’s empire.
There hadn’t been any particular cases for a new tier to emerge, so I invested a lot of time in matching to raise my rank, but it wasn’t happening.
‘If I meet them, I’ll definitely lose.’
There are only 5,000 players with tiers above Mastery, and most of them don’t queue for matches.
There’s a reason the Sword Saint, who hasn’t been active in years, still maintains the top rank.
It’s because the position he’s raised is so high that it can’t be taken away.
Because of that, I was turning on the broadcast only when I got a match without going live first, but now it seems they’re checking my presence entirely, and matches aren’t happening at all.
If I hadn’t nearly spent all day queuing, I would never have hit this 15th place.
“…This is quite troublesome.”
“Right. Still, I want to get inside the top 10 before the year changes.”
“That’s right. It’s a troublesome matter.”
“Is my presence the troublesome part?”
“That can’t possibly be the case.”
“…Hmm.”
I took my eyes off the message window that still said I was matching and looked at someone.
Serrek, the administrative manager of Elbrite’s administration and Pharaoh’s lover.
“Not a lover.”
“Then a bride?”
“…Could you leave? I have a lot of work to deal with today.”
Serrek efficiently organized the papers with her sandy hands.
Yena is still as skilled at handling tasks as ever.
“What brings you here today? Is it something related to the Emperor—”
“Why didn’t you go?”
“…….”
“You definitely said it was okay.”
Since Pharaoh took control of the desert, he’s been pushing hard for the empire’s revival.
He spends most of his time in the desert outside the regular classes offered at the Academy.
I had mentioned that as long as Serrek does her job, she could also head to the desert as if commuting.
Serrek stopped her hands that were holding the papers.
“…I just need a moment to organize things.”
“Organize?”
“……”
She remained quiet, still holding the papers in her hands.
A confused expression on her face.
“Could it be because of what Lasty showed you?”
“…She wasn’t me.”
“All I did was make you honest. I didn’t interfere at all.”
It has been ten days since the interference dungeon ended.
Lasty, who was interested in their relationship, said she had a wish and asked what had happened during the interference dungeon.
Originally, I hadn’t planned to tell her anything, but since I decided to grant Lasty her wish, I showed her ‘honest’ Serrek after a lot of thought.
The problem is, after seeing that side of her, Lasty found it amusing and told Serrek about it.
Naturally, Pharaoh, who maintains Serrek, found out.
Lasty denied it fervently, saying she didn’t know it would turn out like this, but from my perspective, it seemed like she did it on purpose to make them aware of each other.
Despite her typically quiet personality, she can be surprisingly mischievous.
Thus, the relationship between the two became quite peculiar.
“…I will go when the time comes.”
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