chapter_0214

The largest land carnivore dinosaur.

The scourge of herbivorous dinosaurs.

The dream and hope of children around the world.

A body structure designed almost exclusively for hunting.

A creature that received buff after buff as research progressed.

A quadruped with a hadrosaur-like snout and a cockscomb on its back, a far cry from some pathetic dinosaur that fished by the river.

What if that Tyrannosaurus was made entirely of machinery, breathed fire and electricity from its mouth, and shot cannons and missiles from its back and hips while fighting?

Even those who knew nothing about dinosaurs would feel a sense of awe and thrill at the mere thought.

And it was true. The Tower Masters who had overseen the construction of the artificial dungeon had poured their heart and soul into designing the space that housed the Nano-Tech Mecha Tyrannosaurus.

The visitors were no exception.

“You’re popular.”

“Yeah.”

I casually mentioned it to Leona, who was sitting at a desk next to the dungeon entrance, organizing a ledger. Leona smiled and agreed. Our artificial dungeon had an incredibly high re-challenge rate.

Most people, aside from the Great Wizard Valera, had attempted it an average of 6.3 times. Considering that the entrance fee was one gold coin per five people, and they could get their money back if they succeeded, it meant that people found it worth spending that much.

“Waaaah!”

A group of male students were thrown out like discarded rags. Failure. If they had succeeded, they would have proudly walked out with their spoils.

The male students, determined to try again, rushed towards Leona without wasting a moment.

“Can we try again?!”

“Of course. However, even if you succeed, you’ll only get back the cost of this attempt, so—”

“I don’t care! Let’s go! I’ll definitely make it this time!”

Clink, the sound of gold coins landing on the palm of his hand. The male students paid the fee and rushed inside without hesitation.

This was already their eleventh attempt. I checked the combat log of the Mecha Tyrannosaurus, wondering if I had made it too difficult.

“Why are they failing so much? They’re not trying to beat it; they’re trying to ride it.”

Instead of weakening it by attacking, they were attempting to ride it while it was still at full strength. No wonder they kept getting ejected from the entrance. It wouldn’t be a boss monster if it was easy to ride.

“Wow… They’re quite something. Don’t they care about the money? This is already their eleventh gold coin.”

The entrance fee was one gold coin for a group of five. If they succeeded, they would get their money back, so they had spent the equivalent of ten gold coins so far. It was an excessive amount to spend on a single booth.

“I understand why, though. I rode it myself after we finished building it. It felt great.”

Even I, the designer, had felt that way, so it was understandable that people who had to face it directly would be driven by desire. Leona nodded reluctantly.

“By the way, what about your older sister? Isn’t she coming?”

Kang Yuna was an A-rank hunter and a member of the Eternal Guild, and aside from Latina, all the women around me were guild leaders. Normally, they would speak casually to me, but after finding out that Yuna was my older sister, they all unconsciously used respectful speech, except for the Chairman, who was a dragon and couldn’t be outranked by anyone or anything.

“I did ask her, but she refused. She said it was too scary and that she needed time to prepare herself mentally.”

“Hmm… I guess we’ll have to be careful when we go to visit our parents later.”

“Huh?”

“Huh?”

We both blinked in unison.

Leona, who had just realized what she had said, turned bright red. It took her about three seconds to realize how her words could be interpreted.

“Ah, no! That’s not what I meant…! It’s not entirely unrelated, but…!”

She started rambling, trying to do damage control, but her efforts only drew more attention.

Eyes turned to us from all directions, including Elysier and Rosalia, who were taking a break inside the building, as well as Priscilla and Latina, who were peeking through the window.

Her already flushed cheeks turned an even deeper shade of red.

“I, I, I have something urgent to attend to! I’ll be right back!”

Unable to bear the stares any longer, Leona, the current Hero, dashed off at an incredible speed. Thankfully, no outsiders had heard that ridiculous conversation. Leona finished organizing the ledger.

Latina approached us, tilting her head in confusion.

“Why is she acting like that?”

“She’s embarrassed.”

“It’s not like she said anything particularly embarrassing. There’s someone here who does much more than that on a daily basis.”

Latina’s gray eyes glanced at Priscilla, who was snuggled up in my arms. She had tried to sneak into my bed naked, claiming she wanted to feel my warmth, only to be stopped.

“When will we be able to enjoy the festival?”

“Probably in the afternoon. Or we can do it tomorrow or Thursday, when we have time off. It’s up to you.”

Bellium Academy was open to the public from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. After that, from 6 p.m. to midnight, it was exclusively for Academy students.

It was during this time that the professors would set up their own stalls, or students who didn’t want to deal with outsiders would open their own stalls at night. So, there was plenty to enjoy at night as well.

“Night is good.”

“I thought so. There are too many eyes during the day.”

“Yes. If people see me with a girl in my arms or changing girls every few hours, they’ll think I’m a playboy.”

“……”

It wasn’t because of our reputation; it was because of their own insecurities.

I gently tapped her head, which was shamelessly looking up at me. Latina grabbed my hand and began to ruffle her hair, messing it up the way she wanted it.

“If you do that, your hair will get messy, and you’ll have to brush it again later.”

Latina grumbled, but her hair obediently followed the movements of my hand. She didn’t want to be separated from me, not even for a moment.

“Kwaaaaaaah!”

“Eek.”

The group of male students who had entered earlier screamed and tumbled back out, almost identical to the previous group. This time, there were female students among them, making the scream a bit cuter.

I quickly removed my hand from her hair. Priscilla got up, and Latina sat back down as if nothing had happened.

“One more time!”

“We’ll try again!”

That day, no one succeeded in riding the Mecha Tyrannosaurus.

.

.

.

“Now, let me explain the rules.”

The principal’s voice rang out clearly. Tens of thousands of spectators sat in their seats, listening attentively. Above them, a display was projected using magic.

“Basically, you’ll explore the area, collect treasures to earn points, and the team with the highest score at the end wins. The number and location of the treasures are for you to discover, so make sure to search thoroughly. There are artificially created monsters within the area, similar to the ones in the artificial dungeon, and if someone is deemed to have suffered a critical injury, 10% of your current score will be deducted for each person, so be careful.”

If you’re unlucky enough to be critically injured while trying to obtain a treasure in a dangerous area, you’ll lose a percentage of your points. The more you have, the more you lose.

“Additionally, there are powerful monsters played by students of Belium Academy scattered throughout the area. If you defeat one of them, you’ll receive a valuable treasure worth a significant number of points. The stronger the monster, the higher the points you’ll get from the treasure, so strategize wisely before challenging them.”

Up to this point, it was a typical treasure hunt and raid event.

But there was more.

“Finally, let me explain the special rule. Please listen carefully.”

The students fell silent as the mention of a special rule piqued their interest.

“If all the powerful monsters are defeated or there are less than 30 minutes left until the end, the last monster will appear. If you can make the student playing the last monster use more than 1% of their strength, you’ll receive twice the points of all the treasures and monsters in the area combined.”

Twice the points of all the treasures and monsters in the area combined. If they missed everything else, they could still win by just getting this one. The students began to murmur, mostly asking if that was true.

“Of course, there’s a reason for setting such a rule. I advise against challenging it recklessly. Keep in mind that the teams are instructed to hunt down the team with the highest score, so you’ll need to balance your treasure hunting speed accordingly.”

The murmurs grew louder, this time with a different meaning. If the principal was setting such a rule, who could be the last monster?

The students from Lailah Academy and Rosemary Academy were divided strictly by academic performance, and each team consisted of ten people. Yet, they had to make the last monster use more than 1% of their strength?

Students who understood the implication of the principal’s words shuddered.

“Let’s begin.”

As the principal signaled the start, six teams, one from each grade, from both Lailah Academy and Rosemary Academy, stepped through the portal. I activated the magic artifact, which allowed me to choose and view any desired location.

The artifact floated high in the sky, but I could also select specific locations to observe. It was evident that a lot of support had been poured into this festival.

‘Where…’

I located Leona’s position. She was sitting under a tree, holding the Holy Sword and looking dazed. The map we received at the beginning showed the locations of the powerful monsters, so anyone could find her if they wanted to.

And as soon as the event began, there was only one person who chose to find her first.

“It is an honor to meet you, Hero.”

Eichenhardt Renitus.

“Uh… Yes. Hello.”

Leona, who had been caught off guard by Eichenhardt’s sudden appearance, awkwardly greeted her. Eichenhardt’s head was filled with question marks, probably wondering why Leona was making such an odd expression.

“…… Why are you making that face, Hero?”

“Well, it’s just…”

Before the event started, I had made a bet with Leona.

If Eichenhardt was the first to fight her, she would tell her what I had hinted at, and if it was someone else, I would grant her any wish.

“…… I was just wondering if the spot where you got hit the other day was okay.”

“Eek, eek, eek!”