chapter_0038

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
38

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
38

While waiting in line for the
dungeon teams to be assigned, no one spoke to me.

The people in front and behind
me whispered among themselves about the upcoming exam but made no
attempt to talk to me.

When our eyes met
occasionally, they fell silent, more out of fear than any desire to
disturb.

(Mocking)

‘Don’t touch a sore spot.’

Friends? Such things are a
luxury for me.

Finding hidden pieces and
efficiently tackling Soul Academy is the mission of a dedicated
player.

If I had leisure time to spend
with friends, I’d rather swing my mace one more time!

I’m not becoming a solitary
figure; I’m choosing solitude!

For the sake of game
efficiency!

Ironically, to play Soul
Academy most efficiently, you need to improve relationships with
various characters.

Damn it.

As I chatted with Grandpa
while waiting, I eventually reached the interviewer.

Luca, one of the combat
instructors, greeted me with a smile rather than suspicion.

“Hello, Lady Allen.”

It should have been pleasant
to see someone smile at me for the first time since Benedict, but I
didn’t welcome Luca’s attention at all.

This man is a madman who
believes talent blooms through trials.

Luca sweet-talks the students
he likes, gaining their trust.

Then he uses that trust to
push them into the trials he has prepared. If the trials were
something that students could overcome, I wouldn’t call him a madman.

But Luca’s trials are
different.

The trials Luca prepares are
such that failure means instant death.

The reason he has produced so
many renowned disciples is due to this very nature.

Those who overcome his trials
naturally succeed because they’ve bloomed their talent, while those
who fail simply vanish into obscurity.

In my heart, I want to expose
the atrocities this man has committed right now, but it’s impossible
at the moment.

There’s no evidence, and the
gap in our reputations is too wide.

If I attempt to take him down
now, everyone would just see me as a lunatic spouting nonsense.

Of course, it’s impossible
right now.

Sooner or later, I will surely
bring him down.

Luca is a wild card, and I
absolutely loathe leaving any variables unchecked.

“I watched your sparring
match attentively. You were remarkable,” Luca said with a smile.

‘So what?’

“What do you want? Sinister
trash.”

“Oh haha. Just like the
rumours, you’re quite sharp-tongued. I only wanted to greet you.”

I didn’t feel good watching
Luca laugh like that.

Is this bastard already
setting his sights on me?

“Please draw a paper.”

I reached into the box and
drew a slip of paper. The number written on it was ‘13’.

“Number 13. You’ve picked
a good team!”

‘Good?’

“What do you mean, good?”

“You’ll know once you get
there.”

Luca said with a soft smile
and left it at that.

Alright. I suppose I’ll find
out when I get there.

Thinking that, I headed
towards the flag marked with my number, but stopped when I saw who
was standing there with arms crossed.

No way, right? Am I seeing
things?

I specifically wanted a
supporter who could cover me from the rear, and while the person
there fits the bill, this can’t be happening!

Why is Airhead Lady here!

‘Strictly speaking, she
isn’t an enemy.’

Even though I made a bet with
Airhead Lady, I don’t particularly want to win, nor do I dislike
her.

Ah. I unconsciously called her
Airhead Lady again.

…This is all because of that
[Mesugaki] Skill.

Seeing me trudging over, Joy
raised an eyebrow and spoke in a sharp tone.

“Hello, Rowdy Lady. Our
fates seem to be quite intertwined.”

‘Indeed.’

“Yes, indeed, Airhead Lady.”

I averted my eyes from Joy’s
glare and shut my mouth. If I continued talking with Joy, something
truly irreparable might happen.

Since we’d be entering the
dungeon together, I couldn’t afford to build more resentment with
her. I didn’t want a fireball coming at me from behind!

Putting aside my personal
grievances, a party with Joy and me was actually quite solid. With me
as the tank capable of taunting and Joy, a mage who could handle both
ice and fire, we formed the classic vanguard and rearguard
combination.

Additionally, considering both
our talents—me acknowledged by the knights of my family as a
warrior after much effort, and Joy being considered a top-tier
character within the Soul Academy Game—our skills were
well-matched.

Whoever joined us would make
dungeon crawling a breeze.

Although, I did feel a bit
sorry for whoever would end up in the middle of us, as it might be
stressful for their stomach.

But that wasn’t my problem.

They should consider it an
equivalent exchange for high scores.

Not long after, the last
member of our party approached.

Clearly an extra just by
looking, the boy hesitated upon seeing Lucy and me ignoring each
other without any conversation.

He then repeatedly compared
his number tag with the flag’s number near us before collapsing to
the ground with a devastated expression.

Poor kid.

At any rate, given
appearances, we had a beautiful Duke’s Daughter and, according to
Benedict’s description, a count’s daughter who looked like a
doll, so he should at least enjoy the view.

Both of us are harmless on the
inside, anyway.

Though our reputations? Not so
much.

“A..a.. hello! I’m
Jacob, the first son of the Baron House of Riz!”

Jacob Riz? I’ve never heard of
him.

Not even as a passing extra’s
name.

Is he really someone with no
bearing on the game’s story?

No reason to care then.

Seeing how scared he looks, he
doesn’t seem like he’d be a bother, so maybe I’ll just leave him be.

“I’m Joy Partan. You’ve
heard of me, right?”

“Yes! Of course!”

‘I’m Lucy Allen.’

“You know my name, right
weakling? Better watch yourself.”

“Yup! Got it!”

Annoyed by such an arrogant
greeting, Joy glared at me.

What am I supposed to do? The
[Mesugaki] Skill speaks for itself!

Sighing for effect, Joy
continued.

“We’ll be heading into
the dungeon soon, so how will we handle command?”

‘I’ll take care of that.’

“I’ll do it. Airhead
Lady.”

“You?”

Joy’s sceptical gaze pierced
me.

I get it, I’m not exactly
inspiring confidence.

It’s not about knowing the
dungeon well; it’s about whether I can lead people effectively.

But just trust me this once! I
can really do it!

“Um, about that…”

At the hesitant voice coming
from the side, I turned my head to see Jacob biting his tongue with a
startled look.

So you think you can lead me
and this Airhead Lady?

Can you really conquer a
dungeon you’ve never seen before while trembling at the thought of
making a single mistake?

I glared at him, and Jacob,
realising his situation, cautiously backed away.

‘Miss Joy…’

“Airhead Lady, have you
ever navigated a dungeon before?”

Of course not. I remember this
as a setting that exists in the game.

Entering a dungeon with Joy’s
party marks her first time since the Academy entrance exam dungeon.

“No, I haven’t. Have
you?”

‘I have, and…’

“I have. I’ve also been
trained by the Allen’s Knight Order on dungeon strategies.”

Though she continued to look
sceptical, Joy’s interest piqued at the mention of the Allen’s
Knight Order.

Even if she doesn’t trust
me, at least she trusts the knights of my house?

They looked fierce, but those
kind old men turned out to be quite remarkable.

Well, anyone serving under
monsters like Benedict and Possell shouldn’t be underestimated.

“Is that true?”

‘Yes! Please trust me!’

“And what if I can’t?
Airhead Lady, I can probably do better than you.”

Hearing those words, distorted
by the [Mesugaki] Skill, I kept silent for a moment. I didn’t intend
to say it like that.

“Ah, I see.”

The frown on her face isn’t
just a misunderstanding.

What’s etched there is
genuine anger.

Joy, who seldom gets truly
angry in the game, is now genuinely furious. The provocation
performance of the [Mesugaki] Skill is really something.

But why am I using this
provocation on allies instead of enemies? Damn this useless skill!

“Alright, let’s see you
take command. I expect your leadership to be as fantastic as your
confidence.”

It seems impossible to clear
up the misunderstanding Joy has about me.

Collected too much hate; I’m
probably a black sheep in Joy’s mind by now.

‘There’s no way that would
happen.’

If she messes up in the
Academy exam, she’ll be instantly disqualified. Sweet Joy would
never do such a thing.

…Hopefully.

Time passed in tense silence
until it was our turn to enter the dungeon.

The Academy examiner was
giving us some precautionary instructions, but I let his words go in
one ear and out the other.

Anyway, no matter what he’s
saying, my goal is to break the record.

‘We’ll be fine. As long as I
can make them believe.’

Where does trust stem from?

Results!

Even if Joy looks at me with
disdain, she won’t have a choice but to believe in me once she
witnesses my dazzling command abilities that even impress the knights
of the Allen Family inside the dungeon!

I ignored Grandpa’s rambling
and waited for the examiner to finish speaking.

“Finally, I urge you once
again, if you encounter any dangerous situations, please use the
magical tool provided to you to return safely.”

With those words, the examiner
stepped aside, revealing the entrance to the dungeon.

Since this dungeon was
artificially created by Soul Academy, it didn’t have the same eerie
vibe as the smaller dungeons of Evans.

Is that eeriness connected to
something about Agra?

Without hesitation, I was the
first to step inside the dungeon.

The interior of the dungeon
was quite bright, thanks to the numerous magic light stones embedded
in the walls.

This allowed me to leisurely
observe the dungeon’s layout.

The floor was filled with
unknown debris, and the grey walls were sporadically smeared with
black stains.

Half-shattered tables that
people once used.

Fragments of glass scattered
on top.

A research lab that seemed to
have been the site of an accident—this eerie dungeon was a place I
was familiar with.

‘Place Where the Alchemist
Stayed’

Among the practical dungeons
at Soul Academy, this one was on the more challenging side. It also
had several hidden passages. If you utilise them well, you can
significantly reduce the time it takes to clear it.

Recognizing what kind of
dungeon this was, I licked my lips in anticipation and began mapping
out the shortest route in my mind.

Could I really get through
this effortlessly?

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