chapter_0040

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
40

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
40

Compared to when I tackled
dungeons with the Knights, this felt like a walk in the park, but was
it still tough for them?

Dungeon crawling with Possell
was no joke. Even though the Evans Dungeon was of medium size, we
cleared the five levels in just two hours. We had to run like there
was no tomorrow except when fighting.

‘They’re way behind even
compared to me.’

The proof was that, despite
taking the lead almost by myself, I wasn’t even out of breath. I
hadn’t even broken a sweat.

‘Is that so?’

Grandpa’s words didn’t quite
resonate with me. It’s true that over the past three months, I
underwent rigorous training that even the Knights found admirable,
but it was still just three months.

No matter how much I used my
in-game knowledge to move as efficiently as possible, there was no
way I could get that strong.

Oh, could it be because my
level is higher than theirs?

That must be it. Joy had never
entered a dungeon before. And from the way Jacob was moving, even
more awkward than Joy, it seemed unfamiliar to him too.

The difference between Level 1
and Level 10 is significant.

Spending time with the Knights
from the Allen Family, I hadn’t even considered that my level might
be higher.

‘…We should probably take
a break, right?’

Of course, that was my plan.
We need to break the record as much as possible.

Since I’m the only one taking
hits at the front, the other two just need to provide support from
behind.

Being a bit out of breath
shouldn’t be a big issue, right?

Having the game turn into
reality does have its inconveniences.

In the game, no matter how
much I pushed the characters, they never complained.

“Let’s take a break.”

The moment I suggested it, Joy
and Jacob collapsed onto the ground as if they had been waiting for
my words.

Seeing Joy, who usually
carried herself with the dignity of a Duke’s Daughter, lying on the
ground without any regard for grace, it was clear she was exhausted.

After a while, Jacob staggered
to his feet.

He took out a canteen, drank a
few sips of water, and then cautiously spoke to me.

“Lady Allen, how do you
have so much stamina?”

‘Because I’ve trained.’

“I’ve been training hard,
unlike a sloppy weakling like you. There’s no way I’d be weaker than
a lazy slouch.”

“I’ve been training in my
own way too…”

You should have been levelling
up in the dungeon.

No matter how hard you train,
there are limits if your level is low.

“I’m curious about how
you trained. Wild Lady.”

Wild Lady?

Joy spoke up while leaning
against the wall.

How did I train?

It’s not like I can’t tell
them. There’s nothing particularly secret about this.

When I recited my usual
training routine, their expressions turned from indifferent to
increasingly shocked.

“Do you really train like
that?”

‘Yes. I’m not lying.’

“Airhead Lady, it’s
problematic to doubt just because something is impossible for your
sloppy stamina.”

“Do you really spend all
your time training except for eating and sleeping?”

Is it really that surprising?

Compared to the knights of my
family, I’ve been living comfortably.

Possell was quite considerate
since I am a Count’s Daughter, after all.

The level of training those
knights undergo was frightening, even for me to witness.

Possell turned his statement
into reality—if your physical abilities are at an abnormal level,
you should train at an abnormal level.

“That’s why you’ve become
so strong.”

Joy looked at me with a mix of
exhaustion and awe, then used her staff to prop herself up.

‘Have you recovered your
stamina?’

“Can you at least walk now,
Airhead Lady?”

“Yes.”

‘And Jacob?’

“What about that weakling?”

“I’m fine too.”

‘Then let’s go. To the boss
room.’

“Let’s go. The boss of
these antiques should be just as outdated, so we’ll handle it
quickly.”

As we opened the door to the
boss room, we saw a massive human-shaped golem standing in the centre
of the empty room.

Its size was comparable to
Possell, and unlike the previous golems we encountered, it was
wearing well-maintained armour despite showing some signs of wear.

The weapon it held was a
massive sword, more akin to a heavy club.

Depending on the strength of
this golem, trying to block its attacks head-on might shatter my
shield.

The golem stood motionless in
the centre like a statue, but the moment it recognized our entrance,
its eyes glowed red, and it raised its sword.

‘I’ll go first.’

“I’ll go ahead, so provide
support as needed.”

I’m still not at a level where
I can give detailed directives to others while fighting.

If the enemy was weak, I could
afford to be more relaxed, but against a full-powered opponent like
this, I can only focus on the fight in front of me.

But considering how Joy
provided support intuitively during our previous battles, I can rely
on her to do well this time too.

“Hey, you rusted old knight♡
Why aren’t you attacking? Are you scared of this little girl?♡ A
scaredy-cat golem, huh?♡ That’s hilarious♡”

The moment I taunted, the
golem’s eyes glowed red from within its helmet, and its massive
body began to move towards me.

With every step it took, the
ground trembled, indicating the immense strength it possessed. But
even as I watched it, I remained calm.

Though its size was similar to
Possell’s, its speed was so slow that it made me want to yawn in
comparison.

With such speed, I could
easily toy with it by dodging and running, but this was a moment
where we needed a swift victory rather than a stable one.

With my shield raised, I
dashed towards the golem.

Seeing my movement, the golem
lifted its sword.

‘I know, Grandpa.’

I wasn’t stupid enough to
take such a heavy attack head-on.

I’d heard this lesson from
Possell countless times.

If an attack could be dodged,
there was no need to raise the shield.

Blocking with a shield meant
giving the opponent control, so avoiding the strike would allow me to
seize control.

As the greatsword came
crashing down, I leapt to the side, evading the blow.

BOOM!

The massive weapon smashed
into the ground, shattering the floor and kicking up dust.

Not a bad show of power.

Compared to Posell, this thing
is just a small fry.

As I was contemplating where
to start breaking this sluggish creature, a fireball flew in and hit
the golem’s head, causing an explosion.

Was this Joy’s support?

Quick and precise.

Moreover, she timed it well
when the golem stopped moving.

As expected, she’s competent.
Even if her stamina is lacking, her magic talent is undeniable.

But she’s still inexperienced.

Right now, she should’ve
prepared something other than fire magic.

No matter how old this golem
is, it’s not something that would be affected by a fireball.

When the smoke from the
explosion cleared, the golem’s helmet appeared mostly intact, just
slightly scorched.

‘Miss Joy! Don’t use fire
magic!’

“Airhead Lady! Are you
really that dense?! What if you’re dumber than me who flunked out of
magic school?!”

“What should I do then?!”

‘Just do as you were before!’

“Like earlier, use ice magic
to hinder this antique’s movements!”

The golem is already
incredibly slow.

If Joy’s magic could debuff
it, then this thing would just become a fancy punching bag.

We can attack it plenty
afterward.

“Got it! Please wait a
moment!”

As I heard Joy’s response, I
dodged the golem’s descending sword once more and swung my mace at
its thigh.

It’s tough, but not
unbreakable.

While I was distracting it,
Jacob closed in on the golem from behind and swung his sword. Jacob’s
strike was not bad, but it wasn’t suitable.

Swords are the worst weapon
against something this hard.

As Jacob’s sword bounced off,
the golem’s attention shifted.

“Hey, sloppy knight. Where
are you looking?”

You have an opponent right in
front of you, yet you’re distracted?

You look like a knight but do
you actually lack knightly virtues and are just a flirt?

“Could you possibly be into
men?♡ Oh dear, my apologies♡ Must be disappointing to have to
face a kid like me♡”

The golem’s red glowing eyes
turned back to me.

Yes. Look at me.

I’m your real opponent.

The ensuing battle became
nothing more than chipping away at the golem’s strength.

Joy used her magic to debuff
it, I distracted it while attacking, and Jacob added extra damage
like a toothpick.

There was no tension.

Tension usually arises from
danger, but the knight-shaped golem posed no threat to us.

As the fight continued, my
mace shattered the golem’s thigh, and from then on, it was simply
about subduing the struggling golem.

“Is it over now?”

Seeing the golem’s core
shatter, Joy asked, seemingly puzzled.

‘Yes.’

“It’s likely. Is something
wrong, Airhead Lady?”

“No. I was just tense
because it was supposed to be a boss fight, but it ended too easily.”

It was anticlimactic.

But it’s better for boss
fights to be anticlimactic.

After all, this isn’t a game,
and there’s no need for a nerve-wracking battle.

In the real world, the best
fights are the boring ones.

“Do we just need to head
back now?”

‘Yes.’

“That’s right.”

“But where do we go back
to?”

What do you mean, where?

When you clear a dungeon,
there should be a door.

But why isn’t there one?

This is strange.

The boss of the ‘Alchemist’s
Abode’ dungeon is definitely the knight-shaped golem we just
defeated.

After dealing with it, a door
should appear, leading us outside and marking the end of the exam.

Even though I might not know
much about entrance exams, I’ve been through plenty of practical
exams.

Exams always proceed this way.
So why hasn’t the door appeared?

‘Jacob…’

“Hey, runt. You have a magic
tool to contact the outside, don’t you?”

“Yes. I received one from
the interviewer. But this is…”

Jacob’s voice trailed off,
which was unsettling.

“Hurry and speak.”

“Don’t trail off your
words because it’s annoying.”

“I’m sorry! It seems to
be broken, it won’t activate!”

What? What do you mean?

I snatched the magic tool from
Jacob’s hand and tried to activate it myself, but it didn’t work.

It was completely
unresponsive.

“Lady Allen.”

I looked up at Joy’s voice.

She was holding the magic tool
that the interviewer had given us for escaping the dungeon.

“This one doesn’t work
either.”

…Coincidence. I’d like to
believe that, but it can’t be.

It’s unlikely that the Soul
Academy would give us something without checking if it was in working
condition.

Even if it broke by accident
here, having two break at the same time is strange.

On top of that, the exit door
to the dungeon hasn’t appeared. This can’t be a coincidence.

Could it really be?

It happening once might be a
coincidence, but when coincidences pile up, it becomes intentional.

As my head grew more confused,
a message popped up in front of me.

[Agra is watching you.]

Ah.

Damn it.

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