chapter_0235

It’s been 20 seconds since I
jumped off the cliff. It’s time to pull out a scroll from my
Inventory.

After a brief preparation, the
seemingly endless fall finally neared its end.

The grey rocky floor came into
view.

Not yet.

Not yet. It’s not time to
release the scroll.

A bit further down.

More.

Waiting and waiting still.

…

Now!

At just the right moment, I
unleash the magic contained in the scroll.

A storm rises.

A massive gust of wind surges
from below towards the top of the gorge.

My body, accelerating with
gravity, starts to slow down gradually.

When my fall velocity reduces
to zero, I find myself about 3 metres above the ground.

Not long after, the scroll’s
magic ends and I fall under the influence of gravity again, landing
on the floor.

I got scared and used it a bit
too early. If this were a game, I would have taken fall damage.

There’s a big difference
between clicking a mouse from behind a monitor and casting it
directly.

Unless it’s a life-or-death
situation, picking the safe way is the best. A small mistake and I
could die.

As I tidied up my hair, which
had gotten messy from the fall, I called out to Grandpa.

‘So, Grandpa, what did you
want to say?’

‘Is there?’

‘…Oh. I guess so, right?’

Listening to Grandpa, I
imagined the scenario.

If I were the one who created
this dungeon and saw someone overcoming it in such an extraordinary
way, first, I wouldn’t know what I was looking at. I’d be beyond
amazed, even dumbfounded.

Eventually, I’d get curious
about who that crazy person is, and once they come out, I’d drag
them over to ask all sorts of questions.

I’d want to know how they even
came up with such a strategy.

‘How am I supposed to
explain it?!’

I had no confidence in
explaining my strategy. If this was a game, I could proudly say I
conquered it with such and such methods, but this isn’t a game world!

‘Geez!’

Ugh. I can’t undo what’s
already done.

Let’s think about it slowly
once we’re done with the Idiot Prince’s matter.

If worse comes to worst, I’ll
just go with the unlucky genius persona.

You couldn’t come up with
that idea? Typical of a Sloppy Academy’s Sloppy Professor. Just
like that.

It might stir some anger, but
what can you do? There’s no way around it.

Even as I sighed, my feet
moved steadily forward towards the end of the Academy Dungeon.

By falling off that cliff
earlier, I had skipped the 93rd floor to the 99th floor, so there was
only one thing left now.

The 100th floor.

The place where the Boss who
guards the dungeon’s end resides.

As I grabbed the handle
heading straight to the Boss Room, Grandpa’s voice sounded
concerned.

He was right. I wasn’t
exactly in the best condition.

No matter how strong my
stamina is.

No matter how erratically I
had navigated the dungeon with unconventional strategies.

I had rushed from the first
floor to the hundredth floor in just half a day.

I wasn’t so exhausted that I
couldn’t move, but it was far from my best.

Normally, it would be wise to
take sufficient rest to recover my strength before moving on. But I
wasn’t going to do that.

I wasn’t obsessed with
breaking records. I did countless Speed Runs in the past to the point
of exhaustion. I let go of that obsession long ago.

So then, why was I pushing
forward without resting?

The answer to that was quite
simple.

Facing the Boss ahead could be
done in my current state.

‘Don’t worry. It’ll be over
soon.’

‘It’s not a stunt.’

Although there are glitches in
this place, those are only possible within the game itself. They
can’t be applied to reality.

‘The Standard Tactic.’

Since it’s the final battle,
I should at least swing my mace around.

Grabbing the door handle, I
prepared for the fight.

I spread divine energy through
my body.

Reinforced myself with various
divine magic spells.

Drank potions to replenish my
stamina and mana.

Finally, I enveloped my mace
with divine energy and opened the door.

There, in the middle of the
room, stood a dark figure.

The final Boss of the Second
Semester Dungeon.

A creature combined with
corruption.

That thing was there to test
whether I had properly dealt with the numerous gimmicks up to this
point.

Typically, it would require
conquering all the gimmicks from the first floor to the ninety-ninth
to defeat this bothersome boss, but there are other ways.

As you can tell from its
ominous appearance, it’s an undead spirit type boss.

So, if you have a sufficient
level of divine energy, you can simply brute force your way through.

The moment I stepped into the
room, the door closed, and the boss in the shadows greeted me with a
sinister red grin.

Seeing that, I also couldn’t
help but smile.

Just by smiling, you manage to
be utterly repulsive. The higher we go, the more disgusting the
opponents become. How fitting for the top floor.

It’s time to break some
skulls.

Confirming the door to the
next floor had appeared, Cecil retracted his aura and let out a long
sigh.

Since entering the dungeon, he
had barely stopped moving for almost half a day, continuously pushing
forward.

Even for someone as physically
exceptional as Cecil, it was inevitable to feel fatigued.

The state of the other party
members was even more severe. Upon the boss’s death, they collapsed
onto the ground, gasping for breath, unable to utter a single word.

Watching them, Cecil was sure
it was impossible to continue further.

Still, this was enough. They
had cleared more than half of the dungeon on the first day. They
would reach the end of the Academy Dungeon by tomorrow.

‘Ha. Would this be a new
record in the Academy’s history?’

Crushing Lucy Allen, erasing
the record set by his older brother, and engraving his own name above
it all?

Imagining the scene, Cecil
leaned on his sword and let out a chuckle before addressing his party
members.

“Let’s head back. We’ll
rest thoroughly today and finish it tomorrow.”

As Cecil stepped outside the
dungeon, he glanced around at the setting sun before turning his head
in another direction.

He aimed to check the
rankings.

Naturally, his name should be
at the top, but he wondered where Lucy Allen’s name would be.

Considering her abilities, it
was highly likely she would be just below him.

With those thoughts, Cecil
turned his gaze to the ranking list, and he was stunned by what he
saw.

His prediction was wrong.

To be precise, he was partly
right and partly wrong.

The names of Cecil and Lucy
were listed as first and second, but in reverse order.

[Lucy Allen. Currently on the
100th floor. Cleared]

[Cecil Soladin. Currently on
the 60th floor. In progress]

Lucy Allen was above, Cecil
Soladin was below.

Cecil, who had resorted to all
sorts of underhanded tactics to seek victory, had been beaten by
Lucy.

‘Cleared? Cleared the
dungeon? In less than a day?

…What kind of nightmare is
this?’

At that very moment Cecil,
frozen after seeing the rankings, heard a voice from behind.

A slightly high-pitched,
clear, and beautiful voice, which only made it more annoying.

“Finally coming out? How
uncivilised to keep a lady waiting. Or perhaps you’re just too
incompetent to adhere to proper manners?”

Lucy Allen.

The opponent Cecil had decided
to beat no matter what this time.

Standing there, she looked so
pristine that it was hard to believe she had even entered the
dungeon.

“…How?”

Seeing her like this, Cecil
couldn’t help but whisper.

‘How could she have cleared
the dungeon already?

Was this even possible?

A strategy for the dungeon?

I also knew and prepared the
strategy for the dungeon beforehand.

The method to hunt the boss? I
knew all of it.

So, the conditions should have
been perfectly the same. Then logically, with my superior stats and
party members, we should have been faster.

But why?

Why?

How did Lucy Allen surpass us,
surpass me?

Why on earth!?’

“Did you bring a professor
with you?”

“Sorry, but unlike the Idiot
Prince, I don’t need any help to clear such a sloppy dungeon. I can
handle it alone. I’m a competent genius, unlike someone else.”

“Did you use some kind of
corrupt means?”

“Corruption? I just told
you, I’m different from the Idiot Prince.”

‘She ventured into the
dungeon alone.

She didn’t use any corrupt
methods.

But she cleared the dungeon
faster than me. Faster than us. Doesn’t it make no sense?

No matter how competent you
are, there are limits.

With all other conditions
being the same, there shouldn’t be such a wide gap!

There’s only one reason for
such a difference!

Unless you possess superior
strength compared to mine, this simply couldn’t happen!’

Cecil, staring intently at
Lucy Allen with bloodshot eyes, drew his sword from his waist and
pointed it at her.

“Prove it.”

“Prove what?♡ That the
Idiot Prince is incompetent?♡”

“Prove that you are
stronger than me. That’s why it’s natural for you to achieve
overwhelming grades.”

It was a challenge to a duel.

Lucy, who had been staring at
the tip of Cecil’s sword, burst out laughing.

It was a laugh filled with
disdain, with thoughts that it was pathetic and ugly, a sneer that
clung sticky inside one’s ears.

Ignoring the frown forming
between Cecil’s brows, she continued to laugh, then covered her mouth
with her hand, smiling with her eyes, she said,

“I don’t want to.♡”

“…What?”

“Why should I?♡ I’ve
already proven the Idiot Prince’s incompetence; I don’t want to rub
it in any further♡ It’s called consideration♡”

“…”

“Well, if you really want
to beg, maybe you should show the appropriate courtesy?♡ Want to
lick my shoes?♡ Oh, that won’t do♡ It’s simply too unpleasant♡

As Cecil’s face turned redder
than the setting sun, black aura began to coat his sword with every
step he took.

A sword of overwhelming power
that had split the heads of countless enemies.

Even if it had weakened due to
the many battles in the dungeon, it was still a powerful sword.

A sword that Cecil was more
confident and proud of than anything else.

That sword slashed towards
Lucy Allen.

“A surprise attack?♡
Isn’t there a limit to how disgraceful you can be?♡ Ah, I see. The
Idiot Prince is indeed a fool who doesn’t even know the basics?♡
Heh, it makes sense now♡”

But the sword did not reach
Lucy Allen.

It was because the white
shining shield she had pulled out in that brief moment blocked
Cecil’s black sword.

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