episode_0044

Following the students passing through the first gate, two girls were seen rushing to the next viewpoint and lying down on the ground, smiling brightly in anticipation of the sights to come.

Vivian and Lanier let out a small exclamation when they discovered the second test site, which this time took the form of a large maze.

“Wow… … It’s so big… … ”

The height of the maze walls makes it difficult for most people to climb up them.

In addition, before actually entering the maze, there was a sign indicating that climbing the walls of the maze was considered cheating, so the students had to complete the maze as if they were playing a maze.

“Now the first hurdle has been passed… …

What is the second gate?

Is it just a maze?”

Despite Ranie’s question, which was filled with curiosity, Vivian remained silent for a moment and looked down.

Vivian, who was looking intently somewhere, narrowed her eyes and glared at something, and slowly began to open her mouth.

“Well… ? I guess it feels a little different from last year’s swordsmanship club…

To give a rough guess… I think it will probably proceed in a similar way to a regular dungeon from here.”

‘Dungeon’.

It was the name given to a huge maze-like structure with an unknown cause and background.

Most dungeons had an ecosystem of some kind, and sometimes livestock proliferated within them, special minerals were buried, or rare herbs grew naturally.

In that sense, its monetary value was also highly regarded, with some people calling dungeons a dangerous gold mine.

Dungeons that are discovered at any time and place simply through the element of chance are places that receive a lot of attention and investigation, as the cause of their creation is unknown in any country.

An example of this was the dispute that arose over a dungeon discovered on the border between Warmhausen, which valued alchemy using rare earth elements, and Groden, which also valued magic using mana absorption.

“Dungeons are a swordsman’s dream, right? Right?”

“Yes. Because it was my dream to go to a dungeon too.

Later, I wanted to form an exploration party with support from my family.”

The fierce conflict between the two countries was still unresolved, so the dungeon still remained undeveloped, so it goes without saying how important the dungeon was.

“And if it’s definitely a dungeon… … ”

Vivian’s eyes slowly narrowed as she quietly looked down.

“There is no way they will fall out.”

All dungeons also had other things in common.

It is said to be inhabited by monsters whose cause of appearance is unknown.

“Ready for battle!! Non-combat personnel fall back!!”

“Isn’t this difficult? !?”

A group of students faced with a group of small monsters that looked like dogs were quickly beginning to prepare for battle.

“Once we meet, there is nothing we can do!!

You too, please find a way to help!!”

Under the leadership of the male swordsman from the swordsmanship department, the female students from the refining and medicine departments left behind, and two female students from the magic department drew a magic circle in the air with the wands they were holding.

“I’ll prepare a shield spell!!”

“Fireball spell calculation in progress!! Take your time!!”

“I understand… !! It won’t last long!! Down!!”

Fortunately, the group of monsters was not a threatening opponent as it was of moderate difficulty.

As the male swordsman took the time to block the monsters’ attacks by throwing away and blocking attacks as best as he could, the wands of the two female students began emitting light, creating a protective shield in front of them, and firing fireballs forward.

The appearance is reminiscent of artillery in a trench, something that can only be seen in modern firefights.

Just before the shield was cast, the male student threw his body with all his might and barely entered the shield, and at the same time, a blazing fireball exploded beyond the shield, scorching the surrounding area with flames.

“It’s done!!”

“The connection was good!! Let’s just keep it like this!! Ah, my waist… … ”

At the same time as the shouts of joy flow out, the sight of a male student sitting on the floor and clutching his waist.

Seeing that scene, a non-combatant female student from the medical department who had been left behind rushed over to take care of the injured person and administer first aid with the medicine she had on hand.

“Are you okay? This will make it a little better… !!”

“Hehe… thank you… … It’s definitely better… ”

‘Teamwork is pretty good… … ?’

Looking at the team that fit together so well, I let out a small sigh of admiration.

At that level, wouldn’t you be able to use similar tactics to most raid parties?

The offensive ability and combat sustain of a raid team with a dealer and a healer are excellent.

However, Vivian’s expression, who was looking at it with me, looked surprisingly a little dark.

“Why are you doing this, Vivian?”

“It must be hard for them.”

“Yes? Why?

Didn’t you fight really well?”

“That’s right. but… … ”

“A girl from the medical school and a boy from the smelting department who were also into it.

Looking at it this way, those two have no fighting ability. That means those two can literally be seen as holes in the team.”

“A hole?”

When Ranie’s question came back, full of doubts about Vivian’s sudden command of the hole, Vivian drew a picture on the floor next to her with her fingertip and gave a rough explanation.

Vivian drew circles back and forth, then drew an ‘X’ on the back circle, drawing arrows surrounding the remaining circles from front and back.

“That’s the problem with inexperienced parties. The moment the hole is attacked, it’s over.

The moment the rear guard, which has no fighting ability, is attacked, the front line becomes embarrassed.

And the rear guard quickly retires, and the panicked front line is attacked back and forth.”

“Is that… about that level? … ?”

“Because our team was eliminated like that last year.

When we were almost there and let our guard down, the weakest team members were attacked and fell first.

And even those of us who withstood the onslaught on the front line eventually fell.

I said this once before, right? Do you remember?”

In response to Vivian’s words, which again revealed a secret that had been mentioned once before, Lanier slowly nodded with a serious look on his face.

Since Vivian is definitely a fan of Vivian, she clearly follows what Vivian tells her.

“Wouldn’t it be okay if it was a monster with such low intelligence that it just hangs around like a vanguard?

As far as I know, a prisoner is going to appear this time too.

Obviously, a beastman capable of strategic attacks would easily break through such a sloppy formation.

Maybe it won’t even give you time to develop magic techniques.

At least he should have been able to protect himself…”

“Ah… !! That’s how it happens, right? I understand!!”

And no sooner had Ranie finished answering, a student in the smelting department who had not noticed the group of monsters approaching from behind was attacked and fell to the ground.

“This.. like this… … !!”

“Aaaa!!”

In addition, he was unable to respond properly due to the female student from the medical club who was momentarily embarrassed and clinging to the male student from the swordsmanship club while screaming, and before he had time to do anything, the female students from the magic department were caught up in the attack, creating a catastrophe.

As Vivian watched, a bitter word left her mouth, announcing the end.

“It’s annihilation… ”

In the end, everyone collapsed, blood spraying everywhere from their injuries, but soon they were engulfed in a group of light and disappeared.

“That… … ?”

“It’s an emergency escape artifact.

It’s probably connected to the medical department.

It is set to activate automatically when it detects a threat to life.

This is a test, so you can’t die from something like this, right?”

‘oh… Even such a device… … ?’

Maybe it’s an obvious thought, but if you think about it properly, there’s no way that students would have to deal with such monsters with their bare hands, without any safety measures.

“In some cases, you may have to give up due to reasons such as poor physical condition.

Emergency escape artifacts are sometimes used in such cases.”

‘You can escape anywhere… … ‘

That would be a very convenient artifact.

Suddenly, my thoughts reached that point, and I realized that there was a fatal blind spot in my strategy, and for an instant, I began to feel goosebumps running through my body.

‘I’m in big trouble… … !!’

A dungeon is a dangerous place where everyone’s life comes and goes equally.

Realizing my mistake in failing to calculate that my life would be at stake there, I quickly shifted my focus and began to search for members of other colonies.

‘Operation stopped!! Stop the operation!!’