Ch.18Dungeon Practicum – 6
by fnovelpia
“I just felt like coming early. Why, is that not allowed?”
“What insolent behavior. Can you guess what I’m about to say to you?”
“To show respect? Sorry, but I treated the Pope the same way. My point is that I don’t need to show respect to a little prince who’s not even an emperor yet. Actually, I’m not even sorry. That was just lip service.”
“Let me warn you in advance. Do not cross the line. Beyond that, even I cannot guarantee what might happen. Do you understand, Rosaria Leone de Michaela?”
“Yes, yes.”
Despite the Crown Prince’s menacing expression and threats, the woman called Rosaria merely smiled cheerfully. She definitely didn’t look intimidated.
Seeing her completely disregard his words, Laura suppressed the boiling anger inside. The title of Saint Candidate was important enough to make Laura exercise such superhuman patience.
If that woman truly ascended to the position of Saint, she would be able to do so much more on the frontlines than someone like Laura.
‘I was certainly told she didn’t have such a personality.’
For whatever reason, she was completely different from the rumors. He had heard she was a crazy sadist who spent her time tormenting the nuns under her command rather than picking pointless fights like this.
While Laura’s thoughts grew complicated, Priscilla had no thoughts at all. She simply wanted to meet Mira as soon as possible and feel her warmth.
‘How should I ask her to hug me this time?’
Should I ask her to wrap her arms around my waist from behind? Or maybe ask for a hug while looking into each other’s eyes with our foreheads touching? Or perhaps lying sideways on the bed, completely covered by blankets, and ask her to hold me?
“What are you thinking about so intently?”
Rosaria suddenly thrust her face in front of Priscilla, who had been staring blankly while fantasizing about warmth. Priscilla’s eyes met with Rosaria’s blood-red ones.
“…Nothing.”
“That doesn’t look like nothing. Can’t you stop being so stiff and tell me? Hmm?”
Rosaria nudged Priscilla with her elbow. Priscilla just swayed blankly with the nudges before shaking her head again.
“It’s really nothing.”
“Hmm, is that so? Alright.”
Surprisingly backing down easily, Rosaria muttered quietly.
“That’s strange, she was definitely supposed to get angry at this point. Has her personality changed? Maybe this is also… Ah, never mind. Whatever.”
Priscilla barely caught the muttering after “that’s strange.” Of course, even if she had heard clearly, she would have been too busy with her fantasies to care.
“So, are preparations ready to assist me? You’re not going to say they aren’t, are you?”
After finishing her muttering, Rosaria made a shameless demand, causing Laura to give her an incredulous look before snapping back.
“I trust you haven’t forgotten that you arrived five days earlier than the time you had agreed to visit. Your shamelessness leaves me speechless.”
“So nothing’s ready at all? That’s quite disappointing.”
“Remember that the problem lies with you who arrived so suddenly, not with us. There is no reason why we should have been preparing for you five days in advance just for your sake.”
“Hmph, I’m the problem? Really?”
“Do you actually think the cause of this current situation is not your fault?”
Laura smirked and looked over what was behind Rosaria.
There was a carriage covered in dirt and mud at the bottom, clearly from a hasty journey, and dozens of nuns who looked anxious, as if unsure when trouble might break out.
The carriage was obviously top-tier, and all the nuns were accomplished individuals. All of this was for just one Saint Candidate.
“Of course. I’m a Saint Candidate. Has anyone else been called that in the last hundred years? No, they haven’t.”
Rosaria pushed back without yielding an inch.
Setting everything else aside, the fact that she was engaging in a staredown with a half-angry Laura proved she possessed unimaginable courage.
“Do not try to cross the line, Rosaria Leone de Michaela. I am already exercising tremendous patience. Am I not conversing with you despite your unparalleled rudeness? Or do you have something you’re relying on that makes you behave this way?”
“Something I’m relying on? Well… I can’t say I have nothing.”
Laura’s eye twitched upon seeing the sneer on Rosaria’s lips.
‘If she’s talking about something she relies on, it could be the Pope.’
But even the Pope cannot surpass the Empire’s authority. If forced to take sides between the Crown Prince and the Saint, the Pope would undoubtedly choose the Crown Prince.
It was impossible to know whether that woman was acting this way because she didn’t know this fact, or because she truly had something to rely on. Laura was confused for the first time in a long while.
And her anger was rising too.
“Were the rumors about you greatly understated compared to the truth, Saint Candidate?”
“What? If anything, I think the rumors are a bit exaggerated. I used to do similar things in the past, but I don’t do that anymore. Right, everyone?”
“Yes! That’s right!”
The nuns standing at attention shouted in unison.
That was indeed true. Compared to the days when someone would be carried out bloodied almost weekly, the past week had been nothing short of heaven.
A week ago, for some unknown reason, Rosaria had been jumping around her room shouting with joy, and since then, the violence had almost disappeared.
In fact, it wasn’t just that the violence disappeared—it was as if the person named Rosaria had completely changed. The routine torture disguised as discipline and the walking-on-thin-ice atmosphere had all vanished.
Of course, there were occasional glimpses of her former self, but even then, no one was dragged to the torture chamber to sit on a bladed triangular horse with weights tied to their ankles.
That alone was satisfying enough.
“…I warn you one last time. Show proper respect to the royal family, Rosaria Leone de Michaela. No matter how powerful the Starlight Order is, and no matter that you are a Saint Candidate, you are not above me.”
“Oh my, is that so? How regrettable, Your Highness.”
Though she used honorifics, her expression and attitude were clearly disrespectful, finally causing Laura’s expression to turn hostile. As the atmosphere seemed about to erupt into conflict, Priscilla thought blankly:
‘At least dress properly when you speak.’
A pervert who doesn’t even dress properly. A flasher who wears a few scraps of cloth and half a stocking and calls it clothing.
That was the extent of Priscilla’s impression of Rosaria.
Otherwise, she had no particular thoughts. Throughout the more than hundred repeated time loops, Rosaria had always been crazy. It wasn’t particularly strange to see her engaging in a power struggle with the Crown Prince like this.
As the situation was about to explode, someone running from afar noticed the Saint and changed direction with a surprised face. The figure landed right next to Rosaria and Laura. The atmosphere calmed slightly.
“Are you Saint Candidate Rosaria Leone de Michaela?”
“Yes, that’s me. Why?”
“I am one of Professor Jeina’s avatars. Could you please have everyone step back? What I’m about to tell you is confidential. Ah, the Crown Prince may stay. And you too, Priscilla.”
At Rosaria’s gesture, the nuns withdrew in a group.
After clearing the area, Rosaria folded her arms under her chest with an expectant look. It was a “go ahead and explain” posture. Her already large breasts were further emphasized as they rested on her arms.
“I’ve done as you asked, so tell me. What’s so important that we need all this secrecy?”
“The Bellium Forest is currently experiencing an infiltration phenomenon. In other words, demonification.”
At those words, not only the Crown Prince’s face but also the Saint’s and Priscilla’s faces hardened.
Especially Priscilla, who knew that this was Mira Crate’s dungeon practice time, turned not just pale but almost white.
“We need your help, Saint Candidate. The Chairman has already intervened personally, but with the support of holy power, it would be much easier.”
“I understand. Lead the way immediately.”
Even Rosaria couldn’t laugh this off, nodding with all playfulness gone from her face. Jeina’s avatar, who had looked relieved, tilted her head curiously.
“Did you perhaps foresee this situation and arrive early? You were originally scheduled to arrive next week.”
“Uh, what?”
Hearing this, Rosaria looked flustered, rolling her eyes around before laughing awkwardly.
“Th-that’s right? Yes, that’s it. The Goddess guided me.”
“…How remarkable.”
Jeina’s avatar exclaimed with shining eyes. Perhaps lacking the audacity to lie in the face of such genuine admiration, Rosaria just smiled awkwardly.
Realizing this was a lie, the Crown Prince snorted, while Priscilla was already running alone toward the Bellium Forest as soon as she heard those words.
A giant mouth sprouting from the dungeon floor tried to swallow me. Twisting my body in mid-air, I slashed Eternity vertically. The mouth was cut precisely to my height, and I escaped through the gap.
The severed mouth was absorbed back into the floor and disappeared. From far away, I heard the sound of clapping.
“Excellent! Absolutely excellent! My, what an unexpected distinguished guest we have!”
The Maker had finally taken the form Priscilla had described once the battle began in earnest.
“What’s excellent? That I’m still alive?”
“Half right! While your survival is indeed an admirable answer, there’s an even better one!”
“An even better one?”
“We’re clearly meeting for the first time today, aren’t we? Yet strangely… I get the feeling that you know how I’m going to attack from your movements! Especially! The way you just dodged my finishing move!”
I should have at least pretended to see and dodge. That thought suddenly occurred to me. Of course, Priscilla hadn’t told me all the patterns, so I had figured out some on my own, but apparently that didn’t matter.
“Why aren’t you answering? Hmm?”
He twisted his neck around and stretched out the end of his sentence urgently.
“Because your question isn’t worth answering?”
“Oh! My! Another hit!”
The Maker dramatically slapped his forehead. Then he giggled and snapped his fingers.
“Since you’ve given me such a good answer, I’ll reward you! A chance to participate directly in my artwork!”
“If that’s the opportunity, I’d rather you take it back.”
“Hahaha! What a shy guest you are! Don’t worry about the cost—we’ll cover everything!”
A patchwork creature made of ogre and troll parts slowly began to approach. In its right hand was a massive club made of about eight troll legs tied together.
“I’ll put your head in a special place at the very top! And for your body… Ah! Between the legs would be perfect!”
That gave me one more reason to slice up the patchwork in front of me.
Until now, neither of us had been going all out. There was no point in revealing all my cards when I couldn’t kill him here anyway. But now it’s different.
If he’s seriously trying to kill me, I need to respond in kind. I brought Eternity to my left side, taking a stance as if drawing a sword.
“My, my. What are you trying to do?”
Curious about my drawing stance despite having no scabbard, the Maker widened his eyes theatrically. Snap! He snapped his fingers again. The patchwork creature was covered in armor made of human bones.
If that armor was the same as what the Maker himself wore, it would be disgustingly durable. Ordinary weapons wouldn’t even scratch it.
No matter.
I kicked off first. The patchwork responded by extending its right arm sideways and then swinging horizontally. I heard the wind whistling, as if in slow motion.
I wrapped mana around Eternity. Clockwise on the left side of the blade, counterclockwise on the right. The mana collided in the center of the sword, creating a strange wave.
I brought Eternity slightly against the approaching club. When the wave churning on Eternity touched the club made of troll legs, the club immediately exploded.
Literally. Blood, flesh, and bone fragments sprayed to my left. I could see the Maker’s eyes widening in shock behind me.
Without giving him time to respond, I extended my arm. The tip of my sword aimed for the patchwork’s heart. Whether trusting in the bone armor’s defense or simply unable to react, the creature made no attempt to dodge the blade tip.
—CRACK!
The wave from Eternity literally ground through the bone armor and burrowed inside. A look of surprise briefly crossed the patchwork’s face before Eternity pierced the ogre’s tough skin and reached its heart.
That was the end.
A large hole opened in the creature’s back with chunks of flesh bursting through, and the troll arms and legs stuck all over its body began to be ground away one after another.
Extreme Distortion. A type of swordsmanship that falls squarely into the “you have to experience it to understand” category.
This should be enough. I pulled Eternity back and kicked the creature’s body away. Even with the wave gone, the ogre’s body continued to twist and spray blood and flesh in all directions.
I landed on the floor. The wave flowing along the blade disappeared. Looking at the patchwork that had transformed into an enormous mass of flesh, the Maker went berserk.
“What was that! That’s cheating! Cheating!”
“What do you mean, cheating.”
It was nonsense not worth listening to.
“I will never forgive youuuu—!”
He stretched out the end of his sentence and grew larger. According to Priscilla, this meant he had entered what’s called “phase 2” and was properly angry.
Everything is going according to my plan. It seems it’s time to execute the strategy. I can’t kill him, but I can weaken him enough to prevent him from operating in the human world for a while.
If one of their commanders is out of commission for months, it will be a significant blow to their side. I taunted the Maker, who had grown to about three times my height, by flicking my sword at him mockingly.
“You really are hideously ugly. I think my aesthetic sense is definitely superior to yours.”
“GAAAAAAHHHHH! Not once but TWICE you utter such blasphemyyyy—!!!!!”
He glared at me with an even more distorted voice, as if he wanted to devour me. While pretending to point my sword at him, I secretly prepared a spell. He still doesn’t know that I can use magic freely.
So this one strike will be the most devastating.
0 Comments