chapter_0019

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
19

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
19

Enter the dungeon?

I’m all for it!

This is perfect. Since
everyone has worked hard, if I say I’m going in with Karl from now
on…

“We should take the people
here as our team. That would be me, Karl, Ferby*, and Miss. The four
of us are just right.” (*For those who read this before edit this
was Pervi.)

Uh, that’s a bit problematic.

Not the Bald Knight, but I
can’t avoid you, Possell, even if I wanted to.

And I can’t just let everyone
act individually either.

“Do we really need that many
people?”

“It’s standard to enter a
dungeon with a team of four.”

I know that.

At Soul Academy, we formed a
party of four with NPCs to enter the dungeon.

But that’s for dungeons of a
suitable level.

This is overpowered.
Overpowered I tell you!

Evans’ dungeon is a small to
medium-sized dungeon that can be tackled early on.

Even if only Karl goes in, he
could easily wipe it out.

In a place like this, having
Possell, who is stronger than Karl, and Ferby, who is as strong as
Karl, go in with me?

It’s not training; it becomes
a sight-seeing trip for me.

Possell smiled and added a few
words after I roughly voiced my complaints.

“Don’t worry, Miss. It’s
not like we’ll only enter the dungeon once. From now on, we’ll be
going so often that you’ll find it tiresome. So think of the first
time as a learning experience.”

As I felt relieved that it
wasn’t a one-time opportunity, a chill suddenly ran down my spine.

Tiresome? How many times are
they planning on going in and out of this dungeon?

Evans’ dungeon isn’t a place
suitable for farming!

The structure is complicated,
and the rewards from the monsters aren’t good. Once we get Ruel’s
Mace, there’s no reason to come back!

Going through that place
repeatedly?

As someone who considers
themselves a veteran player, this is unacceptable!

Though I thought this
internally, I couldn’t say it out loud.

I couldn’t talk about farming,
rewards, or grinding to people living in this world.

Lately, I’ve managed to build
a relatively decent image among the knights, and I don’t want them to
think I’m crazy again.

So, I just nodded without
saying anything.

Well, a dungeon is a dungeon
after all.

Let’s just level up and get
out of here.

As soon as we crossed the
dungeon’s entrance, the scenery changed.

The bright meadow swaying in
the autumn breeze disappeared, replaced by darkness so thick that it
was hard to see even a step ahead.

One of the knights lit a
torch, and only then did the damp and gloomy scenery of the cave come
into view.

Maybe it’s because I’ve seen
lots of dungeon landscapes through the monitor before.

Even though I was actually
inside a dungeon, I didn’t find anything surprising about it.

If anything, it was so
familiar that it felt boring.

“Miss, we’ll take the
front and rear, so you can observe the dungeon from the centre.”

Until just before we entered
the dungeon, Possell and the knights had been engaging in trivial
chatter.

But as soon as we stepped
inside, their expressions turned serious, like they were different
people.

Watching their determined
faces, as if they wouldn’t let their guard down for a second, felt
awkward.

Honestly, can’t they clear
this dungeon with just their feet?

Is it really necessary to be
that tense?

Oh, is it because I’m here?

‘Commander, do you know the
way?’

“Hey, Possell, do you
know the way?”

“I’m not entirely sure
yet, but we’ll figure it out. Miss, remember this. Even the same
dungeon can have dozens of different patterns. Don’t overestimate
your memory, even if it’s a dungeon you’ve conquered before.”

I’m aware. I’m the one who
wrote guides for all the dungeons in Soul Academy.

At the time, I did it to
attract new players to this failing game, but who would have thought
that experience would come in handy one day.

“There are a total of nine
different paths in Evans Dungeon. To differentiate them…”

No, that’s not correct.

There are twelve patterns in
total, though a few of the paths might look similar at a glance.
Among them, two patterns are more challenging but offer better
rewards.

And I believe this dungeon is
one of those higher difficulty cases.

“The monsters we will
encounter are mainly of the goblin type. However, do not
underestimate them. When they form groups, they can be quite
terrifying.”

This is true.

Although peculiar creatures
sometimes appear, the mainstay of Evans Dungeon is the goblin.

Unlike those that appear in
the field, the goblins in the dungeon are quite threatening.

Individually, they could be
considered the weakest of monsters, but it’s a different story when
they swarm together.

These goblins, capable of
hunting their prey in groups, offer a merciful chance for clueless
newbies to seek refunds.

“Since this is your first
time, please just follow along and observe how we handle things.”

‘Got it.’

“Okay.”

Hmm. In that case, it’s best
to give up on Ruel’s trial for today.

With Possell around, it will
be difficult to act impulsively.

Plus, with a higher difficulty
map, unexpected things might happen.

I should be content to
experience the dungeon today.

And it’s a good opportunity
to check how different the real dungeon is from what I remember.

The way the knights tackled
the dungeon was more akin to butchers than explorers.

When a goblin appeared, it was
sliced in half along with its armour.

They barreled through goblin
traps with their bodies, showing no regard for magic or arrows, as if
such things were inconsequential.

In short, it was a brute force
approach relying on their superior stats.

While the knights did inform
me of various basic strategies for conquering dungeons, their actions
did not align with their instructions, making their lessons quite
unconvincing.

Dear teachers, I might not
know much about teaching, but this seems a bit off!

‘Knight Commander…’

“Foolish Possell. Can you
really call this learning when you’re just smashing through
everything?”

This was an honest question
born from genuine curiosity.

How could it be called
training when you just bulldoze through everything?

Wouldn’t it be more beneficial
to spar among your own order instead?

Considering your high levels,
you won’t even gain much experience from this, right?

“We do this because it’s
only the first floor of the dungeon. Compared to our level, the
dungeon is weak, so we just breeze through the first and second
floors.”

Even though Evans Dungeon’s
difficulty ramps up from the third floor, isn’t it all rather
similar?

Well, I suppose I can
understand if this is how you usually do things.

“Knight Commander, since
we’re here, why not give Miss the experience of conquering the
dungeon?”

As I was speaking with
Possell, Karl interjected with a suggestion.

“You’re talking about the
first and second floors?”

“Yes. Experiencing it
firsthand is always the best way to learn. With us by her side,
there’s no risk, and I think it’s the perfect opportunity.”

“Is that so? That’s a
good suggestion for a change. Miss, what do you think?”

Oh, so you’re asking me to
lead the charge on the first and second floors?

Ha, isn’t that too easy of a
request?

I’ve conquered Evans Dungeon
countless times.

Every time I trained a blunt
weapon character, I came here and smashed through it. The number of
times I’ve done it would easily exceed a thousand.

‘Okay. Let’s do it.’

“Alright, I’ll take the
lead. Follow me, you slackers.”

“There’s a sloppy trap on
the right. Don’t bother stepping on it, just destroy it.”

“When you turn that corner,
there will be four stupid and smelly goblins who won’t even know
they’ve been spotted. Possell, you foolish brute, charge and crush
them.”

“Baldy, there are perverts
aiming for an ambush from the back, take care of them.”

Lucy, leading the dungeon
exploration, was an adept commander.

She found the correct path
without a single mistake, never had trouble spotting traps, and
didn’t miss a single ambush or surprise attack from monsters.

It wasn’t just ordinary
scouting.

Rather than prediction or
foresight, calling it prophecy was more fitting.

Initially, the knights didn’t
trust Lucy’s command.

How could someone leading a
dungeon raid for the first time provide proper directions?

They expected her to
experience many trials and errors, to fail repeatedly.

That’s usually the case.

Karl’s suggestion that Lucy
take charge was, to begin with, made with the expectation of such
failures.

Where else could one gain the
opportunity to experience failure in a safe environment and learn
better methods from experts?

The knights were willing to
endure hardships for Lucy’s growth.

So even when Lucy’s commands
were initially accurate, the knights attributed it to beginner’s
luck.

They thought she was just
fortunate. That she had guessed correctly by chance.

But when it happened twice,
three times, and success followed success, it was clear it wasn’t
just luck.

No matter how lucky someone
might be, picking the right answer from multiple choices over and
over was impossible.

A single success might be a
coincidence, but continuous success indicated inevitability.

In other words, Lucy’s
continued success clearly demonstrated her skill.

“Hey, Karl. did the Miss
receive some sort of blessing related to dungeons?”

Ferby, known as the Bald
Knight, was inwardly marvelling each time Lucy gave an order.

Such clear and decisive
leadership was something only a few skilled knights could achieve.

For someone entering the
dungeon for the first time to display such abilities was
extraordinary!

It couldn’t be explained
with ordinary words.

It could only be described as
a divine miracle.

“That could be the case.”

Karl agreed with Ferby.

Receiving two blessings at
once was extremely rare, but it was the only way to understand the
situation.

If the Miss truly possessed
two blessings, she might become a legendary hero.

Many famous heroes throughout
history have had more than one blessing.

As Lucy led them and cleared
about half of the first floor, Possell spoke up.

“Miss.”

“What is it, Foolish
Possell?”

“Would you like to
participate in combat, not just lead?”

“You want me to fight
personally?”

“Yes. Initially, I thought
it would be overwhelming for you to just observe the dungeon’s
flow. But honestly, you’ve exceeded my expectations. It seems you
have more talent than I do.”

“Foolish Possell, maybe
that’s because you’re just sloppy.”

Though Possell froze
momentarily at Lucy’s prodding remark, he soon smiled gently.

Compared to the talents Lucy
just displayed, he was indeed nothing.

“Let’s move on to a more
advanced stage, then. I will create a suitable combat situation for
you.”

Although Possell appeared to
be a carefree and boisterous warrior on the surface, the reality was
different.

He was more experienced and
seasoned than anyone else. Having roamed numerous dungeons and
battlefields for many years, this middle-aged man was an entity not
to be underestimated on this continent.

Because of his vast
experience, Possell usually avoided letting newcomers experience real
combat right away.

Until one could adapt to the
dungeon’s oppressive atmosphere and inherent fear, one couldn’t
exhibit their true skills properly.

But Lucy was an exception. In
less than an hour, she had perfectly adjusted to the dungeon and was
already proving to be a capable individual.

“Let’s start by gaining
experience against goblins.”

Thus, Possell decided to let
Lucy experience combat firsthand.

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