chapter_0085

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
85

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
85

Thanks to Arthur’s willing
agreement, we had enough members to enter the dungeon, so we headed
straight there.

Karl?

He’s fine. The moment I call
him, he’ll come running with his tail wagging.

Just before we reached the
entrance of the dungeon, I suddenly remembered the previous incident
and stopped to ask Arthur.

‘Arthur, you don’t have
any trauma related to dungeons, do you?’

“Pitiful Prince, you’re
not going to wet yourself at the dungeon’s entrance, are you?”

“Is this because of what
happened with Joy? If that’s your concern, don’t worry. Facing
life-or-death situations is a routine matter for me.”

Arthur made it sound like a
joke, but I knew it wasn’t just a jest.

The fights over the succession
to the throne in this kingdom are quite brutal.

Arthur, who had no one to
watch his back, nor a mother to protect him, must have faced numerous
attempts to erase him from existence.

So, mere threats to his life
don’t faze him.

He’s been through too much
to be unsettled by such things.

“In fact, I’d like to ask
you the opposite, Lucy Allen. How about you? When facing the dungeon
entrance, don’t you feel like crying?”

‘I’m fine!’

“Pitiful Prince, I can’t
believe you’re worried about me trembling behind you. Don’t
worry, I’ll be just fine.”

“Prince, did you just
tremble?”

“Not at all. I wasn’t
scared.”

Arthur’s lips gradually
hardened, in reaction to my scoffing tone and Frey’s innocent
question.

No matter how he managed to
endure my jabs, it seemed he struggled with questions shot at him
without any malice from Frey.

“Professor Karl. How do you
put up with this?”

“You get used to it. The
human heart gradually wears down.”

“You’ve been through a
lot. Really.”

As these two men consoled each
other, we kept moving and finally reached the dungeon’s entrance.

“So, how far do you plan to
go today?”

‘I wasn’t planning on
climbing the dungeon today though?’

“What’s this? Pitiful
Prince, did you want to use me to climb the dungeon? That’s
unfortunate. I’m not planning to go up the floors today.”

In Soul Academy, the first
semester’s dungeon conquerors only emerge exactly two weeks after
midterms end.

So, if I manage to fully
conquer the dungeon before then, I can claim the rewards given to the
first ones to complete it.

I am someone who could fully
conquer the dungeon in a single day if I set my mind to it.

There’s no need to raid the
dungeon immediately just for some reward I don’t urgently need.

Last time, I went all out
thinking it was a speedrun challenge against Arthur, but that’s not
the case now, is it?

“Hmm? Then why are we
entering the dungeon?”

‘To level up!’

“We’re going in to gain
experience.”

Because of what happened last
time, my level has already risen a lot—I’m now at Level 15.

Considering that the
surrounding characters are usually at levels 4 to 5, that’s quite
high.

But it’s still not enough.

Now that this game has become
my reality, my first priority has to be safety.

Second is also safety.

Soon the main story will
start, and we will clash with the Apostles of the Evil Gods.

I need to be prepared to
handle any unexpected events that may arise then.

According to my plan, I intend
to reach Level 23 today and focus solely on honing my skills for
what’s to come.

When I used to enjoy this as a
game, grinding levels too much made it boring, so I used to keep the
levels thrillingly close to the edge.

Those were the good times.
Damn it.

“Experience, you say. Is
that something you truly need?”

Arthur’s question stemmed from
his confusion about the ambiguous term experience.

Explaining levels and skill
proficiency to an NPC like Arthur is just a hassle, so I’ll keep it
simple for now.

‘Of course.’

“Pitiful Prince, I’m human,
too, you know?”

“Hmm. That’s true. But based
on what you showed, I wondered if you might have troll or demon
blood.”

“Prince, I agree with you.”

Is this his attempt to
retaliate against all the insults I’ve hurled at him?

Arthur was spouting nonsense
about trolls and demons.

Frey, who was next to him,
nodded fervently, and Karl, seemingly unable to maintain a straight
face, quickly turned away.

Seriously? What did I ever do
to deserve being called a troll or a demon?

Sure, Lucy’s father Benedict
might be troll-like, but it’s not fair for that to reflect on me!

How the heck do I look like a
troll?!

“Pitiful Prince, are your
eyes that sloppy? How could you call me a troll?”

“I wasn’t talking about
your appearance. I was referring to your actions.”

Arthur, as if waiting for this
moment, began listing his reasons.

“Your incredible recovery
ability that you showed when facing the Minotaur.

Your inhuman persistence
during training.

The ridiculous strength coming
from your small frame.”

Listening to each point, it
wouldn’t be strange for someone to question if I were not human.

“These are the main reasons,
but do you have any counterpoints?”

Prince Arthur, thoroughly
debated in his mocking of me.

That confident smile of his is
truly annoying.

No matter what I say, he’s
determined to make me a troll, huh?

Alright then. I’ll take an
unexpected approach.

‘If Arthur wants to see me
as a troll, I’ll humor him.’

“Pitiful Prince, to think
you’d go to such lengths to tease a girl. Speaking so pitifully, I
have no choice but to acknowledge it.”

As I covered my mouth and
giggled playfully, Arthur stared at me blankly.

Haha. Didn’t expect a
head-on approach, did you?

There, now you’re the
pathetic prince who genuinely wants to tease a girl!

“Lucy…”

‘Let’s go!’

“Let’s go. To the
dungeon. We can’t just keep chatting here forever, right?”

It was clear that there would
be no more time for words as we headed off.

A perfect victory.

“But doesn’t that mean
you ultimately acknowledged being a troll?”

Frey said something behind me,
but I ignored her.

Frey, get a clue.

Do you want to be trampled in
our next duel?

The best way to gain
experience is to go to external dungeons outside the Academy, like
Evans’ dungeon, which doesn’t disappear and remains permanently
active.

It’s efficient to repeatedly
clear such dungeons.

However, since only
second-year students and above are allowed to go to external dungeons
in Soul Academy, first-year students like us are stuck with the
Academy’s dungeons.

No problem.

Gamers are a breed that finds
the most efficient ways in any situation.

Naturally, the research on how
to level up most efficiently as a first-year at Soul Academy has
already been done.

There are several routes.

I’m aiming to go from Level 15
to 23, so starting on the 34th floor should be good.

Entering the dungeon, I looked
around and tilted my head in confusion.

Even though I set it to start
at the highest floor, why am I on the 7th floor?

‘What is this?’

“Why are we on the 7th
floor?”

I was sure I had cleared up to
the 30th floor last time.

Thinking about it, I
remembered Arthur had joined our party anew.

‘Oh, right. Arthur could only
clear up to the 7th floor.’

“Oh, I see. The Pitiful
Prince could only manage up to the 7th floor, how sloppy.”

I muttered to myself, but
thanks to the [Mesugaki] Skill’s mocking tone, it ended up sounding
like a provocation.

Glancing at Arthur’s face,
though he was smiling, his eyes remained cold.

“Sorry for being sloppy,
Troll Lady.”

‘No, it’s okay! We’ll climb up
quickly!’

“Well, it’s fine. Unlike
the sloppy Pitiful Prince, I can climb up fast.”

“Is that so? I’ll look
forward to it.”

“Past this alley, a
trashy goblin will shoot a sloppy arrow. I’ll block it, so Frey, you
take off its head.”

Lucy was right.

As soon as we passed the
alley, a goblin waiting on the other side shot an arrow, and before
the arrow was even blocked, Frey swung her sword and decapitated the
goblin.

Arthur marvelled internally at
the perfect harmony between Lucy, who was confident in her actions,
and Frey, who never doubted Lucy’s words.

Previously, he had noticed
Lucy Allen’s extraordinary ability to navigate the dungeon when they
fell into a trap together.

If someone were to say that
Lucy Allen had been involved in the creation of this dungeon from the
start, he would nod in agreement and say, “That makes sense.”

No matter how much the effects
of the blessing allow one to know what’s inside the dungeon, such
precise guidance isn’t something one can achieve just by having
information.

That’s talent.

It’s the instinctive
understanding of how to use such information in the most efficient
manner.

With this level of skill, Lucy
Allen surpasses even the commanders of most knight orders.

No wonder Armadi bestowed his
blessing upon her.

If someone this skilled
existed, even he would want to empower them.

Though Arthur thought this
way, he didn’t say it aloud.

He knew well that giving her
compliments would only make her boast and call him trash or sloppy
again.

Thus, the party advanced
through the dungeon under Lucy’s remarkable leadership at a rapid
pace.

Bisi, who had once been a
burden, had now become Arthur, a valuable asset.

Naturally, their
dungeon-clearing speed was much faster than last time.

Reaching from the 7th floor to
the 10th took less than 10 minutes, and from the 10th to the 20th
only took 30 minutes.

They reached the 34th floor,
Lucy’s target, about two hours after entering the Academy Dungeon.

“What’s wrong, Pitiful
Prince? Tired already? You seemed so confident at first.”

‘I honestly felt like I was
going to die. We hadn’t fought much and only ran, yet I feel this
exhausted.’

As Arthur clutched his knees
and struggled to catch his breath, a mocking voice came from ahead.

“With such pathetic
stamina, no wonder you got humiliated so easily, Pitiful Prince.”

As he slowly lifted his head,
he saw Lucy Allen’s face, completely composed and confident.

Though she had a light sheen
of sweat, her breathing was as steady as usual.

She had run while wearing that
heavy armour and carrying a shield, yet she remained so calm.

Is she really human?

No matter how he looked at it,
she seemed superhuman.

“I actually feel like
pushing ahead a bit more.”

‘Push ahead even more?!

Is she a demon?!

If we do that, I’ll collapse
from exhaustion before even facing any monsters!’

“If the Sloppy Pitiful
Prince begs earnestly to rest, I might consider taking a short
break.”

‘Beg?

A Prince of this kingdom?

To you?’

“What will you do,
Pitiful Prince?”

Her slightly bent eyes formed
a crescent as she looked down at Arthur.

Lucy’s intention was
obvious.

She knew Arthur had reached
his limit and was teasing him.

‘What should I do?’

His body had already reached
its limit.

Even if he clenched his teeth
and tried to keep moving, he’d collapse before long, becoming a
laughingstock once again.

He didn’t want to give her the
satisfaction.

But rather than collapsing out
of pride…

“…Could we take a
break?”

Arthur’s voice was barely
audible, like a whisper slipping out with his breath. Lucy tilted her
head, feigning confusion.

“Sorry, what was that,
Pitiful Prince? I didn’t quite catch that.”

‘This girl!

As if someone with her
physical capabilities couldn’t hear me!

You just want to humiliate me
further, don’t you!

Is it because I called you a
troll?!

How petty! Truly petty!’

Arthur fumed internally, but
he had no other choice.

“I said, I want to take a
short rest.”

“Oh my! Alright, since
the Pitiful Prince wants to rest that badly, let’s take a little
break.”

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