chapter_0105

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
105

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
105

After spending time elsewhere,
Nacrad returned to the vicinity of the Academy and let out a dry
laugh upon seeing all the dungeons he had marked were gone.

‘What the hell is going on?’

He couldn’t fathom how someone
had not only found but conquered the dungeons he had hidden using the
Power of Tariki.

Discovering one by chance
might be possible.

But nearly a dozen dungeons?

There was no need to wonder
who might be responsible.

The person who conquered the
dungeons had left clear traces, as if to mock him.

‘The Apostle of Armadi.

What did that despicable god
tell you, giving you some revelation?

I should have killed you that
day.

I was so consumed by my
emotions trying to toy with you, and now look what’s happened.

Grinding his teeth, Nacrad let
out a long sigh.

This is problematic.

My plans are completely
disrupted now.

I wanted to recruit that
foolish woman and use her desires to create chaos in the Academy.

When the magic of the Academy
faltered due to the dungeon’s rampage, I was going to spread the
Power of Tariki, but now this!’

Nacrad brushed his face with
his hand.

‘Is my arrogance causing a
hindrance to what the god desires?

I want to atone with my life
immediately, but I cannot do that now.

Even if I did, reality
wouldn’t change. Although things have twisted, I must find a way to
fulfil what Tariki desires.

That is the duty of an
apostle.

Offering my life can wait
until later.

If I had more time, I could
have explored other options.

But I don’t even have that
kind of time.’

“If I had known things
would turn out this way, I wouldn’t have left.”

‘What use is it to spread
the glory of Tariki far and wide if I fail to achieve Tariki’s true
purpose?’

As Nacrad bit his lip until it
bled, he kept thinking.

[Child.]

A voice could be heard.

[My child.]

A voice flowed from the
shadows and entwined around his head.

Nacrad recognized this voice.

Because he was Nacrad, he
recognized this voice.

“Ah. Lord Tariki.”

The Apostle of the Evil God
immediately knelt and paid his respects.

Despite his mistakes, he wept
at the compassionate voice of his god.

[Do not worry. Our centre has
prepared for everything.]

“Ah.”

[The power he shares will flow
to you as well.]

A few days had passed since I
started clearing the dungeons around the Academy, and it was the day
before the midterm exams.

I opened my book, preparing
for the exam tomorrow—a task I hadn’t done in a while.

‘My Blessing remembers
everything, so there should be no problem.’

I had grown so used to
Grandpa’s nagging that I skillfully let it go in one ear and out the
other, skimming through the book in the meantime.

Ugh! I still don’t get it!

From the past, I knew it was
incredibly difficult to learn something without any foundational
knowledge or common sense.

Maybe I should start with
books meant for seven or eight-year-old children if I really want to
study properly.

I can’t keep napping during
class forever; perhaps I should at least pretend to study sometime.

Thinking that, I flipped
through the pages idly, then closed the book and stretched.

All the content for tomorrow’s
exam was logged, so I only needed to recheck it just before the test.

Phew.
Should I take a day off after the exam?

Lately, I’ve been too
overwhelmed with clearing dungeons.

To get a day or two of free
time, I’ve been tackling three dungeons a day.

And from the middle, I even
participated in direct combat instead of just giving commands from
the back to increase my proficiency.

Thanks to all that effort,
I’ve gained a lot.

I reached level 25, surpassing
my initial goal.

I also collected various small
items, filling my pockets to the point of overflowing.

And going through real combat
experience significantly improved my mace and shield skills.

To the point where Grandpa who
watched me fight said I could now hold my own against a decent
knight. Of course, within the limits of decent, it doesn’t include
the Allen Family knights.

Grandpa said that the ones who
train there are all out-of-the-ordinary beings, people I can’t
handle in my current state.

In order to have a good match
against our family knights, I would need to train much more.

Well, I can still feel Karl
going easy on me during our sparring matches, so would it be any
different with the other knights in our family?

Anyway, this current rate of
growth is ridiculously steep.

It’s fast even by game
standards, so that says everything.

The rigorous training in the
Allen Family before I entered the Academy must be paying off.

At this rate, I might even be
able to win against the strong senior students in the second year.

No matter how I think about
it, this is all thanks to that petty Evil God.

Because of their constant
interference, I was able to grow stronger quickly.

I wonder what that petty Evil
God thought while seeing that their interference was actually helping
me.

“Lady Allen!”

I turned my head at the sound
of a girl’s voice along with a knock on the door.

Who could it be at this late
hour? It’s time for everyone to be asleep.

Even if it weren’t a late
hour, there’s no one who would come to my dorm.

Is someone playing a prank?

As I opened the door with a
curious tilt of my head, there stood Bisi.

“Lady!”

‘What is it?’

“What’s the matter? NPC
#1.”

“Please help! I have no one
else to rely on but you!”

Help? Taken aback by her
sudden outburst, I listened as Bisi hastily explained the situation.

Her story went like this:

This evening.

She was talking to Adri (the
ghost) in the mansion when, suddenly, the ghost hid her inside a
wardrobe.

Shortly after, a Black Figure
invaded the mansion.

The ghost, displaying a
strange power usually unseen, tried to fend off the Black Figure but
ultimately lost. The Black Figure then embedded a violet-hued stone
into the ghost’s chest.

“An entrance to a dungeon
appeared the moment the stone was embedded in Adri’s chest. Adri
disappeared without a trace, obviously sucked into that dungeon!”

As I listened to Bisi, only
one thought crossed my mind.

Why is this incident happening
already?

In the Soul Academy Game,
dungeons are often created starting from such spirits.

As I’ve mentioned before,
it’s the work of that petty Evil God who creates dungeons to spread
chaos.

Although creating dungeons is
Agra’s unique power, it’s also a power they can share with other
Evil Gods.

The problem is that other Evil
Gods, while bestowed this power, cannot create dungeons as freely as
Agra can.

Being weaker than Agra, they
require something to serve as an Anchor for the dungeon.

This could be something with
significant power or history.

In that sense, the ghost of
the mansion is a perfect Anchor.

Having lingered in that place
for so long, it harbours a deep history and a grudge strong enough to
become an Earthbound Spirit.

But this event of creating a
dungeon with the ghost as the Anchor usually occurs in the second
year at the Academy.T his incident was supposed to occur a year from
now when Agra’s seal had weakened further.

Why is it happening now?

“Please help, Lady Allen.
I beg you. Please save Adri from the dungeon. I’ll do anything you
ask. Please.”

Watching Bisi with her
reddened eyes and tear-streaked face made me sigh involuntarily.

Dwelling on why an event that
already happened won’t change anything.

What I need to consider is
something else.

Whether to help Bisi or not.

Ignoring her plea is also an
option.

If Bisi was asking for help in
clearing an ordinary dungeon, I would have nodded without much
thought.

Just like any other dungeon,
taking Karl and Alsatine to storm in and demolish it would be enough.

But the dungeon made by
another Evil God, not Agra, has different characteristics.

A solo raid.

It means I have to go in alone
and tackle the dungeon by myself.

Whatever happens inside, I
would have to handle it on my own.

Even if unexpected,
nonsensical variables arise, leading to my death.

Can’t I just send Karl
instead? I want to do the same, but it’s impossible.

It doesn’t matter whether Karl
is afraid of ghosts or not; there’s a larger issue.

The theme of that place is the
Undead Spirits.

It’s just like when I faced
the Wraith before; they are completely immune to physical attacks.

If Karl went in alone, he’d
just be toyed with by the ghosts, and it would be impossible to clear
it.

The story would be different
if I could imbue divine energy into my mace.

Sigh. Of
course, I know what kind of dungeon is formed around Undead Spirits.

I know perfectly what kind of
monsters will appear inside, how the paths are laid out, and how to
beat the boss.

Difficulty?

In my current state, I can
definitely beat it.

There are two reasons why that
place is tricky.

One is that physical attacks
can’t harm the monsters inside.

The other is that the curses
and debuffs used by the Undead Spirits are annoyingly tricky, but I
can handle it.

Especially now that some of
the Grudge Spirits’ resentment has been appeased thanks to the Ribbon
I gave them, I think it’s more than possible.

The sole reason I’m
hesitating, though, is because I don’t know what might happen
inside.

Because that petty and
despicable Evil God, Agra, could do who knows what.

Look, even now, he’s stirring
up things that shouldn’t be happening just to spite me.

Imagine what would happen if I
entered that place alone. I guarantee he’d intervene with all his
might to kill me.

Logically, it’s right to
refuse.

This request is essentially
asking if I want to eliminate one ghost.

Or if I want to end up joining
the fray myself.

No matter how pitiful the girl
in front of me looks, the right thing to do is to turn her down
coldly.

“Lady Allen!”

I know.

I know, but—

sigh

Damn it.

Seriously.

I can’t seem to get the words
of refusal out of my mouth.

Ding!

I was running my hand down my
face when I suddenly heard a sound and looked up.

There was only one person who
could send me a message in a place like this.

Armadi.

[Quest: Save the Ghost!]

[Save the ghost who has become
the Stake of the Dungeon!]

[Reward: Dungeon Escape Ticket
(prepaid)]

[Failure Penalty: None]

What?

…Seriously?

A Dungeon Escape Ticket?

Is it really what I think it
is?

Ha

Hahaha.

Armadi, you know what?

I’ve been your apostle for a
long time, but this is the first time I think you’ve truly acted
like a god.

If you were always like this,
it would be so great. Armadi.

You’re telling me to go if I
want to save her, right?

Alright. I’ll go.

‘Let’s go, Bisi.’

“Let’s go, NPC #1.”

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