“Alright… If we take a left here, things should start making sense.”
Cynthia didn’t bother questioning my directions and quickly veered left without a word.
Seemed like that d*ath Knight ambush involving the Ghoul and the third-years was just a quick hiccup after all.
From that point onwards, everything unfolded exactly as per the map Addy had given us — down to the very pathways and the precise moments various monsters or traps would pop up.
“Hey, we’re almost there.”
“…And just how are you so sure about that?”
“It’s my gut feeling. Trust me.”
In response to Elaine’s sharp query, I vaguely recalled the dungeon’s layout in my mind. After having dealt with that creepy spider not too long ago, we had to be near the end.
“Alright, keep going a bit further, and there should be a sort of plaza. That’s where it ended before.”
“…And you still haven’t explained how you know any of this.”
“Let’s not get hung up on the little things.”
“That’s not a small issue at all!”
“Ah! Here we go!”
I loudly interrupted Elaine mid-sentence and exaggerated my excitement as I finally spotted the large expanse I remembered.
Cynthia must’ve confirmed that there was no one ahead because she lowered her bow and started walking forward. As I thought about it, neither she nor Emily had chattered much since we took down that d*ath Knight. Guess facing undeads leaves an impact longer than expected.
“Ah, there! A warp magic circle right in the middle!”
“Finally, we’re done…”
Emily muttered under her breath from behind. Ever since the ghoul attack, she’d been pretty shaken up. But hey, this place needed to end soon for Emily’s sake above all.
“So, we’ve got first place secured, and we’re ready to leave this dark hole. Right, guys?”
“I believe so.”
Of course, Elaine was the only one who bothered to answer me at this point.
Elaine double-checked there was no one around, sheathed her sword, and strode towards the center.
“Looks clear enough.”
Just to be safe, I checked the surroundings thoroughly, but fortunately, nothing living was detectable. No hint of second-year students, no mysterious enemies either.
Which meant we’d done it—we were number one!
“Heheh… Now we’re finally moving on to the fun part: learning magic.”
“Magic…?”
“Right, you’ll finally get to learn magic in class after the competition ends.”
“That’s what we’ve been doing all along…”
Listening to my mutterings, it seemed like Emily was regaining some of her energy, perhaps already looking forward to stepping outside. She even reacted to my mumbled thoughts!
“But still, nothing’s happening, though.”
“Hmm. Should we wait? Isn’t it supposed to be like… professors show up and congratulate us or something?”
“Doesn’t sound likely…”
“At the very least, with this scale, I figured they’d throw us a little celebration party.”
In case the entire team had to step onto the magic circle for something to activate, I herded everyone toward the center just in case. Still, nothing happened. Meanwhile, the space looked even larger in person than it did on the map.
“What do we do now?”
“Nope. According to the rules, reaching the finish line is enough. And this is definitely it…”
I gave the magical circle a shot by injecting mana, tried stabbing it with a sword—nothing worked.
Just as I was starting to wonder if I’d misremembered the map, a strange draft swept through the area.
“Huh?”
How could there be wind in a cave where none should be able to enter? At the same time, something around us crackled and shattered.
“What’s going on?”
“Wha? Why are you asking?”
“There’s some sort of wind blowing, something’s breaking…?”
“Wha?”
Judging by their confused reactions, it seemed like I was the only one who had noticed anything.
Clink, Clink, Clink.
But the sound that followed made everyone take notice.
All four of us turned our gazes in the direction of the noise at the same moment.
Clink, Clink.
“Could that be… hoof beats?”
Rarely heard from silent Cynthia, her voice cut through the stillness. As we pondered over what the sound could be, hoofbeats seemed to fit the description perfectly.
Clink, Clink.
“Huh!”
Out of the darkness of the dungeon ahead, a figure emerged.
Sure enough, the sound was from an actual horse. But not the kind of horse I was used to—a sturdy beast with rippling muscles wasn’t the case here.
“Of course.”
A skeletal body cloaked in eerie green flames emerged.
And atop the horse: another figure.
Whoosh!
The knight sitting astride this undead steed was even larger than the d*ath Knight we’d faced earlier. Instead of a sword, this one wielded a lance.
Looks like the test wasn’t over after all.
“Seriously? There’s still more?”
With a heavy sigh, I voiced the collective mood.
*
“Hhehehe… Let’s see if you can handle this one too.”
Nigel stared at the orb displaying the live feed with an unsettling grin. What a sight it was—his most recent successful summoning, a majestic Cavalry d*ath Knight!
The magnificent figure of the undead horse bathed in emerald flames, carrying its skeletal rider armed with a lance, struck awe-inspiring terror.
If only the Academy brats could’ve seen this breathtaking sight…
“Tsk.”
Nigel clicked his tongue in frustration for not being able to show off his Cavalry d*ath Knight’s grandeur. Direct orders to keep things under wraps had forced him to dismantle the live feed magic after it all began.
Now, the only ones witnessing this awesome figure was the team of four students directly facing it.
“Khehehe…”
Nigel’s sinister laughter echoed through the room as his gaze locked onto the dark-haired student.
All this was his fault.
Sure, dealing with the Ghouls was manageable, even expected at the student level. But the d*ath Knight was not supposed to go down.
When the Ghouls were eliminated, Nigel had planned for the d*ath Knight to mop up the first-years in a single sweep.
“d*e, you arrogant brat!”
That black-haired punk absolutely destroyed it with ruthless efficiency.
Even though a d*ath Knight can resurrect until its core is destroyed, it seemed the relentless pounding somehow cracked it. Watching the whole ordeal unfold in real-time had filled Nigel with uncontrollable rage.
“How dare you destroy one of my d*ath Knights?!”
The resources required to summon even a single d*ath Knight were staggering. Even with this supposedly less resource-heavy summon, Nigel hadn’t expected it to be demolished so easily.
“d*e! d*e!!! Khehehehe!”
Nigel yelled out loud in his excitement, completely losing control.
That student—oh, how Nigel wanted to k*ll him.
At this point, Nigel even considered using the black-haired student as a prime new offering, potentially better than his current mission target: the progeny of the Six Great Families.
Nigel hadn’t had high expectations for the peasant, but he proved surprisingly strong. Though lacking the noble bloodline, his strength made him potentially useful somewhere.
“Your sacrifice will be a glorious foundation for the revolution. Hhehe.”
Nigel’s lips remained stretched in a grin.
The Cavalry d*ath Knight was several times stronger than a standard d*ath Knight. Its horse was nearly as formidable as the Knight itself, wreathed in emerald flames.
Nigel had never deployed the Cavalry d*ath Knight into combat before and was curious to witness its might firsthand.
Whoosh!
As if reading his thoughts, the horse bathed in emerald flames bolted forward at lightning speed—straight toward the students.
The rider simultaneously swung his lance in a sweeping arc.
The sharp metallic screech of the lance meeting steel rang out.
The clash sent Nigel’s grin wider. The black-haired student barely blocked the lance and was hurled far away.
“Hmph… This knight is several leagues beyond the pathetic d*ath Knight you destroyed earlier. Khehe.”
Nigel basked in the awe-inspiring power of his summoning, his lips curling incessantly as the scene unfolded.
He resembled a madman.
The nameless organization, known internally as ‘Nameless,’ had its quirks. Nigel was infamous among its ranks.
Mad black magician.
This perfectly summed up his eccentric persona.
Whoosh!
After hurling the black-haired student far away, the d*ath Knight prepared for another deadly strike.
“Notice how fluidly the horse moves in tandem with the rider?”
Even amid his excitement, Nigel analyzed the Cavalry d*ath Knight’s movements. Closer battlefield data collection would’ve been ideal, but this would have to do since it was their first real combat deployment.
What exactly was the might of a Cavalry d*ath Knight that required five times the usual offerings compared to a standard d*ath Knight?
“Originally, this was reserved for distracting Academy professors…”
According to the original plan, the Cavalry d*ath Knight was intended to be used to draw professorial attention within the Academy.
“Go! Run them down! k*ll them all!”
Whoosh!
The d*ath Knight redirected its charge toward the blonde student, St. Claire.
“Still, this girl would be more valuable alive. Oh well.”
Nigel fully believed Elaine’s sword wouldn’t stand a chance against the d*ath Knight’s next strike.
Screeeech!
“Wha… What? When did?”
Then came the sharp metallic clang.
Nigel’s one eyebrow furrowed noticeably.
True to his prediction, Elaine failed to block the d*ath Knight’s lance. But at the critical moment, the black-haired student reappeared, intercepting the attack.
And not only did he block it, but this time, he didn’t go flying backward.
“Ugh…”
With this single act, Nigel’s frustration escalated.
How dare this black-haired brat thwart his Cavalry d*ath Knight?
Even at this point, Nigel was confident his Cavalry d*ath Knight was far beyond any threat the students could pose. The black-haired student’s defiance was just irritating…
