Chapter 337: Dark Demon and the Twelve Colossi (4k)
When all the students had their Dungeon Escape Devices ready, Professor Nina led them to the entrance of the dungeon.
It was near a forest about a kilometer away from the castle. After walking for fifteen minutes, they could see the circular building with a Roman-style palace-like structure.
The entire building was only two stories tall, but each floor was exceptionally high.
Stone columns etched with historical marks were spaced十余 meters apart around the first floor of the building. As they got closer, they could see the lifelike monster carvings on the stone columns, as if they might come alive at any moment.
Although the first-year students had seen this building from afar before, this was the first time they approached it closely.
This building that concealed the dungeon entrance and the outdoor duel arena were of the same architectural style. However, the current building had a more rugged appearance.
Walking through the gaps between the stone columns and into the spacious corridor—straight ahead.
After a few minutes, they entered the interior of the building and saw an extremely vast open plaza.
But what caught their attention first wasn’t the dungeon entrance located within, but a massive stone statue standing in the center of the plaza.
“Professor, what is that?” Robert, who was walking up front, pointed at the nearest colossus and couldn’t help but ask.
The students behind him also stopped to look.
Professor Nina walked at the forefront, her excitement palpable. She casually replied, “A colossus.”
Robert’s face darkened immediately, and he complained, “Professor, I know it’s a colossus…”
Professor Nina looked down at him, puzzled, “Then why did you ask me?”
Robert: “…”
As he fell silent, Professor Nina had already skipped out of the passage.
She exclaimed excitedly, “We’re here! Everyone can sit down and rest for a bit, or take a look around, but don’t wander off. We’ll officially enter the dungeon around ten-thirty.”
The students poured out of the passage like a school of fish.
Dark, Diana, and Rose walked towards the middle position, following the flow of people into the plaza, and then found a stone bench to sit on.
The little imp beast, carrying a lunch box, flew for half a minute and promptly landed beside them, panting heavily from exhaustion.
Deoxys, however, gave it a disdainful glance and then curiously looked around.
Its knowledge was even less than that of the young magi, so its curiosity was much stronger.
The massive stone statues standing in the plaza also captured its attention.
Next to it, Dark’s gaze, however, pierced through those statues to observe the so-called “dungeon entrance” from afar.
Before the dungeon entrance was opened, it was merely a twenty-meter-high arched door.
The pillars were square-sectioned, with patterns resembling incantations carved on the surface.
The width of the door exceeded ten meters.
The thickness of the pillars was roughly five meters, with a groove carved inward on the inside.
One could imagine that once the door was opened, mana would be released from the groove, forming a magical gate.
Every Friday from noon to Sunday midnight, many students would enter through the front of this magical gate and exit from the back.
So, how was the entrance to the dungeon guarded when it was left open?
Dark’s gaze involuntarily turned to the massive stone statues!
“One, two, three… twelve colossi in total.”
Each of these twelve colossi had different appearances.
Some were soldiers holding spears, others were monsters with lion heads and human bodies.
The only commonality was that each colossus was over ten meters tall, with the tallest surpassing even the height of the door pillars, exceeding twenty meters!
If they moved…
It was unimaginable!
Dark’s pupils constricted slightly, and his gaze fell upon a colossus with wings, holding a staff, resembling an angel.
Angels in the doctrine of the Church of the Saints were always portrayed as asexually.
On the surface, this was to promote the purity of angels.
But this colossus, which resembled an angel, had distinct feminine features.
If placed in the Church of the Saints, this would undoubtedly be considered heresy.
“I wonder which era this building and those colossi originated from?”
Dark couldn’t help but fall into deep thought.
…
“Huh?”
Only when Deoxys tugged on his sleeve did he suddenly snap back to reality.
It was time.
All the students from the four houses gathered again, each maintaining a considerable level of excitement.
The dungeon was just ahead, and the wish to venture for the first time was about to be realized.
Professor Nina walked up to the archway and reached out to tap the pillar. No one knew what method she used, but the archway opened as Dark imagined, with a surge of powerful mana.
Soon, the mana released from the groove in the pillar formed a water-like magic gate.
Professor Nina pointed to the magic gate and explained, “This is the entrance to the dungeon. Once you enter here, you will reach the hall on the first floor of the dungeon. We usually call it the reception hall, which is where the dungeon welcomes guests.”
A female student from the Mana Academy said nervously, “Professor, won’t there be monsters in the reception hall?”
Professor Nina glanced at it and replied, “I should have mentioned this. At the entrance of every floor in the dungeon, there is a special mana mark. The mana fluctuations released from the mana mark have a repelling effect on monsters, so the entrance area is generally safe.
Of course, repelling doesn’t mean completely prohibiting monsters. The entrance still cannot fully prevent monster invasions. So, caution is still the best approach.”
The Mana Academy student nodded hastily.
Professor Nina raised her chin proudly and told the students, “I’ll go in first to scout. You all wait here.”
No sooner had she spoken than she stepped boldly into the magic gate.
Seeing the ripple-like disturbance on the gate, her massive form was completely swallowed up.
But before the students’ nervousness could set in, Professor Nina emerged from the other side of the gate, circled around the pillar, and walked back to the front. She made a gesture and smiled broadly, “Safe.”
…
Still led by Professor Nina, the students behind her cautiously stepped into the gate.
Once someone took the first step, others followed. Even the less daring students successfully crossed the gate under the guidance of collective will.
Dark entered along with the crowd, and his first sight was the “mana mark” floating in the middle of the “reception hall,” hovering above an altar like a mermaid sculpture.
He had an idea and retrieved the “mana needle” from Deoxys’s backpack, then approached the mermaid statue emitting a faint blue glow.
Surprisingly, quite a few students also headed toward the mermaid statue simultaneously.
After a brief observation, he discovered that most of these students were from the Mana Academy, though there were also students from other houses, albeit fewer in number.
Over ten students exchanged smiles and surrounded the mermaid statue, starting to collect mana from it.
Emma from the Knight Academy and Sarah Swati from the Mana Academy were among them.
“Hey?”
Professor Nina watched Dark and the others’ actions, her slow-witted brain took a while to realize she hadn’t taught this part.
She hurriedly searched her small backpack, but of course, she couldn’t find the non-existent “mana needle.”
Perhaps because she never got lost in the dungeon, Professor Nina had never actually used the “mana needle,” leading her to unconsciously overlook it.
However, she quickly pulled out a key-shaped magical device and hopped over to the mermaid statue.
Then she clapped her hands to gather the students.
Dark had just finished collecting mana and put away the “mana needle,” looking up at Professor Nina.
He originally thought Professor Nina would talk about something related to the “mana needle.”
Unexpectedly, Professor Nina briefly mentioned it and then took out the key-shaped magical device, waving it in front of the students.
Seeing the confused expressions on the students’ faces, Professor Nina couldn’t help but boast, “Does anyone know what this is? Since no one knows…”
“Professor Nina, isn’t that a gate key?”
Sarah Swati from the Mana Academy, without any tact, completed the answer.
Professor Nina’s tone stuttered, and she instinctively shrank her neck, quickly adding, “Yes, this is a gate key, also known as a layer key. It’s a specialized item within this dungeon. By activating the gate key in front of the mana mark at the entrance of each floor, you can teleport directly to the corresponding floor.
The gate key in my hand has the number 18 engraved on it, indicating it can teleport you to the 18th floor.”
Vit, who was concerned about the rules of the dungeon, exclaimed in shock, “There are such convenient items in the dungeon?”
Professor Nina chuckled, “Of course. Our St. Maryann’s dungeon is incredibly deep; it can’t be explored in just one or two days. It’s precisely because of the existence of gate keys that we can complete a certain scale of adventure within a weekend.”
Dark asked curiously, “So, Professor, what is the cooldown period for using the gate key? And how many people can be teleported at once?”
Professor Nina held up three fingers, “The cooldown is one hour, after which you can recharge the mana and use it again. As for the number of people…”
Dark: “Thirty people?”
“No.” Professor Nina shook her head, “It’s three people. One gate key can only teleport three people at a time. If you want to teleport more people, you need the advanced version—the gate crystal!”
Dark asked curiously, “What is a gate crystal?”
Professor Nina explained, “A gate crystal is an advanced version of the gate key. Its full name is the Dungeon Specialized Teleportation Crystal, capable of teleporting thirty people at once. The cooldown is three hours, and it requires a large amount of mana to recharge after each use. They are very rare.”
Dark: “Then… how do we obtain gate keys and gate crystals? Buy them from Traveler’s Street?”
Professor Nina replied, “That is one way. Some students sell gate keys and gate crystals obtained from the dungeon in Traveler’s Street, but the price is a bit steep.
Of course, the primary way to obtain them is still from within the dungeon. Every week, the dungeon resets and resets the treasure chests. There is a chance to obtain gate keys from the treasure chests. Gate crystals can only be obtained from high-level treasure chests guarded by floor bosses.”
The students nodded, seemingly understanding.
The dungeon of St. Maryann Academy was very special in the world.
Outside, there was no such weekly reset mechanism, nor was there a concept of “treasure chests.” Instead, there were only “treasure box monsters” that habitually collected various items.
People outside might not feel anything.
But when Dark first learned about the dungeon, he felt it resembled a game dungeon.
St. Maryann Academy’s dungeon typically refreshed and reset between Monday and Wednesday, while some rare big bosses required much longer to refresh.
Therefore, students were only allowed to enter the dungeon from Friday to Sunday.
“Alright.”
Professor Nina clapped her hands and said, “For us, gate keys and gate crystals aren’t important. Today, our task is for everyone to hunt at least one monster and use their drops as proof.
The activity range is limited to the first and second floors, and it’s best to stay with me. Those who wish to move freely can apply to me after we reach the second-floor entrance, but remember to be in groups of three and carry ‘mana needles.'”
Upon hearing this, the students erupted in commotion.
Someone couldn’t help but say, “Professor, we still have to hunt monsters? I thought we were just here for sightseeing…”
Professor Nina turned her head away, not looking at him, “Hey.”
But many students became more excited, “What’s the point of sightseeing? We’re here to hunt!”
“Let’s aim for dragons, charge!”
Vit and Tudor, among others, clenched their fists secretly.
Robert glanced at Vit, hesitating, “Vit, do you have that… ‘mana needle’?”
Vit’s fist, which he had just clenched, immediately loosened, and he hesitated, “I don’t have one. Do you?”
Robert: “How could I possibly have one…”
Vit: “True. Then we can only follow Professor Nina, right?”
Robert: “Let’s borrow one from someone. And since we need to be in groups of three, aren’t we short one person? We can find someone who has a ‘mana needle.'”
Vit nodded, “Makes sense.”
Robert leaned over and whispered, pointing at Dark, “How about we find Diemon? Not only does he have a ‘mana needle,’ but it’s especially safe to travel with him… With him, we could even challenge a floor boss!”
Vit turned to look at Dark, remaining silent for a long while before saying, “Let’s forget about it. Let’s find someone else. There’s always someone who wants to move freely but can’t find a partner.”
“Fine.” Robert said regretfully, “You decide.”
Thus, the two began observing among the crowd.
…
In the crowd, a hidden tide surged. Many had begun forming teams secretly.
Groups of three, each needing a “mana needle,” was indeed a challenge.
Not everyone wanted to take risks, leading to some small groups lacking members.
And the number of people with “mana needles” was limited, allowing for at most ten groups to form.
Perhaps only a quarter of the students could qualify for the application.
