Chapter 338: The Dungeon on the Tip of the Tongue (4k)
Professor Nina’s arrangement disrupted Dark’s plans.
In fact, his original plan was to find an opportunity to act alone, trying to see if he could discover anything with the “Greed Slime I.”
In other words, he was taking a chance.
Unfortunately, the rule of being in groups of three restricted him.
Reluctantly, he turned his gaze toward Diana and Rose beside him.
When Diana noticed him looking at her, she raised her head dazedly and then took out a candy from her pocket, handing it over: “Here.”
Dark paused for a moment before taking the candy from her hand, peeling off the wrapper and biting into it.
To be honest, it was indeed sweet.
…
Since things had come to this point, Dark did not dwell on it further. He relaxed and observed the groupings of students from different houses with interest.
First up was the Noble Academy.
Teddy Dolong, one of the most popular boys among the first-year students of the Noble Academy, naturally sought out a team due to his strong competitive spirit. Despite Professor Nina not setting any requirements for the strength of the monsters they hunted, having a target meant there was competition.
Whether between houses or within them, everyone started competing subtly.
In addition to the chubby student Pistons, Teddy invited a girl carrying a “Mana Needle,” forming a trio.
When Dark looked over, he caught Teddy’s gaze as well, nodding slightly.
Teddy, for some reason, misinterpreted this and raised his fist forcefully, emitting a strong fighting aura.
On the other side,
The Knight Academy never lagged behind in competitiveness.
Besides Wit and Robert seeking teams, the always eye-catching Justin Wayne was also looking for teammates.
However, since Justin already carried a “Mana Needle,” he chose two of the best from his own small group quickly.
Meanwhile, our resourceful girl Emma Maltis encountered trouble.
Her two classmates, Susan and Lucy, were not outstanding students, and neither was willing to venture out with Professor Nina’s protection.
Although the Knight Academy prided itself on bravery and integrity,
the forms these qualities took varied.
Some appeared brave but fled at crucial moments.
Others seemed cowardly normally but never backed down when needed.
Emma firmly believed that her two friends were brave at heart; if she insisted, they would muster their courage to join her.
But she was no longer the immature person who would force others to do things.
Socializing made one grow.
She realized she should consider finding other people to form a team.
The ideal candidate…
Her gaze inadvertently swept across the crowd of the Noble Academy, and she sighed.
She couldn’t find a place for herself in that small team.
So she considered the next best option.
Emma looked again at the Mana Academy.
Sara Swati, the top student of the Mana Academy, was talking quietly with her staunch supporter, Heidi Euphemia.
Heidi had black hair and eyes, always tying her hair into two thick braids and pulling them forward.
As a student of the Mana Academy, although her excellence did not match Sara’s, she was still quite capable.
Now both held “Mana Needles,” seemingly searching for a third member to form a trio.
“If it were them…”
Emma felt tempted.
Though not from the same house, those two were undoubtedly the best choices.
But she bit her lip and finally diverted her gaze.
Forming a team with Sara was not something she considered.
…
Professor Nina did not give the students much time to linger. After confirming her message was clear, she gathered everyone and headed towards the second level of the dungeon.
First-time dungeon adventurers suppressed their excitement, holding their mana cards tightly, ready to summon at any moment, following closely behind Professor Nina.
Dark Demon walked last. On his head was an imp beast carrying a lunch box, to his left was Deoxys with a backpack, and ahead were Diana and Rose.
It was his first time entering the dungeon, but perhaps due to playing many RPGs in his past life, he felt particularly familiar with this type of dungeon.
St. Maryan’s dungeon was very unique, but its uniqueness increased layer by layer from top to bottom.
It was said that the entire dungeon structure resembled a spire, becoming more open and complex the deeper one went.
In the lower levels, it was like a miniature world with its own ecosystem.
At the uppermost level, it was a typical maze-like dungeon.
Walls connected together divided the floor into countless sections. Adventurers moved through the passages between walls, delving deeper.
In a sense, it resembled the secret paths of a castle.
Thinking about this, Dark couldn’t help but recall encountering the Minotaur in the secret path.
The appearance of the Minotaur in the secret path was a sudden, unexpected event.
But in the dungeon, it was a normal occurrence.
Of course, theoretically, the first level of the dungeon wouldn’t produce monsters of such strength.
Even the floor boss here was only around five to six stars in power, relatively safe.
The dungeon didn’t have automatic lighting magic lamps.
Instead, it used a special type of moss-like plant.
Glowing mosses covered every corner of the dungeon, especially on the ceiling where they clustered densely.
Professor Nina mentioned in class that this plant, known as “Light Moss,” was active at night and dormant during the day.
At night, they fed on corpses and decaying matter, releasing light while digesting during the day.
Most Light Mosses were white, but there were green and red varieties as well.
Under the illumination of the Light Moss, the dungeon presented a surreal scene.
The first level of the dungeon wasn’t devoid of other plants besides the Light Moss.
Special plants grew in corners and crevices of the walls, which were rarely seen outside.
Carefully observing, one could find many herbs useful for potion-making.
When leading the group, Professor Nina occasionally stopped to rest at places with lush vegetation.
That’s when Dark would take out his sketchbook and draw the plant ecology on the wall.
Not many students did this, but mostly concentrated in the Mana Academy.
Observing and recording the growth of plants in the dungeon always yielded some rewards.
Half an hour passed.
Following Professor Nina, the students navigated the dungeon maze, transitioning from initial excitement to growing fatigue and boredom. Their emotional shifts were evident.
The reason was simple.
Throughout their journey, they hadn’t encountered even a single monster!
For students uninterested in plants, all they saw were walls—wall after wall.
Boring…
Dull…
Their initial wariness of the unfamiliar environment gradually waned over time.
By the time the monsters finally appeared, most students screamed out of panic.
They didn’t know that the monster, which had emerged from the wall, was even more terrified than they were!
…
Dark watched with great interest the monster half-emerging from the wall, thinking it would surely want to retreat immediately if it were conscious.
Professor Nina, whose veins flowed with the blood of a Beast King, cast a terrifying shadow in the monster’s mind, constantly accumulating fear.
“Good luck!”
Amidst the students’ panic and screams, Professor Nina’s eyes lit up. She leaped forward and grabbed the monster by the neck with her long, gray-haired giant hand, dragging it out of the wall.
This scene reminded the students of the experimental monsters used in classroom demonstrations.
Students quickly calmed down, hurriedly covering their mouths, pretending they had never screamed.
“Does anyone know what kind of monster this is?”
Professor Nina turned around innocently, shaking the monster. She didn’t forget to teach at this moment.
The monster had green skin and dense warts on its back, oozing mucus.
Vit swallowed hard and raised his hand: “Professor, could this be a venomous lizard?”
Professor Nina immediately exclaimed happily: “Exactly! This is a venomous lizard.”
“Wow—”
Screams erupted.
Students hurriedly retreated several steps, distancing themselves from Professor Nina and the venomous lizard.
“D-Dark, what’s wrong with the venomous lizard? Why are they so afraid?” Diana asked curiously, turning her head.
Dark replied softly: “Do you see those warts on its back? They are the venom glands of the venomous lizard. The venom flowing from them will evaporate into the air, forming a toxic mist. Though it isn’t lethal, it can cause dizziness and nausea.”
Diana thought for a while and blurted out: “But it’s sweet.”
Dark: “Ah?”
Diana, somewhat embarrassed, said: “I mean, when I was young, I touched a little of it. The venom flowing from those warts was as sweet as syrup.”
Dark’s pupils widened, and he stared at her for a while.
…
“Crack.”
Professor Nina snapped the venomous lizard’s neck with her fingers.
The venomous lizard, which had been screaming just moments ago, fell silent instantly.
Its body didn’t vanish, but it was clear that most of its flesh was visibly fading.
Finally, one of its teeth grew slightly longer, emitting a dark green glow.
Professor Nina explained: “I should have mentioned before that our St. Maryan’s dungeon is very special. After a monster dies, the residual energy in its body gathers in a specific part, becoming high-quality materials. For example, this venomous lizard, all its value is condensed in this venom tooth.”
Professor Nina struggled to remove the tiny venom tooth, looked around, and threw the venomous corpse forcefully.
The corpse flew through the air in an arc and finally landed with a thud on a wall covered with vines.
In an instant, the seemingly ordinary vines suddenly writhed, wrapping around the venomous lizard’s corpse like a snake.
The tips and branches of the vines split open, revealing terrifying gaps filled with fine teeth that rapidly devoured the venomous lizard’s corpse!
This scene instantly silenced the young magi.
Compared to the venomous lizard, the “vine monster” hanging on the wall, seemingly harmless, was clearly more frightening!
“Those vines are actually vine monsters?”
Dark’s pupils contracted, and he felt a surge of vigilance.
In the homework for his Beast Mastery class, he had written a short paper on “vine monsters.”
But he still couldn’t distinguish them.
Not to mention the other students.
Without Professor Nina’s demonstration, who knows how many people would have suffered.
Activating each “Dungeon Escape Device” was a considerable expense.
Professor Nina seemed to remember he had written that paper, so she pointed him out from the crowd, asking him to explain.
Dark didn’t hold back, sharing his research.
At this moment, the students finally stopped feeling bored and restless after a long walk.
They walked through the dungeon maze, listening to their classmates’ detailed explanations, finally experiencing… a museum visit!
…
The vine monsters were indeed a very dangerous species.
They were widespread throughout the dungeon’s layers, extremely dangerous and difficult to identify.
Adventurers often confused them with vines, resulting in tragic consequences.
But if one could distinguish vine monsters from vines proficiently, they became highly useful monsters.
They were aggressive but not very strong, with obvious weaknesses. Once rooted, they couldn’t move.
The brain of a vine monster was located at the root, so cutting the connection between the vine and the root would disconnect it from its brain, rendering it immobile.
Cutting off the tip of its head and peeling the skin, draining the blood, and washing it would yield a section of edible meat.
The meat of vine monsters was soft and tender. Boiling it in hot water for a few minutes would make it ready to eat, one of the rare edible species in the dungeon, and easy to prepare.
…
Moreover, venomous lizard poison required detoxification before it could be used as syrup, which was very troublesome.
In contrast, vine monsters were much more convenient.
…
Such was the dungeon.
What seemed like a perilous adventure, if carefully sought, revealed many pleasures.
About an hour later.
Under Professor Nina’s guidance, the students found the stairs to the second level very smoothly.
