Chapter 036: Cornelia is Versatile
The flickering lights in the Demon Academy corridors cast a dim glow, illuminating the walls on either side and projecting blurred, indistinct shadows.
Cornelia was carrying Dekan along the corridor.
Dekan had his eyes closed, in a state of rest.
Apart from a slight lingering pain in his head, he had largely recovered.
However, Cornelia seemed to notice something and gently furrowed her brow.
” Dekan, there appears to be some movement,” Cornelia whispered into Dekan’s ear.
“Pinpoint the location,” Dekan responded.
Subsequently, Cornelia activated the spell card Dekan had previously handed her – [Echo Localization].
[Echo Localization]
[Category: Spell Card]
[Rarity: Blue Rare]
[Rank: 1]
[Effect: Perceive the location of entities within a 100-meter range, once.]
[Note: Not blocked by visual camouflage skills.]
Since Dekan didn’t have any of the capacities of melee combat roles, within the duo of Dekan and Cornelia, Cornelia had to assume multiple roles, such as the team’s front-line tank, scout, and DPS.
Even though her intended role wasn’t that of a scout, her formidable physical condition and superior perception abilities meant, in a sense, she could even rival a scout of the same rank using detection skills.
Moreover, she could pick locks,
And her assassination capabilities…were excellent.
All that was needed was to equip her with some utility low-cost spell cards, and she could effortlessly perform as a scout.
“It’s not the Dean. There are two entities following us behind.”
Cornelia quietly informed Dekan by his ear.
“Continue walking as if we haven’t noticed anything.”
Dekan instructed.
After pondering for several seconds, he asked Cornelia softly, “Are they still following us?”
Cornelia probed again and replied, “They’re still there.”
Currently, the school had been set by Dekan to be in class hours, and the corridors should only be frequented by the Dean, not any other Demon Students.
Naturally, demons wouldn’t be bold enough to follow them.
It was likely that the individuals trailing them were the last two challengers.
According to Dekan’s deductions, they were probably one fifth-ranked and one third-ranked combatant.
Regardless, there was at least one fifth-rank among them.
Whatever the strength of their opponents, Dekan was unwilling to confront them now.
Had they something to communicate, it should have been during the previous dungeon clearance.
Now that the main boss had been defeated and they were near the final clearance, they chose to show up.
The composition of such people was understandable; likely they harbored ill intentions.
If they wanted to befriend Dekan and Cornelia or had urgent matters, they could have shouted it out instead of ghosting them.
The reason they could find Dekan and Cornelia now was easily explainable.
They might have obtained the location of the boss room in advance but weren’t prepared to challenge it yet.
Once they noticed the surge in exploration, they realized the boss room had been cleared.
By rushing to the vicinity of the boss room and using some tracking skills, they could naturally find Dekan’s group.
Dekan felt his scalp tingle.
Why did he have to work overtime again?
Just after finishing PVE, he might have to handle another PVP confrontation.
Of course, he wasn’t afraid of PVP, but he simply wasn’t fond of conflicts.
“Cornelia, if they dare to show themselves, regardless of their intentions, attack them with everything we’ve got.”
He was ready to summon the Ruined Bard and the Cursed Doll whenever necessary.
“Understood.”
…
After Dekan and Cornelia disappeared around a corner,
Two figures emerged from the shadows on the other side of the corridor.
They were dressed in the uniforms of Demon Students but were actually two human challengers.
One of them had his face covered in black bandages, revealing only the faint outline of his eyes, the black pupils of which were lined with bloodshot streaks. He exuded an aura of malevolence and eeriness.
The other was short-statured, with protruding eyes, cracked lips, and an unsettling smile on his face.
They communicated using a unique hand cipher.
“Have they noticed us?”
“Not at all, we can make our move soon.”
The mission countdown currently stood at 5 hours and 3 minutes.
In three minutes, the next recess would begin. Even if a great commotion occurs, the Dean wouldn’t be summoned.
“Based on the matching rules, they can’t be more than one fourth-rank and one third-rank, possibly even lower-ranked. How are they so fast in completing Olive’s test?”
“These two are probably puzzle-solving experts; their performance in the examination can tell.”
“For the sake of the doctrine, for the world’s rebirth, such skilled individuals in solving secrets must not be allowed to flourish… Furthermore, they must be carrying quite a few good cards.”
The small man gradually could not hide his greedy smile.
These young talents were often elites cultivated with resources from their countries, and the rare cards they carried wouldn’t be few.
“No matter how good the cards are, they’re just a pair of young ones with little combat experience. After such a harsh exploration, their losses must be significant. I detected that one of them is severely injured and can’t even walk.”
“Heh, two plump pieces of meat. We’ve been conserving our strength all this time, they won’t be able to withstand our surprise attack,” the small man chuckled.
However, as they continued to follow,
“Isn’t there something off?”
The bandaged man frowned and gestured with his hands.
“Is there?”
“How does the air feel… a bit… different?”
Before they could deduce the reason, when the fire erupted, the dim corridor was instantly illuminated by a fierce explosion.
The powerful blast enveloped both of them in flames, their figures appeared disheveled and in turmoil.
“Hmm… a delayed third-tier fire magic?”
As the dust settled, four large and strange masks appeared beside the bandaged man, protecting him and his companion.
The explosion only slightly damaged their clothes, causing no serious harm.
But the short man, who had been protected, seemed to stumble, almost losing his balance.
“Hold your breath fast!”
The bandaged man shouted.
After the explosion, a colorless and odorless poison gas began to spread in the air!
If they inhaled too much, they would likely lose consciousness!
“Damn! We’ve been discovered by these two, we need to leave this corridor quickly!”
After all, the corridor wasn’t a fully enclosed space, and simply moving would protect them from the effects of the poison.
However, when they prepared to move forward, they noticed scattered spikes on the ground around them.
The carpet was visibly being eroded by the spikes.
These spikes were undoubtedly poisonous.
“These bastards! What kind of school taught them to use cards like this?!”
The small man couldn’t help but roar in anger. Had it not been for the bandaged man protecting him, he would already be pierced all over by these spikes.
And now, he was confident about one thing:
This young pair was no good!
