And just like that, the grade-level competition came to an awkward end.
At least one fortunate thing was that Professor Cassis kept passionately venting the whole time while extracting us from the dungeon.
At one point, Professor Cassis even chimed in saying, “I get your point, and I’ll bring it up in the faculty meeting, so please stop already.”
Common sense-wise, not informing the participants and halting the match out of the blue? That’s just not done.
We had no idea, so we went all the way to the end.
We didn’t even reach the finish line, did we?
Honestly, this calls for a first-place win, if you ask me.
“But now that I think about it, it’s clear—since they’re family—that the two of you share some resemblance.”
“Wha, what do you mean by that?!”
“…”
Upon entering the dungeon, it turned out that Professor Cassis was Elaine’s older brother.
Now it all made sense why no other professors came and Professor Cassis rushed here all flustered—it was for his little sister.
The saying ‘bl**d is thicker than water’ holds absolutely true in this situation.
Though the professor didn’t say anything in response to my comment, Elaine immediately reacted.
“Why, you two even have similar hair color and vibe.”
“Absolutely not!”
“Why? Are you bothered by looking like your brother?”
“N-no! It’s not that at all…!”
I hadn’t intended to rile her, but her reaction caused me to continue without noticing.
Still, the impact felt good, huh?
While Professor Cassis tried to ignore what I had said, Elaine jumped around on the spot in flustered surprise.
Just when Elaine had reddened her face and started to read her brother’s reactions for further teasing…
Finally, it happened.
“Everyone, let’s head out.”
“Fi-nally!”
Emily was the first one to bolt out.
While the exterior was still bright during the second trial earlier, by the time we made it out, it had already turned dark.
Still, the fresh air outside greeted us warmly, unlike the stuffiness of the dungeon.
“Ah, you’re out.”
“Well… haven’t you gone yet?”
After stepping outside, we noticed the seniors we’d bumped into earlier within the dungeon.
“Yeah, they said we need to wait and go together…”
“WHAT!? Right! Senpai, can you put in a good word for us to Professor Cassis? Honestly, we deserve first place, right?!”
As soon as I spotted the third-years, I remembered our previous discussion and immediately brought it up.
The third-years themselves had indirectly acknowledged it earlier.
Basically, since they were practically out, they believed we should take first.
“Mmm?”
“Uh, the professor said the competition was canceled, so he can’t determine the results…”
“Ugh. Didn’t we already make the case? That should be enough. You should stop.”
“Aww, but still, compared to third-years…”
“Stop.”
“Tch.”
I wanted to press further, but this wasn’t just anyone—it was the professor looking serious. So I quit while I was ahead.
Alright, if I say this much, the faculty meeting or whatever will surely carry the weight of the argument.
“Professor Cassis, what about the Undead inside?”
“There were two d*ath Knights. The students mentioned mounted d*ath Knights, but there was no horse present.”
“Horse…?”
“That’s correct. For now…”
Professor Cassis scanned us as he spoke.
“Let’s finish the rest of the discussion tomorrow. Today, everyone worked hard, so it’s best to let the students go home.”
“Right. Agreed.”
And just like that, without seeing the ‘Quest Cleared’ notification screen, the grade-level competition came to an end.
“At least I managed to grab Green, so that’s lucky.”
Ultimately, the only immediate reward I got my hands on was Green.
“Haiz. Didn’t see this coming. Who interfered with everything, anyway?”
I thought I’d be able to use magic after today. Guess I need to find out who messed with my plans and have Eddi look into it, even just a rough idea.
“First, let’s hear the explanation.”
Gulp—
“Yes… yes. So umm…”
Nigel swallowed hard and opened his mouth hesitantly.
The Elder was truly angry, an expression Nigel hadn’t seen in a long while.
The Elder had reached peak fury but was paradoxically calm.
Nigel bowed his head deeply and began reporting what happened today.
Truthfully, the report was just a rehash of the situation description.
This was the plan: execute it, but the students turned out stronger than expected, causing failure.
Never expected that the students would defeat both Ghouls and d*ath Knights.
Even a d*ath Knight of Corrosion.
“Is that all?”
“… Yes.”
Nigel refrained from adding anything unnecessary.
He knew well that Landgar despised useless excuses.
“And yet, this student seems rather strong.”
Landgar’s low voice started again.
The sudden emergence of undead during the grade competition hadn’t gone unnoticed by Landgar.
Of course, Landgar already knew the situation because it happened under his overall jurisdiction within the Nameless Organization.
The mana interference barrier inside the dungeon? That was also Landgar’s work.
The barrier magic specialist Landgar worked painstakingly to create it.
Academy professors could not possibly dismantle such a barrier in a short time.
“However, even considering all that, these are still students. Moreover, first-year students.”
Gulp—
Keeping one knee on the ground and his head bowed deeply, Nigel silently listened to Landgar’s words.
All true.
No matter how unexpected the opponent’s above-spec performance, he should have anticipated such possibilities.
‘How the hell was I supposed to predict that? sh*t.’
Of course, Nigel felt wronged.
He merely followed the plan—assigning a d*ath Knight to the strongest third years, skeletons to the second years, and ghouls to the first years.
And with the competition participants turning out to be far fewer than expected, the job seemed even easier.
“Still… the opponent showed an irregular strength, didn’t they?”
‘Oh?’
Nigel briefly felt some hope from Landgar’s words.
A slightly softened tone and the content of the message suggested that the situation was beyond control and that there might be no further questioning of responsibility.
Gulp—
Nigel swallowed his saliva, regarding it as fortunate amidst his misfortune.
“Yeah, that could happen. This Ryu isn’t a normal student. The guy’s too powerful. Suspicious vibes are wafting off him.”
“M-matching you! Considering normal logic! Ugh.”
Nigel accidentally cheered Landgar’s words without realizing it, then quickly covered his mouth.
“…”
“Sorry.”
“Still.”
Landgar’s tone changed once more.
Nigel tensed and awaited Landgar’s next words.
“The loss of the d*ath Knight of Corrosion is entirely your fault, isn’t it?”
“…”
Nigel had no way to respond.
While the previous events might have been unforeseen by anyone, what followed wasn’t.
Overcome with rage at the plan’s failure and the loss of the d*ath Knight, it was himself who summoned the d*ath Knight of Corrosion.
There had indeed been clear instructions.
While normal undead might be fine, higher-tier undead were not yet ready to be revealed to the public.
Even with the plan failing, it was better to abandon it gracefully and plan for the next opportunity.
But rage-clouded Nigel could not possibly have obeyed that instruction.
It was incredibly fortunate, at least, that the live footage was cut in real-time.
“Sorry.”
Nigel knelt flat, lowering his head entirely.
He had no choice but to kneel flat now.
The d*ath Knight of Corrosion.
It was originally supposed to be revealed only after total taming, as part of a significant plan later.
But not only did he reveal it prematurely, but it was also lost.
Nigel’s fleeting thought that he might escape responsibility vanished instantly.
A mistake serious enough for the Elder to immediately slay him would be well within reason.
“Hmph. Alright, I’ll give you a way to make amends.”
“Wh, what kind of—”
“Summon it again before the execution of the second plan.”
“… Excuse me?”
“The d*ath Knight of Corrosion. Or something equivalent. If you’re unable to prepare, use your life as the cost for the summoning ritual. A black magician of your caliber should produce some worthy results.”
Gulp—
Nigel sincerely believed the seriousness in Landgar’s words.
Being able to calmly threaten with d*ath like that wasn’t mere intimidation.
Nigel knew all too well that this wasn’t just idle talk.
“Yes, yes, I understand!”
“Alright. You’re dismissed.”
WHOOSH—
Nigel vanished right there, flat on the floor before Landgar.
Landgar stared briefly at the spot where Nigel disappeared, then shifted his gaze toward the window.
The moonlight continued to brightly yet gently illuminate the dark night.
“These days, nothing’s going right.”
Landgar muttered under his breath.
It started with the Sandglass heist incident.
Out of nowhere, the Black Shadow Guild interfered.
From there, everything began unraveling.
They were still tracking the Black Shadow Guild to retrieve the Sandglass with no significant results.
Likely, they’d remain as such.
To top it off, this meticulously planned operation ended in a clean failure, thanks to a single student.
“Haa.”
Truthfully, compared to the loss of the Sandglass, the failure of this plan wasn’t the most damaging.
Indeed, there was an element of Landgar’s personal greed involved.
There just happened to be an excellent opportunity to advance the grade competition.
With the loss of the Sandglass, Landgar had hurriedly rushed the plan ahead of schedule.
It was an operation undertaken with calculated risk, so he was willing to humbly accept the returns when it failed.
A risk where the reward, if successful, would be massive, but if not, he could endure the pain and look forward.
If only Nigel hadn’t recklessly acted and lost the d*ath Knight of Corrosion.
“Still, really handled it all by himself?”
Landgar reflected on Ryu momentarily as he tried to cool his anger.
When the Ghouls were cut down and the d*ath Knight was defeated, Landgar already sensed something off.
And now this—defeating a d*ath Knight of Corrosion?
“Guess I should meet him personally.”
Landgar felt the need to meet Ryu in person.
A commoner, not from nobility, with an arguably rebellious personality.
“Need to see if I can recruit him.”
If the conditions aligned, Landgar intended to bring Ryu into the organization.
