Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Guess I Have To
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Lunchtime.
“What? You’re diving into a dungeon today? When?”
“Right after lunch.”
Cecilia stared at me in disbelief at my sudden declaration of a dungeon raid, but I had no intention of taking it back.
“No… Isn’t today the first day of school? Shouldn’t we greet the other students, check the class schedule, and tour the academy grounds or Neivil first?”
*Someone like you has no interest in that stuff anyway.*
My plan hadn’t changed from the start.
Clear the Doll Dungeon within a month.
In Doomsday Academy, the Demon God’s Dungeons served as the grand finale for each chapter.
They were overwhelmingly more difficult than other dungeons, especially from the Doll Dungeon onward, where the monsters came loaded with all sorts of special gimmicks.
Normally, the Magical Beast Dungeon would be the one to tackle at this point, but with the scenario altered, preparations needed to be even more thorough.
That meant no stagnation in my spec-ups for the next month.
“Everyone else will be busy with that stuff, so it’s perfect. I hate crowds anyway.”
“…Even so, a dungeon on the first day?”
“Don’t you want to get stronger too?”
Doomsday Academy might be an unpleasant game. But if asked whether it was unfair, that wasn’t entirely true.
Because it provided plenty of dungeons for prep work before tackling the Demon God’s Dungeons.
Just running side quests and cycling through dungeons could get you to a decent spec.
In that sense, the dungeon I had my eye on was one of the newly opened upper dungeons: the Goblin Dungeon.
It was the lowest difficulty among the four, a classic farming dungeon.
Even so, as a farming spot, its Tier 1 Shard drop rate was incomparably higher than previous dungeons, and with luck, Tier 2 Shards dropped fairly often too.
“You’ll need to reset your Shard setup for that. At your current state, you’ll hit a wall fast.”
In other words, it was the perfect dungeon for upgrading Shards.
“How do you even know that?”
I knew Cecilia’s canon national build from the original story.
Cecilia was a one-shot character built around powerful Arts.
Later, she’d reliably acquire the special Shard Nebula, making mana and crit the optimal setup.
And now that she had Lumen equipped, stamina was even more pointless.
“I’ve taken your Arts before.”
“Not recently.”
“Still, I’m sure of it. Changing your Shard setup will make you way stronger.”
No, honestly, everyone except her probably knew her current pig-tank build was wrong.
Anyway, spec-ups weren’t just my concern.
With a high chance Cecilia would be by my side for the Doll Dungeon, her growth needed to keep pace to boost our odds.
Ideally, all the playable characters, including Aren, would power up too.
“…Wait, don’t tell me this is for me?”
*Not just for you.*
Beyond it being a farming dungeon, I had another reason for picking the Goblin Dungeon.
*The Shredder Sword drops there.*
Doomsday Academy gear was divided into Tiers 1-5, with sub-grades within.
Among them, the Tier 2 Shredder series was optimized for early game, and the Shredder Sword was a honey item you could use all the way to the Demon Dungeon entrance once obtained.
It dropped from clearing the Goblin Dungeon with a set probability.
Right now, my biggest lack was a weapon.
My supply iron sword wasn’t useless yet, but its limits were obvious.
*Grab it while you can.*
Spec-ups must climb steadily in steps.
So my first goal was raising my spec enough to instant-kill every monster in the Goblin Dungeon.
The boss too, if possible.
“If you don’t want to, no need to come. I can go alone.”
“I-I didn’t say I hate it!”
“If Cecily can’t, you could go with me, right?”
“The instructor said no.”
Normally, Senia tagging along would’ve been fine.
No, better even. The Goblin Dungeon didn’t need a dedicated healer.
But follower selection allowed solo action but banned arbitrary follower pairing.
Getting caught meant an academy-level penalty.
No helping it.
It was the academy’s policy: you had to learn to sync with mismatched teammates for dungeon clears.
So I couldn’t bring Senia, no matter how much she wanted. I didn’t want the penalty either.
“If I knew it’d be like this on day one, I should’ve picked Sis…”
“…Then why didn’t you?”
Yeah.
If Cecilia had picked Senia, I might’ve paired with Luna.
Sigh.
Three sighs scattered over the table at once.
⁎⁎⁎
*They’re fast, alright.*
Walking the forest path to the Goblin Dungeon, the thought crossed my mind.
I’d planned around academy enrollment because students got overwhelming privileges.
The most useful? Mobility by far.
Luidel had a student-exclusive tram.
Unlike the Christoph trains spanning the Empire, the Luidel trams were like village buses.
Limited routes between Neivil, the capital, and key hubs, but pure gold for students.
Your quality of life hinged on whether you could use them.
In the original, tram unlock opened fast travel to prior maps.
Reality wasn’t that extreme, but cutting hours to minutes was satisfying enough.
*Could even commute from here if needed.*
No home for now anyway, so basing here temporarily wasn’t bad.
Glancing back amid stray thoughts, Cecilia trailed with pursed lips.
“Sigh… You’re the worst.”
She’d swapped uniform for dungeon combat gear.
A white leather jacket with a subtle sheen, overlaid with form-fitting active armor.
Naturally, the eyes went to certain spots…
Doomsday Academy’s signature defense-first design. The prominent chest was dev intentional.
If unintentional, it was me seeing what Aren should’ve first.
Half nostalgic, half hollow, a chuckle escaped.
Cecilia grumbled but joined the Goblin run.
Why act like that if she was coming anyway? Still, compared to her canon personality, this was better.
Easier to handle.
After a long trek down the forest path, the Goblin Dungeon entrance appeared.
Dense demonic energy billowed from cracks in the weathered gate.
As an upper dungeon, its aura rivaled the Magical Beast Dungeon.
But I’d already cleared that?
“The demonic energy’s so thick, I don’t wanna stay long.”
“Then let’s go in.”
“…Yeah. Finish quick and head back.”
*Yeah. If the loot drops.*
We plunged into the dungeon.
Landing on the ground, thick darkness greeted us.
Raising the torch, eerie cries followed the light like moths.
-Kirrik! Kiriririk!
Where light touched: greenish skin, wrinkled faces.
Drooling mouths with rotten, sparse teeth.
Goblins.
And not just one or two.
Dozens glared with red eyes, a sight creepier than most horror flicks.
*Should’ve blinked in.*
“What the—why so many?!”
“Beats me.”
Familiar scene, though.
In original and reality, most dungeons didn’t swarm at the entrance.
Even the Magical Beast Dungeon allowed civilians near the entrance.
But not Goblin Dungeon.
Special gimmick: dozens of goblins rush on entry.
Step away for a loading-screen bathroom break, and you’d return to a dead character.
The goblins screeched in unison.
-Kiyaaaak!!
No worries, though.
Developer bait: these goblins folded to one basic attack.
Instant kill guaranteed.
Stab!
I jammed my sword into the first charger’s throat.
Beside me, Cecilia shook off hesitation, entering combat stance.
White sword aura scattered in the air as goblins sliced under her blade one by one.
Numbers aside, they were weaponless trash mobs. Not a scratch on us.
But with sheer volume, individually cutting grew tedious.
Cecilia gathered energy in her blade.
“Haribal! Get back!”
Classic OG flavor after ages.
“Shatter Light!”
Kwa-gwang!!
White flash from the blade raced to the passage’s end.
Goblins vanished to dust in the blaze, no screams.
I watched leisurely against the wall.
Time had honed it.
Shatter Light, vastly improved.
But something nagged.
*What? Too strong for basic Art. Was canon Cecilia this potent?*
Shook my head.
Good problem.
“Whew… Scared me.”
Cecilia caught her breath, flicking blood off her sword.
I grabbed the fallen torch, lit the dark, and pressed on.
“Ambush right on entry. You ever seen this?”
“Nope. First time.”
Here.
“Upper dungeons really are different. Think we can clear it?”
Who knows.
That Art’s power meant not *if* we finish, but *how many runs*.
Dungeon gimmicks and specs? Memorized.
No overexertion like with Barhatan.
“Probably enough.”
More pressing: the darkness.
Knew Goblin Dungeon was dim, but worse than expected.
Torch barely pierced to calf height.
Better light up quick for smooth progress.
*Switch around here, I think…*
Fingertip caught a groove in the wall.
This it.
Click.
Lamps flickered on down the passage.
Cecilia’s eyes widened.
“What? How?”
“Pressed a switch-like thing here.”
“…What if it was a trap?”
Yeah.
Dodged her gaze, excuses thin.
……This.
My eyes caught what Cecilia missed: corpses strewn along the passage.
All in Imperial Army uniforms and armor, bodies savagely mutilated.
Dog tags bore the 2nd Regiment mark.
Not my 2341 Stormstrike Squad, but same regiment—faces I might’ve crossed.
More: 2nd meant assault team.
Probably scouting the new dungeon, met their end.
Monster hordes left bodies unrecovered.
“Tch.”
Seen it countless times, never dulled.
Knew the Imperial Army’s duty, but it soured the mood every time.
“…Know them?”
“Nope.”
I set the dog tag down quietly.
Cecilia watched, then asked softly.
“You gonna… do it again?”
“Do what?”
“That… funeral rite.”
*…Right, that.*
The assault teams whispered of the Dirge Sword’s funeral rite: endless self-torment training until one-shotting every dungeon monster.
Layered with honoring fallen comrades.
I’d never said that. My runs were pure farming.
Yet people added weight.
Burdensome at first, but if it comforted someone, no reason to deny.
*Purpose aligns anyway.*
So this time, I answered calmly.
“Guess I have to.”