Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: Received from a Friend
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It was a gift from a friend.
Recovering the bodies took priority, so unfortunately, the dungeon raid ended after just the one run.
When I contacted the nearby military unit, soldiers arrived in less than an hour to retrieve the corpses.
“We’re truly grateful. Thanks to you, our comrades can rest in peace.”
“It was simply my duty as a noble.”
The soldier bowed deeply, then eyed us closely.
“Aren’t you two students from Luidel?”
“That’s right.”
“I heard today was your first day of enrollment… Why get involved in something like this?”
“Because it had to be done.”
The soldiers nodded with exclamations of admiration.
And then one remarked,
“Sir Haribal really lives up to the rumors.”
Rumors, huh.
What the hell kind of rumors are spreading?
This is scary. Terrifying.
I exchanged brief greetings with Cecilia, too.
A massive greatsword—the Crusher’s Greatsword—was slung across her back as she boarded the tram.
“You’re not coming?”
“Nah. I’ll head back in a bit.”
“Classes start tomorrow, right? Wouldn’t it be better to go now and rest?”
My mansion still isn’t finished.
“I’ll do that.”
“…You don’t look like someone who will.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t be late for class tomorrow.”
“…Well, see you at lunch tomorrow, then.”
After watching Cecilia board the tram and disappear, I turned around and headed back toward the Goblin Dungeon entrance.
‘Senia’s main weapon is a greatsword?’
Thinking about it, it felt off.
Why craft a greatsword if no character uses one?
I’d assumed the developers made it just to say “eat shit,” but maybe Senia wasn’t dummy data for the Doomsday Academy or something?
It happened sometimes. Characters created only in planning docs, then scrapped due to adult circumstances.
Maybe there was originally a plan tying the greatsword to Senia, but it got cut for some reason?
‘That makes sense. Worth investigating on this end, too.’
Lost in thought, I’d already arrived back at the dungeon entrance.
Cecilia might be right—resting today could be smart.
But with loot dangling right in front of me, how could I resist?
Not just any Crusher’s Sword, but the Crusher’s Greatsword.
If nothing had dropped, fine. But someone else’s weapon—not my main one—drops?
No way I can pass that up.
In the end, I resolved to rerun the dungeon solo today, as far as my stamina held out.
I’d already grasped the Goblin Dungeon’s difficulty.
Even without Cecilia, I could solo it by accepting some damage. The wounds wouldn’t be fatal.
‘Potions are stocked up, too.’
Just in case, I’d taken extras from the military supplies plus a haul bought from Neville.
I didn’t usually use them much, but this was a higher dungeon, so caution was warranted.
Cecilia had saved me potion costs, thankfully.
Still, I wouldn’t overdo it.
‘I’ll use these up and go.’
With that, I plunged back into the dungeon.
Night passed, dawn broke, and by the time the first tram ran…
Dragging my exhausted body out, I clutched several pieces of gear in my hands.
[Crusher’s Gauntlets (II)]
[Crusher’s Mace (II)]
[Crusher’s Spear (II)]
So why won’t a sword drop?
No answer.
⁎⁎⁎
Morning sunlight filtered through the window.
Rubbing my sleepy eyes, I boarded the tram and headed to the academy.
There was a reason I’d pulled an all-nighter running the dungeon.
The academy’s free time had essentially ended yesterday.
So I’d tried to recoup as much as possible.
‘How does not even one sword drop?’
I’d cleared the Goblin Dungeon five times.
Result: four Crusher series items. Drop rate was giraffe-level good, but nothing I could use.
From today, packed classes awaited, plus hanging with Cecilia.
No more full days glued to the dungeon like yesterday.
‘It’ll drop soon. Gotta believe that.’
Lost in thought, the tram pulled up to the academy’s main gate.
Watching students trickle through one by one, I recalled academy info.
Luidel used a credit system.
Beyond mandatory classes, students chose electives freely, with mass registration a few days after enrollment confirmation.
I’d already signed up for what I wanted.
The classes that boosted stats in the original game.
In Doomsday Academy, Aren’s stats rose based on attended classes.
Not just combat stats, either. Daily traits called dispositions went up too, via classes.
Knowledge, Talent, Kindness, Courage, Charm.
These disposition values unlocked new quests or let you talk to otherwise unapproachable NPCs—various perks.
Of course, irrelevant to me.
Aren could handle the disposition grinding.
Excluding mandatories, my electives: [Basic Weaponry], [Basic Fitness], [Herbology].
The first two boosted attack and stamina; Herbology was for crafting dungeon-useful herbs and potions.
Basic Weaponry especially—Aren took it too, so good for monitoring him.
All morning slots, conveniently.
Afternoons for dungeons.
Scenario-related folks could wait till next semester. First term: pure spec grind.
But a real problem loomed.
‘No money.’
Soloing yesterday worked thanks to extreme potion spam play.
With Cecilia, I stuck to Return of Light. She covered the DPS gap.
Solo? No dice.
So I cleared via stamina-draining arts like Stormwind Path in combos.
Instant Kills wouldn’t proc, so no choice.
Stamina bottoms? Potion up, then Chronodive - Corner Slash - Stormwind Path.
Infinite loop till potions vanished.
This playstyle was ongoing.
Plus armor, accessories to buy; no bed means living expenses, misc costs galore.
‘You said you’d give money. When?’
Not hopeless, though.
Like part-time jobs.
Afternoon-only, small disposition gains and pocket change—but ultimate inefficiency. Better skip.
Selling shards/weapons on black market? Student caught prowling gets penalties for sure.
Synthesis for Alicia Machine proficiency was way better than selling anyway.
Or leverage Alicia’s name formally: demand the money. Might break character, though.
That’s when it happened.
“Valhil… Haribal Belder. There you are.”
Turning at the voice behind me, a student with purple bowl-cut hair stood there.
Face barely scraping pretty-boy territory. Two lackeys stuck to him like underlings.
“You wouldn’t have forgotten me, would you?”
“Richard Dain.”
First guy I diced in the entrance exam.
And a solid side character in the original—Richard’s gang.
In the exam, he placed third after Eugene and Ran.
Cecilia dropping top spot handed him overall third.
Him approaching me?
‘What’s this? Here for a fight?’
Original Richard: classic arrogant noble.
Aggro’d commoners openly, earned Ran’s enmity; clashed with commoner Aren often.
Even kidnapped a C-Class commoner student, tossed ’em in a mock dungeon—no low too low.
‘Yeah, ditched a commoner in the exam too.’
Still, key rival launcher for Aren/Eugene.
Only after Richard got wrecked did Eugene notice Aren; their true rivalry kicked off.
Later bumbled as comic relief, then joined protagonists in civil war arc… Annoying but not total trash to the end.
So yeah, expected beef.
Sure, I’m “noble,” but honorary title on a commoner base.
Yet Richard just stared straight, sweating bullets.
‘…What? Talked big approaching, now blanking on what to say?’
Scorn him as commoner? Treat as noble?
Couldn’t pick a stance. Awkward.
‘Guess getting diced in the exam hit hard.’
Then Richard said something unexpected.
“What classes are you taking?”
‘Filthy commoner!’—braced for that. Surprising.
No hostility, so I answered straight.
“Basic Weaponry.”
“Same as me. You created your own swordsmanship; must not need it. Why?”
Boosts attack.
“Basics are always important.”
“…More noble spirit than expected.”
Even boilerplate got a nod.
Way different from original Richard, who’d trash-talk commoners on sight.
Maybe ’cause I’m not one?
‘Recognizing me as noble for now, huh.’
“And you?”
Didn’t expect the question back; Richard panicked, glanced at his goons, then spoke.
“…The day I lost to you in the entrance exam, I realized my limits.”
“R-Richard!!”
“Ugh…! To think Sir Richard admits his shortcomings!!”
“Limits” triggered instant goon praise-fest.
“So I resolved then. Time to switch weapons.”
“?”
Now that surprised me.
Original Richard stuck to swords forever.
“I’ll set aside the blade I’ve wielded till now. From here, I take the spear. Basic Weaponry’s prep for that.”
“Any weapon suits Sir Richard!”
“Spears conquer all! Sir Richard will conquer all!”
Richard boldly declared his academy spearman arc before me.
Weapon switch, huh.
True, Basic Weaponry’s first lesson: pick your fit with the instructor.
Protagonists/PCs were outliers; few students came pre-armed.
But why tell me?
“You know me, so you know my spear talent’s prodigious. I’ll crush you with it for sure.”
Of course not.
Wasn’t in the original.
Mid “fresh noble PoV on Richard” thought…
‘Wait. Spear?’
My eyes drifted to the Crusher’s Spear slung on my back.
“I’ll make the spear shine by my will! That’s my fate, bearing the Dain name…”
“Need a spear by any chance?”
“…What?”
Perfect.
⁎⁎⁎
A uniformed man stood at the podium.
Hair in a tight ponytail, burly build.
Most students recognized his face—from the entrance exam proctoring.
“Welcome to Luidel, first-years. I’m Kalben, your Basic Weaponry instructor this semester.”
Kalben scanned the roughly fifty lined-up students before him.
A satisfied smile spread.
‘Golden generation, they said. It’s true.’
This year’s talent pool exceeded even his expectations.
Especially Aren, Haribal, and a few others—hard to look away.
Fifteen years teaching Basic Weaponry at Luidel, Kalben knew well.
Surviving dungeons hinged on picking the right weapon.
Your weapon was hands, feet, shield—maybe your raid squad’s greatest ally.
So he always stressed Basic Weaponry’s importance.
His favorite students? Those self-aware enough to arrive with their perfect weapon.
Plenty this year.
“Now, come forward one by one and select the weapon that’ll be your mainstay.”
Not scorning the unawakened, of course.
Early or late bloomer—just timing. Drawing it out was his job, and the class’s.
As students chose, Kalben’s gaze halted on one leaning against a hall pillar.
‘The Dain family delinquent, huh.’
Skilled, but personality lacking.
Especially his commoner disdain. As a commoner himself, Kalben didn’t welcome it.
Word was, Richard Dain trained proper noble swordsmanship.
Yet…
‘A spear?’
Richard had a spear, not a sword.
And for some reason, Kalben’s eyes shifted to it.
Red wave patterns etched on the shaft.
Faint magic leaking from the tip.
Obvious at a glance.
‘Dungeon-forged…?!’
Dungeon-forged gear. Not manmade—born in dungeons.
‘Even Dain family shouldn’t snag one easily… And he’s no spearman. Why?’
Kalben’s eyes narrowed.
Doubt, bafflement. But overriding: unstoppable curiosity.
Instructor second, he was a warrior. Had to ID that spear now.
So he asked.
“…What’s that spear?”
“Ah… this one?”
Richard whipped it off his back like he’d waited.
Grinning proudly, he answered.
“Received from a ‘friend.’”