One Hour Ago
Far in the past, it's said that the demon tribe created places called dungeons as footholds for invading humanity. Dungeons are living structures, remnants of the demon tribe alongside today's monsters—and one of the few left. Of course, the demon tribe was wiped out long ago, but records state that in the past, their numbers surpassed humanity's.
"Is this the dungeon? It's so cool!"
A female student clutching a small staff glances around curiously.
"Yeah, the freshmen must be visiting the dungeon for the first time this year."
The supervising teacher moves along, evaluation notebook in hand.
"In Group A, only Lucille has dungeon training experience... hmm?"
And Lucille hasn't even drawn her weapon yet.
"Yes, I'm a second-year in the magic department, and back in my territory, I've observed knight squads dismantling dungeons."
She boasts top grades among second-years in the magic faculty, but wandering the dungeon without drawing her staff or the sword at her waist looks defenseless.
"I see, as expected of the Eleanor Dukedom."
But the teacher narrows his eyes, focusing on the mana reactions floating around her.
"...Spirit magic is so rare I only saw it after coming to Arcanum Academy, but the rumors are true—impressive."
"You're too kind."
That was a spirit contracted to Lucille.
"I've been sensing some weird mana earlier... Is that a spirit? First time seeing one! As expected of Senior Lucille!"
"It's not that big a deal. These spirits are only mid-level."
Beings born when thoughts imbue nature's mana—formless, yet with will. That's what they call spirits.
Lucille wasn't wandering unarmed; she'd already summoned her weapons.
"By the way, it's not like the rumors. Dad said dungeons are full of monsters and dangerous traps. No monsters, not even proper traps."
Of course, it wasn't entirely monster-free. Midway, goblins popped out, but the two lead male students handled the low-level pests easily.
"Traps? This flimsy stuff is all they've got."
Then, the staff-wielding girl stops the leads and places her hand on the wall.
-Crackle!
A blue flash sparkles, disabling an invisible trap on the floor. A small hole in the wall suggested it was rigged to shoot arrows.
"Excellent. Group A's students—nobles and knights' kids—handle responses perfectly."
"Hehe, thanks, Teacher!"
The teacher notes good scores. The vanguards dealt with monsters superbly, and trap detection and disarming were swift and precise.
Arcanum Academy admits only geniuses hailed as such in their territories. This outcome is practically a given.
They've marked it to make traps discoverable on purpose.
Lucille watches from a slight distance, eyes narrowed.
With so many freshmen, they've toned down the dungeon's difficulty even more.
In truth, this dungeon's difficulty was dialed way back compared to usual. Before freshman exploration training, teachers and scouts entered ahead, culling dangerous monsters and planting hints.
It was consideration for newbies, but also minding the nobles. A serious injury or death would bring noble wrath.
Not much help for me, but it's training—I should participate anyway...
Lucille feels no need for spirits here. She'd summoned them for ambushes or traps, but at this level, it wasn't worth the mana cost.
Save my mana.
Spirits drain mana constantly once summoned, worse in mana-isolated dungeons like this. She unsummons them to conserve for the dungeon's boss later.
About ten minutes after unsummoning—
-Thud!
"Monster!"
"We'll draw its attention—cover us from the rear!"
Pressing on, they reach a wide-open plaza revealing a massive golem. Likely made by demons to guard this dungeon long ago.
"Huh? Why's that here...?"
The teacher seems flustered at the sight, like Why is this thing here?
That thing's boss-level for this dungeon, right?
Lucille's equally surprised. With her prior trainings, that mana signature fits a dungeon boss perfectly.
-Clang!
"Ngh! This bastard's tough as hell!"
The lead boys charge swords-first, but blades that cleaved rock bounce off. It's magically reinforced beyond mere hardness.
"Fall back! I'll blast that golem to bits!"
The girl aims her staff, firing multiple fiery orbs like cannonballs.
-Boom!
But...
"What? Even my spell doesn't work?"
Strong enough for a storm, yet it only singes the golem's surface—no real damage.
Freshmen can't handle that yet. Guess I have to step in.
Lucille decides to intervene. Before entering, teachers had asked her—and other top second-years—not to overdo it.
「If Lucille's too aggressive, others have nothing to do. Just watch over your cute juniors this time.」
This applied to standouts like the notoriously lazy Second Prince or commoner Trius with noble-surpassing talent. Their skills rivaled upperclassmen; early graduation wouldn't surprise anyone.
"Teacher."
Lucille calls the supervisor.
"...Right, leave that to Lucille."
The teacher nods despite his puzzled expression, granting permission.
"Huh? Senior Lucille?"
"Everyone, fall back, okay?"
Lucille smiles at her juniors and steps forward. The golem swings a carriage-crushing fist at her approach.
"Senior! Watch out!"
But she doesn't dodge—instead, draws her staff, compressing and unleashing mana in one burst.
-Kaboom!!!
A crimson pillar erupts from her staff. It vaporizes the golem's arm and head in an instant, a red spirit—like her hair—floating beside her.
-Rumble...!
The golem, core destroyed, collapses in silence with a thunderous crash.
"......"
The juniors stare blankly, then swarm Lucille with sparkling eyes. To freshmen, she's a superstar: eldest daughter of the famed Eleanor Dukedom, top student even among Arcanum's elites. Singlehandedly slaying what they couldn't? Pure idol material.
"That was amazing, Senior Lucille! How'd you do that? Spirit magic? Teach me?"
"Let's finish the exploration first. I'll explain slowly then."
Lucille calms the excited group and approaches the teacher inspecting the fallen golem.
"Teacher, this isn't like past trainings..."
"...Yeah, different. This was meant to be the boss, with other groups' freshmen teaming up to take it down."
The teacher stands, face suspicious. It deviated from the plan—no boss until the core layer.
"Contact the other supervisors first... What? Why isn't it working?"
Communications jammed too. The teacher fumbles his comm crystal, looking baffled.
"No separate barrier, it seems."
"Weird. Training's halted. Get you all out, then alert the others."
Thankfully, a solid call. A decade-plus Arcanum vet with dozens of dungeon raids under his belt—he won't push foolishly.
-Thud!
But even he faced the unprecedented.
"Uh... Teacher? The entrance we came through is blocked!"
A boy shouts, face pale.
"What? I checked everything beforehand...!"
The teacher rushes over. The plaza entrance—wide open a minute ago—now sealed shut.
"Damn it, what the hell? Did the floor suddenly cave?"
"We were just standing here!"
Sudden crisis.
The kids didn't trigger a trap.
Lucille analyzes calmly. The only trigger? Destroying the golem. Hypothesis: entrance seals upon core destruction.
But why can't I summon spirits either?
Yet communications failing and spirits unresponsive baffles her. She'd resummoned post-golem using her mid-level spirit, but post-seal, even that stopped.
Too odd for a basic dungeon trap. Dungeons date to demon era; their magic is prehistoric relics. Could that interfere with modern spells this much?
No. Unprecedented in her knowledge. And Arcanum scouted ahead.
The one possibility...
...No way, him—
A man with hair as red as hers flashes in her mind. Sealing her specialty spirit magic? Only one culprit.
Then—
"I-I'll try dispelling the trap. Same format as before..."
The girl at the entrance attempts to open the sealed door.
"What? No, stop!"
Teacher intervenes desperately, too late.
-Flash!
"Huh? Wait, this seal is—"
"...?!"
-BOOM!!!
A massive explosion engulfs the entrance. Lucille's vision floods with flames.
* * *
"Your Highness."
Scouting the collapsed dungeon cautiously, I call out to Claude ahead.
"What."
"You know we've been looping the same spot for ten minutes, right?"
I call because we're retracing our steps endlessly. Before entering, I offered to guide, but Claude insisted on leading.
"...S-so?"
His ears redden. He knows his mistake—embarrassed like a kid. Kinda girly, actually.
"Hold up. I'll guide you."
"You got some genius plan? Passages collapsed; our maps from the teachers are useless."
Well. As a saintess, I've tackled dungeons many times—not just healing, but subjugation support. Claude thinks I'm just a healer like Hyeji? Saintesses aren't saintesses for nothing.
"It's fine. Don't need a map."
"Huh?"
I clasp my hands, praying to the goddess. Guide us to the right path. Let me reach where I'm truly needed.
-Flash!
Divine guidance descends here.
"...An arrow?"
"Yes, follow the arrow—it'll lead where we need to go."
A golden arrow appears on the passage floor.
"You sure we can trust it?"
"Of course."
Truth is, I guided more than healed in dungeons. Labyrinthine mazes demand markers for efficient clears.
"───Shall we?"
I smile at Claude. His red ears nod silently.