The Artificial Dungeon (1)

After the announcement ended, the groups gathered briefly to discuss strategy. Sherry rolled her eyes, glancing between Baran and Luden. 'Those two in the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠same group... of all the rotten luck.' She had been determined to claim first place this time. After all, this was a dungeon escape, not combat. She'd thought there was a real chance. But now those two were paired together.

"Is something wrong?" Shannon of the Gloucester family asked.

Sherry shook her head. "No, it's nothing. I just..."

"Just?"

"Let's take first place."

As she spoke, Sherry's eyes blazed with fiery resolve. 'This time, I will get first place no matter what.'

With that thought, Sherry quietly stared at the pair.

At the same time.

While the other students chatted and planned their strategies...

"......"

"......"

Meanwhile, we stood in the world's most awkward silence.

Quest or not, this was honestly ridiculous. At this point, getting tangled up with Luden wasn't a big deal. The butterfly effect had already run its course, so a little more entanglement was tolerable. But of all times, it had to happen right before a main episode kicked off.

Of course, it wasn't the full main episode. It was more of a buildup event, but either way, it was undeniably a critical moment. I'd tried to avoid getting involved so I wouldn't interfere with the protagonist's growth.

'That damn Dale.'

Who else but the squinty-eyed bastard would screw me over in such an unexpected way? Of course, he might have just paired me with Luden out of consideration for the "blind" student.

'But looking at that face, I doubt it.'

Look at that sly grin. It was obvious he'd done it simply because it looked entertaining.

-Disciple. Are you all right?

At that moment, Miroel looked at me with a face full of concern. Instead of answering, I simply nodded quietly.

Then.

"It's fine. I'll take the lead. Just follow me."

Luden spoke in a solemn voice.

No, that wasn't what I was worried about. It seemed she had some strange misunderstanding. The real issue was what would come after this.

'Sigh. Nothing I can do about it now.'

Cursing inwardly wouldn't change anything at this stage. Better to focus on preparing for what was coming.

'For now, just shut up and escape in first place.'

The instant class began, every student bolted into the dungeon. As Luden tried to run after the others, Baran stopped her.

"Please wait, Miss Luden."

"Huh?"

"I will take the lead."

"You'll take the lead?"

"Yes. Just trust me and follow along."

He nodded and moved ahead. She gave him a puzzled look.

"You can afford to be that relaxed?"

"It's fine."

After all, first place is guaranteed even if we walk.

Swallowing the rest of that thought, he activated his Mind's Eye.

In the next instant, the entire dungeon unfolded in his vision. It was impossibly clear, as if he were looking down from above.

"Watch your step on that side."

"Huh?"

A question mark seemed to hover over her head. She nodded and carefully shifted sideways.

"Is it a trap?"

"Yes. I detected mana over there."

"Ah, right. You said you can see mana."

"Correct."

Luden nodded, looking convinced. At the same time...

-I see. So that's why Master walks so well despite being blind.

Miroel crossed her arms beneath her generous chest and nodded in understanding. Baran pretended not to notice their reactions and kept walking.

'As expected, Mind's Eye really is cheating.'

Even though he was relying on game knowledge, moving this freely was absurd. Without Mind's Eye, he might have avoided shortcuts but would have definitely triggered at least one trap.

While Baran was thinking that, Luden stared fixedly at the back of his head.

'How is this possible?'

Baran walked as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Normally, an assassin would scan for traps during dungeon exploration, and even then it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠took time to verify them. But Baran? Even if he could see mana, how could he locate traps without even looking?

'And he's finding the path ridiculously well, too.'

Wherever he went, the path was strangely clear. Anyone watching would think he was strolling through his own house.

As she puzzled over him, a bizarre cry echoed in her ear.

-Krrrrk!

It wasn't just her—Baran's hand moved like lightning. In the next moment, a bow formed entirely of mana appeared in his grip.

Luden's eyes widened. 'So fast?!'

She had seen his bow a week ago, but he hadn't created it nearly this quickly. The shape hadn't been nearly as defined then, either.

'No time to stand around.'

She had been momentarily stunned, but she needed to move immediately. No matter how skilled Baran was with a bow, he was still an archer. Unlike her, he wasn't particularly strong in close-quarters combat.

'I need to step forward.'

She reached for the sword at her waist when...

-Woooong.

Before she realized it, Baran had already formed a mana arrow. He drew and released it at the Antreon charging toward them.

-Kwaaaaaang!

The ant monster's head exploded in a single shot. Luden blinked blankly at the sight.

'Wait... what just happened?'

Antreons weren't particularly powerful monsters. They were low-tier creatures that looked like giant ants, only about the size of wolves. Still, taking one down with a single arrow—not magic, just an arrow—was unbelievable. And not just killed; its head had literally ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠burst apart.

'Does that even make sense?'

It felt completely different from any archer she'd seen before. And that wasn't the only reason for her shock.

'He's at least twice as strong as he was a week ago.'

Yes. His growth speed was what truly stunned her. He'd shown impressive skill last week too, but that had mostly been technique. The destructive power of his arrows hadn't been this overwhelming.

While she stood dazed by Baran's display...

"Miss Luden?"

Baran leaned in close, tilting his head. Luden flinched.

"Ah?!"

"I'm sorry. I called you three times but you didn't respond."

"Sorry."

"It's all right. But something seems off."

"Huh?"

What did he mean? As she looked confused, Baran turned toward the dead Antreon and spoke gravely.

"Didn't the professor mention that all the monsters in this artificial dungeon had been cleared out?"

"Ah...!"

Now that he mentioned it, Dale had said something like that. She'd been so shocked by Baran's display that she'd completely forgotten.

"Wait. Then why is a monster here right now...?"

"Exactly. It looks like something bad is about to happen. We should get out quickly and report this to the professor."

Luden nodded. The two of them broke into a full sprint, far faster than before.

In truth, I had known monsters would appear. In the game, a single monster had shown up as buildup before the main incident.

'It came out a little faster than I expected, though.'

Still, events were proceeding according to the original story. But the world was unpredictable. Just to be safe, we needed to move even faster than planned.

'I wonder if she's keeping up.'

I glanced behind me. Luden was following along with surprising ease.

-That girl is quite something. In our era, there were almost none with that much power at her age.

Miroel, who had instantly recognized the protagonist's talent, wore a surprised expression. She began circling around Luden.

"?"

Thinking I was looking at her, Luden had a question mark hovering over her head. Not wanting to create any weird misunderstandings, I offered a vague excuse.

"You're not tired, are you?"

"...I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

She answered in a flat tone.

Then...

'Looks like we made it in time.'

We had finally reached the destination. At that exact moment...

I'd been looking forward to it, but all I got was experience? In the past I would have danced with joy, but after everything I'd already gained, it felt pretty stingy.

'Well, I suppose getting experience at all is something.'

I looked around. As expected, the waiting room was still empty. Since even Dale wasn't here, it seemed no one had expected us to arrive this early.

"Looks like no one else has arrived yet."

"Yeah. Obviously. Who could escape a dungeon this fast?"

It seemed I'd cleared the dungeon in a rather unnatural way. Worried I might draw strange suspicions, I changed the subject.

"More importantly, we should report this to the professor before something else strange happens..."

-Kugugugugugung!

Suddenly, a sinister vibration echoed from within the dungeon. Luden's face hardened instantly. Just to be sure, I activated Mind's Eye.

The next moment...

'You've got to be kidding me.'

I saw a horde of monsters heading straight toward us.

-Monsters are coming this way right now!

It seemed Miroel had seen them too. She cried out in alarm.

Then...

The message looked unusually urgent. Was that just my imagination? A vague sense of unease settled over me, but...

'I'll think about it later.'

I turned to Luden.

"Can you buy me some time?"

"Huh?"

"Please trust me and hold them off for a little while."

"Understood."

At my serious tone, she nodded firmly. I began absorbing the mana that lingered throughout the dungeon.