Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Dungeon Practical Training
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During the hour-long carriage ride, Philip chatted quite a bit with Priscilla.
Usually, it was Philip doing the talking or asking questions, with her giving short answers or nods, but she seemed to be enjoying it in her own way.
Priscilla was a commoner, twenty-two years old, and a graduate of Previa Academy.
'Nothing particularly strange about her.'
Priscilla fiddled with her dark blue hair and grinned like a fool.
"I'm really glad I met you. Lately... it's been so tough. But hearing your stories makes me feel stronger somehow."
Philip looked at her with pity.
How lonely must she have been to look at someone she'd just met an hour ago with eyes full of trust and intimacy like that?
That gaze full of trust and inner closeness somehow stung Philip.
"Then I'm glad. Priscilla. I hope my fellow classmate sticks around the academy for a long time too."
"...Thank you. I hope someday I can be of help to you too... Eek!"
Suddenly, the carriage jolted hard. The wheels had come to a complete stop, so they must have arrived at their destination.
Philip cautiously opened the carriage door. Up ahead, Instructor Perek and the students had already disembarked.
This was the opposite shore of the lake where Philip had obtained the 'Golden Seal of Yusuf'. Reeds grew tall here, as expected near the wetlands.
'...This place rings a bell somehow?'
It was unimportant information, but nothing wrong with knowing it. Of course, it was related to this location.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Everyone, pay attention."
Instructor Perek looked at the students with a serious expression.
"From the moment you enter the dungeon, you'll be exposed to countless threats and variables. Of course, I'll do my best along with the other instructors to keep you safe, but accidents always happen during these practicals."
He met each student's eyes one by one, as if a truly unfortunate accident was about to occur.
"I'm begging you—don't touch anything unknown recklessly. Almost every accident I've experienced happened that way."
Two of the five students looked tense, but the rest ignored Instructor Perek's words entirely.
Perek sighed subtly without showing it, then picked up the staff at his waist.
As he formed hand seals with one hand and swung the staff through the air a few times, a spot in the dense reed field shook as if an earthquake had struck.
And what appeared was the entrance to an underground dungeon.
"I'll take the lead, so instructors, please ensure no students fall behind. Any students willing to join me at the front?"
At Instructor Perek's question, one male student raised his hand.
"Good. Stefan Bray. The rest of you, follow closely."
The student called Stefan looked like a model student no matter who saw him. Like Cheryl, he wore round glasses, and his long hair was neatly kept.
Just before entering the dungeon, he turned to look back.
The end of his gaze was Cheryl.
'Hm? Do they know each other?'
Philip read worry and concern in the boy's eyes.
Just then, Cheryl's small voice came as a whisper.
"...I'm fine. Young master."
At that moment, the female student standing next to Cheryl placed a hand on her shoulder.
"What are you doing, Cheryl? We need to go in too. Should I take the lead instead of you?"
Cheryl's expression darkened the instant she heard the girl.
"Ah... Yes. I'm sorry, Miss Janis."
'She's using honorifics?'
At this academy, the gap between commoners and nobles wasn't that wide.
After all, parents sending their commoner children here meant they had talents rivaling nobles.
'...What kind of relationship is that?'
Philip pondered as he followed the students into the dungeon.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The dungeon interior was dark and damp.
It was due to the moisture from the nearby lake.
Fortunately, the floor was made of rough stone, so slipping wasn't common, but the magic department students struggled just to walk.
Philip observed Cheryl and Janis from the rear.
Their relationship was brutally hierarchical.
Cheryl spent the entire walk watching Janis's mood.
To the point where it seemed she thought even her breathing might offend Janis.
"Dungeons are usually created by mages. Especially those who feel the need to keep their research secret."
Once they'd gathered in a large enough space, Instructor Perek paused to explain.
"They typically build them in remote mountains or basins like this and hide them with concealment magic. That's usually enough, but there are always countermeasures for any intruders who stumble upon them anyway. Just like here."
He pointed his staff at a spot on the floor ahead.
"Instructor Philip? Could you help me out for a moment?"
At Perek's call, Philip blinked.
"...Me?"
He wondered why he was being called, but approached Instructor Perek anyway.
"Step on that spot with your foot."
"...Didn't you say this was a trap?"
"I want to show everyone exactly how it works. Honestly, aren't you curious too, Instructor?"
Philip couldn't deny it.
'I am curious, honestly. And since he's scouted it ahead, it shouldn't be dangerous.'
"Sure, why not."
Philip stepped on the spot Perek indicated.
The instant he did, something cut through the air.
'What?'
Philip drew and swung his sword in a flash.
His aura-infused blade deflected five arrows launched from the ceiling, and the one aimed near his feet was bounced off by Instructor Perek's shield spell.
In the silence, the students' gulps and held breaths echoed.
"Did you all see that? Unless you're a swordsman with outstanding skill like Instructor Philip here, us mages have to keep a magic shield up all day to react to traps like this."
Instructor Perek finished his explanation and awkwardly avoided Philip's gaze.
'...That bastard?'
Philip narrowed his eyes. He'd nearly screamed in surprise and embarrassed himself.
But looking around, tension filled the students' faces.
And their gazes toward Philip held surprise and respect.
"Normally, losing a comrade to a trap like this would demoralize the rest and send them back. But since Instructor Philip is still alive, let's press on."
Instructor Perek took the lead again. Whenever a trap or fork appeared, he stopped to explain, and the info was quite helpful to Philip too.
Soon, the wide corridor narrowed to where only one person could pass.
Fortunately, it wasn't a large dungeon, so the group soon reached the end of the passage.
"Guardian monsters await beyond this door. You'll fight them in real combat. We instructors, including myself, won't intervene unless someone's life is in danger, so please cooperate and handle it well."
As Instructor Perek explained and opened the wooden door, rusty hinges creaked.
"...By the way, everything we see and hear will be reported to the professors and reflected in your grades. Take your time to discuss and prepare before entering."
Magic department grades differed slightly from swordsmanship department ones.
While swordsmanship grades merely indicated growth, magic grades were like business cards for magic towers or famous organizations.
Instructor Perek beckoned to Philip and Priscilla.
"Whew, originally a professor was supposed to lead this practical... What a mess."
He grumbled, and Philip tilted his head.
"You seem awfully proficient at it, though."
"...If it were a professor, they'd probably shove the students into traps themselves. I can't go that far. There's a marquis's daughter among today's students."
"Marquis family?"
"Yes. Janis Muriela. From the famous Muriela family. They have over five quartermaster positions in the magic tower. A sneeze from that young lady would blow someone like me away...?"
Philip knew of the Muriela family. One of the magic department professors was from there.
It was a prestigious magic house that had produced countless outstanding mages for generations.
'...But why don't I know about it?'
The daughter of such a family should definitely be in Philip's database.
Philip felt another sense of incongruity.
'Wait... just a bit.'
Feeling a tickle in his mind, Philip pressed his temple.
Something was on the tip of his tongue.
"So it's decided? Denver, you maintain light magic to cover us, while Gunter and I hold the front, and Cheryl and Miss Janis reduce the guardian's numbers."
The students' strategy meeting seemed over. Stefan Bray appeared to be their representative.
As Stefan approached, Instructor Perek spoke.
"Meeting's over? Then begin."
"Yes, Instructor."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The room was so dark they could barely see a few steps ahead.
Denver Gromel raised his staff and chanted, and bright light enveloped it.
Scattered skulls and withered corpses littered the area.
"Don't tense up too much—just do what we learned, and we'll win easily."
Janis Muriela stifled a yawn and looked at Stefan Bray.
The boy was encouraging the tense third-year student, Denver Gromel.
"I-I know. We can do this."
'Does strutting around like that change anything?'
She didn't like Stefan.
The Bray barony had been vassals to the Muriela marquis family for generations.
She disliked how a mere vassal's son acted like he mattered in her presence,
or assumed she'd follow his strategy to the letter.
'...Too arrogant by half.'
But she couldn't crush him directly—that would tarnish a prestigious house's dignity.
Her gaze shifted to Cheryl, standing by her side like a maid.
The curly-haired girl with round glasses.
Cheryl had entered the academy under the Bray family's sponsorship, and Janis didn't like her either.
"...Begin."
Clatter, clatter.
The scattered bones rattled noisily before assembling into forms.
Skeletons. Undead revived by black magic.
There were over ten, visible to the naked eye. But they posed no threat to Janis.
Trained in magic by her family's mages since early childhood, she could wield fairly advanced spells.
Instructor Perek watching from behind couldn't claim to surpass her.
"Ha."
It was a meaningless waste of time and effort.
She thought there was nothing to learn here.
She hated fighting alongside such low-level scrubs who feared mere skeletons.
Seeing commoner Gunter chanting a fireball spell made irritation surge.
'...Are you kidding? I have to hang out with kids like this?'
"No fireballs, Gunter! It won't work!"
Stefan shouted urgently, and Gunter hastily canceled the chant.
Janis raised her staff.
Mana gathered as she formed seals and chanted.
"Ah... Miss?"
The panicked Cheryl called to her. Cheryl knew what magic Janis was about to cast.
'Blade Wind'
The most physically powerful 4th-circle wind spell.
"Everyone, get down!"
Realizing she couldn't stop Janis, Cheryl yelled at Stefan and the boys.
"Huh...?"
Only Stefan reacted.
Stefan grabbed Denver's uniform sleeve and yanked him down hastily.
Soon, razor-sharp winds capable of slicing bones swept past their position, shredding the skeletons.
Unarmored skeletons couldn't withstand it.
Stefan patted the shoulder of Denver, who trembled in his grip.
"You okay?"
"Y-Yeah... You?"
"I'm fine. But..."
He tried to glare at Janis Muriela with fierce eyes.
But he couldn't.
From the moment he'd become aware of himself as a child, he'd been raised as the Muriela family's vassal.
"Miss... just now..."
He couldn't get angry or blame her.
"Just now... what?"
Janis's cold voice made Stefan's chest tighten.
"I just thought... it was a bit dangerous."
Janis glared sharply at Stefan despite his cautious tone.
"Are you saying you don't trust my skill? That I couldn't handle a mere 4th-circle spell and hurt you?"
"No, that's not it... I thought sticking to the plan might help our grades more..."
"So you're blaming me because your grade might drop."
Stefan bit his lip. Unable to stand it, Cheryl interjected.
"Miss... You know that's not it."
Janis turned to Cheryl with a sadistic smile.
"Now even commoners are trying to teach me. Stefan, what do you think? Should I seek lessons from this lowly wench?"
Cheryl's face paled instantly.
"I-I didn't mean it that way, Miss. If it sounded presumptuous, I'm truly sorry."
'What the hell are they doing? The battle isn't even over yet?'
Meanwhile, watching from afar, Philip clicked his tongue.
In the swordsmanship department, he'd have stepped in to mediate, but intervening here would put Instructor Perek and Priscilla in a tough spot.
Instructor Perek stood with arms crossed, showing no intent to interfere.
'...But what's that noise since earlier?'
Philip felt an odd sound and perked his ears.
Soon, his sharp senses caught it.
It was like a squishy object moving over a rough surface.
And it came from above where the students were gathered.
The moment that thing began to drop, Philip kicked off the ground.
A pitch-black something was plummeting toward Janis Muriela.