Speedrun
"Huff...! How... how can you be so strong? What the hell drives you?!"
"Dopamine."
"Is that... your faith?"
"You could say that. My personal religion."
"Is your god stronger than ours?"
"So many questions. Just die already."
Slash—!
I sliced the throat of the last one, who had lost all will to fight and was backing away. Thirty corpses rolled across the ground. Through the pooling blood, I caught sight of my own figure, splattered red. I shook the blood off the Black Demon Sword, then sheathed it smoothly with practiced ease.
Click—!
"Even covered in blood, you're still beautiful."
There was a small gash on my arm, a cut on my cheek. Parts of my uniform were singed or torn, and my hair was matted with blood, already starting to harden. Hmm... even a slightly injured Celestia looks pretty good... The only regret was not being able to snap a selfie. If I'd posted one on SNS with tags like #bloodysplatter #solofight #underdogvictory, it would've racked up tons of likes for sure.
"That said... this is going to be a problem..."
I glanced at the sprawled bodies. If another student or professor stumbled on this, it'd be a huge hassle. Rifling through the corpses, I scored a few potions.
This must be the acid poison one, right?
I uncorked the acid potion and got to work dissolving the bodies. They melted away with a gruesome stench. The corner of my mouth twitched upward.
I hope something like this happens again.
Mowing down thirty strong opponents in a boss rush like that was a rare thrill. Plus, I'd dodged death a few times mid-fight. In my boring dopamine-starved daily life, events like this were always welcome.
I was in the middle of cleanup when I sensed three presences approaching. Looked like some students had already cleared up to the third floor.
Damn... haven't finished clearing the bodies yet...
I hurriedly uncorked more potions to erase the battle traces. But the blood pools were impossible to hide completely, and the dissolving corpses would take time... Plus, I didn't have enough potions to spare if I wanted to wipe everything.
Sizzle—!
"Oh dear... this is really troublesome now."
The three presences reached me and revealed themselves. Sure enough, Glan and his crew. They'd already made it to the third floor of the dungeon.
"Celestia?"
"Celli?"
"You...!"
Just a beat too late, the last of the bodies vanished. Only the uncleared blood pools remained, seeping into the floor. No choice—I brought a finger to my lips.
"It's just an illusion created by the dungeon."
With that, I tossed an explosion potion, littering the battle area with debris, then slipped away from the three of them in a flash.
Glan Braden.
Celestia Erienne El Fredericia, friend of Mariella. I'd suspected her once. Her shady behavior made me think she might be behind the golem incident at the academy entrance ceremony. But there was no solid evidence, and after hearing Mariella's side, I figured it was just paranoia. Even my instincts aren't always right.
But today, I wondered if my gut had been spot on.
It was confusing.
"Oh dear... this is really troublesome now."
Sizzle—
During the dungeon training. We'd arrived on the third floor and seen it plain as day: Celestia deliberately hiding something. Beneath her, blood pools. The metallic stench. And chunks of melting flesh, unrecognizable.
She looked right at us, face unchanged, and—like she'd been waiting—put a finger to her lips.
"It's just an illusion created by the dungeon."
Boom—!
An explosion rocked the area. The walls crumbled, burying the blood pools under rubble.
"Wait!"
I drew my sword to chase, but Celestia was already gone.
Yuria and Mariella hurried to my side.
Right. Mariella could explain what just happened... I turned to her. But she looked flustered.
"Mariella. What the hell was that...?"
"I don't know..."
"Isn't she your friend?"
"That didn't feel like the usual Celestia. Or... was that even Celestia?"
As she spoke, red liquid seeped from the rubble. A chill ran down my spine, and I backed away. Something had happened. The suspicions I'd buried started wriggling back to life.
What are you plotting?
No, was that even the real Celestia? Everything felt suspicious. And Yuria and Mariella wore the same uneasy expressions as me.
In the end, securing the relic failed, and that sly Professor Amelia fled. The only harvest from the dungeon was dopamine. But hey, that was plenty. I could call it a huge gain.
Still, I'd taken a few injuries in the process. Among the final wave of black-cloaked goons was a pretty tough one, and I'd let a minor wound slip through. It'd been ages since I'd felt that rush of battling a real threat, so it was nice... but...
Should've interrogated at least one...
Killed 'em all without thinking, so no intel... Anyway, priority now was escaping this dungeon. I punched through the maze walls to find the exit and reached it quick.
Whoosh—!
Bang—!
Light burst at the maze's end, teleporting me to the next floor.
The fourth floor's theme: "Endless Pool." Clear condition: find and ride the correct waterslide to the next floor. It was like a liminal space—endless pools stretching forever, hunting for the right slide.
"Good thing there's water."
This water drained mana if you stayed in too long, making prolonged contact risky. But it was fine for washing off bloodstains.
In the original story, this floor had some fanservice scenes...
Mariella and Yuria falling in during a fight, clothes soaked through... The author had illustrated it for some eye candy. Too bad "Star-Eyed Sword" was so unpopular almost no one saw it...
"Too bad I can't appreciate it live."
I muttered to myself, rinsing off the grime. Bloodstains lingered, though.
Just clean up enough for now and change later...
From there, it was a full speedrun. I blasted to the next floor ASAP. Found the right waterslide without issue.
Fifth floor theme: graveyard. Fake full moon overhead, undead hordes. I swung my sword, carving a path.
Clear: bury ten undead. Easy. Swept them up, mass-graved them, topped with nearby tombstones. Done. Blackout, teleport.
This is where Milon and Glan first clash physically...
Sixth floor: ocean. On a ship. Here, Milon and his pals isolate Glan, then dump him overboard to mess with him. Mercenary Glan swims like a fish, climbs back aboard. Then confronts Milon with Mariella and Yuria.
The story was already derailed, so who knows... but Milon might stick to script if he's still an idiot.
Anyway, clear: reach land. Ship's wheel broken, mana engine tricky. Normally, you'd steer properly. Not me.
"I'll take you on with my eyes closed."
I leaped into the sea. Kick fast enough, you can run on water. Humans run by pushing off the ground for reaction force. Liquids don't absorb all impact—you can dash or jump on water with enough force.
Splash—! Splash— splash— splash— splash—
I sprinted across the waves at breakneck speed. Absurd, but faster. Destination: any island. Landed on the nearest—flash, blackout.
"Final floor...?"
I scanned around. The dungeon's climax: seventh floor, "Colosseum." Clear: fight myself. Not current me—past me. Beat her to escape. No extra rewards. I wasn't the first clearer anyway.
Didn't matter. For me, the fight was the reward.
Shing—
"I see... easier than expected."
Walking to the colosseum center, a faintly translucent orange-haired girl approached from opposite. Wooden sword in her hand; Black Demon Sword in mine.
I remembered. The wooden sword Edn bought me. Still clinging to that junk...
"Isn't that a bit too old?"
—Eye■ Clo■ I'll ha■dle yo■.
Me as a kid. Celestia. Dungeon's "physical hologram." Strongest it could manifest. Maybe nothing stronger possible... Shame. Wanted recent-me level.
"I'll take you on with my eyes closed."
But I could tell: stronger than any foe yet. Fine by me—this was plenty satisfying. My mouth curved into a grin.
I drew the Black Demon Sword and charged at kid-me.