Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Dungeon Practice (4)
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"Phew... Did I manage to escape properly?"
Siu leaned against the dungeon wall to cool his overheated body and catch his breath.
He had run for quite a while and ended up at the boss room before he knew it.
Keeping his eyes fixed on the entrance in case someone approached, he took a moment to rest.
"That was... really scary..."
His body was gradually cooling down, but his heart was still pounding wildly, unable to contain the excitement.
And for good reason—he never imagined she'd openly pick a fight with him.
He didn't know why, but if it hadn't been for his intuition growing stronger without his knowledge, that male student might have already bid farewell to his head and body by now.
"That girl... she's not right in the head."
The teacher had clearly said there were surveillance cameras.
What on earth was she thinking, attacking like that?
No matter how he thought about it, he couldn't understand.
But that was a minor mystery.
It would all come to light once he got out of this dungeon.
For now, he needed to focus on the new information he'd gained.
"Those two... they're not on the same side..."
He'd thought Laira and Arte were allies.
That bloodthirsty atmosphere.
No matter how he looked at it, there was too much killing intent for them to be on the same side.
Was it an act? A ploy to deceive him?
He considered it briefly, but it didn't feel like acting at all.
As he fled, he'd glanced back and seen Laira swinging her spear at Arte.
When Arte dodged, the dungeon wall was sliced clean through like tofu—definitely not fake.
They weren't on the same side.
Even if they were, they must hate each other's guts.
That was Siu's judgment.
"...Phew. Alright, then. Time to go in."
Honestly, he wanted to turn back.
Forget the boss room—just retrace his steps, head out early, go home, and crash in bed.
But as someone once said, the shortest path is often the longest way around.
For Siu, the only way left was through the boss room.
Once someone entered the boss room, it wouldn't open again until it was cleared.
So, he'd take down the boss here as quickly as possible, clear the room, and use the shortcut that appeared to get out.
Then race to where the teachers were and report everything.
Perfect.
If even one of them was seriously hurt, that would be enough.
Sure, others could enter after he cleared it, but by then, he'd already be out of the dungeon.
With a deep breath, he shoved open the heavy door and stepped into the boss room.
"Mooooooooh!"
"Minotaur... So this is Knossos Palace, huh."
The half-man, half-beast monster.
A human body with a bull's head—the Minotaur.
Seeing the infamous creature, a single thought flashed through Siu's mind.
Come to think of it, this is a boss meant for four people to clear together.
That's the difficulty the teachers set.
And now he had to face a boss meant for four people all by himself?
As the Minotaur charged with a headbutt, Siu's face filled with injustice.
Siu bellowed, channeling all his inner frustration.
"Come at me! I'll turn you into beef noodle soup!"
"Mooooooooh!"
W-Wait a sec.
It's faster than I thought?
While Siu panicked, the Minotaur barreled toward him.
"Whoa?!"
His intuition blared a warning, startling him into dodging just in time.
He successfully evaded, but Siu couldn't keep quiet.
He'd witnessed the aftermath of the Minotaur slamming its head into the dungeon wall after missing its target.
Boom!
The boss room shook like there was an earthquake.
The cracked and crumbling dungeon wall easily conjured images of what one solid hit would do.
"H-Haha... Getting hit by that would hurt like hell—probably kill me."
Beef noodle soup? More like I'd be the ground beef.
Can I even survive without turning into mincemeat?
If there were others, at least one could buy time even if they went down, but Siu was alone.
Even one hit would be fatal.
With no time to recover right now, the moment he took a hit that left him immobile would be the end for Siu.
As the Minotaur charged with its massive battle axe raised, Siu swallowed his tears.
Still, it had to be better than that corridor with Arte and the traitor.
"Huff... huff..."
How am I even alive?
Confusion filled Siu's face.
For good reason—he still couldn't comprehend how he'd survived.
He'd faced death several times.
Even with his intuition warning him, his depleted stamina made evasion tough. How had he dodged so well? Pure luck?
The Minotaur, leaving behind a much larger mana stone than the goblins, finally vanished.
As Siu pocketed the mana stone, the tension drained from him, and he grinned.
He'd survived, after all.
That was enough for now.
"Oh, here it is."
Leaving the Minotaur's ashes behind, Siu found the shortcut and hurried out of the dungeon.
It didn't take long.
It felt like just a short walk before he was suddenly in the forest.
With a loud rumble of shifting stone, the shortcut door sealed shut behind him, as if congratulating Siu on his survival.
But the joy was short-lived.
A question lingered in Siu's mind.
"...What's this? Why is no one here?"
He hadn't been slow.
Up until Laira suddenly attacked, he'd been blazing through the dungeon at top speed.
No other students? Fine.
That could happen.
But this was the exit after clearing the dungeon.
Does it make sense for it to be completely empty?
As that doubt surfaced...
His intuition rang out suddenly, and he threw himself forward.
"Wh-What?!"
With a crunch, he finally understood why his intuition had screamed.
An axe.
The one the Minotaur had used.
That axe had flown straight for his neck.
"Ah, damn. It was perfect. And you dodge it."
"Laira."
"Hey, just die nicely, okay? You're pissing me off."
Step by step.
Laira strolled leisurely toward him, her blood-soaked spear slung over her shoulder.
"You... how..."
"How what? I took down the boss. Can't you tell?"
She scratched her head irritably and jerked her chin toward the battle axe that had just flown at him.
"That bull-headed bastard was weak. Makes sense, though—it's just a punching bag for students like you."
Weak?
Sure, against a group, it was just tricky, nothing more.
But alone? That overwhelming power wasn't easy to handle.
No, wait.
There was something even more pressing right now.
"Arte. What happened to Arte Isis?"
"Huh? She's dead. Can't you see?"
Her bloodstained spear gleamed in the sunlight.
...And on that spear, severed threads caught his eye.
"Ha, that bitch. She took down a Grade 3 monster, so she was a bit annoying."
"...Arte's dead, then."
"Yeah. Wasn't as easy as I thought. Gotta admit, she was tough. But right now, she's probably smashed under a pile of dungeon rubble."
Laira scratched her head as she spoke.
"She was annoyingly persistent, you know? Gave me a bit of trouble... but she's dead now, and you're next."
"Even if you kill me now, one student's already gone to tell the teachers. You're done for. ...And I have no intention of dying easily."
"...Huh? Ah, ahahaha!"
What?
Siu couldn't fathom why Laira was laughing.
It felt like his intuition was tingling.
An inexplicable unease washed over him.
"Hey, that was funny. Do you know why there's no one here?"
"...Huh?"
"What are you spacing out for? You don't know, huh? ...Fine, I'll tell you. Infiltrating the Academy is tough, but a dungeon? Piece of cake."
Infiltrate the dungeon?
He couldn't make sense of Laira's words.
What did sneaking into a dungeon even mean?
"The Academy has top-notch security, but checking every external dungeon in detail? Not easy. They can't track a new shortcut that pops up right after clearing—especially if it's dug the day before."
"...!"
"In other words, it's just you and me here right now."
As Laira approached leisurely, Siu felt his intuition blaring like an alarm.
...He didn't even need intuition to know this. The situation was dangerous.
"Calling the teachers was unexpected... but it doesn't matter. Kill you before they get here, then slip away. Done."
Siu had pushed his body to the limit fighting the Minotaur.
Honestly, it was hard to say he had the strength left to run now.
But Laira?
She didn't look exhausted at all—perfectly fine.
Even exuding leisure. Power surged through Siu's body.
Not to flee, but to face her.
"...What? You wanna go more?"
"I don't have a hobby of begging for my life right before dying."
No, actually, he probably would have begged.
If it were the Siu before meeting Arte.
Having faced far more terrifying situations since then, he could overcome the fear.
At least, that's what Siu believed.
"...Ugh, annoying."
Laira scratched her head as she glared at him, clicking her tongue in frustration.
Something not sitting right with her?
"No helping it. Orders from the organization. I don't hate guys like you, but die anyway."
"...!"
Was it the Minotaur fight?
Even with his intuition warning him, his muscles wouldn't respond—his reaction was delayed.
...Ah, I'm dead.
As the spear closed in on his neck in an instant, Siu sensed his death.
"Not on my watch."
That is, until the spear was bound by threads in a flash.