Midterm Exams (5)
"Miss Lucy. But... everyone else is..."
When I stood alone at the dungeon entrance, Vishy wore a look of utter bewilderment.
She'd probably assumed I would ask Kal or one of the others for help.
Alone is more than enough.
"What, am I not enough for you to clear a pathetic dungeon like this? How rude,Errand Girl."
I had no choice but to go in alone, but I put on a show of confidence all the same. Complaining to Vishy would only deepen her anxiety, after all. Better to plant in her the conviction that I'd settle this and come back safe.
The Mesugaki skill really is the best tool for hiding your expressions. It paints my face with permanent confidence and arrogance, so there's no way the other party can ever pick up on the hesitation or unease churning in my heart.
"I see."
Vishy didn't doubt a word I said. She'd cleared a dungeon alongside me before, so she must have figured I wouldn't say something like this without solid grounds.
Looking at it this way, my reputation really has climbed. Back when I first possessed Lucy's body, she'd have called that pure nonsense. Actually, come to think of it, she never would have come to ask me for help in the first place.
Are you truly going to be all right?
Of course.
Granted, that was assuming Armadi actually did her job properly. As long as that petty little evil god Agra didn't stick his nose in, I could simply clear this place the way it was meant to be cleared. And if he did interfere? If I could handle it, I'd handle it. Even if things turned dangerous, I could always escape. There was nothing to lose.
Which meant there was no reason to hesitate. I'd do exactly as I pleased. When I declared this with firm resolve, Gramps didn't try to talk me out of it any further.
Oh, and Vishy—
"That's enough, Errand Girl. You still have the key I gave you last time, right? Hand it over. I need it to clear this crummy little dungeon."
"Ah! Yes! Here you go!"
Taking the key Vishy produced from her coat, I studied the dungeon's entrance. Structurally it looked no different from any ordinary dungeon, but the atmosphere was worlds apart. Where a dungeon forged by Agra radiated oppressive menace, this one felt gloomy and unsettlingly creepy.
Fitting, I suppose, for a dungeon made by a chuunibyou evil god obsessed with darkness.
I'll be back soon.
"Wait here like a good errand girl. I'll be quick."
The moment I stepped inside, the scenery around me transformed. A dark manor bathed in no moonlight whatsoever. The manor outside was so dilapidated it could have collapsed at any moment, but this one was pristine, as though its doors had opened just yesterday.
"A guest has come to visit, I see."
From the top of the staircase at the heart of the manor, a woman revealed herself. Her translucent body, clad in a stark white dress that contrasted with her black hair, let the family portrait hanging behind her show through clearly.
"Hello. I am Adri. Adri Velvet. Eldest daughter of the great House Velvet. A pleasure to meet you."
Hello there, Adri.
"Hi there, Lonely Ghost. You must be thrilled a guest finally came to see you, hm?"
"Lonely? Me?"
I could see wrinkles carving themselves into her hazy face.
The Mesugaki skill cruises along smoothly today as well. Drawing aggro from the dungeon boss with a simple greeting, of all things.
Prodding her a little in advance wasn't a bad idea. I'd have to fight Adri at the end anyway, so winding her up now would make the stat buffs easier to trigger later.
"You spent decades sobbing 'I'm lonely♡ I'm so lonely♡,' and you're claiming you're not a lonely ghost?♡ That's hilarious♡ Do you even have a single friend?♡"
The corners of Adri's mouth, which had curved upward, straightened into a line, and after a moment, sagged downward. The sound of nonexistent teeth chattering against each other echoed through the empty manor.
"I. Am not. Alone."
With every word Adri spat out, the temperature of the manor dropped a little. Not merely a trick of the senses—a physical, measurable drop. This space had been created around her, so it answered to her moods.
But I didn't feel cold at all. Because with every degree her mood soured, an exhilarating surge carved itself into my chest.
"Who else is in this manor besides you?♡ Hmm?♡ You lonely ghost?♡"
"You will find out soon enough."
With that, Adri began climbing the upward staircase, then turned her head midway.
"Come find me. If you can. And yet—"
With those final words, Adri's form scattered, and silence settled over the hollow manor. Her presence had vanished, so the buff should have vanished with it—and yet, strangely, the Mesugaki skill's buff held steady.
This dungeon was built around Adri as its center, so as long as she despised me, would the buff persist? From my standpoint, that was pure profit. It meant I could move with an active buff at all times.
Thank goodness I'd pissed her off in advance.
This place is a curious one. A dungeon, yet it feels nothing like a dungeon.
That's because it's steeped in Adri's lingering obsessions.
Dungeons made by evil gods other than Agra were usually like this. Since they built their dungeons using something as a wedge, they took on the obsessions and grudges of that wedge, giving them an appearance unlike ordinary dungeons. Adri's dungeon was the same.
A normal dungeon has you descend floor by floor until you reach the boss room and slay the boss. This one was different. Here, I had to wander the manor's many rooms, track down where Adri was hiding, and defeat her there.
But tell me, child. Why are you just standing there?
Hm?
Why have you not moved a single step?
Gramps voiced his puzzlement at the sight of me standing blankly in place, not having budged an inch since Adri left. It seemed to fascinate him that I—the sort who always cleared dungeons by the shortest route at maximum efficiency—was taking my time.
Because this is the correct way to clear it.
If I merely wanted to rush through this dungeon, there'd be no reason to stand still. But my goal right now wasn't clearing the dungeon—it was saving Adri. To deliver her salvation, I needed to follow the proper sequence.
How many minutes had passed since I planted my feet? Faint shapes began to emerge one by one across the carpet, which had been bare only moments before.
They took the form of knights. Ancient armor caked with dried blood. Faces twisted in agony. And through it all, eyes burning with obsessive fervor, glaring at the enemy still.
If Kal had seen them, he would have shrieked like a little girl and rolled around on the floor. What a shame. The sight of Kal—whose unshakable composure survived anything I said to him—trembling in terror had been quite entertaining.
— Begone.
— You shall not pass this place.
— We shall defend our mistress with our very lives.
Ignoring the voices droning at my ears, I tightened my grip on the mace. Then, channeling divine magic the way I always did, I poured divinity into the weapon—and light began to seep from its head.
Light so bright it could become a single sun rising over the darkness-drowned manor.
The spectral knights who beheld it staggered one by one, retreating backward.
I spend all my time calling Armadi a hack, a good-for-nothing, a pervert—but her power itself is the real deal. The majesty of the sacred Chief God, standing at the very opposite pole from the evil gods, was nothing short of calamity to those who defied the world's order.
No matter how exceptional knights they'd been in life, they were no match for me.
"What's this?♡ You cowards?♡ You swore to protect your mistress, and now you're running from a little light?♡ Pathetic♡ Disqualified from knighthood♡ If I were you, I'd have hanged myself out of shame♡"
Spectral knights were not known for their patience.
Before my laughter had even finished escaping, the knight at their very front lunged at me. The way he hoisted his two-handed sword overhead made it crystal clear: he'd been swept away by emotion, his reason flung to the wind.
Not happening. I may look like a frail little brat, but I'm not about to take a sloppy attack like that.
My body moved before Iron Wall even sang its warning. I didn't need the skill's guidance at all—the combat experience I'd piled up until now already told me the optimal movement.
I thrust my shield into the descending blade and knocked it aside. Because he'd attacked at full power with raw emotion behind it, the opening left when his aim went wide was enormous.
I raised my mace and utterly shattered the helmet that had once already been cracked. Unable to withstand a divinity-laced mace, the knight scattered into ash, and I strode right past his dissolving form.
"What are you doing?♡ Useless knights♡"
They feared Armadi's light. They trembled in terror as they watched their comrade turn to ash without accomplishing anything.
"Going to surrender?♡ Going to grovel and beg a little girl to spare your lives?♡ Go on♡ It'll be hilarious to watch♡"
But the fury they aimed at me devoured the fear coiled in their hearts.
Knowing full well they would die powerless, they charged at me anyway. It was courage—and it was futility. Even bracing for death changed nothing about how helpless these specters were. Their charges accomplished nothing, and one by one, they simply returned to ash.
By the time the last of the spectral knights' bodies had vanished and silence reclaimed the manor, the manor itself had changed. The entrance, once immaculate as though ready to welcome guests at any moment, descended into chaos as though intruders had broken in and run rampant.
The carpet on the floor tore itself apart. The wallpaper peeled away. A table toppled over, and the glass bottles atop it shattered.
What in the world—?
Don't be alarmed, Grandfather. It's going to keep happening from here on out.
The manor changing like this was proof that I was progressing through the dungeon in exactly the right way. I gave Gramps a light answer and set my feet moving.
The next room I visited was the manor's reception hall. The moment I opened the door and stepped inside, specters materialized out of the empty room.
A woman in the tattered uniform of a maid. A butler with blood dripping steadily from his eyes. And robed specters—sorcerers who commanded the dead themselves.
These were faces that should have greeted a guest with smiles, but theirs held nothing but hatred and hostility.
— Turn back!
— This is no place for light!
— Do not interfere with the grudge of the dead!
Letting their nonsense pour into one ear and out the other, I took a step forward—and the instant I did, the ghostly maid let out a shriek.
A roar loud enough to shatter the windows of the silent manor. A scream laden with curse.
Anyone who heard that voice unprepared should have been struck with debuffs—Fear, Confusion, Weakening, Curse. But I was perfectly fine.
Not because I was Armadi's apostle. The reason I remained untouched was a skill gifted to me by Adri—the person who, at this very moment, hated me more than anyone else in this manor.
Passive Trait — Gift of the Ghost
Grants complete immunity to ghostly screams and all spectral debuffs.
The skill granted by a ghost had protected me. I smashed through the shrieking maid's skull to restore the silence, then laughed as I watched the rest of them recoiling in fright.
— How.
— Why are you unharmed?
"What's the matter?♡ Plan fell apart, so now you're chickening out?♡ Puhuhu♡ You guys are so incredibly pathetic♡"
If you want someone to resent, resent your own mistress. Without the skill she gave me, I could never have charged in this recklessly.
"Come at me♡ You worthless trash♡"
My time is far too precious to waste on the likes of you.