Additional Evaluation and the Dungeon's Night (2)
The dungeon they entered for the additional evaluation felt utterly different from the previous one.
"Yulian Count! Instructor Mithers said this was a 2nd Form dungeon, right? That's why it feels so ominous. Don't you think?"
Rozette said.
The moment they stepped inside, demon aura stabbed into their bodies like needles. Yulian, Rozette, and Chloe had been moving carefully, avoiding direct confrontations with monsters as much as possible.
'Of all times, we enter right at late afternoon.'
During the Demon King Hunt, when he'd placed fifth, the additional dungeon hadn't been this harsh.
But now they were a top-three party. The instructors had ramped up the difficulty accordingly.
Yulian glanced at the sky. The sun hung low. Night would fall soon.
They needed to find shelter before then. Facing monsters defenseless at night would be suicide.
He replied to Rozette.
"Seems like it. The demon aura feels completely different from the evaluation dungeon we just cleared. We should hurry. But Rozette—why the sudden formal speech?"
"Huh? W-well... because you're a count, so I should use honorifics..."
Rozette glanced sideways. She floated beside his left on her magic wand, while Chloe walked on his right.
'She's mindful of Chloe.'
Rozette was a commoner—a witch who'd once suffered terribly.
But Yulian was the heir to a grand duke and held a count's title. Chloe was the daughter of a marquis, high nobility herself.
So Rozette must think speaking casually to him looked bad to others. Not just in front of Chloe, but Eirin and Uriel too.
Yulian whispered into Rozette's ear.
"If you don't drop the formalities, I'll start calling you 'Master' first."
Rozette jolted in surprise, nearly tumbling off her wand.
"W-we agreed not to say that! I don't have an old disciple like you. I'll speak casually, so stop with that. It's embarrassing."
Rozette switched back to casual speech. Master, indeed.
Yulian recalled the story from the Demon King Hunt memories—how Julian and Rozette had ended up speaking casually.
Julian's incomprehensible art world. Rozette was one of the few who'd understood it.
Not artistically, but still.
'No wonder even that scoundrel Julian called her his master.'
With her innate magical talent, Rozette had even elevated Julian's art world. By reinterpreting it through magic.
Though the results—black wax candles and tentacle monsters—were baffling.
Anyway, last year as first-years, Julian had begged her to teach him art, using honorifics despite being a scoundrel. He was dead serious about his art.
Overwhelmed, Rozette had compromised: not master-disciple, but friends. Hence the casual speech.
Whatever the start, Rozette's current demeanor showed they got along well.
And Chloe, watching their easy camaraderie, had a subtle glint in her eyes. She hid her face behind her fan, peeking out with just her gaze.
Then she whispered lowly.
"Yulian Count. Even if she's your friend, a mere commoner speaking casually to you isn't proper. It's a lack of etiquette as an imperial subject. Utterly vulgar. This is why lowly commoners are so..."
Rozette scowled at Chloe's words. No matter Chloe's status, being insulted to her face wouldn't feel good.
And in this 2nd Form dungeon, thick with demon aura's chaos. Its malign influence heightened their emotions.
'Plus the instructors sealed their divine power.'
Just before entering, the instructors had bound their divine power with advanced magic—beyond their tiers. They couldn't dispel it.
'They really cranked up the difficulty.'
So they were fully exposed to the demon aura's confusion. Yulian's divine power was sealed too, but the upgraded Rosario kept his mind crystal clear.
At Chloe's barb, Rozette whispered back into Yulian's ear—but loud enough for Chloe to hear.
"That marquis lady's got such a nasty personality. And Yulian, when did you get chummy with that scary noble? Didn't you hate her before? Called her a crazy bitch."
"Crazy bitch? What nonsense. Yulian Count would never say that. Unlike you, he knows refinement. As expected of a worthless commoner—fabricating lies left and right."
"Ugh... Yulian, say something."
Julian had dissed Chloe before. But now she was a lamb in his presence. He'd tamed her long ago.
Yulian answered Rozette.
"What, did I? Anyway, I don't know much about people stuff. We teamed up for pair missions and such."
"Tch. Whatever. It's not like the old days when commoners were beneath nobles! Unilateral commoner discrimination is banned by imperial law."
Chloe hadn't openly scorned commoners before. She'd been polite to Cecilia. This was pure rival baiting.
"Oh my. What makes you so chatty, commoner? Though you're the weakest of us three. Roz-something, right? Probably just nervous. Chattering away because this 2nd Form dungeon scares you. Unlike the superior me and Yulian Count."
Chloe said it for Rozette to hear. She was smug now.
Her record in the previous dungeon: second place. She'd lost to Yulian but beaten Rozette, and that thrilled her.
'By just a step or so.'
So not enough to call Rozette weak. Rozette's face darkened further—a gloomy expression that would horrify her magic division peers.
Stuck between these two awkward rivals, the mood was odd. Both would join his party for nest raids. Friendlier would be nice, but...
Villainess Chloe. Winning over other women wasn't her forte. Especially with Rozette's commoner status.
'But that's fine. Her personality perfectly goads Rozette.'
No need for them to bond. Competition would sharpen their skills. And this 2nd Form artificial dungeon was ideal for it.
But their bickering time was running out.
This place was winter-cold. The sunset sky meant nightfall soon if the dungeon mimicked winter.
'2nd Form dungeons have higher spatial fidelity.'
Monsters mimicked all Iseland lifeforms. The dungeons they ruled mimicked real spaces.
High-core 2nd Form dungeons replicated even night—absent in lower ones. And dungeon nights were far deadlier.
'It's basically survival training.'
Instructor Mithers's orders: survive, and if possible, scout every zone. Full recon would take two nights and three days—a perilous place.
'Of course, I'll complete the full scout for the rewards.'
Meanwhile, their spat escalated.
"This dungeon feels so creepy. Or is it because some rude commoner's walking with us?"
"Doesn't Pantheon doctrine say classmates are equals regardless of status? Especially Golden Wing—you could even speak casually to Princess Lilia in principle. Right, Yulian?"
"Idiot? The idiot's the one who lost to me. Acting all high and mighty with your magic, but you're dead last of us three."
"Ugh... It was just one step faster. You saw it, right Yulian?"
"A loss is a loss. Hehe. And they say red-haired witches are two-faced. Better watch out, Yulian Count."
"Tch. Silver-haired red-eyes are rumored vampire spawn. You know that, right Yulian?"
Chloe spat thorns. Rozette fired back through Yulian. Not like her usual sweet self.
Proof the demon aura gripped them.
Theory classes said it could make allies kill each other. This place was that dangerous.
'But it's getting childish. Time to wrap it up.'
An hour since starting. Sure enough, they tired.
Chloe quieted after her excited jabs. Rozette's wand drooped toward the ground. Both exhausted.
'Time to set that up.'
They couldn't push through like this. Night would limit visibility, amp demon aura.
To survive the night, they needed a plan. Yulian had one ready.
'And it'll prod Rozette further.'
He'd stroked her head before, confirming her fate rank: A+. She needed deeper pursuit.
Compared to his lovers, she was just a friend. And post-admission busyness meant little time together.
'Hard to advance suddenly without a trigger.'
This dungeon was perfect. He halted them.
"This seems good. Demon aura's thinner here. You know what that means, right?"
The drained duo nodded obediently.
The trio reached a barren hill in the dungeon—low demon aura. They set up camp.
Or rather, a shelter. Though "shelter" felt off. Chloe and Yulian built a small house amid the hill's brush.
"Alchemy truly is amazing. Can't compare to worthless magic. Right, Yulian Count?"
Chloe boasted. True—alchemy made the earthen house. Yulian shaped the frame with spare reward mana; Chloe refined the interior.
Rozette had stood watch.
They'd picked a low-aura spot—no nearby monsters. Like a natural screen.
"On a night like midwinter. Without alchemy, that commoner witch would've frozen solid. Hehe. This is why mages strut but offer nothing."
Chloe tapped her fan leisurely. Despite fatigue, she kept needling Rozette.
Rozette's face was a sight. Their alchemy house was top-tier. It stung her pride.
'In the magic division, she always shone. Rarely ignored like this.'
And Chloe, under Rozette's gaze, outperformed her norm. But Rozette had contributed little, as Chloe said. She sulked.
"Y-Yulian... Should I heat the bathtub inside?"
Chloe answered for him.
"Is that even worth saying? Obviously."
The short Rozette hunched further and entered. Probably heating bathwater with magic and spirits.
"Then Yulian Count, let's rest too."
Night had fallen during construction. The 2nd Form dungeon night rivaled Essemont's winter chill.
But inside was warm. Rozette's efforts let them luxuriate in baths.
"Then to our rooms to recover stamina. We need it to scout tomorrow."
They'd even partitioned private rooms with earthen walls and beds. Rozette slunk to hers, still downcast.
'Chloe pulled her weight.'
If Rozette felt the sting of losing to this villainess, it'd fuel growth—a win for him.
And as expected, Chloe would assist once more.
Three adjacent rooms. Yulian took the middle.
A deliberate layout. Tonight, he'd make Rozette see him as a man, not a friend.
With her A+ fate rank, he had to heed the Demon King's blood whispering to approach her.
In the deepening night, he lay feigning sleep—not truly resting.
His door creaked open. Someone slipped in cautiously.