Chapter 110
Chapter 110
110th Episode
EP26 - Betting Table, "Dungeon of Escalating Competition" (4)
‘Nah. It can’t be.’
Balmung thought. He must have misunderstood something.
He had heard them called geniuses many times before. And he himself thought he was indeed a genius.
But that was only a term used within Hiaka, wasn’t it?
Balmung knew how vast the world was, and better than anyone, he knew how strong true powerhouses were. He learned that from watching his hated mother.
‘They must be from the 0th server, not the 10th.’
Nowadays, concepts like human rights were emerging, but 200 years ago, children as young as 9 were apparently thrown into dungeons. Nations competed using them.
‘Then it makes sense.’
Even the greatest genius in history, at 9 years old, would likely be someone they could defeat.
Thinking thus, Balmung ran diligently.
Meanwhile, he pondered the dungeon. This "Dungeon of Escalating Competition" was divided into five sections.
They had just cleared the first section, the maze.
Four sections remained.
Normally, it would feel like they would be lost for a long time.
“Here!”
Elise, as if guided by a ghost, chose the correct path at the fork.
‘…What’s with that idiot?’
Balmung thought Elise was quite foolish. Yet, when Elise was so certain, there was always a reason.
“Hey!”
So, as he ran, cutting through the wind, he asked.
“Huh?!”
“How are you finding the way!”
“Smell!”
“Smell!?”
“A strange, empty smell!”
“There’s such a thing as that!?”
What was an empty smell?
Balmung closed his eyes.
Then, he sniffed, trying to sense it.
To Balmung, who had a nose for smells, there was no peculiar scent.
“Hey, it doesn’t smell!”
“Your nose must be bad!”
“What are you talking about! I have a dog’s nose!”
“I have one too?! Get away, you’re in the way!”
Elise raised her fist, so he dodged.
Ugh. That insignificant thing…
Thus, because Elise was foolish, she acted tough without realizing he was going easy on her.
He decided to endure it, being the good person he was.
But no matter how he thought about it, it was strange that Elise could smell something he couldn’t, and while her guidance was still puzzling.
“It’s up ahead! Everyone, prepare for combat!”
“Whoa!”
Elise had, once again, accurately found the second section.
“Ah, I get it!”
Balmung also shouted and drew his obsidian sniper rifle, "Siegfried."
“The monsters in Section 2 are a swarm of ‘Bomb Spiders’! When they die, their legs explode, so don’t cut off their legs! Don’t get close! Attack from as far away as possible!”
“Okay!”
“Alright…!”
Spiders that limited close combat.
But what was our team’s main force? Stealth, Combat, and Illusion Magic, respectively.
This was where he had to do something.
As he thought, six spider legs exploded above Kendrake’s head.
Kuaaang-!!
“Kendrake, you bastard!”
“Whoa!”
Fortunately, the chicken-head was unharmed, but his skin was scorched and blistered in several places, and blood spurted from where the skin had evaporated.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
As Balmung fired several shots, causing distant spiders to explode. Elise and Gray were also struggling.
“Ugh, I cut off its leg!”
“Idiot…!”
Gray hastily wrapped his "Silver Thread" around the severed leg and threw it far away.
After Elise sliced off a spider’s head, the legs thrown far away exploded.
Kwacang!!
As a result, the combat became sluggish.
Balmung gritted his teeth. It wasn’t easy, as expected. This was different from the simple assassination training he had done until now.
Even assassins, when part of a warrior party, spent 80% of their time in dungeons. And this was Balmung’s first dungeon experience.
“Yaaah…! There are too many of them…?!”
“They keep jumping up, it’s hard to catch them!”
“Whoa!”
This was his domain, where his main force was [Sniper].
He had to do something before anyone else got hurt or delayed.
The moment he strongly resolved this.
—— .
Something, a strange sensation, brushed past his mind.
‘Huh.’
This was his first time seeing a Bomb Spider. In fact, he hadn’t seen many monsters in his life. Nevertheless, Balmung began to read the movements of these monsters.
When a spider has six legs. Its movement always starts with the front legs. Then the hind legs follow, and finally, the middle legs move. It was an unavoidable gait to support its weight.
But their movements had a habit of avoiding each other’s paths. It made sense when he thought about it. They were bombs, after all. They were lethal to each other.
The pattern of individual creatures and the pattern of the swarm were read.
Once that sensation was grasped, the movements of all the spiders there began to be read. They were all different, but their paths were visible.
Bang!
When he fired a bullet. He understood the principle of them twisting their bodies to dodge.
Bang!
Once the principle was understood, he could make them dodge in the direction he wanted.
‘Now!!’
Balmung unleashed a Magical Imprint from his body.
Fzzzt-!!
It consumed a large amount of Mana, but it was to create a Level 8 Superpower bullet that could bounce an astonishing hundred times if the angle was set correctly.
『 Hundred Reflected Shots 』
Instantly, 40% of his Mana was drained.
Click—
The bullet, imbued with the aura of the Black Darkness Fortress, traversed space. It grazed the walls, ceiling, spider heads, bodies, and legs, destroying dozens of spiders in its path. It accounted for nearly 30% of the spiders in Section 2.
“Fall back!!”
As Balmung shouted,
Kuaaaaaaaaang—!!
A tremendous explosion engulfed the corner of the maze. The spiders, guided by Balmung to one spot, detonated simultaneously. They exploded in a chain reaction, repeatedly, sweeping the entire area far into the maze.
After the shockwave subsided. The three of them held up their thumbs.
“Hey! That was pretty good…!”
“Whoa!”
“Wow, how did you do that!? Ah, let’s go for now!”
A sense of pride welled up within Balmung.
At the same time, a question arose.
What did I just do?
< You have cleared the second section. >
As they ran again,
Balmung pondered what he had just performed.
His [Eyes], his [Vision]—it felt like it had reached a slightly higher realm in that moment.
How could this have happened?
Despite training for so long as a sniper, his progress had been slow…
Then, he arrived at a surprising conclusion.
“……!!”
Ah!
Come to think of it, it was strange.
‘Did Professor ever leave us unattended like this even once?’
Balmung recalled past incidents.
Elise, who was assaulted by Marina’s gang.
Gray, who was driven into the chaotic empire.
Kendrake, who lost his mind and acted foolishly.
And himself…
‘He never left us unattended.’
This time was different. The Professor had thrown them into the dungeon as if abandoning them. And thinking about it again, that was very strange.
‘This is the first real combat for Dante’s Assassination Squad. The Professor, who always showed us countless paths even in everyday life, has no reason not to show us any path in such an important situation.’
If he didn’t tell us, then the reason was…?
Realization dawned.
“Hey! Everyone, listen to me carefully!!”
Just before entering Section 3.
Balmung shouted abruptly.
“Why!?”
“There’s a reason why the Professor didn’t tell us anything and sent us here!”
“What?!”
“What is it…!”
Balmung briefly recounted what had just happened.
Then, all three were astonished.
If the Professor hadn’t shown them the way, the reason was.
It was because he shouldn’t.
“We have to find the answer ourselves!!”
This, too, was a form of teaching…!
And surprisingly, Balmung’s words became reality.
“Hey! What are you doing stepping on that?!”
“Mistake…! Mistake…!”
In Section 3, Gray stepped on a trap, and a giant boulder began to roll. Gray led the boulder towards himself and, astonishingly, learned the Level 7 Footwork [Wall Step] on his own.
He succeeded in dropping the boulder while climbing the wall from a randomly opened rectangular cliff in the center of the maze.
“This iron gate cannot be broken. Like other dungeons, we must solve the puzzle elements here.”
“Ughhhhhh—!”
“Hey, hey! What are you doing!!”
In Section 4, Kendrake took out his battle axe "Santa Barbara," which had an "Explosion" magic applied to it. With it, he began to understand the advanced formula [Deep Penetration] on his own, which condensed the explosion to a single point and penetrated deeply.
“Smell!”
Elise, following the familiar smell, kicked down a maze wall. The wall crumbled.
It was only later realized that, structurally, this was the path that should have been reached after defeating the boss.
Only then did Balmung realize. Elise had smelled the scent of 'Mana that hides Mana,' that is, [Dispel].
This was unbelievable. It was like smelling a taste without taste, or a scent without fragrance!
Thus, they had accurately grasped Professor Dante’s intentions. On their first dungeon run, not for assassination, they were all achieving astonishing leaps in their abilities.
Upon this, Balmung marveled deeply.
‘Professor Dante. What on earth…!!’
It was as he thought. He had a plan for everything. If he couldn’t grasp it someday, it would be due to his own ignorance.
And so, skipping even the boss battle, they broke through Section 5, and finally, the [Exit] began to appear in the darkness beyond the straight path.
“Let’s go, let’s go, guys! It’s the end!”
“What, it ended faster than I thought…!”
Just then, an astonishing status window appeared before Balmung’s eyes.
< "Dungeon of Escalating Competition" privately asks you. This will not be recorded externally. It is a question purely to satisfy curiosity. >
< Who are you people? >
It was a [Revelation]. A status window used by Stars for communication!
Balmung, who reflexively was about to say ‘Hidden Dragon Society,’
Now uttered a name that resonated more deeply.
‘Dante’s Assassination Squad.’
After sending the Students into the "Dungeon of Escalating Competition," I went to eat a quick meal with Ran. The imperial schedule was tight, so the kids had only managed to eat something like kimbap before being sent into the dungeon.
As they ate simple sandwiches together, Ran said.
“They must be entering Section 3 by now.”
“I hope so. I suspect they might be struggling with the Bomb Spiders.”
If they knew the solution, time would be halved.
But entering without knowing, they would struggle.
“I don’t feel at ease.”
“Why is that?”
“As it’s their first dungeon run, if they achieve a good ranking, it will serve as motivation for the future.”
“That’s true. It’s a shame.”
What could be done? Not everything in life goes as planned. This time, I lost to Rebecca.
Still, I gained Rebecca’s favor, so that’s half a victory. And I succeeded in getting the kids into the dungeon, so that’s another half victory. Then, isn’t it effectively my victory?
……It was while I was muttering to myself like this.
< "Dungeon of Escalating Competition" shows interest in the assassination squad you formed and wishes to bestow a small gift upon you. >
Huh? Why a Stigmata status window all of a sudden…?
Indeed, a Star Fragment was given.
┃ Gift [Dungeon of Escalating Competition]
┃ Reward: Star Fragment × 50
Huh? They gave me a whopping 50.
What is this all of a sudden?
“Why are you like that?”
“……”
Ran asked, but I also didn’t understand what was happening all of a sudden and thought for a moment.
A few minutes later, I realized.
A truly unprecedented, insane event had occurred.
───
▶ Dungeon of Escalating Competition / 10th Server / Ranking Table
1.
[Confidential] Anonymous: 29 minutes 19 seconds 19 (▲999, new!!)
2.
[Empire] Hebrew Mercenary Group: 31 minutes 16 seconds 32 (▼1)
3.
[Empire] Hella Party: 31 minutes 21 seconds 42 (▼1)
4.
[Empire] Gulab Advisory Youth Knights: 32 minutes 29 seconds 22 (▼1)
5.
[Kreutz] Knight Assassination Squad: 33 minutes 54 seconds 59 (▼1)
⋮
───
It had been 100 years since the ranking in the "Dungeon of Escalating Competition" was updated. So, the next morning, I couldn’t help but be surprised.
The entire world was in an uproar.
EP26
Betting Table, "Dungeon of Escalating Competition"
END