Chapter 40
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: Madman
-----------------------------------------------------------------
20:30.
Denrid had died with his eyeball gouged out.
A fatal situation where the party's only mage was gone.
Max blamed Jack, whom he'd traveled with.
He let out his raw emotions roughly and fiercely.
"You should've done something!"
"I don't know how many times I have to repeat it. There was literally nothing I could do."
"Entrusting Denrid to you was a mistake! I should've had him stick with useless Luca instead!"
"Anyone in my place would've ended up the same. That monster was on another level."
Jack calmly explained what had happened.
The moment the lights went out, Denrid lit a magical flame.
Then a noise came from right in front of him.
A filthy-looking minion appeared like lightning, gouged out Denrid's eyeball, and vanished.
The communication cut off for a simple reason.
He was in shock and couldn't maintain the spell any longer.
Denrid writhed in agony before bleeding out and dying.
It all happened in an instant.
What could Jack have done in that situation?
It was like breaking your arm running into the teacher in a classroom.
Denrid had broken the rules.
So he paid with his life.
Simple as that.
But.
Max couldn't accept it easily.
And understandably so—he was an emotional guy.
For him, figuring out the truth right now took a backseat.
Venting the anger and anxiety bubbling inside him seemed more important.
That's why he kept dumping his "responsibility" crap on Jack.
There are guys like that sometimes.
Jack, who'd lived in the slums, was used to it.
The argument dragged on and on, biting its own tail endlessly.
Thankfully, the heated shouting match didn't turn into a brawl.
The two just glared at each other, emotions bruised.
Silence settled over the hallway.
Whether they fought or not, Denrid's body grew cold.
"Max. Let's drop it for now. We can talk once we've both cooled off."
Jack was the mature one.
He was annoyed, sure. He was human, after all.
"Haa..."
But.
Fighting among allies in this dungeon was suicide.
Even with Max suddenly flipping out over "responsibility,"
Jack tried to smooth things over in this messed-up situation.
Max bit his lip.
No matter how hot-headed and impatient someone was, they'd grasp that basic truth.
"Fuck."
"Wait, speaking of which, where's Luca?"
Jack's final question to Max as he turned away.
He picked up the rolling eyeball and gently closed Denrid's eyes.
"Probably wandering around investigating or resting her arm."
As if it was none of his business.
Max left the bloodstained hallway without hesitation.
20:40.
"......"
What now?
What should they do?
Without Denrid, who handled the most crucial role, it felt like they were suffocating.
They'd spent all day exploring this massive school and still hadn't seen it all.
And with classes in session, teachers lurking, and lights going out, obstacles everywhere.
His stomach had been empty for ages, and the thirst was worse than expected.
His mouth felt parched.
His head was already pounding, and now craving a single glass of cold water felt desperate.
People die without water.
He could picture himself keeling over before finding the staff room.
"Fuck."
Max punched out.
Crash!
The window shattered, blood dripping from his knuckles.
No matter how hard he tried to think positively,
this shitty, miserable reality grinding him down was driving him insane.
The outside world felt empty—no wind, nothing.
Blood droplets trailed down his hand into the void.
"Max."
A voice called, and he pulled back his arm.
He turned to see Luca.
"What."
"I was scouting around and found something huge."
"...Something huge?"
Luca nodded.
"Yeah. A place where we can drink water."
"...For real!?"
Her lips glistened with moisture.
Proof she'd drunk already, even before finding the staff room.
Max got excited.
His throat was so dry he was losing it.
His face lit up with joy at this rare good news.
"Yeah. But where's Jack? You two make up?"
"We split to cool off. Anyway... where's this water spot?"
Luca led Max to the 10th floor.
The signs distinguishing the rooms weren't on doors like classrooms, but on the walls.
They depicted figures—one in pants, one in a skirt—to indicate gender.
Max went inside.
Luca followed.
"If you lift this metal rod up, water comes out."
Whoosh—
Water poured out.
Max shoved his head into the sink like a dog and gulped it down.
His dry lips moistened, cool freshness rushing down his throat.
"......"
It felt like being reborn.
The hopeless reality vanished before his eyes.
To think drinking water could be this blissful.
If he were a bit more sentimental, he'd have teared up right there.
"Haaaah......"
"Glad to see you looking happy."
Happy.
Normally, Max would've blown up—"Happy? In this hopeless shitshow?"
But she was right. It was the happiest he'd felt since entering Dreamland.
He brushed it off.
"Where's Jack?"
"Beats me."
Right now, they desperately needed manpower.
Even after fighting with Jack,
personal grudges weren't the priority.
At least until they got an escape scroll, they needed everyone's help.
Max knew that much.
"Whew, we should set a meetup spot next time."
"Yeah..."
Tricky.
With Denrid dead, no more communication magic.
'Gotta come up with new exploration methods from now on.'
Max started searching for Jack with Luca in tow.
And sure enough,
they found him easily.
"There you are. Luca too—good."
"Sorry."
Jack sighed in relief.
"Don't just vanish without a word next time. Had me worried."
"Yeah, but that's..."
Luca trailed off.
Jack was in his usual leather armor.
Backpack stuffed with water and food, knife in hand.
"You found the staff room?"
Jack nodded.
"Yeah. 8th floor. Our stuff was in the lockers—water and food problems solved for good."
Another piece of sweet news.
The corner of Max's mouth twitched up.
Jack had indeed found the staff room.
He led the group there, and the protruding sign read "Staff Room."
Max cheered inwardly.
He was already thinking only of escape.
Denrid was dead.
Luca's arm was busted, Jack was fine, but
clearing the dungeon with that? Impossible.
Especially since they still had to clear Zone 1.
There were two escape scrolls.
One safely stashed somewhere reliable.
It sucked to burn one now, but
'Come back with slaves. Bring as many as possible.'
He'd learned a lot from this run.
Next time, conquer Dreamland more efficiently, he vowed silently.
But.
Stab—
A sharp sting in his back.
Before he could turn, his body pitched forward.
Thud—
Max tried to get up,
but not a finger would move.
Not a dungeon trap.
The sneak attack made sense.
"Max. You've got an escape scroll, right?"
The culprit was Jack.
"......"
"You were planning to bail solo. Seeing you freak out after Denrid died, I was 100% sure."
Jack pocketed the syringe.
The long needle tip glistened with purple liquid.
Probably poison.
But.
Max had a supporter ability: one resurrection.
Once the poison spread and his heart stopped, his broken arm would even heal.
No issue. Jack was strong, but Max was stronger.
"Just paralysis poison. Won't kill you, so relax."
"Jack..."
"Sorry for the ugly side, Luca. But to boost our survival odds in this dungeon, I saw no other way. Trust me and watch. It won't hurt you either."
Jack grabbed Max by the scruff.
Dragged the heavy man's body toward the staff room.
"Yeah..."
Luca looked conflicted.
But she didn't stop him.
'Damn! Damn! Can't move!'
If it'd been lethal poison, he could've revived and killed Jack after.
But it really was just paralysis.
Conscious but unable to control his body,
all Max could do was watch helplessly.
Four white lockers stood before him.
Labels for Jack, Denrid, Luca, Max.
Only Jack's was open.
"You can only take your own stuff from the staff room. Borrowing your hands for a sec."
"......"
Jack manipulated Max's arm.
Opened Max's locker and pulled out the escape scroll inside.
"Max. You were gonna ditch this dungeon. Then bring more people next time. Bet you were thinking that."
Jack wasn't a mind reader.
But Max's thoughts were simple enough to guess.
"Denrid, me, Luca—we trusted and followed you. Can't have you running off alone."
Jack didn't use the escape scroll.
Instead, he tossed it on the floor like trash
and struck a match without hesitation.
Whoosh!
The escape scroll burned before Max's eyes.
The pinnacle of spatial magic,
the world's most expensive paper, reduced to ash without a trace.
Max blinked laboriously.
What the hell was that crazy psycho bastard doing?
Not even using it himself, just burning it?
"You said it—didn't I abandon Denrid and run? I was born in the slums, sure, but I don't betray people. No matter what. Not like some who think solo escape is an option. So I burned it. Because Luca, Denrid, even a jerk like you—we're in the same boat."
"......"
"Look, Max. We can get back alive with enough magic stones."
"Ah......"
"I figured this was best for our party. Some bust their asses knowing lives and chances are one-shot, but if another's slacking thinking 'next time,' that's pretty fucked up, right?"
There is no 'next time' for us.
Conquer this dungeon with everything we've got this run.
Jack hammered that home relentlessly.
Until the paralysis wore off.
"Max. Now we're truly in the same boat. Don't get any dumb ideas. You know cooperating's our best shot."
Max watched Jack leave with empty eyes.
"Hm?"
Jack peered closely at the floor.
Seemed he'd missed it, distracted by the staff room.
He reached down and picked it up.
【Strange School Exploration Log】
【Author: Newbie】
It was a log.