“Is this the center?”
Rosaria mumbled to herself as she stepped into the heart of the dungeon, the destination of this test, while glancing around.
After emerging from the jagged, dimly lit cave, she found herself in a vast open plaza with an impressively high ceiling.
Unlike the rough cavern walls she had seen up until now, this place undoubtedly the highlight of the expedition…….seemed prepared for the upcoming boss battle.
The entire plaza was illuminated by glowing stones and light magic, making the magical lamps that had guided their journey thus far seem almost unnecessary.
“Oh, there are people gathered here.”
Rosaria pointed toward the center of the plaza, where a group of people had assembled.
“They’re probably waiting for the boss to spawn. Since the passing requirement is simply to defeat the boss, it makes sense for multiple teams to work together and share the loot fairly.”
“Ah, that makes sense.”
Rosaria clapped her hands in understanding as Rachel stepped forward to answer her question.
Now that she thought about it, the test required either surviving for three days or holding onto the boss’s core for ten minutes after defeating it. Since the boss would respawn multiple times, it was much safer for teams to cooperate rather than hunting it alone.
“…Then that means his strategy was completely wrong, huh?”
If that were the case, then following Gren’s plan would have been a disaster. A solo party would have been an easy target for the multiple teams gathered here, making it impossible to hold onto the core for ten minutes.
‘And to think I actually felt guilty… If we had followed him, we would’ve been wiped out for sure.’
Though she had felt a tinge of guilt for essentially betraying Gren, Rosaria now felt completely justified in her decision.
“Still, if a team arrives first and challenges the boss alone before the next wave of participants arrives, it could work.”
“But if it were me, I’d just wait and fight alongside the next group instead.”
“That does seem like the logical choice.”
“Wait a minute. ‘That does seem like the logical choice’? Are you saying you already knew this would happen but still went along with it anyway?”
“Yes.”
“…What kind of person are you?”
Realizing that Rachel must have known all along how absurd Gren’s plan was, Rosaria stared at her in disbelief. Rachel, on the other hand, simply nodded without a hint of guilt.
“If we got lucky, we could have passed quickly. And if not, we still had the option to join another group. I agreed with the idea of getting to the center as fast as possible.”
“Why are you in such a hurry to pass the test?”
“Because I’d rather go back to the dormitory and study magic than waste time here.”
“……”
‘Yeah, she’s definitely one of them. I should be careful not to get too involved with her.’
Hearing Rachel speak so nonchalantly about something so unsettling sent a chill down Rosaria’s spine. There was something about her that reminded Rosaria of a certain group of people she was all too familiar with.
“Anyway, let’s go ask if we can join them. We still have plenty of time, so we should be fine, right?”
With the exam as their top priority, Rosaria’s party approached the gathering in hopes of securing an easier path to victory.
“Uh, excuse me…? Are you all waiting for the boss?”
“Oh, looks like we’ve got a new group here.”
“Welcome.”
As they got close enough for their presence to be noticed, the other participants greeted Rosaria’s party with friendly smiles.
‘This feels less like an otherworldly dungeon adventure and more like joining an experienced raid party in an RPG.’
The people welcoming them showed no sign of anxiety or tension. Instead, there was an oddly familiar atmosphere that left Rosaria feeling uneasy.
“What’s going on here…?”
“No idea. Has something like this happened before?”
“What’s the matter?”
Rosaria, noticing that some of the gathered students had serious expressions and a heavy air about them, decided to ask.
“Well… how should I put this…? You know that the dungeon’s boss respawns after a short period once it’s defeated, right?”
“Yes. That’s why everyone’s gathered here to hunt it, right?”
“That’s correct. Even though we’re from different parties, we formed a temporary alliance to take down the boss. Some of the earlier groups have already defeated it and used the boss core to leave the dungeon.”
“As we got used to the flow and more parties arrived, things started going smoothly.”
“But at some point, the expected respawn time passed… and the boss still hasn’t reappeared.”
“…So, you’re saying the boss just isn’t showing up?”
“Exactly! No matter how long we wait even after hours it’s still not respawning! Some people even decided to just sleep openly, figuring they might as well rest while waiting, but it still hasn’t shown up…!”
“Yeah. At this point, our group isn’t just feeling frustrated we’re starting to get really anxious.”
“Our seniors told us that sometimes the boss respawns a little late, but even in those cases, it was never more than an hour. Plus, when it did happen, the supervisors always sent a message through the dungeon’s communication system… but there’s been no word at all.”
“What’s going on? Is everything really okay?”
“Calm down, Ria. If we wait, the professors will step in to help.”
“But we thought the test was over, so we already finished off all our leftover food… We have nothing to eat now…”
With the boss failing to respawn and no response from the supervisors, the students who had initially been irritated were now growing increasingly uneasy.
“Th-then…?! D-does this mean we’re trapped in here?! Hiiiek…!”
Lasell, her face going pale with fear, let out a panicked shriek.
“Haah… I really didn’t want to waste time on something this pointless.”
Rachel, rather than appearing anxious, seemed more irritated by the sheer waste of time.
“…I guess we have no choice but to wait.”
Seeing no immediate solution, Rosaria scratched her head and sighed. In times like this, staying put and waiting was often the best course of action.
“Well, let’s eat first. Do we have anything left?”
Rosaria, having been through her fair share of meaningless waiting due to miscommunication in military-like settings, decided to take things in stride.
Then.
“Damn it! If it’s come to this, there’s only one option left!”
A male student, who had been standing quietly apart from the rest and keeping a low profile, suddenly jumped to his feet and raised his right arm.
Judging by his robe and the wand in his hand, he seemed to be from the magic department.
Attached to his right arm were three life crystals, but two of them had already lost their light.
Rosaria watched him with interest as he prepared to act. Since outside communication wasn’t working, he seemed to have decided that the only way to escape was by forcing himself to be eliminated, triggering the dungeon’s automatic recall function.
“Barton. Are you really okay with this? You’ll be disqualified.”
“I’ll break this and head back first, there’s no way the supervisors would actually disqualify us in a situation like this, right?”
“Oh, smart move.”
‘Hmm, they probably won’t deduct points for something like this in this situation. So, will we have to retake the test?’
If what the male student called Barton said was true, the examiners would likely demand an apology but wouldn’t actually disqualify them.
“First, I’ll go back and check what’s going on, and I’ll ask them to restore things quickly. Just wait here. Alright, I’m off!”
— Clang
With that confident declaration, Barton shattered the remaining Life Crystal in his hand.
“…Huh?”
“…Huh?”
Normally, a blue light should have immediately enveloped him, and his entire body should have vanished. But even as time passed, Barton remained exactly where he was.
“What… is this…?”
His expression, which had initially been one of shock, turned blank as he looked down at his own wrist.
The Life Crystals were undeniably shattered.
Yet, Barton hadn’t been forcefully recalled that he was still here.
“Wait, wait, wait, wait, WAIT!!! What the hell is this?! You’re telling me we can’t return even if we’re disqualified?!”
“Are we… really trapped here?!”
The students who had been staring in a daze at the unbelievable situation started murmuring in panic.
And then.
“If that’s the case… i-if we get attacked here… does that mean we’ll actually take damage…?”
With the Life Crystals no longer functioning, the situation had changed drastically.
Up until now, no matter how fatal an attack was, the damage would be fully absorbed by the Life Crystals. But now, with those safeguards gone….If they were attacked, they wouldn’t just be injured they could actually die.
“Aaaahhh!!!”
“Hey!!! Somebody get us out of here!!!!”
“Stop messing around!!! This isn’t funny!!!”
“Let us out!!! Right now!!!!”
The students, who had never once faced a true life-threatening situation during the exam, spiraled into chaos once their last safety net was gone.
Some clung to each other, trembling with fear.
Others screamed and ran frantically across the plaza.
Even though they were the elite students of the Empire’s academy, in the end, they were still just young sprouts, immature, still in need of adult protection. This was the moment they truly realized that they were, after all, just students.
“What is… this…?”
“This… something’s seriously wrong, isn’t it?”
“I don’t wanna die I don’t wanna die I don’t wanna die I don’t wanna die I don’t wanna die I don’t wanna die”
The scene was enough to make even Rosaria gulp and break into a cold sweat.
Just as the plaza was descending into pure chaos.
Swoosh—
“…Huh? W-wait, it’s a person!!!”
“They suddenly appeared!?”
“Are they from the academy?!”
At the very center of the plaza.
A figure suddenly materialized out of thin air.