Before the Dungeon Survival, we decided to practice in the Labyrinthos.
There had been recent lectures about dungeons, but they weren’t enough on their own.
“It’s the first time I’ve found a lecture too easy.”
“Exactly.”
Just as Cain and Senia said, we were already familiar with dungeons by now.
The lectures aimed at freshmen to teach basic dungeon knowledge were too dull for us.
“The outer dungeon called the Catacombs, where we’ll go for the upcoming Survival, is a typical underground labyrinth. So we need to enter the labyrinth zone.”
“The labyrinth zone… That sounds intense.”
In the labyrinth zone of Labyrinthos, we would explore a large underground maze.
Unlike the grassland or mountain zones, the environment was completely different, so it made sense to get used to it in advance.
“There is a map of the labyrinth zone on the upper layer of Labyrinthos, and the Academy has also installed signs at key points, so you don’t have to worry too much about getting lost. But still, be careful.”
“Got it. Let’s all stay alert.”
Once we finished our preparations, we entered Labyrinthos through Entrance No. 2.
Entrance No. 2 was mainly used to access the labyrinth zone, and after walking a short while, we quickly came upon artificial structures.
“Cain, Senia. Let’s go in. Turn on your headlamps.”
“Got it.”
“Yes!”
There was no light inside the labyrinth, so we had to use lanterns.
While oil lanterns are standard, magical lanterns are common in the Academy.
Head-mounted lanterns like the ones we were wearing had also been issued.
“Alright, now it really feels like a dungeon.”
Cain smiled as he peered into the maze ahead.
Dungeons like Labyrinthos, with diverse natural environments, were rare. Most dungeons were underground labyrinths like this.
“Our task today is to stay here for about half a day and get used to this kind of environment. And also…”
“We need to retrieve the item that Professor Hephaestus from the Producing Department asked for, right? I know.”
Cain shrugged as he replied.
“Sorry, Cain. That’s our task…”
“Come on, we’re in the same party. It’s fine.”
Senia and I had already told Cain that we had asked Professor Hephaestus to craft a longsword.
“It’s something we need to get a good score in the Survival, so let’s do it together.”
“Thanks, Cain.”
“That said…”
Cain smiled as he scanned the area ahead.
“There are goblins hiding up ahead. They’re waiting for us to walk by unaware so they can ambush us.”
“Goblins, huh.”
Goblins are low-grade monsters found throughout Labyrinthos.
They’re very good at hiding due to their familiarity with dungeon life, so in areas like this with plenty of cover, you need to stay vigilant.
“As expected of Cain. I hadn’t even noticed yet.”
As Senia admired, Cain had excellent detection skills.
Even without using any magic, he could quickly sense where enemies were hiding.
He had the vibe of a rogue-type character from an adventure novel.
“Eriol, what should we do? Take a detour?”
“No need.”
This was a great chance to gain combat experience in a confined space.
And unlike skeletons, these were living monsters… I didn’t want to miss the opportunity.
“Should we just bombard them with attack magic here, or play dumb and lure them out as we move forward?”
“This is practice, so let’s try close combat too.”
“Yes, I think that would be best.”
In the end, Cain and Senia moved forward.
Even though the goblins were holding their breath and preparing an ambush, the two moved forward confidently.
“…!”
Flash!
Goblins wielding crude daggers jumped out from blind spots.
But immediately after—
“Kiiek?!”
“Ggeh!!”
Whoosh! Slash!
Cain and Senia’s daggers gleamed in the darkness as they slit the goblins’ throats.
‘They’re both amazing, as expected!’
With each swing of Cain’s dagger, goblin blood sprayed.
Senia had said she wasn’t that used to daggers, but from what I saw, she was plenty formidable.
“Kikekek!”
At that moment, several goblins rushed Senia at once.
But I had already prepared my elemental magic.
‘Ice Spear.’
Boom!
A spear of ice launched at high speed and pierced through the goblins’ bodies.
In these tight quarters, freezing magic was more effective than fire magic.
‘I couldn’t use ice magic well until recently… but after observing Charlotte’s spellcasting, I’ve gotten the hang of it.’
Cain and Senia moved fluidly, engaging in close combat with the goblins while I supported them by rapidly casting ice magic.
It took less than ten minutes for us to wipe out the goblins that ambushed us.
“Think that’s the last of them?”
“Yes, it seems so.”
Despite continuously taking down goblins, Cain and Senia weren’t even sweating.
That’s because both of them were currently using body-type enhancement magic.
‘Now that they’ve learned body-type magic, Cain and Senia are becoming even stronger.’
Even without it, they were already top-tier among the freshmen in terms of physical ability.
Once they get more accustomed to body-type magic, they’ll become incredibly powerful.
‘Reassuring, really.’
As I looked at them, Cain and Senia also noticed my gaze and turned to face me.
“What? Do we have something on our faces?”
“Did I get goblin blood on me or something?”
“No, nothing like that.”
I chuckled and moved forward.
“Let’s keep going. We need to find the Minotaur.”
Minotaur.
A monster with a human body and the head of a bull, occasionally found in the labyrinth zone.
They usually dwell in the deeper layers, but sometimes a few make their way up to the surface.
Our task this time was to hunt one of those and bring back its horn, as Professor Hephaist had requested.
“Eriol seems to be teaming up with Cain Trigger and Senia Artian.”
“Yeah, that makes sense.”
After hearing Helios’ report, Charlotte nodded.
“If you’re forming a team from the top class, those two are the best choices.”
Charlotte had seen Cain and Senia fight Sabat during the previous dungeon competition. She had even fought Senia herself in the past.
She knew well how outstanding those two were.
“If we’re just talking about raw combat strength, they’re the top contenders.”
“No denying that.”
Helios frowned slightly.
“Eriol’s attack magic is without a doubt the strongest among the freshmen. With Cain and Senia as his vanguard, he’ll be able to cast spells freely.”
“But Survival isn’t just about combat power.”
“Right. As the name implies, it’s about surviving.”
Dungeon Survival isn’t an exam to judge who fights best.
It’s a practical test that evaluates how well you endure harsh environments using techniques like body-type magic.
“The problem is… those three are likely to aim for a high combat score.”
“…”
Charlotte also felt Helios’ guess was on point.
In the last dungeon competition, Eriol had gone for a high score by quickly defeating the boss monster.
Now that he had the reliable Cain and Senia as his front line, he would probably take a similar approach.
“If we’re only talking survival skills in a dungeon, I’m confident I’d place first.”
“Yeah, I agree—when it comes to that, you’re the best, Helios.”
“But if you include combat power… I can’t say I’m confident I’ll beat them.”
“…”
“So, here’s what I’m getting at.”
Helios looked at Charlotte with a serious expression.
“Charlotte, join my team.”
“……”
“With you, we can hold our own against those guys.”
A one-sided offer.
But for Charlotte, it wasn’t an easy one to turn down.
Within the advanced class, there was no one as seasoned in dungeon combat as Helios.
“You don’t have anyone else to team up with anyway, right?”
“It’s exactly because of that attitude that I don’t like you, Helios.”
Charlotte scowled.
“But it’s a three-person team. What about the third member?”
“I already talked to her. Ah, there she is now.”
Just then, a girl began walking toward them.
She was a silver-haired girl, much shorter than Charlotte.
“That’s Ingrid Wiesbaden. You’ve heard of her, right?”
“Yeah, though we’ve never really talked.”
Ingrid Wiesbaden.
One of the top students in the advanced class—she ranked 8th in the last midterms.
Charlotte had ranked 3rd, Helios 5th, so among the advanced students, she was the third highest.
“Ah, hello, Miss Charlotte.”
Ingrid gave a polite bow.
But her expression seemed strangely nervous.
“What’s wrong?”
“N-No, it’s nothing.”
“She says you’re scary because of your cold demeanor. Took some convincing to get her on board.”
“H-Helios! You weren’t supposed to say that!”
Ingrid clung to Helios’s sleeve with a tearful expression.
Because of her small frame, she looked like a little sister clinging to her big brother.
“S-Sorry, Miss Charlotte. Please don’t be mad at me.”
“Why would I be mad…”
Charlotte let out a sigh.
She had known Ingrid was timid, but not to this extent.
“She may be like this, but she’s skilled. And she has a special weapon too.”
“A special weapon? I haven’t seen her do anything out of the ordinary during practice.”
“Ah, that’s because…”
Ingrid cautiously spoke up.
“I possess the spiritual root of ‘Summoning.’”
“Summoning?”
Charlotte was quite surprised.
Summoning was one of the top three rarest spiritual roots out of the twenty-four.
“I haven’t learned space-time magic yet, so I can’t summon creatures from another world… but among necromantic spells, I can use ‘Summon Dead.’”
“Summon Dead?”
Summon Dead is a high-level necromantic spell that summons undead from nothing.
With a good catalyst, it can produce quite powerful undead.
“That’s impressive. I can’t even properly use Animate Dead yet.”
“I’m not very confident in Animate Dead either. But with Summon Dead… I’ve secretly practiced a few times, and it actually worked better than I expected.”
“I see…”
“Well, what do you think, Charlotte?”
Helios spoke with a meaningful smile.
“If we use the undead Ingrid summons as the front line while we handle the monster-slaying with attack magic… wouldn’t that be a pretty solid setup?”
“I-I’ll do my best! Please let me join your team!”
“……”
Charlotte fell into thought for a moment.
“Yeah, with this lineup, we can definitely go up against Eriol’s team.”
In any case, she couldn’t partner with Eriol this time.
So…
‘I want to show Eriol that I can do well even without him.’
Why am I thinking that?
The thought briefly puzzled her, but Charlotte quickly pushed it out of her mind.
“Alright, let’s do this together.”
“It’s settled, then.”
“Please take care of me!”
To go head-to-head with the team of Eriol, Cain, and Senia—
Three of the Top rank class’s top students joined forces.
“Grrgh!”
Crunch!
The Dragon Fang Soldier, Deathvice, smashed the minotaur’s collarbone with a swing of its sword.
Watching that scene, Senia gasped.
“E-Eriol…”
“What?”
“You just picked up the sword that goblin had and handed it to him, right?”
“Yeah.”
Right now, Deathvice was wielding a goblin’s sword, fighting the minotaur alone.
Meanwhile, Senia, Cain, and I were standing back, just watching.
Originally, the plan was for Deathvice to hold the front while we supported with attack magic, but…
“Isn’t he way too strong now?”
“Yeah…”
Crunch! Slash!
Swinging that crude goblin sword, Deathvice drove the minotaur back all on its own.
It was already strong fighting barehanded—but with a weapon, it had become absurdly powerful.
“If we gave it the sword Professor Hephaestus made… how strong would it get?”
“Who knows…”
Did I… summon something way too powerful?
With that thought, I watched as Deathvice single-handedly tore out the minotaur’s throat.
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