Chapter 34
“What’s going on!”
“Oh, come on.”
“The broadcast has been cut!!”
The Crescent Academy’s first-year lecture building was abuzz with commotion due to the abrupt termination of the broadcast.
Students, who had been gathered in their respective classrooms to watch the Inter-Grade Competition, spilled out into the corridors, murmuring in confusion.
Ordinarily, the professors in charge of each class would have stepped in to control the students, but no professors were to be seen.
“This is so noisy.”
“So, does this mean our class took first place?!”
“Probably, right? They reached the finish line!”
Kane found himself increasingly irritated by the conversation between Agnes and Marie.
‘They must have pulled some trick. There’s no way they could’ve taken down that monster, one that even Bernstein’s flames couldn’t touch, so easily.’
Kane continued rationalizing, desperate to downplay Ryu’s accomplishments.
The first-year representatives, led by Ryu, had far exceeded Kane’s expectations and shown incredible skill.
During the second trial, Elaine Sinclair had proven why she carried the Sinclair name.
At that time, Kane hadn’t been particularly upset. After all, Elaine’s exceptional talent had been well-known for years.
But things had started to feel off once the dungeon exploration began, and Ryu started massacring hordes of zombies.
While Elaine Sinclair had been trapped and overwhelmed, Ryu had swung his sword, not only breaking through the encirclement but outright annihilating the monsters.
It was then that cheers began to erupt from the first-year lecture building.
Though it was true that Ryu’s status as a commoner and his first-place admission had drawn some complaints, he was still a representative of the first-year class in the competition.
With a fellow student showing such outstanding performance on the big stage, it was only natural for the rest of the first-years to cheer him on.
It was as if internal conflicts among the students had been overshadowed by the external challenge they now faced together.
The first-years’ cheers reached their peak when Ryu sent a massive skeletal knight flying.
Even within the S-Class lecture hall, the cheers from outside were so loud they felt as if they were right next door.
Agnes and Marie were just as thrilled as everyone else.
“Hmph. The professors must have finally realized there was some kind of cheating going on and cut the broadcast.”
“…”
Despite Kane’s cold remark, neither Agnes nor Marie responded.
Anyone who had been following the competition up to this point would have known the truth.
Even if you ignored the skeletal knight incident, Ryu had displayed overwhelming dominance throughout the dungeon exploration.
Whenever something appeared, he was the first to handle it. He bypassed traps with ease and navigated the dungeon as if he had a map in his head.
Meanwhile, the third-years had given up and were retreating, while the second-years hadn’t even entered the dungeon.
The excitement within the first-year lecture building had been at an all-time high. So when the broadcast was suddenly cut, the students naturally erupted in frustration.
They had missed witnessing a historic moment—first-years claiming victory in the competition.
“Oh, come on. Ryu has already proven his skills…”
“…”
Slide—Bang!
Ignoring Agnes and Marie’s words, Kane slammed the door shut and stormed out of the lecture hall.
Outside, the hallways were packed with students who had left their classrooms, confused and agitated by the broadcast interruption.
“Damn it.”
Kane was deeply dissatisfied with everything.
***
***
“They’ll be fine. Cassis is already there, after all.”
“That’s true… but still.”
“Alright, everyone, since the broadcast was suddenly cut, professors in charge of students should return to their respective buildings and inform them of the situation. The other students are likely feeling confused.”
“…”
Amilion couldn’t comprehend the vice principal’s calm demeanor.
Considering the circumstances, every professor should have rushed to the dungeon to investigate immediately. Yet, here he was, remaining unshaken.
‘Even if the Undead have been dealt with…’
A colossal Death Knight had appeared in front of two third-years.
Frankly, Amilion thought it wouldn’t have been surprising if there had been casualties.
After all, the Death Knight had faced Garrett and Verte, the aces of the third-year class, and neither of them had been able to do anything.
And yet, the Death Knight had appeared before the first-years instead.
But the situation had unfolded in a way no one could have predicted.
It was unfolding in a completely unexpected way.
Ryu had not only defeated the horde of Ghouls but had also overcome the Death Knight.
To be precise, he stomped it.
Even the sturdy body that Verte Bernstein’s blue flames couldn’t harm was subdued with nothing but Ryu’s foot.
When that scene aired live, a profound silence filled the professors’ meeting room.
In that moment, everyone was simply staring at Ryu, dumbfounded.
When Ryu finally dealt with the Death Knight, the tense atmosphere in the meeting room eased considerably.
After all, based on the footage, there had been no casualties, and no additional Undead had appeared.
Everyone believed the situation would be resolved as soon as Professor Cassis Sinclair, who had gone to the dungeon, met the students and escorted them out.
But Ryu and the other first-years continued to press forward toward the finish line.
And, unbelievably, Vice Principal Randgar Bayel suggested letting the first-years continue their actions while observing them.
Amilion found the suggestion incomprehensible, but no one dared contradict the Vice Principal.
Thus, the first-years continued advancing, and Amilion watched with a mix of dread and suspense.
Thankfully, no further incidents occurred after that.
Eventually, the first-years reached the finish line, and everyone thought it was over.
However, just as the first-years arrived, the broadcast screen suddenly cut out.
Despite this, the Vice Principal nonchalantly directed the professors to check on the other students.
Amilion bit her lip, thinking that the Headmaster wouldn’t have handled the situation this way.
‘I have a bad feeling about this.’
“Oh, and Professor Karen, could you stay behind for a moment? I’d like to have a word with you.”
The Vice Principal spoke as if everything was already resolved.
Perhaps it was because the highest authority figure present was calmly wrapping things up that the professors began leaving the meeting room one by one.
It was as if they intended to dismiss the appearance of the Undead as a minor incident.
‘What is this…?’
Professor Karen, who had been in charge of overseeing the dungeon’s creation, was earnestly explaining something to the Vice Principal.
“Tsk.”
Amilion sensed that something was off but felt powerless to act alone.
All she could do was hope that Professor Cassis Sinclair, who was still in the dungeon, would resolve the situation and safely escort the students out.
***
***
The object of such desperate hopes, Cassis Sinclair, was now inspecting the partially buried corpse of the Death Knight with a serious expression.
‘This is real.’
After escorting Garrett Iskaea and Verte Bernstein out of the dungeon, Cassis had returned inside to find the first-years.
Fortunately, the Death Knight had already been defeated.
And not by Garrett or Verte, but by the first-years.
As Cassis examined the Death Knight’s buried body, he began to regret how much he had overreacted.
From what he had seen in the footage, the situation had seemed dire and overwhelming.
‘To think this was a monster students could handle.’
According to Garrett, the first-year top student, Ryu Yeong, had handled it alone.
Cassis had initially thought Garrett was joking, but the serious look on his face forced him to believe it.
“Hmm.”
Pulling the Death Knight’s corpse out of the ground, Cassis also picked up its nearby sword.
It was heavier than it looked.
‘This thing swung such a massive weapon with one hand like it was nothing.’
No matter how Cassis thought about it, it was hard to believe that a first-year had defeated such a monster alone.
Even though Garrett insisted otherwise, Cassis assumed he must have helped significantly.
‘There’s no way Undead would naturally occur here. This was definitely an external intervention.’
With a grunt, Cassis drove the Death Knight’s sword back into the ground and looked around.
The area wasn’t just filled with the Death Knight; it was also littered with decapitated Ghouls.
The scene was far from what one would expect at an academy event.
Instead, it resembled the Northern Continent’s battlefields.
It didn’t make sense.
These were real Undead, not artificial constructs made for the event.
There was no way Undead could naturally spawn in the dungeon created for the competition.
After all, Undead were creatures born of black magic.
With black mages eradicated from the continent, the idea of Undead appearing naturally was impossible.
In fact, their appearance, regardless of circumstances, was inexplicable.
“Where did they go?”
Investigating the truth behind the incident was important, but Cassis had a more immediate priority: finding the first-years.
According to Garrett and Verte, the first-years were headed toward the finish line.
When he had asked why they would head there despite the presence of Undead, they explained that they had assumed it was part of the trial.
Cassis had been too speechless to respond, but there was nothing else he could do but follow them.
‘Elaine…’
The thought of meeting his younger sister, Elaine Sinclair, made Cassis feel awkward.
While Elaine wasn’t the sole reason he had rushed into the dungeon, he couldn’t deny she had influenced his decision.
Though their relationship wasn’t perfect, Elaine was still his blood and his sister.
“Ahem.”
Clearing his throat, Cassis was about to resume moving when he suddenly froze.
A chilling sensation crept through his senses.
Something ominous was emanating from deeper within the dungeon.
With a frown, Cassis immediately sprinted toward the source.
He couldn’t shake the growing sense of unease.
‘I hope no harm comes to the students.’
With determined steps, Cassis pushed off the ground, practically flying deeper into the dungeon.
—
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