abcnovels
Chapter 58
Chapter 58
Chapter 58
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The atmosphere, interior, guardians, traps, and other detailed elements of the dungeon are determined by the creator.
The dungeon materializes in response to the creator’s imagination sensing the mana of the dungeon stone.
In other words, the scenery before our eyes is someone’s taste…
The four team members chewed on this thought and muttered.
“Whose taste is so peculiar?”
“I don’t know… It couldn’t be the professor.”
“Or the assistant?”
Laughter followed.
Guardians with absurdly large figures.
Even though their appearance resembled teddy bears…
Gwaaaaaam-
Gwaeoom-
Wow-
Gomgom-
Upon closer listening, the crying sounds were strange.
“Where is the growling bear coming from!”
“Has the person who made this actually seen a real bear?”
But despite their cute appearance, the creatures were quite threatening.
Growl!
One guardian suddenly jumped forward, striking the ground with its front paws.
Thud!
The cave floor shook deeply.
The children stared in astonishment at the rising dust, frozen for a moment.
The power was enough to instantly twist bones and flesh if one were to be hit.
Gulp— the sound of swallowing saliva echoed simultaneously.
‘If I take a direct hit….’
The artifact would activate.
In other words, there was a possibility of failing the practical training.
Upon realizing this fact, the atmosphere, which had been relaxed, changed instantly.
The children gradually assumed their positions.
‘I can do this.’
Ban took a deep breath and glared at the guardian in front of him.
As the vanguard in charge, the prosecutor’s role in Team 4 was crucial.
The simulator class had taught him how dangerous a party could become if the vanguard didn’t function properly.
Half of the advice received during the special training with Luke came to mind.
“If you try to swing the sword, your body stiffens immediately. Until then, you move relatively well.”
“Yeah, it feels like I don’t move if I think about stabbing or bending something.”
“Then don’t swing it for now.”
“…What?”
“At least in this practical training, you should avoid getting injured as much as possible. To do that, you have to give up the sword.”
The solution that followed shattered preconceptions, but it resonated well.
‘Whether this works or not, I don’t know….’
Being a sitting duck without doing anything would only confirm failure.
It’s better to be eliminated early than to whine without contributing anything.
With that sincere thought, Ban looked at the approaching guardians.
Then, pulling mana forcefully from the heart, he spread it in all directions.
Woo-woo—
Growl!
The guardians’ attack coincided.
The boy’s silhouette was obscured by the shadows leaping around him.
Closing his eyes tightly, the he tried to maintain composure.
The sword was still untouched.
‘I need to maintain the mana…!’
The solution was as follows.
Firstly, the Vision sensing technique of the Dietrich family is specialized in detecting mana flow.
Secondly, the dungeon’s guardians, being manaal beings, are powered by mana stones.
In conclusion, since the guardians’ movements were entirely mana-based, as long as the prosecutor maintained concentration, they could track them from start to finish.
Tsutsutsu—
mana extended like a net.
The information conveyed through this was instantly processed by the prosecutor’s brain, drawing the optimal evasion path, and the well-trained body implemented the result.
Hooong—!
In this way, the guardians’ fists passed by the prosecutor near his nose like a lie, unable to hit him.
The boy, still in awe, shouted towards the teammates behind him.
“Guys! Right flank one by one! Left armpit! Right thigh!”
Evergreen and Karen, who were aiming bows from the rear, shot arrows towards the positions he mentioned in the wave.
Other teammates also rushed in, wielding weapons towards those areas.
However, even as they followed his instructions, there was a shallow skepticism in their expressions.
‘He claimed to have identified the positions of the power stones in that short time? Is that possible?’
…Graawm!
When the attacks hit the positions mentioned by the prosecutor, the eyes of the guardians went out, and their fierce movements immediately ceased.
“He’s the head! That one’s the right ankle!”
While avoiding the raining fists, the prosecutor briefed the positions of the power stones, instantly boosting the morale of the teammates.
“Hey, let’s go in!”
“Take them all out!”
Of course, no matter how much mana the prosecutor had, it was impossible to continue spreading mana detection over such a wide area.
However, by the time he started to tire, the majority of the guardians were already lying on the ground.
Boom!!
…That’s how more than a dozen guardians were successfully subjugated.
“Huuk, huuk.”
Only then did the prosecutor grab his panting legs and lean against the wall.
As the extreme tension released, there was a temporary feeling of exhaustion.
Excited teammates rushed towards him.
“Whoa, is he crazy? He went in without even drawing his sword.”
“He dodged almost by a paper-thin difference. How did he do it?”
“Thanks to him, no one got hurt at all.”
“Great victory, great victory!”
Everyone had shown excellent performances in their positions, and those who expected high scores happily jumped around.
There was also a clever one appealing to the surveillance cameras on the ceiling.
Awkwardly, the prosecutor laughed along with them.
In truth, he felt a bit overwhelmed.
‘I did it!’
Although he didn’t swing the sword even once until the end, just the satisfaction of not causing trouble for the teammates was enough.
The 100 gold he gave to Luke was well worth it.
Tock-tock!
Someone gently tapped on the prosecutor’s shoulder.
“You really did well, Ban,” it was Evergreen.
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She, too, vaguely sensed that Ban was going through something emotionally challenging.
Since the exhibition event, he had been wearing a melancholic expression.
Seeing his face regain comfort, she rejoiced as if it were her own accomplishment.
An excited voice followed, “We did well. We smoothly passed through the trap area, and if things continue like this, we might even get first place, don’t you think?”
First place?
Ban blinked his eyes slowly.
It was a word he hadn’t even thought about.
With a pure smile, Evergreen asked, “Do you have anything you want from the professor? I do.”
“I…,”
Ban had something that came to mind.
His gaze momentarily turned melancholic.
“I…”
However, Evergreen didn’t get to hear his answer.
Gwaalmmm—
It was one of the corridors divided into several branches.
About six guardians were approaching, making their characteristic growling noises, heading towards the common area where Team 4 was taking a break.
The children didn’t panic and picked up their weapons.
“What, were there more nearby?”
“There are only a few; let’s quickly clear them and resume our journey.”
At that moment, Evergreen, who held a bow, started trembling.
A chilling coldness swept over her for a split second.
‘What, what is it?’
Ban stood up abruptly.
The sensation of each hair freezing one by one.
It felt like all the warmth in the space evaporated at once.
Reflexively, they tilted their heads up and witnessed a sharp blue glow bursting beyond the guardians.
Sizzlzz!!
That was the end of it.
The movements of the frozen guardians came to an abrupt halt.
Then, a deformed sword shaped like a whip struck their bodies covered in ice.
Crackling!
Bang!
The sound of air exploding emanated from the swift strikes of the sword.
Following several more blows, the colossal bodies of the guardians, covered in ice powder, shattered into pieces.
“What is that?”
“It seems like mana…?”
The chilling cold of the formidable ice mana seemed to strike Team 4 as well.
The children stood there, frozen, gazing at the approaching silhouette from the other side.
Thud-thud!
Kicking the fragments of the guardians, the approaching figure murmured, “Hmm, this is the exact midpoint. I’ll just wait here.”
At her mischievous voice, Evergreen recalled the words of the warrior.
“Treat every other team in the dungeon as enemies. There’s only one team that can complete the task. Sabotaging others can be a very effective strategy.”
Other teams are enemies.
If that’s the case, she might be one of the worst enemies they could encounter in this dungeon.
Evergreen bit her lip.
“Cuculli…”
“Oh, hi, Evergreen. How’s the test going?”
Cuculli stood before them with a lazy expression, her other team members nowhere in sight.
It was a nonchalant attitude, not typical of someone who had just wielded powerful mana abilities, but her calm demeanor made her even more threatening.
Standing alone in front of seven people, displaying such composure was by no means an easy feat.
The Team 4 members hastily gripped their weapons.
“This doesn’t look good.”
The record Cuculli set at the beginning of the semester was famous.
Some of them had even sparred with her.
The problem was that she had achieved all those victories using only hand-to-hand combat.
“We don’t know how strong Cuculli is when she uses mana… It’s an unknown variable.”
Of course, if they all attacked together, she might not win, but it would create a significant gap.
The uncertainty surrounding the progress of the practical session was looming.
The team members stared at Cuculli with tension.
“Oh?”
However, Cuculli merely chuckled, looking at the weapons aimed at her.
“Hey, what’s up?”
She wore her typical harmless smile, and her demeanour didn’t betray any hint of determination.
Confused by her seemingly indifferent attitude, the team members were on edge.
“It’s okay. I’m not interested in you guys anyway.”
“What?”
“Just go.”
“…”
“Before I change my mind.”
What’s her game?
Evergreen swallowed nervously.
‘Is she really not planning to fight us?
If it were someone else, they might have suspected it was a trick to catch them off guard.
However, this was Cuculli.
Would she bother with such complex thoughts?
Evergreen took slow steps, not letting her guard down.
The team members followed cautiously.
‘Is she really not planning to fight?’
Evergreen wondered.
Cuculli remained standing in the same spot.
Evergreen took a few more steps, keeping her guard up.
Strangely, Cuculli seemed unconcerned, as if Team 4 was not even worth considering.
Her sparkling eyes remained fixed on the opposite corridor without any movement.
“Let’s go”
Evergreen said with a sigh of relief.
However, a sense of impending defeat lingered.
With mixed emotions, Evergreen left with her team.
Cuculli stayed unmoved, her eyes still glinting as if fixated on a gift box in front of her.
As they departed, Cuculli’s eyes did not waver.
They shone like those of a child fixated on a present.
“Where is she…?”
“Why is she alone?”
Luke and Lucas’ team arrived shortly after.
Luke, upon spotting her, hesitated but still extended a hand toward her shoulder.
“Everyone, prepare for battle. Let’s finish this with full force. Don’t let your guard down. Think of it as exchanging two members,” Luke commanded.
However, as determined as Luke was, Cuculli simply let them pass.
“Go ahead. Just passing through,” she said with a grin.
Luke’s team, puzzled, moved forward, and Cuculli’s eyes remained unresponsive, as if focused on a present in front of her.
“Let’s go. The assignment comes first.”
The Lukas team vanished through the corridor.
Cuculli finally moved when the Lucas team reached the common entrance.
“Ugh.”
Stretching lazily, she blocked the path.
“Aren’t you guys a bit late?”
Levitating, Cuculli stood before them.
Leciel stopped abruptly.
“Arrogant,” she muttered.
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