Dungeons are places where battles occur without warning, but Evans’ dungeon has a higher frequency.

 

Because it is a place where goblins live.

 

With more goblins than other monsters, this place was a place where battles occurred every few minutes.

 

That is why Lucy’s opportunity to experience battle came soon.

 

Lucy predicted the monsters’ attacks accurately like before, and soon enough, she was in a battle with a group of goblins as she had said.

 

To knights, goblins were creatures that would die if they were provoked, so the battle was over in an instant.

 

However, this battle was different from the previous ones.

 

Two goblins were intentionally left alive.

 

In order to have them fight Lucy.

 

“In dungeons, you often have to fight multiple enemies alone. So try fighting two of them. I believe you will do well.”

 

Lucy clenched her shield and mace tightly after hearing Possell’s words.

 

Lucy stood in front of the goblins, but they did not move easily.

 

They must have been scared because of the knights’ massacre.

 

Since it was a situation where they wouldn’t be able to have a real fight, Pervi whispered to Karl.

 

“Aren’t we making too much of a mess? She won’t be able to practice against those guys.”

 

“Don’t worry about that.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“The young lady will take care of it.”

 

It wasn’t difficult for Lucy to inspire her opponents’ fighting spirit.

 

She had a blessing.

 

A blessing that even the skilled knight Karl and the Commander Possell would have a hard time resisting.

 

“What is it? A smelly goblin: Are you scared of a girl? Ahaha. You’re so ugly.”

 

As soon as she taunted, the goblins’ eyes rolled back.

 

The fear that had been inside them just a moment ago had transformed into anger.

 

Lucy wasn’t flustered by the direct emotions directed at her.

 

She simply raised her shield with a relaxed expression.

 

The weapons the goblins were holding weren’t clubs or anything like that.

 

Those were weapons used by goblin tribes living in the grasslands.

 

The goblins in the dungeon all used iron weapons that they had obtained from some unknown source.

 

The two standing in front of Lucy were the same.

 

One was a mace the size of a goblin’s head, and the other was a spear that seemed to have been made for goblins.

 

Either weapon could inflict fatal wounds on Lucy with just a touch.

 

An ordinary person would have retreated at the sight of the flashing iron, but Lucy was different.

 

Having trained for combat so tirelessly, she stood still and watched the goblins do their thing.

 

Soon enough, a goblin holding a spear charged at her.

 

The move he chose was the obvious stabbing.

 

Lucy saw him and dodged the spear with her footwork by moving forward.

 

Then she hit the goblin in the face with her shield.

 

The shield Lucy was holding was a terrible weapon for a goblin with a childlike body.

 

The goblin that was hit by the shield flew backward.

 

As soon as he saw his comrade fall, the goblin holding the mace let out his characteristic cry and swung his mace.

 

However, that attack, which contained a fatal blow, was blocked by Lucy’s shield so vainly.

 

Thud!

 

As it was an attack with all his might, the recoil was also severe.

 

The goblin’s body was left vulnerable as the mace bounced off, and Lucy did not miss him.

 

Crunch.

 

Lucy’s blunt weapon shattered the goblin’s head.

 

Lucy, who had ended the goblin’s life, ran towards the goblin who was trying to stand up while staggering.

 

The goblin tried to grab his spear in a hurry, but Lucy’s mace was already above his head.

 

The goblin was unable to resist and fell down.

 

That was how Lucy’s first real fight came to an end.

 

Karl could not help but admire the series of battles.

 

He had believed that she would do well, but not to this extent!

 

The way she neutralized one enemy first and then dealt with another was already worthy of being called a skilled warrior.

 

Who would have thought that Lucy, who fought this battle, had only trained for two weeks?

 

I would consider her a person who had never moved her body properly until a month ago.

 

If someone had said that to him, who had no idea what was going on, Karl would have told them to stop joking.

 

Weapon proficiency.

 

Handling a shield.

 

Fighting something alive.

 

It wasn’t something that could be easily improved.

 

If anyone could grow like that, why would noble families spend a lot of money to raise a standing army?

 

They could just conscript whenever necessary.

 

Lucy’s talent was extraordinary.

 

She must really be a descendant of the Allen family.

 

If the young lady hadn’t just started training recently but had been holding a weapon since she was very young, how monstrous would she have been?

 

What if someone who could grow to this extent in just a month had gained years of experience?

 

Karl was certain that Lucy’s name was engraved among the names of many promising people on the continent.

 

Lucy, who had finished off the two goblins, wiped the blood off her face with the back of her hand and took a deep breath.

 

Who could have imagined that behind that unchanging complexion, there was a frail person who hadn’t been able to eat meat for days because she had killed an orc?

 

Karl observed her from behind, and when he saw Lucy’s hands trembling, he approached her to comfort his master.

 

Wiping the blood off my face, I thought that if I let my guard down, I would unburden my mind.

 

The anger of the goblins heading towards me.

 

The weapons that would inflict great wounds on me if I made a mistake for a moment.

 

The sensation and screams I felt when I struck the goblins’ heads.

 

The disgusting smell of the blood that splattered on my face.

 

No matter how positively I thought about it, it wasn’t a good experience.

 

I had been feeling disgusted when I saw the knights taking care of the goblins, but after taking care of the goblins myself, I couldn’t calm down.

 

Shit.

 

It seemed like it would take a long time to get used to harming living things.

 

Let’s think about something else.

 

If I keep thinking about this, the situation will only get worse.

 

I have something to think about.

 

The moment I defeated the two goblins, I felt something flowing into my body.

 

It was different from the buff effect of the Mesugaki skill.

 

What should I say?

 

It felt like something was filling my soul.

 

I had a guess about this.

 

Leveling up.

 

If you feel stronger after killing a monster, then leveling up is the only way.

 

But why did I level up already?

 

To go from level 1 to 2, you have to kill about twenty goblins.

 

Killing two goblins and one orc is not enough experience.

 

Am I being treated as part of the same party as the knights right now?

 

So, I’m sharing the experience points they hunted?

 

That could be true.

 

It was a very possible story.

 

No, if I just assumed that the feeling I had just had was a leveling up, then it was safe to say that there were no other possibilities.

 

Haha.

 

Crazy.

 

The day I get to ride the bus at Soul Academy!

 

I always struggle to level up NPCs, but now that I get to get it from an NPC, it feels different.

 

Hmm.

 

Wait a minute.

 

If I can ride the bus with the knights and level up, doesn’t that mean I can reach level 10 in this training if I do well?

 

Possell said that this training will last about a week, so let’s assume that we clear this dungeon once a day during that time.

 

I know the experience gained from clearing Evans’ dungeon in the shortest time possible with a party of four, so if we calculate based on that.

 

It’s possible.

 

If we clear Ruel’s Trial tomorrow and get the Mace.

 

As I said before, Ruel’s Mace has an increase in experience gain.

 

If we can just get that effect, it won’t be hard to get to level 10.

 

Since I know what it feels like to level up, I can tell the level I’ll have if I don’t get confused.

 

That means I can control my level up, so there’s no reason to hesitate to level up anymore.

 

Okay I still think that repeating Evans’ dungeon is the height of inefficiency, but if I can take the bus comfortably, it’s a different story.

 

If I just get to level 10, I can plan a growth path that will be the most efficient in the two months left until the Academy exam.

 

I’ll have to think about optimizing it, but it’s not that hard for me, a veteran of Soul Academy.

 

It was good that I followed the knights.

 

“Miss.”

 

I was pulled out of my thoughts by a voice calling me.

 

When I raised my head, Karl was looking at me with worried eyes.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

Are you okay?

 

I’m completely fine!

 

As a veteran of Soul Academy, where could I be happier than this?

 

I kept worrying about whether I would do well in the Academy entrance exam, but if I keep going like this, I’ll have special admission as a given!

 

Maybe I’ll just repeat the cliche of Academy stories.

 

Defeating an incredibly strong person in a duel and getting everyone’s attention.

 

The main characters of Soul Academy showing interest in me!

 

Just imagining it is fun.

 

Who would have thought I’d be looking forward to the Academy exam?

 

“Your hands are shaking.”

 

Karl’s lips stiffened slightly at his words.

 

That’s where it showed.

 

I see why he’d ask with this expression.

 

Things like my face and general actions will be okay since they’ve been adjusted by the Mesugaki skill.

 

I tried it before, but my face always had a mean smile on it because of the Mesugaki skill.

 

I don’t know what would happen if she were in an extreme situation and terrified, but it’s not like that right now.

 

So, I’m okay, right?

 

Maybe?

 

I turned the shield around and wiped the dark blood away and looked at my face reflected in it.

 

I was still smiling meanly.

 

As expected, it’s the Mesugaki skill.

 

There’s no flaw at all.

 

But if there’s no flaw, you should have compensated for her shaking hands a bit.

 

Look.

 

The hand holding the shield is shaking, so the me reflected in the shield looks like I’m trembling.

 

That’s why I’m worried.

 

“Would you like to take a short break?”

 

On top of Karl’s worries, Possell’s worries were added.

 

Hmm.

 

Did they find out?

 

Well, how many times has Possell seen someone like me with no experience trembling?

 

How could I fool that old man with so much experience?

 

If that were the case, I would have been an actor instead of a game addict.

 

Still, I don’t feel bad about being worried.

 

When I first possessed Lucy’s body, I never thought I would have others worrying about me.

 

“I’m fine.”

 

I’m being honest.

 

I get why you guys are so worried, but I’m a really weak-willed person.

 

If I thought I couldn’t hold out, I would’ve given up a long time ago.

 

Whether it’s the effects of my skills or something else, I’m here because I can hold out somehow.

 

“Really.”

 

So don’t worry.

 

‘Commander of the Knights…’

 

“Idiot Possell, what would you do if I were another rookie knight?”

 

“… I would’ve pushed you so hard that you wouldn’t be able to think. It would’ve gotten harder if you had the time to think.”

 

“Then do the same for me. Don’t do anything weird, you idiot.”

 

It’s something you have to get used to if you want to survive in this world of Soul Academy.

 

There will come a day when this becomes less shitty.

 

Just hold on until then.

 

Since you have an unbreakable will, you can do that, right?

 

Possell listened to me quietly, then slightly opened his eyes, smiled, and nodded.

 

“Understood. If you wish.”

 

…

 

Oh.

 

Hey.

 

But you’ll leave me room to breathe, right?

 

Right?

 

You’re not going to treat the countess like some other knight without letting her sleep, are you?