Compared to when I used to clear dungeons with the knights, I moved almost like I was taking a walk, but was it still tough?

 

Clearing dungeons with Possell was no joke.

 

Even though Evans’ dungeon was small, it was only five floors, and I could clear it in two hours.

 

Except when fighting, I had to run like crazy.

 

<Isn’t it too harsh to compare the knights to these guys?>

 

‘They’re far behind me.’

 

As evidence, I was currently in the vanguard, but I wasn’t out of breath.

 

I barely even sweated.

 

<I have pretty high standards for people, but in this case, you’re the one who’s strange, not them.>

 

‘Is that so?’

 

The old man’s words didn’t really hit home for me.

 

It’s true that I’ve trained so hard that even the knights would say I’m amazing for the past three months, but that’s only three months.

 

No matter how much I have knowledge of the game and how I’ve used it to move in the most efficient way, there’s no way I could become that strong.

 

Ah.

 

Is it because I’m higher level than those two?

 

That’s right.

 

Joy has never been in a dungeon before.

 

Jacob also seems to be unfamiliar with dungeons, judging by the fact that he moves more slowly than Joy.

 

The difference between level 1 and level 10 is big.

 

Since I’ve been with the knights of the Allen family, I never considered that I was higher levelled.

 

…

 

‘Should we rest a bit before we go?’

 

<Then were you planning to just force it? The boss won’t run away.>

 

Of course, I was thinking so.

 

That way, I could at least shorten my record a little.

 

Since I’m the only one in the vanguard anyway, the other two just need to support me from behind.

 

It wouldn’t be a problem if they are a little out of breath, right?

 

<At least give them time to catch their breath. Not even I did this when I cleared dungeons.>

 

Now that the game has become reality, these kinds of things are inconvenient.

 

No matter how much I pushed the characters in the game, they never complained.

 

“Let’s rest a bit before we go.”

 

As soon as I said that, Joy and Jacob collapsed on the floor.

 

Judging from Joy, who usually carried herself like a princess, throwing away all her dignity and grace and lying down, it must have been hard.

 

After some time, Jacob staggered and got up.

 

He took out his water bottle, took a few sips, looked at me, and spoke carefully.

 

“How does Lady Allen have such good stamina?”

 

‘Because I trained.’

 

“Unlike a sloppy rascal like you, I trained hard. There’s no way I’m worse than a lazy sloppy rascal like you, right?”

 

“I’ve trained in my own way, but…”

 

You should have gone into a dungeon and levelled up.

 

No matter how hard you train, if your level is low, there’s a limit.

 

“I wonder how you trained, you loser.”

 

Joy, who must have been listening to our conversation, spoke while leaning against the wall.

 

“How did you train?”

 

I can tell you.

 

It’s not like I have anything to hide.

 

When I recited the routine of my usual training, I could see that the two people’s expressions, which had been ordinary at first, were gradually getting tired.

 

“You really do it that way?”

 

‘Yes, I’m not lying.’

 

“Foolish Young lady, it would be wrong to suspect me of something that’s impossible because of your poor physical strength.”

 

“You really only train? That’s all you do except for eating and sleeping?!”

 

Was that really that surprising?

 

Compared to the knights of my family, I lived comfortably.

 

Still, since I was the young lady of the house, Possell took great care of me.

 

Even in my eyes, the knights’ training seemed brutal.

 

Possell had made the idea that if your physical abilities were at an extra-human level, why not just train at an extra-human level?

 

“So that’s how you were able to become this strong.”

 

Joy looked at me as if she was tired, then used her staff as a cane to get up.

 

“Can you walk now, Foolish Young lady?”

 

“Yes.”

 

‘What about Jacob?’

 

“What about that little brat?”

 

“I’m fine.”

 

“Then let’s go, the bosses of the antiques (golems) must be trash, so let’s take care of it quickly.”

 

When I opened the door to the boss room, a huge humanoid golem stood in the middle of the empty room.

 

Its size was comparable to Possell, and unlike the golems I’d met before, it was wearing old but proper armour.

 

The thing it held in its hand was a great sword with such a heavy mass that it would be more appropriate to call it a blunt weapon than a sword.

 

Depending on how much strength the golem had, I’d probably be smashed to pieces if I just blocked it with my shield.

 

The golem stood still in the middle like a statue, and as soon as it saw us enter, its eyes turned red, and it raised its sword.

 

“I’ll go first, so you can support me.”

 

I still haven’t reached the level where I can give orders to others while fighting.

 

If the enemy in front of me was weak, I could take it easy, but when I have to give it my all like now, focusing on the enemy is my limit.

 

However, judging from the fact that Joy supported me in the previous battle, I think she will do well this time too.

 

“Hey, you sloppy monster, why aren’t you attacking me? Are you scared of such a small girl? A timid golem. How funny”

 

As soon as I taunted, a red light leaked out from inside the golem’s helmet and its heavy body began to move toward me.

 

The ground shook with every step it took, as if it was telling me the golem’s power, but I was relaxed even while watching him.

 

It was similar in size to Possell, but its speed was so slow compared to Possell.

 

I could have played with it just by running away and moving, but right now, I needed a quick victory rather than a stable victory.

 

I ran toward the golem with my shield raised.

 

The golem saw my movements and raised its sword.

 

<Don’t stop.>

 

‘I know, Grandpa!’

 

I’m not an idiot.

 

Would I take such a slow attack?

 

This was a story that Possell had told countless times.

 

If it’s an attack that can be avoided, there’s no reason to carry a shield.

 

Blocking with a shield means giving the initiative to the opponent, so take the initiative by evading.

 

The moment the great sword came down, I jumped to the side and dodged the sword.

 

Kwaang!

 

A huge mass slammed into the ground, breaking the floor and raising dust.

 

The power wasn’t bad.

 

Even so, it was just a drop in the bucket compared to Possell.

 

While I was wondering where to start destroying that slow guy, a flame flew and hit the golem’s head, causing an explosion.

 

Was it Joy’s support?

 

It was fast and accurate.

 

On top of that, it was good that she aimed for the moment when the golem stopped moving.

 

As expected, she’s a high-performance character.

 

Even if her stamina is a bit lacking, her magical talent is certain.

 

However, she’s still clumsy.

 

Right now, she should have prepared something other than fire magic.

 

No matter how weak this golem is, it’s not an opponent that a fireball can affect.

 

As the smoke from the explosion cleared, the golem’s helmet, slightly charred but still intact, was revealed.

 

‘Joy! You shouldn’t use fire magic!’

 

“Foolish Young lady! Are you not thinking straight?! What are you supposed to do if you’re dumber than me in magic?!”

 

“What should I do?”

 

“Just block this antique’s movements with ice magic like you did before!”

 

The golem was already slow.

 

If it were to be debuffed by Joy’s magic, it would become a sandbag that only looks good.

 

She can attack it later.

 

“Understood! Wait a moment!”

 

While listening to Joy’s answer, I dodged the sword that was slashing down once more and struck the golem’s thigh with my mace.

 

It’s hard, but it’s not unbreakable.

 

While I was drawing attention, Jacob ran up to the golem and swung his sword from behind.

 

His blow wasn’t bad, but the synergy wasn’t good.

 

The sword was the worst weapon to use against such a tough guy.

 

As Jacob’s sword bounced off, the golem’s gaze turned away.

 

“Hey. You sloppy antique. Where are you looking?”

 

Your opponent is right in front of you, how can you look away?

 

Are you a barbarian who looks like a knight but doesn’t even know chivalry?

 

“You mean you like men? Oh no. I’m sorry. You must be disappointed that a brat like me is your opponent!”

 

The golem’s red eyes turned to me again.

 

Yes.

 

You should look at me.

 

Your enemy is me.

 

The battle that followed was nothing more than a grind to reduce the golem’s health.

 

I used Joy’s magic to apply debuffs, I would attack while drawing attention, and Jacob would add damage like a toothpick.

 

There was no tension.

 

Tension is something that comes when there’s a crisis, but the golem in the form of a boss didn’t even give us a crisis.

 

As the battle continued, my mace shattered the golem’s thigh, and after that, it was enough to subdue the golem that was struggling.

 

“Is this the end?”

 

Joy asked in a puzzled tone after seeing the golem’s core shatter.

 

‘Yes.’

 

“That’s right. Is something strange, idiot?”

 

“No, I was nervous because it was a boss fight, but it ended so pointlessly.”

 

It was pointless.

 

But I like pointless boss fights.

 

This isn’t a game, so why would I want to have a close fight?

 

Real battles are the best when they’re boring.

 

“I can go back now, right?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Of course.”

 

“But where should I go back?”

 

Where?

 

If you cleared the dungeon, there should be a door.

 

Why isn’t there one?

 

That’s strange.

 

The boss of ‘Where the Alchemist Stayed’ was definitely the golem from before.

 

If you defeat it, a door leading outside should appear like in other dungeons, and that should be the end of the test.

 

I don’t know about the entrance exam, but I’ve taken many other practical exams.

 

The exams always proceeded like that, so why didn’t the door appear?

 

‘Jacob…”

 

“Hey, you little brat. Are you holding a magical tool that can contact the outside?”

 

“Yes, I got something from the interviewer. This…”

 

Jacob’s trailing off made me anxious.

 

‘Speak quickly.’

 

“Don’t trail off, it’s annoying.”

 

“I’m sorry! This is broken and won’t activate!”

 

What?

 

What does that mean?

 

I snatched the magical tool from Jacob’s hand and tried to activate it, but it didn’t work.

 

It was completely dead.

 

“Young Lady, mine to.”

 

I raised my head at the sound of Joy’s voice.

 

She was holding the magical tool that the interviewer had given her to escape the dungeon.

 

“This won’t work either.”

 

…

 

Coincidence.

 

I want to believe it, but it can’t be.

 

There’s no way Soul Academy wouldn’t check if it was broken or not before giving it to us, and even if it happened to break inside, it’s strange for two of them to break at the same time.

 

On top of that, the door leading out of the dungeon doesn’t appear, so how can that be a coincidence?

 

One might be a coincidence, but when coincidences overlap, they become intentional.

 

This situation right now was intentional.

 

As my head gradually became more confused, a message appeared in front of me.

 

[Agra is watching you.]

 

Ah.

 

Shit.