46. Social Evil (1)

Inside the dungeon, at the entrance of the underground shopping district.

Kail’s team, including A-team, successfully entered the dungeon after defeating a group of monsters. Even considering the help from Silvia Repford, a 2nd-year student, it was an impressive achievement since all the other team members were 1st-years.

“Silvia-senpai, is it okay to go this way?”

“I’m not sure… maybe?”

“…Yes?”

“I don’t know much about this dungeon either, so…”

……Is this okay?

As Elin, who was in charge of the front line with Kael, sent a suspicious gaze, Sylia Leppard’s eyes, still fixed on her watch, were laughing hysterically. When Elin glanced, a strange man’s profile picture appeared.

“…Is there something fun there?”

“No, nothing.”

Elin’s eyes narrowed as Sylia raised her head.

“Ah? Now it’s coming out. Look, look.”

“What? Where are you looking?”

“Here! Doesn’t something not show up around here, like a blurry frame or a conversation window like the one on my watch?”

Sylia made a rectangular shape with her hand near her shoulder, but from the observer’s point of view, it was unclear what she meant.

Elin shook her head. It seemed that Group A was unlucky with their senior assignments. However, Kael, who had been quiet, suddenly looked up and faced Sylia.

“Is this… what you’re saying?”

From noble mtl dot com

“Ah! That’s right! That’s it!”

“What’s showing up is…”

Elin couldn’t understand their conversation and was about to intervene when she discovered a strange “window” flickering at the corner of her vision.

[You have entered the Underground Town of Everd.]

Objective: Defeat the main boss “Fierce Salamander” on the lowest floor of the underground shopping mall

Time Limit: 3 days

Reward: Salamander’s Treasure Box

Strange messages floating at the corner of her vision.

Since Elin had never seen this before, she was curious about the identity of these messages. She waved her hand, but they wouldn’t disappear and just floated there.

“Ah, you don’t know because it’s your first time? In the Hunter Association, we call it the ‘ystem’, and it only appears inside the gate.”

“What, what is this? These weird letters?”

“If you look, you’ll see the objective and time limit. For now, the objective is to catch the boss, Salamander. As long as you catch it, the gate will close, and you can leave.”

Elin’s brow suddenly twitched.

“Does that mean if we can’t catch the boss, we can’t leave?”

“Sometimes, a crack or something appears, and an exit route is created… but usually, that’s not the case.”

Sylia Leppard spoke nonchalantly, but Elin felt an unfamiliar fear for the first time in her life.

When people are too shocked, they freeze, and Elin’s mouth was agape, her lips trembling. The silence was about to turn into panic.

“No, no! Then you should have told us before we entered the dungeon!”

“Ah… that’s because Arsen’s educational policy is to raise strong hunters in the field…”

“Then we have to be trapped here for three days?! Is that a reasonable thing to say? We don’t have food or anything, are you saying we should starve to death here? What about you, Kael? Don’t you think that?”

Elin desperately shouted while looking at Kael.

However, Kael just stood there with a nonchalant expression.

“Then we just need to catch the boss.”

Kael even said something more absurd.

“What…? Are you crazy?”

“We heard it before we came in. We’re going to have field training. Maybe we’ll be trapped here for three days.”

“That’s even worse!”

“It’s okay. We have three days, and we’ll figure something out.”

At that moment, the overwhelming sense of despair and betrayal was indescribable.

“Everyone’s crazy, seriously.”

Elin Beonarde was in despair, thinking he had misjudged people. Kyle Ivanstear, that guy, was the same during the entrance exam, and indeed, his way of thinking was on a different level from others.

His unwavering strong conviction and willpower were like seeing a robot.

Come to think of it, this guy had also challenged a senior a year above him. If the teacher hadn’t intervened in time, he might have gotten seriously hurt.

“No, but still, for a newcomer to the dungeon… Arsen doesn’t care about the students—”

“Shut up, it’s noisy.”

In the end, Kai Alma, who had been quiet, spoke up. Elin turned around, startled, but Kai was just leaning against the balcony railing, arms crossed.

Kyle, who seemed to be deep in thought, approached Silia.

“Silia senior, what happens if we exceed the time limit?”

“Ah… that?”

This was probably something the entire A team would be curious about.

Elin closed his mouth, and as Kyle raised one eyebrow, Silia gazed into the distance and said,

“In reality, if you exceed the time limit, a ‘dungeon break’ occurs… The dungeon expands, and monsters spill out of the gate.”

“What?”

“What?!”

Elin and Kyle exclaimed in unison.

“It means a huge accident happens. Since we’re in a ‘ecorded dungeon,’ it won’t happen even if we exceed the time limit, but… as I remember it.”

Silia swallowed hard and coughed, continuing her words.

“If we can’t clear it within three days, will all the students who entered this dungeon get an F rating?”

A moment of silence fell. No one dared to speak, and only Kyle walked forward, surveying the underground shopping district.

The underground shopping district below was enormous, with at least 10 floors visible to the eye. Other students fighting monsters were scattered throughout. It seemed everyone who came here was heading towards the lowest floor of the underground shopping district.

“But how do you know that, senior?”

“Uh… me? Hmm…?”

Silia feigned ignorance and backed away, but Elin wanted to ask more questions. However, Silia had already gone far away, and he couldn’t ask.

Anyway, if the boss was on the lowest floor, the other teams that entered this dungeon would also be heading in that direction. They might meet in the middle, and depending on the situation, they could help each other.

“Hey, Kyle.”

“What?”

But Elin grabbed Kyle’s arm with a trembling hand.

“Is that… isn’t that Shion passing by down there?”

“Where…?”

Elin Beonarde pointed to the lower floor of the shopping district, his index finger pointing to the back of a male student’s head.

To Kyle, that person was undoubtedly Shion. It was amazing that they were in the same dungeon.

“Is that Shion?”

“And the person who passed by next to him… wasn’t that the student council president?”

“The student council president? Why are they here?”

The two of them peeked out of the balcony again, watching.

At the forefront of the party, Airi De Sugamond was breaking through, and Shion was following, taking care of the remaining monsters. Even the monsters that were still alive were wiped out without a trace by some unknown whip.

It was a well-balanced party overall. Although they were all newcomers to dungeon exploration, their efficiency was three times better than our party.

Especially one member of the group seemed to be a third-year student, and the person walking calmly behind them was…….

“President Rebecca…?”

“See? I told you so?”

At that moment, Rebecca turned around. Kyle and Elin were frozen in place, still gazing down.

Was it because their voices were too loud, or did they sense the gaze watching them?

Rebecca only glanced back at them, but that was all. She continued on her way, exuding a cold and noble atmosphere as if they weren’t worth her time.

“Did you just see this?”

“Um… I think so?”

Recently, rumors had been circulating that the student council was cracking down on first-year students, so Kyle and Elin were easily intimidated even by a simple idol contact.

“… Aren’t you coming?”

“What?”

When they looked ahead, they saw that everyone else was already far ahead.

Kyle took the lead, followed by Elin. It was a huge shock to realize that another party had surpassed them, despite thinking they had arrived the earliest.

***

Due to the sudden commotion, they turned to see another student on the upper floor of the shopping district. It seemed like another team had arrived before them.

One of them was a face Rebecca knew, but she didn’t think twice and shook her head. What mattered now was the party that had arrived ahead of them.

“Shion-senpai! It looks like they’ve got everything! They’re not coming out anymore!”

“Edel-senpai.”

“Just a minute! Let me check!”

A moment of silence.

Edel De Byron closed her eyes, and her thinly spread magic began to explore the surroundings.

However, unlike before, there was no object responding to Edel’s magic. The magic that had been spreading like a gentle ripple around her returned to Edel. Until then, Edel’s magic had shown no signs of disturbance.

“Yes, there’s nothing ahead. It’s okay to go.”

“Let’s go, then.”

Only after Shion nodded did she give the signal to advance. And once again, Airi De Schwamon took the lead and began to clear the path.

Despite being the last to arrive, they had now surpassed the other party and taken the lead.

Everyone had hoped for a smooth progression, but Rebecca’s mood was uneasy.

Originally, she should have been following Airi to the front, but she couldn’t. She was forced to stay behind due to the gaze she felt from behind.

“Rebecca.”

“……”

“Can we talk about this after the mission is over? About the student council.”

“I clearly said I wouldn’t send anyone to the student council.”

“That’s different from the situation now. We’re short-staffed. I heard it wasn’t until yesterday morning that the work was finished.”

Rebecca frowned.

How could someone who had been kicked out of the student council know so much about its inner workings?

That’s why she felt even more uneasy. Just wondering about the source of that information was already unbearable.

“Is that information from a professor?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Would a professor tell a single student like me?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

Rebecca decided not to respond and ignore him. The more they talked, the more they would be giving their opponent ammunition.

However, even if she tried to ignore him and move on, Rian wouldn’t let her off easily. His words, which he threw out every now and then, felt like throwing stones in her path.

“Is that first-year student you’re looking for Illeayonheart?”

“…….”

“What can’t you say?”

Rebecca finally turned around.

Rian von Hildegarde smiled like a fish out of water, but Rebecca’s face was twisted in the opposite direction.

“I don’t know what misunderstanding you have, but it’s different from what you think.”

“What do you think I think?”

“You, who are supposed to be—”

Just as Rebecca clenched her fist, a voice echoed from ahead.

“Senior, please don’t go.”

Only then did Rebecca turn around. Sion Elionhart, aka Sion Esperanza, was standing there, frozen in place.

Rebecca could feel Rian’s gaze on her back, but she boldly ignored it and moved forward.

After all, what’s important now is conquering the dungeon. Other issues can be dealt with later.

Sion stood calmly, even as Rebecca passed by him. Rebecca knew that Sions gaze was directed at Rian, not herself.

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