The Dungeon Studies Final Exam [2]

"Next up, Kyle Jeo, get ready."

Not long after I arrived, I saw the protagonist Kyle, the princess, and the group following him enter the portal.

At that moment, I heard a very annoyed voice from behind.

"You look so confident for such a late arrival."

I shrugged my shoulders and responded lightly to Merlin's frown.

"Should I apologize here?"

"What?"

"Don't pick a fight. I was a little late because I had to go to the bathroom."

"Uh, bathroom?"

Merlin hesitated slightly at my answer.

'What is it? Why is he like that?'

At the same time:

"Lucas, are you okay? Are you not feeling well?"

When Elaine asked in a worried voice, I tilted my head and answered.

"Oh, I am okay?"

"Uh, yeah. Then that's good. Hahaha."

At Elaine's awkward laughter, I responded with another shrug and quickly put down the bag on my back.

*Thud!*

"…"

Then, I immediately began to organize and check the items I had brought one by one.

*Crunch, crunch!*

'Fortunately, I didn't miss anything.'

At that moment, I heard other students talking nearby.

"… This exam really seems difficult."

"I met the kids who took the test in the bathroom earlier and asked them a little bit, and they said it was really crazy."

"But it seems like it'll last quite a while this time."

I chuckled to myself at their story.

Of course, the difficulty level will be high. In the original work, only one person passes this test…

"Kyle Jeo, pass!"

"Yeah. Kyle, that guy just… what? Already?"

*Crunch!*

At Professor Delon's unexpected shout, I jumped up from my seat without realizing it.

"Pass?"

"Wow, there really are some passers already!"

There were shouts from surprised students around me, but I had no time to pay attention to that.

'What...? He passed already?'

"Kyle Jeo, fifty minutes and fifty-eight seconds. Passed the test!"

With the assistant's shout that followed:

*Thud!*

I ended up dropping the item I was holding in my hand.

"Why? Why did it change?"

In the original, the record set by Kyle Jeo while passing the Dungeoneering exam was clearly 'one hour and twenty-three minutes.'

But what? Fifty minutes and fifty-eight seconds?

At that moment:

*Jeeeeing!*

The dungeon portal changed color, and Kyle Jeo, the first to pass the test, appeared.

"Okay, those passing through should go this way."

Kyle Jeo crew, who had begun to move according to the assistant's instructions, soon passed me by.

And then, right away, Princess Francia, one of Kyle's crew members, turned her gaze toward me.

At the same time:

"Huh!"

"… Princess?"

"Oh, it's nothing. I just saw a funny expression on your face."

"A funny expression?"

"Yes, is it the expression of an earthworm struggling on the floor?"

"What the fuc-…?"

"Kyle, let's go quickly. We'll be late."

*Crunch. Crunch.*

As I watched her back, with the familiar sound of her shoes, I couldn't help but clench my fists.

'That, that crazy fucking bitch is really…!'

---

"Fifty minutes…"

I briefly clenched and unclenched my fists, catching my breath as I watched Kyle Jeos record of successfully clearing the dungeon much faster than in the original.

I felt slightly sweaty, maybe from the nerves of the unexpected situation.

'Why?'

Of course, I had been mindful of the possibility that there could be multiple variables.

'I just didn't expect the time to be shortened.'

Why did the results turn out differently from the original novel?

"Is it because of me?"

The only difference from the original was that Lucas Voss attended this exam.

Could it be that just because of me, the strategy time was shortened by thirty minutes?

"...."

There were a lot of things I didn't understand.

"Well, does it really matter?"

Whether it was because of me or for some other reason, that wasn't what mattered now.

'The fact that I have to attack quickly hasn't changed.'

*Jiik.*

I opened the bag I had prepared and started taking out the things inside.

And after a while:

"Beton Cho, you're up. Next group!"

"This is the last group. Get ready, Chelsea Group."

Along with the assistant's voice, a slight tension appeared on the faces of the assistants.

But—

*Crunch!*

The crew members' eyes gathered at the heavy sound they heard all of a sudden.

And then:

"Hey, what's that? Armor?"

"… Why is a wizard wearing something like that?"

I heard someone mumbling with a hardened expression.

*Crunch, crunch!*

As they said, I was wearing very strong iron armor right now.

"The movement isn't bad."

I had already checked it in advance, but I was worried that it might be a bit uncomfortable in actual use, but to this extent…

However, I smiled slightly at the sight of those who looked at me with eyes that had a different meaning from my thoughts.

'Why they glaring at me like that? If they were in my shoes, wouldn't they do the same?'

I'm a Wizard, but I can't use a sword, and I'm a tank, but I can't use a shield.

Well then, I have to make do somehow.

At that moment, Chelsea's firm voice was heard.

"Is everyone ready?"

"Oh, I already finished preparing."

"Uh, okay. Got it!"

"… I'm ready too."

With such reactions from the crew, Chelsea immediately opened her mouth again.

"Chelsea Artin, it's done."

"Okay, then go into the dungeon."

With the assistant's instructions:

*Jeeeeing!*

Chelsea and her teammates were seen throwing themselves into the blue glowing portal.

And me too.

"...."

*Crunch.*

I looked at the portal with a somewhat solemn expression.

'Whew, don't be so nervous and move calmly. If I act hastily, I might ruin everything.'

The first half isn't that difficult anyway.

After organizing my thoughts, I quickly followed them and threw myself into the portal.

*Jiiing!*

'Oh, I feel dizzy?'

I closed my eyes tightly as my head spun around madly, as if I were on an amusement ride.

Then:

*Crunch, thud!*

All of my crew members, including myself, were transferred to a new space.

"What, why is it so dark?"

When I heard Lois's words from the side, I quickly opened my eyes and looked around. It was clear that thick darkness had descended.

Plus, there was the musty smell that tickled your nose and the slightly unpleasant, sticky moisture.

… It's the same as the original. It's a cave-shaped dungeon.

It was so indistinguishable from reality that it made me question whether it was really a virtual space created by magic.