Chapter 45 - The Test [2]
"...?!"
I felt a churn on my stomach, my head ached a little. But I just frowned and firmed it.
The disorienting pull of spatial transit twisted my sense of balance, making my vision blur into a dizzying swirl of grey and white light for a brief second.
And when my vision returned to normal—
The nauseating pressure subsided, and my feet finally settled onto solid, damp stone ground once again.
"Hmm?"
I was inside a massive closed cave. Everywhere I looked; there were sharp stones, minerals, crystals, and stalactites.
The underground cavern was colossal, illuminated by the faint, eerie glow of blue luminescent minerals embedded high up in the rocky ceiling.
The students that went inside the dungeon before us were also around.
Hundreds of freshmen were scattered across the sprawling entry chamber, trying to get their bearings after stepping through the portal.
And near me—I saw Cindy and the others looking and waiting for me. They didn’t have any problem entering the dungeon.
They were standing in a loose circle just a few paces away, completely unfazed by the sudden environmental shift as they watched me step out.
Cindy, Crystal, and Cordelia probably entered a dungeon before, so they have immunity now.
Their noble backgrounds and prior training meant they had likely experienced spatial teleportation gates multiple times growing up.
While Zion is just a monster so such side effects don’t affect him at all.
His ridiculous physical specs and sheer resilience naturally nullified any minor spatial disorientation without him even trying.
The real Vael might’ve entered a dungeon before as well, but me—the one in his body—this is my first time.
My mind had never experienced a full-body dimensional jump like that before, making the physical sensation hit me far more directly.
’I’m actually surprised that the side effect was weak. It’s probably because of my large mana pool.’
I thought as I looked around. Some students were on the ground, barely conscious.
My body had automatically channeled my deep reserves of internal mana to stabilize my nervous system before the nausea could take over.
I even saw someone puking... seeing that made me frown.
A few meters to my left, an unlucky student was dropped to his knees, clutching his stomach in sheer misery while his teammates held his shoulders.
"Is everyone feeling fine?"
Just then, Crystal asked that.
She stepped into the center of our group, her sharp eyes scanning each of our faces to confirm our condition before proceeding.
Everyone nodded their heads, including me. I feel completely fine now.
I gave a light tilt of my head, rolling my shoulders once to show I was fully combat-ready and unbothered by the portal jump.
"Then let’s go immediately... Our plan to reach the second floor before this day ends is in motion now."
Crystal declared.
She gestured toward one of the dark, winding tunnels branching off from the main entry hall, taking charge of the squad’s initial pacing.
And with that—FWIP.
We all geared up and gripped our weapons, then without further ado—we started exploring the dungeon to find our way to the second floor.
Leather straps were tightened, weapons were drawn from their sheaths, and our five-man formation moved forward into the dark stone passageway.
We immediately separated from the others as soon as we could.
We broke away from the main crowd of students crowding the entrance, taking a side corridor that quickly muffled the noisy chatter behind us.
Crystal handed me a map.
She pulled the unrolled parchment from her belt pouch, passing the intricate layout guide directly into my hands as we walked.
I will be the one responsible for navigating our way toward the mini boss. I told them I can read the map well, but honestly... I just memorize the way from the game.
I had spent countless hours studying the floor layouts and hidden routes of [The Tower of Seven Gates] during my multiple playthroughs back home.
And so, with my instructions—I lead the group to the safest and shortest route possible toward the boss.
I took the lead position alongside our vanguards, guiding our party smoothly through the maze of intersecting stone tunnels and damp caverns.
I pretended to read the map, but in fact... I was just following what I remembered when I was playing the game.
I periodically held the parchment up to the faint light, tapping key junction markers to make it look like I was analyzing the geography in real time.
With me, we avoided monsters and traps.
We neatly bypassed hidden floor triggers, unstable ceiling stalactites, and roaming scout mobs by taking secondary side passages.
But of course—
The dungeon layout inevitably funneled all paths into specific choke points that couldn’t be bypassed without clearing the area.
"There are five goblins in front, we can’t go past them without being seen."
Zion stated as we were hiding behind huge rocks. We reached a path where we couldn’t avoid fighting.
He crouched low behind a massive grey boulder, peering around the jagged edge at the small patrol guarding the narrow rocky pass ahead.
This was the tutorial in dungeon fighting, so this event was unavoidable.
In the original game, this exact room served as the mandatory basic combat sequence where the system taught players how to handle basic party commands.
In the game, because it focuses on story and dating more—the fights are just turn-based.
The party would stand in neat lines, taking turns executing skills, casting spells, and taking damage based on speed stats and action bars.
But this is the real world now, we don’t have to follow that rule.
Real combat was fluid, fast, and continuous, allowing us to combine abilities and overwhelm targets in a fraction of a second.
So opening my mouth—
I raised my hand, channeling the mental image of a light feather carried by a sudden gust of wind that Ahri had taught me.
"[Speed]"
FWOOSH~
A brilliant surge of pale green and silver light burst from my palm, instantly splitting into three distinct trails that wrapped around our vanguard members.
I casted buff on Zion, Cordelia, and Cindy.
The spell attached itself seamlessly to their legs and torsos, dramatically reducing their physical weight and enhancing their reaction speed.
"Huh...?"
Their eyes widened when they felt this, they turned their eyes on me. They didn’t lack strength to kill the goblins, but if we want to finish this fast... Then they need to be faster.
They looked down at their glowing boots in genuine shock, feeling the sudden, overwhelming surge of agility coursing through their muscles.
"I will restrict their movements... handle the rest after that."
I told them, and before they could even respond—TAP.
I stepped out from behind the safety of the boulder, taking a firm, heavy step onto the flat cavern floor in front of the five patrol monsters.
I slammed my right foot forward.
The impact echoed sharply against the cave walls, sending a pulse of cold, dense mana driving straight down into the stone foundation.
And in an instant—FWAAAAAAAHHHH~!!!
The temperature in the corridor plunged to absolute zero as a massive wave of frost erupted outward in every direction!
The cave floor became frozen!
Thick layers of jagged blue ice spread across the damp ground at terrifying speed, rushing down the pathway like a striking serpent.
It slithered throughout the area, and sooner—W H O O O O S H!
The creeping frost reached the patrol group before they could even draw their crude weapons or issue a warning screech to the rest of the tunnel.
-KEEEIK?!
-KIAAAK?!
The monsters shrieked in confusion and panic as heavy pillars of dense ice shot up from the floor, firmly entombing their legs up to their waists!
It froze the feet of the goblins, making them unable to move!
They writhed and thrashed against the solid frozen bindings, completely immobilized and rendered entirely defenseless in the middle of the path.
"..."
The others were silent, not saying anything. I turned to look at them—
Cordelia, Zion, Cindy, and Crystal were standing behind the rock, staring at the completely frozen corridor and the immobilized monsters with wide, stunned eyes.
"Come on, we have to reach the second floor fast."
Then I said that.
They were probably surprised by the efficiency of the way I responded to the situation, but to be honest... I was just able to do this because goblins are weak monsters. And I already know what I need to do to make everything easier for our group.
Just as I said way before, when our group was just being formed--I might be the weakest on the group.
But I will do my everything I can to be one of the best contributor during the test.
And in terms of multiple enemies, at the early stage of the game story--then Vael is unbeatable in that aspect.
Anyway, the three snapped out of their surprise a few moments later, and immediately--BAM!
Zion, Cindy, and Cordelia rushed towards the goblins to finish the job.
Meanwhile, me and Crystal--we just stayed back and watched them.
We’re just support in our party, after all.
’Hmm, it’s really good being carried throughout the test.’
I thought, smiling a little.