Chapter 46 - The Test [3]
Cordelia uses a water whip as her weapon, the water was produced using her ability and mana.
SPLASH!
And using that, she violently whipped two goblins in one go—killing them like they were bugs.
The high-pressure liquid lashed out with a sharp, echoing crack, slicing straight through the frozen torsos of the immobilized monsters before they could even utter another screech.
SWISH—! SLASH!
Zion then arrived in front of two goblins, and with one swift motion; he beheaded them cleanly. He blurred forward with terrifying speed, his blade flashing in a clean silver arc that severed both heads simultaneously, sending them rolling across the icy stone floor.
And lastly, Cindy appeared behind the remaining, confused goblin. She dropped down silently behind its back like a shadow, and before it could even do something—PHUCK!
She stabbed it at the temple of its head with one of her sai, ending the goblin’s life quickly.
The creature instantly went limp, collapsing onto the frozen ground without making a single sound.
We killed a group of goblins in a matter of seconds.
The entire engagement was over almost as soon as it began, leaving behind only quiet echoes reverberating off the high cavern ceiling.
In the game, it would’ve taken a few turns, and we would’ve taken unavoidable damages.
The system would force party members to stand in place, taking turns exchanging blows and soaking up minor chip damage from enemy counterattacks.
But this isn’t the game, there are no restrictions like that.
Real combat allowed us to exploit environmental control, stack movement speed buffs, and wipe out an entire squad before they could even react.
’We can freely launch surprise attacks.’
I smiled as I thought of that internally.
The sheer freedom of real-time combat was an absolute advantage, allowing a properly coordinated team to bypass tedious battle mechanics entirely.
Moving on, I gestured down the dark, winding corridor ahead, keeping our momentum moving forward without giving the dungeon time to spawn reinforcements.
"Let’s go, we’re on set to arrive at the mini boss room before the day ends."
I said that before starting to walk again.
The others didn’t move immediately, they just stared at me. They stood frozen near the rock formation for a couple of seconds, their eyes wide as they tried to process how effortlessly we had just cleared an active encounter.
I ignored them and continued walking.
And after a while, they came back to their senses and began walking alongside me.
Zion let out a low whistle, jogging up to my right side, while Cindy and the rest fell into their designated tactical positions around our flanks.
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*****
We continued navigating our way through the dungeon, and now... we started encountering more and more monsters as we got deeper.
The damp stone passages narrowed, and the natural blue glow from the ceiling crystals began to fade into a darker, much more ominous shadow.
A pack of five armed goblins suddenly charged out from a side cavern, screaming in their guttural language as they raised rusty spears.
SWOOSH!
I flicked my wrist, sending a wave of sub-zero mana washing over the damp floor beneath their feet.
The moisture on the stone instantly snapped into thick jagged spikes of ice, pinning their legs to the ground in a split second.
SPLASH!
Cordelia swung her arm, her water whip extending like a striking viper and snapping the neck of the lead goblin before it could raise its shield.
SWISH!
Zion surged past her, his heavy blade cutting through the air in a horizontal crescent that cleaved the remaining four monsters in half in one clean motion.
The numbers of goblins kept increasing.
Every corner we turned seemed to trigger small patrols or ambushes, but our front line tore through them without slowing our marching pace even a little bit.
And soon enough... new types of monsters started appearing.
Kobolds, they’re faster than goblins, better senses, and fight in groups as well—but we dealt with them pretty easily.
Their canine ears twitched as they picked up our footsteps from down the corridor, popping out from high rock ledges with incredible agility.
Though, I just froze their feet as well, and let the others take care of the rest.
Before they could leap down onto our backline, a sudden flash of frost locked their paws firmly to the rock walls, leaving them wide open for Crystal’s long-range magic and Cindy’s quick strikes.
Then came the Fanged Bat; they’re flying and difficult to hit. They have a bit of paralytic poison in their fangs too.
Dozens of leathery black wings fluttered wildly against the ceiling as a swarm swooped down from the darkness, shrieking as they targeted our faces.
Though, I already know of them beforehand and already devised a plan on how to neutralize them.
I just made the surroundings freeze cold, enough to make them slow down flying.
SWAAAAAH~
A dense, freezing fog rapidly expanded through the high cavern air, frosting over their leathery wings and instantly sapping their body heat.
Crystal raised her staff, wrapping our team in a warm, protective barrier of light magic that completely nullified the harsh environmental cold for everyone else. I told her about this before hand.
And once the Fanged Bats started slowing down; taking care of them was easy as if plucking flowers.
The frozen bats tumbled weakly through the heavy air like falling leaves, making it effortless for Zion and Cindy to swat them out of the sky before they could even get close enough to bite.
And just like that... Faster than we had expected...
"W-What...?"
Tap.
We reached the mini boss room not even half a day after entering the dungeon.
*****
"Let’s rest up here outside and replenish our energy."
Crystal said, we’re currently outside the mini boss room.
She stepped toward a safe alcove carved into the side wall, leaning her staff against the smooth stone and gesturing for the team to take a break.
"Let’s eat first, I will take out the food I packed."
She followed before taking out delicious smelling meat out of her spatial storage.
She tapped her spatial ring, and in a flash of light, several wrapped parcels of freshly roasted meat appeared on a clean cloth she laid over a flat rock.
The food was still hot. I bet she has a really high-end spatial storage.
The rich steam rose into the cool cavern air, smelling as fresh as if it had just been pulled off the kitchen grill a few minutes ago.
Anyway, this is our first time resting ever since entering the dungeon, we made huge progress because of that.
I sat down on a smooth stone ledge, unbuckling [Frost] from my waist to lean it beside me while stretching out my legs.
We were just supposed to reach half of the way before resting and continuing again—but because I know the path better from the game, and we can deal with the monsters easily; we made twice the progress of our goal.
What should have taken us a full day of exhausting combat and tedious navigation had been compressed into a smooth, effortless morning stroll.
"You’re really something else, Vael."
Just as I was resting, eating a roasted chicken, Zion went beside me and said that.
He dropped down onto the stone beside me, holding a large piece of meat in his hand while looking at me with genuine amazement.
Cindy followed, sitting on my other side.
She pulled her legs up against her chest, quietly chewing on her portion while fixing her eyes directly on my face.
"What do you mean?"
I asked, my mouth munching on the chicken.
"The paths we took were super easy, we didn’t encounter any dead end or trap as well."
Zion said, and while pointing at me using a drumstick of a chicken—
"You also neutralized all of the monsters we encountered in a matter of seconds; we barely have to do anything."
He followed with that.
He shook his head, laughing slightly at how absurdly simple the entire dungeon run had been so far compared to what he had prepared for.
I glanced around and saw Cindy nodding her head, Cordelia and Crystal were also looking at me like they were thinking the same thing as well, they sat a few paces away with their hands folded in their lap, watching me with a deep, curious gaze.
I just shrugged my shoulders. I took another bite of my meal, keeping my expression completely calm and indifferent under their collective stares.
"I was just able to do that because the monsters were weak. Even without me doing anything, you guys would’ve been able to handle them quickly as well."
Then I stated that. It was the truth.
Given their raw stats, high-grade magic, and elite combat training, these low-level first-floor mobs didn’t pose a threat to them anyway.
"I just interfered to make the process and our progress faster."
I added.
I also did all those to increase my contribution at the eyes of the staff watching us, but of course I didn’t mention that. Hidden invigilators and academy proctors were lurking in the shadows of the floor, constantly evaluating individual utility, initiative, and battlefield control.
"Sure sure, whatever you say... but what about those buffs you were giving us?"
Zion asked.
He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, leaning in a bit closer as he brought up the strange, seamless speed surge he had felt during combat.
This was the first time I used buffs on them even after training with them for weeks, the reason is because I was still training them. They don’t know about my secondary skills at all.
During our daily group practices, I had focused strictly on sword forms and basic ice control, keeping my support magic completely under wraps until I had mastered Ahri’s mental imagery techniques.
"It’s my secondary skills... I didn’t use it until now because I was still training them."
I replied to Zion.
I gave a simple, straightforward explanation without diving into the specific details of household lineages or specialized mana training.
Our group continued talking as we ate and rested, they kept asking me questions as well... but I just brushed it all as if they were nothing special. Everything I did until now was not noteworthy in the game, after all. Just simple stuff.
Zion kept probing about how I predicted the bat swarm’s path, while Crystal asked about the exact mana efficiency of my frost floor spell.
And just like that...
The quiet ambient noise of the cavern filled the air as we finished our food and focused on recovering our physical energy.
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We rested for a couple of hours until our stamina and mana had been replenished.
I sat in a quiet meditation pose for forty minutes, letting my mana pool return to its absolute peak while the cool air settled my breathing.
And once that was done—
"Let’s enter the room now."
Crystal stood up and declared that.
She brushed off her skirt, picking up her staff and adjusting her grip as the rest of the squad immediately rose to their feet.
It was time to go and face the boss of this floor.