Chapter 48

Eris still remembered that day.

The day she had broken through Yggdrasil’s entrance exam and proudly walked out of the school gates on her own.

She had expected joyful days of learning with classmates gathered from all over the world……

But the life Eris had wished for did not exist there.

Lowly things. Are your eyes just for decoration?

What she saw from her very first day was the tyranny of a certain group.

And at the center of that group…… was none other than the young master of one of the four great families, Dedenkman.

‘No one stepped forward to stop them.’

There were hardly any who righteously tried to stop their atrocities.

Even the top-ranking cadets didn’t care, since they weren’t the ones being harmed.

Villed had only one type of prey.

‘Commoners or low-ranking cadets like us…….’

The strong bullied the weak, as they say.

Though Villed’s gang was also among the low ranks, they were nobles with the backing of their families.

‘They’re barely any better than us anyway.’

To erase their own weakness, they trampled and belittled others.

It was a sly method.

‘I had no doubt that someday, if they met their match, they would get their noses broken.’

Eris’s prediction was right on target.

One cadet, unable to endure any longer, revealed that she was the Princess, and everything turned upside down.

The gang that followed Villed scattered in all directions……

And Villed was abandoned by his family, punished to live in a stinking livestock shed, or so she heard.

Seeing him fall like that had been a little satisfying, but……

‘……That much isn’t enough.’

Eris longed.

She wanted revenge.

By her own hands, directly.

Early morning.

All first-year students gathered in Lecture Hall No. 1.

“Since we’re here, let’s get going quickly!”

“You remembered to eat, right?”

“Geez, is there a beggar living in your belly? All you talk about is food.”

But the gathering lasted only a short while.

They immediately formed into teams of five and exited.

‘Because today, instead of class, we’re doing a practical evaluation.’

I crossed my arms and looked at the chart posted on the blackboard.

Practical Evaluation Team Formation.

It was something the professor had announced two days ago.

The team I was assigned to consisted only of names I didn’t recognize.

‘I ended up with strangers.’

The evaluation required cadets of similar levels to join forces and conquer a dungeon over the course of two days and one night.

Including me, all five of us were nearly insignificant.

If compared to a game’s gacha system…… they would be the one-star characters.

Of course, since we were all low-ranking cadets like me, it was only natural.

‘Lapin and Karin will be fine even without me.’

Lapin and Karin had been assigned to other teams.

Since this episode required me to act alone anyway, it actually worked out well.

‘But where are they?’

No matter how long I waited, none of my teammates showed up.

In the end, I was the only one left in the lecture hall.

‘Did I come late? No, there’s no way they left without me.’

The rule was that all five had to gather before entering the dungeon.

‘Did something happen?’

I was still waiting with my arms crossed in the lecture hall when—

Clack!

The door opened late, and four people rushed in at once.

“L-Lord Villed. Hello……”

Three of them bowed sharply the moment they saw me.

Their voices trembled excessively, apologizing for being late.

‘I’ve been keeping quiet since the Princess incident, but I guess they’re still scared.’

If their fear of me disrupted the proceedings, it would be troublesome.

I didn’t want to provoke them if possible.

I nodded silently, as if I didn’t care.

“T-Then, we’ll guide you.”

Their words and actions were those of someone being deferential to a noble.

Yggdrasil upheld the strict principle that before learning, everyone was equal.

Inside the school, commoner students didn’t have to show respect to noble students.

But if they reacted like this anyway……

‘It must be because Villed forced them to act this way in the past.’

I didn’t bother telling them to stop.

Leaving the building together with my teammates, I followed after those who took the lead.

Before long, the building was far behind us, and only forest and grassland stretched into view.

‘Looks like it’ll take about two hours.’

The Yggdrasil Academy covered a staggering eighty million pyeong.

Roughly half the area of Seoul.

Within this vast campus lay endless expanses of nature, as well as a wide variety of dungeons.

‘Our team was assigned a relatively easy dungeon.’

Assignments were made in proportion to academic performance.

They said never to let your guard down, but—

This dungeon’s difficulty was something I could handle on my own.

‘The only downside is that it’s such a long walk.’

Normally, when moving around campus, we could use school buses or carriages……

But for this practical evaluation, they were not allowed.

Anyway.

“……”

“……”

A strange atmosphere had lingered for some time.

My teammates only stole glances at me nervously, without starting any conversation.

Eventually, I realized it.

‘Don’t tell me these are the ones Villed bullied the most.’

Judging from their excessive caution and unease, it was most likely true.

Recalling the game’s memories, I remembered how Villed was said to mainly torment low-ranking commoners.

‘I don’t feel like sympathizing in a situation like this.’

Coincidentally, it was Villed who had done it, not ‘me.’

So I didn’t feel guilty.

Still……

‘It is uncomfortable, that’s for sure.’

Because I knew exactly the kind of things Villed had done.

‘Too many to count. I even recall the scene where he grabbed a girl by her hair and laughed.’

There had been so many bullying scenes that they were edited together in a montage.

When I recalled that particular scene, I remembered a green ponytail……

‘……A green ponytail?’

I took another look at my teammates. A familiar figure entered my sight.

‘Of all people.’

What a coincidence.

The very person from that scene was walking beside me.

The only one who wasn’t sneaking glances at me.

‘So that’s why the atmosphere felt strange.’

I kept my stride steady and unchanged.

‘It’s best to stay silent from start to finish.’

Not reacting at all was the safest approach.

Apologizing out of the blue would be awkward, and they would dislike being pitied.

And so, time passed……

“This is the place.”

We arrived in front of a ruined building.

Green plants were clustered together.

If a city building had been abandoned to nature for decades, it would look like this.

Once we entered the building, the dungeon leading underground immediately revealed itself.

“Let’s go in.”

One cadet swallowed hard as he replied.

I nodded and entered the underground with them.

‘It’s literally a dungeon.’

The scene matched perfectly with the image of a “dungeon” in a fantasy world.

From floor to ceiling, gray bricks completed the finish, showing a high degree of craftsmanship.

Here and there, bright yellow glowstones were embedded, so the interior was not dark.

‘According to the setting, miner kobolds dug this place and abandoned it, and monsters just started using it as they pleased.’

The monsters were not impressive.

They were just slimes, low-rank mimics, and wolves.

‘All monsters with a weakness to fire-type attacks, so they won’t be a problem for me.’

Aside from being labyrinthine and sprawling like a maze, there would be no major hardships.

Swoosh.

I pulled out the Heart of Ilawne.

“Ah, ah!”

The other teammates belatedly pulled out their weapons as well.

Like true low-ranking cadets, they looked completely inexperienced with actual combat.

I even heard them gulp loudly with their eyes opened wide in fear.

‘Anyway…….’

I, too, was waiting for the chance to finally move.

I felt sorry for them, but I intended to monopolize all the materials obtained from the dungeon.

‘Well…… it’s not really that bad, is it?’

I would hunt the monsters and gather the materials.

They would earn good evaluation scores thanks to me.

That was mutual benefit, wasn’t it?

‘Let’s find the right timing to slip away.’

I deliberately slowed my pace and moved toward the back of the group.

Three hours before the practical evaluation.

This was the Yggdrasil Library conference room.

Eris sat with her three teammates, heads together.

“You want to…… isolate Villed inside the dungeon?”

“Yes, to make him spend an entire day alone in the cold dungeon.”

Eris gave a sly smile.

At her suggestion, her teammates broke into cold sweat with grave expressions.

“Eris, isn’t that…… a bit much?”

“What if he really dies?”

Even if it was the lowest-level dungeon.

A bottom-ranking cadet being left alone was still extremely dangerous.

“Hmph. As if he would die? ……Besides, that bastard deserves it even if he does.”

“……”

No one agreed aloud.

But neither did they deny it.

They only had to recall what he had done to them.

“……How are you going to isolate him?”

At her teammate’s question, Eris answered as if it was obvious.

“Simple. When Villed looks away, we just run off and hide. Then he’ll panic trying to find us.”

“Ah, so we just make him like a lost child.”

Unlike the active Eris, her teammates wore unwilling expressions.

“But what if something really serious happens…….”

That small doubt ignited Eris’s anger.

She slammed the desk with a bang!

“Honestly. Is this the time to worry about him? Please, harden your hearts!”

“E-Eris……?”

Her teammates flinched, startled by the sight of Eris burning with vengeance.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. Don’t you want to see that arrogant jerk bawling like a child? It’s just that much of revenge, what’s there to fear?”

“……”

Her teammates kept silent.

Lowering her voice but not losing her strength, Eris pressed on.

“Think carefully. Compared to what he did to us, this is just a drop in the bucket.”

Yes, it was nothing impressive.

Compared to what they had suffered, it was a very petty revenge.

“……Now that you say it, that’s true. Alright.”

The teammates nodded, as if they had made up their minds, and sided with Eris.

……And so, now.

“……”

“……”

In the underground dungeon, Eris and her teammates were waiting for their chance.

It was at that moment.

“Hm.”

Villed slowed his steps.

Then he stopped completely, gazing intently at a large glowstone.

Eris instinctively sensed this was the chance.

“……Guys, run!”

When Eris quietly signaled, her teammates all moved at once.

They shut their mouths and even stifled their breathing.

Since they had taken off their shoes, not even the sound of footsteps could be heard.

While he was distracted, they had to escape.

……How long had they run frantically?

“That’s enough, stop!”

Panting hard, they halted their steps.

Their bodies were drenched in sweat, and their hearts pounded madly.

They had run far enough.

Eris and her teammates caught their breath, hastily looking back.

The long corridor was empty.

Silence fell, like the hush of death.

……Villed had not followed them.

“We—we made it……!”

The cadets, afraid of being caught, sighed in relief.

“Serves you right! Now you know how it feels!”

Eris shouted into the corridor with a smile.

Her teammates relaxed as well, exchanging small smiles with each other.

One teammate asked Eris a question.

“We won’t run into him again, right?”

“You worry too much. This place is so complicated, you couldn’t even move properly without this.”

Eris waved the map in her hand.

She had a reason to speak with confidence.

The labyrinth marked on the map was entangled with countless branching paths.

Eris took the lead, spreading the map open.

“Alright then, let’s conquer the dungeon ourselves……”

……Her words trailed off.

Staring at the map, Eris suddenly stopped walking.

“What’s wrong, Eris?”

At her teammate’s question, Eris dropped a bead of sweat and opened her mouth.

“……We’re lost.”

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