I Became the Academy's Pink Airhead - Chapter 30
For a moment, we held each other's hands.
"…"
After watching us for a while, Bell finally raised her crimson dagger. She sent a signal with the red ether light.
Fwoosh―!!
A red line crossed the dark sky. It was the signal of the hastily devised plan based on the information Sigrun, the investigation leader of <Gallhorn>, had witnessed during her exploration.
Rustle.
As soon as the signal dropped, dozens of <Scarlet Academy> students who had been waiting nearby revealed themselves. They began forming a predetermined barrier while letting out their characteristic screams.
Boom―!! Fwoosh―!!
The <Scarlet Academy> students suddenly unleashed large flames onto the ground. Dozens of red flames blazed up in an instant, gradually engulfing the land within a radius of several hundred meters.
A wall of flames illuminated the dark wilderness. The flames, imbued with the madness of the students from <Scarlet Academy>.
Their maniacal skill, which had altered even their ether attributes through a vow of destruction, immediately burned their ether and blocked the path of numerous chaos insects.
Kyaaah―!!
In front of the dungeon gate spewing black ether, hundreds of liquid chaos insects advancing into the darkness were halted by the wall of flames.
-We've lit the fire!! -Let's goooo―!!
Inside the wall of red flames, the <Scarlet Academy> students, armed with weapons, began a one-sided hunt among the hundreds of chaos insects.
Slash―!! Thunk―
Girls wielding weapons and hacking at chaos insects within the flames. The eerie shadows beyond the scattering pieces of insect flesh. But the sheer number of chaos insects showed no signs of diminishing easily.
Shaaa―!! Kyaaah―!!
Unlike the relatively static ether usage shown by students from other schools up to the second stage, the <Scarlet Academy> students’ ether manipulation, which changed their surroundings, was alien and violent.
However, due to this violence, hundreds of liquid chaos insects could not advance into the dungeon gate. They could only rampage within the wall of flames, crying out in agony.
The shadows of <Scarlet Academy> students could be seen faintly through the wall of flames, and their voices turned into wild screams.
-Hya!! It's bug hunting time―!! -Damn it, we can't clear the corruption dungeon with the <Scarlet Academy> way―!! -Hyaa!! I'll take out my frustration by slaughtering these bugs!! -You little brats better clear the dungeon well!! Huh?! Don't whine!! -Hya!! If you mess up, I'll snitch to the boss!! -Pink hair! Transfer to our school later―!!
The students of <Scarlet Academy> who created a battlefield of flames by burning their ether in an instant.
However, in the event dungeon gate where ether consumption skyrockets, they couldn’t use their skills, so they took on the role of blocking the influx of chaos insects in front of the dungeon gate.
Bell scoffed at their words and responded.
"This cute secretary would never tremble in fear of a mere dungeon!"
Then, with a confident smile, she turned to us and shouted.
"The cuddling time is over now, right? If you follow this cute secretary, you'll realize how silly it was to make such a fuss~ I'll tease you about it for the rest of your life―!"
Whirl― Thunk!
Bell playfully twirled her crimson dagger in the air and said.
"…So, come back safely―!"
We responded to her words.
"Yes!" "Bell comrade! We'll trust you!" "Mm…!" "Mm♪ How reassuring~"
With the warmth of the wall of flames at our backs, we ran forward.
Tap, tap, tap―
Following the faint light of the flames illuminating the dark sky, We moved towards the path of black ether beyond it.
‘The huge black ether triangle floating in the sky…’
The dungeon core emitting black ether shook. We advanced inside the dungeon gate entwined with white snakes and trees. As the gate came closer into view, black ether enveloped us.
I could sense that the aura of this event dungeon, with black ether slowly seeping out, was completely different from that of a regular dungeon gate.
At the same time, I recalled Sigrun's words from before the operation.
‘In the game and in reality, Bell and Sigrun were incredibly competent despite their hidden tendencies…’
Some time ago. Convinced by me, Sigrun had taken out a map from her pocket and explained the anomalies she had witnessed to Eid and Bell.
-The places where chaos insects from each dungeon gate in the northeast are gathering are these three… all northern region dungeon gates.
The northern corruption dungeon gate locations marked on the map Sigrun took out. The three dungeon gates were precisely located at the vertices of an equilateral triangle across the northern wilderness.
-Unlike the chaos insects trying to leave from other northeast dungeon gates, I confirmed that the chaos insects from these three dungeon gates connected by black ether lines were moving inward instead.
Eid, looking at the locations marked on the map, murmured.
-Most of our girls, unable to use their powers in places where ether consumption was abnormally high, had to retreat…
-That’s something we also confirmed inside the corruption dungeon gates in other northeast areas!
-Huh? Isn’t it the same as other places then? What’s the difference between these three gates connected in a triangle and other corruption gates?
Sigrun answered Bell’s question.
-As a result of quickly searching inside the dungeon with the investigation team, the gate's function to control the number of people had been lost. More importantly, black ether-emitting crystals were found all over the inside of the dungeon gate!
-Black ether?
-Yes! The chaos insects from various places were moving towards the path where black ether was flowing!
-Ha… So we need to destroy the crystals in those three dungeons.
Bell shouted joyfully at Eid's words.
-Then let’s all rush in and destroy them one by one! That’s the safest way!
-That probably won’t work.
-Why not~!!
-According to the magic students in the investigation team, the ether receptors arranged in a triangle are essentially a large magic circle with a mutual recovery property!
-What does that mean~!!
-Tsk, I don’t understand magic, so explain it simply.
-If we don’t destroy all three quickly within a short time, they’ll regenerate!
Bell frowned and said.
-How much time do we have?
-Only about 10 minutes, as expected!
Eid murmured while holding her head.
-Damn, each gate is exactly 10 minutes apart.
-Even if we hold out until reinforcements arrive… the northern region will be in ruins by then…
Sigrun continued with a somber expression.
-There were chaos insects of at least adult size guarding each crystal. However, with only me as a third-stage ether user, we abandoned all dungeon attacks and tried to call for reinforcements…!
Sigrun looked at Bell and Eid. The two quickly understood the situation. With the three of them together, they could resolve the situation before it escalated.
-With this team, we might be able to finish quickly before the situation drags on―♪ I’m glad we decided to get along and not fight―☆
-Tsk, you’re right.
Thus, we divided into teams attacking the three dungeon gates with confirmed black ether crystals and a defense team blocking the influx of chaos insects.
The <Scarlet Academy> students, unable to enter the dungeon due to their ether usage, took on the defense team role to block the chaos insects. The attack team leaders were the three third-stage combat power individuals.
Eid, the [Crimson Trajectory], who possessed combat power beyond a third-stage user without using explosive flames. Sigrun and Bell, the third-stage ether users who brought their own party members.
We joined Bell's party among the dungeon gate attack teams led by the three high-level ether users.
“Really~!! How did it come to this―!!”
Bell looked at us with a complicated expression.
Coming to the north to stop Sigrun, who had clashed with the <Scarlet Academy> students due to arson in the city center, the situation had escalated into dealing with the corruption incident and protecting the northern part of the academy city.
Bell ran, shouting with a complicated heart.
“Really…! Truly, truly, truly~!! I’ll repay this favor when we return to the outpost―!! Don’t report me to the boss~!!” “How many times are you going to say that…?”
Alvit looked at me and the other classmates, and we responded to her gaze with infinite positivity. Then she spoke confidently.
“We’re students of the same academy city! We’ll help you!” “Uwaaah!! Don’t talk like that, making it sound all youthful and passionate~!! It’s embarrassing because I tried to show off on our first meeting―!!” “...And didn’t you fail at that?” “Shh, be quiet.”
Bell finally shouted as she entered the gate right in front of us.
“Now! The dungeon breakthrough starts!”
Gooo―!
Usually, the penalty for rejecting a party of more than three members in a dungeon was not felt at all. Only the presence of black ether was felt. The juniors, facing this ominous aura, let out deep breaths.
“Kuh…! This much is…!” “Yes! We’ll overcome this with our spirit!” “…”
I quietly faced the aura, recalling my faded game knowledge.
‘…The curse of erosion.’
A special dungeon environment created by the [Priest of Corruption]. A debuff that drastically increased skill consumption.
This event dungeon’s key strategy was to push through endless monster waves with students having low ether costs. However, thanks to the <Scarlet Academy> students’ assistance, blocking further waves, the situation inside the dungeon was relatively manageable.
“Found a swarm of liquid chaos insects!!” “Kara! Let’s go together!” “Got it―!”
Whenever a swarm of liquid chaos insects appeared in the dark passage, Alvit and Kara fought to save Bell’s ether.
Alvit’s sword glowed with red ether, using skills with almost no cost.
“[Flash Sword]!!”
Following her scattered sword path, the red ether condensed. The sword energies, launched with a roar, exploded along the passage.
Boom―!! Shaaa―!!
The liquid chaos insects reacted to the sudden attack. They roared and moved their sluggish bodies to surround Alvit.
Slowly being surrounded, Alvit tried to break through while attacking. Since the skill cost was close to zero so far, She was startled by the first-time feeling of skill fatigue in this dungeon.
“Ugh?! Ether drains this much―?! It’s worse than Rota’s buff skill―?!” “[Revolutionary Comrade]!! Create a platform for Alvit comrade to escape!”
Flutter――
The ether signal from the flag Kara waved was transmitted, and summoned robots moved according to the pre-determined positions. It was more like a position alignment than a full-scale summoning attack skill.
Clank! Clank! Clank!
The robots, with their short rectangular bodies and slender limbs, created a platform for Alvit to step on.
Leap!
Alvit stepped on the stairs and leaped into the air, launching another round of attacks.
“[Flash Sword]―!!”
Boom―!!
The sword energies fired again. They finally exploded all the gathered liquid chaos insects. Having just passed a single encounter, her skill proficiency had noticeably increased.
“Senior… Alvit is getting stronger really fast…?” “…Yes♪ It’s fortunate.”
Rota, who had her skills practically sealed due to the dungeon’s debuff, was following Alvit and Kara with me, holding support items.
“Ugh!! This cute secretary will also make her mark soon! Get used to the dungeon’s feel~!!”
Bell, perhaps due to her concept obsession, was making odd remarks while watching Alvit’s prowess.
Thus, we advanced deeper into the dungeon.