As the group passed the entrance of the dungeon, their expressions turned serious.
All four halted their steps simultaneously.
There lay a wide room at the end of the narrow passage.
But the issue was that this vast room wasn’t empty.
Ssssss!
From the dark depths, menacing red eyes began to open one by one.
Of course, the threat of this level is something they had encountered numerous times during training.
They are well aware that this is no ordinary dungeon.
What’s astonishing is the “number” of these eyes.
Dozens, no, hundreds of eyes filled with murderous intent glared at the party.
“Secure the visibility!”
Castro’s command came a bit too late.
Isera had already deployed a light spell.
The glowing orb of light touched the ceiling.
Whoosh!
Monsters flinched at the spreading light, making gurgling noises, but they soon adapted to the artificial illumination.
“They’re goblins.”
It wasn’t just lycanthropes that emerged from the dungeon. Jessica had reported intel that a 1-degree goblin had appeared.
Thus, it was entirely plausible to infer the existence of a goblin horde.
‘Clearly, these guys are on a different level compared to those we faced in the educational dungeons.’
Ian Oracle scanned the goblins.
The ones tainted by dark energy had much larger builds and wielded more refined weapons.
‘The poison darts they use are probably more lethal as well.’
Although they had brought plenty of antidotes, getting hit by poison darts in the midst of chaos would be problematic.
‘And this dungeon’s structure…’
Ian had noticed, as perhaps others had too, that the structure didn’t seem natural.
‘When entering, it resembled a natural cave, but there’s a room-like space at every turn. Almost as if constructed.’
It seemed plausible that the dungeon was created by someone’s hand.
Ian sent a thought to the cat that was observing the surroundings without materializing.
‘What do you think?’
『I definitely sense traces of demons. But there’s nothing to worry about! The trace is coming from the core area. If we destroy the core, it’ll vanish.』
‘Are you sure?’
『If you don’t trust me, feel it for yourself! You can sense it too! Lazy human!』
However, Ian didn’t attempt to do so.
Sensing a human presence and this were entirely different matters.
Problems could arise in interpreting the information.
Ian was still unfamiliar with dark energy.
‘It’s better to leave this to the spirit. But if there are traces of demons…’
It wasn’t easy for demons to cross over to the human realm.
Thus, they send cores instead, to collect human pain and despair. The creation of dungeons is the result, according to academic consensus.
‘If this dungeon is of this scale, then the monster guarding the core must be quite powerful.’
It was certain that at least a 3-degree monster guarded the core.
Up to 2-degree was manageable.
But beyond 3-degree, the strength was unpredictable.
『When should I make a move? It seems a waste of claws to deal with these crude goblins.』
‘You’ll get your chance as we move further inside. Wait. And do not reveal your energy.’
『Understood.』
Ian had given the cat specific instructions before entering the dungeon. Thus, it accompanied them without materializing.
It was a strategy to unmask Castro.
‘It’s a plan that cannot fail.’
Ian expected that once sufficiently inside the dungeon, there would come a moment when Castro would find an excuse to separate and act alone with Roche.
‘That will be the opportunity.’
Ian intended to use Goyang to turn the tables on Castro.
“Kiiiii!”
“Kiik!”
“Kieeek!”
At that moment, the goblins that had been warily watching them finally revealed their true nature.
With sharp cries, they began to approach slowly.
The procession of red eyes was terrifying enough to make one’s knees weak.
“Damn it! If it’s like this at the entrance, what must it be like inside?”
A stunned Castro spoke again to Ian, sounding as if he was reproaching him.
“The operation should have been stopped!”
“If the Marquis hears that, he might be disappointed!”
Ian quipped nonchalantly as he gathered mana in his staff.
Isera did the same.
While the two ace students from the Department of Magic prepared for battle, the leader of the Department of Martial Arts was consumed with complaints.
Castro was unaware that his untidy emotions were affecting his junior, Roche, entirely.
Ian was preparing his spell and spoke, “Elder brother! Numbers don’t matter. As previously agreed, we can handle this.”
“Who’s afraid of goblins? It’s what comes after that’s the problem.”
“We’ll deal with whatever comes next the same way. Don’t worry.”
Castro regretted what he had said.
At some point, Ian had stopped calling him “senior” and started addressing him as “Elder brother.”
Although he had asked for it, actually hearing it had a mocking tone.
Of course, that was Ian’s intention.
‘This will drive him crazy and make it hard for him to retreat blindly. I’d like to unsettle him and break his composure as much as possible. No matter how skilled, without experience, he’ll show a gap.’
“So, shall we see your impressive skills?”
“The lycanthrope wasn’t enough?”
“That was then, this is now.”
Castro passed the burden to Ian.
Ian was rather grateful to him for that.
“Please, watch my back.”
Srrrng!
Castro and Roche drew their swords.
The two moved as if they had planned it, with Roche taking the rear and Castro the middle.
Meanwhile, Ian and Isera positioned themselves at the forefront.
“Senior. Please allow me to take the first strike. There’s something I’d like to experiment with.”
“I envy your leisure to experiment.”
“The more monsters, the better.”
“Take it easy.”
Isera seemed to have a sense of what Ian was planning.
Ian formed the hand runes.
Mystical light wove patterns through the air from Ian’s fingertips.
It was a signature spell invocation for a more potent Lightning Spell.
Yet, that wasn’t the end.
Ian added a few more motions to the supposed completion of the spell.
‘Good. Half the work is done.’
The casting hadn’t been canceled.
Instead, the magical energy at his fingertips was transforming into a potent electric current.
‘Complete the magic without activating it.’
With that mindset, he perfectly tied off the hand runes.
‘Complete the form and then change its phase.’
Bzzzzzzt!
Lightning didn’t rest in Ian’s hand as usual.
It traveled up the staff and concentrated at its end, discharging electric currents.
Like a strong fish thrashing inside a small bowl, the lightning writhed frantically at the staff’s tip.
‘And then erupt it from a single point in all directions.’
Ian leaped high into the air.
He had already boosted his leg muscles with magical energy, increasing his strength.
It was far more agile than flying magic.
‘Reckless.’
Isera quickly moved and deployed a shield.
Not for herself, but towards Ian, who had jumped high.
‘But it’s a new approach we haven’t seen before.’
As Isera admired silently, Ian dove into the center of the goblin horde.
All conditions were met.
『Lightning Field.』
Upon landing, Ian forcefully thrust his staff into the ground.
Thud!
Crack!
Sizzle!
Dozens of bolts of lightning poured in all directions.
It was a majestic scene, as if the god of lightning had cast bolts down to earth.
Lightning moved as swiftly as light.
The goblins, slow in their movements, could not respond at all.
“Kueeek!”
“Gyarrrrrk!”
Every goblin within a radius of 10 meters centered around Ian was charred black.
Nothing alive remained.
Perhaps it was only effective because goblins were low-level monsters.
It might not work as well on horned monsters or those with resistance to magic.
Still, Ian felt a thrilling sense of accomplishment.
Strictly speaking, it was not a new spell.
It was an ingenious application. But such minor terminological differences did not hinder Ian’s sense of achievement.
The spell worked effectively enough to be called a novel creation.
“Lightning Field… what a cool spell.”
Today, Isera’s praise seemed unusually generous.
“Thank you. I had a moment of panic when the poison needle hit the shield, but you saved me, senior.”
The awe that lingered on Isera’s face shattered instantly.
It seemed she had expected some countermeasures.
“Ian Oracle.”
“Yes?”
“Do you have multiple lives?”
“No, just one.”
“Then shouldn’t you be more cautious? What kind of mage recklessly charges in like that?”
“I guess Milo influenced me a bit. At some point, my body started acting instinctively. I’ll be more careful next time.”
Woosh!
Isera conjured flames from her staff, incinerating the remaining goblins.
The flames seemed rougher than usual, but Ian dismissed it as just his imagination.
The battle ended swiftly.
“Ian! How can you waste mana like that? Even without dungeon exploration experience, you must have read some books, right?”
“Waste? What do you mean?”
Castro approached with a stern expression as if seizing an opportunity.
“Anyone knows that if you recklessly release an area spell like that, your mana will deplete quickly.”
Castro’s criticism was valid.
The power aside, deploying an area spell of this magnitude was, literally, ‘wasteful’.
For a mage, it was crucial to use magic judiciously because the source of magic, mana, is not infinite.
It was fine during training since one could stop and rest at any time.
“But this is real combat. You never know what might happen in a dungeon, and wasting magic recklessly is irresponsible. And experimenting, no less!”
“I didn’t waste much.”
“What?”
Ian shrugged his shoulders with a smirk.
“Really. You seemed surprised because it was a spell you hadn’t seen before, but it was just a slight adaptation. It’s about a 3-circle level spell with techniques applied to increase efficiency, so it didn’t actually consume much mana.”
Moreover, the effect of the star necklace was substantial.
Castro looked at Isera, seeking confirmation.
“Ian’s statement is accurate. And isn’t experimenting natural? As per kingdom law I’m familiar with, experiments on people are prohibited, particularly area spells.”
Castro’s gaze twitched. Isera wasn’t finished.
“Also, your criticism oversteps your bounds, senior.”
“What?”
“It’s absurd for mages not to consider their mana reserves. A mage without mana is no different from an ordinary person.”
Isera’s continual criticism irritated Castro, but he had no grounds to stop her.
“Moreover, a fighter commenting on a mage’s mana reserves is like us commenting on how you wield your weapon, which muscles you use, and how much force you apply. That’s why I called it overstepping your authority.”
“….”
Unable to counter, Castro pursed his lips.
“Ian Oracle, I’ll let it go this time, but you need to be careful from now on. We have a long way to go.”
“Understood.”
“Move out!”
The four resumed their exploration.