The dungeon professors of Soul Academy had gathered early in the morning at the dungeon monitoring station, sipping tea.
So were new professors who had only recently joined, while others were seasoned veterans with high reputations, including even elder professors who had no real reason to be there.
Normally, these professors would be busy supervising graduate students and working on their own tasks, but they had abandoned all that to gather here because of the imnse effort they had put into this year's dungeon.
From the start of the academy’s vacation until now, everyone in the Departnt of Dungeon Studies had been tirelessly working together to create this dungeon, making it a true product of their collective effort.
"It’s quite enjoyable to see the students struggle and then eventually overco challenges," one of the professors said.
"Seeing them despair as we intended is also quite fun," another chuckled.
"I think I understand why Lady Allen enjoyed watching others struggle to conquer dungeons," a third professor added.
Originally, the professors in the Departnt of Dungeon Studies hadn’t been enthusiastic about creating dungeons for the academy.
They were researchers before they were teachers.
Instead of creating dungeons for others, they preferred to focus on their own research and achievents, planning to submit their work to academic journals and conferences.
As a result, dungeon creation had always been delegated to the lower-ranked faculty mbers.
However, this year, the professors changed their minds due to the shock caused by the dungeon created by Lucy Allen.
The dungeon she had crafted was so perfect it was hard to believe it was her first attempt. It was also refreshingly innovative, breaking free from the traditional mold.
The dungeon was one that anyone could clear, but it was not so simple that anyone could conquer it easily. It was a dungeon that sent shockwaves through Soul Academy and the entire dungeon research community, making it undeniable that it was the best dungeon of the year.
The professors from the Dungeon Studies Departnt who had witnessed this firsthand realized that they had been terribly mistaken.
The purpose of the Departnt of Dungeon Studies was to analyze existing dungeons and teach students how to conquer them.
Creating complex, bizarre dungeons for academic recognition was far removed from the origins of dungeon studies.
Realizing that they had gone down the wrong path, the professors decided to return to their roots and focus their efforts on creating a dungeon this year that would teach students how to overco challenges.
They wanted students to be equipped with the knowledge to tackle any dungeon, no matter how difficult.
And above all, they wanted to watch the students scream in agony as they faced the challenges they had carefully crafted.
So far, things were going as the professors had hoped.
The freshn were getting familiar with dungeons by tackling the lower levels, and those experienced with dungeon exploration were overcoming the gimmicks after the 30th floor, growing stronger.
The most talented were pushing toward the highest floors, while Lucy Allen, the one who had inspired the professors to make this dungeon, was suffering on the 99th floor.
"When even Lady Allen enjoys watching others struggle with the dungeon, I’m sure this dungeon will be highly rated," one of the professors mused.
"Outside the academic community, yes," another responded. "But the scholars will surely complain, saying that this is a dungeon only Soul Academy could have created."
"Ah, that’s right. They’ve been saying for years that it’s possible because of the high concentration of magic here at the academy," the third added.
"Which, as much as it annoys , is not entirely incorrect, so I can’t really argue with them."
As the professors chatted while waiting for the dungeon door to open, the lower-ranked professors who were supposed to be monitoring the dungeon were sweating nervously behind them.
The elders behind them were like the history of the academy itself.
If they upset them, those in ambiguous positions within the academy could find themselves in precarious situations.
"Oh, Lady Allen has arrived," one professor comnted.
"Wasn’t she furious after getting stuck on the 99th floor yesterday?" another remarked.
"Haha, even soone as talented as her probably didn’t expect that sothing was prepared specifically for her," a third added.
"Now that a night has passed, I wonder if she’s figured it out yet."
Normally, the 99th floor of the academy dungeon could only be cleared if four party mbers each perford their designated roles. It was not enough for one person to be outstanding; all party mbers had to contribute equally to overco the dungeon.
However, that wasn’t the only way.
The professors had also prepared a thod for one person to clear the dungeon.
It was much harder and more complex than the normal approach, but if soone really wanted to, they could clear the dungeon alone.
This exception was essentially a tribute to Lucy Allen.
The professors had put their heads together, inspired by her, and created a thod for her to succeed. It was their way of rewarding her for inspiring them and for preventing the accidents that might have occurred while they were fully invested in creating the dungeon.
As Lucy Allen entered the dungeon, the professors watched with expectation, but also with a sense of regret. Her quick decision to enter one of the paths proved that she hadn’t found the solution yet.
"Hmm, not yet," one professor muttered.
"Lady Allen is incredible, but she’s still a student. It’s hard to figure it out right away," another comnted.
"True. After all, it was created by the twisted, old minds of the academy professors."
"Let’s just wait patiently. She’ll surely figure it out soon."
Just as the professors had seen the day before, Lucy reached the end of the dungeon in less than 10 minutes, as if she had perfectly morized the path.
She took on the boss with ease, demonstrating no flaws in her strategy. Though she was alone, she did what was ant to be done by four.
The professors marveled at how much she had mastered in just one day, but as Lucy didn’t finish off the boss, instead twisting its limbs to immobilize it and then pouring so liquid into its mouth, they realized what she had done.
She had poisoned the boss.
The mont she exited the boss room, the boss scread in agony, and the professors realized what had happened.
"Did she know how to handle poison?" one of the professors asked, bewildered.
"What is she trying to do?" another wondered.
"Well, it’s Lucy Allen, so whatever she’s doing, it’s probably not pointless," another professor responded.
"Could she be trying to kill the bosses at the sa ti?" one asked.
The room fell silent after that remark.
"Is that even possible? Can she really adjust the timing of the poison to kill the bosses at the sa ti?" one professor asked.
"Of course, I think it’s impossible, but she wouldn’t have done that without a reason," another replied.
"That’s true, but..."
While the professors were still confused, Lucy Allen had entered the next dungeon and quickly progressed, leaving the second boss half-dead.
The second boss was made of rock, so poison wasn’t effective. Instead, Lucy resorted to sothing else.
A bomb.
She pulled a bomb from her spatial pocket and set it nearby, intending to make it explode after a set amount of ti.
"Why is she so skilled with explosives?" one professor marveled.
"...She really is quite versatile," another said.
"Is this really the ti to be impressed? Doesn’t Lucy Allen really want to take down all four bosses at once?"
When Lucy reached the third dungeon, she faced a specter. This enemy couldn’t be dealt with using physical ans.
But this didn’t faze Lucy. As a paladin wielding holy power, she destroyed the specter effortlessly and created an area filled with holy energy to burn the already-dead specter again.
After defeating the specter, Lucy rushed toward the final dungeon. Just before defeating the last boss, the 99th floor was reset.
Her holy power had been so strong that the third specter died first.
"Right, that’s impossible," a professor sighed with relief. "If Lucy Allen managed to clear it like that, the whole point of this dungeon would be lost."
However, their relief didn’t last long. Lucy Allen was back again, rushing into the dungeon.
"She’ll give up eventually, right?" one professor muttered.
"Don’t worry. She’ll realize soon enough that it’s impossible," another reassured.
"Let’s hope so," another agreed.
"Even if she doesn’t give up, it’s impossible for her to succeed!" another professor added confidently.
While they tried to dismiss Lucy’s efforts, their attention turned to the other students tackling the dungeon.
The first thing that caught their eye was Arthur Soladin’s party, who had caught up to Lucy Allen’s progress. They were now exploring the 99th floor, moving toward the normal strategies.
Lucy, however, was still not done with her relentless attempts.
In her attempts, Lucy continued to adjust, facing setback after setback—whether the poison was too strong, or a boss was defeated too early, or an explosion was triggered too soon. Each failure only fueled her resolve.
She had a stubbornness that wouldn’t let her back down.
And so, with determination in her heart, she moved toward her thirtieth attempt, convinced that this ti, she would succeed.
She had perfectly tid the deaths of the first three bosses.
Now, all she had to do was ensure the timing for the fourth boss's death was perfect.
And then, she would reach the 100th floor.
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