Chapter 383
Finally, the day of the promotion exam + 5th BMAT.
All first-year students were teleported to a place called Scanbur Harbor.
The island with the dungeon was apparently a highly dangerous place with unstable coordinates, so they had to travel there by boat from the harbor.
Following the assistants’ instructions, the students trotted over to the docks and boarded the prepared four-person wooden boats. One local from the island stood at each boat with a paddle.
“Four people on the large boats! Three on the small ones!”
The assistants shouted themselves hoarse trying to manage the lively boys and girls.
“There aren’t enough spots for all four of us.”
Maelyn, having just returned from surveying the docks, put her hands on her hips and murmured.
“We’ll have to split up, one or two at a time.”
“Yeah. No helping it.”
Kamibarez let out a regretful smile.
“I wanted to stay together as long as we could before the exam……”
At her words, Simon and Maelyn flinched and exchanged glances.
Eventually, their gaze turned to Dick. Their eyes were basically screaming, Do something!
“Ufufu! Time for the fixer to shine?”
Dick, with a confident strut, approached the islanders. Since they didn’t speak continental language, he started gesturing wildly to explain something.
“Student! Return to your place!”
One assistant shouted, but Dick held onto the boat and faked a desperate toilet emergency.
When the assistant sighed and walked off elsewhere, he quickly resumed his conversation with the islander.
“სყლჹჺჟ!”
The islander shouted something and ran off. A short while later...
“Waaaah!”
Kamibarez and Maelyn jumped up and hugged each other with delight.
The islander had brought his own boat.
Dick slipped the man a gold coin and shouted, “Yo! Yo! We’re best friends now!” They bumped fists and clapped hands, seemingly understanding each other perfectly.
“Alright, everyone get on!”
Everyone hurried over to the new boat. Perhaps because it was privately owned, it was a bit bigger and more comfortable.
“Assistant! Is that even allowed?!”
Elisa, from the next boat over, frowned and tattled to the assistants.
“If you’re jealous, you could spend your own money too.”
Dick snickered as he high-fived Simon and said cheerfully,
“Aw~ too bad. A politician’s silver tongue is useless in a town that doesn’t speak the language, huh? But money talks no matter where you go.”
“That slimy merchant…!”
Of course he’d be Simon’s friend. Elisa was fuming, but Dick just laid back on the comfy boat, hands behind his head.
“Thank you so much, Dick!”
Kamibarez beamed as she stepped onto the boat.
“This is the best gift ever!”
Coincidentally, today—promotion exam day—was Kamibarez’s birthday. Dick casually gave her a thumbs-up.
“Don’t praise him too much, Kami. He’ll be full of himself for a whole week.”
Maelyn said as she stepped onto the boat. But then the current shifted, and the boat swayed away from the dock.
“Ah.”
She was just about to stretch her leg across but quickly pulled it back. She bit her pink lip, clearly showing a hint of fear.
“Whoa, you scared? Did Maelyn just flinch?”
Dick instantly caught on and started teasing her.
Maelyn glared at him and took a few steps back.
“Who’s scared!”
Then, she sprinted forward and leapt into the boat.
Thud!
Creaaak! Creeaak! Creeeak!
The boat shook violently, splashing cold water. Her landing was clumsy, and she let out a startled, “Wah!” and wobbled dangerously.
Just as her balance shifted and she was about to fall into the sea—
Snap!
Simon appeared like lightning and gently caught her. At the same time, he spread his legs wide and used Darkness to stabilize the boat.
Creak—creak—creeaaak—
The shaking slowly subsided.
“...Ah.”
Maelyn, now in Simon’s arms, turned as red as a beet.
Her trembling eyelashes, lips letting out short breaths, cheeks flushing in real time.
She was frozen stiff.
“You okay?”
Simon gently held her round shoulders and helped her stand, offering a soft smile.
“Ah, yeah.”
She brushed her hair back and sat with her knees together. Then, with a shy expression, she mumbled in a very small voice.
“...Thanks.”
She had nearly fallen into the water before the test and made a complete fool of herself.
As she tried to calm her racing heart—
“Wahaha! I thought the boat was gonna flip!”
Dick, of course, couldn’t let it go. With a grin that reached his ears, he snickered,
“How heavy must you be to shake the boat that much? Was it like a whole pig jumping on?”
“What, a pig? You wanna die?!”
Maelyn shrieked and lunged at him, making the boat tip dangerously again. She quickly returned to her seat, glancing at the rower in alarm.
“See that, Simon? I’m right, huh?”
Dick wiggled his eyebrows. Simon and Kamibarez burst out laughing, while Maelyn growled in embarrassment.
Amid all the bickering, the boat finally set off.
Drifting across the deep, dark blue sea in a small wooden boat gave them all a sense of tension.
Then, Dick started signaling to the islander again with exaggerated gestures. The islander nodded and slightly altered their course.
“……”
Simon and Maelyn exchanged glances again. Kamibarez tightly gripped the boat’s edge and looked around nervously.
“Um, hey… I think we’re drifting away from the others!”
Just as Kamibarez turned her head in concern—
Ta-da!
A cake with candles had appeared in the center of the boat. Maelyn clapped and shouted.
“One, two, go!”
Everyone chimed in at once.
“Happy birthday, Kami!”
They clapped in celebration. They couldn’t be loud since they didn’t want the assistants to find out, but it was a small birthday surprise just for Group 7.
Kamibarez’s eyes welled up with emotion.
“Blow out the candles!”
“Ah, okay!”
She pressed her hands to her chest and blew out the candles with a “Hoo!”
The three clapped again, and even the islander paused his rowing to cheer in his language: “Hwiahu! Hwaihu!”
“Thank you so much, everyone!”
Kamibarez wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, overwhelmed.
“If it weren’t for you all, I couldn’t have endured life at Keyzen. Meeting you guys is the luckiest thing that’s ever happened to me!”
“Kami! You’re too sweet!”
Maelyn couldn’t hold back anymore and hugged Kamibarez. But the boat shook again with a creak creak, and she quickly returned to her seat.
“Ah! Why does this only happen when I move?!”
She pouted with a red face, and Dick answered,
“Because body weight doesn’t lie.”
“HEY!!!”
After sharing the cake, the four rejoined the other students.
About twenty minutes later, they arrived at the island.
“Wow.”
Dick stood there, dumbfounded.
“…No joke.”
BOOM—!
BOOOOM!
A volcano was erupting in real time from the island’s crater. Lava, reaching temperatures close to 1,000 degrees, flowed down the mountainside in streams, and as it hit the seawater, massive clouds of steam rose, leaving the students gaping in awe.
“Get down! Keep your heads low as we move!”
“It’s dangerous! No fooling around!”
All the students dropped to the decks of their boats, lying flat with only their eyes moving. Only the assistants, scattered evenly among the boats, stood upright.
BOOOOOOOM!
Another eruption hurled massive chunks of volcanic rock toward the students. Screams broke out, but the assistants calmly raised their arms.
<Spuma>
FLASH!
As soon as the Darkness shot out from the assistants’ fingertips and struck the volcanic debris, it transformed into large bubbles, trapping the projectiles inside.
With a wave of the assistant’s arm, the bubbles carrying the debris were flung back toward the volcanic island.
<Spuma> <Spuma>
The assistants repeatedly cast Darkness magic to clear away the volcanic rubble and continued forward.
“Ah! Look over there!”
Maelyn, lying prone and holding Kamibarez’s hand tightly, shouted.
“It’s Professor Jane!”
Just as she said, the students and professors who had arrived earlier were waiting ahead on the island.
The Keyzen professors weren’t manually clearing the debris like the assistants—they had erected a protective barrier over one section. Volcanic rocks and magma vanished without a trace upon contact with the barrier.
“Professor Eric Aura!”
“Professor Bahil’s here too!”
Simon scanned the faces of the professors.
Vice-chancellor Jane, Eric from Darkness Dynamics, Bahil from Katarology, a Toxicology professor from the other class whose name he didn’t know, and—
‘...Professor Walter.’
Recently, Simon had received an additional mission report from Kajan.
The disappearance of Count Caron had seemed suspicious, so Kajan had personally begun an investigation with Neftis’ approval—but even that had concluded with no charges.
‘...Sigh, was I being too paranoid?’
As Simon mulled over the thought, the boats began to arrive one by one at the island.
Students disembarked, and the assistants ran breathlessly to check attendance.
“P-Professor Jane!”
The head assistant, sweating and panting, rushed to Jane.
“All 647 first-year students have arrived. Huff, huff!”
“Excellent work.”
Jane patted the assistant lightly on the shoulder, then clapped her hands and called out.
“All first-years, attention!”
Every student turned their heads toward Jane. The once-noisy volcanic island instantly fell silent.
Dick stroked his chin.
“Krrrr, Professor Jane. As fierce as ever—”
“Please remain silent, Dick Hayword.”
Dick’s lips snapped shut at the public callout.
“A few years ago, this island was a peaceful vacation spot, but due to the dungeon, unprecedented volcanic activity has begun. From now, we will be ascending the volcano.”
She looked around at the students.
“This is an unknown disaster. Volcanic debris could fall at any moment, magma could erupt without warning. And of course, monsters live on volcanoes. But under no circumstances should you act alone, call for staff immediately. That is, unless you want to drop out before the promotion exam even begins.”
The students shouted in unison, “Understood!” Jane nodded.
“Professors will take the lead, and the assistants will flank and coordinate from the sides.”
“Yes!”
The assistants quickly spread out and took positions some distance from the lines of students. Jane turned to her side.
“I’ll leave it to you, Professor Walter.”
“Cough, cough, yes.”
Walter replied through a cough and opened up a subspace. He still didn’t look very well.
THUD!
What he pulled out was a giant heart. A magic circle activated, and a large volume of blood spurted from the heart into the air.
Walter began chanting.
“Chasseur.”
His gentle, warm voice spread into the atmosphere. The blood gathered into a shape, stretching wide like a net. It spread out broadly, like a roof floating in midair.
It was large enough to cover the entire student body.
“Then let’s begin.”
Jane took the lead, with the other professors guiding the students beside her. The assistants handled the flanks.
The students began to move. As they exited the barrier, volcanic debris burst from the summit, scattering noxious gas as it fell.
Some students screamed and covered their heads.
THUMP!
But the debris struck Walter’s overhead net. The net rippled once, absorbed the shock, and rolled the debris out and away.
“As expected of Professor Walter!”
Female students following behind Walter let out cheers of delight.
Volcanic rocks falling from above were blocked by Walter, toxic smoke and gas were managed by Eric, and other threats were handled by Jane and Bahil.
—GRRRRRRR!
A golem monster made of volcanic rock charged at the students from an uphill path.
Jane sent a violet butterfly from her fingertip that landed on the golem’s head. She clapped once.
CRACK!
The golem’s head was smashed to pieces. The students gasped in awe.
SSSS—
This time, Bahil gestured to the side.
Flame monsters resembling charred human silhouettes—Muspels—came charging toward the students, only to explode before reaching them.
‘Oh, that technique.’
Simon blinked.
“What is it, Simon?”
“Nah, it’s nothing.”
Right before the grand challenge of the promotion exam, the students got to enjoy watching the professors and assistants display their power.
And so, the first-years finally reached the peak of the erupting volcano.
The scorching heat made it hard to keep their eyes open.
“There it is!”
Inside the crater that looked like a monster’s gaping mouth, red-hot magma boiled furiously, and at the very center—a pitch-black swirling portal, as if it would swallow everything.
That was the entrance to the dungeon.
“Get ready.”
Jane said, looking over the students.
“We’ll be descending in order.”
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters
Very good story and translation but half the chapter aren't for free and it is wayyyy too expensive will it stat like tjis foreve or will it get free after some time