I stepped back as Faybi yelled.
Is it just me, or is she casting faster than in the game?
Looks like she’s really pissed off by my provocation.
Just look at those fiery eyes.
Seeing Faybi’s flushed face made me laugh without realizing it.
Back in the game, I did everything I could just to see Faybi angry on the other side of the monitor.
You know how there’s always that one character who's too kind and only gives a wry smile no matter what mischievous things you do to them? It feels like there should be some special interaction, right?
That’s why all the veterans in Soul Academy used every trick in the book to make Faybi mad.
And in the end, they found out there were no interactions where Faybi got angry.
I remember everyone lamenting the developers’ lack of insight when that conclusion was reached.
This chapter is updat𝓮d by freēwebnovel.com.
How great would it be if I could take a screenshot of this angry Faybi and post it in the community?
It’d definitely get a hilarious reaction.
But now, it’s something I can only imagine.
“I will begin the purification prayer!”
The moment Faybi shouted, divine power surged around her.
Even though the old man hadn’t said anything, I could tell.
This time, Faybi wasn’t going to fail.
Ha. Seriously. She could’ve done it so well from the start—why did she have to fail the first time?
Because of that, I ended up looking like the bad guy for no reason.
I wanted to get closer to Faybi, but now I had to lower my favorability by teasing her like this.
It’s really enough to bring tears to my eyes.
I wonder if I can make up for this during field practice.
As Faybi followed the prayer and chanted, the dragon's wingbeats in the sky began to slow.
Even a dragon couldn’t withstand the immense divine power of a saintess.
The dragon, overwhelmed by the divine energy surrounding it, fell to the ground.
The cave trembled, and dust billowed up from where the dragon crashed.
It was almost over, but it wasn’t time to relax just yet.
I raised my shield and stood in front of Faybi and Frey, blocking their path.
Not long after, the ground shook again, and the dust cleared.
Even if the dragon had bowed to the divine power, its essence hadn’t changed.
Its tenacious vitality still animated the golem’s body.
Now, my role was simple.
I just had to hold the line until Faybi finished the purification prayer.
I had to make sure this lizard didn’t cross that line.
It’s what a tank is supposed to do.
And it’s something I was more confident in than anyone else.
Even with a golem’s body, a dragon is still a dragon.
It could quickly figure out who was causing it the most harm.
As I saw the red eyes of the beast focusing on the saintess behind me, I took a deep breath and smiled.
Oh? Trying to look behind you?
There’s a small, cute, and annoying girl standing right in front of you.
A dragon who’s lived for eons, and yet doesn’t know a single thing about manners?
If a lady asks you to dance and extends her hand, it’s only polite to join her for a song.
But it looks like your brain turned into a golem’s too.
If your head doesn’t work, I’ll drill some sense into it.
You’re headed to the underworld today, but who knows?
Maybe you’ll need some manners even in the afterlife.
If that day comes, you’ll have to thank me.
Got it?
“Hey, loser lizard♡ Look at me♡”
Let’s play together.
After the purification prayer was completed, the golem’s body lost its power and collapsed forward.
Watching it fall, Faybi, who had been anxiously tense, sighed in relief as the exit to the dungeon appeared.
Thank goodness.
I did it!
I showed Lady Alrn the miracle of Armadi!
Faybi had never experienced emotions that burned as fiercely red as these before.
Because of that, overcoming them and achieving success now gave her a sense of exhilaration she’d never felt before.
I wonder what Lady Alrn will say now.
After all, I just pulled off this feat thanks to the very god she so arrogantly dismissed!
Faybi puffed out her chest and waited for Lucy to return.
“Lady Alrn! Don’t you have anything to say?!”
Faybi shouted as Lucy approached, sweeping her dust-covered hair back.
Hearing Faybi’s words, Lucy shot her a sidelong glance before bursting out laughing.
W-what?
Why is she laughing?!
Shouldn’t Lady Alrn be apologizing, not laughing?!
“Aha! So petty. You’re still hung up on that?”
“You were the one who insulted my god first, Lady Alrn!”
How could she be so shameless after spouting all that blasphemy?!
I can still vividly remember her calling Armadi... that!
“But you really did fail the first time, didn’t you? If you didn’t want to be mocked, you should’ve succeeded. Pathetic saintess.”
“Ugh...!”
Faybi, never having been in such a verbal sparring match, couldn’t stand the sight of Lucy looking at her with a smug, condescending smile.
Gripping her academy uniform’s skirt tightly in both hands, Faybi glared at Lucy, who walked right up to her, stretched out her hand, and poked Faybi on the nose.
Caught completely off guard, Faybi stumbled back, clutching her nose with both hands, as Lucy’s smile grew even wider.
“You did well in the end. If you could’ve done that from the start, why didn’t you? Truly pathetic.”
With that, Lucy turned around and headed toward where the dungeon rewards had appeared.
Is... is that... acknowledgment?
Hey! Mesugaki Skill!
Why did you have to poke me on the nose?!
Do you know how flustered I was because of that?!
It’s one thing to not apologize when someone’s angry, but provoking them more is crossing the line!
Ugh. I’m losing it.
What does Faybi think of me now?
I’m used to people looking at me with hostility, but I never expected to end up being hated by a saintess.
Is there no way to remove the penalty of the Mesugaki skill?
Considering that even our useless god once reduced my penalties, maybe he’ll do it again someday?
I entertained the thought for a moment, but quickly dismissed it.
Our pathetic god is a twisted pervert who enjoys being humiliated by little girls. Unless I achieve something on the level of resealing the evil god, there’s no way he’ll do me any favors.
Resigned, I approached the table near the dungeon’s exit to collect the rewards.
“What’s this?”
Frey tilted her head as she examined four orbs with a cloudy glow inside.
‘Those are...’
“You really don’t know, Frey? These are proficiency-enhancing orbs.”
“And what are those?”
Well, it makes sense that she wouldn’t know.
The first-clear reward for the academy’s first-semester dungeon is these proficiency-enhancing orbs.
You hold one, focus on what proficiency you want to improve, and it’ll increase that skill level.
The proficiency I’d normally have to spend a month sweating over could be boosted instantly with just one of these orbs!
They’re super efficient and useful items, but so rare that you can’t get them no matter how much money you have.
There’s a reason they’re chosen as the reward for clearing the academy dungeon first.
If you put them up for sale, the price would be astronomical.
In the game, the reason why the first-semester dungeon was often skipped wasn’t because the rewards weren’t worth it, but because the effort to efficiency ratio was poor. Still, if you could get these orbs, you’d want them.
As I explained what the orbs were to Frey, she grabbed one without hesitation and closed her eyes.
The cloudy substance inside the orb flowed into Frey’s body, and the orb transformed into a clear, glowing crystal.
Frey, inspecting herself after putting down the now-empty orb, frowned slightly and approached the fallen golem's body, brandishing her sword.
“Oh.”
Looks like she felt something change.
Without a word, Frey started swinging her sword at the golem, her expression focused.
Her concentration was intense.
At this rate, she won’t listen to anything for a while.
Like Frey, I picked up an orb and muttered the skill I wanted to enhance in my mind.
It’s down to two choices: mace or shield.
I could always grind up my mace proficiency just by swinging it around, but that’s not as easy with shields.
Let’s boost my shield proficiency first.
As soon as I decided, the cloudy mist from the orb flowed into my body.
This feels... strange.
It makes my body itch a little.
Alright, now there’s one for Faybi, and...
The real problem is the last orb.
Normally, a party of four would each take one, and that would be the end of it.
But this party isn’t exactly made up of four members.
Technically speaking, we’re three party members and one safety officer.
Which means, if I play my cards right, I could snag two orbs.
Since there’s no limit to how many orbs you can use, unlike potions.
I glanced over at Karl, and he immediately waved his hands in refusal.
“I can’t accept any rewards. I didn’t contribute. You three should decide how to use the remaining orb.”
Called it.
Alright, I’ll make it up to you for your trouble later.
I’ve been meaning to gift you something to display in place of that cursed sword, anyway.
“I’m fine with just one. After all, I didn’t really do much except at the end. Honestly, I feel a bit guilty taking even one.”
As expected, Faybi declined before I could even bring it up.
Yeah. She might’ve been the MVP on the 100th floor, but she was deadweight for the other 99. One is more than enough for her.
So now, the last one goes to...
“Hey, loser swordswoman♡!”
No matter how focused Frey was, she was powerless before the Mesugaki skill’s provocation.
The moment I called out, she stopped mid-swing and walked over with a disgruntled look.
I explained the situation to her, that there was one orb left and we needed to decide who got it.
Greed flickered in Frey’s eyes as she looked at the orb.
Oh? You want it?
You really think you deserve it after just following my lead the whole time?
I gave her a pointed look, but Frey’s expression didn’t budge.
“If it weren’t for me, we wouldn’t have cleared the dungeon in a day.”
Well... that’s true.
No other first-year student could’ve kept up with my pace.
Joey still has a long way to go before he’s in decent shape.
“So I deserve it too.”
Not willing to give up, huh?
Is the proficiency boost really that tempting?
Well, I’m also doing this petty nonsense for the proficiency boost, so I can’t really talk.
Alright.
Fine.
I’ll admit it, Frey. You did pull your weight.
‘Then...’
“Alright, loser swordswoman. Let’s settle this fairly with rock-paper-scissors.”
“One round?”
‘Yep.’
“Fine. One round.”
A pure test of luck, where nothing else can interfere.
A 50/50 chance.
That’s fair, right?
“Let’s do it.”
Haha! Got you! You fool, Frey!
You don’t know this, but I have amazing luck!
I aced the academy exams just by leaving everything up to the dice god!
There’s no way I’ll lose in a game of luck!
Now, hand over that proficiency orb, loser swordswoman!