Following the information voluntarily provided by the Void Followers, Uden stepped into the academy and immediately felt the presence of Void energy seeping through the door. Her gaze sharpened as she realized the gravity of the situation.
"So he was right. The unique energy is strong in here. This place is definitely the focus of their plan."
Just as she was about to wrap her magic around herself to fend off the Void’s influence, a warm energy enveloped her, causing the surrounding Void energy to retreat.
"Wow, as expected from the Saint. I’ve worked with clergy a few times, but I’ve never seen it done this cleanly."
"Well, this is all I can do. I have to do my best where I can," Uden replied with a calm, composed tone.
"If anyone else heard that, they might be overwhelmed with self-doubt. The fact that you truly mean that makes it even more malicious."
If anyone other than the Saint had said something like that, there would be many who would genuinely envy and slander her. But Uden just smiled lightly as she noticed Joey’s slightly stiff expression.
"Lady Partan, please continue distinguishing between the real and the fake."
"Understood. I’ll do my best."
Joey advanced while carefully observing the ones lost in what appeared to be hellish dreams. Though they seemed like pitiful souls caught in nightmares, it was crucial not to trust appearances. Any of them might be a trap.
Just as Joey remained alert, Uden suddenly swung her sword.
The sword, wrapped in a crimson aura, cut through the air, but nothing came back.
"Master Sword Saint?" Joey asked.
"Something attacked us," Uden responded.
"Huh?"
"...Hmm. Damn it. I can't hear or see anything, so it's hard to explain."
The words Uden spoke sounded almost like the ramblings of a mad person.
If it were a mercenary or someone less reliable speaking, it would have been easy to disregard.
But Uden was no ordinary person. She had overcome countless adversities, and her senses were sharper than anyone else’s.
"Wait a moment."
When Joey cast a spell to expand her vision, the Void energy briefly dissipated, revealing the truth.
Arrow tips scattered across the floor. A Void follower, who had been holding a bow from a distance, hurriedly fled.
Uden’s instincts were right. Her animal-like senses had stopped the enemy’s attack.
However, this revelation didn’t last long. The Void’s energy, which had filled the space, made it incredibly exhausting to deal with.
"This is troublesome. Rushing forward might be too dangerous. Lady Partan, is there any way to maintain the spell?"
"...I’m sorry."
"And the Saint?"
"For now, I will do my best to dispel the Void's influence as much as possible."
Stopping in place, Joey focused, recalling the dungeon攻略 guide Lucy had given her.
That book wasn’t just a simple guide to navigating dungeons. It was more like a manual from the one who had created all the dungeons in this world, describing how to conquer them.
Joey had read that book more than a hundred times, embedding the knowledge into her mind. Now, in the Soul Academy, which had been infiltrated by the Void, she easily recalled the crucial information she needed.
First of all, this was practically a dungeon created by the Evil God of the Void.
It wasn't fully corrupted yet, so monsters wouldn’t appear, but the strength of the Void Followers would be much stronger than usual, and while fighting them, she would have to constantly differentiate between the real and the fake.
When they had tackled the forest dungeon last time, Lucy had done everything for them.
Because of that, there were no issues attacking the fakes. But Lucy wasn’t here now.
So it was up to her.
The best approach would be to constantly use magic to dispel the illusions, but that wasn’t feasible. There was a limit to her mana.
Without knowing how long this situation might last, she had to be as efficient as possible.
“Nothing but a useless idiot can only mimic others. They’re too incompetent to create anything themselves.”
“So when dealing with that idiot, just remember a few steps.”
“First, find out what the incompetent idiot is trying to copy. It’ll be easy. Just because they try to act impressive doesn’t mean they’re not pathetic.”
What had the Evil God of the Void mimicked to create this place? Joey surveyed the surroundings and mentally organized the information.
The first thing she noticed was that the academy itself hadn’t changed much.
The walls. The decorations. The students lying unconscious. Everything was the same.
The sounds were also the same. This place was eerily quiet.
The Void Followers must be running around in a panic here, yet there wasn’t a sound to be heard.
Disturbing the senses.
A dungeon created by the Evil God of Darkness.
“Once you figure out what they’ve been mimicking, it’s time to show that pathetic fool how useless they really are. That fool can’t even mimic properly.”
The dungeon mimicked by the Evil God of Darkness was an inferior version of the original.
The gaps that appeared when the Evil God of Darkness copied this dungeon were sensory.
At first, it seemed like the senses had vanished, but if you focused hard enough, you could tell that all the senses were still there.
The most significant gap was the sense of smell.
"Master Sword Saint! You can trust your senses, especially your sense of smell!"
"I think I get what you mean!"
Hearing Joey’s words, Uden confidently began swinging her sword.
The once blurry sensations gradually became clearer.
Her senses hadn’t disappeared.
The Void, which only mimicked the darkness, couldn’t fully negate the Sword Saint's senses.
"Faybi! Instead of just pushing back the Void’s energy, try to collapse its accumulation by using divine magic!"
While Uden was fending off the attacks of the Void Followers, Joey tried to explain to Faybi how to respond, but this wasn’t an easy task.
The problem was that Faybi wasn’t a mage; she was a cleric.
Joey, who only understood magic theory, couldn’t explain it in a way that would make sense to a cleric.
"So, what I mean is, intervene with the enemy’s magic..."
"I understand what you’re saying."
Despite the odd and somewhat difficult explanation from a mage's perspective, Faybi smiled softly and nodded.
Having trained under Bishop Johan, Faybi was not just a simple cleric—she had the rare ability to handle divine magic as if it were regular magic.
"Is this the kind of format you're referring to?"
Faybi, whose mastery of divine magic was so impressive that even Lucy, an Apostle of the Sun God, was in awe, quickly demonstrated what Joey had described.
As a result, the surrounding darkness faded, and the true nature beneath it began to emerge.
"...I don't think I can maintain this for long. The Void's energy is growing stronger."
"Saint! How much longer can you hold it?"
"About ten minutes."
"That’s enough! Both of you, stay close behind! I’ll smash everything in our way!"
Under the guidance of the little kid, Arthur arrived at a mysterious place that resembled a hallway he had walked through with Lucy.
"Where is this?"
"A trial to verify your qualifications. When you reach the end, you’ll gain the authority to control the magic circle."
"How do I proceed?"
"That’s up to you. Trials are trials for a reason."
The little kid crossed her arms and spoke confidently, while Arthur furrowed his brows.
"Given how urgent the situation is, do you really want to stick to this?"
"This is not stubbornness; it's procedure. You can't gain the authority without following the steps."
"Then tell me how to clear this. We need to get through this as quickly as possible."
"Think, you idiot. If that were possible, I would have sent you right past this point."
As Arthur understood the seriousness of the situation by looking at the kid's expression, he realized she wasn’t joking.
Sighing, Arthur knew there was no choice but to move forward.
If he just stood still, nothing would change. He decided to go through the door.
The moment he opened it, the door slammed shut behind him, and the way out vanished.
Does that mean there’s no turning back now? Well, it doesn’t matter. I wasn’t planning on retreating anyway.
As he stepped forward, Arthur stopped briefly to inspect the path ahead.
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"Could it be... the trial involves conquering a dungeon?"
...It can’t be, right? Why would navigating a dungeon be necessary for verifying my qualification to handle the magic circle?
Shaking his head, Arthur’s doubts began to turn into certainty as time passed.
The way the path was laid out.
The traps in between.
The monsters blocking his way.
Everything resembled the structure of a dungeon.
Before long, Arthur was certain and couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.
"Of course. So this is why Lucy Alrn didn’t say a word to me."
Now I get it. If the trial is about conquering a dungeon, I don’t need to prepare at all.
I’ve learned how to conquer dungeons from her endlessly—what would I need to prepare for?