"Huuu… Did I actually get away?"
Yu Siwoo leaned against the dungeon wall to cool his overheated body and rest.
After running for a while, he had somehow reached the boss room.
He kept his eyes fixed on the entrance, ready to rush in the moment someone approached, while taking what little rest he could.
"S-Shit, that was terrifying…"
His body was gradually cooling down, but his heart still pounded wildly, unable to calm from the excitement.
And no wonder—he never expected them to openly pick a fight.
He didn’t know why, but if his heightened intuition—something he hadn’t even realized he’d gained—hadn’t kicked in, that male student might’ve been saying his final goodbyes to his head by now.
"That girl’s out of her mind."
The teacher had said there were surveillance cameras, so what the hell was she thinking, attacking like that?
No matter how he thought about it, it made no sense.
But that was a minor question.
Once he escaped this dungeon, the truth would come out.
For now, he needed to focus on the new information he’d gained.
"They… weren’t on the same side…"
He’d assumed Laila and Arte were allies.
But that murderous tension between them?
No way were they on the same team. The air had been far too thick with killing intent.
Was it an act? A ploy to deceive him?
He’d considered that possibility for a moment, but no—it couldn’t have been.
As he fled, he’d glanced back and seen Laila swinging her blade at Arte.
When Arte dodged, the dungeon wall had been sliced clean through like tofu. There was no way that was an act.
They weren’t allies.
Even if they were, their relationship was clearly terrible.
That was Siwoo’s conclusion.
"…Huh. Guess I’m going in, then."
Honestly, he wanted to turn back.
He’d rather ignore the boss room entirely, retrace his steps, cut class early, go home, and sleep it off.
But as someone once said, the shortest path is often the longest detour.
The only way left for Siwoo was through the boss room.
And once someone entered, the boss room wouldn’t open again until the boss was defeated.
So his plan was simple: take down the boss as quickly as possible, clear the room, then use the shortcut that supposedly appeared afterward to escape.
Then he’d rush to where the teachers were and report what had happened.
Good.
If even one of them got seriously hurt, that would be enough.
Once he left the boss room, others could enter, but by then, he’d already be long gone.
He steadied his breathing, shoved open the heavy door, and stepped inside.
"MMMOOOOOOOO!"
"A Minotaur… So this is the Palace of Knossos, huh?"
A half-man, half-beast monster.
A human body with the head of a bull—the Minotaur.
At the sight of the famous creature, a thought struck Siwoo.
Wait, wasn’t this a boss meant to be cleared by four people?
That was the difficulty the teachers had set.
And yet here he was, expected to take it on alone?
As the Minotaur charged at him with a thunderous gallop, Siwoo’s face twisted in sheer injustice.
Gritting his teeth, he roared,
"Come at me, you overgrown beef stew! I’ll turn you into soup!"
"MMMOOOOOOOO!"
W-Wait, hold on.
That was faster than he expected?
Before Siwoo could process his shock, the Minotaur was already lunging at him.
"W-WAH?!"
His alarm-bell intuition screamed, and he barely managed to leap out of the way.
Fortunately, he had managed to evade, but Siwoo couldn’t close his mouth.
He had just witnessed the aftermath of the Minotaur losing its target and slamming its head into the dungeon wall.
KUWOONG!
The boss room trembled as if an earthquake had struck.
The cracking, crumbling dungeon walls made it painfully clear what would happen if he took a direct hit.
"Hah, haha... Getting hit by that would hurt like hell, wouldn’t it?"
What kind of bull-headed monster was this?
Would he even survive without being turned into ground meat?
If there had been others with him, one person could have bought time even if they went down. But Siwoo was alone.
A single hit would be a fatal blow.
With no time to recover, the moment he suffered a crippling injury, it would be the end for him.
As the Minotaur charged with its massive battle axe, Siwoo swallowed hard.
Still, this was better than being in that hallway with Arte and the traitor.
"Hueuk, hueuk..."
How had he survived?
Confusion filled Siwoo’s face.
And no wonder—he still couldn’t understand how he’d made it out alive.
He had faced death countless times.
Even with his instincts screaming warnings, his exhausted body shouldn’t have been able to dodge so well. Had he just been lucky?
The Minotaur, now reduced to ash, had left behind a massive magic stone far larger than any goblin’s.
As Siwoo pocketed the stone, the tension drained from his body, and he let out a weak, relieved laugh.
He had survived.
For now, that was enough.
"Oh, is this the way?"
Leaving the Minotaur’s remains behind, Siwoo began searching for a shortcut out of the dungeon.
It didn’t take long.
He felt like he’d only walked a short distance, yet he was already back in the forest.
The grinding sound of shifting stone and the closing shortcut door almost seemed to congratulate him on his survival.
But his relief was short-lived.
A question nagged at him.
"...What the hell? Why is no one here?"
He hadn’t been slow.
Up until Laila had suddenly attacked, he’d been moving through the dungeon at a blistering pace.
It made sense that there were no students left inside.
But this was the exit after clearing the dungeon.
Was it really possible that no one else had made it out?
Just as that thought crossed his mind—
A sudden surge of instinct made him throw himself forward.
"W-what the?!"
Only then did he realize why his instincts had flared.
An axe.
The very same battle axe the Minotaur had wielded.
And it was flying straight for his neck.
"Ah, damn. I had it all figured out. And now I have to dodge this?"
"Laila."
"Hey, can you just die quietly? You’re pissing me off."
Thud. Thud.
With a bloodstained longsword slung over her shoulder, Laila strolled toward him, utterly at ease.
"H-how did you—"
"How what? I just killed the boss. Can’t you see?"
She scratched her head in irritation and jerked her chin toward the battle axe that had just flown past.
"That bull-headed bastard was weak. Then again, that’s why they use it as a punching bag for students."
Weak?
Sure, it might be a bit tricky when facing a group, but it was still a straightforward enemy.
But if you had to take it on alone, that overwhelming strength wouldn’t be easy to handle.
No, wait.
There was something far more pressing on his mind right now.
"Arte. Arte Isis... what happened to her?"
"Huh? She’s dead. Can’t you tell?"
Her bloodstained sword gleamed in the sunlight.
...And above that sword, broken threads came into view.
"Tch. That bastard. Said he took down a Level 3 beast, but it was still a pain."
"...So Arte is dead."
"Yep. Wasn’t as easy as I thought. I’ll admit it—she was tricky. But by now, she’s probably buried under a pile of rocks in the dungeon."
Laira scratched her head as she spoke.
"Stubborn as hell, that one. Gave me some trouble... but she’s dead, and you’re next."
"Even if you kill me now, a student already went to tell the teacher. You’re finished. ...And I’m not going to make it easy for you."
"...Huh? Ahahahahaha!"
What the—?
Siwoo couldn’t fathom why Laira was laughing.
It was like his instincts were screaming at him.
A wave of inexplicable dread washed over him.
"Hey, this is hilarious. You know why there’s no one here?"
"...What?"
"Why are you so spaced out? Guess you don’t get it. ...Fine, I’ll tell you. Breaking into the Academy is hard, but dungeons? Not so much."
Infiltrating a dungeon?
Siwoo couldn’t make sense of Laira’s words.
What did infiltrating a dungeon even mean?
"The Academy’s security is top-notch, but they can’t keep tabs on every external dungeon. They don’t catch on when someone digs a new shortcut the day before clearing it."
"...!"
"In other words, right now, it’s just you and me here."
As Laira sauntered closer, Siwoo’s instincts blared a warning.
...He didn’t need his instincts to tell him that. The situation was obviously dangerous.
"I didn’t expect you to call for the teacher, but... whatever. I’ll just kill you before they get here and leave."
Siwoo had pushed his body to the limit fighting the Minotaur.
Honestly, he didn’t have the strength left to run.
But Laira?
She didn’t look tired at all—she was in perfect condition.
In fact, she seemed downright relaxed. The sight of her only made Siwoo clench his fists tighter.
Not to run, but to fight back.
"...What, you still wanna go?"
"I don’t have a hobby of begging for my life on my deathbed."
Well, he would have.
Before meeting Arte, that is.
Siwoo had faced far more terrifying situations than this. That was how he’d learned to overcome fear.
At least, that’s what he told himself.
"...Ugh, this is annoying."
Laira glared at him, scratching her head before clicking her tongue in irritation.
Was something bothering her?
"Can’t help it. Orders from the organization. I don’t have anything against you personally, but you gotta die."
"...!"
Was it because of the fight with the Minotaur?
Even with his instincts screaming, his muscles refused to move, slowing his reaction.
...Ah. He was going to die.
As the sword flashed toward his nape, Siwoo accepted his fate.
"Not happening."
At least, not until the sword was suddenly bound by threads.