I Realized It Was an Academy Game After 10 Years

“…Looks like we’re slowly entering a lull.”

It seemed the fight was dragging on longer than expected.

I lightly tapped Elisa’s cheek, who was blissfully sleeping. As my finger pressed against her soft skin, she jolted awake like a student who overslept and screamed.

“I-I’m late!”

“No, you’re not. Don’t worry.”

“Ah…”

Elisa’s face quickly turned as red as a tomato. I shifted my gaze away from the embarrassed Elisa, who was covering her face with her hands, and spoke to Sif, who was stretching.

“We’re heading out soon. You remember what we need to do, right?”

“Yawn… I told you, I remember. I’m not that stupid!”

Well, that’s a relief. I lightly patted Elisa’s shoulder, stuck my water bottle from my backpack, and quenched my thirst. It might turn into a long fight, so staying hydrated was essential.

“Make sure to drink some water, everyone. Depending on the situation, we might have to fight for hours.”

At my words, everyone pulled out their water bottles for a drink. Sif was even splashing water on her face. Is she trying to shake off her drowsiness?

Not my issue. Right now, what’s important is me and Elisa. I put my water bottle back in my backpack and shoved it into a corner. I was not planning to fight with that on my back. Holding my trusty mithril shovel, I turned back to the two people standing behind me.

Their faces were clearly tense.

I said to the worried duo, “I’ll go up first.”

“Okay.”

“…Yes.”

Alright, here I go. I stepped onto the ladder I’d created with my skill and ascended to the battlefield. Just as I expected, the battlefield was a complete mess.

Red. Blue. Severed heads. Fallen monsters. Bodies piled up. The once yellow ground was now nearly unrecognizable.

People often call battlegrounds a hell on earth, and witnessing this scene, I understood why. I observed the two races still locked in combat.

There were a few dozen left. These were the poor bastards who managed to survive this hell, and they looked like a mess.

An orc warrior swinging an axe with one arm severed, a lizardman fighting back desperately with a missing tail. Monsters continuing their brutal fight, blood pouring from every part of their bodies.

“…It’s brutal.”

“Ugh…”

“Ah, um…”

“Pull yourselves together!”

Is this the first time both of them have seen such a scene? I urged the two and then plunged my shovel into the neck of a lizardman that was collapsed at my feet. The sharp mithril cut cleanly through the lizardman’s head without any resistance.

These monsters sure have impressive vitality. I looked at the bleeding head rolling on the ground and said to Sif, “Sif, take a screenshot here.”

“Got it.”

“And Elisa.”

“…W-what?!”

I commanded the startled Elisa.

“Follow me. I can’t do this alone.”

“W-what? I’ll just be a burden…”

When I turned to face her, I saw her face filled with fear.

No matter how many compliments I give, at her core, she’s still a coward. People can’t change that easily. But thinking about what was to come, I needed to change Elisa’s character, if only a little.

The next three years at the academy would be far from peaceful.

Just the next incident…

“Kwak!”

Oops, I was supposed to be going to fight right now. I stepped onto the corpses covering the ground and moved forward. In the meantime, the orcs and lizardmen were gradually reducing each other’s numbers. It looked like at least three or four had already fallen.

“To take them down, I need your magic. Two level two spells. Are you sure?”

“Y-yeah…”

“Orcs are weak to lightning magic, and lizardmen are weak to fire magic. Be prepared to use magic as soon as I give you the signal, got it?”

Elisa nodded, but I couldn’t shake off the anxiety.

This cowardly mage might panic and fail to cast her magic properly. If that happens… it wouldn’t be a big problem, but I might have to reconsider the plan I had been contemplating lately.

To see the ending, I needed at least one solid companion.

…Shall we get started?

I gripped the handle of the shovel I was carrying on my back.

——————-

Corpses. Blood. The stench.

Elisa looked up. Just observing the scene above the ground she was standing on made her feel like collapsing at any moment.

“Orcs are weak to lightning magic, lizardmen are weak to fire magic, orcs are weak to lightning magic, lizardmen fire magic…”

She repeatedly muttered to herself while staring into the air.

‘Just a few skills will take care of them quickly.’

Johann checked the monsters’ conditions with his eyes and quickly estimated the situation.

Although he had never seen these monsters in person, he had fought them to exhaustion in the game. He didn’t remember how many runs he had done, but he recalled visiting this dungeon several times. There were plenty of monsters, giving a lot of experience points, and the rewards weren’t bad either.

‘Better aim for the orcs first.’

“I’ll take down the orcs first.”

Johann glanced over at the relatively overwhelming lizardmen and drew his conclusion. Attacking the strong side to balance things out a bit. If he attacked the lizardmen first, they would get overwhelmed in no time, which would mean he’d have to deal with even more orc attacks.

He was by no means someone who would be taken down by monsters of this level, but he wasn’t the type to make troublesome decisions.

“L-lightning…”

And Elisa was not one to throw away her responsibilities, either.

Even as she trembled, she slowly began to incant.

A powerful incantation to take down the orc warrior.

‘You’re doing well.’

Johann felt relieved as he observed the two orc warriors spotting him. The two orc warriors, who had been crazily swinging their axes at the lizardmen, spotted Johann and charged at him as if they had found a new prey.

“Annoying. Craft.”

“Urk!”

In an instant, the two orcs that had rushed at him were impaled on a sharp pillar.

With a bored expression, he casually dealt with the two orcs, only to suddenly feel the heated gazes directed at him.

The source of the heated gaze was the orc warrior.

The orc warrior looked back and forth between Johann and the lizardman warrior with burning eyes.

‘I figured as much, he’s probably considering who to attack first.’

That orc didn’t have the wit to fall back for a reorganization or pit the lizardman against him.

Meanwhile, the lizardman, noticing the situation had turned unusual, took a few steps back to observe the unfolding events.

Exhausted from the long fight, it was attempting to catch its breath. Even if that intention was obvious, it knew no one would dare touch it.

Just standing by and letting the orc warrior and the unknown adventurer fight was an advantageous situation for it. The lizardman warrior had instructed his subordinates to deal with the orc warrior and began to watch the duel.

Thus, a one-on-one duel between Johann Quartz and the orc warrior was established.

The first to move was Johann.

He took a few steps forward, intending to provoke the orc into attacking him. Five steps. Johann narrowed the distance and took into account the reach difference between himself and the warrior.

‘It’s probably a nearly threefold reach difference.’

They were about twice the size of him, which is expected. As the distance closed in, Johann adjusted his grip on his shovel, getting ready to swing. In close combat, he was at a disadvantage, but he wasn’t a warrior that fought primarily in melee.

The orc warrior, seeing Johann brandishing his weapon, grinned and picked up his massive axe covered in blood and guts. Johann had no idea how many lizardmen had perished by that axe, nor did he care. His only concern was how to restrain the orc warrior.

“…I suppose I should greet him first. Craft.”

He lightly used a skill to create a wall.

A three-meter-high barrier.

An ordinary human would feel uneasy not being able to see clearly, but for the orc warrior, it was a fragile wall that could be shattered with a kick. Knowing this, Johann watched as the warrior swung his axe toward the wall and cast his skill again.

“Craft.”

He formed a sharp pillar. But the orc warrior dodged the pillar with surprising agility for his size and kicked it down. Watching this, Johann calmly began to unleash a series of skills.

“Craft. Craft. Craft. Craft.”

Pillar. Pillar. Pillar. Pillar.

The continuously emerging pillars rose to target the warrior’s body. A bewildering sight. However, the warrior was able to dodge and shatter the pillars repeatedly with his agility and reflexes. Judging by his movements, he’d certainly be among the strongest monsters he had fought.

But seeing this, Johann flashed a grin.

‘This is enough for a test.’

The strength was just as he had estimated. Once he confirmed the situation was better than he expected, Johann took a step forward from his rooted stance and approached the orc warrior.

“Elisa! When I shout now, launch your magic!”

“Yes, yes!”

The monster with a height of at least four meters looked down at him. Just a kick could send Johann flying to the afterlife.

But no matter how strong, the orc warrior was just a beginner monster.

Johann charged at the orc warrior, almost like a desperate fool with no mana, kicking off the ground. The orc warrior bellowed and began swinging his thick limbs like tree trunks.

One step. Two steps. Three steps.

As their distances closed, Elisa’s body began to tremble violently.

‘If I make a mistake, J-Johann will…’

Elisa didn’t know Johann’s combat power. Nor did she have experience in and out of the dungeon. Thus, she felt an overwhelming sense of pressure.

If she made a mistake, Johann would die. Just the thought of that made her heart race like it was about to explode.

‘Don’t mess up. Don’t mess up. Don’t mess up. Don’t mess up. Don’t mess up. Don’t mess up. Don’t mess up. Don’t mess up. Don’t mess up. Don’t mess up. Don’t mess up. Don’t mess up. Don’t mess up…’

She repeatedly murmured as she gathered her magical power. Her magic was ready to be shot from her hands at any moment. But she hadn’t received the command yet. Gritting her teeth, Elisa observed Johann’s actions.

At last, the weapons of Johann and the warrior swung.

Elisa staggered from the shock of the impact, nearly losing her footing. Despite that, she didn’t cancel her magic.

“Elisa, you can do this.”

A huge explosion and flying dirt obscured the scene. In this situation, it was tough to even confirm Johann’s life or death. Fear swept over her. But she didn’t panic.

She remembered Johann telling her she could do it, not to be afraid.

Even in a situation where the warrior turned to look at her, Elisa continued to wait for Johann’s command.

A man who knew she was a witch but still protected her. A man who encouraged her and told her she could do it.

…A man who reminded her of the gentle times before her father had tried to kill her.

Would she ever meet such a person again?

With her head dulled from always looking down, Elisa’s resolve lifted her gaze.

‘I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this…’

“Craft. Elisa! Now! Shoot for the head!”

With a painful roar echoing, the familiar voice reached her ears. And then, the voice that had emboldened her.

Elisa immediately fired her magic.

“Lightning…Spear!”

A spear of yellow lightning shot forth from the small girl’s hand. The lightning spear, moving at arrow-like speed, pierced through the orc warrior’s head. The powerful force made the fighting orcs and lizardmen look up at the ceiling where the lightning struck.

“Excellent.”

Before the spear collided with the warrior, Johann, pretending to swing the shovel, rolled out and plunged a pillar into the warrior’s vital spot before getting back to his feet, dusting himself off.

“Now that I managed once, doing it twice should be easy.”

It’s always hard at first. Johann shouted at the sight of Elisa’s improved expression.

“Next up is fire magic!”

“Yes!”

With Elisa gaining confidence, the battle ended swiftly.

After all, Johann had intentionally refrained from killing so as to build Elisa’s confidence. He glanced down at the charred body of the lizardman warrior, then noticed Elisa dropping to her knees with a crash.

“I-I did it…”

“Yeah. Good job.”

He carefully lifted the exhausted Elisa into his arms. So drained from the excitement and exhaustion, she fell asleep in his embrace.

Suffering her first actual battle, she had no strength left.

Johann, still holding her, joined Sif again. Sif was busy reviewing a myriad of photos.

“Did you take a lot of pictures?”

“Too many. I’ve got to sift through them to find the good ones.”

“I see.”

Fortunately, the improvised operation was wrapping up well.

“Hmm, a reward for everyone’s hard work…”

Sif hummed, stuffing the photos into a small pouch. Johann turned his gaze away from Sif’s grumbling and looked down at the peacefully sleeping Elisa. Perhaps due to the hefty usage of magic, she was soundly asleep. He handed her over to Sif.

“Lay her down over there and see if you can pull any decent materials out. I’ll check on the rewards and be back.”

“What? What about me? I want to go see too!”

“Quit whining and take care of Elisa.”

‘It’s not like the rewards will be that great anyway.’

He ignored Sif’s complaints and headed toward the reward box.

—————

“…Elisa, is the content of this report true?”

“Yes, yes… We received certification from the Exploration Guild…”

Elisa, with her face tense, gazed nervously at the professor. Meanwhile, the professor was absorbed in browsing the report.

“Honestly, I was worried about you, but finding and clearing a new dungeon… Incredibly impressive! This deserves an A+! You get an A+, Elisa!”

Many talented students came and went at Kalon Academy, but no one had ever found and cleared a new dungeon.

And it was done with just three people!

Professor Grendel, who taught Dungeon Studies, scrutinized the report along with the attached photos with fascinated eyes. Seeing a hint of madness in his gaze made Elisa slightly anxious, but it was beyond Grendel’s concern.

‘Finding and clearing a new dungeon! In a few days, it’ll be all the buzz!’

Having devoted his life to dungeon studies, he was planning to rush over the moment it became officially accessible.

A new dungeon with a unique structure.

A dungeon where hostile monsters appeared simultaneously.

A green crystal that resurrects the turned-to-stone monsters.

While unusual dungeon mechanics were not an uncommon occurrence, it was the first time he’d encountered one with such a gimmick.

‘I hope it opens for access soon!’

It would take a week for a cleared dungeon to reset. Usually, it took about a month for the Exploration Guild to grant permission.

The professor began formulating plans in his mind for exploring the dungeon, timing it with when the permits would be granted.

“Uh… Professor?”

“Oh, you can go now.”

“Uh, in that case…”

Elisa cautiously closed the research facility’s door and let out a sigh.

‘What a relief…’

Despite the penalty of having to do the assignment alone, the professor’s evaluation was very positive.

She didn’t want to inconvenience Professor Lennon, who had paid her expensive tuition, so this was good news for her.

As she walked through the corridor in a daze, she suddenly stopped and began to emit a creepy laugh.

“Hehehe…”

‘…Johann will surely be happy to hear this!’

A rare man who treated her kindly. Thinking of Johan, who had a somewhat gruff appearance but was still kind underneath, Elisa unknowingly blushed.

“Oh dear, Elisa, why are you laughing ominously in the middle of the corridor?”

“Eek?!”

Before she could respond to Martina, who was looking at her with worry.

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