I Became The Academy’s Narrow-Eyes - Chapter 88: The Key to the Dark Forest (2)

“Is it really acceptable for you to decide so quickly?”

Caught off guard, I blurted out those words without considering my own position.

– Are you daring to covet the treasure of the great Leolalian family? By flaunting such trivial reasons as being the victor’s right? Know your place, and just take this petty cash as a token for activating the artifact and get lost.

If she had responded with such words and threw some change at me for the effort of activating the artifact, I would have had no recourse.

Looking at it rationally and without emotion, that was the correct action to take.

“Even without you, I could have eventually recognized and activated the value contained in this necklace. Sharing an artifact’s shares just because you appraised it would be too generous a reward.”

“But how—”

Miss Phibian cut me off by raising her finger as I was about to speak.

“Don’t bother with hypotheticals. They’re meaningless. The important part is that, until you mentioned it, I was utterly unaware of this necklace’s true worth. When you provided the conditions for activating this necklace—or artifact—I implicitly agreed to share the shares with you.”

Miss Phibian said confidently.

“It looks like you assumed I would barter via trivial reasons— I’m not a merchant. I am a Leolalian.”

I am a Leolalian.

In those words, I could sense a strong pride and belonging that a modern person like me found hard to understand.

Sacrificing gains for pride.

From my point of view, that’s either noble or foolishly naive.

‘That’s why I’m just a commoner.’

The pride of a great family is something a mere commoner could hardly fathom.

I interpreted Miss Phibian’s actions as such and decided to express pure admiration.

“Indeed, that’s the spirit of a Leolalian! Such noble pride is beyond the comprehension of mere folks like me!”

“…Are you being sarcastic?”

“Truly not this time…! Please observe my sincere expression!”

“…It sounds even more sarcastic, doesn’t it? Anyway— this time…?”

“Isn’t the weather splendid today?”

Miss Phibian shook her head disapprovingly, seeing me as a case of hopeless absurdity.

“Either way. I will share the shares of this artifact—as I promised—with you. But I have a question—do you have a plan?”

“A plan?”

“There are two things we can do with this artifact. One option is to explore the dungeon. The other is to sell the artifact to someone else. And let me be clear, I have absolutely no intention of selling this necklace.”

“Neither do I.”

“Good, we’re on the same page. Now it’s time to discuss how to approach the dungeon. However, I have some bad news for you.”

“What would that be?”

“You must be thinking since the dungeon is practically Leolalian’s, they will help us—am I wrong?”

Yes.

You’re wrong.

I intended to explore it myself.

That was my honest thought.

But facing Miss Phibian—boasting as if ‘you are in the palm of my hand’—how could I possibly tell her the truth?

I pretended to be flustered and spoke.

“How did you…!”

“It’s obvious, isn’t it? Sadly for you, I have no plans to involve my family in this matter.”

“Why not?”

“It’s my affair, so it’s only right that I take care of it. Isn’t that common sense?”

“Are you suggesting—just the two of us to explore the dungeon together?”

“The thought of an intimate dungeon exploration with you—what are you even—”

Miss Phibian trailed off, her gaze drifting away for a moment before she snapped back to reality with a start!

“Don’t say anything about ‘intimate’! Can you not talk nonsense, please?!”

Why was she so agitated to the point of crying out?

I felt wounded.

“Anyway. If we can handle it, it would be best to approach it just the two of us. So, if you know anything about this dungeon, speak up.”

“Hmm… Well, Miss Phibian. There’s one thing I’m certain of.”

“What’s that?”

“Exploring this dungeon… just the two of us would be challenging.”

“So you’re saying I can’t handle it, just because you can’t?”

“But Miss Phibian, you lost in our duel, did you not?”

“What!?”

“Ah, my mistake?”

“If we fought again, I could win!”

“Ha, is that so?”

“Laugh it up! I guarantee, if we fought 99 more times, you’d lose all 99 times!”

“Ha, then I must never fight you again with my current 1-0 record.”

“Eek…! Just wait, one day your arrogance will lead to a downfall.”

“Is that so? I appreciate your concern. Perhaps I need to craft specialized armor for my nose, thanks to the advice of Miss Phibian.”

Miss Phibian’s face flushed red, and she trembled with silent agitation.

-Whooshing!

Mana burst forth, causing a breeze around us.

‘Tasty.’

Nothing beats a good show of temper.

After a while of trembling with suppressed anger, Miss Phibian managed to cool down and shouted.

“So! What kind of dungeon is it that you say we don’t stand a chance!?”

She wore a face that would accept no argument, absolutely not convinced.

*****

[Title: What’s up with The Dark Forest dungeon???]

Text: So I’m playing this scarecrow ego game

And all these monster NPCs are playing FPS

I’m here getting slaughtered non-stop without dying

But these mfkers are one-shot-kill

What gives?

[What level are you]

[Level 27]

[Maybe your level’s too low to deal proper damage?]

[What;;; The recommended level for the dungeon is 20]

[The Dark Forest has a recommended level of 20?]

[Where did you see that?]

[I mean, isn’t the entrance condition to cast a 3-star spell?]

[So does that mean a 5-year-old with the key to a lion’s cage can open it, the recommended age for the cage is 5?]

[LOL So does that mean the recommended level for dating is 8 because even kids can do it? There’re plenty here at level 20+ who can’t even manage that, right?]

[What’s up with this guy suddenly picking a fight?]

[LOL You talk too funny~ I’m so impressed I want to send you a gift, can you share your address with me~?]

[I mean;]

[Then why’s the entrance condition like this?]

[Here, want me to pull up from the wiki?]

[According to the setting you should look at the wiki but anyways the recommended level is about 70]

[I mean WTF]

[Then at least you should be able to enter around level 70]

[That’s freaking malicious]

[A lot of people naively go in there and just get killed]

[I also lost a character because some asshole wrote a misleading post that I fell for]

[Ah, that’s legit LOL]

[That mfker really went out of his way to lure folks in]

[He set the recommended level to 40 to make sure people barely can’t beat it, just enough to bait people to lose their high-level characters. That’s pure evil.]

[The boss is like 70 something LOL]

***

[Title: Why you need to beat The Dark Forest at level 40]

I remember once reading that post.

According to that article detailing the dungeon, the Dark Forest was a dungeon that must be cleared up to level 40.

In other words, as a recommended level 40 and above –

To clear the dungeon safely, the exploration team needed to include at least one member with 5-star abilities.

At present, Phibian was at a mid-3-star level, and

I was, on the surface, at the late-2-star level, about to enter the 3-star range.

For the two of us, 2-star and 3-star, to safely clear the Dark Forest was nearly impossible.

I conveyed this fact to Phibian as it was.

“According to the information I have, we need at least one person with 5-star abilities to safely navigate the dungeon.”

“5-stars…?”

Phibian furrowed her brows at the realistically high requirement.

“That thing you just asked me to use 3-star level magic for. That was for activating this artifact, wasn’t it?”

“That’s right.”

“So you’re saying that activating the key to the dungeon only requires a 3-star level, but to tackle the dungeon connected to the key, we need a 5-star abilities holder?”

“It’s the malice- I can feel it. It’s downright frightening.”

“Definitely…”

Phibian frowned at the malice contained within the necklace held in my hand.

“Moreover, needing the help of a 5-star abilities holder-”

Phibian crossed her arms and started contemplating.

“If we combine your powers and mine, Phibian, it does add up to 5-stars. Based on what you said, shall we two plan a cozy attack together? My level 2-star, and Phibian’s 3-star. A total 5-star level to make a perfect strategy.”

“What kind of math is that? If you’re going to talk nonsense, better keep your mouth shut.”

“Perhaps, do you have any solutions in mind?”

“Can’t you see I’m thinking?”

“If you don’t have any-”

Phibian pointed a finger at me.

“I clearly said I would settle it on my own, without the help of the family.”

“Ha, could it be otherwise? Ms. Phibian spoke with such assertiveness, how could I possibly forget.”

What’s Espien and assertiveness again?

Phibian muttered with disdain.

“I believe in you. Ms. Phibian who declared so confidently must have the perfect solution!”

“…”

Did no solution come to her mind?

Phibian glared at me with a dumbfounded expression.

“Are you planning to rely on me without any restraints? Why don’t you express some of your own ideas?”

Rightly so.

The words I was waiting for were spoken.

I immediately took the conversation forward.

“Actually, there is one thing I’ve been considering.”

“Not about asking my family for help?”

“Me, Ceylon. I might not look it, but I’m quite independent?”

“Ha. I would expect no less. So what is it, this plan you had in mind?”

Me, going in alone as a dungeon, taking on the role of a dark wizard, an assassin, solo playing it.

It was a plan too dangerous to speak frankly about.

“It’s a bit complex to explain- Ms. Phibian. Let’s do this. If you entrust me with the dungeon raid, I’ll handle it.”

Huh.

Phibian looked at me with a laugh without a word, her expression filled with scorn.

“You know what I’m going to say, right?”

“Of course. ‘That’s a very good idea. Ceylon, you never disappoint my expectations-”

“Shut your mouth! In a different sense, you’re right about not disappointing. A very good idea? You must be joking.”

“Gasp…! Ms. Phibian. Could it be, are you worried that I might take over the dungeon alone and ‘dominate’ it? That I might steal away all the treasures!?”

“If anyone could do that and still have room to spare, it would be you- but that’s not the reason.”

“Then what is it exactly-”

“That necklace-”

Phibian pointed at the necklace and said,

“It’s a gift from my mother. I have a duty to properly enjoy the experiences it brings, the landscapes it reveals. So there may be a situation where you can’t go to that dungeon, but there will never be one where I can’t go. Do you understand?”

That resolute figure left me no choice but to nod.

‘What does it matter.’

It’s just a recommended level 40 dungeon, after all.

As long as I make sure to bring good protective gear and guardians, nothing should go wrong.

With that thought, I decided to tackle the dungeon with Phibian.

‘What could possibly go wrong?’