CHAPTER 36: PRACTICAL ASSESSMENT [3]

Everyone collapsed backward as the last minion twitched once and stopped moving.

The cavern went silent except for the sound of exhausted breathing and the faint drip of water from the stalactites overhead.

Livia fell back first, arms sprawled.

"Damn... this one was on another level," she puffed out, chest rising and falling. "At least... with this much... we should be in top three... right?"

Ariana nodded, wiping sweat from her temple.

"I think so. Honestly... I thought we would be scraping bottom. But Cadet Lucien—" she glanced at me with a small smile — "it feels like we’re being carried."

Livia let out a laugh. "Ha! You think so too?"

"But," Ariana said, eyes flickering with just a bit of spirit, "since it’s like this already... shouldn’t we aim for first place?"

The moment she finished, Ren scoffed — loud and dismissive.

"Hah. Don’t dream. First and second are practically guaranteed already."

Livia sighed, agreeing a bit too easily.

"Yeah... between the princess and Kael’s group, and the other ducal heirs’ team... those two spots are locked. They’re the strongest in class."

The way they said it so casually — like it was truth carved in stone — ticked something in me.

I let out a hollow laugh.

Almost involuntarily.

"...pathetic."

Ren jerked his head in my direction. "What did you say?"

I tilted my head, calm, almost bored.

"Did I lie? You’re weak — sure. I don’t expect you to suddenly get strong. But to not even have ambition? To surrender before you even get there?"

My eyes swept across them, cold.

"That’s pathetic."

Ren’s jaw clenched. "Watch your mouth, Cadet Lucien Ashborne. Don’t go too far."

"Or what?" I replied, voice low and unhurried. "You going to hit me? Can you even manage that?"

"Cadet Lucien," Ariana whispered — nervous — "let’s... let it go."

Livia stepped in too, "Cadet Ren, please— there’s no need to fight."

I exhaled — bored of the exchange already — and stood.

"I’m done wasting time. From here, I go alone."

Ariana instantly protested.

"What? Why? We should stay together—!"

"You’ll only drag me down," I said plainly. "None of you can cast another spell. Ren can’t take another direct hit. And Livia’s already burned her core — that buff was her limit."

They fell silent — because they knew it was true.

"Then we can at least wait a little longer and recover our mana," Ariana tried one last time, weak hope in her voice.

"I can’t," I shook my head. "It’s already been nearly five hours since we entered. There’s at most one hour left before the assessment ends."

I tapped the artifact bracelet on my wrist — the faint runes pulsing dimly.

"And I’m not dying in here. This thing is tracking my vitality. If I drop too low, the Knights outside will break the gate themselves."

No one spoke after that.

They weren’t stupid — they knew I wasn’t bluffing. They also knew they had nothing left in them — Ariana’s core felt overloaded, Ren was barely keeping his breathing steady, Livia’s complexion was pale white — she was already dipping into mana fatigue.

One by one — they lowered their heads.

"...be careful," Ariana whispered.

That was the only thing she could say.

I nodded lightly.

Then I shouldered the shotgun, flipped the safety with a thumb, and without another word I turned and started walking deeper into the cave.

Sharp crunches echoed under my boots — shattered crystal dust, crushed dried vines, old skeletal fragments — all remnants of lower-tier mobs that had wandered this far and died.

My grin stretched wider with every step.

There was no time to waste hunting the small fry mobs anymore.

If the goal was Rank 1 — there was only one target worth killing now.

The Boss.

And I already knew exactly where it was.

I had memorized the dungeon layout back in my game days — every turn, every choke corridor, every trigger room leading to the Boss Gate — the map engraved in my mind.

"This is my chance," I muttered under my breath.

One boss kill — would outweigh dozens of fodder monsters.

The bracelet would record the contribution value.

And that would put me above Kael and the princess no matter how many they hunted.

Step after step, deeper into the unlit path — the air grew damp, metallic, heavy — like the dungeon itself was holding its breath.

My grin sharpened into a razor line.

"First place is mine."

And I walked straight toward the Boss Room.

******

Clang—!

Shriek—!

Boom—!

The moment I neared the boss chamber, the air itself shuddered with sound.

Steel scraping stone. Magic detonations. Bestial roaring.

Someone was already inside.

No surprise there.

There were only two groups delusional enough to challenge the boss first.

The protagonist’s group — or the three ducal heirs’ group.

...and since it was loud like a warzone in there?

Definitely Kael’s bunch.

Perfect.

I halted five meters before the entrance, back pressed lightly to the cavern wall as I peered in.

Just as I remembered.

I didn’t step in. I positioned myself just beside the stone archway — hugged the wall and peeked in.

I already knew what awaited them — what awaited all of us.

The boss of this dungeon was not what the academy believed it was.

This dungeon had been used for years as a training ground. The core had evolved. Upgraded. No one noticed.

They still believed this was an F–Rank boss.

But what stood proudly in the center of the cavern was not an F–rank beast.

Not even E–rank.

It was a C–class predator — a Silverfang Wolf.

A predator that should be facing actual knights... not students.

I peeked in.

Standing at the center was a wolf easily the size of a full warhorse — its fur gleamed like silver threads hammered into steel. Each breath it exhaled puffed frost from its fangs, as if the air itself bowed to its killing intent. One swipe of its tail gouged the stone flooring like soft clay.

A Silverfang Wolf.

C-class.

The "tutorial wipe" boss of the game.

This thing wasn’t meant to be beaten. It was written to be a message from the world to the protagonist:

You are not special yet.

Inside the room — both elite parties had combined. Princess Celestia, Kael, Bordon, Mariella, Elisha and some extras — all of them were in the same battered formation.

Every single one of them looked like they’d been chewed up and spit out.

Not one of them remained uninjured.

Their clothes were shredded, mana reserves flickering weakly in their cores, breaths ragged like cornered animals.

The Silverfang wasn’t even trying.

It was... playing.

Kael roared, charging forward with his sword drawn, but the wolf simply flicked its paw. The blade didn’t even graze fur — Kael got thrown back like a toy, rolling across the ground until he slammed against a stalagmite, coughing blood.

A moment later, a blur flashed by — the beast swiped sideways.

CRASH—!

"Gah—!"

Gordon Eisenwald’s massive shield flew from his hands as he slammed into the cave wall like a ragdoll, blood spraying from his lips as he hit the ground, his arm bending at an unnatural angle.

Mariella tried to cast a high-tier barrier — her voice was shaking so badly she mispronounced the chant.

The Silverfang didn’t even bother targeting her. It simply walked forward — leisurely — like a monarch enjoying its hunt.

Its silver eyes gleamed in amusement.

Condescending.

Predatory.

I leaned my shoulder against the stone arch watching them crumble.

Exactly as expected.

This dungeon boss was designed to break their arrogance in the prologue.

In the game, this was where the knights rushed in and saved them in the last second — right before a total wipe.

If no one interferes, in about two minutes that emergency alert will trigger.

Heh.

I smiled to myself.

Unlike them — I came prepared.

Why would I rush in now? Why would I bail them out like some shining hero?

No.

Let them bleed.

Let them finally taste despair.

I had one simple job — finishing the boss when they are on the brink of death.