TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 78
[Q. A Person Who Doesn’t Deserve Misunderstanding]
There is a Girl who has fallen in love.
She is captivated by the Boy with upright eyes and Red Hair. Most students avoided him due to his fierce appearance, but to the Girl, the Boy had an appearance that struck her heart with a “pang.”
The Girl’s love was shy.
Just being with him made her happy, and the thought of eating together filled her with joy. She would lie on her Dormitory Bed, her heart pounding, staying up all night. That was, until the Boy’s Villainess caused trouble.
The Boy tormented the Girl.
Using the excuse of danger, he locked her in a wardrobe. With a sorrowful Smile, he spilled wine on her Dress and played endless pranks that wounded her heart.
Even so, the Girl liked the Boy. She comforted herself, thinking there must be a reason.
However, after the incident in the Dungeon, the Girl began to dislike the Boy.
Being abandoned in the Dungeon by friends she thought were on her side made her start doubting the Boy, who had saved her as if he had been waiting for it.
Why was he there?
Why was she always involved in bad situations? The Girl began to feel scared.
The Girl was suspicious.
She wondered if what she thought had happened by chance was actually the Boy’s will. Or if the bad events surrounding her were caused by the Boy.
That day she was abandoned in the Dungeon.
Even though the Boy did his Best Effort to protect her.
The Boy thinks of himself as bad. While that might be true, you might see it differently.
[!] That day you were abandoned in the Dungeon. Recover the memory of the misunderstanding.
1. Enter the Altar of Greed. (0/1)
2. ‘Persuade or Eliminate’ the greed-ridden ‘Hans.’ (0/1)
Reward: You can view the 〈12th Side Story〉 “A Person Who Doesn’t Deserve Misunderstanding.”
Upon Failure: “A Person Who Doesn’t Deserve Misunderstanding” will be forcibly changed to the 〈42nd Side Story〉 “A Person Without Qualification” for viewing.
*
Yuria stopped her Footsteps at the sight of the Blue Window.
With a ‘ding’ sound, the chilling content displayed on the Blue Window shackled her in place.
Yuria, who had halted her Footsteps, felt as if her blood had run cold.
The command to kill her Friend.
And her story written in such detail.
Yuria froze at the Blue Window that clearly outlined her story, one she had never told anyone, and the exact turning point when she began to dislike Ricardo.
‘What…’
‘What did Ricardo do…?’
‘Who is Hans…?’
Yuria rubbed her eyes and asked Mikhail, who was inspecting the state of his sword.
“Mikhail… I see something strange…”
“Something strange?”
Yuria pointed at the Blue Window with her finger.
Mikhail followed Yuria’s hand but saw nothing in the Empty Space. With a puzzled expression, as if he had no idea what she was talking about or pointing at, Mikhail said,
“I don’t see anything. Are you too tense?”
“…You don’t see anything?”
Yuria bit her lip tightly.
She thought, as Mikhail said, that it might be because she was too tense, but the clearly visible text was hard to deny.
Yuria swallowed the questions rising to her lips.
She didn’t want to ruin the mood by saying something strange. Before exploring the Undiscovered Region of unknown origin, she didn’t want to seem overly agitated.
Yuria clenched her fists and spoke to Mikhail.
“Never mind… I think I just saw something for a moment.”
“Really?”
“Yeah… I’m fine, don’t worry about it.”
Mikhail looked at Yuria, who was brushing it off, with concern. He could guess why she was acting that way.
More than a year had passed.
The Dungeon abandonment.
Mikhail didn’t know much about the incident from a year ago. He wasn’t there and only heard rumors.
What he clearly remembered was Ricardo, covered in blood, carrying Yuria back. That much was vivid in his memory.
At the time, Mikhail had been questioning the ones who returned to the Academy.
-Be honest…
-How would we know where she went!
-Someone saw her enter with you… Are you still going to deny it?
-…No, it’s just that.
-Talk. Before I report this to the Student Council President.
-Sigh… We didn’t want to do it either…!
-Stop dodging and just say it…
While he was interrogating them, Ricardo appeared.
-Damn. I thought I was going to die.
Ricardo, covered in blood, handed over Yuria and disappeared without a word.
That was all Mikhail remembered about that day.
Ricardo kept his mouth shut.
Yuria didn’t remember.
So there was nothing they could say about it.
Before entering the place filled with Ominous Energy, Mikhail reached out to Yuria, who seemed to be struggling, and said,
“If it’s too hard, let’s go back. We can come down again with Ruin and search.”
“…”
Yuria shook her head with difficulty.
“No, it’s just because it’s cold.”
Ignoring the Blue Window floating in the Empty Space, Yuria rejected Mikhail’s hand.
“What if Hans is injured? You guys can’t use Healing Magic.”
Since it was a valid point, Mikhail couldn’t respond.
Hearing someone’s Scream and running away went against both Mikhail’s and Yuria’s Convictions.
The two fools who once tried to save Heretics couldn’t think of turning back after hearing a person’s Scream.
Yuria stood up energetically and said,
“Let’s go. We can do this.”
The dark hole in the Dungeon wall.
As if to prove it was untouched by human hands, the pitch-black space awaited the three of them without a torch or lantern.
Ruin was excited about discovering an Undiscovered Region.
Mikhail had a Hunch of foreboding.
And Yuria was worried about her Friend.
The three of them swallowed hard and stepped toward the Deep Layer.
The moment their feet crossed beyond the wall.
With a ‘ding!’ sound, chilling text appeared before Yuria’s eyes.
[Enter the Altar of Greed. (1/1)]
Yuria ignored the Blue Window with a Stern Expression.
‘It’ll be fine…’
Suppressing her pounding heart.
*
The space beyond the wall was nothing special.
No powerful Monsters.
No dangerous traps, just an ordinary space.
If there was one unique feature, it was the overwhelming darkness.
Without a magically created light, it was so dark you couldn’t see ahead. Other than that, it was no different from a typical Dungeon.
There were walls, paths, and
a consistent pace of intervals.
Had they walked for about 10 minutes?
Ruin, feeling bored, began to grumble.
“What is this? No Monsters, no items… I was looking forward to this, but there’s absolutely nothing? Did Hans take everything?”
“Be quiet. Monsters might still appear.”
“Quiet, my foot. We haven’t even seen a single Monster so far.”
“That’s why I’m telling you to be cautious. Will you take responsibility if there’s an Irregular?”
Ruin, irritated by Mikhail’s cautious behavior, grew more annoyed. Not only did the slow pace not suit him, but the deeper they walked, the stronger the Foul Odor became for some unknown reason.
Scrunching his nose at the stench, Ruin furrowed his brows and spoke to Mikhail.
“Your breath… Ugh. At least brush your teeth.”
At Ruin’s sarcastic remark, Mikhail strode toward him, and Ruin, stepping back, cursed repeatedly.
“Are you mad? Hit a nerve, didn’t I? Heh.”
“Stop joking and focus.”
“Yes, yes… Stop joking and… Ah!!!”
Thud! While stepping backward to avoid Mikhail, Ruin tripped over something heavy and fell.
“Damn it… This is so annoying…”
As he tried to lift himself up, his hand touched the ground.
“What the hell.”
A squishy, foreign sensation spread through Ruin’s hand.
Ruin began lowering the floating Sphere toward the ground.
“What’s wrong?”
“No… Hold on. Something feels off.”
Frozen by the eerie texture, Ruin had a chilling thought.
‘It wasn’t like a rock. It felt… a bit…’
A sensation that was both hard and soft at the same time.
It felt simultaneously firm and pliable.
Realizing it wasn’t a rock but something alive, Ruin cautiously lowered the Sphere to illuminate the ground in front of him.
Gradually, the obstacle revealed itself under the Sphere’s light.
“Ahhh!!!”
Sitting on a human corpse, Ruin screamed and jumped up in shock. Sticky bodily fluids clung to his clothes.
Ruin, gasping for breath, realized the source of the stench that had been assaulting his nose.
“…F*ck…”
Seeing the revealed corpse, Ruin covered his mouth.
“Ugh…”
“What’s wrong, Ruin… Ahhh!”
Yuria, seeing the corpse on the ground, screamed and stumbled backward. She bent over, gagging.
Her face turned pale.
The corpse, with its eyes open, appeared frozen in death.
It was wearing the Patrol Uniform of the Dungeon’s Exploration Team.
And there wasn’t just one—there were multiple corpses lined up.
Seeing the bodies strewn across the ground, Mikhail struggled to maintain a neutral expression as he bent down.
He placed his hand on the neck of a corpse and shook his head.
“Dead.”
Mikhail confirmed the death grimly.
Ruin, supporting the panicked Yuria, looked at Mikhail and said.
“F*ck… What is this?”
“I don’t know.”
“No… Damn it…”
Lost in complicated thoughts, Ruin ran a hand through his hair.
Corpses.
In the Dungeon of the Capital City.
While finding corpses in a Dungeon wasn’t uncommon, discovering abandoned bodies in the Dungeon of the Capital City was a serious matter.
This was a Dungeon selected with the safety of Academy students in mind. It was where 1st Years held their Final Exams and completed most of their assignments. Finding corpses here signaled that something was very wrong.
There were no Monsters that could threaten students’ lives, and the Dungeon was regularly managed by the Exploration Team.
The fact that someone had died clearly pointed to murder.
In that moment, Ominous Energy began prickling the skin of the three startled individuals.
-Aaaahhhh!!!
As another Scream from The Man echoed, Ruin’s hair stood on end.
The smile that had lingered on Ruin’s face disappeared, and Mikhail, who had been standing expressionless, began imbuing his sword with Mana.
Although his use of Aura was still unrefined and reserved as a last resort, Mikhail tensed his Entire Body and scanned his surroundings.
As another chilling breeze swept through.
Mikhail, making a decision, looked at Yuria and Ruin and said.
“Let’s go back.”
“What the hell are you saying, you bastard.”
“I said, let’s go back.”
Angered by the suggestion to retreat, Ruin began arguing with Mikhail. Though he sensed the gravity of the situation, Ruin was more concerned about his Friend.
Mikhail, addressing Ruin calmly, said.
“Something’s wrong.”
Mikhail spoke.
Something was definitely off.
Shielding the panting Yuria behind him, Mikhail began walking toward the entrance.
“Let’s give up.”
“What?”
“Let’s give up and go back. This isn’t something we can handle.”
Although Mikhail insisted on returning to the entrance, Ruin shook his head and shouted loudly.
“What kind of nonsense is that? We’re almost there…”
“Precisely because we’re almost there, I’m saying we should go back. Before it’s too late, let’s turn back.”
“What about Hans? Are we just going to let him die?”
Ruin, thinking Mikhail was scared.
Believing that such an attitude would accomplish nothing, Ruin looked down on Mikhail and briskly walked in the opposite direction of the entrance—toward the source of The Man’s Scream.
“Coward. Idiot.”
Mikhail reached out to grab Ruin’s hand, chasing after him to stop him and convince him to return together.
“What…”
Suddenly, Ruin froze in place, causing Mikhail to halt as well.
It was a massive space.
A vast area, as if the Dungeon’s boss lay dormant there.
Dark and with a high Ceiling, a circularly shaped area came into view. At its center was a giant Red Magic Circle drawn in blood, spreading before their eyes.
And.
At the center of the chaos, an eerie laughter echoed from a familiar figure.
A man with an ordinary Appearance and black glasses.
The Boy, who looked like a Model Student, was none other than the Missing Student they had been searching for—Hans.
Ruin slowly walked toward the center of the Magic Circle.
As if entranced, Ruin walked forward, disbelief evident in his eyes as he questioned why Hans was there.
“Hey… Hans, what are you doing here?”
Hans, turning around at the sound of footsteps, looked at Ruin and, with a calm expression, said.
“Oh… It’s Ruin? And Yuria and Mikhail are here too…”
Standing amidst the corpses, Hans wore an indifferent expression. Ruin felt a chill run down his spine.
Hans waved his hand.
His hand, drenched in blood, muttered unsettling words.
“I never thought I’d show you the first demonstration… But I guess this is fate too?”
Ruin, now standing right in front of Hans, spoke in a trembling Voice. Confused, he couldn’t believe the Friend he knew would act this way.
“What are you doing here…”
“Can’t you tell by looking?”
“What?”
“I’m studying. Trying to catch up to talented guys like you.”
Hans, with innocent eyes, spoke to Ruin.
“I was studying alone.”
“You’re not going to interrupt me, right?”
Suddenly, the Red Magic Circle beneath Hans’s feet began to glow.
“I don’t want to kill you. We’re Friends, after all.”
A Supporting Character Darkened by the gap in Talent, becoming the Archbishop of Greed.
Hans was smiling innocently at Ruin.