Who Designed This Underworld Dungeon?
Chapter 316 - 241: The Academy’s Final Challenge

Chapter 316: Chapter 241: The Academy’s Final Challenge

From Bashi causing trouble, to transporting ingredients and preparing for the competition, and finally to the end of the competition, a little over a week has passed.

During this time, the adventurers’ exploration of Lake Lienia has never ceased; on the contrary, their progress has been getting faster and faster.

This is partly due to the increasing number of people entering, but also because everyone is gradually becoming familiar with the area, and even beginning to undertake personalized DIY projects in certain aspects.

One prominent example is the refurbishment of the Academy Gate Town, making it increasingly habitable.

With the leadership of the Skyrim Strategy Group, a team composed of magicians and beastmen has been clearing collapsed buildings and erecting new houses. Although not aesthetically pleasing, these structures are extremely durable—able to withstand an attack from a Mud Fish Dragon’s Dragon Car without collapsing.

Currently, the spacious Academy Gate Town is still enough to accommodate new adventurers.

External caravans have naturally noticed this indefinitely accessible dungeon. Recognizing the business opportunity, they quickly formed a team to continuously transport supplies to Lake Lienia, selling various supplies to the adventurers, including essential food items.

Water is not an issue either; Lake Lienia is abundant with water, although it might contain some crab eggs or octopus eggs as impurities. As long as you don’t end up drinking any metamorphic insects, it’s quite acceptable. If you’re really unwilling to drink the local water, you can always ask a magician to summon a Water Element Fairy.

For now, the logistics for this area have been resolved, allowing those on the front lines to explore the unknown without worry.

Reyalucaria Magic Academy is the main focus of the adventurers’ strategy in the lake district.

On the first floor, the final boss is the Crystal Elder, who manipulates Crystal Magic and laser insects. He is a nightmare for lone adventurers but a captive in team battles.

Both the left and right paths lead to the boss’s room. The left path focuses on combat intensity, filled with groups of monsters, although individual monsters are somewhat weakened. The right path emphasizes team puzzles, filled with mechanisms and puzzles that require multiple people to solve, fewer monsters but more elite ones.

Exploring can randomly yield various weapons, equipment, War Ashes, Forging Stones, and even gold and silver jewels.

On the second floor, the final boss is Magic Professor Miriam. She accompanies adventurers throughout the entire exploration of the second floor, occasionally firing a "Loretta’s Great Bow" at you. She appears to use clones, but usually, only one individual is present. When the number of adventurers entering the second floor increases, she becomes overwhelmed.

The more adventurers enter the second floor, the lower the chance of being ambushed by Miriam.

If Miriam is not killed during the exploration, she will confront the adventurers in the final room and will not reappear to ambush adventurers on the second floor until she revives. Thus, adventurers have developed a strategy: explore later, Miriam must die!

Every adventurer who’s been led around like a dog by Miriam holds a grudge against her. When Miriam revives, a large group of adventurers will rush in, hacking her with wild abandon until she’s minced, and then enjoy a peaceful exploration.

Depending on the roll of the dice, killing Miriam can randomly yield the "Magic Professor Set," "Loretta’s Great Bow," "Loretta’s Great Bow - Student ID Learning Qualification," "Magician’s Ball Amulet," Experience Candy M, and the golden "Painting Fragment ’Waste Stone’ - Part Three."

It’s worth mentioning that killing Miriam outside the final room has a chance to yield her dog-walking ultimate "Miriam’s Disappearance," but it’s extremely difficult.

The second floor’s map is characterized by various classrooms: Black Magic Defense Skill Classroom, Transformation Department Classroom, etc. Each classroom has its own entry requirements, and qualifying individuals will undergo a trial upon entry. Passing the trial unlocks the corresponding magic learning qualification on the student ID.

For adventurers, the addition of these classrooms makes Reyalucaria actually feel like a true academy. An academy should impart knowledge; who wants to compete in a marathon with a professor?

On the third floor, the final boss is Radagon’s Red Wolf. Agile beyond measure, the spacious battlefield only adds to its prowess, requiring adventurers to chase its tail relentlessly. However, for adventurers who have endured the trials of the Crystal Elder and Miriam, the Red Wolf running around on four legs feels like a welcoming angel. Not only is its speed slower than instant teleportation, but its actions can also be somewhat predicted.

This is a boss that brings tears of gratitude to adventurers, despite its propensity for releasing numerous Magic Radiant Swords, summoning annoying wolf packs during battle, adding a second Red Wolf at half health, and...

But all of these are nothing compared to the damn laser insects and crystal field! The Red Wolf’s battle experience is fantastic, and combined with its furry, dashing look, it has become one of the most popular boss monsters in the lake district, second only to Calia Knight Mugram in popularity.

Yet, in the midst of such widespread love for Radagon’s Red Wolf, a Sword Saint quietly fell apart.

When Gapar saw that even a wolf could cast cool magic while he could only wield a hefty hammer, the imbalance in his heart reached its limit.

Why can a mere wolf learn such flashy magic!

Depending on the roll of the dice, killing Radagon’s Red Wolf can randomly yield "Magic Radiant Sword," "Magic Tri-Brilliant Sword" or its learning qualification, Memory Stone, Experience Candy L, Wolf Pack Ashes, and Soul Summoning Bell.

The third-floor map continues to feature different classrooms. However, unlike the diverse array of classrooms on the second floor, the third floor clearly divides into two main factions: Crystal and Luminous Stone, each with its own set of classrooms teaching corresponding magic.

The classrooms on this floor have an ancient feel, integrated with the academy’s ambiance, as if they’ve been there since the academy’s inception, in contrast to the later additions on the second floor.

And indeed, adventurers discovered fragmented diaries whose owner seemed to be a Luminous Stone sect magician from here, recording daily life at the academy and complaining, "These newly added magicians with their strange magic stole my job!"

Combining this with information from the Hunting Manual about the Tutor Hat, it’s known that Reyalucaria sealed itself in a different space after being defeated by "natural enemies," accidentally connecting with magicians from other eras or other blank spaces.

These foreign magicians entered the academy, interacted with local traditional magicians, created magic, and started a "magical golden age" during their self-seclusion.

Yet, according to the diary, there seemed to be some friction between the newcomers and the local magicians, sparking interest among many.

Because the Magic Academy previously appeared too perfect, conflicts among magicians disrupt this perfection. People love to delve into imperfections, much like paparazzi fervently digging into celebrity scandals.

And what was discovered on the fourth layer further intensified this sense of "imperfection."

"What exactly happened here?"

The academy’s fourth layer, all roads leading here were sealed. Relying on the Admission Token obtained from the Invisible Feces Golden Beetle on the third layer, a group of adventurers managed to pass through the seal and arrive here.

The atmosphere here felt different from the previous three layers, it was oppressive, strange, and solemn. What they saw upon entering made the adventurers widen their eyes.

Corpses, corpses everywhere.

Magician corpses, Doll Soldier corpses, Mountain Monster Knight corpses, and knights’ corpses that the adventurers had never seen before, these knights had cuckoos painted on their armor.

"What’s going on? It looks as if a small-scale war took place here." Steeran shrank her shoulders, the solemn atmosphere of the battlefield making her feel uneasy.

"Are you sure this is a small-scale war?"

Merca pointed at the traces left by magic attacks all over the place, no matter how one looked at it, the traces left by these attack magic were quite astonishing.

Why did the academy seal this war scene on the top layer? It exudes a decaying atmosphere, as if it has been baptized by long years, and unlike the lower layers, it does not seem to be a product of the same era.

Not from the same era?

Various enemies that had already become animated corpses wandered over the ruins after the war. After killing knights with cuckoo embroidery on their chest, everyone found this passage in the Hunting Manual.

[Azalea Knight]

[Knights serving the academy, but the cuckoo peeking out from their armor conveys this message—We will never completely pledge allegiance to the academy!]

[This is the epitome of the war between the academy and the royalty]

Never completely pledging allegiance to the academy? What is the royalty?

Some thought of the Moon Princess and the Full Moon Queen, their titles had a royal feeling.

Originally, it was thought they were leaders of the academy, but now it seems things are not that simple.

Later, some adventurers learned of the existence of the royalty from the introduction of Calia Knight armor and magic prefixed with "Calia."

Expanding from this, people boldly speculated that Reyalucaria Magic Academy was originally ruled by Calia Royalty. Later, the forces within the academy rose, training Azalea Knights to resist the royalty, and it eventually evolved into a war story.

Speculating history always excites people, peeling off layers of fog feels wonderful, although exploring these background stories is utterly useless for adventuring, people just enjoy it endlessly.

The current question is, when did this war between the academy faction and the royalty faction break out?

Was it before the academy self-sealed, or after self-sealing?

Opinions vary on this point, an answer is unlikely to emerge in the near future, but—

Today adventurers’ goal is not to explore these.

"Is everyone ready?"

Standing in front of the thick door carved with stars and a full moon were fifty elite adventurers from Bed City.

Strategy Group, Skyrim Strategy Group, Fran Guard elite, Elf Clan, Magic Association...

Everyone had a role in reaching here smoothly, right before their eyes was the final gate, earlier fatigue was washed away, leaving only a surge of excitement.

"Then... let’s move forward!"

Led by Leon, they pushed open the heavy door. The peaceful glow immediately filled everyone’s eyes—

Moonlight!

A full moon rose before all beings, accompanied by a cold female voice as clear as ice.

"Do not disturb Mother’s deep sleep like mud."