Chapter 98: Temple of the Fallen Heretic (2)

Since they were heading out to an external city for field practice, the cadets changed into plain clothes.

Wearing the Bayern uniform out there for no reason could make them a target.

Of course, in such a case, both the Academy and the Empire would retaliate, but the world was wide, and there were plenty of lunatics around.

Given that anyone attending Bayern was generally from a wealthy family, there were no small number of attempts to kidnap them for ransom.

Naturally, none of those attempts ended well.

“Hm.”

Amy looked at her reflection in the window with a satisfied expression.

Each of them had chosen outfits that were practical yet stylish in their own way.

Some had even tried to give off the feel of seasoned adventurers, but no matter how they dressed, the youthful air from their age couldn’t be completely hidden.

In contrast, Carl was dressed entirely in black, draped with a yellow-brown robe.

It was one of the most basic getups for an adventurer or mercenary.

“Since everyone’s here, let’s head out.”

“Yay.”

“Let’s go.”

Following the instruction of Carl, the party leader, they stepped out of Bayern’s main gate.

Since they were traveling a long distance, using the Teleport Gate was a must.

They were probably the party heading to the farthest location among the cadets going out for practice.

Vmmm.

By now, they had grown fairly accustomed to the Teleport Gate, and in an instant, they moved to the city of Freiburg.

Two hundred years ago, it had been called the City of Death due to the rampage of the Wraith Lord, but now it was rather famous as the City of Wraiths.

Thanks to mercenaries, adventurers, and researchers who came to study or hunt undead-type monsters and make a fortune, the city was enjoying a second golden age.

“All members of Cadet Karl Leipzig’s party checked. I wish you a safe raid.”

The supervisor from the guild checked their party and gave them approval.

After that, they immediately headed to the front of the Temple of the Fallen Heretic to prepare for entry.

“Young Master!!”

When entering a dungeon with undead-type monsters, thorough preparation was essential.

Weapons imbued with holy power or divine blessings, holy water for purification—these were all things where the more you had, the better.

Carl had chosen the Temple of the Fallen Heretic in Freiburg as their dungeon and requested assistance from his family.

His father, Count Leipzig, gladly offered his help and prepared every requested item and piece of equipment perfectly.

“Alright, everyone put the holy water in your pouches. And drape this cloth over your armor. It has undergone a consecration ritual, so it helps prevent mental contamination and blocks the monsters’ physical charges.”

Sir Derek, a knight of the family, and his subordinates had brought the equipment in bundles, and the group finished their thorough preparations.

“Thank you, Sir Derek.”

“It’s nothing. It’s only natural for me to help with the Young Master’s matters.”

Always good-natured and smiling, Derek looked at the Leipzig family’s youngest master with heartfelt emotion.

“It is truly an honor. To think that the once-young and frail Young Master has grown to the point of challenging a dungeon with his friends…”

He looked as though he might shed tears at any moment.

Carl gave him a wry smile.

“Once we’re done with the raid, we agreed to rest at the estate before heading back, so I’ll see you then.”

“Understood. I wish you good fortune, my lord.”

Once all preparations were complete—

They sprinkled holy water on their weapons and finally entered the Temple of the Fallen Heretic.

The early section could be cleared quickly.

The monsters that appeared there were only sticky, sluggish slimes.

“Alright, let’s finish this quickly and go hang out at Carl’s place.”

Maximilian and the other cadets were fired up.

Better to finish quickly and rest comfortably at Carl’s mansion than to waste time here and end up camping in the dungeon.

Tap!

Taking the vanguard, Maximilian and Gale stepped in first.

After passing through the darkness, a vast cavern came into view.

They had to reach deeper inside to get to the cult’s temple.

Clatter, clatter.

But before long, the cadets came to a halt.

Bone fragments rose from the ground, fitting together on their own to form monsters.

“Skeletons. I’ve never seen skeletons before.”

Maximilian looked curiously at the skeletons rising with short swords in hand.

“That’s inland-raised noble brats for you.”

“Gale, you’re a noble too.”

“A noble who’s weathered all the storms of life is called a warrior.”

Boom.

Kicking off the ground, Gale shot forward like a cannonball.

He swung his mace in one motion, smashing a skeleton’s head and torso in one blow.

“Told you, maces are best for skeletons.”

“Yeah?”

Maximilian put away his sword and took out a mace as Gale had suggested.

Moving further in, they soon faced dozens of skeletons rising to approach them.

Carl also gripped his sheathed sword tightly, ready to fight.

“Let’s go!”

Crash! Crunch! Thud.

The battle between the cadets and the skeleton horde was one-sided.

The skeletons’ short bone blades couldn’t pierce their armor, and unless someone was extremely unlucky, even scratching them was hard.

On the other hand, every swing from the cadets shattered three or four skeletons at a time, making any comparison of strength meaningless.

Step.

Before long, they reached the entrance to the temple.

Up to this point, it had been nothing more than a passage to greet unexpected guests.

The real challenge lay ahead.

– Grrr.

Savage fangs, blood dripping year-round, crimson eyes.

Guarding the temple entrance were hellhounds, known as the Hounds of Hell.

They were on a completely different level from skeletons.

Especially the blue flames spewing from their mouths could easily burn a person to ash.

The standard tactic was to intercept them from range rather than engage directly.

“Just hold the front line well. We’ll take them out from a distance.”

The party’s most powerful magic-user duo, Yuria and Pozers, stepped forward.

But Carl shook his head and rummaged through the backpack slung over his shoulder.

“This should do it.”

He pulled out a small container and rolled a bead-like object from it onto the ground.

Given the monsters’ keen sense of smell, there was no way they would miss its scent.

Sniff. Sniff-sniff.

As expected, they soon twitched their noses and began searching for the source of the scent.

Before long, they found the pellet rolling on the floor, shoved their faces right into it, and began devouring it greedily.

…Chomp, chomp.

At first, they seemed to enjoy it, but the more they chewed, the slower their pace became.

The pellet had been made from a material with strong viscosity and adhesion, making it nearly impossible to remove once stuck.

Swoosh!

In that moment, the vanguards, who had been waiting for their chance, sprang forward and slashed through the hellhounds’ necks.

Slice!

Two of them went down at once.

The rest opened their jaws wide to unleash the flames of hell, but the attempt fizzled, and only smoke puffed out from their nostrils.

Thud!

Crushing a hellhound’s head with his mace, Maximilian spoke with a refreshed look.

“Easy. Didn’t they say this dungeon was supposed to be tough?”

“The strategy for it is fairly standardized. People who know it, know it well. Let’s head further in.”

Their business outside the temple was done.

The real challenge of this dungeon lay deeper within the Temple of the Fallen Heretic.

Passing through the well-kept walls, they entered the interior, where a mountain of undead-type monsters came into view.

“…I take that back. There’s a damn lot of them.”

“Looks like over a hundred.”

“It’s nothing. Most of them are basically meaningless fodder.”

Skeletons, Skeleton Warriors, Ghouls, Lesser Vampires…

It was a lineup of monsters straight out of the undead dungeon handbook, swarming toward them without pause.

“Alright then, let’s do this!”

With Maximilian launching the first attack, the battle to claim the dungeon began.

Though they were only first-year cadets, each of them was a capable fighter in their own right.

Even Skeleton Warriors, unless they fought together, couldn’t stop them individually.

With Carl’s precise guidance and their overwhelming momentum, they cleared the first floor in just thirty-eight minutes.

Considering that D- and C-rank mercenaries took about two hours, it was clear their skill far outstripped the norm.

At the end of the first floor, in front of the stairs leading to the second, they decided to take a short break.

“The Temple of the Fallen Heretic has three floors in total. As you’ve seen, the first floor is mostly filled with small fry, the second floor has a Death Knight as the boss, and the third floor has a Lich. Our goal is the Death Knight on the second floor.”

“Why? Can’t we handle the third floor too?”

“From the third floor onward, the difficulty more than doubles. Even just clearing the second floor will earn us the highest score the Academy can give.”

“So a Death Knight is like a bigger skeleton, right?”

Maximilian, who had only just seen skeletons for the first time here, of course had never encountered a Death Knight before.

At his words, Gale smirked.

“Yeah, something like that. You’ll understand once you fight one—what kind of monster a Death Knight really is.”

“It’ll be strong. Stay sharp, everyone.”

Having cleared the first floor, the party headed straight up to the second.

Occasionally they spotted treasure chests or rewards, but no one here would be distracted by such things.

After all, they were mostly from noble families—one of them even a royal.

—Screee.

The moment they stepped onto the second floor, a swarm of wraiths floated above their heads.

Wraiths were immune to physical attacks.

Thus, the melee cadets ducked low while Carl and the other mages stepped forward.

Fwoooosh!

The air turned scarlet as flames erupted.

The easiest way to deal with wraiths was to set fire to the shrouds covering their bodies.

—Screeeech!

The wraiths, nearly burned to nothing, shrieked and fled in panic.

Seeing that, the cadets who had been crouching raised their heads.

“They’re not as bad as I thought.”

“As long as you know the method, they’re not that hard.”

“Carl… don’t tell me…”

At Laysis’s gaze, Carl gave a faint smile and nodded.

“I’ve been here several times before. I know this place inside and out.”

“No wonder you’ve been guiding us so smoothly.”

“There’s no rule saying you can’t revisit a dungeon you’ve already cleared. And it’s not like this is easy. According to the combined difficulty rating from the guild and Bayern, the Temple of the Fallen Heretic is among the highest-tier dungeons. So there’s no problem.”

“Hahaha, true enough.”

“Guess we’ll be racking up points easily thanks to you.”

There was no need to secretly hire a guide or mercenary.

Why bother when they had someone more familiar with the place than any local?

‘It was the perfect place for training.’

Back when NOX had been active mainly around Leipzig and Freiburg, Carl had cleared every dungeon in the area to gain experience.

The Temple of the Fallen Heretic was one of them.

Knowing the strategy already meant it wasn’t particularly difficult.

“Still, the Death Knight is strong. Everyone, keep your wits about you.”

Carl raised his head and looked into the distance.

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