Chapter 141: Birthdays & Two Months…

Caelum and Paul successfully cleared another two floors of the dungeon.

The second floor was inhabited by goblins armed with crude weapons.

Unlike the first floor, however, most of them specialized in ranged attacks.

Goblin archers occupied elevated positions, constantly firing volleys of arrows while their melee companions attempted to surround intruders.

Against an ordinary student team, this combination would have been quite troublesome.

But for Caelum and Paul, it was merely a slight inconvenience.

Caelum took the front, cutting down the charging goblins one after another while deflecting arrows with his sword.

Whenever an archer exposed itself, Paul immediately responded with [Magic Bullet], forcing the goblin to retreat or knocking it down entirely.

Although his accuracy wasn’t perfect, it was improving with every battle.

Soon, the second floor was cleared and they moved to the next level.

The third floor was... noticeably different.

Instead of scattered groups of monsters, actual goblin villages had formed throughout the forest.

Normal wooden huts, watchtowers and even crude defensive walls surrounded their settlements.

Leading one such village was a Hobgoblin.

Standing nearly a head taller than ordinary goblins, it possessed a far stronger physique and enough intelligence to command the others efficiently.

Under its orders, the goblins fought in coordinated groups instead of charging recklessly.

Even so, the difference in strength was simply too great.

Having already reached the Expert Realm, Caelum easily saw through every attack and command.

He quickly eliminated the Hobgoblin before dismantling the remaining resistance.

For Paul, Jojo, and Voomie, the entire expedition had almost become a sightseeing trip.

Of course, Caelum knew this arrangement wouldn’t last forever.

Eventually, the school would reshuffle the teams.

Paul would have to rely on his own abilities alongside different classmates.

But for now, their mission was complete.

The group chose not to descend to the fourth floor.

Moments later, a familiar pillar of light enveloped them and the scenery changed.

In the next instant, they found themselves standing outside the dungeon once again.

Many teams had already completed their practical examination and were waiting nearby.

Caelum had spent slightly longer than most because it was mentioned that students who reached deeper floors could earn additional practical points.

However, that bonus only applied up to the third floor for Foundation students.

Far away, Skyler and Ryan emerged from another exit while Bonjour and Sénior arrived shortly afterward.

Although the Barbarian duo had reached the third floor, every team had been transported to different sections of the dungeon.

Meanwhile, Anastasia and Loreal completed their practical after reaching the second floor.

As all groups emerged from the dungeon, today’s practical finally came to an end.

"I wanted to fight the undead!" Bonjour complained loudly, stretching his shoulders.

Sénior glanced at him before shaking his head.

"We fought enough already, there were plenty of goblins."

"I don’t want to see another goblin ever again," Ryan muttered while wiping blood from his sword.

Everyone silently agreed.

Although goblins were individually weak, they were surprisingly troublesome opponents.

They preferred ambushes, deception, numerical superiority and if necessary, they didn’t hesitate to sacrifice their own comrades to create an opening.

For such low-level monsters, they were annoyingly clever.

"We’ve almost finished nearly one-fourth of the school year," Skyler commented while counting on his fingers.

"I just hope the holidays arrive sooner..."

Despite being only eight years old, he already had a solid grasp of fractions.

After all, Mathematics was one of the School’s compulsory subjects. whether on Earth of Lyron, Math still reigned.

And among the human children, Skyler was also one of the oldest.

His birthday fell in the thirteenth month of the calendar, and unlike the others born in 1345, he had been born in 1344.

In terms of age, he was closer to Bonjour and Sénior.

Birthdays themselves weren’t celebrated every year throughout most human nations.

Instead, grand celebrations were usually held every six years.

That was also why the Immortal Count Seth Annum had gifted Caelum the condensed essence cores of both the Fire Dragon and Water Dragon on his sixth birthday.

Elsewhere, Loreal quietly observed Anastasia.

Ever since this week, something about the princess had subtly changed.

She couldn’t explain exactly what it was, but she was certain of one thing.

Anastasia had become different!

Unable to suppress her curiosity any longer, she asked once again.

"Princess... are you really alright?"

Anastasia sighed helplessly.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Loreal?" She smiled faintly before gently patting Loreal’s head.

"I’m fine, in fact... I think I’ve changed for the better."

Since the two girls were nearly the same height, the gesture looked less like comforting someone and more like Anastasia was searching Loreal’s head for white hairs.

Though she didn’t show this on her face, Loreal was embarrassed by that gesture, so, she remained silent.

’...I need to report this to Mother.’

Agent 101-A was still diligently performing her daily mission.

And so, the days quietly passed as summer gradually deepened.

Before anyone realized it, nearly two months had gone by.

Life continued peacefully until... that day finally arrived.

***

17th Vandros (6th Month), 1345.

"...So, you want to have a match?" Caelum asked, looking at Bonjour.

The barbarian nodded enthusiastically.

After nearly two months of attending practical classes and repeatedly clearing the same training dungeons, he had finally grown bored of the routine.

"I propose a Dungeon Speed Run!" Bonjour declared proudly.

"We’ll enter at the same time, clear as many floors as possible, and whoever finishes first wins!"

"And what does the winner get?" Caelum asked.

"The winner can ask the loser to do anything!"

"...Within reason?" Paul cautiously added.

"Of course!" Bonjour replied confidently.

"But tomorrow’s a holiday, wouldn’t everyone be resting?" Paul pointed out.

"Exactly!" Bonjour grinned.

"That’s why I chose tomorrow. First, we’ll get permission from our homeroom teacher, Dorian, and then tomorrow we’ll have our match!"

His expression radiated confidence.

He naturally didn’t mention that this brilliant plan had actually been suggested by Sénior.

"All you ever think about is fighting, fighting, and more fighting," Skyler complained while lazily lying across the bed.

Bonjour smirked.

"Little Skyler... weren’t you the one who said you’d suppress me someday?"

Skyler’s face instantly turned red.

He will suppress him but... in future!

"Hahaha!"

Bonjour burst into laughter.

Ryan, meanwhile, paid no attention to their conversation.

He quietly sat in a corner with his sword resting across his knees, appearing to communicate with the sword spirit residing within it.

Seeing everyone’s reactions, Caelum smiled.

"Alright, let’s do it!"

A speedrun sounded far more interesting than another ordinary dungeon dive.

Besides, a little competition wouldn’t hurt.

And then, instead of sending just one representative to ask for permission, the entire group decided to go together, even if some were unwilling.

Thus, five boys, one dog who had finally become slightly slimmer after weeks of compulsory combat training, one panda and a Paul.

Set off through the school in search of their homeroom teacher, Dorian, hoping to obtain permission for tomorrow’s dungeon speedrun challenge.