Chapter 1271: No Shortcuts

Oh no.

Oh hell no.

That sparkle.

That sheen.

And that chin trembling with pure, unadulterated elation.

Oliver Mylor saw every single warning sign appearing across his good brother’s face and immediately began dreading whatever was about to happen next.

Though really, at this point, he didn’t even need to see Luca’s expression anymore!

The moment the golden-eyed cadet turned around and Ollie saw his entire back go taut with barely restrained excitement, the blonde already knew something had gone terribly, terribly right before he could even see the rewards for himself.

And sure enough, the reason his good brother looked like he was about to twist himself into an excited little pretzel was currently hovering right there in front of them.

[HOSTILE THREAT ANNIHILATION BONUS]

[Legendary Clearance Bonus: 1,500,000 CP]

[Legendary Reward Chest ×1]

[Material Selection Voucher ×5]

"!"

Okay.

Granted, the currently electrified Mylor happened to be a part-time businessman by blood and a full-time hoarder by design, so naturally, even he felt a rather powerful wave of joy at the sight of all those wonderfully shiny letters and numbers.

1,500,000 CP!

Another Legendary Reward Chest!

And five Material Selection Vouchers?!

How could anyone with even the slightest amount of enterprising and collecting sense look at something like that and not feel their heart flutter?!

The only problem was just how painfully bittersweet that happiness happened to be.

Because while those rewards were undeniably fantastic, Ollie honestly wasn’t sure if he’d still be alive by the time their next dungeon simulation rolled around!

Had everyone somehow forgotten what they’d just gone through?!

It took them ages to finish this one?! They barely even had classes as long as this run!

And yet, when the only remaining normal cadet in this entire madhouse cautiously looked around to check everyone else’s reactions, Oliver Mylor discovered something truly horrifying.

"!"

Why did they all look so happy?!

No.

Seriously.

Why was practically everyone looking a little too jubilant?!

Even Ada had that tiny, satisfied smile on her face!

Ada!

He couldn’t even bring himself to look at his niece, who seemed utterly proud of herself, leaving him to wonder just what kind of exercise she’d been doing out there.

At that point, the increasingly desperate blonde immediately began searching for the one person upon whom he could still place whatever tiny scraps of hope he had left.

His pop!

Surely his pop would understand!

Surely the man who’d spent years raising this family and supposedly possessed enough common sense to keep all of them alive would recognize that perhaps throwing themselves straight into another horrifying dungeon simulation immediately after this one might not be the wisest decision!

Then Ollie finally caught sight of him.

"!"

His pop was nodding.

Not reluctantly.

Not nervously.

The man was nodding solemnly in complete approval!

Ack!

T-this betrayal?!

Oliver Mylor stared at his own father as though the man had personally stabbed him straight through the heart.

Had the entire world gone insane while he wasn’t looking?!

Heck, at this rate, did his own husband feel the exact same way too?!

The increasingly horrified blonde immediately whipped his head around in search of the youngest son of House Nox, quickly spotting him standing unusually far away thanks to the forced distance they’d been keeping throughout practically the entire simulation.

And honestly?

The admittedly pampered Ollie felt like crying to his husband!

He wanted to tell Kyle exactly how difficult everything had been, how cruel the entire world currently felt, and how, at this rate, he might never even get to see his poor hair return to normal!

And if that really happened, would his husband still love him the same?!

But before the blonde could begin pouring out his grievances from several feet away, Kyle, who looked just as exhausted after spending practically the entire simulation practicing his own bloodline ability, turned toward him.

__

See, unlike Ollie, Kyle didn’t exactly have an urgent problem to solve. Considering how long he’d had to familiarize himself with his bloodline ability, he could already be said to be progressing quite well.

Just as expected of someone allowed to stand right behind the next monarch of the Empire.

But even so, he’d entered the dungeon with every intention of speeding up his training exponentially, paying particular attention to repeatedly forming and reforming his water blades from scratch instead of simply maintaining their shape as he fought.

It probably sounded like a huge waste of time, but Kyle’s true goal wasn’t to create the best possible constructs or even figure out the most effective ways to fight with them.

It was to make sure he could theoretically sheathe and unsheathe them perfectly.

He needed to be able to suppress and release his ability in a way that ensured he always stayed dry.

That certainly hadn’t been easy, especially when there was nowhere in the simulation to naturally or artificially draw water from. As someone still considered relatively inexperienced with his bloodline ability, Kyle had been forced to expend far more energy than usual conjuring the water himself.

Luca had actually offered to send him off with some water essence, much like he’d done for the Duchess by giving her essence born from his currently emulated ability. But even though accepting would’ve made Kyle’s life considerably easier, the adjutant had ultimately declined.

It had been a really difficult "no, thank you."

After all, unlike most cases, taking that particular shortcut could very well send him to an early grave if the assistance gave him a false sense of confidence and left him thinking he’d already gotten his control down perfectly.

Now, with all those restrictions, it was no wonder the adjutant hadn’t felt that tired in a very long while. One would’ve thought fighting with a mecha would be much more exhausting, but apparently, the opposite was true when the biomechas created by Luca were perfectly capable of supplying and regulating their own energy.

Still, no matter how exhausted Kyle was, he also had no trouble spotting his little star even under all those layers.

With both of them standing near the back of the group and nobody really positioned between them, there was nothing blocking their view of each other despite the considerable distance.