Chapter 145: Cheating…?

"What were you talking about with the instructor?" Paul asked curiously as he looked toward Jojo and Voomie.

At the moment, the others were busy setting up the camping tent.

"Nothing much, the instructor was just reminding us to be extra careful inside the dungeon." Jojo replied with a calm smile.

"Woof! Very careful!" Voomie nodded repeatedly.

Neither of them had any intention of revealing the truth and Jojo had already promised to help Voomie.

And he wasn’t the kind of panda who broke his promises.

Paul found the answer slightly strange, but after thinking about it for a moment, he decided not to dwell on the matter.

After all, what could an instructor possibly discuss with a panda and a dog?

Completely oblivious to the sinister scheme brewing between the two summons, Caelum and Bonjour had already gone ahead to clear out a few nearby goblins as a warm-up before the competition.

By the time they returned, the tent was almost finished.

Meanwhile, Skyler had wandered off to one side, clasping his hands together with an unusually serious expression.

He prayed with sincerity to the Summoning Goddess Oõleru about reducing the Saint Joining Fees.

Little did he know, the fees had absolutely nothing to do with the goddess he was praying to.

After the camp had finally been set up, Ryan removed something from his School Badge.

Several large pieces of frozen meat appeared, along with small packets filled with different seasonings.

Sénior looked at him curiously.

"What’s all this for?"

Ryan looked at him as though the answer was obvious.

"If we’re going dungeon camping, we should do dungeon with absolute seriousness!"

Caelum glanced at the frozen meat before looking around.

"...Don’t we need fire? If we start a fire here, won’t every goblin on this floor gather around us?"

"..."

Ryan stared at him for several long seconds before he sighed deeply.

"Bro, you really aren’t used to preparing your own meals, are you?" He said pointing toward the surface of one frozen meat.

"Look closely."

A small magic circle had been engraved directly into the layer of ice surrounding the meat.

"I bought these during the school’s weekly market, Senior Chad made them using Horned Rabbit meat and a Fire Magic engraving." Ryan explained proudly.

"It’s basically a self-heating meal and they’re very expensive!"

He emphasized on the word expensive.

"I was originally expecting all of you to compensate me for my generosity..."

Unfortunately, before he could finish speaking, everyone silently reached forward.

One piece, two pieces, three pieces. Even the seasoning packets disappeared one after another.

By the time Ryan reacted... Only a single lonely piece of meat remained.

"..."

Meanwhile, Bonjour examined the strange magic circle with great curiosity.

"Hmm..."

He carefully poured a little Arder into the engraved pattern as the magic circle immediately lit up.

Fwoosh!

Flames ignited beneath the layer of ice.

The ice rapidly melted away while evenly cooking the meat from within.

The cooking method looked unbelievably strange.

Yet it worked surprisingly well.

After sprinkling the provided seasoning over the meat, a delicious aroma quickly spread throughout the campsite.

"Ohhh! This is really good!" Bonjour exclaimed before taking another huge bite.

The others quickly agreed.

Ryan looked at everyone silently enjoying the meal.

"...Damn it! I never should’ve taken these out."

Not only had he suffered a financial loss, but he had also gained hunger.

Meanwhile, everyone else happily continued eating.

Without anyone realizing it, their dungeon speedrun had somehow turned into a small barbecue party.

***

Some time later...

"Alright, is everyone ready?" Skyler asked as he stood in the middle of the campsite with an unusually solemn expression, acting as the official referee for today’s competition.

Standing before an imaginary starting line were the four competitors.

Caelum, Bonjour, Jojo and Voomie. Though Jojo and Voomie were considered a pair, so there were three competitors.

The rules of the competition were simple.

Whoever reached the sixth and final floor of the [Goblin and Undead Dungeon] first would be declared the winner.

Naturally, reaching the top wasn’t as easy as simply defeating monsters.

Each floor contained a hidden passage leading to the next one, and locating those doors was often more difficult than fighting the monsters.

As for determining the winner, that responsibility belonged to the instructor seated inside the Observation Room.

The magical surveillance system recorded the exact moment each participant entered a new floor, making it impossible to argue about the results afterward.

Everything had already been prepared.

Skyler raised one hand dramatically.

"Three, two, one... Go!"

The instant his voice fell.

SWISH!

Caelum shot forward like a streak of blue light.

Activating [Infinite Ways], he disappeared into the forest at astonishing speed, searching for the hidden passage to the next floor.

Bonjour, on the other hand, remained completely still.

His feet stayed firmly planted on the ground.

His Arder slowly flowed from his body into the earth beneath him.

The Arder spread farther and farther, resonating with the Great Nature surrounding the dungeon.

Moments later, his eyes suddenly opened.

"I found it."

Without another word, Bonjour bent his knees before launching himself high into the air.

BOOM!

The ground beneath his feet cracked slightly as his powerful leap sent him flying toward a distant direction.

Watching the two front-runners disappear almost instantly, Skyler nodded in satisfaction.

’Just as expected...’ He then turned toward the remaining competitor pair.

"...Aren’t you two supposed to be competing as well?"

Jojo and Voomie weren’t rushing anywhere.

Instead, they were leisurely walking in roughly the same direction Bonjour had taken.

"Hm? Of course we’re competing." Jojo tilted his head innocently.

"We’re taking it very seriously woof!" Voomie added.

Skyler wasn’t entirely convinced.

Just then, Paul walked over with a suspicious expression.

"You two aren’t planning anything strange... right?"

Before Jojo could answer, Voomie quickly shook her head.

"No! We’re definitely not cheating or anything! Wohuhuhu!"

Her strangely sinister laugh only made the statement less believable.

Paul stared at the two of them for several seconds.

"...Alright, just be careful."

In the end, he chose not to think too deeply about it.

After all, this was still a school dungeon and an instructor was monitoring everything from the Observation Room.

Nothing dangerous could possibly happen.

Satisfied, Paul turned around and entered the camping tent.

There was still some time left before the newest episode of Justice Kid began airing.

Missing even a single minute was absolutely unacceptable.

Meanwhile, the instant Caelum accelerated forward, his Spirit Sense erupted outward in every direction.

Nearly five hundred meters of the surrounding terrain instantly entered his perception.

The dungeon’s layout, the monsters, everything became vividly clear.

Within moments, he found what he was searching for.

The entrance leading to the second floor.

It was hidden inside a cave where two goblins lingered.

’Found it.’

In a sense, his Spirit Sense was an enormous advantage, one could even call it cheating.

Less than a minute had passed since the competition began and leaving behind nothing except two utterly confused goblins who felt the wind slam into their faces.

Caelum became the first contestant to step onto the dungeon’s second floor.