The Academy Geniuses I Raised and Dressed

I kept tossing smoke bombs behind us as we followed the trail of yellow-green grass, when suddenly I sensed an intense presence ahead—something far stronger than anything we’d encountered so far.

"Wait! Something’s wrong!" Meiling shouted from behind.

"The monsters chasing us… there are fewer and fewer of them!"

She was right. The sound of footsteps and cries from behind was fading.

"I know," I said as we kept running, "It means we’re close to the boss’s domain."

"Really?!"

"Don’t relax just yet."

Even if the return portal was in the boss’s area, it didn’t mean we could just walk in and use it.

Naturally, the greatest obstacle—the boss—was waiting there.

And knowing this boss, there was no way both of us could reach the portal together.

Which meant I’d have to use that fact to our advantage.

"Meiling."

"What?"

I removed the Eyes of the Ashen Butcher from my neck and handed it to her.

"When we reach the boss area, you use your movement skill immediately and run straight for the return portal. Don’t look back—just keep going until you’re through."

As I said that, I put my original necklace back on.

"What are you talking about?! What about you?!"

"One of us has to hold the boss’s attention, or we’ll both die."

The boss of the seventh floor in the Spirit Forest was the Queen of Spirits, Swallowed by Darkness.

Her attribute was the same as Meiling’s Dark Domain—darkness and curse-type.

Normally, when the fight starts, her opening move is an area-of-effect attack.

But if you split her aggro at the very start, she’ll skip the AoE and switch to closing in for melee combat instead.

That’s when I’d send Meiling running.

"You’re not seriously thinking of sacrificing yourself, are you?! That’s stupid!"

"Am I crazy? You think I’d die just to save you?" I said, giving her a look of disbelief.

"T-then what is it?!"

"If you’re with me, you’ll just interfere with how I control the boss’s movement. I’ll send you off first, then find my own chance to escape."

"…That’s really possible?"

"Have I ever given you wrong information?"

"Tch, you’re so annoying… fine! I’ll do what you say!"

"Good."

I reached up and grabbed the drone hovering over my head.

"What are you doing?"

"If I’m going to draw aggro, I might as well make it obvious."

I pried the casing open and shoved in a stun grenade.

At that moment, the powerful presence ahead suddenly closed the distance.

"Meiling, remember—no matter what happens behind you, run to the portal."

"Got it!!"

A shadowy figure came soaring toward us from the air.

I timed it perfectly and threw my drone upward.

The stun grenade exploded, taking the drone with it, bursting into what looked like a small firework in the air.

The red gleam in the eyes of the dark-blue-dressed, humanoid monster locked onto me.

The Spirit Queen was slightly smaller than the Ashen Butcher, but the killing intent and oppressive aura she exuded were on an entirely different level.

"Ah… ahh…"

Meiling froze at the sight of her.

"Snap out of it—run!"

I smacked her hard on the back.

"Oww!!"

She yelped, snapping back to her senses, and used her movement skill to flash past the boss toward the portal.

At the same moment, I used my own movement skill to sidestep.

KWA-THOOM!!

A massive black spear struck where I’d been standing a second ago—the Queen’s basic Black Spear Summon.

Perfect. I’ve got her attention.

Looking up at the hovering Queen, I saw Meiling already nearing the distant return portal.

She turned to look back at me.

I gestured for her to go, and she bit her lip before disappearing through the portal.

Good. The footage should be enough.

Up until the moment she left, her drone had been hovering over her, recording everything.

And my own drone had already been "destroyed" under the pretense of drawing aggro.

From here on, no one would be watching.

"Paousu reta dilza."

The Spirit Queen muttered in some incomprehensible language, and countless black orbs materialized in the air.

She was unleashing her opening AoE pattern now.

The black orbs rained down toward me—

But I didn’t dodge. I didn’t need to.

Each orb, capable of dealing tens of thousands of damage, vanished the instant it touched me.

As I’d said earlier, the Queen’s attribute was darkness/curse.

And these orbs were 100% curse-element attacks.

Around my neck hung Ezonnil’s Teachings, which granted complete immunity to curses.

In other words, her attack couldn’t harm me in the slightest.

Still, I couldn’t relax forever.

The Queen could also use Black Spear, a pure darkness-attribute attack, which Ezonnil’s Teachings wouldn’t block.

I had to use my trump card while the black orbs were still flying.

I pulled an icon from my pouch and materialized it—a crystal bottle filled with a brass-colored liquid, radiating a crimson aura.

The Queen spread her arms, signaling a transition to her next attack pattern.

Not happening.

I hurled the crystal bottle toward her.

It shattered on impact, releasing a mist that spread around her.

"?"

The Queen froze mid-motion.

I strolled casually beneath her hovering form, and still she didn’t react.

Grinning, I headed for the portal.

What I’d used was the Potion of Accord, crafted from rare materials I’d acquired from Eleanor’s workshop.

Its effect: for ten seconds, it nullifies hostility from a single target.

It was designed for boss fights, to buy time for recovery or to reset attack patterns.

If you attacked, ran, or used skills within those ten seconds, the effect would break instantly.

That was why I was walking so casually toward the portal—it matched the effect perfectly.

I can’t reach the portal in ten seconds at this pace, but if I start running at around nine seconds and use my movement skill to dive in, I’ll make it.

And just like that, game over—I’d be free of the Queen and out of the dungeon.

This way, Meiling will think I risked everything to save her.

All her accumulated dislike for me would flip into admiration, delivered with a dramatic punch.

It wasn’t just for her sake either.

The footage from her drone would be stored by the school and would inevitably end up in Kai’s hands.

When Kai saw today’s video, he’d be shocked.

Not that someone like Kai would believe I really sacrificed myself for Meiling—what would matter to him was that I’d survived the seventh floor.

When we were first teleported to the seventh floor, I’d honestly thought we were screwed—but in the end, it had turned into an opportunity.

I felt a little proud of myself for turning bad luck into a chance.

When the tenth second was nearly up, I activated my Instant Acceleration, long since off cooldown, and sprinted with everything I had toward the portal ahead.

I heard the Spirit Queen scream behind me, but it was already too late.

I was about to be out of the dungeon—

—or so I thought. Just as my foot touched the portal, the ground flared with bright light.

"You’ve got to be kidding me!?"

This was beyond unfair.

As if mocking my shock and fury, the scenery around me shifted in an instant.

Looking ahead, I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.

"You’ve got to be kidding me…"

Right in front of me—so close I could almost fall into it—was a monster.

A Spirit of Decay, the kind found on the third floor of the Spirit Forest.

A poison-using level 30 monster.

Of course, I couldn’t beat it with my current strength and gear.

My movement skill was on cooldown, and my Mana Shield wouldn’t fully block the damage it could deal.

"Tedeles."

A deep green orb appeared before the Spirit of Decay.

Damn.

On instinct, I brought up my newly crafted Bone Shield, replacing the shattered Turtle Shell Shield.

That’s when I heard a sharp, chiming sound.

…A freezing sound effect?

Peeking past the edge of my shield, I froze in surprise.

"Lumina!!"

Somehow, Lumina was here—pinning the Spirit of Decay to the ground with both her daggers.

With a stealth strike, she’d killed it in one blow, despite it being level 30. The monster disintegrated into particles and vanished.

Her face had been set in a deadly expression, but then she looked up and saw me.

"Yein~!!"

"Urk—"

She barreled into me so hard I lost all the air in my lungs.

"I’m so glad you’re okay! Waaah!"

She pressed her forehead against my chest and sobbed.

"Don’t cry—calm down. The noise might attract monsters."

I spoke quickly.

"R-right. Sniff!"

She pulled back, her eyes bright red.

"Why are you on the third floor?"

"I was waiting for you guys on the first floor when the teacher said you’d sent a rescue request… and that you were on the seventh floor. I was shocked, so I figured if I used my Stealth, I could reach you without being detected… but…"

"But?"

"I made it to the third floor, but I couldn’t find the deep portal to go further. I ended up wandering around… and I lost sight of the teacher back on the first floor…"

Thank god.

I nearly sighed in relief. If she’d actually found the deep portal to the fourth floor, I’d be dead here, courtesy of the Spirit of Decay.

"W-what about Meiling? What happened to her…?"

She glanced around nervously.

"Don’t worry. She got out of the dungeon."

"R-really?"

"Yeah. I’ll explain the details once we’re out of here. If you’re on the third floor, that means you know where the portal to the second floor is, right?"

"Mm-hm. This way."

With Lumina leading, we headed for the portal down to the second floor.

We were ambushed along the way, but I used smoke bombs to escape danger.

Some monsters were flying types, immune to the smoke, but Lumina crippled them with freeze or bleed effects, giving us time to run.

Once on the second floor, we went straight to the boss area’s return portal and finally exited the Spirit Forest dungeon.

"Ah! Nam Yein!"

The moment we stepped outside, a voice boomed loud enough to pierce my eardrums.

Turning, I saw Meiling staring at me, with a Gwangcheon staff member beside her.

"Why is Lumina…?"

"Meiling~!!"

Lumina sprinted toward her and hugged her tightly—just like she’d done to me earlier.

"I’m so glad you’re okay!! I was so, so worried… waaah!"

"S-stop! I can’t breathe! Let go already! Hey! You’re getting snot on me!"

Meiling’s face flushed bright red as she shouted.

I walked over to them.

"So, you really did make it out fine."

Meiling shoved Lumina’s face away and muttered.

"Not without trouble."

"What do you mean? Did you get hurt?!"

"No, not hurt. Thanks to Lumina."

I explained how I’d been about to use the return portal on the seventh floor when I’d been forcibly teleported to the third floor, and how I’d run into Lumina and gotten out safely.

"Thanks, Lumina. I got out safely because of you."

I smiled as I said it.

"Mm. I’m just glad everyone’s okay. Really."

She nodded quickly, eyes glistening.

"…"

I noticed Meiling watching us, lips pressed tight.

"This is unbelievable," muttered the staff member, staring in shock.

After that, the staff member escorted us back into the dungeon to contact Allen, the practicum instructor.

Once back on the first floor, Allen’s face eased with relief when he saw us alive, and he asked for a detailed account.

Naturally, I left out the part about using the Potion of Accord on the seventh floor.

"Teleported to the seventh floor by light instead of a portal? I’ve never heard of such a thing," Allen said.

"If you check the footage from Meiling’s drone, you’ll see I’m telling the truth," I said, nodding toward her.

"Alright. Either way, I’m just glad you’re alive. First-years—students who’ve only just started going to the second floor—making it back from the seventh floor… this is the most shocking thing I’ve seen."

"By the way," I said, pulling the materials from my inventory, "I know I hit the rescue request button because it was urgent, but I gathered everything except the Ghost Flower. Could I at least get partial points?"

"Pfft!"

Allen burst out laughing.

"Don’t worry! No way I’d give you a zero for calling for help in a situation like this."

"Thank you." I dipped my head slightly.

"Unlike him, I collected all the materials."

Meiling displayed all eight.

"…"

Even in this situation, she was still hung up on scores. Lumina just stared at us like we were ridiculous.

"Alright, if the drone footage checks out, you’ll both get full marks," Allen said, taking Meiling’s drone.

The three of us took a taxi back to Gwangcheon.

At the crossroads to the male and female dorms, Meiling suddenly stopped walking.

"…Nam Yein."

"What?"

"Today… um, that is…"

"If you’ve got something to say, spit it out."

I prodded, and she squeezed her eyes shut.

"T-thank you for helping me, y-you idiot!"

She clenched her fists and yelled, then spun around and bolted toward the women’s dorm.

"Ah! Meiling!"

Lumina called after her, flustered, but she didn’t stop.

"Why’d she have to add ‘idiot’ to the thanks?"

"Ahaha…"

Lumina laughed awkwardly as I muttered to myself.

(End of Chapter)