Chapter 140: Dungeon, Dark Speech [Magic Castle Bonus]

The next day arrived, and once again Caelum found himself inside the school’s dungeon alongside Paul, Jojo, and Voomie.

Today was another scheduled for Practical Dungeon Diving session.

At the moment, they were fighting the local mobs and one of the most iconic monsters found in almost every fantasy tale.

Goblins.

Short green humanoids with ugly appearances, crooked teeth, and permanently nasty smiles.

SHICK! SPLURT!

Caelum’s sword flashed through the air as another goblin collapsed.

A notification of sorts appeared on the School Badges worn by both boys.

[Objective Completed: Eliminate 100 Goblins.]

"Finally!" Paul sighed in relief.

"Woof! Protect me! I am the princess!" Voomie barked dramatically from the rear while Jojo sighed before stepping in front of her like a loyal royal guard.

Meanwhile, Paul continued firing [Magic Bullets] at approaching goblins.

Swish!

One shot pierced straight through a goblin’s thigh.

The next, completely missed.

"..."

Paul awkwardly adjusted his glasses for clear and dynamic vision.

His primary affinity was Lightning, and unlike Caelum, he had always preferred studying over fighting.

His true passion lay in Magic Engineering, not combat.

Unfortunately, Imperial Zenith School was merciless.

Regardless of one’s preferred profession, every student was expected to possess the ability to defend themselves.

Fortunately, Paul’s talent for learning was exceptional.

Within only a week, he had already mastered [Magic Bullet] to a respectable level.

Although his accuracy still needed some work, it was still better than running with a sword.

As Caelum glanced toward Voomie, who was comfortably hiding behind Jojo while occasionally shouting words of encouragement, his mood immediately soured.

Still, he couldn’t exactly expect his pet dog to charge into battle against monsters.

That would be asking too much.

Since this was a Duo Dungeon Exercise, Caelum and Paul formed one team.

Naturally, Jojo and Voomie, as their summons, were considered part of their overall combat strength.

"Let’s find the entrance to the next floor," Caelum said after cleaning his sword.

The four continued exploring the dungeon and whenever they encountered lone goblins, they quickly eliminated them.

If they discovered large groups, they simply avoided them.

There was no reason to waste time or energy because their assigned objective had already been completed.

After searching for several minutes, Jojo suddenly pointed ahead.

"There."

Hidden behind a cascading waterfall and concealed among jagged rocks stood a weathered stone doorway.

Without careful observation, it was almost impossible to notice.

"So this is the passage to the next floor," Paul muttered.

After making sure nothing dangerous lurked nearby, the four exchanged glances before stepping through the doorway together.

A new floor of the dungeon awaited them.

***

Observation Room – Goblin and Undead Dungeon.

Inside a spacious observation room filled with dozens of floating magical screens, several instructors quietly monitored the students currently undergoing their Dungeon Practical.

Here, every battle, every decision and every mistake was carefully recorded.

These observations were later compiled into detailed reports and handed over to the Practical Instructors.

Using those reports, each student’s future training would be adjusted according to their strengths and weaknesses.

Imperial Zenith School had not become the number one school in the Empire by chance.

Behind every talented graduate stood countless teachers working behind the scenes.

Many of these efforts remained completely unknown to the students themselves.

It was also one of the reasons why graduates of the school were respected wherever they went.

They weren’t merely strong.

They had been trained systematically.

"Hoo... that’s an interesting development," one instructor suddenly muttered while pointing toward a particular screen.

"I think a special quest will be issued to the Senior Division later."

The attention of everyone in the room immediately shifted toward the floating projection.

The [Goblin and Undead Dungeon] consisted of six floors.

The first three floors were inhabited by various types of goblins and the last three belonged to the undead.

And at that very moment, deep within the sixth floor, hidden inside a secluded underground chamber, something unusual was taking place.

A Skeleton Mage (Second Circle) sat motionless within a massive gathering of Dark Mana.

Countless streams of dark energy continuously flowed into its skeletal body.

It was attempting an evolution, or rather his an ascension.

Soon, it would become a Hollow Lich (Third Circle).

"This is certainly unexpected," another instructor commented.

"As far as I remember, the sixth floor currently contains three Undead Knights and four Hollow Liches and if this one succeeds, the number of Hollow Liches will increase to five."

"I wonder which team will accept the subjugation quest."

"I think the Senior Division Head will issue special quest with additional credits for this."

"The competition among the seniors will probably be fierce."

"Perhaps it’ll even be included in one of the practical examinations."

The instructors discussed the possibilities.

To them, this was simply another dungeon event.

A valuable opportunity for the older students to make a reputation among peers.

What all of them failed to notice was the faint glimmer of intelligence hidden deep within the Skeleton Mage’s eye sockets.

Those dark flames... were far too ominous for a normal Skeleton Mage.

Suddenly, a nearby skeleton warrior abruptly rushed toward the Skeleton Mage as the undead mage immediately raised a hand.

A dense barrier of dark mana formed around its body.

Seeing that, the instructors didn’t particularly flag this was an unusual activity.

Because monsters occasionally fought among themselves and incidents like this were not uncommon.

What they failed to realize was that the Skeleton Mage itself had secretly commanded the skeleton warrior to attack himself.

The barrier wasn’t erected to stop the attack.

It was created, to block observation.

The moment the curtain of darkness surrounded it, the feeling of being watched disappeared.

Only then did the dark flames inside its empty eye sockets of the Skeleton Mage burned colder.

The Skeleton Mage slowly opened its mouth as a deep, ancient language echoed throughout the chamber.

"[Vhar akh morath. Kel dravûn esh kaar. Neth varûm, sha’khal dor. Um vekh, na vekh, sha’vur akhen. Zhur vakh. Kharûm.]"

The surrounding Dark Mana trembled violently.

The Skeleton Mage wasn’t casting an ordinary spell, it was simply... speaking to the darkness itself.

Every word resonated with the Dark Mana filling the chamber, causing it to stir as though it understood the meaning behind those words.

This was the Dark Speech, the language of darkness itself.