Just then, a voice rang out abruptly in his ear, its tone tinged with a hint of languor.
"Hmm... I can faintly hear some... noise coming from the direction of the middle layers."
Greg stiffened and whipped his head around. He saw Nightmare already perched on a rock beside him. Her eerie green eyes were fixed on the entrance to the middle layers, her cat ears twitching slightly as if catching signals beyond the reach of normal perception.
So that's where she went when she vanished earlier.
"You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
Greg lowered his voice and shot her a glare before processing the meaning of her words.
"Noise? What kind of noise? Is it the roar of some powerful monster, or the sounds of a chaotic battle?"
If a powerful Lord-class monster in the deep layers had suddenly gone berserk, its leaking aura or indiscriminate attacks could indeed scare monsters in the middle or even shallow layers into a frantic flight, leading to this kind of abnormal gathering.
However, monster rampages usually didn't last very long.
Looking at these Goblins, they had been here for more than a day or two, which didn't quite fit that scenario.
Nightmare's black head shook gently.
"No, it's not the sound of monsters or combat. It's a... duller, more rhythmic sound, carrying a certain sense of dissonance, like an alien presence. It's a noise that shouldn't exist in this dungeon."
"A noise the dungeon shouldn't have..." Greg repeated the words, his mind racing.
He immediately thought of the three upperclassmen he had encountered earlier.
The Goblins had abnormally fled from the lower layers shortly after those three entered the dungeon.
The timing was too coincidental.
It now seemed ninety-nine percent certain that this anomaly was related to those three.
"Then what exactly did they do?"
Greg stared at the wandering Goblins, his gaze turning sharp.
To trigger a noise that made even the local monsters feel uneasy or forced them to abandon their territory was no small feat.
Those three definitely weren't here just to explore the dungeon.
Nightmare seemed to sense his churning thoughts. She glanced at him with her eerie green eyes, gave a slight flick of her tail, and said nothing more. Her form slowly faded, gradually merging back into his shadow.
Greg didn't stop her.
He needed to think about the situation on his own.
That pack of Goblins was blocking the main path to the middle layers. This meant that simply entering that area would require a fierce battle.
It also meant he couldn't head down to investigate the situation alone. He needed someone to help him before he could venture into the deeper areas.
"If I wait any longer, I'll hit the End-of-Chapter-One event. By then, Victoria will still be hospitalized, and Silvia will go missing... It looks like I'll have to brave the first layer with just the two of us now."
Having made up his mind, Greg quietly slipped away and headed toward the dungeon exit.
...
Night, at the Academy Affiliated Hospital.
The ward was lit by soft magic lamps, dispelling the darkness outside the window.
Silvia sat in a chair by Victoria's bed, speaking in a soft voice.
"Now that the placement results are out, Class A has officially started its lessons over the past few days."
Silvia carefully observed her friend's expression, trying to keep her tone as calm as possible.
"The course intensity is indeed very high. The instructors have high expectations for both theory and practical combat. Princess Lilith... well, she's very active in class. She asks many questions, some of which even stump the instructors."
She paused and added, "By the way, Professor Grace Quinn, who presided over the Placement Exam at the Arena, is our homeroom teacher for Class A. She officially introduced herself today and said..."
That's right—even though Victoria had lost, she was still assigned to Class A based on her previous outstanding performance.
This result was completely different from the original story's plot, yet it carried a similar sense of irony.
In the original story, Lilith was the one who lost to Victoria, but due to her startling talent and potential, she was still specially admitted to Class A, which kicked off her subsequent romance route.
Now, the situation was completely reversed.
The one who lost was Victoria.
Victoria leaned against the headboard, listening quietly.
The bandage on her right shoulder was prominent under the light.
She didn't look at Silvia; her gaze was fixed on her hands folded over the duvet.
When Silvia finished, she waited a few seconds but heard no response.
She felt a bit apprehensive.
Over the past two days, Victoria had mostly been silent like this, appearing listless and only offering a faint hum to show she was listening.
Silvia thought today would be the same.
However—
"Is that so?"
Victoria suddenly spoke. Her voice wasn't loud, but it was clear.
She looked up, her gray eyes meeting Silvia's. They were no longer filled with the gloomy emptiness of the past two days; instead, a familiar light had been rekindled within them.
"It sounds like Lilith already takes it for granted that she's the strongest among the freshmen."
Silvia blinked in surprise.
"Just wait until I'm discharged."
Victoria continued, her tone steady but filled with undeniable resolve. "I will definitely find an opportunity to officially challenge her again."
Silvia's pink eyes widened as she stared blankly at Victoria.
The renewed radiance on her friend's face, the dancing fighting spirit in her eyes, and her obvious recovery from the setback... Silvia couldn't quite process it for a moment.
But then, a massive surge of joy and relief rushed to her heart, overwhelming her surprise.
Thank goodness! Victoria really has recovered!
She was no longer in that state that made Silvia feel so pained and helpless just looking at her!
"That's... that's wonderful! Victoria!"
Silvia abandoned all her poise and restraint. She leaped from her chair and lunged forward, hugging her friend on the bed tightly. Her voice trembled slightly with excitement.
"You finally... you finally moved past what happened! I knew it! I knew you'd pull yourself together!"
The two beautiful girls embraced under the warm yellow light of the ward. Victoria felt a bit awkward being hugged like that, but feeling the warmth of her friend's embrace and that unshielded, pure joy, a wave of warmth rose in her heart, along with a faint sense of guilt.
"I'm sorry."
She raised her uninjured left hand and gently patted Silvia's back, her voice softening. "I made you worry for so long."
Silvia let go, wiped away the tears that had somehow escaped the corners of her eyes, and smiled through them.
"Hehe, as long as you're okay! I knew you'd be able to adjust on your own!"
At those words, a subtle, almost imperceptible flash of awkwardness crossed Victoria's face.
She looked away, her fingers unconsciously twirling the gray hair hanging over her shoulder.
"Actually... I didn't pull myself together entirely on my own."
Rate on N.U.
