I Became the Academy’s Time-Stopping Villain – Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Dungeon Practicum, Best-Case Scenario

Translated and Proofread by Vine

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At the dungeon entrance, Mars took the lead, striding confidently forward.

“So this is the dungeon, the Abyss. The air itself feels different.”

“It’s a mock dungeon. The air should be exactly the same.”

“…Shut up! If I say it’s different, it’s different!”

“…Okay.”

It wasn’t the air that was different; it was the karma. The karma of the Abyss. Based on the adage, “Those who gaze into the Abyss, the Abyss gazes also into thee,” the deeper you ventured into the Abyss, the more pronounced each character’s unique traits became.

For example, the protagonist, Jupiter, became increasingly aroused, hindering his ability to focus on combat.

Juno’s fear and anxiety would amplify, requiring the presence of someone she shared a strong bond with to maintain her composure.

And if I remembered correctly, in Mars’s case…

“Ah, ah! There! Is that a monster?”

“Mars, don’t get too far ahead—”

“—Die!”

“…Ugh.”

It was a loss of self-control, escalating into a berserker frenzy. Later, the only ways to mitigate this would be to increase Mars’s blessing rank, eliminating the penalty, or to have someone with high affinity keep her in check. The methods for restraint were either brute force or, since this was an erotic game, sex. Very NTR Academy-like.

So, to control Mars, we needed to identify the person with the highest affinity among us…

‘Is it me?’ It was me. That was not good. I didn’t think I could handle that. I was pretty sure her grip strength alone could be fatal.

“Ha ha ha! Weak! So damn weak! Much weaker than that coward in the back!”

“Ugh.”

Mars was already covered in blood, having torn the monster apart. Since it was an artificially created monster, the bloodstains quickly dissipated, but if this were a real dungeon, her clothes would be in tatters. By the time she returned, she’d be wearing ripped clothing, drenched in blood and panting… a typical service CG. Appealing to the player, perhaps, but in person, she just looked like a crazy woman.

‘That’s why there’s a penalty on her affinity level.’ No one wanted to get close to a bloodthirsty berserker.

“Wait, Mars, even if you’re in a hurry, a lady shouldn’t act like that!”

“Huh? Are you being sexist?”

“It’s something you shouldn’t do, not just as a lady, but as a human being!”

“Ugh!… Ugh…”

Except for Juno, apparently. As expected of the main heroine. She was one of the few who could call out a berserker who bisected monsters and splattered blood everywhere. I was definitely not one of those people. I slowly ran my hand along the wall, searching for anything out of place.

“Hmm…”

“Chrono, what are you doing? Hurry up!”

“Just a second.”

In the game’s 2D top-down view, the hidden treasure chests were easy to spot. But in first-person, it was a different story. I couldn’t tell where anything was—ah, was it here? “I’ll know if I shoot it.”

I drew Chronos’s scythe (in pistol form) and fired at the wall.

Bang!… Thud!

“There it is.”

I’d clearly shot at the wall, but the sound of impact came a moment later. I reached into the wall, and my hand went through. As if it were empty space all along, my hand met no resistance. I turned and called out, “Mars, Juno! There’s a hidden passage here—”

“—Waaaaaaagh!!”

Thump, thump, thump, thump. Mars came charging, practically shaking the ground with each step. She grabbed my shoulders, saw my hand disappearing into the wall, and started to tremble. “You… your, your arm… your arm…!!”

“There’s a secret passage here—”

“—You should have told me if there was a trap! Ugh… what do we do? I don’t know anything about traps…!!”

Did she think my arm had been severed? Seeing it vanish into the wall might have given that impression… but it was absurd. If I’d actually lost my arm in a trap, wouldn’t I be screaming in agony? Juno, seemingly realizing the same thing, asked, “Is that a barrier or something?”

“It’s empty space beyond this.” To prove it, I stepped through the hidden passage.

“Oh. I see it at the end.” A small wooden chest sat at the end of a short corridor.

[—-….!!—-!!!!]

[—,—–. —–,–]

“It’s still noisy out there.”

I debated whether to go alone or bring them with me, but decided on the latter. It would be troublesome if they accused me of hoarding the loot.

I poked my head back through the barrier.

“Chrono is… Chrono is…!!!”

“I told you, Chrono isn’t dead!”

“He fell into a trap! He fell into the abyss…!”

“Mars! Can you hear me?!”

“Oh my…” Chaos reigned outside. I tapped Mars gently on the shoulder. “Don’t! This… this is my fault. Don’t bother with useless comfort— Chrono?”

“Stop overreacting. Juno’s about to cry.”

“…Ah!”

Juno, repeatedly ignored, was on the verge of tears. Mars, flustered, apologized profusely. Juno brushed it off and followed me through the passage. “…It’s surprisingly clean in here.”

I thought I’d heard something truly terrifying just then, but I pushed it aside and led Juno to the end of the corridor.

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“—Ugh, Aaaaaah! Ah… ah?”

“Mars, what are you doing? Come on!”

“…Coming!”

Mars entered with a yelp, and we finally opened the first treasure chest together.

“Be careful, Chrono. It could be a mimic.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Mimics appeared later in the game, but not in the tutorial dungeon. I confidently opened the chest, revealing its contents.

“Inside… are jewels?”

“Not jewels. Magic stones.”

Three low-grade magic stones and a single low-grade potion. I distributed one magic stone to each of them. As for the potion… “Mars, you take it.”

“Me? Why me? Do I look like I need a potion?”

“Just shut up and say thank you.”

“…Thank you.”

I hadn’t expected her to actually comply. “You’re the vanguard. You’ll get more use out of it than Juno or I will.”

Mars silently placed the potion in her pouch. Her slightly embarrassed expression, as I’d noted before, was cute on screen but unsettling in person.

Wag, wag.

“Sniff… ahem! Ahem…!”

‘Seriously, what is with her hair?’ The “tail” in “ponytail” did technically refer to a tail, but could hair really sway that much without any external stimuli? Was it a mystery of the human body? Or, considering the existence of gods in this world, was it more surprising that hair didn’t move on its own?

‘I should just ignore it.’ We exited the secret passage and continued our exploration of the dungeon.

***

Crack! “Easy peasy. Is it supposed to be this easy?” Most of the monsters were dispatched with a single swing of Mars’s greatsword.

“Mars, to your side!”

“Huh? Oh, uh, whoa?!”

Juno and I dealt with the few monsters that managed to evade Mars’s onslaught. We had a decent balance of close and ranged combat capabilities. The lack of a dedicated healer made sustained combat a bit risky, but since this was a tutorial dungeon, we could comfortably progress to the boss room.

“Ah—I found another secret passage!”

Relying on my memories from the game, I located two more hidden chests. Inside, we found five low-grade magic stones, two potions, and a single mana potion. “Let’s distribute the potions first.” One potion for Mars, one for me. The mana potion went to Juno. “Is it… really okay for me to take this?”

“Juno, you’re the only one who can use holy magic right now.”

“Huh? How did you know I could use holy magic?”

“That’s because…” I couldn’t very well say, “Because I’ve seen your skill tree countless times.” I wracked my brain, recalling the earlier test. “I noticed during the power test with the scarecrow.”

“Hmm… but wouldn’t it be better for you to use this?” Chrono had been the only one to achieve an S rank in the power test, after all. Juno tried to return the mana potion. “Mana potions are useless for me. My holy magic has a limited number of uses.”

“Oh, I see…” It was actually a time limit, but the effect was the same. Juno finally accepted the potion and placed it in her pouch. Now, for the magic stones…

“I’ll give you one of mine.”

“I’ll give you one, too!” Both Mars and Juno offered me a magic stone. Now they each had one, and I had three.

“…Why?”

“I already got a potion,” Mars grumbled, implying she was repaying the potion’s cost.

“Isn’t a mana potion more expensive than a regular potion? This is your change,” Juno explained, reasoning that since the mana potion was more valuable, I deserved the magic stone.

“Uh… thanks.” It wasn’t a significant amount. Even if I sold the magic stones, being the lowest grade, they wouldn’t fetch much. Maybe enough for a basic, non-magical sword. ‘Still, it’s good to save them up.’ If necessary, I could sell them for cash and enjoy a bit of work-life balance. Something I couldn’t do in the game due to system restrictions. Now that I was in the game, I had complete freedom.

“Should we go out for meat next week…?” I muttered, placing the magic stones in my pouch.

“You’re paying, right? And we’re all going together, right?”

“Ah.” My bad. Why had I said that out loud?

“Wow! Meat! I prefer beef over pork!”

“…Really?” Juno, ever the voice of reason, gave me a pointed look.

“But since that might be a bit much, let’s go to an all-you-can-eat buffet!”

“If it’s a buffet, I know a great place! Let’s go there!”

“Damn it.” They’d completely steamrolled my suggestion. They were going to bleed me dry…