"Why did you do that?"
"Do what?"
Elize suddenly asked as I was warming up before entering the final stage. Her dumbfounded expression made the absurdity of the situation all the more obvious.
"I know the instructor is skilled, but… can you really challenge the previous record?"
"Yes."
"…What?"
Elize's mouth hung open, utterly speechless at my matter-of-fact reply.
"…You have high confidence. Is there any reason for that?"
Of course there is.
The monsters in this artificial dungeon follow fixed patterns. For someone who knows them as well as I do, targeting their vitals is as easy as counting one, two, three. Timing? Barely a thought.
And, above all…
[It's Roderick. Are you ready?]
"A long time ago."
[Good. In this last section, you can select your difficulty. Naturally, higher difficulty = more points.]
That's where my confidence comes from.
"Please set it to the highest difficulty."
[…]
After a pause, the voice on the other end changed, sharper this time.
[Listen up, freshman. I know you're confident, but isn't this too much?! Even if you lose the bet, there's no penalty, so why push it…?! The highest difficulty is basically a real battle! Death is highly probable!]
Judging by the tone, that should be Percy. She sounded angry, but the concern beneath it was unmistakable—a teacher who genuinely cared.
"Yes, I'm aware."
At this difficulty, the monsters will come at me with the intent to kill.
"Because anything easier than that isn't worth the effort."
[…]
I smiled at the thought of her stunned, wide-eyed expression. And honestly? It's easier for me this way.
---
"Why did you agree to that?"
"Why not? Didn't we also do this difficulty as freshmen?"
"Not at the Colosseum. People could actually die there."
Percy's bitter expression was telling.
The Colosseum—the final section of the artificial dungeon—was designed to test endurance, reflexes, and sheer panic management. Infinite waves of monsters would keep coming until the student either bowed out or died spectacularly.
In other words, cranking the difficulty up recklessly was basically an invitation for a monster mosh pit with a high chance of permanent injury.
"I don't think he'd say that if he wasn't confident. Let's just wait and see," Roderick muttered.
Percy folded her arms, brow furrowed, and muttered in a disgruntled tone.
"Are we really supposed to rate this student so highly? He has no aptitude, no real combat skills—"
"—It's a mess. That's exactly why it's entertaining," Roderick interrupted, smirking at Percy's indignation.
"Excuse me?" Percy's glare could have cut steel.
"Relax. Let's watch. If it gets dangerous, we can always swoop in and save them."
Meanwhile, the monitor showed Adrian Merrick and Elize stepping into the Colosseum. The artificial monsters poured in from every direction, forming a deadly circle around the two freshmen.
As the highest difficulty, this stage was designed to crush anyone with even a trace of fear. A weaker student would have collapsed from sheer intimidation.
'Just don't overdo it…' Percy sipped her tea, a ritual she clung to whenever anxiety struck.
She had broken fifty monsters in this very dungeon as a freshman. She knew what danger looked like.
And yet, when Adrian Merrick swung his sword at the first monster—
-!
-!!!
Percy literally jumped out of her seat, jaw hanging open, as the creature was shattered in a single, brutal strike.
"What—how?!"
Roderick chuckled from behind her. He'd seen enough battles to know that cutting a dummy in one swing was no big deal for skilled combatants—but Adrian wasn't just swinging. He was using the sword like it was a giant hammer, hitting exact vitals. Perfect hits. Every time.
"See? Everyone will be fooled at first glance."
Normally, Percy would have snapped at that smug comment, but now? She couldn't even muster the energy.
"No, no, no—! How is this possible?! How could a human with… nothing… suddenly—!"
"Ever consider that maybe it wasn't nothing, just made to look like it?" Roderick quipped, calm as ever.
Percy slumped back, speechless.
Her gaze fell on the screen again. The two freshmen were tearing through the Colosseum like it was a walk in the park.
It wasn't just impressive—it was unmatched. Not in years, not in decades.
And that ridiculous line he muttered before starting the battle echoed in her mind:
"Anything easier than that isn't worth the effort."
He meant it. He wasn't bluffing. He was turning a near-death gauntlet into what looked like a casual warm-up.
He was making the Colosseum look like a playground.
"…I see your interest now, Roderick. Guess the only shallow thing here was my own narrow vision."
"I don't blame you. If I hadn't seen it myself, I'd have been fooled too."
Even the faculty hadn't noticed a thing until Adrian Merrick sparred alongside the hero candidate.
"But still… breaking the all-time record is a whole different story. The Colosseum spawns increasingly stronger monsters as you—"
Percy cut herself off mid-sentence.
She probably saw the second wave of monsters crumble to Adrian's sword as easily as the first.
'…Uh?'
A giant question mark hovered above her head.
The pattern didn't stop. Third wave? Same result. Swing, swing, swing. Strong or weak, all ended the same.
'…Monsters are really this easy?'
Even when Roderick and Percy had broken the record themselves as freshmen, it hadn't been anywhere near this effortless. This was like mowing down weeds.
It wasn't combat. It was a repetitive chore executed perfectly.
It was so absurd that the hero candidate's efforts beside him looked practically cute.
The Colosseum was supposed to ramp up in difficulty, yet the outcome stayed identical. Was the system bugged?
'…Nope. Not it.'
Not trivial. Not even close.
The more she watched, the clearer it became:
'He's getting stronger.'
The faster, stronger monsters only pushed Adrian to move faster, strike cleaner, anticipate perfectly.
'How is this humanly possible?!'
The death counter ticked at an impossible speed. Ten monsters gone within a minute. Halfway through the time limit, Roderick and Percy's old record already looked tiny.
Adrian didn't slow. If anything, he sped up. Stronger enemies? Stronger him. Faster monsters? Faster him. Sharper strikes, better timing, flawless coordination.
Time expired. Silence fell so complete you could hear a teacup wobble.
[ Congratulations! Incredible Feat! ]
[ All-Time Record Broken! ]
[ Team Adrian Merrick & Elize Kingsley hunted a total of 100 monsters! ]
Jean's teacup slipped from her hand, shattering on the floor—but nobody noticed.
Everyone was glued to the screen, minds struggling to process what they'd seen.
"Bravo."
The only audible sound was Roderick's low, amused clap, a fierce grin on his face as he watched Adrian turn the challenge into child's play.