Chapter 116: Dungeon Tournament

The morning sun streamed through the high windows of the Ashborne dining hall, illuminating a spread of toast, eggs, and freshly brewed coffee.

I sat at the head of the table, sipping my coffee with one hand and manipulating a holographic screen with the other.

"Let’s see the damage."

Yesterday had been chaotic. I had kidnapped a Saintess, framed a veteran hunter, destroyed an Ancient Golem, and triggered a World Event.

Naturally, the System had rewarded me handsomely.

[System Status]

Name: Lucien Ashborne

Affiliation: Imperial Academy / House Ashborne / Kitchen 21

Stats

Strength: 29 (↑1)

Agility: 36 (+50) (↑1)

Endurance: 21 (↑2)

Intelligence: 26

Mana: 24 (↑2)

Charm: 65

Skills

Mana Control: Lv. 6

Marksmanship: Lv. 8

Detection: Lv. 8

Movement Arts: Lv. 7

[NEW] Mana Corrosion: Lv. 1 (Active)

[NEW] Runic Regeneration: Lv. 1 (Passive)

(...other miscellaneous skills)

Inventory (New Items)

[Titan’s Heart (Rank: A)]

System Points: 12,050

****

"Twelve thousand."

I grinned. The cost of buying [Mana Corrosion] from the Dark Arts tab had been steep—2,000 points—but the payout from the Hidden Boss and the Event Trigger had more than covered it.

My stats had also crept up naturally from the physical exertion of fighting a twenty-foot giant. My Endurance, in particular, had jumped two points, likely thanks to the Rune of Vitality constantly rebuilding my muscles.

"Now, what to buy?"

I scrolled through the System Shop.

With 12,000 points, I finally had access to the Tier-2 Shop.

[Elixir of Mana Capacity]: 3,000 Pts.

[Blueprint: Magic Bullet Construction]: 4,500 Pts.

"The Blueprint is tempting," I mused. Making my own specialized ammo would save money in the long run. "But raising my Mana Capacity is also urgent if I want to use Corrosion without fainting."

Just as I was about to click on the Elixir, the dining hall doors swung open.

Rustle.

Alicia walked in. She was dressed in her usual maid uniform, looking pristine, as if she hadn’t been fighting a Golem in a dungeon yesterday.

In her hand was the morning edition of the

Imperial Gazette

.

"Boss," she said, placing the newspaper on the table next to my toast. "You need to see this."

"Is it about the weather?"

"It’s about the earthquake you caused."

I picked up the paper. The headline was printed in massive, bold letters.

[THE TOWER TREMBLES! UNPRECEDENTED MANA QUAKE]

Yesterday afternoon, a massive mana fluctuation shook the entirety of the tower. The tremors were felt even in the surrounding Hunter Districts.

Experts call it an anomaly never before seen since the Tower’s appearance.

The Hunter Association dispatched Inspector Graves to investigate, but no conclusive cause has been found. The Subjugation Team present at the scene, led by B-Rank Hunter ’T’, has been detained for negligence and illegal tampering with ancient mechanisms.

"Blah, blah, blah," I muttered, skimming the text. "Inspector Graves is good at writing reports that say absolutely nothing."

"Keep reading," Alicia said, pouring herself a cup of tea. "The next article is the interesting one."

I shifted my gaze to the sidebar article.

[THE SILENT VIGIL: CULTISTS OR SAVIORS?] [The Saintess of the ’Order of Silence’ saves thousands from Disaster!]

"Before, people would try to tear them apart just at the mention of their name, but after what happened last time, public opinion suddenly flipped, didn’t it?"

According to the official statement released by the Association, a massive mana explosion was imminent in the ventilation shafts of the Spire. If the members of Silent Vigil hadn’t bypassed the mana flow at that exact moment, the explosion would have wiped out the entire sector.

It was a perfect narrative.

With an achievement of that magnitude, the group that had been treated as crazy doomsday cultists was now being hailed as unsung heroes.

In fact, the positive attention was overwhelming.

Donations are flooding into the Church.

Several Noble Houses have offered sponsorship.

The ’Saintess’, Darien Anfeld, is being called a true visionary.

"That makes sense," I nodded, buttering my toast. "People love a redemption arc. And the Association needs a hero to distract from their failure to predict the quake."

"That’s true. But read to the end."

"Huh? Is there more?"

I scanned the article to the very bottom. There, in a small interview section, was a quote from Darien herself.

[Interview with Saintess Darien]

"I did not do this alone. The prophecy was guided by a ’Special Person’ who appeared in the hour of our greatest need. While I cannot reveal his identity, without his guidance and his... silence... this tragedy would never have been averted. He is the true savior."

I choked on my coffee.

"Cough! Cough!"

Alicia watched me struggle, a smug smile on her face.

"Isn’t this about you, Boss?" she asked innocently.

I wiped my mouth with a napkin.

"’Special Person’? ’True Savior’?" I groaned. "She’s making it sound like I’m a religious figure. I just gave her a map."

"She also mentioned ’his silence’," Alicia pointed out. "Considering she reads minds, and you’re the only person whose mind is apparently a fortress... it’s pretty specific."

I leaned back in my chair, staring at the ceiling.

"Great. Now I have a Saintess obsessed with me."

"You have a cult obsessed with you," Alicia corrected. "There’s a difference."

She tapped the paper.

"So, what’s the plan? Are we going back to the Tower?" Alicia asked, her eyes sparkling. She leaned over the table, practically vibrating with excitement. "I leveled up my Fire Magic yesterday. I want to test it on something other than a rock."

I looked at my Status Window, then at the newspaper headline screaming about the Mana Calamity.

"No," I said, closing the System interface with a swipe. "The Tower will be swarming with Association dogs for weeks. If we go back now, Inspector Graves will start asking questions I don’t want to answer. We lay low."

I took a bite of my toast.

"Besides," I added, chewing slowly. "School starts tomorrow. I can’t be late."

Alicia slumped, looking like a puppy that had been promised a walk only to be told it was bath time.

"...Academy. Right. How thrilling."

****

[Monday Morning - Imperial Academy]

The weekend passed in a blur of mana training and organizing my inventory.

When I stepped back into the Class 1-A lecture hall on Monday, the atmosphere was... different.

Before the midterms, I was invisible. After the midterms, I was a curiosity. But after the rumors of the Tower incident—even though my involvement wasn’t public—there was a strange tension in the air. My stats had risen, and with them, my natural presence.

I walked to my seat in the middle row.

Scrape.

I pulled out my chair and sat down, opening my notebook.

Suddenly, the chatter in the room died instantly.

It was the kind of silence that usually heralded the arrival of Instructor Samantha. But the door hadn’t opened.

I felt a presence beside me. A scent of fresh lilies and expensive perfume drifted into my personal space.

I looked up.

Standing next to my desk, holding her books against her chest, was Princess Celestia.

Her golden hair shimmered in the morning light. Her blue eyes were fixed on me.

"May I sit here?" she asked softly.

The entire class froze. Kael, sitting in the front row, dropped his pen.

The Princess usually sat in the front, surrounded by her entourage of high-ranking nobles. For her to sit in the middle row, next to a disgraced Baron’s son? It was a political statement.

"It’s a free country, Your Highness," I replied, keeping my voice neutral.

She nodded and sat down gracefully.

For a moment, neither of us spoke. I pretended to read my textbook. She pretended to organize her pens.

"Lucien," she finally whispered, breaking the ice.

"Yes, Princess?"

"Are you going to join the Imperial Dungeon Tournament?"

I paused, my finger freezing on the page.

’Dungeon Tournament?’

The words triggered a memory file in my brain.

Ah. That event.

In

Asteria Online

, it was a side event that occurred right after the first major arc.

Officially, it was the "Grand Imperial Hunt."

It was a prestigious competition organized by the Imperial Family. All the younger generations of noble families—from Dukes down to Barons—were invited.

It wasn’t just about hunting monsters.

It was a social battlefield.

Nobles who couldn’t fight would hire strong representatives—mercenaries or knights—to fight in their name. It was a proxy war where families flexed their wealth and connections. Doing well meant gaining favor with the Emperor. Doing poorly meant becoming the laughingstock of high society for the next year.

’Should I join?’

I weighed the pros and cons.

Pros:

Rewards: The prize pool usually included Unique-grade artifacts.

Connections: It was the fastest way to solidify my standing.

Cons:

Attention: Everyone would be watching.

Effort: Dealing with arrogant nobles was exhausting

I stared blankly at the blackboard, running a cost-benefit analysis in my head. If I entered, I’d need a team. Alicia was a given. But I needed a third...

Wave.

A pale hand waved in front of my face.

"Hello?"

I blinked, snapping back to reality.

Celestia was leaning in, her eyebrows furrowed in a mix of amusement and slight offense.

"It is rude to be lost in thought when a lady is speaking to you, Lucien."

"Ahem..."

I cleared my throat, straightening my posture.

"Apologies, Your Highness. I was just... calculating the logistics."

"So? Have you decided?"