In My Second Life, I Rule from the Shadows-Chapter 100 : Temple of the Fallen Heretic (4)

Chapter 100: Temple of the Fallen Heretic (4)
The practical training, which had originally been planned for three days, ended in less than a day.
Even with the Leipzig Family’s support and Carl’s experience making it possible to wrap things up quickly, the speed was still astonishing.
They had departed for the raid on Friday morning, and by late afternoon, it was already over.
With plenty of time left to rest, the cadets entered the Leipzig mansion in high spirits.
“Everyone worked hard. I hope you rest well before you leave.”
“Oh my, oh my, I think it’s best for everyone to wash up first.”
Count Leipzig and his wife, Carl’s parents, greeted them the moment they stepped into the mansion.
Carl prepared the open-air bath just as they wished, and everyone soaked themselves, washing away the fatigue from the dungeon raid.
“Haa, I’m melting…”
Amy, with only her head above the hot spring water, spoke with a languid expression.
Likewise, Laysis, who was gazing at the scenery outside, tilted her head slightly toward her and asked,
“Since we worked hard, should we have a drink tonight?”
“…I’m not much of a drinker, but on a day like today, I can’t skip it.”
Besides, there were still two days left of their holiday. They could drink themselves silly.
After finishing their bath and stepping out, what awaited them was a table groaning under the weight of food.
The youngest son, who had been cherished and raised with care, had gone to the academy and even brought his friends back to the mansion.
For Count Leipzig and his wife, how could that not be cause for joy?
That was why they had gone out of their way to prepare such a special reception, and the cadets, for the first time in a while, could play and enjoy themselves without any reservations.
“Mhm, hmm.”
Laysis was just as pleased as the others.
Most groups took at least a day and a half to two days for such a raid, but thanks to Carl, they had wrapped it up in no time.
‘I’m glad I recommended Carl as the leader.’
Rather than having someone do it clumsily, it had been fortunate to entrust it to Carl, whose personality was sharp and decisive.
Though the forced march with almost no rest had been tiring, Laysis preferred pushing through all at once and then resting afterward.
“…”
After the banquet, when they returned to their rooms—
Yuria, who had had quite a bit to drink, was already sprawled out.
She had worked especially hard during this raid.
Due to the wraith’s nature, once injured, it became quite troublesome, so she had worked tirelessly from the back to ensure no other cadets got hurt.
Though she acted rough on the surface, when it came to real combat, she was the type to pay close attention to every detail, which must have taken a toll on her mental stamina.
That, too, was proof that Yuria was a kind person.
“Haam.”
Laysis hadn’t drunk any alcohol.
Even so, perhaps because of the raid, she found herself yawning.
Thinking it would be good to take a light walk before going to bed, she stepped out of her room—only to run into a familiar face.
“Carl?”
“…Mm.”
“Why are you dressed like that? Where are you going?”
Carl looked exactly as he had during the dungeon raid earlier in the day.
Black top and trousers, an ochre-colored robe, and even the Sword of Justice obtained from the Imperial Family.
He was dressed exactly like someone about to head out.
“That Death Knight earlier is still on my mind.”
“Death Knight? But we already defeated it. We recovered the Life Vessel too.”
“It’s not that. It just felt a bit stronger than I remember.”
“Is it a problem if it’s stronger?”
“Wraiths tend to go berserk at regular intervals. When that happens, they grow more ferocious and stronger. I thought there were still a few years left before that, but if one suddenly went berserk, wouldn’t that cause significant damage?”
“So you’re saying you’re going to check that?”
“That’s right. I’ll quietly go alone, so Miss Laysis—”
“Wait. Hold on. Don’t even think about going alone.”
Laysis firmly warned him and immediately went back to her room.
She changed into the clothes she had prepared for going out and fully armed herself before stepping back outside.
She worried Carl might have gone ahead without her, but it seemed her insistence had worked—he was waiting by the door.
“Let’s go.”
“…Will you be all right? You must be tired from today’s work.”
“I didn’t do much. The others were the ones who worked hard.”
As she closed the door, Laysis glanced over at Yuria.
She had made quite a bit of noise while changing clothes, but since Yuria hadn’t stirred, it seemed she really was exhausted.
“I was feeling a bit stiff anyway. I was even thinking of going to the hot spring again, but sweating it out once more isn’t a bad idea.”
The truth was, she was very tired.
She was the most skilled among the group after Carl, so her activity level had been high.
Still, she pretended she was fine and urged Carl to get moving.
“…”
Carl gave a wry smile but nodded.
“All right. But you have to stay behind me at all times.”
“Wait, doesn’t a dungeon need 24 hours to reset? We only just defeated the Death Knight…”
“We’re going to the third floor. If we fight the lich, we’ll know whether my feeling was just a mistake.”
“The third floor?!”
Laysis raised her voice, then quickly looked around and lowered it.
“I heard that’s dangerous. The second floor was already tough, and now you want to go to the third…”
“I meant it’s difficult for cadet-level groups. You know my skill.”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
“Let’s go. The night isn’t that long, and we’ll just check and come back.”
“…Fine.”
Laysis lightly circulated mana through her body, washing away her fatigue.
Carl immediately kicked off the ground, leaving the mansion and sprinting across the plains.
Tatadatak!
Laysis followed right after, and soon, the two reached the city wall.
Swoosh!
With a single leap, Carl vaulted over the wall.
Seeing such an extraordinary move, Laysis exhaled in disbelief.
‘How can a person jump over a wall that easily?’
She stared at the wall for a moment, then exhaled lightly and, after a few running starts, sprang up the wall.
Tak! Tak! Tak! Tak!
Honestly, she hadn’t been confident.
She had never tried jumping over a wall like this before, so she couldn’t even guess if she could do it.
But gritting her teeth and kicking off the wall, she really did make it over, landing on the other side.
“…”
Rather, after vaulting over the wall, she landed in front of Carl with a look that said, “So this is possible.”
“Then, let’s go.”
“All right.”
By the time they reached this point, she had gained a fair amount of confidence.
Laysis pushed her legs to their limit, chasing after Carl as he ran ahead.
“…”
But it didn’t take long for that confidence to falter.
‘How can a person run that fast?’
She could accelerate in bursts during battle to pick up the tempo herself.
By lightening her body with mana and using her footwork to vary her speed, it was doable.
But this was just unfair.
“…”
No matter how hard she pushed her legs, the gap between them began to widen.
She had been training diligently without pause, but was her stamina more drained than she thought?
She began to regret tagging along, and with her pride wounded, she became determined to catch up no matter what.
“…Ah.”
But that was impossible.
Carl’s figure was already far ahead, and she only slowed more until he was out of sight.
Just as her lungs burned and she was about to stop, a gentle energy enveloped her body.
“Keep running.”
“…Carl?! When did you get here?”
“You were too slow, so I came back to go with you.”
“It’s not that I’m slow, it’s that you’re abnormally fast. I was in the top ranks among the first-years, you know.”
Feeling petty, Laysis pouted, even though Carl had done nothing wrong.
Carl, giving her a faint smile at her complaint, spoke softly.
“Just move your feet along with the flow guiding your body.”
“…Like this?”
“Yes, like that.”
Normally, the distance would have taken over an hour even by carriage.
But running with Carl, they reached the entrance of the Temple of the Fallen Heretic in barely ten minutes.
“It’s blocked.”
“They close it after the entry hours end. If I just do this…”
Click.
When Carl worked the lock, it released, and the entrance opened.
Seeing his skillful movements, Laysis asked in astonishment,
“That’s not the hand of someone doing it for the first time, is it?”
“I just pick things up quickly. Let’s go.”
Clack.
After locking it again behind them, he stepped inside the temple.
As Laysis had said, since twenty-four hours hadn’t yet passed, the dungeon hadn’t reset.
The traces of their earlier sweeping advance still remained.
Thanks to that, finding the way was easy.
In less than five minutes, they cleared the first floor, and in even less time, the second.
“…”
The third floor felt a bit different from the first two.
A more sinister, skin-crawling atmosphere seeped from all around, as if trying to cloud her mind.
“Since the third floor’s boss monster is a lich, there’s a mental confusion effect.”
“…You’ve cleared all of this before, Carl?”
“I can raid up to the third floor alone.”
“Haha…”
Hearing Carl say it as if it were nothing, Laysis let out a short breath.
It made their struggles earlier in the day seem almost pointless.
“Something’s coming!”
“Just stay behind me.”
Paaat!
Carl casually extended his hand, scattering the energy of Bright Heaven Divine Art.
The air froze, neutralizing the strange masses rushing toward them.
“…This is—”
“They’re monsters called Stijis. They’re rare, and it took me some effort to figure out what they were.”
Crunch.
Without hesitation, Carl stomped down and crushed it.
The same scenario repeated afterward.
When monsters approached, Carl swung his hand, and they froze instantly.
…This is just like Nerian’s Power of Ice.
Honestly, she had many questions, but seeing Carl’s utterly serious expression, she couldn’t bring herself to ask.
“We’ve arrived.”
“…This place looks even stranger.”
The boss room was so grotesquely warped that the second floor’s boss room seemed normal in comparison.
When he gestured for her to step back, she retreated. Carl clenched his fist and twisted his waist—
Kwoooaang!
With overwhelming force, he smashed the boss room’s door in a single strike.
As he casually stepped inside, a crimson light different from the second floor’s began to flare.
Tsszzzzz.
In contrast, the pure white glow radiating from Carl’s body grew stronger.
Shwaaa!
The lich’s scythe came sweeping down toward the ground.
At the chilling sensation, Laysis instinctively stepped back, but Carl simply drew the Sword of Heavenly Thunder and swung it lightly.
Jjejejejeok.
Everything before them froze solid.
The crimson flames that had been radiating foreboding moments ago, the long scythe, and even the lich itself—completely frozen.