The Royal Military Academy's Impostor Owns a Dungeon [BL] Chapter 1258: All You Had to Do

"Huh?"

Down on the ground was a battlefield littered with matte-black droids in various states of destruction, sprawled across the area as if they’d only recently fought to defend it.

For some reason, Luca couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d seen something similar before.

Some of the droids were even still half-functional, with a faint orange light flowing through their optics as weak, low whirring sounds came from their damaged frames. Luca tried to remember exactly why the sight felt so familiar, until D-29 suddenly blurted out,

"Aha! Just like those guarding Billy!"

Oh, right!

The only reason the golden-eyed explorer hadn’t recognized them immediately was because, instead of the faded paint he remembered on those droids, these ones had rather clear insignias wherever their frames hadn’t been scratched or punctured.

An elongated, spear-like star with a hollow diamond at its center and a thin halo behind it.

How unusual.

The curious dungeon-owner wondered if they could possibly be the same. Maybe he could ask Xavier later if he’d noticed the resemblance too.

Unfortunately, the dungeon owner didn’t get much time to ponder it, because after all that jumping around, they finally managed to get a clear visual of the dungeon core!

No wonder Jax had thought it looked suspicious.

Surrounded by corruption that bubbled and churned around it while the strange oblong structure itself glowed brightly, it was truly difficult to miss once they knew where to look.

Luca immediately prepared to regroup with Xavier, just about to say that he’d attempt to destroy the core when his truly perceptive husband suddenly mentioned something that got him thinking.

"I think we need to let everyone get a hit in," Xavier said, his brows slightly furrowed as he showed barely noticeable signs of strain.

Luca’s attention immediately shifted toward him.

"What do you mean? And are you okay?"

"I’m okay. I’m just not used to continuously using that ability like this."

Honestly, Xavier was certain that if he’d attempted even half of what he’d just done before meeting his wife, he probably would’ve ended up in pieces!

The fact that he could use his spatial bloodline ability this freely now was already something even his ancestors would probably be shocked to see. So even if he ended up panting on the ground afterward, this much really wasn’t anything worth worrying about.

But as usual, who else would notice something so small and immediately worry about him other than his own wife?

Xavier straightened slightly to show that he really was fine before continuing, "I was saying we should let everyone get even a cheap shot in. Any monster should do, just in case this simulation requires offensive participation."

He pointed toward the holographic projection that was still visible even from where they were.

"We don’t really know what that means, so it’d be safer to try. It wouldn’t be good if the others missed out on the clearing rewards just because they didn’t do any damage."

"!"

Luca’s eyes widened.

That would be disastrous!

Considering how strange and probably traumatizing this simulation already was, he definitely wouldn’t want the others to have to go through the whole experience again!

The dungeon owner immediately turned toward his little system.

"D-29! Please tell everyone to attack something! Anything should be fine, but make sure everyone gets at least one hit in before we destroy the core!"

"Yes, Host!"

As it turned out, that request was actually an extremely smart thing to do for their very mismatched group.

__

Meanwhile, in a place where the worried had gathered, the frantic sound of pacing footsteps echoed throughout the room as several people simply couldn’t take the waiting anymore.

"Still nothing?"

"Apologies, Your Highness, but there are still no developments as of the moment."

"Hasn’t it been a little too long since we issued the bounty and it was accepted?"

"I think so too, Your Highness. Could it really be that bad?"

Back and forth, back and forth...

One of the youngest and admittedly most curious among them finally couldn’t take it anymore. Leaning slightly to the side, they whispered to the man standing beside them, asking what exactly had their leader and his attendant so deeply bothered.

The man, clad in similarly immaculate white garb, turned toward the youth with a grave expression.

"It’s the bounty. The Divine Heir apparently issued the easiest one we have, hoping to get a response or at least confirm whether the great vendor was still alive."

"What? That’s possible?"

"Yes, and from what I know, it was accepted earlier."

"That’s great, then!"

"Well..." The man hesitated, his eyes shifting nervously toward the others before he continued, "Ideally, yes."

"Huh? Ideally? Did something go wrong?"

"Shhh! Not so loud!"

"Oops, sorry!" The youth, though only considered young relative to all the ancients around him, immediately lowered his voice to a hasty whisper. "But why does everyone seem so on edge?"

"Well, you wouldn’t know because you were so young and could barely speak when you ended up here, but they’re worried because the easiest simulation shouldn’t have taken anyone this long. It was one of the mandatory ones that all citizens of a certain age needed to go through, and from what even I can remember, it should’ve been rather straightforward."

"There was something like that? Then how come all the ones I’ve experienced—"

"It’s because there’s no need for that anymore. What we need now is combat training, not a simulation meant for evacuation."

The confused Celestari tilted his head, prompting the older man to explain further.

"We used to joke about that one. The E-rank simulation. Everyone said the E stood for because that was basically what it was for. It was meant to acclimatize people to what might happen during an attack."

"An attack?"

"Yeah. It used one of the earliest invasions as the basis for its reconstruction, and all you really had to do was make sure you reached the designated areas before the horde passed the city’s last barriers."

"There’s actually something like that?!"

"Of course! Without something like that, how else would those who almost never left the safety of the dominion prepare for eventual attacks? It was particularly important for ordinary citizens. The entire point was to train them so they wouldn’t simply panic the moment they saw all those creatures coming."

"Then how come the vendor—?!"

"Hey! I told you to keep quiet!" the man hissed before nervously glancing around. "Why do you think everyone’s so on edge right now? If this bounty is already proving to be this difficult for them, then how can we expect them to survive for much longer?! It’s a very serious matter, you know!"

The others around them really didn’t want to listen and make themselves panic even more, but with their sensitive hearing, they hardly had a choice.

Still, no one stopped the explanation.

After all, the one who’d never gotten the chance to experience their past deserved to understand what was actually happening.

But just as the increasingly worried crowd was about to start encouraging one another not to lose hope, the system that’d been pestered relentlessly since earlier finally issued a sharp, ringing chime!

"Your Highness!"

Everyone immediately turned toward their leader, who moved the instant he was called.

"There seems to be an update!"

"!"

A massive holographic prompt suddenly materialized before them.

[E-RANK BOUNTY CLEARANCE CONFIRMATION]

"!!!"

The glowing symbols practically blew up before everyone’s eyes.

Prince Rhydan’s knees buckled slightly, the Divine Heir almost dropping straight to the ground from the sheer amount of relief that flooded through him!

Clearance.

They actually managed to clear it!

The great vendor was alive!

It was probably the most over-the-top reaction imaginable, considering even the parents of those young ones back then hadn’t reacted quite this strongly when their own children cleared such a simulation. But as far as Rhydan was concerned, his reaction was entirely warranted.

But he’d barely managed to steady himself and was already opening his mouth to demand further details when D-0 suddenly generated another glowing prompt directly beneath the first.

[PERFORMANCE EVALUATION: L]

[TIME: 00:58:02]

[DUNGEON CORE DISMANTLED]

[ISSUE ADDITIONAL REWARDS?]

[YES] [NO]

"..."

The entire room went silent.

Rhydan stared.

The attendant beside him stared.

Even those who’d just been whispering to each other stared.

"...What?"

Their collective relief hadn’t even gotten the chance to settle before a completely different question seemed to descend upon the entire room at once.

What in the world did they mean by ?!