"From here on, we're in the second layer. Even though it's still just the shallow layers, the monsters here are generally a tier higher than those in the first layer. Their aggression, defense, and special abilities are all far more troublesome."
After passing through a long, downward-sloping stone tunnel, Greg was the first to step into a much more expansive underground space.
He came to a halt and turned slightly, warning Vivian as she followed close behind. His tone carried its usual weight of caution, but it lacked the casualness he displayed on the surface, replaced by the particular prudence required in the dungeon.
"So, from now on, every step must be taken with greater care. There are no professors here to call a halt if things go wrong, and no medical staff to rush to our aid."
Vivian nodded, her ice-blue eyes filled with a pure curiosity as she quietly surveyed this entirely unfamiliar territory.
Unlike the first layer, which consisted entirely of natural caverns, the second layer contained the remains of ancient ruins, lending it a much more oppressive atmosphere.
Ahead, ancient stone pillars that had snapped for unknown reasons lay scattered like the skeletal remains of giants, some supporting the ceiling while others were half-buried in rubble and dust.
The ground was rugged and uneven, littered with stones of various sizes and unidentifiable debris.
Because Lady Eight-Legs had previously occupied the entrance to the second layer, the range of activity for students undergoing their trials had been limited to the depths of the first layer at most.
Consequently, even for Vivian, the Student Council President, this was her first time truly setting foot in this unknown territory known as the second layer.
The sight of this savage yet strangely captivating scene caused her long-dormant spirit of inquiry to quietly awaken.
"Let's keep moving."
Greg's voice interrupted Vivian's observations.
"The shallow layers around here have mostly been cleared out by Little Gra... er, by me. There's nothing worth lingering for."
He had almost let 'Little Gray' slip out of habit, but fortunately, he corrected himself in time.
While he didn't know how Vivian currently felt about Victoria, it didn't seem appropriate to mention another girl in this setting.
With that, he set off, taking the lead toward a deeper fork in the path. He skillfully navigated the obstacles on the ground, his movements appearing agile and alert in the dim light.
Vivian withdrew her gaze, casting one last look at the mysterious symbols remaining on the broken pillars before following. She stayed a steady two or three paces behind Greg.
Her steps were equally steady and light; even on the uneven ground, she made almost no sound, demonstrating exceptional balance and physical control.
The journey continued in a silence that felt almost stagnant.
The only background noise in this underground world was the faint crunch of their footsteps on gravel and the rhythmic echoing of water dripping in the distance.
...
Amid the silence, Greg couldn't help but steal a glance behind him from the corner of his eye.
Vivian's long ice-blue hair seemed to possess a faint glow of its own in the darkness, and her delicate profile looked almost unreal in the interplay of light and shadow.
Her lips were slightly pursed, and her ice-blue eyes occasionally swept over the stone walls or the blurry silhouettes in the darkness. She was focused, yet she maintained a strange sense of calm.
She simply followed, never asking about the direction or questioning the route. She didn't even show the slightest surprise or curiosity regarding Greg's intimate familiarity with the dungeon environment.
"This feels a bit strange..."
Greg began to wonder.
"Even if I said I could help her increase her strength, isn't this... a bit too much trust?"
After all, this was a dungeon, a place where one could encounter lethal danger at any moment.
She had been following him without a word, never questioning his motives or asking about his plan. She hadn't even reacted to the fact that he possessed a level of familiarity with the dungeon that far exceeded what a normal student should have.
Didn't she worry... that he might be intentionally leading her into a trap, or that he had some other ulterior motive?
An absurd thought suddenly surfaced, causing the corner of Greg's mouth to twitch slightly.
"Could it be... that this seemingly calm and composed Princess and Student Council President is actually the type who's sharp on the outside but simple-minded on the inside—the kind of person who'd help her own swindler count the cash?"
The thought gave him an inexplicable sense of guilt and a... subtle feeling of culpability.
While his intention was indeed to use Vivian's strength to clear the Boss and help her grow in the process, being trusted so unreservedly made him feel a bit uneasy.
As if to dispel that nagging guilt, Greg slowed his pace until Vivian was nearly walking side-by-side with him. He cleared his throat and broke the silence.
"Um... Vivian."
"Yes?"
Vivian turned her head, her ice-blue eyes looking at him calmly, seemingly waiting for what he had to say next.
"Don't you... have anything you want to ask?"
Greg chose his words carefully as his gaze swept over the grim ruins around them.
"Like... why I'm so familiar with the second layer? Or if what I told you in the Student Council office about helping you increase your strength was actually true? Or even what the specific plan is for being here?"
He threw out a string of questions, trying to prompt Vivian to show some doubt or at least a modicum of appropriate caution.
However, Vivian's reaction was completely outside his expectations.
She didn't answer immediately. Instead, she stopped walking and turned to face Greg directly.
In the gloom, her ice-blue eyes were like two bottomless pools of cold water, staring at him quietly as if trying to peer through his amber eyes into the deepest part of his heart.
After a brief silence, she spoke. Her voice was as cool as ever, but she asked a question that had absolutely nothing to do with Greg's expectations.
"Greg... do you hate me?"
"Huh?"
Greg was completely stunned, his brain momentarily failing to process the turn of events.
He blinked, almost thinking he had misheard her.
Hate her?
What kind of question was that?
Was this the time to be discussing such a thing?
He answered instinctively, "Hate you? Why would you ask that all of a sudden? I've never hated you."
He spoke with absolute certainty.
Based on his own perception and judgment of Vivian as a character, the word 'hate' had indeed never truly existed.
Having received her answer, Vivian didn't press further, nor did she explain why she had suddenly asked. She simply gave a slight nod, and something incredibly subtle seemed to quietly melt in the depths of her ice-blue eyes.
"I see."
She gave a soft acknowledgment, then turned back around and resumed her pace. She left Greg with only the sight of her straight, quiet back and a few light words.
"I have no other questions."
Greg was speechless.
He stood in place, watching Vivian's steady silhouette. He instinctively reached up to scratch the back of his golden hair, his face a picture of confusion and bewilderment.
Wait... that's it?
She just asked one... completely irrelevant question?
And then she had no other questions?
Where was the logic in that?
"Is she... is she really a silly girl?! An ice beauty on the outside, but actually naive and gullible on the inside?"
Greg felt his understanding of her take a significant hit.
He began to seriously suspect that his judgment of Vivian had been fundamentally flawed from the very beginning.
However, on the perfect, ice-like profile of Vivian walking ahead, the line of her pursed lips curved upward into an extremely subtle arc, one that Greg could not see.
Rate on N.U.
