Chapter 285 | Survival Guide for a Doomed Villain in the Academy Dungeon

“Hey, look over there! It seems they couldn't reach an agreement. They look like they're about to fight—even the barrier has been raised!”

A sharp-eyed boy pointed toward the corner of the training room, his voice brimming with the excitement of someone eager for drama.

The surrounding crowd turned their heads one after another. Sure enough, they saw a pale blue barrier of light rising, enveloping Greg and Juno within.

“No way, right? Even though Greg got a perfect score in the secondary defense, that doesn't mean he's a match for Juno in actual combat. They probably won't really fight.”

A girl wearing round-framed glasses said with some worry.

“Who cares? There's drama right in front of us, and you're not going to watch?”

Another boy rubbed his hands together, his face a picture of anticipation.

“Besides, wouldn't it be way more interesting to see an academic genius who just broke a record get beaten to the ground? Come on, let's go check it out!”

A crowd of people rushed over to the barrier, leaving the area around Vivian completely empty.

Standing where she was, Vivian listened to their discussions, and her eyes, which had dimmed, gradually lit up again.

She didn't care at all about what they said regarding Greg getting beaten to the ground, because that was simply impossible.

Ever since they had returned from the dungeon, she knew that Greg was even stronger than she was, so there was absolutely no way he would lose to Juno.

What she cared about was something else—they said Greg and Juno hadn't reached an agreement.

This meant she still had a chance to try and win Greg back, preventing him from leaving with that blockheaded dragon girl!

...

“Hey, didn't we agree to face each other during the Five Academy Tournament?”

Seeing the Little Dragon Girl in front of him activate the barrier without a second word, Greg felt rather helpless.

He had only wanted to find a middleman to introduce him, so how did this somehow turn into an arena match?

Juno slightly bent her body, her dragon tail tensing straight behind her as her golden eyes burned with a battle-hungry fire.

“Because whenever I stand in front of you, I always feel a sense of pressure. I just couldn't hold back anymore. Besides, I might not even get paired up against you in the Five Academy Tournament, and I don't want to have any regrets.”

Greg sighed. “So we absolutely have to fight before you'll do me this favor?”

“Yes!”

Juno grinned, revealing a sharp little canine tooth.

“And you have to beat me, too!”

The moment the words left her mouth, she was already in motion.

Pushing off the ground with explosive force, her body shot toward Greg like a cannonball. Her right fist, wrapped in a ring of crimson fire, punched straight toward his face with a whistling wind.

The punch was incredibly fast, far too quick for any ordinary person to react to, but Greg simply tilted his body slightly, dodging her fist with perfect precision.

The flames brushed past his cheek, failing to singe even a single strand of his hair.

Missing her target, Juno immediately used her momentum to spin around, executing a whip kick toward Greg's waist, her leg also enveloped in fire.

Greg took another step back, easily escaping her range of attack.

Although on the surface it looked like Greg was being pressured, anyone with a discerning eye could see that his movements were calm and composed. Every single dodge was executed with perfect timing, as if he had known exactly where Juno would strike from the very beginning.

“I suppose it's my turn to counterattack now.”

Greg raised his right hand and cast a Level 4 Water Gun at Juno.

Juno dodged to the side, but the water projectile curved in midair, striking her shoulder from the side and causing her to stagger a step back.

She stabilized her stance, but just as she was about to counterattack, a sudden tremor shook the ground beneath her feet. Several sharp stone spikes erupted from the floor, forcing her to leap backward to avoid them.

“You seem to be stuck in midair.”

Greg's voice remained calm. He immediately followed up with a Level 2 Wave Current, unleashing a fierce torrent of water that slammed Juno directly into the barrier before she slid down to the floor.

The spectators outside the barrier watched in utter disbelief.

This battle was completely different from the seemingly evenly matched duel between Juno and Vivian earlier.

How did this look like a completely one-sided suppression?

Greg hadn't even used any flashy magic; with just a few low-tier spells, he was playing Juno like a fiddle.

The only reason Greg could suppress Juno using nothing but these basic spells was that, in the original game, he had fought her countless times during the Five Academy Tournament. He had reached a point where he knew exactly what move she would make the moment she raised her hand, allowing him to handle her with absolute ease.

“You're really something!”

Despite being completely suppressed, Juno's expression grew increasingly excited.

Finding her footing, she chanted a complete Word Spirit. Along with her chant, a blazing fireball condensed in each of her palms. The temperature of the fireballs was so intense that even the spectators outside the barrier could feel a wave of scorching heat washing over them.

But instead of throwing them, Juno held the fireballs directly in her hands as if they were a pair of flaming gauntlets, charging straight at Greg once more.

Her speed was astonishing. She cracked the stone slabs beneath her feet as she dashed, turning into a reddish-brown blur that lunged at Greg with two balls of blazing fire.

Greg had long since seen through this attack.

Once again, he stepped aside, easily evading her frontal assault.

But Juno seemed to have anticipated that he would predict her attack. She slammed her two fireballs together.

Instantly, the two fireballs began to expand and warp rapidly, becoming extremely unstable and emitting a piercing hum.

This was a move she rarely used, as the resulting explosion would catch her in the blast as well. But in order to land just a single hit on Greg, she was going all out!

“Take this—huh!?”

However, a split second before the fireballs detonated, she realized that Greg in front of her had suddenly vanished like a shadow.

Turning around, she saw him standing near the edge of the barrier behind her, his arms crossed over his chest, watching her with a smile.

Greg had already predicted her prediction of his prediction.

Then, he softly spoke.

“Boom.”

In the next second, the two fireballs in Juno's hands completely lost control and exploded with a deafening roar.

Blazing fire swept through the barrier, dyeing the entire space in a vibrant shade of orange-red.

Since Greg had already retreated to a safe distance at the edge of the barrier, he was completely unaffected, while Juno was swallowed whole by her own flames.

Once the fire dissipated, Juno finally reappeared before everyone.

She lay on the ground in a disheveled state, her uniform scorched with several holes, and her once-smooth reddish-brown hair was slightly singed and curled from her own fire, making her look quite pitiful.

Lying there, she stared up at the ceiling, panting heavily.

The spectators outside the barrier fell silent for a moment before erupting into a flurry of excited chatter.

“H-He won? Greg won?” A boy rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

“And he won so easily... He didn't even use any high-tier magic the entire time, yet he completely suppressed Juno?”

“I thought he was only good at theoretical knowledge. I had no idea his practical combat skills were this strong too...” A girl covered her mouth, her eyes shining with admiration.

“What surprised me the most was that last move he used. That was physical magic, wasn't it?”

A boy wearing an Ironpledge Crucible uniform frowned, his tone laced with surprise:

“And it's a type of physical magic I've never even seen before! Don't the students of Glory Cael Magic Academy only know how to use traditional mana-based magic?”