CHAPTER 76: VR DUNGEON (3)

Chapter: 75: VR Dungeon (3)

Sam plopped down on a boulder with a weary sigh, rubbing his temples.

"Under control, she says, after half the cavern nearly turned into a goblin rave pit."

Despite myself, I chuckled.

Sam raised his staff again, light blooming across us. "Heal."

Warmth spread over my skin, knitting minor cuts and dulling the ache in my muscles. Maria and Aurelia’s wounds shimmered shut as well, though neither offered a word of thanks.

Sam smirked anyway. "Y’know, you two might not like it, but he kept your asses from being goblin kebab."

Maria’s lips parted as if to retort but she shut them again, looking away. Aurelia simply crossed her arms, refusing to engage.

Progress.

---

Sakura, meanwhile, was quiet as ever. She stood a little apart, bow at her side, eyes lingering on me for a moment longer than usual before shifting back to the tunnel ahead.

No words. Just that piercing, unreadable gaze.

She sees more than she lets on, I thought.

---

I took a breath, scanning the cavern again. The lingering mana signatures told a story: the Lich had been more than just a random spawn. This was a designed ambush.

And yet... the system’s feedback window blinked in my vision.

[ Cohesion Increased. Party Sync: 12% → 15%. ]

The AI wasn’t wrong. Something had shifted between us.

---

I broke the silence.

"We’re close to the core."

All eyes turned to me. Even Aurelia didn’t challenge the statement.

I pointed toward the deeper passage, where the air pulsed faintly with energy. A steady beat, like the heartbeat of the dungeon itself.

"The AI designs these ambushes to weaken us before the final boss. But we still have stamina, mana, and formation intact. If we keep moving, we’ll clear the dungeon before timer pressure kicks in."

Sam grinned. "Translation: we’re not screwed yet."

"Exactly."

---

Maria shifted her staff, voice cool. "...Then lead, strategist."

The title wasn’t meant kindly. But she didn’t argue. Didn’t dismiss me.

And that, coming from her, was as close to recognition as I could ask for.

Aurelia’s lips twitched, a faint scowl forming, but she also didn’t object.

Sam chuckled, muttering under his breath, "Guess the commoner’s finally wearing the crown."

Sam is from the Church of Goddess of Light, there pop take grather the orphan who has light affinity and provide food and lodging and a save environment.

And Church it look righteousness from outside but they do many saddy things

I crossed him and try to examine the the way.

I ignored him, but inside

Step one complete.

We regrouped. Sakura scouted ahead silently, her movements ghostlike. Maria and Aurelia adjusted their spacing, still bristling but unwilling to clash again. Sam hummed some hymn as he walked, staff resting on his shoulder.

And me?

I kept my eyes forward, hand brushing the cold hilt at my side, the rhythm of the dungeon’s heartbeat syncing with my own.

The real fight was still ahead.

But for the first time... this didn’t feel like a fractured group of rivals.

It felt like the beginnings of a party.

The deeper we descended, the colder the dungeon air grew not the crisp frost I could control with mana, but the stagnant chill of stone corridors that had swallowed blood and secrets for centuries.

Ahead stretched a long passageway. The floor glistened faintly under the pale blue light of the VR dungeon torches. Too faint. Too clean.

A trap.

I narrowed my eyes. "Stop. Don’t take another step."

Maria frowned, her staff glowing with an icy sheen. "What now? The gate is just ahead. We don’t have time for—"

Click.

The faint sound echoed, tiny but sharp. A pressure plate depressed under her boot.

My blood ran cold.

"Move!" I lunged forward, grabbing her wrist and yanking her back.

SHNK! SHNK! SHNK!

Rows of iron spikes erupted from the ground, spearing the air where her body had been a heartbeat ago.

The spikes retracted slowly, hissing like snakes returning to their lair.

Maria’s eyes widened, her lips parting soundlessly. For a second, her pride cracked little and raw fear flickering through her face as she nearly died.

"...You saved me." Her tone was quiet, almost begrudging.

I smirked faintly. "Try not to die before the boss fight, ice princess."

Her cheeks flushed, but she turned away with a huff.

With a low voice she told me " Thankyou"

This Dungeon way is full of trap and knowledge this trap algorithm triggered when it sense mana as medium to spot it prey.

And I have went through this dungeon as a player. Hundred of strategy and tactics are playing in mind .

As a top player in this game I have enough experience in completing a VR Simulations of Dungeon with flying colours score.

It look like a simple way long dungeon way but it is built to give the students the tastes of reality of Dungeon, where there life is on stake as every step they take.

We advanced carefully. Every inch of stone screamed danger.

"Analysis Mind."

The purple shimmer flickered in my eyes as fractal calculations spun out. The skill was still draining, but shorter cooldowns gave me more flexibility.

I could see them: faint probabilities, ghostly branches of futures. A wall shift there, flame jets here, a patch of stone that would collapse under pressure.

"Step on the cracks, not the tiles. One wrong move and we’re kebabs."

Aurelia arched an eyebrow, rapier flickering with fire. "Kebabs? Such charming imagery, Michael."

I ignored the sarcasm. "Sakura, use arrows—hit that seam in the wall."

Thwip!

Her arrow whistled true. The impact triggered a hidden switch, and a shower of poisoned darts clattered harmlessly to the floor.

Sakura’s lips curved in a faint smile. "Not bad. Precision meets intuition."

I let out a breath. "We’ll need both."

---

The corridor’s next challenge was a wide chamber, vents carved into the walls.

A faint hiss.

My instincts screamed.

"Gas! Hold your breath!"

Green mist spread quickly, thick and suffocating. My chest burned.

"Flame Orb!" Aurelia snapped her fingers, summoning a swirling fireball that swept across the corridor. The gas ignited in a roaring inferno.

The heat slammed into us, the VR feedback prickling against my skin like sunburn.

Sam gasped, his mana threads glowing faintly as he raised a barrier. "Sanctuary Ward!"

A shimmering dome enveloped us, but the strain on his face was obvious. Sweat beaded on his brow, his breathing shallow.

Damn. He’s not built for this level of sustained casting.

I placed a hand on the dome, guiding airflow with mana. My ice affinity cooled the temperature just enough to let Sam catch his breath.

His eyes widened, gratitude flickering. "Thanks... I almost lost it."

"Save your mana for healing. I’ll handle airflow control."

He nodded firmly, bolstered by the reassurance.

---

More traps followed.

Walls grinding inward, threatening to crush us.

I shouted timing cues, "NOW—roll!"

We dove just as the walls smashed together with bone-cracking force, the sound echoing like thunder.

Flame jets from the ceiling.

It is similar to game.

I tossed an ice barrier upward, steam bursting as fire met frost.

Collapsing floor tiles.

Sakura fired arrows rapid-fire, triggering collapse early so we could leap across stable stones.

Bit by bit, trap by trap, we made it through.

When the corridor finally ended, my legs trembled, sweat dripped down my temples, and my mana reserve had dropped dangerously low.

But we had made it. In record time.

---

At last, the Dungeon Core Gate loomed before us.

A massive arch of black stone, carved with runes that pulsed faintly like a heartbeat. The air shimmered with oppressive mana, thick and suffocating.

I swallowed hard. My instincts screamed louder than they had in the trap gauntlet.

This isn’t over.

The ground trembled.

"Formation," I barked.

Maria and Aurelia raised their weapons, eyes sharp. Sakura nocked an arrow, and Sam stood ready with healing chants.

Then the gate pulsed—blood-red light spilling outward.

The dungeon floor cracked, and from the shadows lumbered a monstrosity.

Two heads. Each tusked, each radiating savage malice.

A Twin-Head Orc.

Its green muscles bulged like coiled steel cables, each head snarling with different pitches. One wielded a crude axe, the other a massive iron club.

[ Dungeon Guardian Spawned ]

[ Rank: C (Combat Strength approximates B-Rank) ]

I felt my stomach drop.

"Of course," I muttered. "They throw a raid boss at an E-rank team."

Aurelia’s knuckles whitened on her rapier. "This... this is insane."

Maria’s lips pressed thin, but frost swirled around her staff. "Then we fight insane odds."

Sakura exhaled slowly, eyes narrowing. "Aim for the weak points. There must be some."

Sam’s voice shook. "Michael... what do we do?"

I stared at the beast, my mind already spinning, calculations branching wildly.

We were outmatched in raw stats. Our only chance was...

"Tactics."

I clenched my sword, forcing calm into my voice.

"Listen carefully. We can’t win head-on. We’ll make the dungeon itself our weapon."

The Twin-Head Orc roared, shaking the corridor, each head bellowing a different war cry.

The fight of our lives had just begun.