The first layer of the Academy Dungeon, the Floor Boss's lair.
The cavern ceiling was vast and high, the light dim and obscure. Only sparse luminescent moss along the rock walls provided faint illumination, casting twisted shadows of jagged rocks and tattered cobwebs across the strewn mess on the ground.
Thick cobwebs gleaming with a silver-gray sheen hung layer upon layer like torn drapes between the cavern walls, stalagmites, and collapsed rock pillars, dividing the massive cavern into isolated spaces.
Skeletons of various creatures were scattered across the ground, piling into chilling small mounds that silently testified to the former host's bloodthirst and greed.
In a corner of the cavern, far from the most eye-catching remnants of the central nest pedestal, a figure was silently busy.
Greg half-knelt before a relatively intact rock wall. Holding a sharp small knife, he carefully sliced away a certain threadlike material clinging to the rock crevices and leftover webs.
It was no ordinary spider silk, but a special thread that reflected a soft, warm golden shimmer even under the dim light.
It was finer than a strand of hair, yet extraordinarily tough. It felt slightly cool to the touch, carrying a strange, silky smoothness.
Greg moved with great patience, wrapping the golden threads bundle by bundle around a smooth wooden board to collect them.
What he had told Silvia before parting was not entirely an excuse.
He truly had business to attend to.
Collecting this Golden Glow Spider Silk was his true objective for coming here.
This task was not so urgent that it had to be done immediately, as ordinary dungeon monsters respawned over time. However, Area Lords like Lady Eight-Legs usually would not reappear once defeated.
Greg chose to rush over and gather it now purely out of a pragmatic mindset: he was too lazy to clear a path through small monsters all over again later.
This Golden Glow Spider Silk was the Royal Silk produced by spider-type monsters like Lady Eight-Legs over long periods, formed by blending their refined mana with special secretions to lay eggs in the core of their nest.
Not only was its toughness far superior to steel, but it also possessed exceptional affinity and conductivity for mana, alongside a rare trait of slow self-repair and energy storage.
In the late-game settings of the original game, it was a material required to craft multiple high-tier alchemy items.
For instance, everlasting mana thread, core materials for adaptive protective robes, and carrying substrates for high-tier sealing scrolls all required Golden Glow Spider Silk.
However, the value of this treasure was something only Greg, who had played the original game, was currently aware of.
At this point in time, no one in the academy—or even in human alchemy circles—had yet discovered the true worth of Golden Glow Spider Silk.
The young professor who would only rise to fame in the late stage of the original game through her original silk alchemy was still obscure right now, her research far from starting.
Therefore, Greg was not worried that anyone else would beat him to this treasure.
"Speaking of which..."
As Greg wound another strand of golden silk onto the wooden board, a thought occurred to him:
"The genius professor who invents silk alchemy in the future... her name seems to be... Alice? Isn't she currently my personal instructor?"
The corner of his mouth curved into a subtle arc.
"It seems when the timing is right, I can find a way to give her some inspiration, then naturally have her help me process this silk into good gear... Mm, a perfect candidate for free labor."
While he was focused on harvesting, his keen perception caused his movements to pause slightly.
From the direction of the cavern entrance came faint yet clear footsteps, accompanied by deliberately hushed voices.
Someone was coming.
And more than one person.
Greg stopped immediately, holding his breath and keeping completely still. He withdrew his body into the shadows of a recessed rock wall, looking outward through the gaps in the torn cobwebs.
Several figures walked from the main entrance passage into the massive lair.
They all wore Glory Cael Magic Academy uniforms, but on their arms were unique armbands representing their identity as Student Council members.
Holding illuminating magic crystals, they cautiously surveyed the surrounding environment, eyes filled with scrutiny and surprise.
"Indeed..."
A male student whispered to his companion, his voice softly echoing in the spacious cavern.
"That massive spider corpse we found earlier buried under random rocks... was Lady Eight-Legs. Look here, the lair is completely empty."
"Still, this doesn't make sense."
Another student frowned, scanning the massive cobweb pedestal in the center of the lair that resembled a throne, before looking back toward the entrance.
"Lady Eight-Legs is a typical territorial monster that relies heavily on its nest environment to fight. Why would it leave its own lair, run all the way over there, and die? Could it... have been deliberately lured out by something?"
The Student Council members looked at each other, seeing the same confusion in one another's eyes.
The Floor Boss's corpse being far from its lair, a battlefield marked by a large-scale collapse... all of this reeked of abnormality.
Unable to reach a conclusion, they all turned their gazes in unison toward the rear of the group, where a figure had stood in silent, calm observation of everything since entering the lair.
It was a young girl.
She stood a short distance away, as though maintaining an invisible distance from her surroundings.
Her face was exquisitely carved like ice and snow, her skin fair almost to the point of transparency. Every line of her features was flawless, combining into an irreproachable yet cold beauty.
Her waist-length lake-blue hair resembled the finest silk, flowing with an icy luster under the glow of the illuminating magic crystal, tied meticulously into a sleek high ponytail.
Standing tall and straight, she wore an academy uniform of the same style as the others, though its materials and tailoring were visibly far superior. Over it was a dark blue short cape, and pinned to her collar was a silver badge representing her title as Student Council President.
"Ho, I didn't expect her to enter the dungeon in person..." In the shadows, Greg raised an eyebrow, feeling slightly surprised.
This blue-haired girl was naturally someone he recognized.
Vivian Kahn.
First Princess of the kingdom, Second-year Representative of the academy, current Student Council President, and also... half-sister of the Third Heroine, Lilith Kahn.
Rate on N.U.
