NOVPUB"Excuse me, sir," a staff member asked, stroking his beard thoughtfully.
"What weapon or weapons would you like to wield, and would you like any armor?" His voice was professional, but there was a hint of curiosity in his tone.
Luka waved his hand dismissively, a casual smirk playing on his lips.
"I'll take a long dagger and a bow with arrows, please. No armor. I don't need it."
He paused for a moment, looking at the staff member with a slightly raised brow.
"I'm not expecting to get hit."
The staff member nodded slowly, seemingly understanding, though there was a brief flicker of doubt in his eyes as he processed the request for no armor.
Still, he didn't question it.
"I understand. I'll be right back. Once I give you your weapons, you'll be free to enter."
"Got it." Luka gave a half-hearted nod, turning to face everyone behind him while he waited.
The eyes on him were still sharp—
Glares, whispers, anger.
However, he wasn't bothered.
In fact, it only amused him.
Holding back a laugh, Luka flipped off everyone, giving them the middle finger with a smirk.
Immediately the line erupted into angry murmurs, a few even shouting in outrage.
'LOL!' Luka chuckled internally.
He didn't care if they judged him.
Standing out wasn't a problem for him.
After all, these people were no-names, extras who don't matter at all in this game-like world.
The staff member returned after a moment, holding the weapons that were requested.
"Here you are, sir," he said, handing them all out.
Luka took the bow and quiver, slinging the latter over his shoulder.
He gave the long dagger a few experimental flicks, making sure it felt comfortable in his grip.
Satisfied, he nodded and slid the long dagger into his belt.
"Alrighty, I'm heading in," Luka said.
As the staff member stepped aside…
Luka's foot brushed against the cold floor as he passed through the small black portal, the world around him shifting as the dungeon's reality set in.
He grinned, teeth flashing in the dim light. "Here we go…"
Without hesitation, he dashed forward with blinding speed, the air whipping around him as his boots barely touched the ground.
He was already scanning ahead, his sharp eyes catching sight of the trip wires hidden along the floor.
'Not today.' Luka leapt over them.
As he neared a small group of skeletons clad in rusted iron armor, some wielding bows and others swords, he could see their glowing eye sockets snap in his direction.
They began to advance, their stiff, jerky motions.
But even so, Luka didn't slow down.
With a sudden flick of movement, he slid across the stone ground.
He kicked one of the skeletons hard in the ribs, sending it crashing into another, and before they could react, he grabbed one of their legs, using it like a shield.
The arrows fired at him pinged off the armor, clattering to the side.
"I thought this would be more challenging," Luka muttered, as he kept his paste.
The skeleton archers were still too busy reloading, and he was already moving past them.
Without a pause, Luka came to a fork in the dungeon's path, two tunnels diverging ahead.
His eyes flicked from one to the other, instinctively choosing the right path without hesitation.
He barely slowed as he passed, but as his eyes scanned upward, they caught sight of something.
Spiders.
The ceiling was thick with webs, each strand glistening in the dim light, and all around him, the massive spiders began to crawl out from the walls, their eyes gleaming with hunger.
Luka knew he couldn't afford to waste time on this.
He dashed forward, careful to avoid stepping in the webs that clung to the floor.
His muscles tensed as spiders leapt down at him, their fangs bared, but he wasn't phased.
With a swift movement, Luka jumped and stomped one down under his boot, the spider crumpling under the pressure.
'No XP for these fakes,' he thought, rolling his eyes.
It was frustrating, but he expected it.
Luka reached for his bow, drawing it in one smooth motion, and as more spiders began to crawling toward him—
He nocked an arrow and fired without breaking his stride.
The first shot took down one of the spiders that had leapt at him, its body crumpling into a heap as the arrow buried itself into its skull.
Quickly, Luka loaded another arrow and fired again, this time picking off another spider that had scuttled up a web toward the high ceiling.
His speed had diminished slightly, but that was fine.
More came—
Each shot was precise, the arrows flying true as Luka cleared his path.
'Just have to find the boss room.'
On the outside…
All eyes were glued to the live stream of Luka's dungeon run.
They were all hate watching at first…
But they never expected this…
A man, wide-eyed, whispered, "Is... is that person actually speedrunning the dungeon? How are they moving that fast?"
Another man shook his head in disbelief. "This... this can't be real. He's making it look so easy!"
A woman spoke up, her voice incredulous. "It's been—what? Not even four minutes? And he's already cleared half of it? This dungeon normally takes hours..."
Someone else chimed in, their tone awed. "The record is 25 minutes and 10 seconds... but that was set by the founder of the Academy, ages ago!"
Even the staff themselves were speechless.
The sound of heavy metal footsteps echoed through the room, immediately drawing everyone's attention.
All eyes were torn from the live stream and turned toward the entrance, where a figure emerged, the Second Princess of the Eternity Empire.
A ripple of respect passed through the room as everyone dropped to their knees in unison.
"We greet Your Highness!" they all exclaimed in unison, their voices reverent.
Charlotte, ever the graceful and composed figure, waved her hand dismissively.
"Please, ignore me. Focus on the test," she instructed, her voice calm and authoritative.
At her words, the room slowly returned to its previous focus, their eyes glued to the live stream.
Seeing this, Charlotte stopped walking as her gaze narrowed, noticng something—
Or rather, someone…
A faint gasp escaped Charlotte's lips. "Oh my… It's him..." she whispered, her voice barely audible, but full of undeniable fascination.
'Luka Junker,' she thought to herself.
The very man she had been so captivated by since their earlier encounter.
The sight of him, his speed as he skillfully maneuvered through the dungeon was nothing short of impressive.
Charlotte's eyes sparked. 'The way he's taking out all those zombies… Impressive!'
One of her maids, watching with keen interest, quietly whispered.
"Your Highness… I think it would be best to sponsor this man. I can tell he'll be a future powerhouse, and we should lock him down before any other faction gets to him first."
"I know…" Charlotte didn't need to be told twice.
"He's perfect for my faction. I'll make sure it happens. Right now, let's just watch. He truly is interesting."
