* * *

There are exceptions, but time inside a dungeon generally flows faster than in reality.

Thanks to that, it was still night when I emerged from the dungeon.

‘Maybe about five hours have passed.’

Inside, it had been long enough to polish off nearly all the medicinal herbs I’d brought in.

Thank goodness time flows differently inside and out. Otherwise, I’d have failed the quest and just increased the skeleton count in the maze.

[Bead: Hey… you went through all that suffering and you’re still cracking jokes…? I’m dying here…]

That’s because I kept cooking and eating the whole time.

Boiled, grilled, stir-fried, pan-fried, and even brewed into soup. By the end, I was making herb salad, herb soup, and even herb pancakes.

Honestly, it was delicious. When else would I get to enjoy such a healthy meal?

‘I had no idea mandragora tasted similar to bellflower root. After nothing but jerky and hardtack every day, it was nice to taste a bit of Korea for once.’

[Bead: You’ve been eating nothing but that crap this whole time, no wonder you’ve lost your mind. Ugh, don’t breathe on me. Every time that herb smell wafts up, I seriously feel like throwing up. Urgh…]

Such drama from a creature without a stomach. Anyway, I’d definitely cleared the path now. Half the strategy was done.

The rest was gathering the kids and going in. And…

Putting on a show, basically.

* * *

I sometimes think about this—aren’t there too many students in X-Class?

The Protagonist, Twin-braid and Bob Hair, Healer, Model Student, and the Princess.

That’s enough to field a basketball team with one player on the bench. Wouldn’t a few fewer have been fine? Nice and cozy…

[Bead: Weren’t you just saying how great it is to have a small elite team? Just be honest. You’re sad because the dungeon difficulty is way harder than you expected.]

Yes, I’m so sad I could cry tears of blood. Every single step I take makes my heart drop to my stomach!

‘I walked this path so many times I practically memorized it. Can adding just six more people really make it look this different?’

Spears shooting out of walls and floors was par for the course, and skulls I’d mistaken for decorations were rising up to attack.

When spider-like monsters came raining down from the ceiling, I nearly screamed. Each and every one of these jump scares was a matter of life and death.

This maze bastard—we shared so much time together, and yet how could it turn on me like this? Huh?

‘What a disloyal dungeon. You should learn a thing or two from my kids.’

The single reason I was still breathing.

“Michael, monsters coming from the ceiling! Make sure they don’t reach the Professor.”

“We’re fine here. Andante, one more ice shield for the fire trap, please.”

Because the X-Class kids were covering for me on their own. Remembering the one thing I’d said when we entered the dungeon.

“My role is simply to guide you. The rest is on you. There is nothing as weak as those who cannot protect what they must.”

In other words, the X-Class students’ assignment wasn’t navigating the maze—it was escorting their teacher.

It wasn’t that I couldn’t dodge the traps. I was deliberately not dodging them for the students’ training. That was the roleplay.

“Just follow behind me and you won’t get lost. Surely you can manage that much.”

In return, I’d play the part of an overpowered character who could grasp even the most complex maze at a glance, putting the students at ease.

Not once did I look around. At any fork, I never hesitated.

Spitting to choose a path? Coca-Cola divination? Ha! I did enough of those uncool things during my first run until my spit ran dry and my fingers ached. All for moments exactly like this.

“Gasp, t-twelve paths?! How does a place like this even exist?!”

Leaving the astonished students behind, I strode forward without hesitation. Fifth from the left. Naturally, the path I chose was the correct one. You have no idea how much I wandered here before.

“Professor, have you… been to this dungeon before? No, the Principal restricted access, so this should be your first time too. How is it that you’ve never once taken a wrong path…?”

Yeah, I actually snuck in behind the Principal’s back and did a ‘Regular Person: Maze Edition’ playthrough.

But what came out of my mouth was entirely different.

“A feeling. That death awaits at the end of this path.”

In other words, I was walking down a path where I could sense the presence of a threatening boss monster, but I’d dressed it up in fancy words.

“Simply follow where it leads.”

A tone suggesting that walking into the jaws of death was familiar. Self-deprecation implying that death had always been leading her by the hand.

Heh, I got to play up the ‘Chris’ character setting—close to death—for the first time in a while.

[Bead: That doesn’t sound cool, it just sounds like something a teenager going through a severe case of puberty would say.]

Shut up, you gaming ignoramus.

“Whew, you really are amazing, Professor~ Not just the navigation, but you didn’t even flinch when a blade flew right at your face.”

Oh, that was just so sudden I didn’t even realize it was a blade. By the way, my face… was it almost split in half?

“Yes. No hesitation. Every single step is filled with conviction.”

That’s because if I stopped, I’d collapse right on the spot. They didn’t notice my legs shaking, did they?

“Why is everyone acting so surprised! Our Professor has the Emperor’s Eye! She can just see everything that lies ahead!”

Model Student, have you been hanging out with the Lion? Ha, that guy is corrupting my kids. What I actually see is about five seconds of my remaining life, at most.

[Bead: Tsk tsk, what a fate you have… But we’re almost there. Isn’t the boss behind that statue?]

Oh, really! I quickened my pace with the enthusiasm of a child greeting a father coming home with fried chicken. I was truly almost there. The battle was the kids’ job, so all that remained was answering this statue’s question.

“Whoa, this statue looks kind of familiar… Was it our Academy’s main gate…? You know, the gargoyle. Doesn’t it look similar?”

“It really does.”

“Ah, I think I heard something from over there just now.”

Typical Healer. That’s just a startup sound.

Soon, light emanated from the statue’s two eyes, and a voice heavy with static began to flow out.

– W-welcome to the forgotten labyrinth, travelers.

– Long ago, a sage- entrusted us with an object.

– Th-that object is most ominous- something that must never fall into anyone’s hands.

– However, my friend unfortunately fell under its influence- and has become a monster, trapped at the heart of the labyrinth.

– Can you save my friend-?

Hearing just that, you couldn’t imagine a more tragic tale. Quite a few of my kids actually got looks of sympathy in their eyes.

“Of course! O being who resembles… a gargoyle! That is exactly why we entered this labyrinth!”

The Model Student’s reaction was especially passionate, being the type to go crazy over knights, friendship, and that sort of thing. If he keeps living like that, he’s going to get hit hard with a betrayal someday.

– Thank you- then to gain entry, please answer this question-

– Where might my friend be now-?

“Uh, pardon?”

The Model Student looked a bit flustered. Understandably so—the question was almost too easy, wasn’t it?

According to the statue, at the heart of the labyrinth. And from what was visible, the door right behind the statue.

The answer was painfully obvious. But the moment you said it, this dungeon’s difficulty would spike.

‘Finally, my turn to step up.’

Before the Model Student could open his mouth, I stepped in front of him. As if to tell him to hold back.

– Now- where might my friend be?

At the repeated question, I raised my index finger and spoke with a scoff.

“Everywhere.”

– ……

“Everywhere? What do you mean, Professor?”

The Model Student’s bewilderment was brief, as the statue’s mouth began to tear open wide. Its face contorted as if suffering a critical error, its voice breaking apart.

– M-my- my- friend-!

“Uh, uhh! Did something go wrong?”

No, the boss fight was about to begin. Get ready, you brats.

I flashed a quick hand signal, and the X-Class kids swiftly took their positions. The ground shook violently as if an earthquake had struck, and the statue’s form melted away.

But the unsettling voice remained, buzzing from all directions.

– This labyrinth- itself- is-

– W-welcome to the forgotten Stomach of the Bull, you prey!

“Wh-what did you say…?! Stomach?!”

That’s right. According to <Hero Rampage>, this dungeon’s official name was ‘Stomach of the Bull.’

The entire winding maze was inside the belly of a giant monster.

[Bead: So the reason your stamina drains so fast when you stay too long is because you’re being slowly digested? Huh… Then I guess you’re like an indigestible foreign object.]

A Transmigrator shouldn’t be eaten so carelessly. Indigestible, indigestible.

‘And the reason this absurdity was possible was because this creature had once swallowed the Demon Lord’s Horn.’

The true boss of this dungeon and the drop item—the Demon Lord’s Horn.

It was manifesting before us in the shape of a giant bull’s head.