Chapter 74: Gelationous Nest


    The portal''s white light faded as reality reconstituted around them. Lance''s vision cleared first, his evolved senses adapting more quickly than his companions to the transition. As the others were still orienting themselves, a notification appeared in his field of vision:


    ```


    [DUNGEON IDENTIFIED]


    Name: Gelationous Nest


    Rank: D (Boss: C)


    Type: Training/Assessment


    Objective: Clear all enemies, retrieve artifact


    ```


    Lance surveyed their surroundings with experienced eyes. They had materialized in what appeared to be a natural cave entrance, its walls glistening with moisture. The stone floor showed signs of being partially dissolved in places, creating shallow depressions filled with viscous fluid—telltale evidence of slime activity. Bioluminescent fungi provided dim blue-green illumination, revealing a tunnel that descended deeper into the earth.


    Professor Luminara and High Summoner Virian stepped back, positioning themselves near the entrance. "From this point forward, we are merely observers," the professor announced. "Your assessment has officially begun."


    The three Lithrian nobles had gathered together, already discussing strategy in hushed tones, clearly trying to exclude Lance after his behavior before entering the portal.


    "I will lead and scout," Lance declared loudly, interrupting their conversation. Without waiting for acknowledgment, he stepped forward and raised his hand. Shadows gathered at his command, coalescing into the forms of his armored werewolves—twenty-one massive, armored beasts that materialized in perfect formation around him.


    The Lithrian nobles stepped back in surprise, clearly not expecting such an impressive display of summoning capability. Even Professor Luminara appeared momentarily taken aback by the number and quality of the manifested creatures.


    "Scout ahead," Lance commanded his werewolves. "Map the dungeon layout, identify enemy positions, but do not engage. Return with information only."


    The werewolves moved with silent precision, spreading out through the tunnel and disappearing into the darkness ahead. Their coordinated movement demonstrated years of tactical training, each beast understanding its role without needing explicit direction.


    "You never mentioned summoning capability of that magnitude," Elara observed, her tone carefully neutral despite her obvious surprise.


    "You never asked," Lance replied dismissively. "Fenris, come forward."


    From the shadows stepped Fenris, his seven-and-a-half-foot form imposing even compared to the armored werewolves. Unlike the others, he carried himself with the clear authority of a lieutenant rather than a simple summoned beast.


    "Give me my weapon," Lance ordered.


    Fenris reached behind his back and produced a scythe—a wicked-looking weapon with a curved blade that gleamed even in the dim light of the cave. The shaft was wrapped in worn cloth, concealing most of its details while leaving the blade exposed.


    "As you command," Fenris said, presenting the weapon with a slight bow.


    Lance took the scythe, testing its balance with practiced ease. The weapon felt like an extension of himself, perfectly suited to his fighting style and capabilities. He had deliberately chosen it for this expedition—impressive enough to demonstrate exceptional skill without revealing his full capabilities.


    "A scythe?" Varis questioned with obvious skepticism. "Rather theatrical for practical combat, isn''t it?"


    Lance ignored the comment, turning toward the tunnel where his scouts had disappeared. Already, one had returned, moving swiftly to report its findings.


    "Northeast passage contains approximately forty slimes of varying types," Lance translated for the benefit of the others. "Green healing variants concentrated near the center of the formation, blue magical types providing ranged support, steel defensive types forming outer perimeter."


    Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    "We should coordinate our approach," Jorin suggested. "My spatial abilities could position Elara and Varis for maximum effect against—"


    "Let''s move," Lance interrupted, already striding down the tunnel with Fenris at his side. "Keep up or get left behind."


    The Lithrian nobles exchanged frustrated glances before following, with Professor Luminara and High Summoner Virian maintaining a discreet distance behind them. The tunnel widened as they descended deeper, eventually opening into a large cavern where Lance''s scout had reported the slime concentration.


    The scene was exactly as described—dozens of slimes organized in a surprisingly strategic formation. The green healing slimes pulsed at the center, surrounded by blue magical variants that emitted occasional sparks of energy. Steel slimes formed a protective outer layer, their metallic surfaces reflecting the bioluminescent light.


    Lance stepped back, gesturing toward the slimes with exaggerated politeness. "Let''s see your teamwork, nobodies. See if I need to carry you on my back or if you''re all dead weight."


    Elara''s eyes narrowed at the insult, but she turned to her companions. "Jorin, create spatial distortion at the outer perimeter. Varis, prepare solar beam to target exposed green healers. I''ll generate lightning chain to disrupt the blue magical units."


    They moved with practiced coordination that spoke of years training together. Jorin''s hands traced complex patterns in the air, creating rippling distortions in space that temporarily displaced several steel slimes, opening gaps in their defensive formation. Varis immediately capitalized, channeling solar energy into a focused beam that shot through the opening, striking at the exposed green healing slimes.


    Elara completed their combination by generating a crackling network of electricity that arced between the blue magical slimes, disrupting their energy patterns and temporarily stunning them.


    It was a well-executed strategy that showcased their individual talents and coordination. However, the slimes quickly began to adapt, with the steel variants closing ranks while the greens accelerated their healing pulses to counteract the damage.


    Lance watched their struggle with growing impatience. Their approach was technically sound but inefficient against the slimes'' adaptive capabilities. After watching them struggle for another minute, he sighed dramatically.


    "Boring," he declared loudly. "Let me show you how it''s done."


    Before anyone could respond, Lance dashed forward with startling speed, leaping over the steel slime perimeter and landing directly among the green healing variants. His scythe moved in a blur of motion, its blade slicing through multiple green slimes in a single sweep. Each cut was precisely calculated to sever the core of the slimes, preventing regeneration.


    "Target healers first," he called out mockingly as he eliminated the green slimes with ruthless efficiency. "Basic tactics, nobodies!"


    With the healing support neutralized, Lance immediately pivoted toward the blue magical slimes. His free hand extended as he activated his fire mastery, conjuring a whip of flame that coiled and snapped with deadly precision. The magical slimes, vulnerable to fire, quickly succumbed to his assault as he systematically eliminated them one after another.


    The Lithrian nobles stood watching with mixed expressions of surprise and irritation as Lance single-handedly decimated what had been giving them considerable difficulty. His movements displayed years of combat experience, each strike economical and devastatingly effective.


    As the last blue slime dissolved under his fire whip, Lance turned his attention to the remaining steel slimes. Rather than engaging them directly, he kicked several of them forcefully toward the Lithrian nobles.


    "Figure it out," he called casually as the metallic creatures bounced toward them. "They''re resistant to cutting and piercing—try compression or transmutation."


    The nobles scrambled to deal with the suddenly approaching threats while Lance walked back toward Fenris, casually twirling his scythe.


    "Was that display really necessary?" High Summoner Virian asked, stepping forward despite his stated observer role. "This is meant to be a team assessment."


    "Teamwork requires competent individuals first," Lance replied sharply. "They''re too slow, too cautious, and too caught up in their precious noble traditions."


    "That may be, but your approach is unnecessarily harsh," Virian countered. "These are students, not hardened warriors."


    Lance turned to face the High Summoner directly. "If you coddle them, they will never amount to anything. If you want warriors, you need to break them first and rebuild them."


    "This is an Academy assessment, not military training," Virian argued.


    "And that''s why Academy graduates are so unprepared for real-world threats," Lance replied dismissively. "The world doesn''t care about feelings or fair play. It rewards results."


    Behind them, the Lithrian nobles had finally managed to defeat the steel slimes through a combination of Elara''s electrical compression and Varis''s heat generation, softening the metallic creatures enough for Jorin''s spatial manipulation to tear them apart.


    "We handled it," Elara announced coldly as they approached, clearly trying to salvage some dignity.


    "Eventually," Lance acknowledged with exaggerated generosity. "Though the next chamber contains spiked and silver variants that will be considerably more challenging. Perhaps you''ll manage to defeat one each before I have to intervene again."


    Jorin stepped forward, her patience clearly at an end. "What exactly is your problem? We''re supposed to be working together."


    "My problem," Lance replied, leaning closer, "is that I''m stuck with three pampered nobles who think their family names make them special. Prove me wrong by keeping up."


    Without waiting for a response, he turned and continued deeper into the dungeon, Fenris and his returned scout werewolves following silently.


    As they moved through the connecting tunnel, Lance mentally assessed the strategic value of his approach. The confrontational persona served multiple purposes—it kept attention focused on his attitude rather than his capabilities, established clear dominance without revealing his true nature, and provided valuable data on how his supposed peers responded to pressure.


    More importantly, it allowed him to demonstrate combat prowess that would be expected of werewolf royalty without revealing the full extent of his dungeon knowledge. By framing his tactical awareness as arrogant confidence rather than informed expertise, he maintained his cover while still operating effectively.


    The next chamber loomed ahead, and Lance could already sense the presence of more slimes—the spiked offensive variants and the camouflaged silver types that would pose a greater challenge to conventional tactics. He smiled slightly to himself as he considered how to approach this next encounter. The quests from his system remained active, particularly the one requiring him to identify the two unknown slime types without team assistance.


    Behind him, he could hear the Lithrian nobles whispering among themselves, likely developing strategies to prove their worth in the next encounter. Their pride had been wounded, which meant they would push themselves harder—exactly as he had intended.


    Professor Luminara and High Summoner Virian followed at a distance, observing with professional detachment despite Virian''s earlier intervention. Lance had noted the interaction with interest—the High Summoner''s concern suggested the Academy placed genuine value on team development rather than merely individual capability.


    As they approached the next chamber, Lance gripped his scythe more firmly. The dungeon assessment was progressing according to his calculations, providing opportunities to fulfill his system quests while gathering valuable intelligence on Academy evaluation methods.


    And somewhere deeper in this artificial dungeon waited the C-rank Knight Slime—a boss entity that would provide the perfect opportunity to demonstrate just enough exceptional capability to maintain his cover identity while advancing his true objectives.