Broken Possessors of Infinite Regression Academy

“W-wait, let’s take a break…”

“Me too… Just for a moment… It doesn’t seem like they’re chasing us anymore…”

Brynhild and Aria, panting heavily, nearly collapsed to the ground. I moved behind them to proactively survey the surroundings and used a detection spell to confirm there were no more monsters pursuing us before stopping.

“Yeah, it seems safe to rest now. This place is spacious enough. Let’s rest here.”

With my words, the two who had been holding on with their last bit of strength finally sank to the ground. The sound of their heavy breathing filled the air. I took out some water from my backpack and handed it to them. The water bottle was half empty in an instant.

After drinking, Brynhild, still panting, looked at me.

“Why do you not seem tired? You fought the most among us.”

The reason for our hasty retreat was a trap room. It was designed to mimic the typical dungeon geography where dense mana naturally attracted many monsters. We had been descending smoothly until we encountered a fork in the path. Seeing an arrow pointing to the right, we overthought it and followed the arrow, which led us straight into a trap room.

If the archmage who designed this dungeon or Professor Jaina had seen it, they would have laughed heartily. Their trick worked—a very annoying trick.

Upon entering the trap room, we were met with an overwhelming number of the 6th Legion’s commanders. Yes, the same centaur who had his arm cut off by the Demon King and was beaten up badly before retreating.

Although these were not the real thing but weaker copies, I could have managed on my own. However, with the two of them watching and needing protection, fighting was challenging, so I decided to escape with them. I cleared the way by defeating any monsters blocking our path, which was likely what Brynhild meant by her comment. I calmly drank water and replied.

“This is what it takes to be at the top of the class for three years straight.”

“Yeah, just don’t do everything by yourself.”

“I will, don’t worry.”

After taking a couple of sips, I put the water bottle back in my backpack and pulled out a blanket chilled with a magic tool. Maintaining body temperature could be managed with another blanket. Brynhild immediately spread the blanket on the ground and lay down as if to sleep, while Aria carefully arranged her skirt and sat with her knees together. The difference in their personalities was starkly evident.

“Aren’t you tired? You can relax.”

“No, I’m fine.”

Aria blushed slightly and adjusted her skirt again. Considering the length and how much it fluttered, she was probably right that sitting more comfortably might reveal her underwear.

Brynhild, who didn’t care about such things, was impressive in her own way. Lying comfortably wasn’t vulgar, but she was in a position similar to when she slept.

“…”

After our conversation ended, they both silently caught their breath. I threw them another blanket to maintain their body temperature and checked our remaining supplies.

‘How much further do we have to go?’

We had been descending for a little over four hours. Since we were exploring an unknown dungeon without a map, we could only guess how much farther we had to reach the dungeon core.

“How far have we come?”

I felt a heavy presence behind me. Brynhild had approached unnoticed and was now resting her chin on my shoulder, hugging me from behind. Aria was still sitting and resting.

“About halfway? They said it would take around eight hours to break through, and we’ve been descending for about four hours, so we’re probably halfway there.”

“…We have to go another half? I’m exhausted.”

Brynhild poked my shoulder with her chin as she grumbled. She still seemed to lack a sense of being a hero, probably because she was an ordinary village girl suddenly chosen by the sacred sword. It didn’t help that I had dealt with many of the battles she was supposed to grow and awaken through in the original story.

“But Mira, how did you do it? You didn’t seem to be struggling against them at all. You were even overwhelming them. Even though they were weaker versions…”

Aria trailed off, unable to finish her question. Despite being weaker versions, the legion commanders were still formidable, and both Brynhild and Aria had struggled immensely even against just one each. Unlike me.

“Well, I just did it.”

I couldn’t exactly say that I had fought and almost defeated the original versions, so I gave a vague answer. Brynhild teased me, saying I should just honestly say if I didn’t want to answer.

“Hmm…”

“What’s up?”

Seeing Aria’s slightly conflicted expression, I asked. She seemed to be contemplating something.

“No, it’s just that you’re far more impressive than I expected. I didn’t realize you were this skilled.”

Aria’s expression turned peculiar, something even an observant person could immediately notice. The reason behind her look was unclear. Was she upset because she thought she could never take the top spot?

“Even if you look at me like that, I can’t give up the top spot. Sorry. I made a promise during the entrance ceremony, and I intend to keep it.”

“What…?”

Aria’s eyes widened in surprise.

‘Huh?’

It wasn’t the case it seems.

As I hesitated, a natural smile returned to Aria’s face, as if she was trying hard to smile as usual.

“Oh, right. That’s true. I don’t want to concede that either. I’m sorry for being oblivious…”

“Aria, don’t bother Mira. I warned you. If you’re going to do that, you might as well do it to me. Where would you find the spirit to bully this nice girl?”

“Could you stop bothering me too? What’s with the sudden heat?”

Brynhild had now completely climbed onto me. She pressed her chin firmly against my shoulder, and I could feel her breath near my neck. Aria looked helpless.

“It’s, it’s okay. Brynhild. I like someone who’s perceptive…”

“Did you hear that? Mira, she likes you.”

“What are you talking about? Don’t say weird things. You’re not even that skilled.”

“…”

Brynhild’s expression suddenly became dumbfounded. Since she became the wielder of the sacred sword, it was probably the first time she had heard someone say she lacked skills.

But what could she do? That was the truth. Even though she struggled against just one of the legion commanders, I had to intervene to help her. While Aria, realizing her own limits, had been buying time defensively, Brynhild had been attacking relentlessly since becoming the wielder of the sacred sword.

Honestly, there were several situations where, if I hadn’t intervened, She would have received serious injuries and been forcibly sent back outside the dungeon. It was only because I was only a little tired that she could still be here in one piece.

“Well, it’s not like I’m that unskilled… Except for you, Mira, I’m confident I can beat everyone else…”

Whether Brynhild knew that fact or not, she could only mutter timidly without any rebuttal. Should I tease her a little more?

“You were the one who said to trust only yourself when we entered and then got caught in the slime trap—”

“Oh, okay! Enough! Stop!”

With a vigorous push, her healthy body pressed against mine. It seemed like she had successfully recalled the moment when we had fallen into the slime trap less than ten seconds after entering the dungeon.

Thanks to that, about half of her stockings had melted away, and she had to take them off. If I hadn’t quickly pulled her out, her other clothes might have melted too.

After about 30 minutes of rest, we moved again. Brynhild, with a determined expression, continued to fight against the legion commanders. Her determination was evident in her every movement.

But in the end, she couldn’t match me. After perfectly defeating one of the legion commanders, Brynhild came to me to boast, only to see me watching the battle rather than participating, which left her feeling disappointed.

“Do you want to be the hero?”

“That’s nonsense.”

Seeing Aria’s face, which was genuinely smiling, it was probably just a joke, but jokingly saying such things wasn’t necessarily a good sign. Perhaps I had exerted too much effort in trying to maintain my position as the top student.

‘I should instill some confidence in her, though.’

I pondered over whether there was any good way to do so. Our ultimate goal wasn’t the Demon King anymore, considering the high probability of the Demon King being a possessed individual. If it was confirmed that the Demon King was possessed, there would be no reason to fight or kill them forcibly.

Considering the likelihood that she had been usurped and controlled like Priscilla or Rosalia due to not following the original scenario, I descended further. After a total of nine hours of adventuring, we finally reached the last floor where the dungeon core was located. Brynhild gasped as she put the empty water bottle back into her backpack.

“Wow, this is really tough. Does this mean it’s going to take two days and three nights next time?”

“We should distribute our stamina more evenly next time.”

Despite considering the absurd increase in the difficulty of our journey, both Brynhild and Aria were almost at their limits. Especially Brynhild, who had been overexerting herself since the middle, seemed on the verge of collapse at any moment.

“Both of you did well. I’ll handle the final part.”

A knight clad in black armor guarded the dungeon core. Black mist seeped from the thick armor, covering the surroundings in darkness.

It was Duharan, the first commander of the Demon King’s army.

As he sensed our approach, he began to walk towards us, dispersing the black mist. I also approached him head-on with Eternal in hand.

“Just wait a moment.”

As mana flowed into Eternity, the voice of an old womaman echoed from somewhere. At the same time, Duharan stood still. Before we could react, someone appeared from thin air.

It was a woman who looked like she was over 80 years old. The old woman smiled kindly as she held her magic staff like a real cane.

“I’m the one who created this dungeon. And…”

The old woman paused for a moment and then opened her eyes slightly.

“I am also the mentor of the Crown Prince.”