How to Survive as a Dead Person in the Academy

To read the fully translated 200 chapters, patreon.com/zennin12

Chapter 41

Roarrr!

"Slowly, stay calm."

"Damn it!"

"None of our attacks are working!"

Diana's excavation team was struggling to deal with the bronze golem in front of them. However,

Clack! Clack!

Diana, clearly displeased, tapped her small fan repeatedly before shouting at her subordinate.

"Send in more people."

"Miss, that…"

"What? We have a mercenary group on standby, right? Tell them I'll double their contract fee if they come quickly."

"The space is too confined for a large number of people to fight. If we force it, we might end up harming each other."

Diana frowned slightly at butler Clark's explanation.

"I understand that. But send them in anyway."

"But…"

"Elliot's excavation speed is much faster than ours, right? We need to do something to catch up. Deploy them immediately. Also, buy up all the supplies from the nearby cities."

"…Understood."

Unable to do anything else, Clark could only comply with her firm orders.

Roarrr!

Thud!

Several massive bronze golems finally collapsed under the sheer force of their numbers.

"Is it over?"

"We've dealt with them all."

Although Diana's side suffered considerable losses, they managed to cut down the expected excavation time by more than half.

"Damn it."

"Help, please!"

"Medic! Over here, quickly!"

But the problem was…

"Miss, we should rest a bit…"

"No, we continue immediately."

Despite the excavation leader's earnest plea, Diana shook her head without hesitation.

'We can't stop here.'

"Gather all operable personnel and continue the work."

"Yes, understood."

The excavation leader, with a dissatisfied expression, bowed his head and gathered all the able personnel to resume the excavation.

"Have you figured out where Elliot's team is?"

"We can't be sure, but we estimate they're more than halfway through."

"Tsk, why are they so fast?"

"From what I've heard, Kamon Vade's preparations have significantly sped up their progress…"

"What? Kamon Vade, that bastard again?"

Hearing the name she never wanted to hear again, Diana bit her lower lip and shouted.

"Damn it, we need to move faster."

Desperate, Diana poured everything she had into this excavation of Dranthe's Secret Vault.

"Use everything we have. No matter what, we cannot be slower than those bastards!"

Shouting her orders, she turned to Clark.

"Find out everything Kamon Vade has prepared. Get everything you can."

"Yes, Miss!"

"No matter what, the legacy is mine!"

Just as her desperate cry indicated, the speed of their excavation increased rapidly. It was an incredible pace achieved by sheer manpower. Additionally, the items Clark brought from the nearby cities made the strategy smoother.

Sssss!

Boom!

Roar!

Swiftly overcoming various traps and guardians, Diana's team soon caught up with Elliot's. And then…

[Uninvited guests to my palace, you are surely my enemies.]

A small golden dragon appeared.

"What the hell is this?"

At the sudden appearance of the mini dragon, Diana murmured.

[If you offer a tribute of fifty thousand gold, I will open the path you desire.]

"What?"

[If you do not wish for death, offer the tribute quickly.]

Seeing the dragon gleaming and shouting, Diana chuckled incredulously and immediately ordered the excavation leader.

"What are you waiting for? Take it down quickly."

"Yes, Miss!"

Diana's team prepared for battle.

[So it comes to this?]

"Fifty thousand gold? Just die already, you filthy lizard."

[The words of Elliot Fren, the descendant of an old friend, and Kamon Vade, his companion, were true.]

"What? Elliot? Kamon?"

Diana, shocked by the unexpected names, asked again.

[Prepare yourself, my enemy. The fifty thousand gold you have is now mine.]

The small golden dragon, now regarding them as enemies, began to emit a strong light without further response.

  *

[Arghhh, you filthy humans! I will never forget this humiliation!]

Watching the golden dragon disintegrate, Diana's expression remained cold and stern.

Thud!

"Gasp, gasp…"

The person gasping for breath and slumping to the ground was the excavation team leader under Diana's command. Even someone of his caliber, comparable to the captain of a noble family's knights, was utterly exhausted.

"What the hell is this…?"

"Miss, we have a serious problem. The damage is too severe. Over half of our personnel are incapacitated. And…"

"Enough!"

Diana swiftly raised her hand to stop Butler Clark's report and stared deeply at the spot where the golden dragon had been.

"That lizard… it definitely said Kamon Vade."

Muttering to herself, Diana's beautiful face twisted into a rage, and she began to lash out wildly.

"F**k, that bastard!"

"M-Miss!"

"I'll kill him, I swear I'll kill that crazy fucker!"

Glaring at Clark with a frightening intensity, she screamed,

"Send in all the reserves outside. No, teleport all the mercenaries we've previously contacted here."

"Yes, Miss."

"And…"

Trailing off, Diana recalled a name in her mind.

"The guy who saved that princess… yeah, Kyle Perrion. Find him immediately."

"All of a sudden?"

"Yes. Offer him ten thousand gold, no, twenty thousand gold to get him here, no matter what."

"But Miss, with our current finances, it's impossible to proceed with everything."

Hearing for the first time that there wasn't enough money, Diana looked at him in disbelief and let out a hollow laugh.

"What? We don't have enough money?"

"Yes, because of the overlapping contracts and increased fees with the mercenaries, we lack available funds…"

She, one of the heirs of the Fren family, known as the richest merchant guild on the continent, didn't have enough money?

Ha, seriously.

"Use my name for credit. Gather all available funds and use them. Got it?"

"T-That will…"

"Just do it!"

"Understood, Miss."

Butler Clark hastily ran out of the vault. Watching his retreating figure, Diana bit her lower lip hard.

Thunk!

Biting so hard that her lip split and blood oozed out, she didn't care. Instead,

"I'll really kill you, Kamon Vade."

Muttering with an icy rage, her voice carried an unmistakable chill.

  *

Boom!

"What? That spirit wasn't the last of it?"

"We're almost there. Just a bit more."

"But what if Diana catches up to us at this rate?"

"Probably not."

I reassured the anxious Elliot. If Diana foolishly confronted the Spirit of Gold, she would suffer significant losses. Or perhaps even be wiped out?

In the original story, the Spirit of Gold was a formidable enemy that pressured both Elliot and Diana's excavation teams until Kyle showed up. Though it was a dim-witted, money-grubbing spirit, its power was immense.

Well, anyway.

'Without Kyle, there's no need to worry so much.'

Then,

"We found a closed door up ahead."

"And there's something written on it."

"What is that?"

In front of a massive door covered with strange symbols, there were some writings.

"Where are the linguists? Call them quickly!"

Elliot's excavation team included various experts. Before long, an elderly scholar approached and shouted,

"It's written in ancient fairy language. If I translate it…"

[Who are you? Prove yourself with your blood.]

It was clearly some sort of riddle. Elliot's eyebrows arched slightly.

"Really? I think I can solve this."

Muttering briefly, he took out a small knife from his pocket and cut his palm.

"Young Master."

Despite the concerned voices of the servants, Elliot gazed at the blood flowing from his wound, approached the blocked path, and smeared his blood while muttering,

"Ertumo."

Boom!

With a loud noise, the blocked wall began to descend.

"How did you…"

"Ertumo. It means 'descendant' in ancient fairy language."

"…!"

"Only the direct descendants of the first Golden King, the owner of this vault, can open this door."

Repeating the explanation I had given earlier, Elliot strutted proudly. I stifled a laugh at his cuteness.

"You're truly amazing, Young Master."

"There's nothing you don't know."

"Ahem, this is basic knowledge!"

Blushing from the surrounding compliments, he rubbed his nose and smiled broadly. At that moment,

Boom!

The entire vault shook with a massive tremor.

"What, what's happening?"

"Is the vault collapsing?"

No, this means the Spirit of Gold we faced has been destroyed.

Damn, already?

'In the original, it was such a struggle. Why so fast now?'

The unexpectedly rapid pace made me uneasy.

"Elliot, I think we need to speed up now."

"Really? I wanted to go faster anyway. Fine, no base camp today. Let's move out immediately. As fast as possible!"

Thus, we continued the excavation, sacrificing sleep and rest.

Eventually,

"We seem to have arrived."

"This looks like the place."

With the quick reports from the excavation team, a massive staircase descending underground appeared before us.

"We're here. This is it."

Once we go down these stairs, we'll find the 'Orb' I've been longing for.

"Are we really the first ones here? Did I really discover the vault?"

Elliot, on the verge of tears, asked in disbelief. I smiled brightly and nodded.

"Yes, we got here first. Now we just have to go down there…"

Boom!

Suddenly, a loud explosion came from the opposite side, and the massive wall crumbled.

Crash!

And emerging from the thick cloud of dust…

"Oh, it's Kamon."

A very familiar face waved at me with a knowing smile.

Yes, it was him. The all-powerful character who made the impossible possible, the protagonist of this novel world, Kyle Perrion.

'No fucking way! Kyle, why are you here?!'

To read the fully translated 200 chapters, patreon.com/zennin12