Reincarnated as a failed hero?! Watch me Defy Fate! - Chapter 96

Chapter 96: The Cursed Tower Chapter 96: The Cursed Tower As soon as Arsene gave the signal to begin the raid, the third-year students of Braveheart Knight Academy surged into The Cursed Tower, weapons drawn and battle-ready.

I caught a glimpse of Cain leading his team into the dungeon with almost reckless enthusiasm.

He was laughing, clearly exhilarated at the thought of battle.

“That damn battle maniac.

He looks more like a barbarian than a hero,” Envi scoffed in my mind.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at that.

Unlike the others who rushed in, my team took a more relaxed approach.

We were the last ones to enter the dungeon.

“Uh, Naoki… are you sure this is okay?

If we’re too slow, Cain might reach the boss first and win,” Marius asked, concern evident in his voice.

I gave him a reassuring smile.

“Relax, Marius.

I already explained my plan, didn’t I?

There’s no need to hurry.

According to Arsene, the moment we enter this dungeon, time slows down.

If we push ourselves too hard, we’ll only get exhausted.

Besides, each floor has puzzles that must be solved to progress.

Just because Cain entered first doesn’t mean he’ll reach the boss first.” “Ahh, I see!

Hahaha, that makes me feel a lot better,” Marius sighed in relief.

“You really thought this through, Naoki.

I can put my full trust in your plan now,” Julius added, his voice brimming with confidence.

His reassured demeanor helped put his team at ease as well.

“Haha, so you’ve got my dear brother Arsene backing you up, huh?

I’ll have to thank him later-after I’ve had my fill of being all over you… I mean, fighting by your side and conquering this dungeon, of course,” Amelia teased with a sly smile.

Lyra, standing beside me, looked visibly concerned at Amelia’s words.

“Enough talking.

We’re entering the dungeon now.

Stay sharp!” I warned, refocusing everyone’s attention.

The moment we stepped into the dungeon, a strange sensation washed over me-it felt as if we had crossed into a completely different dimension.

It was like stepping through an invisible barrier or a large-scale magical field.

I immediately pulled out the pocket watch I had prepared beforehand.

“Just as I thought.

Time here moves slower,” I muttered.

Holding up the watch for everyone to see, I pointed at its hands, which were moving at a sluggish pace-at least twice as slow as they should be.

Everyone stared at it in awe.

With me leading the way, we proceeded through the first floor.

The atmosphere wasn’t too oppressive yet, and the monsters we encountered were of relatively low levels.

We faced Cursed Revenants (Level 20€“25)-ancient warrior corpses reanimated by the mechanical gears embedded in their chests.

Their forms varied, wielding swords, spears, bows, and other weapons.

They moved in jerky, unnatural motions, attacking with predictable patterns.

“HIYAAAH!!” A scream rang out.

It was Marius.

I turned to see his face twisted in terror.

So… he was scared of ghosts and undead, huh?

“Haha!

I never would’ve guessed a big guy like you would be scared of something like this!” I teased.

“Just think of them as pumpkins in a field-cut off their heads, and they’ll drop like sacks of grain.” “HAHAHA!

I’m not scared, okay?

It just… creeps me out!” Marius tried to act tough, but his trembling legs betrayed him.

The rest of us struggled to hold in our laughter.

We took turns fighting the Cursed Revenants, conserving our strength as we advanced.

The dungeon operated on a monster respawn system-even if other teams had already cleared an area, the monsters would respawn in ten minutes.

This meant that efficiency was key-we had to move forward as quickly as possible while maintaining our stamina.

The first floor’s puzzle was simple.

It required us to arrange scattered stone fragments into a specific shape, much like a jigsaw puzzle.

Once completed, a passage to the next floor opened.

However, the puzzle and mini-boss reset every ten minutes, changing into a different form of the same difficulty level expect the mini-boss.

Solving the puzzle was a breeze.

We continued descending, clearing through more Cursed Revenants as we moved from floor to floor.

By the time we reached floor five, the puzzles had become trickier, but thanks to Lyra’s and Julius’s intelligence, we were able to solve them without much trouble.

Among our group, the ones truly useful for solving these puzzles were me, Julius, and Lyra.

Marius and Leopold were stupid they are just being smart when in battle, Luna was too impatient, Termina was too laid-back, and Amelia… well, she was too busy clinging to me to care.

I suspected she was still thinking about that kiss-the one Envi stole using my body that night.

I sighed.

Maybe I had chosen a ridiculous team, but their combat prowess was undeniable.

Each of them was among the strongest students in our year.

Upon reaching floor six, we encountered exhausted students from other teams.

Some were taking breaks, completely worn out.

I approached one of them and asked what happened.

He shook his head.

“We got too excited and burned through all our stamina…” As expected.

That was precisely why I had told my team to take it easy.

Leaving them behind, we pressed on and made it to floor ten.

This was the first major obstacle-a mini-boss battle.

I saw several groups had fallen here, two other groups had fallen here.

They couldn’t defeat this mini-boss, which drained them of their stamina and mana.

The professors had picked them up and escorted them out.

My team and Julius’ team confidently fought this mini boss.

We all prepared our weapons.

I looked at the status: Chrono Hound (Level 35) This mini boss is a mechanical wolve with glowing blue eyes that hunted in packs and attacked with blinding speed.

I clenched my fists.

“Ugh, why is it always a dog?!

They’re always my enemies!” I grumbled internally.

“You idiot, those are a wolve!” Envi snapped.

“Same thing!” Without wasting another second, we launched into battle.

We launched our attack, but the Chrono Hound easily dodged our strikes.

Its movements were swift, almost unpredictable.

Now I understood why the teams before us had failed-its sheer speed made reckless attacks nothing but a waste of energy and mana.

“Speed, huh?

You picked the wrong opponent!” I smirked.

I signaled to Luna, and in an instant, we activated our skills.

In this team, only the two of us possessed high-speed combat capabilities.

I unleashed [Blackmore Katana Style: Inazuma], a lightning-fast iai slash.

Luna followed up with [Solarblade Swordsmanship: Radiant Sunstrike], sending two blinding sword arcs from a distance.

The Chrono Hound tried to accelerate further, but it was already too late-our blades had already found their mark.

In a blink, the beast was cleaved into four pieces.

We had won with ease.

My teammates cheered, their faces lit with excitement, clearly surprised by how effortless the battle had been.

Without wasting any time, I urged them to descend to the next floor.

…

As we entered the next area, we encountered several teams resting.

Some were lying down, exhausted.

Others were eating, recovering their strength, while a few prepared themselves for another push forward.

Curious, I approached one of the groups and inquired about Cain and his team.

“That guy?

He’s still pushing ahead at full speed,” they told me.

I frowned.

Just how much stamina did Cain have?

Surely, Freya and Kael were struggling to keep up with his reckless pace by now.

I decided it was time for us to pick up the pace as well.

If we wanted to reach the top before Cain, we couldn’t afford to lag behind.

“Keep running ahead, Cain.

We’ll see who reaches the top first.” With that thought, I led my team and Julius’ group forward once more.

The enemies from this point onward were significantly stronger.

We faced Time-Twisted Marionettes, eerie wooden puppets strung up by invisible threads, moving like cursed dolls.

Their most troublesome ability-Mirror Movement-allowed them to mimic our every attack.

Many teams had fallen prey to these creatures, wasting their energy in prolonged battles without realizing the key to victory.

But I knew better.

Using [Eclipse Eye], I was able to see through the illusion-the threads of mana controlling the marionettes.

Each floor had a master puppet, hidden among the shadows.

Instead of fighting endlessly, we simply had to eliminate this controller, and the rest of the marionettes would collapse.

As expected, other teams were oblivious to this strategy, fighting blindly until exhaustion forced them to withdraw.

Professors from the academy were already stationed around the dungeon, escorting those who could no longer continue.

Our two teams descended rapidly, bypassing unnecessary battles and conserving our energy.

The puzzles grew more complex as we went deeper.

Unlike the simpler riddles of the upper floors, these required mechanical precision-activating hidden switches and pulling levers in a specific sequence to disable traps or unlock the way forward.

Again, [Eclipse Eye] proved invaluable, allowing me to locate these hidden mechanisms through the walls.

However, its range was limited to only five meters, forcing me to search carefully.

That’s when Envi, the troublesome voice in my head, decided to act up.

“Nao, I know what’ll refresh your mind!

Use your ability to peek at the girls’ underwear!

We’ve got Amelia, Lyra, Luna, and Termina here, you know?

Hehehe!” …I should’ve seen this coming.

“Shut up, you damn pervert!” I protested internally.

But Envi didn’t take kindly to my rejection.

Furious, he forcefully took control of my body.

My mind screamed in horror as he activated [Eclipse Eye], a wide grin plastered on my face as my vision honed in on- “Hey, Naoki.

Why do you look like that?

You thirsty or something?

HAHAHA!” -Marius, a towering man with a forest of chest hair and tightly stretched underwear that looked ready to explode.

“If you’re tired, just say the word.

We’ll take over for you!” -And then there was Leopold, who had chosen to not wearing an underwear.

Envi screamed in agony, immediately gives body control back to me.

The sheer horror in his voice was enough to make everyone freeze in confusion.

All eyes turned toward me, questioning.

Thinking quickly, I coughed and declared, “Aaahh!

I found the switches and levers.

Let’s move on.” Relief washed over them, and we resumed our descent.

Meanwhile, Envi remained silent in my mind, whimpering like a broken spirit.

…

We finally arrived at the 20th floor, stepping into a vast chamber littered with rusted metal scraps.

The air was thick with a metallic stench, and an overwhelming sense of dread filled the room.

Then, it moved.

A colossal figure emerged from the wreckage, its body formed from corroded metal plates, loosely pieced together in a hulking, monstrous form.

Every step it took sent tremors through the ground, making it impossible to maintain our balance.

That’s when we noticed the others.

Several teams were scattered along the edges of the chamber, their bodies broken-some barely conscious.

Blood painted the rusted floor, their equipment shattered beyond use.

A chill ran down my spine.

This wasn’t just another mini-boss.

This was something far worse.

CREATORS’ THOUGHTS NAVIRUNAVIII The first release is a wrong chapter guys, i’m sorry.

This is the real one!

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