Villain Simulator

A dark and narrow cave, where only a radius of 4-5 meters could be seen with the lantern-shaped magic tool in hand. Jessica, leading the way and using the magic tool to illuminate the path, moved at a noticeably slower pace than usual.

The darkness of the cave tempered her normally confident demeanor, prompting her to take extra precautions.

"Be careful of this pit here..."

Not only was the cave narrow by design, but it also had a muddy floor, traps, and a lot of moisture.

The time inside the Dungeon differed from the outside—four hours inside equaled one hour outside, and we had been in the cave for six hours already.

According to information given to us, the average time to complete the labyrinth was sixteen hours, meaning we had completed more than one-third of the Dungeon.

"There are three paths ahead. Which one do you think we should take?" Jessica asked.

Veena and I both fell into contemplation, focusing our senses. Based on what we were taught at the academy, the trick to choosing the correct path was simple—sense Mana.

The first path, with the most concentrated and volatile Mana, led to the center of the labyrinth—to the Boss Monster. The middle path, with comparatively less volatile Mana, was most probably a dead end or was leading somewhere else.

So without hesitation, Veena and I looked into each other’s eyes, nodded in agreement, and made our decision.

"Let’s take the third path."

Only the third path had a slightly milder Mana, most likely because of the Mana from the outside world, indicating it led to another entrance of the labyrinth, which was our main goal.

"Good choice."

Nodding in appreciation and perfectly playing her role as our guide, Jessica led us down the third path.

So far, nothing had been out of the ordinary, and Jessica hadn’t tried to play any tricks.

However, the more the situation was like that, the more I was on alert. Although I had a rough idea of what she was about to do, I repeatedly warned myself not to be overconfident and capsize in the gutter.

One must never underestimate their enemies. The moment you take them for granted, consider yourself to have already lost half the battle.

"Take stance! It’s a monster!"

It was then that Jessica’s sudden shout jolted me out of my thoughts. Reflexively, I gripped the sword at my waist and took a defensive stance.

Beside me, Veena also prepared to cast a spell.

Swoosh!

I heard the sound of the wind as Jessica swung the shield back and forth in one hand while drawing her sword with the other.

’She’s a little immature."

Only a sigh came out.

No doubt, Jessica was strong, but when she entered the real battle, her experience could be clearly seen.

’It can’t be helped.’

Still, there was no need to worry. The monsters were all low-level, and I couldn’t detect anything unusual about them.

So, even though Jessica and Veena weren’t very experienced, based on our combined strength, there was no way we would lose to these creatures.

"Here they come!" Jessica shouted. "Adrian, take the left! Veena, please provide support from the rear!"

Following her order, as I took my position, I could see orcs and goblins jump out from the shadows and charge at us with crude weapons.

I rushed to the left flank, slashing at the first goblin that came within reach. My sword cleaved through its chest, cutting short its screech.

"Flame Burst!"

Soon, Veena’s voice also echoed behind me as a wave of fire incinerated a group of goblins, reducing them to ash.

Meanwhile, Jessica maneuvered among the goblins and orcs. Despite her lack of skill, she killed them with ease, one by one.

"Keep pushing forward! Don’t let them surround us!"

Swoosh!

An orc charged at me, swinging his axe. I skillfully ducked under its swing and drove my sword into its gut, all while keeping an eye on the overall situation.

"Veena, on your right!"

I called out as the orc I had just killed collapsed.

"Got it!"

Veena responded swiftly to my timely warning.

"Ice Spike!"

Multiple shards of ice shot from her hand, impaling and pinning a goblin to the ground. As I had anticipated, the battle was one-sided.

In no time, the goblins and orcs were easily dealt with, just like the cannon fodder they were.

"Only one left… don’t let your guard down!"

Even though Jessica said so, the remaining orc was easily killed as Veena fired a barrage of spells. The battle ended in our decisive victory, and the cave was left littered with the bodies of the monsters.

"Huff... Huff... We won."

Pretending to be exhausted, I leaned against the cave wall, taking a few deep breaths. We had been traveling for six hours straight through the dungeon, constantly on guard as we navigated through the dark, musky environment, while dodging numerous traps, and battling a group of orcs and goblins.

So Veena, being a low-level awakened, was naturally exhausted. Meanwhile, I had to feign exhaustion to deceive Jessica and avoid raising suspicion.

"… It was easier… than I expected... Phew~"

Standing beside me, Veena wiped the sweat from her brow and shared her thoughts. On the other hand, Jessica, the only one among us who wasn’t tired, surveyed the area. Then, she turned to us.

"Good work, you two!"

Her smile was kind as she complimented us, but when she noticed how worn out we were, her smile seemed to widen and take on a slightly perverted edge before reverting back to its kind appearance.

If I hadn’t been keenly observing her actions and expressions, even I might not have noticed it.

’Is she going to do something now?’

Contrary to my expectations, Jessica didn’t act immediately. Instead, she glanced at her watch and then ordered us to take a break.

"Let’s rest and eat something before moving on."

"Alright..."

"Yeah, I’m tired too."

We found a relatively clean area with a few flat rocks to sit on. Jessica set her backpack down and began rummaging through it as we joined her, sitting on the nearby rocks.

Despite our personal hesitations, we had to pretend to be cooperative for now.

Jessica pulled out our rations provided by the academy—hard crackers and energy bars—and handed them to us in silence.

[Hardtack—Saltless Hard Crackers.]

I took a hard cracker and bit into it, the dry, bland taste almost made me spit it out. Veena did the same, nibbling on an energy bar as she leaned back against the cave wall.

There was a heavy silence between us, broken only by the sound of crackers crunching and the dripping of water someplace farther down the labyrinth, until Jessica finally opened her mouth. Her next words almost made Veena and I choke on our food.

"You know, I never thought I’d say this," Jessica began, her tone casual yet serious, making both Veena and me look up immediately. "You’re a good boy, Adrian... I’m sorry. I think Alex and I both misjudged you all this time."

"Cough! What?"

I blurted out, but Jessica just shrugged with a calm and unruffled demeanor.

"Honestly, yeah. Veena must have told you by now that I’m Alex’s sister..."

"..."

Taking my silence as a sign of affirmation, Jessica pretended to shake her head, tuck her hair behind her ear, play with her earrings, and continue.

"I heard a lot about you from Alex, about what happened in class till now, and to be honest, at first I was really angry and wanted to teach you a lesson, especially after the recent events. But not now."

"Why the change of heart?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"After spending time with you, I can tell you’re not a bad person at heart. Otherwise, Veena wouldn’t be so close to you... Anyway, I hope you understand where I am coming from as a big sister. My younger brother is a little mischievous, but he’s not a bad person either… He just has bad influences."

Jessica continued with her acting, and she lowered her head as if she really felt guilty.

Her dedication even made me wonder what this bitch was cooking, because I knew she wouldn’t do any of this without any reason.

’Calling Rosalie’s influence bad? As if I would believe even a shit of what you said, bitch. Not a bad person at heart? My ass!’

I was scowling inwardly at her. Yet, outwardly, I played along, curious to see where this conversation would lead, and asked, keeping my tone neutral.

"Are you saying this even after knowing that your brother was demoted because of me?"

"Was he really demoted because of you?" Jessica countered smoothly. "I don’t think you, or anyone else for that matter, is capable of doing something like that alone. Don’t you agree?"

Immediately, as if her words struck a chord, I seized the opportunity and spoke hurriedly.

"That’s exactly what I told Alex too... Sigh! Anyway, you’re right. Let bygones be bygones. I also apologize for my behavior. Even if those were arguments, I said some things I shouldn’t have. I hope you can forgive me."

Upon hearing my apology, Jessica’s eyes softened, and she let out a light laugh.

"Hahaha, as I thought, you’re a good person, Adrian!"

With a smile, she then took out a few reusable cups and some instant fruit juice powder from our rations. She turned to fetch some water bottles from the backpack, mixing them into the powder in the cups. Handing one to each of us, she raised her own cup high.

"Then a toast," she declared, "to our resolved misunderstandings and a better future. Cheers!"

Seeing Jessica take her glass and gulp it down in one go, Veena also didn’t hesitate, taking her glass as if she were swept into the mood and gulping it down.

However, just as I picked up my glass and instinctively asked the system for its information, I was surprised to see its contents.

[Instant Fruit Juice Powder mixed with Mineral Water and SomnaDust]

’SomnaDust? How?’

My mind was immediately alert.

One had to know that SomnaDust was a rare but popular magical drug, often used by those suffering from insomnia or nightmares, because upon ingestion, it induces a rapid and deep slumber lasting several hours.

’How did Jessica manage to get this thing inside?’

Before entering the Dungeon, each student had to go through a thorough inspection and could only bring items that the professors had approved.

Unfortunately, before I could think more…

"Adrian, something wrong? Why are you dazed out?"

"Uh, no, nothing, Veena."

I pretended to be casual and shook my head.

Anyway, the process wasn’t that important. Considering it was a powder that even a milligram could knock out an elephant, Jessica might have been able to sneak it in somehow.

The question was:

’Is she planning to rape me in my sleep?’

With how much I knew about her, she obviously wouldn’t be satisfied with just that. But since I had a rough idea of what she was about to do, I didn’t waste a single second and gulped down the juice.

Naturally, I didn’t swallow it but pretended to put it in my mouth and dumped the rest into the system storage. No matter how strong my skill [Indomitability] was or how I could negate the effects of SomnaDust with [Anti-Magic], there was no reason to take unnecessary risks when I had other options.

"Pwhaaah, that was good..." I sighed contentedly, wiping my lips with my sleeve.

With that, the tension that had lingered between us three also seemed to dissipate somewhat, and we continued eating, the conversation flowing more easily now.

Of course, I didn’t miss Jessica’s frequent glances at her watch. I knew something was about to happen.

Since she had already given us drugs, if her timing was off now, the professors monitoring our progress would immediately notice, and her plan would fall apart. Not to mention, the dungeon was due to mutate soon, and I needed to ensure Jessica and Veena were out before that happened.

Fortunately, I didn’t have to wait long.

-Thud!

A distant, ominous sound echoed through the labyrinth, like something huge was twisting and shifting in the dark.

-Boom!

The cave echoed with a massive explosion, followed by the buzz and crash of the destruction of the camera-like artifacts installed on the ceiling.

And that wasn’t all.

"Veena!"

I shouted as Veena’s unconscious body suddenly slumped against mine—the SomnaDust had already started taking effect.

"What happened, Veena?!"

Jessica cried out and rushed towards us with a feigned concern that was betrayed by the perverted smile on her face.

But before I could react, my eyes rolled back, and my body went limp, collapsing to the ground.

Noticing this, Jessica immediately kneeled beside us, shaking our shoulders in a mock attempt to wake us, but we remained unresponsive.

Satisfied that we were truly unconscious, she finally stopped her acting and dragged Veena’s limp body to one corner before turning her attention to me. Her grip was firm, and her voice dripped with malice as she picked me up in her arms.

"Who will save you now, Adrian? You’ve finally fallen prey to me… But don’t worry, this big sister will take good care of you. I will return everything you did to Alex a hundredfold and make you cry like a whore beneath my crotch. You will be my personal toilet, my slave, wagging your tail and pissing whenever and wherever I command... Hahahaha."

I could hear her sinister laugh echoing through the cave.

Of course, I was merely pretending to be unconscious. As for her threats about who was going to rape whom, and who would be screaming in pleasure like a whore...

’Hehehehe…’

I laughed devilishly in my heart, and my tongue flicked against the back of my gums, where a small capsule was hidden. Just feeling it there made me smirk inwardly.

My poor Jessica was simply too naive.

’Like I once said to your little brother Alex, if you think you’re the chad, then I am your dad, my dear Jessica. Hehehehe.’