The Royal Military Academy's Impostor Owns a Dungeon [BL] novel Chapter 537

Chapter 537: What Winners Look Like

Just as expected, Ollie hung on by the skin of his teeth.

Spiritually? Frayed.

Emotionally? Wrecked.

Physically? Unknown. He couldn’t feel his legs anymore.

To survive, he did the only thing that made sense.

He started hallucinating.

In his mind, a dream began to take shape. A soft vision. Something comforting. Safe.

A cozy little place. White picket fence. Clear skies. A quaint house with red shutters and a flower bed that never wilted.

There were chickens. Nice ones. Chickens that didn’t bite.

And a wonderful cow. Soft. Round. The kind that mooed with love.

From the house, three little balls tumbled out. Balls? Oh whatever. He couldn’t tell. They had different fur colors, and they continued to roll across the grass.

Then Kyle appeared, chasing after them in a flour-dusted apron.

Ollie didn’t know what was happening, but it looked nice. Cozy. Warm.

So he ran too, desperately wanting to catch up.

On the way, he spotted his brother, Luca, waving cheerfully. Beside him were Xavier... and the Duke?

All three of them were also jogging.

He waved back, smiling, too tired to question it.

Until the two balls Luca was chasing suddenly picked up speed.

Luca broke into a sprint.

Then Xavier joined in.

And Duke Leander roared and bolted after them.

It became a race.

A dramatic, cinematic, slow-motion kind of race.

Ollie panicked.

He couldn’t fall behind.

He ran faster. Or at least tried.

But his legs... weren’t made for this.

He slowed. He gasped.

And every time he faltered, Kyle—still ahead—turned and encouraged him with a gentle smile.

"You’re close already."

So Ollie kept going. Legs shaking. Vision blurry.

Then—

BEEP.

The sound snapped him back to reality.

He blinked.

D-29 chirped beside him.

"Congratulations, Lord Ollie! You have reached the forty-minute mark!"

Ollie flopped to the floor.

He had made it.

Barely.

He wanted to cry. Or eat something. Or never move again.

But just before he crawled his way out of the chamber, he looked up—

And froze.

Luca was sprinting.

Full sprint.

Hair flapping. Limbs flying. Face lit with glee.

"...!!!"

Ollie stared, stunned.

Was that a dream... or a nightmare?

Well.

It really depended on who you asked.

Because if you asked Luca—

He thought this test was splendid.

Truly.

A brilliant simulation. Five stars. Would recommend. And would most definitely try again.

When the first destabilizing attack hit after the thirty-five-minute mark, Luca’s eyes had lit up in glee.

How thoughtful! What a clever addition!

Because if he thought about it, maintaining a barrier wasn’t all that difficult.

Not when the pressure was constant. Not when it never changed. And that wasn’t accurate because piloting required a lot of minute, unpredictable changes.

To pilot a biomecha, especially the kind he was making, instinct mattered. Reaction time mattered. Adaptability was everything.

And this module?

It had it all.

He was really impressed, and more importantly, relieved, because all his earlier doubts about having a faulty testing slot were gone.

Ever since he turned the multiplier up, he could finally feel it.

That satisfying pressure.

It was like being squeezed through a narrow entrance that kept threatening to close, and he liked that feeling.

"D-29, make sure you log everything!" Luca whispered between sprints. "This is great data! Perfect for tuning high-response reactors!"

He was already brainstorming.

Comparing notes.

Thinking of Sid.

He didn’t have the original schematics for Sid, but based on the output and flexibility, Luca suspected that Sid was an advanced biomecha as well. Maybe even a prototype built on older tech. He’d have to check.

Maybe he could tweak the parts to match his own models. But this time he’d ask for permission first. He’d remember to ask!

He giggled as he sprinted and glowed as he resisted those attacks.

He was basically having the time of his life.

Meanwhile, Duke Leander was staring.

From the other side of the chamber, the Duke had been glancing at his son every few seconds.

He really seems to admire fast runners. The duke thought with an emotional sniff.

Verify captcha to read the contentVerify