TOK TOK! TOK!
As the whispers continued to flutter around the classroom, Professor Eleanor walked into the room. Her presence commanded attention as she purposefully made noise with her high heels, and gradually, the chatter died down.
“Good morning,” she greeted in a firm, no-nonsense tone. “Today marks the beginning of a critical week for all of you. We’ll be having a joint dungeon exploration.”
CHATTER MURMUR!
Hearing this, murmurs and chatters filled the classroom for a second as the cadets’ focus immediately turned to their friends. Joint explorations were a rare event, an opportunity for students from various classes to work together, showcasing their skills and knowledge while also bootlicking some high-ranking students.
‘Joint Dungeon Exploration, huh?’
This was one of the big events in the game for Ethan since he would be subjected to ridicule and contempt from the high-ranking students from other classes.
Even though the Hartley Family was a high-ranking family with a good image, they also had a lot of enemies, and quite a fair amount of those enemies had their heirs in this academy.
And one of those heirs from a rival family would be in the same group as Ethan, and he would be the leader.
This was the first event when Ethan would directly confront a human with animosity towards him, though it wasn’t that fatal.
However, it was not only about Ethan but also another character.
‘Sylvie was on the same team with Mason.’
He was the one who would target Sylvie in this academy, as he also joined the History and Arts club. He will try to sabotage Sylvie, though he won’t be successful.
‘But, every one of his attempts were actually close passes.’ Considering this fact, even a small butterfly effect could have changed the things, and it was better to be careful from the start.
“We’ve arranged groups with a mix of students from different classes, providing a collaborative learning experience. Remember, diversity fosters creativity and understanding,” Professor Eleanor emphasized.
She projected the group assignments onto the screen at the front of the room, and I scanned the list briefly. Our dungeon group wouldn’t change, but we would see the group we paired with from another class.
——————–
Class HA213: Team Irina Emberheart
Class HA219: Team Byron Ward
———————
It was a class that I didn’t have much idea about, and the names of the cadets didn’t seem very familiar either, aside from Byron Ward.
He was also an extra in the game who didn’t have any screen time and only appeared as the background character for a little while.
As I was checking the list, suddenly, I felt a sharp gaze on me.
‘Hmm?’
This gaze contained a lot more pressure, and it was evident that it came from a person with strong emotions.
Turning my attention, I came across a pair of blazing blue eyes and crimson red hair.
‘Irina.’
Her eyes contained strong emotions, and it was clear she was angry. At first, I didn’t understand why she was angry since, for me, one month had passed while others had just a day.
And then, I realized why she was looking at me like that.
‘It must be because of the last mock dungeon class.’
Considering the words I spoke, it was understandable that the prideful Irina would act like this.
‘Not that I care.’
Turning my head to the front once again, I focused on the class that was about to start ignoring her gaze.
“Make sure to understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses,” she continued, her eyes scanning the room. “You will be a new team, and cooperation will be vital as usual.”
The joint exploration was designed to mimic the dynamics of real-world scenarios.
Different classes brought unique abilities to the table, and this collaboration allowed us to learn how to complement each other effectively.
This was also a good way to test the cooperativeness of the leader of each group, though I doubt that Irina was a good cooperative guy. 𝚘𝐯𝗅xt.𝗰𝐎𝐌
“Your expedition will begin in the afternoon,” Professor Eleanor concluded. “Prepare yourselves accordingly, and good luck. Remember, this is a learning experience as much as it is an exploration.”
With that, the class resumed, and Eleanor started explaining the theory of combat as usual….
*******
“Alright, everyone,” Professor Eleanor continued, “please head to the dungeon’s entrance now, where your fellow teammates from Class HA219 will be waiting.”
As Eleanor finished the lesson, students immediately started packing their things up. Since Arcadia Hunter Academy liked surprising the students and making them feel unprepared, after the lesson ended, we were immediately taken to the dungeon entrance.
I also did the same. To be honest, I was quite eager to test my new skill in actual combat. I had tested it on the dummies this morning, but I was still slightly unfamiliar with the skill.
However, as I walked to the dungeon on the way, I still felt gazes on me, especially from those in my class. However, it was now less, thanks to the upcoming dungeon exploration.
When I reached there, I saw everyone was already there.
Byron Ward, a young man with neatly combed hair and a perpetually ingratiating smile, was doing his best to captivate Irina’s attention.
He was a known bootlicker in the player’s community, always striving to stay in the good graces of high-ranking individuals.
This was how his character worked in the game, as he was just a random bootlicker to make some other characters shine more.
That was why I called him an extra; after all, those extras were what acted as the decorative for the real scene.
“You must be Irina Emberheart….Nice to meet you.” He immediately started a conversation, scratching his head. “We have heard a lot about you.”
And the first thing he did was to compliment Irina.
“I see.” However, she rather seemed disinterested in him, and that was to be expected. After all, this was the Irina I knew, a girl with a hot temper.
“Truly a person befitting the name of the Emberheart Family. I heard you defeated the last boss monster on your own in your first dungeon exploration.”? Byron continued talking with an excited tone, clearly trying to win her favor.
However, his fawning words only seemed to annoy Irina further.
“Yes.”
She acknowledged him with a brief nod but remained mostly silent, her gaze fixated on me, which, to Byron’s dismay, was more than enough to unsettle him.
In fact, she had been looking at me this whole time with clear hostility, but I still couldn’t understand why.
Turning my attention to Nora and George, I wanted to ask them if they knew something, but just as I was about to approach them, they turned their faces to the sides.
‘Hmm?’
And that was surprising.
‘I thought I made up with these guys.’
At first, I referred to the last dungeon exploration, but then the reason sank.
‘Rumors.’
Of course, it was rumors. Considering my abilities and the way I acted were shrouded in mystery, even my teammates would find it easy to believe those rumors.
Seeing this, I also realized why Irina was looking at me like that. If it is Irina, it is understandable that she would believe the rumors.
Byron, seemingly catching on that flattery alone wouldn’t earn him any brownie points, decided to change his approach. He introduced his team members, attempting to demonstrate their competence.
“These are my teammates,” Byron said, pointing to each of them. “Meet Erika, our adept mage; Leon, a skilled archer; and Jake, a proficient tank.”
Erika gave a small wave and a friendly smile, Leon nodded in acknowledgment, and Jake offered a firm handshake, showing genuine interest in fostering good teamwork. It seemed their party was balanced, even though I heard those names for the first time today.
Irina, despite her earlier annoyance, remained professional as she introduced her team. “This is Nora, our swordsman; George, our tank. And this guy is our marksman.”
‘I guess the talk we had at that time worked, huh?’
Even though she would probably deny that fact, Irina had already started changing on her own, and that was in a good direction. However, when she pointed at me, she didn’t even mention my name at all. It was a clear act of annoyance, and Byron didn’t miss that part.
“What is your name?” He immediately came to me and asked, his eyes containing a cold glint.
“Astron.”
The moment my name reached their eyes, all of the four immediately seemed to recognize me.
“Aren’t you the last rank guy in the academy?”
Immediately, Byron spoke with a clear tone of ridicule. His eyes were saying, how dare you take the attention of her. It seemed the way Irina looked at me made him feel angry.
“I am.”
However, what he said was certainly a fact. Thus, I had no reason to deny his words.
“To think you really did exist.” The guy who was introduced as the other member’s archer chimed in, looking at me like I was some sort of a genuine pig.
“If I didn’t, someone else would be the last rank. Are you primal enough not to understand that small fact?”
“Ha?”
“Don’t bother with him, Leon; he is just a low-rank bastard. He is not worthy of your attention.”
Being the bootlicker and strong against the weak type of character he is, Byron immediately jumped into conversation again.
Clearly relishing the opportunity to belittle someone, he continued his taunts. He had already seen Irina look hostile to me, and it seemed he had changed his strategy.
“A low-rank burden, huh? You should be thanking Irina; she’s done a commendable job of carrying such a heavy load.”
Irina remained silent, not objecting to Byron’s words. Nora and George, my supposed teammates, also seemed indifferent, as if this was none of their business. The reason could be related to rumors, but even then, seeing how easy it was to change someone’s perspective over others reminded me of how this world worked once again.
The atmosphere grew increasingly hostile, and I could feel the weight of their judgmental gazes.
“Aren’t you upset, Astron?” Byron prodded, attempting to provoke a reaction. “If I were you, I would just drop out of the academy.”
I maintained my composure, refusing to let his words get under my skin. “I’m here to complete the mission, not to engage in pointless arguments.”
“Of course,” Byron sneered, “easier to play the victim and shy away, isn’t it?”
Before I could respond, Irina spoke, her voice laced with irritation. “Enough. This isn’t the time for this nonsense. Let’s focus on the task at hand.”
She threw a gaze of annoyance at me but also at Byron.
“You may enter.”
And just before the situation could escalate any further, suddenly, the voice of the instructor entered our ears as our team entered the dungeon.
As Irina entered, I followed her steps.
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You can check my discord if you want. You can see the illustrations of characters there.
The link to the discord server is in the description of the book.