We were brought to an underground passage underneath the school where it led to a large metal door that was at least six Mahuns wide and three Mahuns tall.
There were several guards watching over the entrance as well and it looked like there was even a triage station located nearby with several Mercenaries hanging around there, no doubt they were meant to be some kind of emergency response team for the Dungeon.
Tika brought us towards one of the desks that had a female Mahun seated behind it. She was wearing what I recognised to be the uniform of The Guild’s staff members.
Seems like the school has some kind of arrangement with The Guild just for this.
“Name?” The staff asked curtly.
“Tika. Final year student.”
“Mmm… Team members?”
“All first year Special Class students. Aster, Odeta, Henri Heres and Jules Heres.”
The Guild staff paused and looked up at us, “All four of you?”
We nodded at her.
The Guild Staff turned to Tika, “You must be a really lucky student, aren’t you?”𝑜𝗏𝓁xt.𝗇𝓔t
“Ahaha… I guess I am?” She laughed a little embarrassed.
It was truly a coincidence that all four of us Special Class students decided to team up, though I’m not sure if you would consider this as lucky since two out of four of us were using a sword for the first time while the other two of us have killed dragons before.
Why was Tika considered lucky? Well… We were told that this was also meant as a test for the senior students where they are being tested on their leadership abilities.
Tika told us that they were meant to lead students from the lower level combat classes through a Dungeon as one of their final tests for their school year. The test would go on for as long as the entire party wished to and the test scores were dependent on how well the party managed to do within the Dungeon.
Though the Dungeon may be the lowest rank, I heard that it was incredibly large with a hundred floors in total.
That means we were expected to be working on this Dungeon for the rest of the school year.
Of course, we would get full marks if we were to conquer the Dungeon but it’s not a necessity to do so for this test.
The leader of each team would also receive scores according to how well they are able to assess their own team to know how far they are capable of going and make the necessary decisions to ensure their party remains safe while obtaining the best rewards they are capable of receiving.
As for us, it’s also a sort of test to see how well our skills have improved and those who did well might be permitted to enter the more advanced classes next year. Since we have the rest of the year to do so, the party could continuously keep trying to enter the Dungeon again and again until they either give up or we reach the deadline.
Pretty interesting test they have designed, I have to say.
The guild staff then handed a piece of paper alongside some kind of rectangular block to her with a number etched on it, “This is your registration and your Dungeon Record. Keep this with you, it will record the deepest level that you have managed to reach and also act as a tracker for us to find you in emergencies.”
Tika received the items from her gratefully before turning to us with a wide smile, “Are we ready to go?”
The rest of us followed her lead as she guided us towards the huge doors that were the entrance of the Dungeon, joining the other groups that have already registered themselves to wait for the doors to open, which would signify the start of the test.
“Isn’t having such a large Dungeon underneath the school a dangerous thing?” I asked.
Tika shook her head, “Oh under normal circumstances, yes. But this Dungeon has been conquered and is under the control of Principal Dawn so we don’t need to worry about it.”
“Oh, so our Principal is actually a Dungeon Master?”
“That she is. In fact, it’s one of the requirements to become the principal of this school. Only mages strong enough to conquer the Dungeon are allowed to become the principal, so she’s actually not the first Dungeon Master here.”
“If that’s the case… Why are there Mercenaries stationed here and even a triage station? Since she’s the Dungeon Master, she should be able to make the place safer for the students right?”
She tapped her chin, “I’m not too sure about the reason since I’m not that interested in the Dungeon… But I think it’s because even Dungeon Masters aren’t able to fine tune or give complicated orders to the monsters within like ordering them not to harm students. The best that they could do is to decide what kind of monsters might appear in the Dungeon so even if the place is filled with weak monsters and simple traps, we could still get hurt if we’re not careful.”
Odeta huffed, “Hmph! If there is no danger involved then it wouldn’t be training at all! Isn’t this useless to us then?”
“Oh but we need to remember we are also here as a team, Odeta! We need to support Henri and Jules in their first lesson too!” I reminded her.
She turned to see the two boys who were looking at her sheepishly.
“Wahaha! In that case, there’s nothing for you to worry about with sister Aster and I around here!”
As nice as that is, do remember that Tika is also supposed to be the leader and her grades are riding on this.
Tika did not seem too bothered by her words, “Just to ask, has any of you been to a Dungeon before?”
“Oh! Sister Aster and I have gone to one before! We’re even registered Dungeoneers!” Odeta answered immediately.
“Oh! That’s really impressive! Are you two planning on becoming professional Dungeoneers?”
Odeta turned to look at me, obviously having no idea if that was my plan.
I shook my head, “I would say it’s just a means to an end for us. What we want to do is travel and explore the World after we graduate from here and exploring Dungeons is also one of the things we want to do.”
Even though I said ‘we’, I don’t really know if Odeta would have a change of heart in the future but at least she still wants to accompany me on my journey now.
“Wow~ That’s a really interesting goal, Aster! But umm… I’ve wanted to ask this for a while now… Are you and Odeta really sisters?”
“It’s a long story… But I guess you could say I was kind of adopted into her family? I’m not an orphan though, just so you know.”
“Ah! I get it! I heard about Amraps having those kinds of traditions! That’s really interesting! It’s the first time I’ve met someone who has experienced this personally!”
Is that really that big of a deal?
I guess perhaps it’s just something that people have heard about but it’s rare enough that people don’t see it very often? The fact that Amraps usually stay in the forest near the Tree of Creation might have something to do with it too.
Tika continued, “But to be the adopted sister of Dragonslayer Odeta, Aster must be feeling very fortunate, right?”
“Eh? I guess I am?”
I mean… I met her when I was still really young and big sister Ardi was the one who brought it up, so I’m not sure what to feel about it? And I don’t even know what’s so significant about the family thing with Amraps so is it really something to feel fortunate about?
And seeing how Odeta was just looking at me with a confused face told me that she doesn’t know what Tika was talking about either.
Before I could ask about it, Henri spoke up, “I’m sorry but… Is it really true that Odeta killed a dragon on her own?”
Odeta turned to them, “I didn’t do it alone, I had help! Although I was the one who did the finishing blow of course!”
“That’s so cool…” Jules muttered under his breath.
“Wahahaha! Sister Aster is cooler than me though! Isn’t that right, sister Aster?”
Eh? Why are you asking me?
Thankfully I did not have to answer as a loud groan came from the doors of the Dungeon before it started to open up a crack. The doors were so huge that even that small crack that opened up was enough for two to three people to walk though side by side.
“All students entering the Academy Dungeon please get ready to enter! When we call the leader’s name, please proceed to the entrance with your team and show your registration and Dungeon Record to the staff at the entrance!”
Soon enough, the names started being called out and students began entering the Dungeon group by group. We ended up being the tenth group that was called out and Tika led us towards the entrance, passing the registration and what they call the Dungeon Record to the staff by the door.
“Everything seems to be in order, good luck student Tika and to your party,” The staff nodded at her, passing them back.
She turned to give us one more look, making sure we were all ready for it before stepping through the doors and into the Dungeon.
Alright, let’s see what this Dungeon’s got!