Artificial Dungeon (1)

Teleportation magic and warp magic were fundamentally the same thing — yet a closer look revealed a great many differences between them.

Teleportation magic worked by feeding spatial coordinates into a magic circle in real time and moving accordingly. Warp magic, by contrast, required two identical magic circles to be drawn in advance; once that was done, one could travel freely between those two points alone.

That made warp magic less complicated than teleportation — all you had to do was pour mana into a circle that already existed. The drawbacks, however, were just as clear. You could only go where the circles had been placed, never wherever you pleased, and if either circle was damaged, the link simply snapped. On top of that, the farther the distance, the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠more the mana cost ballooned exponentially. So even with warp magic available, horse-drawn ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠carriages still dominated the Empire's transport industry by a comfortable margin.

And the warp circles being used for this joint exam worked the exact same way.

"Which means," Gren said, "we can already figure out roughly which circle connects to which part of the dungeon."

"What do you mean?"

With a self-satisfied air, Gren pulled a sheet of paper from inside his coat.

"Here. Take a look at this magic circle."

"Uh… okay."

He unfolded the paper and shoved it in front of them. Rosaria squinted at the contents, tilting her head.

"Senior, you know how to use magic?"

"No."

"…Then why do you have a magic circle…?"

A combat-track student whipping out a magic circle out of nowhere was enough to make Rosaria's head spin.

"This circle is identical to the warp circle that brought us here," said Rachel — the only magic major among them — after a brief glance. She had seen through it in an instant.

"Like I said earlier, the warp circles that bring people into this dungeon have always used the exact same design. Year after year. You could call them fixed."

"So what if," Gren went on, the corner of his mouth curling into a grin, "someone already knew exactly which circle connected to which part of the dungeon?"

He pulled out another sheet and spread it open. A detailed map of the dungeon filled the page.

"Is this… a map? I thought we were supposed to map the dungeon ourselves…"

"Are you stupid? The exam always takes place in the same location. If you just use a map drawn last time, you don't have to bother. Still — this one wasn't easy to get."

Rosaria had been told they would have to map the dungeon on their own. Seeing a complete finished map of the place left her wondering whether this was even allowed. Gren only shrugged.

"All right. Our current position is here. Lucky us — we got dropped closest to the center."

"We push through the dungeon fast and hold position at the center. No objections, I take it?"

"Fine by me."

"Y-yes…"

Gren laid the map on the floor and traced a finger from their position to the dungeon's heart. Neither of the other two seemed inclined to argue; both simply nodded.

"Ah, yeah… no objections here either."

Well… this is something…

Left last, Rosaria hesitated a beat, looking unconvinced — then nodded as well.

"All right. Move out."

With everyone's agreement confirmed, Team D-19 set off into the dungeon.

"Looks like things are finally getting started."

Once the joint exam began, the supervising professors each turned their attention to the crystal orbs installed throughout the dungeon, watching the interior unfold.

Roughly twenty minutes had passed since the exam started. Most teams had finished their preparations and were beginning to step inside.

"They're all moving pretty fast…"

And of course Felix — who had poured an enormous amount of work into preparing this exam — was studying the crystals as well, tracking everything happening within the dungeon.

"I'd heard that information about the joint exam was circulating among the students at ridiculous prices… looks like that was true."

"Whoa — when did you get here?"

"Just now."

Startled by the sudden voice, Felix turned his head and found Professor Remillion standing right beside him, her eyes faintly hollow with exhaustion.

If Felix had been busy behind the scenes for this exam, Remillion had been busy out in the open. While Felix recorded every revision and addition to the Artificial Dungeon's magic formulas and relayed them to the other professors and technicians, Remillion had been herding students with the teaching assistants, distributing supplies, and pouring mana into the magic circles once the exam began — a nonstop blur of work from which she had only just managed to return.

"Aren't you overworking yourself?"

"I am busy, but I fully intend to become someone of considerable standing at this Academy someday. Even if it's hard now, all of this will stack up and leave an impression no one can ignore."

"Wow… you really are diligent."

Somehow, Remillion had become the person Felix spent the most time around at the Academy after Tene. If he had to sum her up in a single line, it would be this: she was genuinely, relentlessly diligent.

It wasn't just her research into magic. She took real pride in her position as a professor, and she was constantly thinking about how others perceived her. You could write it off as a hunger for power — but Felix could feel the deeper root of it. As a commoner and a beastkin who had faced discrimination her whole life, her need for recognition kept her forever measuring her place and her standing.

"Ahem…! Anyway! Those students already seem to know a fair amount about the dungeon."

"Well… this exam is always held in the same space, and the team leaders would have taken their own exams in that dungeon back when they were underclassmen."

The Academy's dungeon exam had first been introduced about five years ago. Whether it was preparation for future mercenary work, fostering camaraderie, or something else entirely — the end result was that a considerable amount of information had already leaked into circulation.

"Honestly, I wanted to redesign the whole dungeon structure into a roguelike format that changed every single time… but there just wasn't enough time. Shame."

"R-rogu…? What is that?"

"It's a thing. Exists."

"…You really do come out with the most incomprehensible words sometimes."

Felix had wanted nothing more than to completely overhaul the dungeon's structure, which had sat stagnant for five years. Leave it as it was, and the gap would only widen — students who had already locked down the information, like the ones currently visible in the crystals, would breeze through, while those without that knowledge would be left far behind. It was an unfair exam, plain and simple.

But when construction on the dungeon first began, building an artificial dungeon of this kind ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had been completely unprecedented. The work had grown enormously complicated. The magic circles scrawled long and tangled through the walls and across the entire facility were the magical equivalent of spaghetti code — the first time Felix laid eyes on them, he'd wanted to smack his own forehead. Remaking that structure in the short time available had been close to impossible.

"Still, I doubt things will go quite so smoothly for them this time around."

Felix said it with quiet confidence. After all, he had personally designed the core of this exam.

"Um… just checking, but — is it actually possible for anyone to pass this exam?"

"Well… some will. The other professors seemed satisfied with it."

"Those professors are mostly people with extensive real combat experience! The fact that Professor Gerton — a former Platinum-rank mercenary — gave it a glowing review is already making me extremely nervous…"

"Come on, nobody's going to die."

"Is that really something you can just say like that?!"

"Anyway, the students are going to have a pretty rough time of it this exam."

Remillion had watched Felix's work more closely than anyone, and she couldn't help tilting her head, wondering whether this was really all right. Surprisingly, though, the other professors had given his design high marks. This is how you actually experience a real dungeon. Students need to learn under conditions close to actual combat. That sort of thing. Gerton, the former Platinum-rank mercenary, had been the most enthusiastic of all.

Even if I tried to clear that dungeon without a map, it'd be pretty brutal… I wonder if the students will manage…

This should be fun.

Each of them lost in their own thoughts, the two of them turned back to the crystals and began to watch.

"Which way from here?"

"Ah…!? Th-th-to the, left."

"Okay."

At that same moment, deep in a dungeon dark as pitch, Rosaria's party advanced behind a single thread of light — and for the fourth time, they found themselves facing a fork in the path.

Rasel, who had confidence in scouting, took the lead. Behind him came Gren, who would serve as the vanguard in any fight. Rachel, the mage, held the middle. And at the very rear, ready to protect the mage from any ambush, walked Rosaria. In that order, they pushed through the dungeon.

"Even with the lantern at full strength, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you can only see so far. Beyond that, it's just nothing."

From the back of the line, Rosaria muttered as she considered the range of the mana lantern hanging from Rachel's waist, casting its glow ahead of them.

Among the supplies handed out before the exam, the mana lantern had come with exactly three days' worth of mana stones. The rest of the kit was as follows:

In short, just enough to keep four people alive for three days — a modest, carefully measured allotment.

Still, walking like this does give it that dungeon-exploration feel.

Rosaria had been a little disappointed that Gren's plan didn't match the fantasy she'd been hoping for — but as they kept going, she found herself thinking it wasn't half bad.

"Hah… hah… hah…"

"…? You okay?"

Then Rosaria noticed that Rachel, walking just ahead of her, was breathing hard — far too hard. She called out softly.

"W-what is it…?"

"Nothing, you just look completely wiped… are you all right?"

When Rachel turned around, her forehead was beaded with sweat that ran freely down her face.

"I-I'm fine… I can still walk…"

My stamina drained way faster than I expected…! But I never had time to build it up — I was always buried in research…!

The others were holding up fine. Rachel was not. Born a duke's daughter and a magic major at the Academy, she had always spent the hours she might have trained returning to the dorm to review the day's lectures or bury herself in magic-circle research. Her stamina was abysmal. On top of that, the team's goal of reaching the center first had them moving at a punishing pace — another major drain.

"Um… Senior Gren?"

"What?"

"Rachel looks like she's really struggling. Maybe we should take a short break and regroup before we keep going?"

Unable to just watch, Rosaria called ahead to Gren and asked for a moment to rest and reorganize.

"What? We haven't even gone that far and she's already falling apart? Tch. Magic types, I swear… this is exactly why bookish noble brats are useless."

They hadn't covered even half the distance he'd planned, and already someone was asking to rest. A vein twitched on Gren's forehead as he used the moment to snipe at Rachel.

"…I-I'm fine! I can walk!"

Rachel's brow furrowed at the dig. She lifted her trembling legs and forced herself forward as if it were nothing.

She and Gren already didn't get along. The last thing her pride would allow was becoming dead weight.

"But still…"

"Don't worry about it! It's nothing!"

"Yeah. Hurry up. If you're too slow, I'm leaving you behind."

"That will never happen, so just keep moving."

"…"

Rosaria watched the two of them with growing unease.

And then—

"…!? Hold."

Rasel, at the front of the line, raised a hand and stopped the party cold.

"About fifty meters ahead. I sense people. Number… three — no, four."

He delivered the report cleanly, without a single stutter, his usual timid manner replaced by a crisp, serious tone.

Rasel was normally fragile and awkward — but once he locked on, every nerve in his body poured into the task. That was what made this possible.

"Judging by the footsteps and the sound, the presence is considerably smaller than a normal human. So it's probably…"

"Goblins."

Gren cut in before Rasel could finish, already piecing it together from the description.

Small bodies. Traveling in packs. In a dungeon, that meant goblins — every single time.

"All right, rookies. Time to fight."

Gren's knuckles cracked. And with that sound, Rosaria's party's first battle in the Artificial Dungeon was about to begin.