Dungeon Practicum (1)
Shaaa!
The pulsing beat of the sun, born in the depths of my heart. Golden currents coursing through my veins with every heartbeat. I strained to feel and understand the flow that circled through my entire body.
Countless fragments of life made up who I was — cells, each an individual, gathering to form a society. I sought insight into the world that this collective had built. Harmony and balance. And resonating with it, the bracelet on my arm — the halo.
Encircling myself, this celestial body, with a ring that guarded the sun. As if answering that call, a pair of wings unfurled from behind the halo — a mark proving that I was a messenger of god, an apostle of the sun.
"That's about the shape of it."
I wrapped my hand around the ring of light as it gave off a soft glow. From within its newly drawn outline pulsed a faint tremor — the subtle heartbeat unique to living things.
"No reason to visit the coastal cave for a while now."
Since making my promise with the Writer, I'd dropped by the western coastal cave whenever I could find time, steadily continuing my training. It had taken quite a while to recover my mana after the aptitude assessment ended, so I'd rested up during that stretch. Once my condition was back to normal, I threw myself into the training I'd been putting off — and finally, I'd grown.
In hindsight, rushing it in preparation for the dungeon practicum had felt a bit hasty, but it paid off in the end. With this, I'll chew right through any monster in the dungeon.
Maybe I could even hold the advantage against those clan bastards who played the main villains of Academy Yuri Princess? That was the conclusion I'd drawn from knowledge sharpened by the web novel and its setting guide. It was only a hunch, but nothing was likely to stray far past my expectations. Either way, the results would show themselves soon enough — I could afford to wait.
"Yikes, I was so focused on training I lost all track of time."
Checking my phone belatedly, I hurried out of the cave. The moment I stepped outside and tilted my head back toward the sky, the star-strewn night had receded, and a warm sun filled its place. Waves rolled in and crashed against the shore, and the spray that leapt into the air drank in the sunlight, glittering like jewels.
It felt as if the scene were reflecting my own future back at me. Inhaling the crisp wind heavy with the scent of the sea, I headed for my destination as planned.
Today was the long-awaited dungeon practicum. The day Eva and I would pair up and set foot in a bloody den crawling with monsters.
Back at the dormitory, I changed into a uniform pressed crisp and stiff, then stepped out. Normally I'd head straight for the academy lecture hall, but today my feet turned toward the town instead — to the fountain at the town's center.
Even though I'd arrived a full thirty minutes before departure, the plaza was already a sea of students who'd finished their preparations. They were all hurrying to meet, face to face, the professional guides who would lead and protect them inside the dungeon.
"Everyone's here early. All set?"
"Yeah. A dungeon exploration... I can't wait."
Excitement and anxiety, laced with a strange, heady thrill, crossed the students' faces in turn.
So peaceful.
I watched and felt this scene from the original novel with my own two eyes. The students seemed far more alive than they had as text on a page. Was it because this itinerary was, at its core, nothing more than a guided field trip?
True to their status as first-year rookies, they were thoroughly pumped up on the eve of their first dungeon entry. It was a scene of pure innocence, like a crowd of elementary schoolers on an outing.
They seemed to think it would be nothing more than a course of safely gawking around under the Guardians' protection before heading home.
That day, the students understood at last.
They could never have dreamed it — what it truly meant to have entered Purity Academy. To conquer dungeons, to slay monsters, and at the end of it all, to save people.
Today they would realize that the acts they took for granted were concepts carved out at the end of a road paved with someone's blood and flesh.
A truth known in this world only to me and the Writer. Rerunning the original novel in my head, I passed by the students chattering away in their lively little crowd.
By the way — where is Eva?
I scanned the crowd thoroughly, but there was no sign of her anywhere. She'd even texted me saying she'd be waiting, so she had to be somewhere around here.
"H-here! Over here!"
From between the crashing waves of the human tide, a small white hand shot up and asserted itself with all its might. When I made my way over, I found Eva crouched in a tucked-away corner.
"Y-you got here fast. I thought you'd take longer..."
"I figured it'd be a problem if I were any later, so I rushed. What are you doing over here?"
"Hehe, n-nothing in particular, so I was just playing a mobile game..."
"You went as far as casting this?"
I poked a finger at the space in front of Eva. My neatly trimmed nail hit an invisible wall before it could so much as touch her.
"Perception-blocking magic, visual distortion, and even spatial separation so no one can touch you. Don't you think that's a bit much?"
She was basically running an ad that said Nobody Find Me Ever, Thanks. No wonder I couldn't spot her no matter how hard I looked.
"Uuuugh, I-I couldn't help it! I absolutely hate having people stare at me..."
Eva fidgeted, hugging the phone clutched in her hands like a stuffed toy. Well, it wasn't as if I didn't understand her situation. Eva Amethyst — eldest daughter of the Amethyst family, heiress of the Great Archmage's bloodline, a genius who'd inherited his talent. Her list of epithets alone could fill a page.
The academy students were watching for their chance, day and night, to get close to her. While the iron wall known as Chloe Opal still stood guard, not a single fly had gotten through, but now that she was away, this was the golden opportunity.
Her dependable protector had already entered the dungeon as part of the advance party. It was hardly surprising that Eva, left all alone, had hidden herself in such an extreme way.
"Still, be careful. Do it like this, and even the people who actually need to find you won't be able to."
"Th-that's why I raised my hand..."
"I know that, but you've gotta think about people other than me too."
"O-other peop— oh!"
Only then did Eva realize her mistake. It seemed the thought that the assigned Guardians would be searching for us hadn't crossed her mind at all.
"Hey, you — the tall guy! Over here!"
A group waved me down from across the plaza, their outfits clearly different from Purity Academy's uniforms. Outsiders — and our protectors. Guardians, without a doubt.
"Whew! Finally found you. I was wandering around forever wondering where you'd gotten to."
A woman with sweat pouring down like a waterfall. Clad head to toe in heavy steel armor, she wiped the sweat from her brow and planted herself before us with a triumphant grin.
"Short blond hair, tanned skin — you're Solis, right?"
"Yep. Solis, combat track, Class A."
"Nice to meet you! Name's Kale. I'm the Guardian in charge of escorting you all safely through the dungeon."
The woman who introduced herself as Kale grabbed my hand without warning and started pumping it up and down. Her unrestrained, hyperactive hand rattled mine senseless.
"I've heard all about you. A man who can actually use mana, no less."
"Ah, yes. It's the reason I got into Purity Academy, actually."
"Wow, you've got a bright future ahead of you! When you get famous, don't go pretending you don't know me, got it?"
Her sparkling eyes bored straight into me as she stared. It was getting awkward — I'd only planned to exchange greetings and wrap up the introductions.
So this is really our assigned Guardian, huh.
In the original, she was the woman assigned as Eva's dedicated Guardian, the one who'd teamed up with Chloe. Meeting her in person, she turned out to be far more of a whirlwind than she'd been on the page. Now I understood why the Eva of the novel had been so busy hiding from her.
"Kale, the student's getting uncomfortable. Tone it down!"
"But Mory! Chances like this don't come often. You've gotta advertise while you can still cash in the favor, right?"
And a second woman reining in the spectacle from the side. Exuding mature elegance, she shoved Kale back and bowed her head in apology.
"I'm sorry about her. The moment my friend spots something interesting, she pounces on it without a second thought."
"It's fine. I know I'm a rare breed — I'd probably stare too."
The Sword Saint of House Opal. The Great Archmage of House Amethyst. Every man known to the world who could wield mana had been a monster so extraordinary that even the word genius fell short. Among the academy students, my name came up often enough that people made a point of showing interest.
And that was only because Chloe stayed glued to my side and chased off every woman who came near. If she hadn't, I'd have double-digit *friends with benefits* by now. Tsk.
Anyway, that kind of naked curiosity was a perfectly natural reaction. An exception, perhaps, for whoever was currently holding their breath behind me, praying nobody would notice.
"And the student hiding back there... fufu."
"Hiek!"
The moment Kale's gaze swung past my shoulder, Eva pressed herself tight against my back. She trembled like a mouse cornered by a cat, and it was honestly a little heartbreaking to watch.
"Young lady of House Amethyst, there's no need to be afraid. I'm from the same academy as you — that makes me your senior, see!"
"P-please don't come any closer..."
"Heheheh, come to mama!"
"Huek!"
Eva fled for her life while Kale relentlessly hunted her down, the two of them circling round and round me like some kind of group dance. Unable to watch any longer, Mory shouted.
"Kale, that's enough! You're scaring the student."
"Aww, fine. I just wanted to observe her a little longer."
"I apologize on her behalf. Once Kale latches onto something, she charges in without looking."
"It's fine. More importantly, where's the last of our three?"
"She's joining us at the dungeon entrance. So, shall we get moving?"
"Follow me, one and all!"
Mory led the way with Kale at her side, and I quietly started walking, gathering the terrified Eva along the way.
The place we were headed was a dungeon — Thornvine Forest. The very place where the boar monster Hojeel had once stood as its guardian.