Dungeon Practice (1)
Dungeon Practice (1)
I couldn't really complain about Professor Atra's training methods.
The training itself was undeniably rough: a punishing approach compared to other places, and not exactly standard practice.
It felt like it assumed you already possessed talent—extraordinary talent, an education built on a foundation of exceptional natural gifts.
Fundamentals? More like "pick them up during sparring."
And honestly, that seemed to be exactly what Professor Atra intended.
Hadn't she said as much right from the first lecture? "As a Special Admission Cadet, the world's expectations are already set."
In other words, training conducted under the premise that you possessed talent worthy of a Special Admission.
It was hard—I won't argue that. If I didn't have a reason to be here, I would've bolted long ago.
Unfortunately, I did have a reason—a reason that made it impossible to run, a reason I absolutely had to endure this grueling training.
If I ran now, I'd drop dead within a decade at most. And until that moment came, I'd have to live with my eyes shut, unable to taste good food, unable to smell fragrant scents.
Being unable to speak was something I could manage by putting up with some inconvenience, but the rest... I couldn't just shrug those off. I didn't want to live like that.
To break the curses, I needed power. The curse-lifting methods I knew existed inside dungeons, and to conquer those dungeons, I needed power.
That was why I put up with Professor Atra's lectures. It hurt and it was exhausting, but I endured it.
Professor Atra's training was undeniably efficient. It produced results. I'd felt how much I'd grown through sparring—I'd already caught up to cadets who'd been training comfortably for over a decade.
If I kept growing at this pace, I'd be able to reach the dungeons containing the curse-lifting methods far sooner than I'd anticipated.
With a goal I'd thought would take so long suddenly drawing close, running away became even more impossible.
"Reference texts. You said you can read them with your detection ability, so take them and read all of them. If carrying them is difficult, scan them with your smartwatch and store them."
"......"
"At minimum, memorize them before the dungeon operation begins. If taking them with you is too much, use your smartwatch. If reading them right now is too much, I'll read them aloud to you."
I'd disclosed some of Spatial Perception's capabilities to Professor Atra. For efficient training, I'd needed to make clear just how much I could see and sense.
"Check whether you can read them properly."
Several dozen books were set down right in front of me—twenty-three, to be precise. They were quite thick too. I accepted them with a somewhat bemused feeling.
Environmental Distribution of Dungeons.Monster Cooking Encyclopedia.Survival Strategies Inside Dungeons (Volume I).Survival Strategies Inside Dungeons (Volume II).Practical Herb Gathering and Ingestion Methods...
They covered everything imaginable. Some were books I'd glimpsed in passing during visits to the library.
A monster cooking encyclopedia? Well, there were indeed cases where you had to cook and eat monsters inside. If you got stranded in a dungeon and exhausted all your food supplies, you had to scavenge for edible plants or hunt and consume monsters to stay alive.
I swept my Spatial Perception through the books' interiors. Every letter registered clearly.
[I can read them.]
"Good. Then read them whenever you have time."
As I stood there blankly scanning the books, Professor Atra untied the bundle beside her. A clattering sound came from within.
"Magic tools that will assist in dungeon operations. Over the next two days, you'll handle them directly and learn how to use them."
As she spoke, Professor Atra began pulling out the bundle's contents one by one and placing them on the ground.
Magic tools of widely varied shapes emerged in succession and were set out in the training yard. Among them were exploration-type magic tools I'd seen the protagonist carry often in the original story.
As I stood there dazed, Professor Atra turned her head toward me. The mana lantern in her hand swayed, its light rippling.
"Do you have something to say?"
[It's nothing.]
I hastily pulled myself together and shook my head. Professor Atra raised one eyebrow, then, without further comment, began a lecture—not on training, but on dungeons.
Surprisingly, the lecture was extremely informative. She picked out exactly the necessary parts from the pile of books she'd brought and linked that knowledge to her personal experiences, making it easy to understand.
An education focused not on abstract theory but on how to actually act.
Not which monster was what rank and how strong it was—
But how to respond if you encountered it, under what conditions you should flee, whether it was edible if you managed to kill it, what other types of monsters were likely to exist nearby, and so on.
The instruction was of such a high caliber that even I, with holes in my knowledge all over the place, could absorb it easily. That remained true even accounting for it being one-on-one instruction.
I'd heard that Professor Atra was a Top-grade Hero, but her knowledge of dungeons was so encyclopedic it could put most professional Hunters to shame.
"This is a heating magic tool. It has a small plate built in, but when the tool's mana is fully exhausted, you can charge it directly with your own mana instead. Remember that most magic tools are capable of self-charging."
"Always keep unexpected situations in mind. Even if you've planned a short-term schedule, you never know what might happen inside a dungeon. When packing provisions, prepare at least three times what your original schedule calls for."
"This is an app that's particularly useful inside dungeons. Save it to your smartwatch in advance."
As she spoke, Professor Atra extended her hand toward me. On it rested an egg-shaped magic tool about the size of a person's face.
It was the heating magic tool she'd just explained.
"Try using it yourself."
I carefully took it and examined it in detail with my Spatial Perception.
With Mana Affinity backing it, my Spatial Perception dug into the magic formulas inscribed on the tool. Relatively simple-looking formulas entered my mind.
'"Heat Generation"... that's obvious, then "Low-Grade Protection" and "Durability Enhancement"... they're layered well. No conflicts either.'
When it came to magic, I'd barely skimmed some basic introductory texts. I hadn't yet attempted actual casting, but I could at least parse the structure of simple formulas like these.
While I was examining the magic tool from every angle, Professor Atra reached out and took hold of my hand, the one gripping the tool.
'?'
"When it's already charged, you can simply press the button. But if there's no stored mana, you infuse your mana through here. Now, try it yourself."
As she spoke, Professor Atra moved my hand. I gathered mana in response. Whrr... receiving a faint supply of mana, the egg-shaped magic tool emitted a gentle orange glow.
The warmth spreading across my palm was quite pleasant.
But the body heat I felt against the back of my hand kept the sensation from quite sinking in.
Nodding to indicate that was how to use it, Professor Atra released my hand and stepped back a pace.
"The other magic tools work on a similar principle. I'll explain the rest of their usage shortly. Next..."
Even as I focused on Professor Atra's unceasing instruction, I tilted my head, puzzled.
Something felt off.
...Had she always been this passionately devoted to teaching? I couldn't quite shake a perplexed feeling at Professor Atra's attitude, which was somehow different from before.
She hadn't been someone who gave half-hearted instruction. She kept to time commitments precisely and taught everything she was supposed to teach.
What was the term for it... by-the-book? A stickler for principle? That had been her attitude exactly. But now something was different... her teaching was noticeably more proactive than before, to a degree that stood in clear contrast.
"Focus. There will be a short test at the end of the lecture."
'Ugh.'
For hours, all manner of dungeon knowledge was crammed into my head.
As soon as it ended, she gave an actual test. Fortunately, I didn't get any questions wrong.
For two days, during my major course hours, I received an intensive special lecture on dungeon operations from Professor Atra—instruction packed with all kinds of know-how.
Even the mornings were filled with dungeon theory, and the afternoons brought more dungeon knowledge of a similar kind, leaving my head stuffed to bursting with information.
I agreed that it was knowledge I'd eventually need, so I studied hard.
One day of the weekend, I received magic instruction from Professor Liana. Though it was nothing more than Lowest-Grade Magic, it didn't demand any deep insight, and I found it easier to absorb than expected.
Nothing particularly eventful happened. The most notable things were that during my sleep training, what I'd meant to be just an hour of sleep stretched into three, and that I'd been covered with Professor Liana's borrowed coat.
Another day, I spent time in the library going over magic texts and reviewing Professor Liana's lessons. Since I hadn't even properly started learning magic, it amounted to little more than stuffing memorized information into my brain.
Time flew by like that, and before I knew it, Monday morning had arrived.
An email arrived on my smartwatch. It was the notice announcing the team assignments for the dungeon operation.
I took a deep breath and opened the file. The team assignment chart appeared as a hologram.
[Ipchun Class - Team 1]
- Hong Yeon-hwa
- Carnell Ardelia
...
▲Grade 4 Dungeon: 7-212 Cave Dungeon
▲Type: Periodic Monster Subjugation
[Ipchun Class - Team 4]
- Baek A-rin
- Lee Si-eun
...
▲Grade 4 Dungeon: 2-64 Grassland Dungeon
▲Type: Periodic Monster Subjugation
[Ipchun Class - Team 6]
- Katsuki Yusei
- Christopher Hayes
...
▲Grade 4 Dungeon: 7-23 Cave Dungeon
▲Type: Periodic Monster Subjugation
[Ipchun Class - Team 11]
- Lee Ha-yul
- Ellia Srade
- Attila Blero
- Nam Yeon-jung
- Aiden Reynolds
▲Grade 4 Dungeon: 3-23 Forest Dungeon
▲Type: Periodic Monster Subjugation
'Hm...'
There were two names I recognized well.
Ellia Srade. Someone I'd built some acquaintance with, and whose presence I welcomed.
And Aiden Reynolds... a name that was rather awkward to see.
It was an assignment I felt both pleased and troubled by.