Dungeon Practice (1)
The week had been an absolute whirlwind. During the day, I trained relentlessly to prepare for the dungeon practice. In the evenings, I met up with Warren at the training grounds for extra practice sessions. Today was no different—we were in the middle of another session.
While my own progress had been limited to a slight improvement in Magic Missile accuracy, Warren was showing the explosive growth I’d hoped for. Just look at him now.
Bang! Bang!
Even though I was firing Magic Missiles in quick succession from a fairly close range, Warren dodged them sideways with nimble, precise movements. He even managed to deflect the final one using a mana-infused sword. Even with the power adjusted, successfully parrying an 11th-level Magic Missile was an impressive feat.
It felt like just yesterday he was fumbling around against kobolds. The kid had really come a long way.
There were, of course, several reasons I’d chosen Warren as my teammate for this dungeon practice. We’d already synced up our breathing during the blacksmith quest, and our friendship made suggesting a team-up easy. Sure enough, the moment I brought it up, Warren had lit up and excitedly admitted he’d been wanting to ask me first.
But the biggest reason I’d decided to team up with him was simple.
With him, we could actually aim for first place.
Warren was a magic swordsman whose skills improved by leaps and bounds every single day. We’d been training specifically for this dungeon practice, tailored to his growth. On top of that, I knew exactly how to clear dungeons quickly. As long as Warren handled the front line as both dealer and tank, we had more than a fighting chance.
At this point, I could also pull my own weight using just single Magic Missiles. The only problem was my severely limited mana. The high-level Magic Missiles I could currently spam would only work in this Ice Cave dungeon. That’s why I absolutely needed to secure good results here and get my hands on a mana stone.
If Warren got one too, he could ask the blacksmith to further strengthen his sword. Since he had the potential to become a powerful asset against The Cult later on, it was a win-win.
“We’re heading out tomorrow already,” Warren said as we finished practice and sat side by side on the bench.
The training grounds, which had held a few other students earlier, had grown quiet. Now it was just the two of us. Both of us were drenched in sweat, exhausted.
“Do you think we’ll do well?”
With the dungeon practice just a day away, Warren seemed pretty nervous.
“Of course. We’ve worked that hard for it.”
We’d prepared with first place as our goal, and we’d trained hard enough not to feel ashamed of that ambition. Life didn’t always go according to plan, but if you truly gave it everything without regrets, the results would follow.
In this case, even if we didn’t quite reach first, we should at least be able to get a mana stone. That’s what I believed.
“Just do it like we practiced.”
“Yeah, of course.”
Warren’s face hardened with determination at my words. It looked like we could expect good results.
The Ice Cave dungeon practice on Bingryong Mountain was scheduled for three days and two nights. We would travel to the mountain on the first day, spend the night, and begin the actual practice the next day.
Bingryong Mountain wasn’t far from the academy, but with the entire first-year class moving together, it still took quite a while. We arrived at the campsite near the dungeon in the late afternoon.
Everyone set up camp as they’d been taught, followed by the professors’ announcements and warnings regarding tomorrow’s evaluation. Then we each received food in mess-kit-like bowls and gathered around the campfires that had been lit here and there.
Warren and I grabbed our portions and sat down near an empty fire. The food’s appearance was a bit like military slop, which reminded me of my old army days. They’d said that since this was dungeon practice, we should experience the same meals as real adventurers exploring dungeons.
Thanks to the presence of noble students, though, the visuals were the only odd part—the taste, ingredients, and portions were all decent. It was comparable to the expensive porridge I used to buy in my previous life.
I’d just taken a few spoonfuls when I heard a familiar voice.
“Kael.”
I turned my head to see Ophelia and Blair standing there. As in the original story, the two of them had formed a team for this practice. The rules stated that upper class students couldn’t be in the same group, so their pairing was an incredibly powerful combination. A top student and a middle class ace—it was inevitable.
“O-Ophelia!”
Warren, sitting beside me, spotted her and tried to jump up mid-bite. Ophelia shook her head, saying there was no need for such formal greetings, and stopped him before continuing.
“If it’s alright, may we eat with you?”
Since everyone was casually sitting around whatever empty campfire they found, I simply nodded. Ophelia glanced at Warren as if asking for his permission too. He set his spoon down and practically shouted, “It would be an honor!”
Only then did Ophelia and Blair sit down across from us.
“So you two are in the same group,” Blair said after taking a bite. As someone who had connections with both me and Warren, her blunt comment fit right in. Her usual rigid, military-like tone somehow matched both the atmosphere and the food’s appearance perfectly.
“It worked out well since I’m with Kael,” Warren replied with a laugh. He tended to speak more comfortably with Blair.
Blair frowned slightly. “What are you talking about? This guy is the lucky one for being paired with a skilled fighter like you. He really has incredible luck with people.”
She’d been looking at me while speaking, but her final words were directed at Ophelia sitting beside her. The “incredible luck” she mentioned clearly referred to her lady, Ophelia, whom she served with absolute loyalty.
Meanwhile, Ophelia had taken one bite earlier and gone completely silent. Looking again, she had placed her spoon inside the bowl and was staring down at it with an unreadable expression.
“Is the food not to your taste?” I asked lightly, noticing she seemed a bit different from usual.
“This too… is part of the learning experience,” she replied.
Her answer was so typical of Ophelia that I couldn’t help but smile. She always ate luxurious meals at the academy, so it made sense this would be hard to stomach. It was amusing how she couldn’t just say it tasted bad and had to phrase it so elegantly.
It tasted pretty good to me, so I continued eating while listening to Warren and Blair’s conversation in the background. Ophelia, who had been watching me for a moment, picked up her spoon again and slowly began to eat.
Then it happened.
Tap tap tap.
Footsteps from behind made me furrow my brow.
“Kael!”
As expected, the voice that followed confirmed my bad feeling.
Why does she keep showing up so often these days?
Annoyed, I didn’t even turn around and kept eating.
“Can I sit here?”
“No seats. Go away.”
“What do you mean no seats? There’s so much space.”
The owner of the voice was, of course, Haley. She completely ignored what I said and squeezed in right beside me, crouching down.
“Hey. Don’t you think you’re going too far? What was the rush to pick your team? You should’ve at least talked to me about it.”
The moment she sat down, Haley fired off words like a machine gun. Sitting right next to me, her constant chatter was way too loud.
“Why would I discuss it with you?” I replied without even looking at her.
I’d only seen her once in the Shadow Forest, but I’d clearly stepped on a landmine.
“Are you really going to be like this? I was planning to team up with you no matter what. Because of you, I ended up with some random person.”
“That’s your problem.”
Cough, cough—
At that moment, Ophelia started coughing as if she’d choked on her food.
“My lady. Are you alright?” Blair asked, her face full of concern as she checked Ophelia’s complexion.
“Want some water?”
There happened to be a water bottle next to me, so I set down my bowl and handed it to her.
“Tha…nk you.”
Ophelia drank and quickly calmed down. But for a second there, it looked like she was smiling… Was it just my imagination? Her expression changes were always so subtle that I might have seen it wrong.
“Tsk…”
Haley, who had gone quiet during the brief commotion, pouted again.
“Hmph. I’m leaving.”
Those were the most welcome words she’d said all night. Haley stood up as she spoke.
“Good, thanks.”
“You’re not even going to stop me?”
“Why would I stop you?”
“Next time, team up with me. Promise?”
She’d been pretending to be upset, but she only ever said what she wanted. When I added, “Hurry up and go,” she pouted once more before disappearing elsewhere.
She’d only been here a short while, but it felt like a storm had passed through. Thanks to her, I finished my meal without even realizing it.
“Thanks for earlier,” Ophelia said softly as our eyes met while I was setting down my utensils.
I tilted my head, wondering what she meant, then realized she was referring to the choking incident and gave a light nod.
“Do well tomorrow.”
It was a short statement, but her serious and calm demeanor made it clear she was wishing me luck.
“You too.”
I smiled back at her as a fellow competitor in this practice.
The next morning.
The real dungeon practice was about to begin. As long as nothing unexpected happened like during the last assignment, I was confident. There wouldn’t be any strange incidents this time… right?