First Impressions (1)
The day after the entrance ceremony. According to the original academic schedule, today was supposed to mark the start of basic lectures and the distribution of course registration guidelines. You could call it the true first day of academy life. But because of that absolute shitshow yesterday, today turned into a complete day off. We hadn't even received our dormitory assignments, which were originally supposed to happen yesterday. The academic calendar was in total chaos.
The administrative staff were probably dying inside, forced to rebuild the entire schedule from scratch. But that was the academy's problem. For the students, it meant a sudden golden holiday had been dropped in our laps. And on this precious day off, I headed straight for the academy.
If things were the same as in the game, things were about to get busy starting today.
The academy's security had been tightened significantly. Guards were stationed everywhere like modern Korean CCTV cameras, watching the surroundings without letting their guard down for even a second.
I passed through their watchful eyes and entered the secret hideout space. But with surveillance this strict, was it really okay to just walk in here? From the outside, it would look like a rabbit beastman girl suddenly vanishing while walking down the path. I had no idea how they handled that part. Still, there had never been any problems with it while I was playing the game, so I figured it would probably be fine… I hoped. It would work out somehow.
“Oh. Luna?”
I ran into Theo the moment I stepped inside the building. Thankfully, he wasn't flashing his junk this time. Instead, he was sitting at a table, radiating a heavy “I have a lot on my mind” vibe.
“I just came by. What about you?”
“I… had some things to think about. After what happened yesterday, the whole academy is in an uproar. This was the only place quiet enough to think in peace.”
“Things to think about?”
“Well, just the usual random thoughts. Black mages attacked the academy, right? I was thinking about how we could stop bastards like them.”
Theo spoke casually, as if it were no big deal. Lately, the increasing activity of black mages had become a popular topic for idle chatter. Even in tavern restaurants, plenty of people would go on about how things should be handled this way or that. But even though it was a common subject, I knew all too well that the feelings behind Theo's words were anything but casual.
After all, his little sister had been kidnapped by black mages and killed. Well, she hadn't actually died, but it was still way too early to bring that up between us.
“It is my fault.”
“Goddess?”
The door to one of the many rooms opened, and the goddess stepped out. She looked exactly as she had when we first met. Meaning she was completely naked, not a single thread covering her.
“Uh……”
Theo looked back and forth between the goddess and me, his previous serious atmosphere completely shattered by panic. He must have figured that after seeing what he'd shown me before, I'd misunderstand the goddess's appearance. It didn't really bother me, though. I lightly waved my hand back and forth.
“It's fine. It's not like you forced her or anything. The goddess just isn't wearing clothes, right?”
“Well, that's true, but… are you really okay with it?”
“I said it's fine.”
In most situations like this, the cliché would be for the other woman to cover the guy's eyes so he couldn't see and then help her get dressed. But did we really have to? Like I said, no one forced anything, and the goddess herself clearly didn't care at all. That left two women who didn't mind, and one guy happily enjoying the sight of a beautiful goddess in the nude. Zero, zero, plus. The total was in the positive, and no one was showing a minus, so I had no reason to complain. Besides, if I was being honest, I was a plus too.
“S-still… um, would you like to wear this at least?”
“Mm. Thank you.”
Even after I said it was fine, Theo seemed bothered by it. He took off his outer jacket and offered it to the goddess. She was a slender beauty, but still smaller than Theo, the tall and imposing protagonist of this erotic game. When she put on his jacket, it became what people commonly called the “boyfriend shirt” look.
“The fabric these days is quite soft.”
“Do you like it? If the goddess wishes, I can prepare even better clothes…”
“Um, Goddess? What did you mean earlier by it being your fault?”
If I left them alone, the conversation seemed like it would drift off into clothing talk. I jumped in and steered it back on track. The goddess smoothly picked up on my cue.
“One of my original roles was to purify the impure energies of the continent. Because I have been sealed away for such a long time, the power of those you call black mages has grown stronger.”
“But didn't the black mages only start running wild recently?”
“Theo. Do you happen to know of a monster called a goblin? There is a saying. If you see a single goblin wandering alone in a field…”
“…It means there is a nest nearby with more goblins than can be contained in one den. I see.”
In other words, the black mages had only started running wild because their numbers had grown too large to hide anymore. On Earth, this kind of thing was compared to cockroaches—the ultimate symbol of vitality—but in this fantasy world, it took on a different form.
“With that said, I have one request for both of you.”
And finally, the goddess got to the main point. This was exactly why I had come all the way to the academy even though today was supposed to be a holiday.
“Are you both aware that there is a dungeon within this academy?”
“Yes. It's quite famous.”
Famous was one way to put it. It was also one of the key features that clearly set the Imperial Academy apart from similar academies in other countries. A strictly managed dungeon existed inside the academy, and it was used for student training. It was true that there was a risk of losing one's life in the worst-case scenario, but even considering that, the mortality rate was far lower than sending greenhouse flowers raised in safety out into the wild medieval fantasy world. That was why it was so popular.
“At the deepest part of the dungeon lies the main body of my seal. If you can destroy it, I will be able to fulfill my role once more.”
“Does that mean the power of the black mages will weaken?”
“That effect would occur as well. And of course, if you help me, I will reward you to the best of my ability.”
“If I can get my revenge on those bastards…!”
Theo's eyes burned with vengeful hatred toward the black mages. I, on the other hand, was far more interested in the “reward” she had added at the end. Because that reward might just turn out to be my return to Earth, which was what I wanted most.
“Alright. Since we're already talking about it, shall we go take a look?”
“Huh? What are you talking about, Luna? The dungeon is closed today.”
The academy's dungeon was managed by the academy itself. Normally you could enter it any day of the week, but after what happened yesterday, it had been closed for today. However.
“The goddess is right here. Don't you think she could do something about it?”
The protagonist's party could enter the dungeon without anyone knowing. Since it was done in secret, we wouldn't earn any academy points, but we could rack up a ton of experience.
“The goddess?”
The goddess nodded at Theo's questioning gaze.
“Yes. It is possible. Would you like to go right now?”
“Eh, really? Wait, hold on. We need to prepare, or at least…”
“It's fine, it's fine. Goddess, please send us!”
“Understood. Please close your eyes for a moment.”
Theo looked flustered, but he quickly gave up and picked up the weapon he'd set aside. His face hardened with tension. There was no need to be that nervous, though. I wasn't about to charge in without any thought. The first floor of the dungeon was basically the tutorial section for the dungeon system in game terms. The monsters that appeared were at most slimes and goblins. Even if Theo was completely useless, or even if he held me back, I was confident I could get through it safely by myself. That's why I'd suggested going in so boldly.
The dungeon layout, thanks to the goddess's help, was no different from the game. The only real difference was that instead of just pressing arrow keys to move, I had to actually walk with my own two feet. But the monsters that appeared were exactly the same.
“The monsters are stronger than I expected.”
“What?”
When I heard Theo's mutter, my head turned on its own. Was that something a guy who had just casually roasted a goblin to a crisp with magic should be saying? The dungeon's composition, entered with the goddess's help, was no different from the game. The only difference was that instead of just pressing arrow keys to scurry around, we had to move our feet and walk. But the monsters that appeared were the same. Slimes and goblins. If you had to rank them, goblins were a bit stronger, but both were the top two weakest monsters competing for last place. And he was calling those strong?
“Theo, how the hell did you even get into the academy? You think these guys are strong?”
“No, that's not what I mean.”
Theo pointed at the goblin whose life he had just taken. The front of its body was a horrific sight, completely covered in severe burns from taking Theo's flame magic head-on. It wasn't exactly a sight I wanted to examine closely.
“What about it?”
“Normally, a goblin would have been pierced through. But this one didn't get pierced. The magic was blocked by its body. Do you understand what that means?”
……?
“You messed up your mana control?”
“No, that's not it. My mana control is perfect. It means the goblins that appear in this dungeon are stronger than the ones outside.”
“Hmm… is that all?”
Since goblins died if you just kicked them, I didn't really get it. But now that I thought about it, I vaguely remembered a setting that the monsters appearing in the goddess's dungeon had slightly higher stats than those outside. Since I almost never left the academy in the game, my memory was pretty fuzzy.
“There isn't much of a difference right now. Either way, they still die in one hit. But if the monsters that appear from now on are all stronger than the ones outside, we'll need to adjust our strategy accordingly…”
The second half of Theo's words were closer to him muttering to himself. Was he more of a brainy type than I thought? Considering the incredibly instinct-driven behavior I'd seen during our first meeting, the image of him as a cerebral type didn't match at all.
Anyway.
“Let's think about that stuff after we get out. For now, let's keep moving. We're almost done with the first floor anyway.”
“Yeah, that sounds good. But how did you know we're almost done?”
“Um… just a feeling, I guess.”
The truth was that I vaguely remembered the size of the dungeon from when I played the game. I didn't remember it exactly, but I did remember that the first floor, which was for the tutorial, was short. I picked up the pace. After the combat system tutorial and the dungeon system tutorial came the final tutorial: the erotic system tutorial. There was going to be some straight-up sex happening up ahead!