Dungeon Class (1)
“What the hell are you doing here again?”
The weekends at the Imperial Academy were never relaxing.
Some nobles had to pack up and head back to their estates, while those who stayed behind still had noble duties that kept them from truly resting. They had meetings with allied nobles or social gatherings and balls with young lords and ladies. Some tackled the mountain of assignments piled up from their first classes, while others studied on their own.
So I'd figured I was the only one with completely free time on the weekends.
“I didn't join any clubs either. And Grand Duchess Alley's tea party got canceled.”
“How'd you know I was here?”
“Figured if you had nothing to do, you'd be here.”
She said that, but she'd clearly gone looking for me.
Which made it even scarier. Elia Adventus. She had a habit of showing up out of nowhere like this.
“The coffee here's pretty good, by the way.”
The place where I killed time was a small café tucked inside the academy grounds.
True to a women-oriented romance fantasy, the academy was packed with pointless facilities. There was a pool for the male leads' swimsuit service scenes, and a café for the girls to exchange petty gossip.
It was a world view stuffed to the brim with the tag-cheating author's desires.
This café, at least, was one I frequented. It was perfect for passing time without thinking too much.
“But Kael, don't you have homework or something to do this weekend?”
“I cleared all my shit. Anyone trying to steal my time? Shoved 'em out of sight.”
“That's some mangnani talk.”
“'Cause I am one.”
“You're not a mangnani, Kael.”
“Oh, right. One thing left. Waiting for someone.”
“Someone?”
Ding-
It happened then.
The café's doorbell rang out loudly.
Glancing toward the entrance, there was a white-haired girl in casual clothes, waving.
Short skirt, gray mage's robe. She carried a staff as tall as herself.
She's always in that white robe, so the casual look throws me off...
“Professor Rapel...”
“Kept you waiting, genius! And you are... who again?”
Elia's expression hardened in an instant.
Ignoring her, Professor Rapel's attention was fixed solely on me.
“Anyway, you're ready, right Kael? Today, I'll teach you even greater things.”
“That's how it is, Elia. Looks like you'll have to drink your coffee alone. And Elia—maybe make some friends? Stop coming to me every time.”
“...”
“Anyway, I'm off to class.”
I stood up.
Then Elia grabbed my arm.
“I'll come too.”
“Huh?”
“That's a problem... You don't even attend my classes, do you?”
Elia suddenly clung to my arm and wouldn't let go.
What the hell was this about?
I was flustered, but Professor Rapel was even more so.
“Auditing should be fine, right? No overlapping regular classes, so no issue?”
“Well, that's true, but...”
“Elia. We're heading to a dangerous class. Just stay here.”
“What if I don't want to?”
Elia's face was dead serious. Almost like she was on a mission.
I didn't know why, but she must be as bored as I was.
Maybe she was a dopamine addict too. This medieval fantasy world had no games, dramas, or movies.
The best you got were novels, but compared to freely bingeing webnovels in the modern world, accessibility sucked. And the books were ridiculously expensive...
“Hey, pint-sized professor. Should we just bring her?”
Suddenly, I felt a strange kinship with Elia.
A bit annoying, sure, but we had to keep up the fake engagement, and we were the type to see each other's faces regardless.
I could show some consideration.
As long as they weren't couples or male leads clinging to Maria, I could be nice.
“Just don't get in the way. You can watch.”
“Wait, Kael. That's a problem for me. Your... what was it again?”
“Fiancée.”
“Lover.”
Our answers crossed paths.
Elia glared at me sharply.
“What. So...?”
“Didn't you ask me to act like a lovey-dovey couple?”
“Damn it. That was ages ago... Ugh. Whatever.”
I started to say something but stopped.
Fine. This was my fault for feeding her the wrong algorithm.
“Anyway, if your fiancée gets hurt, it'll be on me.”
“Then she won't get hurt.”
“Can you promise that?”
“Of course.”
Elia nodded.
“So, what exactly is this weekend special class?”
“Dungeon conquest, naturally! Geniuses like you need to be thrown straight into a dungeon to grow fast.”
“What?”
“...?”
Elia's head tilted.
A question mark popped up over my head too.
What kind of bullshit was this?
“Dungeon?”
The dungeon appeared exactly once in the original story.
Couldn't forget it—protagonist Maria Frendis was in the magic department. Their curriculum included dungeon conquest.
That's when swordsmanship department's Haidel, me, magic department's Alley, and the newly transferred hero's descendant Eibon Ragnarok entered together.
Alley, jealous of Maria, tricked her into a trap.
Maria broke through with spirit magic, joined the male leads, conquered the dungeon successfully. Alley got lost in her own trap and retired.
And...
“You crazy brat. Dungeons require at least ten people.”
The original mentioned it clearly.
Dungeons were too dangerous to enter alone or in small groups.
But Professor Rapel snorted at my words.
“Don't worry, genius. With a super-genius like me and an even greater genius like you, the two of us can handle ten people's worth of combat power—five each. That's why I said not to bring your fiancée.”
Elia reached out her hand.
“I can do stuff like this.”
Keening-
A small light source appeared above her palm.
“I can do that too.”
“Kael can't.”
“...”
Nothing to say. I really couldn't.
“Fine. Just don't hinder us. If you get hurt, I won't take responsibility.”
“Obviously.”
“Let's go then.”
Professor Rapel grumbled, glancing at Elia unhappily.
Elia, meanwhile, followed with graceful steps.
“He refused?”
“Yes. Kael Lotus cited a prior engagement and declined the first-year department reps' tea party. P.S., he said he's never been the arts department rep.”
“Hah, interesting...”
Lucas Deverlu let out a chuckle, feeling a strange sting like he'd been smacked in the back of the head.
It wasn't pleasant. Just absurd disbelief at being openly ignored.
“To dismiss me so blatantly... It's been ages since I felt this way.”
“What shall we do, Your Highness?”
“Even as crown prince of an empire, I can't force someone who doesn't want to attend. He's the eldest son of the Lotus family, after all. No choice.”
Lately, enjoyable things kept happening, thought Lucas.
He'd met a bold young lady who spoke to him without flinching, and now a classmate had rejected his invitation.
The eldest son of the imperial family's greatest supporters, no less.
“Above all, he must have a good reason for being busy.”
And the rumors floating around...
The whispers among the academy board made it hard to press the issue.
Maybe Kael Lotus really was busy on the front lines of the intelligence war with the kingdom.
But with no word from the palace yet, it might be exaggerated nonsense.
We'll see.
“Hold the tea party with just the invitees. Proceed as planned.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Of course, this wasn't the only chance to meet Kael Lotus.
Eventually, Lucas would cross paths with him, for one reason or another.
“Right here!”
Following Professor Rapel brought us to the academy's small back mountain.
Surprising enough that a park existed amid the capital's forest of buildings, but a hidden dungeon too?
Is this it? The dungeon from the original? Doesn't seem like it...
“Ah, this dungeon's an abandoned one the academy doesn't manage. Too dangerous for student training, so they sealed it.”
“What?”
“In simple terms, not a kids' dungeon—for real adults only.”
Professor Rapel struck a proud pose as she said it.
For some reason, Elia's expression stiffened.
“Elia. Scared? You can wait outside.”
“No. I'll go in with you this time. Who knows if your arm will be a mess again like last time.”
“You worried about me?”
“Of course. You're so careless.”
“Careless? Me...?”
My arm had been wrecked chasing Professor Temiri into that warehouse.
Burned red, covered in contaminants perfect for infection.
If Elia hadn't given me emergency treatment, recovery would've taken forever.
“Well, whatever...”
Thinking back made me feel guilty, so I couldn't tell her to stay.
If she wanted to come, fine.
Anyway...
“Alright, we're going in. Everyone, be careful.”
Professor Rapel opened the hidden dungeon entrance on the back mountain.
It looked like a normal basement, but the air felt oddly sticky.
Instinct told me: once inside, no escape until certain conditions were met.
Professor Rapel entered the sticky basement first, and we followed.