“Ok, listen up!” Ranga raised his voice. “I hate repeating myself, but this is important. Today is the day when you start the Magic Dungeon exploration. Fortunately, all of you have formed a team already. If any of you still haven’t, Professor Karineus Zeanlor will be more than happy to assist you, grrr.”
“…” after hearing Ranga’s words, some of the students had worried looks on their faces for some reason.
All four first-year student classes were gathered in the auditorium where the school would have bigger event to fit all the participants. There were over eighty students gathered here. Which meant a regular classroom would’ve been too small to fit everyone.
It was Monday today, but instead of having regular classes the students had to gather in the auditorium for the final briefing before the Magic Dungeon exploration. Ranga Dreknor was the one giving the announcement. With his loud, intimidating voice, the big tiger beast-human was the best choice to make an important announcement.
“Now, the next thing we need to do is to determine the order in which the teams enter the Magic Dungeon. I am sure everyone is aware of the dungeon reset cycle. Therefor, we will have one team enter Magic Dungeon each day. To do that, and to be fair to everyone, we will decide the order you will enter the dungeon at random. One person from each team needs to come to the table. We’ll have you draw a slip of paper from this box. A number will be written on it. That number will be the order at which your team will enter the Magic Dungeon. Grrr… Without wasting any more time, send one person from your team to do that right now.” Ranga Dreknor instructed, before crossing his arms in front of him.
The auditorium bustled with noise and commotion. The students started coming down from their seats to the table where Belinda Salroze was sitting. She had a small box with a hole, big enough to put your hand in, in front of her. One by one, the students put their hand inside the box to find out when their team will start the dungeon exploration. Narias was one of the students as well.
“Wow, number one. Yes! Oh… oops… sorry,” Narias became excited after he saw the number on the slip.
“Excited, are we?” Belinda gave him a slightly surprised stare.
“Ah… haha. Yeah, sorry,” he apologized again.
“Right, your team’s name?” Miss Salroze asked.
“Dungeon Diving Squad, ma’am,” Narias answered with the biggest smile on his face, still trying to contain his excitement.
“Dungeon Di…? Sigh…” the slim teacher with the violet hair dropped her head. “Ahem… apologies. Ok, your team is on the list. Since you drew number one, your team will go to the Magic Dungeon today. And since it is you we are talking about here, I don’t think I need to remind what you have to bring to the dungeon with you. You must show up at the Magic Dungeon entrance at three o’clock in the afternoon where you will meet your guide. You still have… about four hours to get ready. Don’t be late.”
“Thank you, Miss Salroze. By the way, do you know who our guide is?” Narias wanted to know.
“As I mentioned, you will meet your guide at three o’clock in the afternoon at the Magic Dungeon entrance. Don’t be late,” Belinda didn’t want to answer his question for some reason.
“Oh… Ok, thanks,” he thanked her again and went to tell the news to his team.
“Hey, partner. So, what number did you get?” Flavia was first to ask.
“Number one,” Narias showed her the slip of paper with a wide grin on his face.
“Woah! Number one?” the bunny girl exclaimed.
“Oh, wow. Does that mean we are the first team to enter the Magic Dungeon?” Lilna, Narias’ classmate, asked. She didn’t look as excited as Narias or Flavia were, though.
“Yes. We are to meet our guide at three o’clock in the afternoon at the Magic Dungeon entrance,” Narias informed.
“Dungeon today? Cool,” Growly somewhat smiled, showing off his still growing sharp teeth.
“You look… really excited about it, Narias,” Emilia commented after brushing her snow-white hair to the side.
“Yeah, haha,” Narias threw his hand behind his head. “I was looking forward to going into the Magic Dungeon again.”
“Isn’t that just great? We’ll be the first ones to enter the dungeon,” Flavia was excited about it as well.
“Right, it will be lunch break soon. So, how about we go to the cafeteria to eat? At the same time, we could go over what we need to bring with us.” Narias suggested.
“Sure, let’s do that,” Flavia instantly agreed.
“We need food,” it wasn’t a surprise to hear Growly talk about food.
“Ok,” Emilia added with a smile.
Since Dungeon Diving Squad was registered, and they were to start the dungeon exploration later this afternoon, Narias and his teammates were excused from the rest of the classes today. All of them went to the cafeteria to have some food. Because they arrived before the official lunch break had started, the cafeteria was almost empty.
“Great, we don’t have to wait in line,” Flavia was the first one to grab a tray and run to choose what she wanted to eat.
Growly and the rest of them followed. After they had the food they wanted, everyone sat down at the first available table to eat and review what each one of them had to bring to the dungeon.
“So, our aim is to reach and kill the boss monster on the first dungeon floor, right?” Flavia was very chatty.
“Yeah. The teachers said it is not a requirement, but it would be cool if we could do that,” Narias added.
“But killing the boss monster…” Lilna wasn’t very confident about it. “It might be dangerous.”
“What are you saying, Lilna? With how strong we are, it should be a piece of cake,” the bunny girl was very optimistic.
“You are quite capable, Lilna. Your Water Magic is strong,” Emilia encouraged her.
“Thank you. If that’s what you think, then I will do my best,” Narias’ classmate smiled at her.
“We go as team. Ahm… munch… We help each other,” Growly added in between the bites.
“Growly is right. We are going in as a team. Besides, and it’s mostly thanks to Ileena, we’ve worked on the strategy on how to deal with the Whitemane Fanged Wolf. We’ll dispatch its pack of wolves and deal with the boss monster after,” Narias reminded them.
“Yes, I… I’m sure we can do it,” after everyone’s encouragement, Lilna felt more at ease.
“Right, let’s go over who’s bringing what,” was the next Narias’ suggestion.
Since they had enough time, the team went through the list who will bring what. In all honesty, everyone had their supplies packed and ready. But Narias being Narias, wanted to make sure his teammates hadn’t forgotten anything. Before they knew it, the official lunch break started and the cafeteria was flooded with hungry students. Obviously, Ileena and Nicky showed up as well.
“Hello everyone. May we sit here?” Ileena asked after she and Nicky picked up their food.
“Of course, please,” Narias was happy to see her, as well as, couldn’t wait to tell them the news.
“Huh? Did something happen?” the girl in glasses instantly noticed her boyfriend being excited about something.
“Hah, guess what? Narias pulled out number one from the box which means our team is the first one to enter the Magic Dungeon,” Flavia answered her question.
“Wow, really?” Nicky gasped in surprise.
“Yeah, haha,” Narias laughed not so quietly.
“I assume you will be going to the dungeon tomorrow?” Ileena asked in a calm voice.
“No, we’re going to the dungeon today. In less than three hours, actually,” Flavia informed.
“What? Today?” that wasn’t something Ileena expected to hear. She gave Narias a worried look.
“Huh? Is everything ok?” he asked her.
“Y… yes. I’m fine,” she said, but her voice trembled a little.
Huh? She looks a little distressed. Narias couldn’t miss it.
“Have you… finished your preparations?” Ileena asked, before turning to her food.
“Of course, I packed everything yesterday evening. All I have to do is pick up my backpack from my room,” Flavia announced.
“Yes, ready,” Growly added as well.
“I think I still need to check if I have everything,” Lilna admitted.
“I have it all ready as well,” Emilia informed.
“That’s good to hear. However, I have something to tell you,” the girl with the orange hair strands suddenly said.
“What is it?” Flavia was curious.
“It’s about Emilia’s student club,” Ileena said.
“My student club?” Emilia looked at her, being curious.
“You know about the rumor that started going around just recently?” the girl in glasses asked.
“You mean the one about the Magic Dungeon exploration becoming voluntary instead of mandatory?” Lilna somehow knew about it.
“Really?” those were news to Narias.
“Oh, yeah. I think I have heard a few of my club members talking about it,” the Ice Princess admitted.
“Really? But isn’t that only a rumor?” Flavia asked.
“Rumors aren’t spread for no reason. I think there is something going on there.” Ileena stated calmly before having a drink from her cup.
“Wait, can you tell me more about it?” Narias became curious.
“It was the meeting with Louneus Vilmanos that made me suspicious. After all, the Elite Magicians club’s president isn’t someone who would waste his time on student clubs as small as ours. Since I am in good terms with Belinda Salroze, I met with her before classes today to ask her about it. From what I have learnt, it wasn’t completely a baseless rumor,” Ileena told them about her meeting with the teacher.
“But…” it was rare for Narias to lack words. “Hold on, they don’t intend to stop dungeon explorations, are they?”
“I don’t know,” Ileena answered calmly. “Miss Salroze didn’t give me any specific details, but she had mentioned something interesting.”
“What did she say?” Flavia asked.
“Belinda Salroze told me that the academy is pressured to change its policies regarding the Magic Dungeon exploration. And the way she said it, the changes aren’t very good.” Ileena said.
“Hey, that’s not very specific.” Flavia frowned, wanting to know more.
“Miss Salroze said she can’t disclose what is happening. She told me that a lot will depend on how the current Magic Dungeon exploration will go. One other thing she had mentioned was that the team with the most dungeon exploration points will have a say in the end decision. However, I don’t know what she meant by it.” Ileena explained.
“Belinda Salroze told you that?” Narias was surprised to hear that.
“Why would she tell you something like that?” Flavia was puzzled as well.
“Like I said, I don’t know. But the rumors could have some truth in them,” the girl with the orange hair strands had a drink from her cup again.
“Now that you’ve mentioned it, I’ve noticed something strange when I saw my club’s team this morning.” Emilia remembered something.
“What do you mean?” Ileena asked.
“Well, the members of the team have changed.” The girl with the snow-white hair pointed out.
“So? What’s wrong with that?” the bunny girl didn’t see anything wrong with it.
“You see, the Elite Magicians student club has enough first-year students to form three teams. The previous teams were made almost randomly. As you know, each student in my club is capable enough, so it wouldn’t matter what team they were in. They’d do well no matter what. However, now the teams were changed in a way that one of the teams has the strongest students in it. It could be that they want to come out on top among all of the teams.” Emilia explained why she thought so.
“I see. So, maybe that’s why Belinda Salroze hinted to me that the team with the most dungeon exploration points will be able to influence the final decision.” Ileena quickly picked up why the teacher would do that.
“Aaargh… I’m totally confused,” Flavia threw her hands on her head. “All the rumors, changing team members at the last minute, dungeon exploration points, and all other things you have said. I can’t make any sense of it.”
“What Ileena and Emilia are trying to say is that the team who gets the highest score during the dungeon exploration will be able to influence what will happen to the Magic Dungeon exploration in the future.” Nicky tried to explain in simple terms.
“Oh, is that so? If that’s the case, then let’s just get more points than anyone else.” Flavia didn’t see any problem with that.
“I don’t think it will be that easy.” Emilia said.
“Why is that?” the bunny girl frowned. “Surely you don’t suggest we are too weak to beat the first-floor boss monster.”
“That’s not it,” the girl with the snow-white hair added. “Remember what I said about our club’s team members?”
“Yeah?” Flavia was still frowning.
“The new team consists of the strongest first-year students from the Elite Magicians club. I am certain they could beat the dungeon’s first-floor boss monster easily.” Emilia explained.
“Eeer… So, how do we get more points than them?” the bunny girl rubbed her cheek with one finger.
There was a moment of silence within the group.
“I think we need to defeat the boss monster on the second-floor.” Narias suddenly suggested.
“WHAT?” Everyone exclaimed.
Except Growly. The chubby bear beast-boy was now munching on his honey buns. And it seemed he wasn’t against the idea.
“But… the boss monster on the second floor will be… much stronger than…” Lilna, Narias classmate hasn’t finished her sentence, but everyone knew what she was trying to say.
“Ahem…” Ileena tried to compose herself. “I… I don’t think it’s a good idea, Narias.”
“I think… Ileena is right. Trying to defeat the second-floor boss monster inside the Magic Dungeon during our first exploration could be… too dangerous.” Emilia agreed with her.
“I think… it would be fun.” Growly on the other hand, wasn’t against it.
“Haha. I knew you had guts, partner,” Flavia hit Narias to the side with her elbow.
“Ugh… Ah… haha.” He laughed, trying to pretend it didn’t hurt. “Listen, aaah… I know we hadn’t planned it, but I believe we should at least give it a try. Defeating the boss monster on the second floor would definitely get us the most points. If the rumors about the changes are true, then we absolutely must get the most points. Otherwise, we risk to never be able to enter the Magic Dungeon again.”
“But…” it was evident that Lilna wasn’t willing. “But maybe the rumors are just rumors?”
“If the rumors are not true, then…” Narias had to think what to say.
“Then we’ll be the first team to defeat the second-floor boss monster on our first Magic Dungeon exploration.” Flavia announced with a wide grin.
“Flavia?” Lilna looked at Flavia full of surprise.
“I… I think we could try…” Emilia changed her mind all of a sudden.
“Emilia…” Narias smiled at her, which made Emilia catch a mild blush. “Oh, I… I mean it’s only a suggestion. I honestly don’t want anyone to get hurt. Besides, we will have one of the teachers as our guide. If we see it is too dangerous on the second floor, and if the teacher says we need to turn back, we’ll turn around and go home. But I definitely think it is worth a try.”
“Hah, me too, partner,” Flavia was quick to agree with him.
“If you put it that way then… maybe… we could try…” it looked like Narias’ words persuaded Lilna to at least give it a try.
“Great, thank you, Lilna,” Narias was happy she finally agreed.
“All right, everyone’s on board now,” the energetic bunny girl cheered.
“Ahem… aren’t you forgetting something?” Ileena suddenly asked.
“Huh? What?” Flavia, and the others, turned to her.
“You were planning to go after the first-floor boss monster only,” the girl in glasses pointed out.
“Hey, don’t tell me you don’t believe in us, or in Narias?” the bunny girl furrowed her eyebrows.
“Not at all. However, will you have enough supplies to go deeper into the dungeon?” Ileena pierced everyone with her words.
Oh, no. She’s right. Narias instantly realized reaching the second boss monster might not be possible.
“We’ll just have to get more food, that’s all.” Flavia instantly responded.
“And do you have enough time for that?” Ileena had another drink from her cup.
“Sure… we still have…” the bunny girl turned to see what time it was. “What? The lunch break is almost over. We have only two hours left and I still have to go to my dorm to pick up my backpack.”
“We could get some food from the campus shop, but it’s in the opposite direction to where our dorms are. And it’s quite a distance to the Magic Dungeon entrance too.” Emilia covered her mouth with one hand, realizing she would not make it in time.
“Bummer, what do we do?” Flavia tried to think.
“Calm down, please.” Narias said. “How about this? Growly and I will go get more food and water from the campus shop. It is on the way to our dorms anyway. The rest of you go get changed, get your backpacks and go directly to the Magic Dungeon. We’ll meet you there.”
“Good thinking, partner.” Flavia let out a sigh of relief.
“Ok, then… I think… I better go then.” Emilia stood up to go.
“Can I walk together with you, Emilia? Our dorms are close to each other.” Lilna asked.
“Sure, I don’t mind,” she smiled.
“Good luck all.” Nicky wished them.
“Thanks Nicky. Ok, see you all later.” Flavia rushed out of the dining hall.
“Shall we go?” Growly made sure to finish his food before standing up.
“Yeah,” Narias agreed.
“Can I accompany you, Narias?” Ileena stood up after him.
“Huh? Accompany me? But the lunch break is almost over. Don’t you have classes?” he wondered.
“Yes, but… I still have time. I’d like to accompany you to your dorm, then I... will go back to my next class.” She insisted.
“Well, ok. I don’t mind,” he agreed. “See you later, Nicky.”
“Bye,” added Growly.
“Bye,” the tiny girl with the charming pigtails waved.
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“Ok, listen up!” Ranga raised his voice. “I hate repeating myself, but this is important. Today is the day when you start the Magic Dungeon exploration. Fortunately, all of you have formed a team already. If any of you still haven’t, Professor Karineus Zeanlor will be more than happy to assist you, grrr.”
“…” after hearing Ranga’s words, some of the students had worried looks on their faces for some reason.
All four first-year student classes were gathered in the auditorium where the school would have bigger event to fit all the participants. There were over eighty students gathered here. Which meant a regular classroom would’ve been too small to fit everyone.
It was Monday today, but instead of having regular classes the students had to gather in the auditorium for the final briefing before the Magic Dungeon exploration. Ranga Dreknor was the one giving the announcement. With his loud, intimidating voice, the big tiger beast-human was the best choice to make an important announcement.
“Now, the next thing we need to do is to determine the order in which the teams enter the Magic Dungeon. I am sure everyone is aware of the dungeon reset cycle. Therefor, we will have one team enter Magic Dungeon each day. To do that, and to be fair to everyone, we will decide the order you will enter the dungeon at random. One person from each team needs to come to the table. We’ll have you draw a slip of paper from this box. A number will be written on it. That number will be the order at which your team will enter the Magic Dungeon. Grrr… Without wasting any more time, send one person from your team to do that right now.” Ranga Dreknor instructed, before crossing his arms in front of him.
The auditorium bustled with noise and commotion. The students started coming down from their seats to the table where Belinda Salroze was sitting. She had a small box with a hole, big enough to put your hand in, in front of her. One by one, the students put their hand inside the box to find out when their team will start the dungeon exploration. Narias was one of the students as well.
“Wow, number one. Yes! Oh… oops… sorry,” Narias became excited after he saw the number on the slip.
“Excited, are we?” Belinda gave him a slightly surprised stare.
“Ah… haha. Yeah, sorry,” he apologized again.
“Right, your team’s name?” Miss Salroze asked.
“Dungeon Diving Squad, ma’am,” Narias answered with the biggest smile on his face, still trying to contain his excitement.
“Dungeon Di…? Sigh…” the slim teacher with the violet hair dropped her head. “Ahem… apologies. Ok, your team is on the list. Since you drew number one, your team will go to the Magic Dungeon today. And since it is you we are talking about here, I don’t think I need to remind what you have to bring to the dungeon with you. You must show up at the Magic Dungeon entrance at three o’clock in the afternoon where you will meet your guide. You still have… about four hours to get ready. Don’t be late.”
“Thank you, Miss Salroze. By the way, do you know who our guide is?” Narias wanted to know.
“As I mentioned, you will meet your guide at three o’clock in the afternoon at the Magic Dungeon entrance. Don’t be late,” Belinda didn’t want to answer his question for some reason.
“Oh… Ok, thanks,” he thanked her again and went to tell the news to his team.
“Hey, partner. So, what number did you get?” Flavia was first to ask.
“Number one,” Narias showed her the slip of paper with a wide grin on his face.
“Woah! Number one?” the bunny girl exclaimed.
“Oh, wow. Does that mean we are the first team to enter the Magic Dungeon?” Lilna, Narias’ classmate, asked. She didn’t look as excited as Narias or Flavia were, though.
“Yes. We are to meet our guide at three o’clock in the afternoon at the Magic Dungeon entrance,” Narias informed.
“Dungeon today? Cool,” Growly somewhat smiled, showing off his still growing sharp teeth.
“You look… really excited about it, Narias,” Emilia commented after brushing her snow-white hair to the side.
“Yeah, haha,” Narias threw his hand behind his head. “I was looking forward to going into the Magic Dungeon again.”
“Isn’t that just great? We’ll be the first ones to enter the dungeon,” Flavia was excited about it as well.
“Right, it will be lunch break soon. So, how about we go to the cafeteria to eat? At the same time, we could go over what we need to bring with us.” Narias suggested.
“Sure, let’s do that,” Flavia instantly agreed.
“We need food,” it wasn’t a surprise to hear Growly talk about food.
“Ok,” Emilia added with a smile.
Since Dungeon Diving Squad was registered, and they were to start the dungeon exploration later this afternoon, Narias and his teammates were excused from the rest of the classes today. All of them went to the cafeteria to have some food. Because they arrived before the official lunch break had started, the cafeteria was almost empty.
“Great, we don’t have to wait in line,” Flavia was the first one to grab a tray and run to choose what she wanted to eat.
Growly and the rest of them followed. After they had the food they wanted, everyone sat down at the first available table to eat and review what each one of them had to bring to the dungeon.
“So, our aim is to reach and kill the boss monster on the first dungeon floor, right?” Flavia was very chatty.
“Yeah. The teachers said it is not a requirement, but it would be cool if we could do that,” Narias added.
“But killing the boss monster…” Lilna wasn’t very confident about it. “It might be dangerous.”
“What are you saying, Lilna? With how strong we are, it should be a piece of cake,” the bunny girl was very optimistic.
“You are quite capable, Lilna. Your Water Magic is strong,” Emilia encouraged her.
“Thank you. If that’s what you think, then I will do my best,” Narias’ classmate smiled at her.
“We go as team. Ahm… munch… We help each other,” Growly added in between the bites.
“Growly is right. We are going in as a team. Besides, and it’s mostly thanks to Ileena, we’ve worked on the strategy on how to deal with the Whitemane Fanged Wolf. We’ll dispatch its pack of wolves and deal with the boss monster after,” Narias reminded them.
“Yes, I… I’m sure we can do it,” after everyone’s encouragement, Lilna felt more at ease.
“Right, let’s go over who’s bringing what,” was the next Narias’ suggestion.
Since they had enough time, the team went through the list who will bring what. In all honesty, everyone had their supplies packed and ready. But Narias being Narias, wanted to make sure his teammates hadn’t forgotten anything. Before they knew it, the official lunch break started and the cafeteria was flooded with hungry students. Obviously, Ileena and Nicky showed up as well.
“Hello everyone. May we sit here?” Ileena asked after she and Nicky picked up their food.
“Of course, please,” Narias was happy to see her, as well as, couldn’t wait to tell them the news.
“Huh? Did something happen?” the girl in glasses instantly noticed her boyfriend being excited about something.
“Hah, guess what? Narias pulled out number one from the box which means our team is the first one to enter the Magic Dungeon,” Flavia answered her question.
“Wow, really?” Nicky gasped in surprise.
“Yeah, haha,” Narias laughed not so quietly.
“I assume you will be going to the dungeon tomorrow?” Ileena asked in a calm voice.
“No, we’re going to the dungeon today. In less than three hours, actually,” Flavia informed.
“What? Today?” that wasn’t something Ileena expected to hear. She gave Narias a worried look.
“Huh? Is everything ok?” he asked her.
“Y… yes. I’m fine,” she said, but her voice trembled a little.
Huh? She looks a little distressed. Narias couldn’t miss it.
“Have you… finished your preparations?” Ileena asked, before turning to her food.
“Of course, I packed everything yesterday evening. All I have to do is pick up my backpack from my room,” Flavia announced.
“Yes, ready,” Growly added as well.
“I think I still need to check if I have everything,” Lilna admitted.
“I have it all ready as well,” Emilia informed.
“That’s good to hear. However, I have something to tell you,” the girl with the orange hair strands suddenly said.
“What is it?” Flavia was curious.
“It’s about Emilia’s student club,” Ileena said.
“My student club?” Emilia looked at her, being curious.
“You know about the rumor that started going around just recently?” the girl in glasses asked.
“You mean the one about the Magic Dungeon exploration becoming voluntary instead of mandatory?” Lilna somehow knew about it.
“Really?” those were news to Narias.
“Oh, yeah. I think I have heard a few of my club members talking about it,” the Ice Princess admitted.
“Really? But isn’t that only a rumor?” Flavia asked.
“Rumors aren’t spread for no reason. I think there is something going on there.” Ileena stated calmly before having a drink from her cup.
“Wait, can you tell me more about it?” Narias became curious.
“It was the meeting with Louneus Vilmanos that made me suspicious. After all, the Elite Magicians club’s president isn’t someone who would waste his time on student clubs as small as ours. Since I am in good terms with Belinda Salroze, I met with her before classes today to ask her about it. From what I have learnt, it wasn’t completely a baseless rumor,” Ileena told them about her meeting with the teacher.
“But…” it was rare for Narias to lack words. “Hold on, they don’t intend to stop dungeon explorations, are they?”
“I don’t know,” Ileena answered calmly. “Miss Salroze didn’t give me any specific details, but she had mentioned something interesting.”
“What did she say?” Flavia asked.
“Belinda Salroze told me that the academy is pressured to change its policies regarding the Magic Dungeon exploration. And the way she said it, the changes aren’t very good.” Ileena said.
“Hey, that’s not very specific.” Flavia frowned, wanting to know more.
“Miss Salroze said she can’t disclose what is happening. She told me that a lot will depend on how the current Magic Dungeon exploration will go. One other thing she had mentioned was that the team with the most dungeon exploration points will have a say in the end decision. However, I don’t know what she meant by it.” Ileena explained.
“Belinda Salroze told you that?” Narias was surprised to hear that.
“Why would she tell you something like that?” Flavia was puzzled as well.
“Like I said, I don’t know. But the rumors could have some truth in them,” the girl with the orange hair strands had a drink from her cup again.
“Now that you’ve mentioned it, I’ve noticed something strange when I saw my club’s team this morning.” Emilia remembered something.
“What do you mean?” Ileena asked.
“Well, the members of the team have changed.” The girl with the snow-white hair pointed out.
“So? What’s wrong with that?” the bunny girl didn’t see anything wrong with it.
“You see, the Elite Magicians student club has enough first-year students to form three teams. The previous teams were made almost randomly. As you know, each student in my club is capable enough, so it wouldn’t matter what team they were in. They’d do well no matter what. However, now the teams were changed in a way that one of the teams has the strongest students in it. It could be that they want to come out on top among all of the teams.” Emilia explained why she thought so.
“I see. So, maybe that’s why Belinda Salroze hinted to me that the team with the most dungeon exploration points will be able to influence the final decision.” Ileena quickly picked up why the teacher would do that.
“Aaargh… I’m totally confused,” Flavia threw her hands on her head. “All the rumors, changing team members at the last minute, dungeon exploration points, and all other things you have said. I can’t make any sense of it.”
“What Ileena and Emilia are trying to say is that the team who gets the highest score during the dungeon exploration will be able to influence what will happen to the Magic Dungeon exploration in the future.” Nicky tried to explain in simple terms.
“Oh, is that so? If that’s the case, then let’s just get more points than anyone else.” Flavia didn’t see any problem with that.
“I don’t think it will be that easy.” Emilia said.
“Why is that?” the bunny girl frowned. “Surely you don’t suggest we are too weak to beat the first-floor boss monster.”
“That’s not it,” the girl with the snow-white hair added. “Remember what I said about our club’s team members?”
“Yeah?” Flavia was still frowning.
“The new team consists of the strongest first-year students from the Elite Magicians club. I am certain they could beat the dungeon’s first-floor boss monster easily.” Emilia explained.
“Eeer… So, how do we get more points than them?” the bunny girl rubbed her cheek with one finger.
There was a moment of silence within the group.
“I think we need to defeat the boss monster on the second-floor.” Narias suddenly suggested.
“WHAT?” Everyone exclaimed.
Except Growly. The chubby bear beast-boy was now munching on his honey buns. And it seemed he wasn’t against the idea.
“But… the boss monster on the second floor will be… much stronger than…” Lilna, Narias classmate hasn’t finished her sentence, but everyone knew what she was trying to say.
“Ahem…” Ileena tried to compose herself. “I… I don’t think it’s a good idea, Narias.”
“I think… Ileena is right. Trying to defeat the second-floor boss monster inside the Magic Dungeon during our first exploration could be… too dangerous.” Emilia agreed with her.
“I think… it would be fun.” Growly on the other hand, wasn’t against it.
“Haha. I knew you had guts, partner,” Flavia hit Narias to the side with her elbow.
“Ugh… Ah… haha.” He laughed, trying to pretend it didn’t hurt. “Listen, aaah… I know we hadn’t planned it, but I believe we should at least give it a try. Defeating the boss monster on the second floor would definitely get us the most points. If the rumors about the changes are true, then we absolutely must get the most points. Otherwise, we risk to never be able to enter the Magic Dungeon again.”
“But…” it was evident that Lilna wasn’t willing. “But maybe the rumors are just rumors?”
“If the rumors are not true, then…” Narias had to think what to say.
“Then we’ll be the first team to defeat the second-floor boss monster on our first Magic Dungeon exploration.” Flavia announced with a wide grin.
“Flavia?” Lilna looked at Flavia full of surprise.
“I… I think we could try…” Emilia changed her mind all of a sudden.
“Emilia…” Narias smiled at her, which made Emilia catch a mild blush. “Oh, I… I mean it’s only a suggestion. I honestly don’t want anyone to get hurt. Besides, we will have one of the teachers as our guide. If we see it is too dangerous on the second floor, and if the teacher says we need to turn back, we’ll turn around and go home. But I definitely think it is worth a try.”
“Hah, me too, partner,” Flavia was quick to agree with him.
“If you put it that way then… maybe… we could try…” it looked like Narias’ words persuaded Lilna to at least give it a try.
“Great, thank you, Lilna,” Narias was happy she finally agreed.
“All right, everyone’s on board now,” the energetic bunny girl cheered.
“Ahem… aren’t you forgetting something?” Ileena suddenly asked.
“Huh? What?” Flavia, and the others, turned to her.
“You were planning to go after the first-floor boss monster only,” the girl in glasses pointed out.
“Hey, don’t tell me you don’t believe in us, or in Narias?” the bunny girl furrowed her eyebrows.
“Not at all. However, will you have enough supplies to go deeper into the dungeon?” Ileena pierced everyone with her words.
Oh, no. She’s right. Narias instantly realized reaching the second boss monster might not be possible.
“We’ll just have to get more food, that’s all.” Flavia instantly responded.
“And do you have enough time for that?” Ileena had another drink from her cup.
“Sure… we still have…” the bunny girl turned to see what time it was. “What? The lunch break is almost over. We have only two hours left and I still have to go to my dorm to pick up my backpack.”
“We could get some food from the campus shop, but it’s in the opposite direction to where our dorms are. And it’s quite a distance to the Magic Dungeon entrance too.” Emilia covered her mouth with one hand, realizing she would not make it in time.
“Bummer, what do we do?” Flavia tried to think.
“Calm down, please.” Narias said. “How about this? Growly and I will go get more food and water from the campus shop. It is on the way to our dorms anyway. The rest of you go get changed, get your backpacks and go directly to the Magic Dungeon. We’ll meet you there.”
“Good thinking, partner.” Flavia let out a sigh of relief.
“Ok, then… I think… I better go then.” Emilia stood up to go.
“Can I walk together with you, Emilia? Our dorms are close to each other.” Lilna asked.
“Sure, I don’t mind,” she smiled.
“Good luck all.” Nicky wished them.
“Thanks Nicky. Ok, see you all later.” Flavia rushed out of the dining hall.
“Shall we go?” Growly made sure to finish his food before standing up.
“Yeah,” Narias agreed.
“Can I accompany you, Narias?” Ileena stood up after him.
“Huh? Accompany me? But the lunch break is almost over. Don’t you have classes?” he wondered.
“Yes, but… I still have time. I’d like to accompany you to your dorm, then I... will go back to my next class.” She insisted.
“Well, ok. I don’t mind,” he agreed. “See you later, Nicky.”
“Bye,” added Growly.
“Bye,” the tiny girl with the charming pigtails waved.
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