“Another one is coming from your left, Growly!” Flavia warned her party member before jumping at the Fanged Wolf that was coming at her from the front. “Haah!”
“Grrhmph!” Growly smacked the monster from the left with his furry paw, which was more than enough to kill it on the spot.
“Hah, that’s how you do it,” the girl with the bunny ears smirked after defeating her own Fanged Wolf. She then turned to see how the rest of her party was doing. “Now then…”
“Wind Blade,” Narias was in a full swing. His Wind Blade spell was powerful enough to kill a level two monster in one hit as well.
Wow. I’m so glad I put in the time to train my Wind Blade spell. I will have to thank Professor Zeanlor for his help. Narias thought to himself.
“Ice Shards,” in the meantime, Emilia got rid of another Dungeon Crawler.
The student team was working really well together. Growly and Flavia were the first ones to engage the monsters as soon as they encounter any. Whether it was only a few stray Fanged Wolves or a whole pack, like it was now, both of them would charge forward to get the monsters attention.
Narias would join them right after to provide support from the distance. He’d either use his offensive spells to thin the monster numbers before the creatures reach his teammates or he’d use his Wind Shield spell to protect his friends. Emilia’s and Lilna’s main job were to take care of the Dungeon Crawlers from a safe distance or help everyone defeat the Fanged Wolves.
In all honesty however, Growly and Flavia were strong enough to defeat the monsters on their own, which they usually did. Except for that one time when the students have reached the room where the Fanged Wolves dug a lair for themselves. At that time, the party was overwhelmed by the unexpected number of monsters coming at them out of nowhere, so they had to change tactics. But other than that, Narias’ group had no difficulty defeating the monsters they had encountered so far.
After a few more spells, and a few more kicks and punches, all the monsters were defeated. The last Fanged Wolf fell on the ground, with its body dissipating into the thin air. The group wasn’t about to let their guard down just yet, however. Everyone was alert and wary about getting jumped by some monster still hiding somewhere.
“I think… there aren’t any more left,” Narias finally said.
“I don’t see any more Dungeon Crawlers,” said Emilia.
“Neither do I,” added Lilna.
“All good,” Growly was short and clear as always.
“Wait, I think I heard something,” Flavia announced suddenly.
“Where?” Narias was ready to fight again.
“Ah? Hmm… That’s strange…” Flavia showed a confused facial expression.
“I don’t see anything. Where is it?” Narias asked again.
“I…” the half beast bunny girl tried to listen. “Naah… it’s gone. Must’ve been my imagination. Sorry.”
Flavia threw one hand behind her back while adding an awkward smile on her face.
“That’s ok. It’s better to be sure there aren’t any more monsters around,” Narias didn’t mind.
“Well done,” Belinda Salroze congratulated the students after everyone confirmed there were no more monsters left nearby.
“Thank you, Miss Salroze,” said Narias then turned to his teammates. “Shall we check if the monsters dropped any Magic Crystals?”
“Yeah,” Flavia exclaimed excitedly.
The group went to check if the monsters dropped anything. They have defeated seven monsters in the current room and have found two Magic Crystals. No treasure chests or Crystalized Mold have been found this time, unfortunately. The students decided to have some rest before moving forward.
“Is everything ok, Flavia?” Narias noticed his bunny girlfriend was spacing out for some reason.
“Oh, aaa… No, it’s nothing. I’m coming,” she snapped out of it and went after him.
The group sat down to have a short chat to evaluate their progress so far.
“You’ve done quite well,” Miss Salroze complimented the students. “I have to admit, you’re the first group of students I came to the Magic Dungeon with who made such progress in such a short amount of time.”
The teacher seemed to be in high spirits too.
“Short amount of time? But we’ve been inside the Magic Dungeon for hours now,” Flavia was surprised to hear such praise.
“That’s true. However, many other student groups couldn’t even reach the point where you encounter level two monsters in twice the time. You on the other hand, managed to easily find your way into the deeper part of the dungeon floor,” the teacher shared her experience.
“Really?” Emilia was surprised as well. She brushed her snow-white hair to the side before adding another thought. “But… the monsters aren’t that strong in here.”
“It’s not only about the monsters. There are many other factors that make it difficult to explore the Magic Dungeon,” Belinda Salroze said thoughtfully.
“What do you mean, Miss Salroze?” Lilna asked.
“First of all, you all seemed to be well prepared with the supplies. Honestly, that’s the most essential part before coming down to the Magic Dungeon. You’d be surprised how many students don’t take it seriously. I’ve seen groups coming down here with the students bringing one single bottle of water and a small snack with them. Needless to say, their exploration would end after an hour or less,” the teacher dropped her head with a disappointing, or even embarrassed look in her eyes.
“But that’s unwise. You’ll need food and water if you want to explore the Magic Dungeon properly,” Narias was flabbergasted about what their party guide said.
“Exactly. However, food and water aren’t the only things that are needed if you want to successfully explore the dungeon. Many previous groups would get lost and walk in circles without accomplishing much. Others would panic on the first monster encounter and I’d have to step in to save them. Hah, it sounds funny and sad at the same time when I think about it,” Belinda Salroze was quite open with her experience. “That’s not to say that all the student groups were like that. I’ve witnessed some impressive dungeon explorations too. There were many excellent students who showed wonderful results in the past.”
“If we talk about not getting lost, we have to thank Narias for that. It was his idea to always choose the right-side path. If it was me, I’d jump from one path to the other and we’d probably get lost sooner or later. Haha,” Flavia told everyone with a laugh at the end.
“Yes, Narias’ idea was really incredible,” Emilia admitted, throwing a quick glance at him, then quickly turning her charming, slightly flushed face away as soon as their eyes have met.
“Getting lost in the Magic Dungeon is no laughing matter,” the teacher on the other hand, threw a serious stare at Flavia.
“Eeek… Sorry,” Flavia quickly apologized.
“Have you been lost in the Magic Dungeon before, Miss Salroze?” Narias asked out of the blue.
“Huh? Well…” his question took Belinda by surprise.
“Oh, sorry,” he noticed how uncomfortable the teacher has become.
“Sigh… it’s ok. I suppose… there’s no harm in telling you… ” the teacher made a pause in order to gather her thoughts. “I have been lost in the Magic Dungeon once before. I’ve been told by the more experienced explorers that I shouldn’t be too hard on myself, but I still felt embarrassed about it. It was quite nerve wracking at the time as well. Fortunately, we have found our way back after a little back and forth, but that still put me in a very unpleasant position. As a guide, I should’ve been more prepared… and stricter too…”
“Stricter? What do you mean by that, Miss Salroze?” FlavEmilia wanted to know.
“Well… The student group I was part of was exploring the second floor of the Magic Dungeon at the time. Let me tell you this, the second floor of the dungeon is nothing like the first floor. It is much bigger and much more confusing to navigate through. It wasn’t the first time inside the dungeon for the said students, of course. Nor it was the first time I was there myself. But I was still inexperienced as a guide. The group was doing very well and I was happy to see my students do such a good job. With everyone being in high spirits, the students wanted to go deeper into the dungeon. I was a little overconfident with my abilities as a guide at the time, so I agreed. That was a big mistake on my part,” Belinda made a pause, with her face turning sour as she remembered the incident. “Long story short, the Magic Dungeon isn’t called ‘Magic’ for nothing. One wrong turn, or decision, can cost you dearly. One of the students accidentally found a hidden path and everyone wanted to check it out. That was our biggest mistake. As soon as all of us went through, the entrance behind us closed and we couldn’t go back. It took us a while to find our way out. If not for the diligent preparations by the students, and a fortunate find of the Supply Point with some leftover food and water, our exploration could’ve ended quite different.”
“Wow, that sounds scary,” Lilna exclaimed quietly while covering her mouth with both hands.
“Now that I think about it, maybe letting you go to the second floor of the Magic Dungeon isn’t such a great idea after all,” Belinda suddenly announced.
“What? But you’ve already agreed we could go, Miss Salroze,” Flavia jumped to her feet.
“Hah, I never agreed to it,” the teacher smirked at the girl student. “I simply said it will depend on how well you will perform.”
“But we’re doing very well, aren’t we?” the girl with the bunny ears made a point.
“Yes, you are, but I am still in charge here, aren’t I?” Belinda made a point too.
“That’s not fair,” Flavia became upset about it.
“Calm down, Flavia,” Narias jumped in to soften the situation.
“But…” his girlfriend wanted to argue.
“Listen, I understand you want to explore more of the Magic Dungeon. So do I, but Miss Salroze is right. We cannot be too careful,” he tried to explain to her.
“Well…” Flavia pouted her lips.
“Sorry about that, Miss Salroze,” Narias apologized to the teacher on Flavia’s behalf.
“Hmm…” Belinda gave him a puzzling stare. “I’m sorry too. My comment was out of place.”
“That’s ok. I understand you are worried about us, that’s all,” he smiled at her.
“I…” that almost made Belinda blush. “Ahem… I shall excuse myself for a moment. I’ll go make sure there are no monsters around. Let me know when you want to move on.”
“Oh, ok,” said Narias, taken slightly aback by the teacher’s sudden act.
The athletic female teacher quickly stood up and walked a few steps away. She brushed her violet hair to the side quietly.
Tsk… What am I doing snapping at the students like that? And why is ‘he’ so… Sigh… I better keep it together. Belinda was thinking to herself after she was by herself.
“Are you ok, Flavia?” Narias asked her afterwards.
“Yeah, I just…” she felt embarrassed about her actions. “I’m sorry everyone. I probably made Miss Salroze mad and now she won’t let us go to the second floor of the Magic Dungeon.”
“It’s ok. It’s our first time inside the dungeon. All of us are excited to be here,” Narias wasn’t upset about it or anything.
“Don’t sweat it,” Growly added in an understanding manner.
“Yeah, we’re all in it together,” Lilna said with a smile.
“It’s ok. We’ll do our best and see how far we can go,” Emilia was kind with her words.
“You guys… huh?” Flavia became alert again all of a sudden.
“Is something wrong?” Narias noticed it.
“Well… I can hear this sound now and then, but…” the girl with the bunny ears tried to listen harder.
“Are there monsters nearby?” the other students became alert too.
“I don’t think so. I am fairly familiar to how the Fanged Wolves or Dungeon Crawlers sound by now. I am certain it’s neither of those, but it’s weird… The sound comes and goes…” Flavia was trying to catch where the sound was coming from. “Huh? Here it was again. Did you hear it?”
“What?” Lilna exclaimed.
“I couldn’t hear anything,” said Narias.
“Neither did I,” added Emilia.
“…” Growly was quiet, but tried to listen intently.
It must be because of her bunny ears. Flavia must have an excellent hearing. Narias was thinking to himself quietly.
“Is something the matter?” Belinda came back to ask after seeing the students being alert for some reason.
“I’m not sure, but… Flavia said she heard something,” Narias answered her question.
“Really?” the teacher looked around. “What is it?”
“I don’t know. It came… from that direction,” Flavia pointed with her finger. “But… it could be nothing.”
“We better check it out anyway,” suggested Narias.
“I think we should,” Emilia agreed.
“I’ll go first,” Growly stepped forward.
“Right, ok. Let me just make sure…” Flavia closed her eyes to focus on her hearing better.
Everyone became extremely quiet to let her listen.
━━━━━━━━━
Thank you for reading. Leave a comment and favorite the chapter if you enjoyed it.
Read 10+ extra chapters on my Patreon – Extra Chapters on Patreon
━━━━━━━━━
Extra thanks to nonomo4 and Lynderyn for their support and help.
“Another one is coming from your left, Growly!” Flavia warned her party member before jumping at the Fanged Wolf that was coming at her from the front. “Haah!”
“Grrhmph!” Growly smacked the monster from the left with his furry paw, which was more than enough to kill it on the spot.
“Hah, that’s how you do it,” the girl with the bunny ears smirked after defeating her own Fanged Wolf. She then turned to see how the rest of her party was doing. “Now then…”
“Wind Blade,” Narias was in a full swing. His Wind Blade spell was powerful enough to kill a level two monster in one hit as well.
Wow. I’m so glad I put in the time to train my Wind Blade spell. I will have to thank Professor Zeanlor for his help. Narias thought to himself.
“Ice Shards,” in the meantime, Emilia got rid of another Dungeon Crawler.
The student team was working really well together. Growly and Flavia were the first ones to engage the monsters as soon as they encounter any. Whether it was only a few stray Fanged Wolves or a whole pack, like it was now, both of them would charge forward to get the monsters attention.
Narias would join them right after to provide support from the distance. He’d either use his offensive spells to thin the monster numbers before the creatures reach his teammates or he’d use his Wind Shield spell to protect his friends. Emilia’s and Lilna’s main job were to take care of the Dungeon Crawlers from a safe distance or help everyone defeat the Fanged Wolves.
In all honesty however, Growly and Flavia were strong enough to defeat the monsters on their own, which they usually did. Except for that one time when the students have reached the room where the Fanged Wolves dug a lair for themselves. At that time, the party was overwhelmed by the unexpected number of monsters coming at them out of nowhere, so they had to change tactics. But other than that, Narias’ group had no difficulty defeating the monsters they had encountered so far.
After a few more spells, and a few more kicks and punches, all the monsters were defeated. The last Fanged Wolf fell on the ground, with its body dissipating into the thin air. The group wasn’t about to let their guard down just yet, however. Everyone was alert and wary about getting jumped by some monster still hiding somewhere.
“I think… there aren’t any more left,” Narias finally said.
“I don’t see any more Dungeon Crawlers,” said Emilia.
“Neither do I,” added Lilna.
“All good,” Growly was short and clear as always.
“Wait, I think I heard something,” Flavia announced suddenly.
“Where?” Narias was ready to fight again.
“Ah? Hmm… That’s strange…” Flavia showed a confused facial expression.
“I don’t see anything. Where is it?” Narias asked again.
“I…” the half beast bunny girl tried to listen. “Naah… it’s gone. Must’ve been my imagination. Sorry.”
Flavia threw one hand behind her back while adding an awkward smile on her face.
“That’s ok. It’s better to be sure there aren’t any more monsters around,” Narias didn’t mind.
“Well done,” Belinda Salroze congratulated the students after everyone confirmed there were no more monsters left nearby.
“Thank you, Miss Salroze,” said Narias then turned to his teammates. “Shall we check if the monsters dropped any Magic Crystals?”
“Yeah,” Flavia exclaimed excitedly.
The group went to check if the monsters dropped anything. They have defeated seven monsters in the current room and have found two Magic Crystals. No treasure chests or Crystalized Mold have been found this time, unfortunately. The students decided to have some rest before moving forward.
“Is everything ok, Flavia?” Narias noticed his bunny girlfriend was spacing out for some reason.
“Oh, aaa… No, it’s nothing. I’m coming,” she snapped out of it and went after him.
The group sat down to have a short chat to evaluate their progress so far.
“You’ve done quite well,” Miss Salroze complimented the students. “I have to admit, you’re the first group of students I came to the Magic Dungeon with who made such progress in such a short amount of time.”
The teacher seemed to be in high spirits too.
“Short amount of time? But we’ve been inside the Magic Dungeon for hours now,” Flavia was surprised to hear such praise.
“That’s true. However, many other student groups couldn’t even reach the point where you encounter level two monsters in twice the time. You on the other hand, managed to easily find your way into the deeper part of the dungeon floor,” the teacher shared her experience.
“Really?” Emilia was surprised as well. She brushed her snow-white hair to the side before adding another thought. “But… the monsters aren’t that strong in here.”
“It’s not only about the monsters. There are many other factors that make it difficult to explore the Magic Dungeon,” Belinda Salroze said thoughtfully.
“What do you mean, Miss Salroze?” Lilna asked.
“First of all, you all seemed to be well prepared with the supplies. Honestly, that’s the most essential part before coming down to the Magic Dungeon. You’d be surprised how many students don’t take it seriously. I’ve seen groups coming down here with the students bringing one single bottle of water and a small snack with them. Needless to say, their exploration would end after an hour or less,” the teacher dropped her head with a disappointing, or even embarrassed look in her eyes.
“But that’s unwise. You’ll need food and water if you want to explore the Magic Dungeon properly,” Narias was flabbergasted about what their party guide said.
“Exactly. However, food and water aren’t the only things that are needed if you want to successfully explore the dungeon. Many previous groups would get lost and walk in circles without accomplishing much. Others would panic on the first monster encounter and I’d have to step in to save them. Hah, it sounds funny and sad at the same time when I think about it,” Belinda Salroze was quite open with her experience. “That’s not to say that all the student groups were like that. I’ve witnessed some impressive dungeon explorations too. There were many excellent students who showed wonderful results in the past.”
“If we talk about not getting lost, we have to thank Narias for that. It was his idea to always choose the right-side path. If it was me, I’d jump from one path to the other and we’d probably get lost sooner or later. Haha,” Flavia told everyone with a laugh at the end.
“Yes, Narias’ idea was really incredible,” Emilia admitted, throwing a quick glance at him, then quickly turning her charming, slightly flushed face away as soon as their eyes have met.
“Getting lost in the Magic Dungeon is no laughing matter,” the teacher on the other hand, threw a serious stare at Flavia.
“Eeek… Sorry,” Flavia quickly apologized.
“Have you been lost in the Magic Dungeon before, Miss Salroze?” Narias asked out of the blue.
“Huh? Well…” his question took Belinda by surprise.
“Oh, sorry,” he noticed how uncomfortable the teacher has become.
“Sigh… it’s ok. I suppose… there’s no harm in telling you… ” the teacher made a pause in order to gather her thoughts. “I have been lost in the Magic Dungeon once before. I’ve been told by the more experienced explorers that I shouldn’t be too hard on myself, but I still felt embarrassed about it. It was quite nerve wracking at the time as well. Fortunately, we have found our way back after a little back and forth, but that still put me in a very unpleasant position. As a guide, I should’ve been more prepared… and stricter too…”
“Stricter? What do you mean by that, Miss Salroze?” FlavEmilia wanted to know.
“Well… The student group I was part of was exploring the second floor of the Magic Dungeon at the time. Let me tell you this, the second floor of the dungeon is nothing like the first floor. It is much bigger and much more confusing to navigate through. It wasn’t the first time inside the dungeon for the said students, of course. Nor it was the first time I was there myself. But I was still inexperienced as a guide. The group was doing very well and I was happy to see my students do such a good job. With everyone being in high spirits, the students wanted to go deeper into the dungeon. I was a little overconfident with my abilities as a guide at the time, so I agreed. That was a big mistake on my part,” Belinda made a pause, with her face turning sour as she remembered the incident. “Long story short, the Magic Dungeon isn’t called ‘Magic’ for nothing. One wrong turn, or decision, can cost you dearly. One of the students accidentally found a hidden path and everyone wanted to check it out. That was our biggest mistake. As soon as all of us went through, the entrance behind us closed and we couldn’t go back. It took us a while to find our way out. If not for the diligent preparations by the students, and a fortunate find of the Supply Point with some leftover food and water, our exploration could’ve ended quite different.”
“Wow, that sounds scary,” Lilna exclaimed quietly while covering her mouth with both hands.
“Now that I think about it, maybe letting you go to the second floor of the Magic Dungeon isn’t such a great idea after all,” Belinda suddenly announced.
“What? But you’ve already agreed we could go, Miss Salroze,” Flavia jumped to her feet.
“Hah, I never agreed to it,” the teacher smirked at the girl student. “I simply said it will depend on how well you will perform.”
“But we’re doing very well, aren’t we?” the girl with the bunny ears made a point.
“Yes, you are, but I am still in charge here, aren’t I?” Belinda made a point too.
“That’s not fair,” Flavia became upset about it.
“Calm down, Flavia,” Narias jumped in to soften the situation.
“But…” his girlfriend wanted to argue.
“Listen, I understand you want to explore more of the Magic Dungeon. So do I, but Miss Salroze is right. We cannot be too careful,” he tried to explain to her.
“Well…” Flavia pouted her lips.
“Sorry about that, Miss Salroze,” Narias apologized to the teacher on Flavia’s behalf.
“Hmm…” Belinda gave him a puzzling stare. “I’m sorry too. My comment was out of place.”
“That’s ok. I understand you are worried about us, that’s all,” he smiled at her.
“I…” that almost made Belinda blush. “Ahem… I shall excuse myself for a moment. I’ll go make sure there are no monsters around. Let me know when you want to move on.”
“Oh, ok,” said Narias, taken slightly aback by the teacher’s sudden act.
The athletic female teacher quickly stood up and walked a few steps away. She brushed her violet hair to the side quietly.
Tsk… What am I doing snapping at the students like that? And why is ‘he’ so… Sigh… I better keep it together. Belinda was thinking to herself after she was by herself.
“Are you ok, Flavia?” Narias asked her afterwards.
“Yeah, I just…” she felt embarrassed about her actions. “I’m sorry everyone. I probably made Miss Salroze mad and now she won’t let us go to the second floor of the Magic Dungeon.”
“It’s ok. It’s our first time inside the dungeon. All of us are excited to be here,” Narias wasn’t upset about it or anything.
“Don’t sweat it,” Growly added in an understanding manner.
“Yeah, we’re all in it together,” Lilna said with a smile.
“It’s ok. We’ll do our best and see how far we can go,” Emilia was kind with her words.
“You guys… huh?” Flavia became alert again all of a sudden.
“Is something wrong?” Narias noticed it.
“Well… I can hear this sound now and then, but…” the girl with the bunny ears tried to listen harder.
“Are there monsters nearby?” the other students became alert too.
“I don’t think so. I am fairly familiar to how the Fanged Wolves or Dungeon Crawlers sound by now. I am certain it’s neither of those, but it’s weird… The sound comes and goes…” Flavia was trying to catch where the sound was coming from. “Huh? Here it was again. Did you hear it?”
“What?” Lilna exclaimed.
“I couldn’t hear anything,” said Narias.
“Neither did I,” added Emilia.
“…” Growly was quiet, but tried to listen intently.
It must be because of her bunny ears. Flavia must have an excellent hearing. Narias was thinking to himself quietly.
“Is something the matter?” Belinda came back to ask after seeing the students being alert for some reason.
“I’m not sure, but… Flavia said she heard something,” Narias answered her question.
“Really?” the teacher looked around. “What is it?”
“I don’t know. It came… from that direction,” Flavia pointed with her finger. “But… it could be nothing.”
“We better check it out anyway,” suggested Narias.
“I think we should,” Emilia agreed.
“I’ll go first,” Growly stepped forward.
“Right, ok. Let me just make sure…” Flavia closed her eyes to focus on her hearing better.
Everyone became extremely quiet to let her listen.
━━━━━━━━━
Thank you for reading. Leave a comment and favorite the chapter if you enjoyed it.
Read 10+ extra chapters on my Patreon – Extra Chapters on Patreon
━━━━━━━━━
Extra thanks to nonomo4 and Lynderyn for their support and help.
