"Prepare yourselves," Jane repeated. "We will be dropping in order."
"...What?" a student stammered.
Entering the dungeon was perilous beyond belief. They had to leap into the heart of an erupting volcano and perfectly time their entry into the black portal. One wrong move meant a fatal plunge into the magma, where their bones would melt in an instant. As the bewildered students hesitated, Jane’s voice cut through their fear.
"What did you think entering a dungeon would be? It isn’t a simple walk in the park." She turned her head and gave a signal. "If you would, Professor Walter."
"Yes."
Once again, Walter stepped forward. His dry lips parted, and a voice like a warm breeze flowed out. "‘Chasseur’."
The net of hemomancy that had shielded them on the ascent now descended into the volcano, spreading out like a vast cushion. It completely blocked the raw force of the eruption.
’Whoa!’
’To think he could plug a volcano with magic like that!’ This was Kizen’s Professor of Hemomancy, demonstrating a level of mastery that seemed impossible for magic created from mere blood.
"Alright, we will now enter quickly and in order," Jane announced.
The students shuffled nervously, each trying to let others go first. Though the eruption had subsided, the fear remained.
"Here I go!"
A male student bravely stepped forward, launched himself off a jet-black platform, and soared into the air. He did a clean spin, faced his classmates, and yelled, "See you on the other side, if we survive!"
With a triumphant cry, he plunged perfectly into the portal. A ripple of impressed gasps spread through the crowd.
Jane nodded.
"Well done. Next."
A sense of composure gradually returned to the students. The volcano was terrifying, but it was hardly insurmountable compared to the trials they had already endured. Once the first student made the leap, the others followed in a swift cascade, dropping one by one into the portal.
"I’m off," Simon announced, stepping forward as the first from Team 7.
Dick grinned, slapping Simon’s hand in a high-five.
"See you in the second year, buddy!"
Meirin extended her hand, her gaze sharp.
"I won’t lose this time. I’m aiming to graduate at the top of our class, so you’d better give it everything you’ve got."
He shared a light hug with Kamibarez as well.
"Please come back safely, Simon," she whispered.
Fueled by their energy, Simon strode confidently toward the precipice. He could see the teaching assistants forming a protective barrier, deflecting flying debris with shields of black magic.
"Simon."
He paused. Professor Bahil of Cursology was smiling, giving him a small wave.
"Ah, Professor Bahil!"
"Have a safe trip. And you haven’t forgotten what I told you, have you?"
Simon nodded firmly.
"I’ll save ‘Compellonia’ for the very end and use it only as a last resort."
Bahil’s smile widened at Simon’s sharp memory.
"Excellent."
After passing the professor, Simon joined the line of students preparing to dive. They were jumping in rapid succession, and his turn came quickly.
"Are you well-prepared for the exam?" Jane asked, her typically blank expression softening for a moment as she addressed him.
Simon grinned back.
"Yes! I’m in perfect condition!"
"Return safely."
"Thank you!"
He glanced back at his teammates, who were now approaching the line.
"I’m going first."
Waving to them one last time, Simon leaped without hesitation. He twisted in mid-air, righting his posture just as a pitch-black portal materialized before him.
’Alright.’
Just as he began his descent straight toward the dungeon’s entrance, a thunderous explosion tore through the air. A mountain-sized mass of magma erupted through the net of blood magic, surging upward.
There was no time to draw a magic circle. Simon’s palm flew open, readying his martial arts, but before he could act—
‘Spuma.’
‘Paralyze.’
—streaks of black magic shot like arrows from the two professors at the summit. Jane and Bahil’s spells instantly trapped and suppressed the magma, and in that brief window, Simon passed safely into the dungeon.
’That was too close.’
The moment he entered the portal, his vision was plunged into darkness. He was hurtling through a constricting, pitch-black tunnel at a terrifying speed. The disorienting sensation of crossing dimensions was entirely different from using a teleportation circle; this felt like being truly sucked into another world.
’Ah!’
Suddenly, an end came into view. Bursting from the long, dark tunnel, Simon emerged into a world of dazzling light.
’So this is the dungeon!’
He was suspended in a vast, open sky. A gentle gravity, subtly different from the continent’s, seemed to embrace him. As his vision cleared, he felt his body slowly descending.
His eyes fluttered open as consciousness returned. A cool breeze rustled through a field of grass with a soft ’swoosh’. The first thing he saw was the very same passage he had glimpsed upon entering—the portal, hanging in the sky. It was surrounded by a cluster of large and small satellites, like a collection of moons, while countless stars glittered in the night sky.
’I landed without any injuries.’
Feeling a wave of dizziness, Simon pressed a hand to his forehead and sat up. Though everyone called it a dungeon, it was, in essence, a pocket dimension. He scanned his surroundings.
"Wow..."
It was the most breathtaking nightscape he had ever witnessed. The plants around him glowed with a brilliant, fluorescent light. Even the stones and boulders scattered along the path shimmered softly. The myriad lights, all of different colors and sizes, merged into a true festival of light. For a fleeting moment, he was so captivated that he thought he could live happily trapped here, just gazing at the scenery.
’Okay, snap out of it.’
He’d been dropped into a perilous dungeon; he couldn’t afford to be mesmerized. He shot to his feet.
’What’s the first step?’
The objective of any dungeon was always the same: kill the Dungeon Lord, the boss monster. The standard strategy was to explore, gather clues, and piece them together to deduce the lord’s location. But Jane had said this dungeon was the size of an entire kingdom. This would take time. With 647 necromancers deployed at once, it would eventually be cleared, but there was no telling how long that would take.
’Prepare for a long haul. First, I need to gather food.’
All he had was a two-day supply kit from Kizen and an artifact that produced drinking water. Students had been forbidden from sneaking in extra provisions; they’d undergone a thorough subspace inspection, and Simon had broken into a cold sweat when they mentioned using a subspace radar. He had a massive, hidden subspace on his person. Pier had warned him that bringing too many Ancient Undead might cause a distortion the radar could detect, so he had brought only the most essential one: Pier himself.
’Anyway, no matter how fast we clear it, this is a marathon, not a sprint. It’ll take at least a week. Food is the biggest concern.’
Simon decided to scout the immediate area. He would cooperate if he ran into other students, but in a territory this vast, he doubted he would meet anyone soon.
’I’ll just have to assume I’m on my own and investigate everything.’
At that same moment, in the Grand Auditorium on Roc Island.
"Thank you for your patience!" the emcee, dressed in a flamboyant outfit, shouted into an amplifying crystal sphere from the podium. "To all the parents and officials who have come to observe the Kizen promotion exam and the fifth BMAT, welcome! I am Conrad Hayaborn, and I will be your host for this broadcast!"
He bowed politely as the audience applauded.
"Yes, yes, a pleasure to be here! ’Hahaha!’ It was a shame the fourth BMAT broadcast was canceled when it suddenly became an ‘After-School BMAT,’ but I’m grateful you’ve arranged this for the finale!"
While it was a promotion exam, it was also officially the fifth BMAT, which permitted parental observation and a broadcast. The emcee continued, reading from his script.
"As you are all aware, an exam of this scale is subject to many changes. The broadcast will run for a maximum of two weeks, ten hours a day. Kizen will provide all lodging and meals, but leaving the permitted areas of the island is strictly forbidden, so please maintain order. Yes, yes."
After rattling off the precautions, he quickly flipped through his notecards.
"Also, please understand that a live broadcast is impossible, as the dungeon is a separate dimension from the continent! The footage sent to the school is relayed from recordings retrieved from observers floating in the dungeon’s sky. Be aware that this will create a time lag with the students’ real-time actions! Now, then! I would like to introduce a Kizen professor who will be assisting me with commentary for this exam!"
This was a crucial moment. With a tense expression, Conrad flipped to the card bearing the professor’s name.
’Please don’t be Professor Byulya! Please don’t be Professor Jane!’
Footsteps echoed on the podium. His face fell for a moment when he saw her.
’Don’t tell me it’s Professor Byulya?!’
He thought so for a second, but a closer look revealed subtle differences in her features. She wasn’t wearing one of those overwhelming outfits, either. Her hair was tied back, her figure was tall and willowy, and her body was toned with tan muscles. Finally rechecking his list, the emcee beamed.
"Allow me to introduce her! The legend of martial arts who single-handedly defeated the great disaster, the Kundar Hydra! Top-ranked in student satisfaction for five consecutive years! The professor currently in charge of the first-years’ Combat Magic, Professor Hongfeng Toon Soqum Marlat!"
The parents, already familiar with Hongfeng’s name, clapped warmly. The exotic-looking woman smiled brightly and bowed her head.
"A pleazure to meet you, parentz and Kizen officialz! I am Teazer Hongfeng!"
The emcee flinched. "Teaser?"
"Yes! Teazer!"
"Ah, you pronounce ‘Teacher’ as ‘Teaser’...! ’Ahaha!’ The continental language can have some tricky pronunciations! Right! In any case, I look forward to working with you on this broadcast!"
"Yes! Mr. Emcee!" she replied cheerfully.
Though Conrad was smiling, his eyes were trembling. He had a sinking feeling he’d gotten tangled up in something strange again.
’Are there no normal professors at Kizen?’
"Now! I’m told the observers have just arrived and are preparing to transmit the video. Before that, Professor Hongfeng! Could you please explain the promotion exam being held in this dungeon?"
She nodded and picked up an amplifying crystal sphere.
"For a necromanzer, dungeon conquezt is an unavoidable ordeal. It is a place where danger and wealth coexizt!"
"I-I see! Have you ever been to a dungeon yourself, Professor?"
"Of courze! Zo many timez. There waz one dungeon that took over five monthz. I almost ztarved to death. Ah! There is even a Kizen bishop inside a dungeon right now. Teazer Zilage."
It was bewildering at first, but Conrad was gradually getting used to her unique way of speaking. He found himself falling for her bubbly personality and friendly smile.
"Ahem, then, Professor! Could you also give us a brief explanation of this dungeon?"
"Okay."
She signaled to the assistants, and a rough map of the dungeon appeared.
"Our Kizen agentz have already surveyed the dungeon’z ztructure. As you can see, no matter where the studentz are dropped, it iz possible for them to reach the Dungeon Lord."
"Ooh, I see! Then what is the most important factor for the students to clear the dungeon?"
"Exploration."
She spread her palm wide.
"You muzt not overlook even the zmallest thingz! You muzt queztion and analyze everything to get the hints that lead to the Dungeon Lord!"
"I-I see! Ah, I’m told the first video from the observer has just arrived! Let’s watch it together!"
Dungeon, Day 1.
Simon was rummaging through anything that looked edible, his primary focus being the local flora. The fruits growing on the trees were a particularly important food source, obtainable with minimal risk.
"But this..." Simon muttered, staring at a fruit that had fallen from a tree. "It won’t break."
The fruit’s peel was as hard as a mineral. No, it wasn’t ’like’ a mineral; it ’was’ a mineral, one that likely only existed in this dungeon. The plants’ fluorescent glow was a result of this mineral’s luminescent properties. Everything from the tree roots to the leaves was covered in the same material. Some parts were flexible, while others were as rigid as steel.
’B-But why is it so hard?’
Neither his martial arts nor the Overlord’s tentacle blades could break or even cut it. He pressed a hand to his forehead, lost in thought.
’THUMP! THUMP!’
Startled, Simon spun around. He hadn’t sensed a thing, but heavy footfalls suddenly echoed as if from nowhere. A moment later, a large monster rustled through the trees, its back bearing a shell covered in the same sparkling mineral as its surroundings. It looked strong. As a creature that didn’t exist on the continent, it had no official danger level; he couldn’t gauge its strength without a fight.
’My first battle in the dungeon.’
The monster glared at him, snorting, its hostility toward an outsider palpable.
’I wonder what kind of clues it holds?’
At the same instant, man and beast charged.

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