[Dunkelheit Dungeon]
This was a huge labyrinth that consisted of a hundred floors. As one of the bronze-ranked Dungeons, the lower you go, the stronger the Magic Beasts become. Even so, this dungeon was a very popular place for mercenaries and adventurers. Moreover, the Magic Beasts in the dungeons also possessed higher quality Magic Stones in their body compared to the Magic Beasts in the wilderness.
The Magic Stone is the core that provides power to the Magic Beast. The stronger the Magic Beast, the higher the quality of the core. These Magic Stones act as a source of power for the entire continent. It is said that an SSS-rank Magic Stone powers the entire Starlight Academy. Magic Stones are also used to create magic armor and magic swords for those who are not knights. This is also how the continent was able to survive against the demon invasion.
By the way, powerful Magic Beasts with high-quality Magic Stones can use inherent magic just like the knights.
Instructor Helda and Instructor Zayn brought the students to their temporary lodging in the small town of [Dukeward]. The adventurers who wished to challenge [Dunkelheit Dungeon] would stay here. Tonight, the students were staying in an inn that was owned by the Starlight Academy.
Grey was sleeping on the bed in the room that was assigned to him thinking and preparing himself mentally, for tomorrow's raid. He was extremely anxious as well as excited about tomorrow. The instructors have decided to give them marks depending on their performance. Grey clenched his fist thinking that this was his only chance to pass in the first year. While thinking he slowly fell asleep.
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Right now, Grey and all the students of the first and second years were gathered in front of the entrance to the [Dunkelheit Dungeon]. He couldn't help but look in a certain direction. In that direction, surrounded by other top candidates, there was Iris and Ken. He remembered there was a time when they used to hang around, joke around, and laugh at each other for doing silly things. But, now it looked as if they lived in a completely different world compared to him.
Even though he himself knew he was at the bottom of the Academy, it was during times like these when he felt that more evidently. All the people he knew were living a life more grandiose than him he couldn't help but feel a little jealous. But soon, Grey changed his attention to the entrance of the dungeon.
Grey had imagined a dark gloomy entrance with countless guards protecting it, but instead, he found something that looked like a museum. It even had a reception desk at the side of the entrance. A uniformed mature woman in her late twenties with a beautiful smile was inspecting the people who entered and left the dungeon. In brief, their work here was to inspect the magic power and record the number of people who entered and left the dungeon to accurately pinpoint the death toll. After all, as long as demons exist the possibility of a war is still there.
On the plaza near the entrance, there were many stalls lined up. All the shop owners were trying to promote their own goods. It was like a festival. This place was a popular area to earn money because people would naturally gather there. There were many foolish people who challenged the dungeon haughtily, which ended with them losing their lives. The dungeon's back alleys also seemed to attract criminal activities. The venue beside the entrance was a place where the materials were traded. The magic stones obtained by the mercenaries would be exchanged for money there.
Soon the students entered the dungeon. The inside of the Dungeon was totally different from the bustling of the outside. There was no lamp or source of light at the thirty-meter-wide passage, yet it was emitting a dim light, it was possible to see to some extent even without any illumination magic or torches. It seemed like a lot of special red stones were buried in the walls, which gave an extremely sinister feeling.
The students were organized into ranks and pressed forward. The A-ranks were at the beginning whereas the E-ranks were at the last. For a while, nothing of interest happened until they advanced into a certain hall. This hall was dome-shaped and the ceiling looked to be around Eighty to Ninety-meters high.
Grey had his hand on the handle of his sword. He was making sure that he could easily take out his weapon in any situation because no one knows what can happen in a dungeon. It is said that every time the dungeon changes its challenge on the basis of the strength of the groups. It was to optimally hunt down a party or a group of mercenaries.
It was at this time, that weird-looking creatures spawned in front of them. They were short beasts with thin arms and legs. They had reddish-purple-colored skin and scarlet eyes.
Grey didn't know what kind of creatures, were they. And it seemed he wasn't the only one. All the students were staring at the creatures with a confusing look. Even the instructors were confused. 'Wait are they goblins' Grey thought to himself.
It was around this time when the scarlet eyes of the creatures started glowing and they rushed towards the students.
"Come forth, Sapphire"
"Come forth, Wandir"
"Come forth, Hex"
"Come forth, Serpentine"
"Come forth,..."
Countless shouts were heard when the students manifested their soul weapons.
Grey took out his sword and entered a fighting stance. Soon the students and the creatures tackled against each other. Grey looked at the weird creature in front of him. Without any hesitation, he swung his sword aiming for the creature's head, however, the creature bent his head at a weird angle and screamed, Grey suddenly felt his physical abilities weakening. 'Shit' he screamed in his head as he dodged the attack that was coming towards him. however, he couldn't escape in time as his shoulder got injured, 'a curse attack, this is a special skill unique to the elites of the goblin race. From the physique to the attack patterns, they are goblins for sure, but these goblins seem stronger and more ferocious compared to regular goblins.
However, the purple goblin didn't leave him to his thoughts as it pounced on Grey with the intention to rip him apart.
Grey looking at the incoming goblin crouched with one leg at his front and the other one at the back, and suddenly blue magic power flared around him as he rushed towards the goblin like a bullet and cut off its head.
Grey then felt his magic power drop suddenly. It was one of his special moves, Speed Burst. Grey uses his magical power to explosively increase his physical abilities for a span of a few seconds. Knights could easily increase their basic physical abilities using magic power. However, Grey focused on only one part of his physical aspects which was speed in this case. Which gave him the ability to break through the shackles of an F-rank knight for a very short duration.
He created this technique to efficiently manage his low magic power. However, he didn't lose his focus as he went for the other goblins. He tried to kill as many goblins as possible because he knew he would be marked on the basis of his performance in the dungeon. He didn't hide any of his abilities as he wanted to show the instructors what he was capable of.