Dungeon exploration.
It was a dream of many adventurers to become certified so that they could go dungeon raiding with their lifelong friends or comrades they met along the road.
There was something about clearing a dungeon with your companions that couldn't be compared to happiness or fulfillment.
It was an entirely new form of excitement. Some clear maybe one or two dungeons afterwards before they hang up their armor because their goal had been reached.
But it was different for others who wished to experience that feeling again and again. It was like drugs and smoking: an addiction.
While some did it purely for the completeness they feel afterwards, others go dungeon raiding to get stronger.
It was a known fact in this world that killing others—your own kind or monsters alike—could make you stronger. Of course, no one knew the reason behind this other than a player of the game.
Experience points were what determined your strength. Once you kill a monster than you are able to absorb their experience points; adding the points to your own which results in a level up once a certain threshold is passed.
It sounded easy on the surface but there were many things to take into account before you go looking for a monster to kill.
If the monster has 500 points to add onto its 500 to cause a level up, for example, then the player would get the 500 points that the monster currently has and add it onto their own.
This was why relying on killing monsters alone was foolish. That's because you never know how many points it has. But it was advised to only fight monsters if it was certain that it was as strong or stronger than you.
Training was a second way of gaining levels. Your class would require you to do different forms of training to be able to level up. For mages they had to learn spells and understand the concept of arcane arts at a fast rate. For swordsmen they had to train their bodies to the limits every time just to gain the bare minimum of XP.
Although killing monsters was the most effective way to level up, it wasn't the only one. That method alone had problems.
The first problem was how strong is the monster you killed? Was it stronger than you? Or weaker?
This determines the amount of experience points you will gain.
The second problem was whether or not you were suitable enough to fight against the monster. To paint a little picture, a bad matchup would be if it was a mage fighting a seasoned martial artist barehanded.
A mage needed to be at a suitable distance to throw their spells while a martial artist used their hands.
If the monster was huge and had armor-like scales like dragons then an average martial artist couldn't hope of defeating it. That was where a mage came in. Their firepower was more suited for bigger monsters at maximum output.
Of course, a tanker, archer and priest also played a role in making sure that the monster is defeated.
This was the basics of monster hunting in dungeons. It was vastly different compared to traditional hunting.
"Mmm…"
"…"
Arnold was currently standing in the same library he was at yesterday.
The one who moaned was a young woman of a foreign race with blue skin. She was currently hugging him while standing on the tips of her toes.
"Miss Lyra, can you please answer my question?"
"Don't speak." She shushed him.
He could only sigh.
His question was "do you know of any interesting dungeons around the empire" to which she didn't even reply to and she only wrapped her arms around him like a little child.
He felt odd how a young woman was asking for hugs like a toddler. But after remembering the decades she was trapped here without having intimacy with anyone, he decided to play along with her.
He kept his promise which was to visit whenever possible but he never planned to come today. Had he not heard about where the final year students went then he wouldn't be hastily looking for ways to get stronger to face possible level cap monsters.
He would've been indulging in two of his humanly desires which was eating and sleeping. He couldn't indulge in sex since his would-be wife was in Whitage city. But he didn't have the luxury right now to relax.
Lyra released the hug soon after and sighed in satisfaction.
"Now, boy, what was your question again?"
"…dungeons…"
"Ah right!"
"So you know something?"
"Indeed. Are you asking because you're required to clear a dungeon for your final exams?"
"Yes. All the fourth until sixth years should clear dungeons to score a high enough mark to pass. There are thousands of dungeons surrounding the empire alone but I have no idea which dungeons would be good enough to clear."
"Plural, is it? Why do you want to clear more than one?"
"To get stronger by killing the monsters."
"Hmm… So that's your other reason besides scoring a good mark?"
"Yeah."
Lyra hummed as she went towards one of the tables at the study section of the library. She grabbed a newspaper which was laying on one of those tables.
"They posted something interesting in the imperial newspaper last week. But I don't know if the dungeon is still worth it to visit though."
She skimmed through the pages before stopping and giving it to Arnold.
"This is…!"
Arnold's eyes widened.
· Dungeon discovered near Cryul, the city of Wyverns.
'It's the city where they breed the most wyverns out of all the cities of the empire.'
Wyverns were a common mound for those wishing to become dragon knights. That was why one could buy wyverns from a breeding facility. The mountain ranges surrounding that city had a very large population of wyverns that it outnumbered all other species four to one.
The other interesting fact about this dungeon was that:
'It's the dungeon that appeared in the School Arc.' Arnold concluded after having read the description of the kind of monsters, the geographical information and the kind of ores mined inside.
'I doubt there's any need to worry about Luke. He can prove himself worthy to the gods in some other way.'
Arnold thought as a greedy feeling came over him. That dungeon was now his to conquer.
Desperate times called for desperate measures.
But Lyra didn't seem to agree with him.
"Isn't it wiser to wait for the academy to assign a dungeon and team to you? They decide based on the students' performance throughout the years and the dungeon monsters' suitability with their class."
"That could take time. Time I don't have."
He probably had less than two weeks before chaos strikes this empire. Of course, this chaos referred to the trampling of a city.
The second the academy's siren goes off for the campus to lock down was the second Arnold would leave to pursue after the seventh year students.
The academy would only gather a rescue team the next morning. Classes would be suspended for the time being so that meant that the students would be trapped here. That was something Arnold didn't want.
Even Lauran wouldn't be able to escape since the antimagic systems would block all teleportation magic for entering or exiting. This was to prevent monsters with special abilities from transporting inside.
"Do teachers still accompany their students once a dungeon is chosen?" asked Arnold.
"No. Although it's a competition, all of you are already old enough to understand the rules and protect yourselves. Teachers will only enter the dungeons to guide the next team."
"What? I thought it would be a dungeon per team."
"If that was the case then it would be too easy for the students to pass. What will they learn from clearing an easy dungeon? Each class, starting from the fourth year, is given a dungeon with a ranking of C and up. The teachers may choose which one they will take for their classes."
"Wouldn't there be that one fool who would choose the hardest ranking to spite their students?"
Lyra shook her head, "I mentioned earlier, didn't I? They take into account the abilities and performance of their students. Since you are a 5th star swordsman you might be more useful in an A-class dungeon. But you're still a fourth year student which makes it quite difficult for them to assign you to such a dungeon. Conversely speaking, you also can't be assigned a dungeon that would be too easy either."
"Because it wouldn't matter if I don't learn anything. Which means I would be forced to join the team of either the fifth or sixth years."
"You catch on quick. Yes, fifth and sixth year students are more suited for A rank dungeons. Not just because of their abilities but the knowledge they hold as well. The two years gap at the academy doesn't mean that they learned nothing."
"Huh, so that's why rankings of power exist?"
"Yes, it's a difficult system to understand if the numbers didn't exist. You're well over the average ranking for students in the fourth year which is 3rd to 4th star for both mages and warriors. Given your superior genes and abnormal aura pool, you're closer to 6th star which just barely makes you as strong as some professors."
"Aren't there any 6th star students in the final year classes?"
"Not unless you look hard enough. But if there were, say, more than five of them at the least then anyone could get that high with hard work alone. No, most of them are still on the 3rd to 5th star threshold."
"I see."
'So it's highly likely that there's someone stronger than me in the other classes.'
He was learning a lot from Lyra. The ranking system from the game was very vague. Stars referred to the strength of a person. Of course, there was a very large gap between the first and second star rating.
That was the case as well with sixth to seven and eighth to nine(which was the ranking given to a Great Noble-level person).
Nearly every member of the Testaments was at least 8th star.
Thus, they were considered as the powers of the continent.
'Isn't the leader supposedly the strongest? Then he should be on my father and Vance's level.'
It was unbelievable how he and Luke would surpass those exact people one day.
"So will you go to that dungeon near that city or will you wait to be assigned to a team? It's better to go to a forest where there might be potential monster zones."
Arnold contemplated after hearing Lyra's question.
It was extremely unlikely that Luke would come across the Wyrm boss since circumstances were different. He went to that dungeon because one of the seniors he looked up to got into trouble there. He wanted to save said senior.
Because of this he was able to awaken. But the current Luke had already awakened compared to the Luke in the game. He was able to unlock that sword's abilities to absorb golden aura as well.
'I guess one good thing came from James Caervil's idiotic plan of wanting to eradicate the Berkley House.'
"I'll forget about going dungeon raiding solo then. If I'm lucky then I can be assigned to one of my seniors' teams."
"I see. The teams should be announced next week when the seventh month starts."
Yuruk was the seventh month in this world. That meant that Arnold had three months left to clear the Sky God Mountain dungeon.
Three months might seem like a lot but that wasn't the case at all. Arnold wouldn't be surprised if walking from one entrance floor to the next took four weeks in a dungeon of that scale.
"Lyra, do you know anything about the dungeon the seventh years were sent to?"
"No. The dungeon isn't recorded in the history books in the library."
"Oh…"
"But you can try going to the Imperial Library."
"In the palace? I don't think they'll let me in just because I want to see some books."
'Well, the empress might let me in or even steal some books for me.'
But he didn't plan on going to the palace. His and the imperial family's relationship was pretty rough right now after he caused Jurius to go to prison.
He wouldn't be surprised if Ronia tried to kill him during his time there. A simple cup of tea and biscuits with her could decide his death.
He could obviously not refuse if she were to invite him for tea since it was rude to do so apparently.
'That bitch will be my biggest enemy if I come into contact with the imperial family again.'
"I guess I'll find some other way to learn about the dungeon," Arnold stood up, "I should get going."
"Eh? So soon?"
"I've missed two periods already. I can't miss the next one."
The next class was swordsmanship.
Lyra pouted, "You only came here to ask me things. Is that all I'm good for?"
"I'll come again when I have time." Arnold waved his hand as he walked away.
"You didn't answer my question—"
He closed the door before she could finish speaking.
◇
Arnold left the library and headed towards the building where the class will be held.
He had a sudden thought as he walked, 'This place is ginormous.' He was gazing at the field that was on the western aide of the academy's premises. That was where the training grounds were located, 'Thousands of airships could probably park here with some space left.'
Had he not played the storyline then he would've gotten lost quite a lot. The sheer scale of the estate couldn't even be compared to an entire forest.
Well, the empire itself was considered the third largest nation after the Holy Kingdom - Juliar Theocracy and Demihuman Kingdom. The elves actually had the biggest territory out of all the races since they lived in the World Tree forest but they couldn't be considered a kingdom so their race didn't count in this case.
'That reminds me, I wanted to go there as well.'
He wanted to get the Tyrial Ring of Cardinal. It was one of the only surviving magic items of the Great Cardinal that was one of the founding fathers of the continent. The other artifact was a jar of infinity but he wasn't quite sure if it still existed.
If he was lucky then it was extremely possible for one of the other surviving Cardinal magic items to be inside the Sky God dungeon.
Anyway, the ring was a very useful magic item that he could use to boost his magic capabilities. Since he wanted to cast magic again, the thought of that magic item existing was enticing. He could only ask Elora to teach him magic if he had enough mana.
He couldn't exactly force the Hiisi guardian to give it to him.
'Sylphiala said that he'll die any day now. I wonder when that day will come. Will he pass the ring onto the dryads or will he take it with him to his grave?'
Arnold had to find a way to get the ring without gaining the ire of the elves. Perhaps helping them in some way would be the best course of action.
The ring might even be one of the rewards he gets for helping them.
Thinking about this and that, Arnold arrived at the training grounds where the class was supposed to be held. He could clearly heard students come towards him.
'Looks like I made it here in time.'
He went over to bench and chose suitable armor that wasn't too light and weak or heavy and burdensome. The sword he chose wasn't as flexible as his Aura Sword but it would suffice for sparring.
He suddenly heard the voices of the students of his class from behind him.
"How nice of you to finally show up, Arnold von Berkley."
The teacher, Rodrick said with an amiable smile. He was tall man(even taller than Arnold) with glasses and had completely white hair with sharp blue eyes.
Behind him were Arnold's classmates. As expected, all of them looked at Arnold with fearful eyes.