As the sun shone upon the campus of Academy 07, 2000 students stood on the grounds, waiting for the instructions.
The day of the Dungeon Assignment had finally arrived.
Today, all of the first years of Academy 07 were to be tested using D Rank Dungeons.
There was a reason why Academy 07 was considered the most prestigious academy in Bryxton.
It was also arguably the most prestigious academy in the Conscientious Faction.
The reason is that Academy 07 is a place where dying during the course is permitted.
If a student dies on campus or on a trip hosted by the academy, the school will not be blamed for the death of the student as long as it is a natural death and not an assassination.
This is why the success rates of the academy are sky-high.
All of the students with low-talents and petty backgrounds usually die in the first year of school.
Only those who are average or those with exceptional talent can survive in the harsh environment forced upon the children by the academy.
The reason?
The real world, such as the world outside the academy, is not what the children think it is like.
Despite the democracy that the Conscientious Faction believes in, the actual structure of the faction is different from that of a democracy.
It is similar to the Iniquitous Faction in some ways.
*
*
*
When mana was first discovered in 2026, portals began opening on Earth as well, initiating the beginning of 'Dungeons'.
Dungeons were different planets connected to Earth through the mana veins present throughout the Cosmos.
Since Earth was so adjusted to games consisting of supposed rooms named 'Dungeons', the worlds inside the portals were also named with the same exact term.
*
*
*
As the students stood under the hot sun, the principal, Felix Edwards, explained the instructions to everyone.
"The first years will be divided into teams of 10, and then sent into different dungeons depending on pure luck."
"Since the D Rank Dungeon is difficult for a single person to clear alone, they will have to work in a team to complete the dungeon."
"The speed of the clear is the only variable that will be monitored due to the lack of external interference permitted when inside the dungeon."
"Therefore, the person who clears the dungeon the fastest will be first."
Since there was not much to explain besides these basic points, Felix Edwards motioned the students to enter their buspods.
Buspods were redesigned versions of buses known to levitate in the air at extreme speeds.
Anyway, since the students were allowed to bring their own equipment, distributing them would not be necessary.
Leo sat next to Ace on the buspod as they both listened to music.
As the buspods parked near the white-colored building that rose above the clouds, the first years exited the vehicle in an orderly fashion.
They entered the building and stood before the portals leading to their dungeons.
Since the teams had been decided during the bus ride, the participants were already aware of who they were clearing the dungeon with.
As expected, Ace was in a team with Leo, Lily, and Jonah.
Leo was bewildered, while Lily was irritated. Jonah was just indifferent as he was unbeknownst to Ace's prediction.
As they stood in a line, the students chatted with each other.
Jonah's entire posse was on the same team, granting him a seemingly unfair advantage due to the teamwork they might have built up.
Ace and Leo were both physical-combatants that didn't form a very good team.
And, since Lily was an aloof person who didn't like helping anyone, she was out of the equation as described by Ace.
[Ashes of Yggdrasil]
The signboard above the portal leading to the dungeon said those words.
Everyone except Ace was unbeknownst to the origin of the name of the dungeon.
Every deity or celestial possessed a fragment of Yggdrasil inside of their domain, and since the Deity of Enlightenment's ascendance took place, the fragment became ashes on its own after the Deity left the place.
Yggdrasil was a tree that held the universe together. It was also known as the World Tree in some historic texts.
Everyone Deity and Celestial helped maintain the balance of the world.
Thus, they all possessed a fragment for safekeeping.
However, since Akash himself was a fragment of the Primordial, Khaos, he was not considered a deity or a celestial capable of having Yggdrasil.
But, since he was related to spirituality, he did receive the River of Cosmos.
"Shall we enter?"
Someone from Jona's posse asked, as Mr. Crimson nodded slightly.
As Jonah's crew entered the purple portal, Ace braced himself for the greatest harvest of his two lives.
'Here we go.'
Whoosh!
As they entered the portal, Ace, Leo, Lily, Jonah, and his posse were greeted by a world that differed greatly from their own.
Red mist surrounded everyone's vision as it blocked not only sight, but all of their senses.
Unbeknownst to them, however, there existed a tree larger than any structure they had ever seen in the middle of the dungeon.
Only, the tree had turned dark, and could be broken with a single slice of blade; something that used to be impossible during the days of the Deity of Enlightenment.
The group began splitting up unknowingly, when Jonah used [Puff of Wind].
It was a basic wind-element spell used mostly by F Ranks.
Soon, the red mist cleared from the area as the group was able to retain their senses, not losing sight of each other either.
"So, how do we go about clearing this dungeon?"
Jonah asked, picking his ear in an arrogant way.
Paying no mind to this, however, his posse cheered him on and suggested that they stick together.
But, when they said that, they meant themselves and Jonah, not including Ace, Leo, and Lily.
"I'm going on my own."
Unsheathing her blade, Lily let out in a cold tone before disappearing from her previous location.
After some dirty glances sent her way, the others refocused on the topic.
Jonah suggested that him and his posse go their own way, and Ace and Leo accepted.
Since Ace had some work to do, and Leo was naturally arrogant, the suggestion worked out.
Jonah and his posse quickly left the place.
"So, what're we gonna do?"
Leo asked, skeptical about the plan that Ace hadn't told him about.
Despite having agreed to his 'plan', Leo had never heard it.
Ace had refused to explain his plan to Leo because it involved knowledge about deities and celestials.
"You'll know soon."
Giving him a faint smile, he disappeared from his location.
Shaking his head, Leo did too.
Removing the mist using their blade and fist respectively, they traveled throughout the dungeon in a flash.
Since their objective wasn't the boss room, they didn't have to travel to the fragment of Yggdrasil.
What Ace planned to do was to hunt beasts for now.
He wanted for him and Leo to adjust to the surroundings before initiating their mission.
Since he knew that Lily and Jonah wouldn't be able to defeat the boss, they had a sufficient amount of time.
"Why are we standing near a Lion?"
Leo asked as they stood near an evolved beast native to the planet.
The beast possessed yellow fur and was an abnormality to the atmosphere of the planet, which was colored red.
The beast had a thick mane that fell down to its legs, portraying it as a wise lion.
"We're gonna kill it."
"Yeah… I think that part's obvious."
Staring at the lion for a good second, Ace noticed something.
"Hey, that lion kind of looks like you, doesn't it?"
Pointing at the yellow-furred animal which looked cute from a distance, Ace said.
"W–What!?"
Leo shook his head at the analogy.
"Your name's Leo. The constellation Leo corresponds to a li–"
"You don't need to explain it!"
"Explaining the joke always makes it funnier."
Leo shook his head once again at Ace's delusions.
'Seems like he isn't good at everything.'
"Now, we kill it."
Suddenly, Ace's pupils turned white and the air around him changed drastically.
The pressure exuded from his body was akin to a D Rank individual, which was a major rank higher than actual rank.
Feeling the pressure, Leo's knees weakened as his eyes widened to the size of saucers.
Under the immense pressure, even the lanky-armed individual couldn't maintain his balance.
Unbeknownst to the lion, its predator had appeared.
Suddenly, an eerie ringing sound resounded throughout the entire dungeon as the head of the lion rolled on the ground, leaking blood.
The lion's head had been cleanly sliced off from its body, and both the body and the head were now covered in a pool of blood larger than several human beings.
The red blood camouflaged with the ground, which was a redder shade of brown.
The ground was also barren, as one could easily spot an enormous amount of cracks visible on the surface.
Watching the lion's head roll off of his body, Leo's muscles stiffened.
He thought about what had happened, and then finally realized.
"A–Ace… did you…?"
"Yeah, I killed it."
Announcing his triumphant victory, he began walking towards the next beast.
His eyes had returned back to normal and his blade was safely tucked inside of his scabbard.
Turning around and looking at Leo's expression, which had now stiffened, he couldn't help but let out a chuckle.
"Come on. We gotta hunt more beasts."
"R–Right."
*
*
*
On the other side of the dungeon, a girl with blonde hair could be seen running at speeds insurmountable by others of her age-group, except Ace.
As she ran, she finally spotted the boss the of the 'stupid dungeon', as she called it.
Coming into her vision was an ogre, the size of a house.
The ogre was red in color and possessed two heads, four arms, and four legs. Its eyes were pitch-black as they reflected the entire universe with its abyss-like pupils.
The ogre carried a wooden club that could be compared to a D Rank artifact at the least.
Watching this, Lily couldn't help but let out a smile of victory at the thought of surpassing Ace in the rankings once again.
Had he not surpassed her, Ace wouldn't be in this situation.
'It's all his fault.'
Using her skill [Intellect], she quickly predicted the ogre's attack patterns while strategizing her moves.
Lily had always had access to an unlimited arsenal of skills, but had only picked three of them to master.
Those skills were [Self-Fire Affinity], [Sword Master], and [Intellect].
Having used these skills all her life, she was proficient in her combat-style and made sure to make no blunders whatsoever when engaged in battle.
Thus, she charged at the ogre's left foot while using the first move of [Sword Master], Vertical Strike.
The basics of the moves were the same as Vertical Tear from [Sword Saint], but the accuracy, speed, and momentum were comparably lower to [Sword Saint].
Arriving at the creature's foot in less than a second, she used Vertical Strike, drawing blood from the ogre's foot.
Having opened up a site for major bleeding, she then attacked the femur, hoping to drop the ogre down from grace.
Despite knowing that the femur was the hardest bone in one's body, she deliberately targeted the bone located in the ogre's thigh, so that he would fall either back first or face first, and make it easier for her to target his vitals.
Clank!
Her eyes widened into saucers as she witnessed what had just occurred.
Her blade reflected off of the ogre's femur as if the latter weren't even comparable to the former.
As she fell backwards, she regained composure at the last second before cushioning her fall.
Having failed her initial and only plan, all she could do was retreat.
Despite having the skill, [Intellect], she was only at the E+ Rank.
And, even though her skills were amazing and had been polished for years, a two minor rank difference was too much to fill using only that.
Now, grabbing her right arm which spasmed due to the sheer hardness of the ogre's bone, she began moving backwards.
The ogre, however, swung at her using his gigantic club, causing large shockwaves to emerge from the crater which had formed after being hit.
However, this setback turned out to be a blessing, as the shockwaves pushed her away from the ogre's wrath, bringing her to safety.
'I'll need a better plan.'
Still refusing to admit she needed help, Lily began on a journey to the outskirts of the dungeon, as that would be the safest place during a dungeon invasion.
'I'll beat you next time, you hunk of meat!'
Cursing at the ugly figure of the ogre behind her, she increased her speed so as to not meet anyone on her way to the outskirts.
*
*
*
"J–Jonah, are we going the correct direction?"
One of the members of his posse asked, his voice shaking from nervousness.
"Yes, we are."
All they received was a vague answer.
Many would have thought of this as a comforting answer, but due to the tone Jonah's used, it brought the opposite reaction.
Having wandered in the mist for a long time, they had already forgotten their sense of time.
The only reason they had been managing was because of Jonah, who used wind spells to create a way.
Despite this, a wind spell user couldn't compare to physical-combatants due to the former using a preset amount of mana every time they used a spell.
However, if it were an experienced physical combatant like Lily, Leo, or Ace, one would only have to use a meager amount.
Several hours passed, but they were unbeknownst to it.
"Isn't this the same crack we passed some time ago?"
One of the members of his posse bent down to investigate a crack on the ground which he had noticed before.
Having the skill named [Eagle's Eye], it was fairly simple for him to observe things that might go unnoticed by others.
The others observed the crack as well, and solemnly nodded.
At this point, Jonah realized that they were lost.
"Guys… we're lost."
He admitted to his posse, who raised their eyebrows in sarcasm.
They all knew the severity of the situation they were in.
Since the school wouldn't help them out, they naturally had to seek refuge with either Lily or Ace and Leo.
Jonah believed that seeking refuge with Ace and Leo would be the better choice, instead of going with Lily.
But, for that, they needed to find them.
*
*
*
"Leo, I choose you!"
Ace yelled as he pointed at the lanky-armed individual who was busy engaging in battle with a gigantic fly.
Having tested out his trump-cards enough, he decided to let Leo practice his skills on these beats.
However, he severely underestimated Leo, as he was able to suppress a D Rank beast with little trouble if he used his skills amply.
'I guess he can fight above his rank too.'
Despite having expected this due to the memories before his regression, he was shocked by the strength Leo displayed at such an early stage.
Normally, Leo should have been able to fight on equal terms with a E+ or D- Rank beast, but somehow, he was already suppressing a D Rank beast.
'His powers are growing fast, too.'
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
The fly's attacks missed Leo's body by the width of a strand of hair as the latter quickly formed a fist and punched the former's 'face'.
Flying back, the fly shot venom at Leo, but it was quickly avoided due to the latter's [Horned Bull Footwork].
"End the battle already!"
Ace suggested, much to Leo's bewilderment.
It was already amazing that he could suppress a D Rank Beast. What more did this annoying 'friend' want from him?
"Why!?"
Leo asked as he deflected an attack from the fly while maintaining his balance.
"We have other things to do. And, it just feels weird watching a noodle-armed boy fighting a gigantic fly."
Directing a death stare at him, Leo resumed his battle with the great fly as he performed countless complicated maneuvers, eventually defeating the beast in a grand total of four hours.
"Way slower than I expected."
"Yeah, well not everyone's a monster like you."
Retrieving a towel from his interspatial ring that he brought along just for this dungeon run, he wiped his body due to the sweat piled up on it.
"Ah, right. I'll need that spatial ring for a while."
"Why?"
"Don't ask. I'll pay you back later."
Letting out a sigh, he handed his spatial ring to Ace, who quickly wore it on his ring finger.
"Do not mess with my stuff."
"No promises."
As Ace uttered those words, a punch landed on his head, almost knocking him unconscious.
When his rank rose, his body hardened too, so a punch from someone at the same rank who had lower overall power wasn't going to be fatal.
However, it still hurt like hell.
"What was that for!?"
Ace asked as he grabbed his head, massaging it to try to alleviate the pain.
"You gave me head injuries a few days ago."
"Yeah, and I apologized for that."
Shaking his head due to utter bewilderment, Leo walked away, hoping to find another beast to fight.
Unbeknownst to him, Leo's personality varied depending on whether Ace was nearby.
When talking to Ace, Leo's personality turned rational and logical, albeit a little timid.
However, when around others he didn't have such a relationship with, the personality he had built up to shield himself came out.
Only with Ace did his real personality shine.
It was because Ace didn't treat him like someone of higher status, or someone he needed to defeat.
Nor did he treat him like a pebble on the street, like his father did.
*
*
*
"Jonah, where are we?"
"Jonah!"
"Jonah, please!"
Many of Jonah's posse members were getting anxious due to them not knowing their own location.
Having wandered around the dungeon for hours, they were slowly losing hope of their survival, which was disadvantageous to themselves and their team.
Since there was no one to help them, they would soon either die of starvation, or give up and commit suicide.
Or, they could either Leo and Ace, or Lily in the accursed place.
But, depending on their luck, they could also find…
The boss.
"Jonah!"
"What is that!?"
"Is that the grim reaper?"
"Grim reaper, can I go on a date with you, please?"
"I don't wanna die!"
They finally witnessed the true monstrosity that resided on D Rank Dungeon, [Ashes of Yggdrasil].
Jonah's eyes widened to the size of saucers as he finally laid his eyes upon the devolved offspring of the previous Deity of Enlightenment.
"T–That's not the grim reaper. I–It's just the boss, g–guys. We can easily defeat it if we stick together…"
Although his words were encouraging, his tone suggested otherwise.
Jonah was totally stumped on how they were going to face the monstrosity before them.
"Run. As fast as possible. Never look back. Or death."
Jonah said in a gruff voice, bracing himself for the end of his life.