The problem began with more adventurers dying in the dungeon than previously did. The numbers were staggering. The majority were young women, suggesting that the dungeon targeted young women. They investigated the instructors' training methods, and the process was enhanced, with the female students subjected to more complicated and rigorous straining. That has not changed the situation at all.
Ethan sat his hands under his chin as he listened.
"Alas, I suggest that the problem lies not with the dungeon but with what is happening around the academy. The dungeon might be a symptom. If my guess is right, the two are linked, and we will find a sinister plot behind it all."
Gunther sat back, his fingers interlaced, and stared at Ethan.
Ethan could see that the gears in his head were turning, and the others also sat silently. No one could tell what went through their minds.
"Alas, I suggest that when we participate in the dungeon trial, two or more of the council should have their teams that work as a task force to investigate the anomalies. We should also have a blitz squad ready to extract large groups of people. We might be facing a beast or sorcery. Evacuating students as fast as possible would be prudent should the need arise."
Gunther took a brochure from the small table behind him and pushed it towards Ethan.
"I say, this is the Gryphon squad, an elite academy squad. Their sole purpose is rescue and evacuation. They know the dungeon floors like the back of their hands. We have devices that can alert them to our locations. We give each group a device as a security measure should they need rescue."
Ethan looked at the brochure that promoted the squad and all the benefits of belonging to the team. Ethan looked at the leader of the team. It was Gunther. He was confident in their abilities. They could find and handle the rescue problem now that they had the squad's support.
Ethan had a flashback. Ethan was standing at the end of a big forest and a fortress with enemy soldiers before him. Ethan used his transmitter and gave the coordinates to the army. Four airships hovered over the camp, and all hell broke out as soldiers were teleported down into the camp.
Ethan stood with his bow (Mei) drawn and took out the snipers stationed at the edge of the camp hidden in the trees. At his feet lay a man on his stomach, his dead eyes staring up at him. The man had a sniper rifle that now lay broken on the terrain. Ethan had snuck up on the man sitting in a bush with a laser rifle and scope.
Ethan had twisted his neck in one smooth motion. Ethan had done this move many times when he fought half-dragons, breaking their necks before they could spit fire.
The four-hundred-year-old hag drew Ethan's attention while tapping the table with her stick.
"I, Lady Samil, will participate in the dungeon trial and help to find the solution to this problem. Please feel free to ask for any advice on hunting humans and beasts; my clan is an expert in the field."
The girl with blond hair nodded and placed her bent stick with green symbols edged into it on the table. It was a thick stick of purple wood, thick like a cucumber, rounded at the end, and bent at the tip.
Ethan could not resist and asked the question. Ethan was not afraid of looking dumb.
"Alas, why do you have these sticks? Do they symbolise authority or rank in some way."
Everyone looked at him. Their jaws had dropped, and they could not believe what he had asked.
Gunther cleared his throat and pulled out his stick. It had feathers at the end, and the stick looked like it was made of bone. He lifted his stick and exclaimed.
"I say, Ethan, this is a wand. We are magus."
Ethan looked at them and shook his head as if he had just realised it.
"Alas, Brunhilda back home had one. She used it on herself, pushing it into her flower for pleasure when she was in her room."
The three women blushed around the table, and Samil coughed. Wendy and Lucy blushed, and it looked like they wanted to melt into their chairs. They did not look up at Ethan, examining their feet.
Samil stood, her hands trembling as she looked at Ethan.
"Ethan, this is a magic wand. It helps us use magic. Only Eleina's wand will work in the way you describe, and I am confident that it has been used like that a few times already. I sure would do it having such a magnificent wand—look how smooth and thick it is."
Eleina shrunk back in her chair. Eleina tried to make herself as small as possible with all eyes on her. She grabbed her wand and hid it in her dress. Eleina had turned red like a tomato, and she examined her feet as well.
Ethan thought that these women were strange. Ethan wondered what this magic was that he kept hearing about. The training would start in two days, and they warned them to stay alert. Wendy and Lucy should never walk alone on campus.
Samil waved her hand, and two muscular men walked out of the shadows, flanking her; they were her guards.
Wendy wanted to protest, but after hearing what some slaves had gone through, she and Lucy clung to Ethan like wet rice.
Ethan and the girls left the counsel room with new insight into the academy and its problems.
"Alas, we should head back, have a good meal, share essence, and have a good night's rest."
"Hail, I second that idea. For some reason, I am starving, and my stomach feels like it wants to eat me."
"Squee, my stomach has been rumbling since we sat down, and we didn't finish our meal at the cafeteria. I thought my demise was around the corner. They just kept on talking."
"Alas, we know that Thompson was right about the academy. We have learned a good deal about this place and secured a plan. Your safety is at the forefront of my mind."
Wendy and Lucy looked up at him with strange looks on their faces. Is this how it felt to have people who depended on your strength? Ethan wanted to hug them and kiss them; they looked adorable. He had to keep himself in check. He would have wanted to touch their ears, and his hands itched to do it.