"What's your name, boy?" Raia asked, her interest piqued.
Xerxes was scared by the question. It made him feel like he had done something wrong. He nervously replied, "Xerxes."
Raia repeated after him, "Xerxes..." She thought for a bit before speaking again. "You have the leader position?"
"Yes," he answered, starting to feel more stressed due to the consistent questioning.
"Too bad. I would have scouted you otherwise. I'll be keeping tabs on you," Raia casually admitted and returned to her lecture.
What was that...
Xerxes was internally confused by her sudden interest, but he had no time to think more about it as Raia started speaking again.
"Dungeons... Let's start with skills. Some of you might have already awakened a skill if you have cleared a dungeon. There is no telling when and where you will end up receiving a skill. It can happen while you're sleeping or pooping, but it will always be after you have cleared at least one dungeon. You might not get a skill immediately after coming out of the dungeon. It can be a week or even a month later. So don't be disappointed if you don't receive a skill right away; you will eventually, as all infiltrators do."
"After getting a skill, please report it to HR. If you don't know how to control or use your skill, they might have information about it and could help you. Alternatively, you can explore the skill yourself by training in the training center provided for all infiltrators."
"As for the dungeons, there are tiers to rank them. The first tier is the easiest. They are mostly based on childhood fairytales. These dungeons have simple tasks and usually only one main threat. They can be cleared in a few days, but remember, the more time passes, the more dangerous the dungeon becomes—" She yawned.
"I give up. I can't do this anymore. The class is over. I'm going to sleep," Raia declared before instantly escaping the scene, dismissing everyone mid-lesson.
"What the heck? Who will tell us about the dungeon tiers now?" Someone in the hall complained, but nothing could be done. Everyone was already starting to leave, happy with their newfound freedom.
Xerxes slid out from the bench to the stairs, making way for the others to exit.
"I think I'm already starting to forget everything we were told," Nova said as he stepped out.
"I wrote down everything word-for-word on my tablet. You can read it whenever you want," Kai replied, showing his work proudly, waiting for praise.
"I think I remember now," Nova said, avoiding the tablet like the plague and fleeing from the hall.
"That's why he has the lowest IQ among us," Kai said in a disdainful and disappointed tone.
"That's very smart of you, Kai. Thank you for writing all this. Send the file in the group chat later," Xerxes said, viewing the clean notes. He was impressed by Kai's scholarly handwriting and ruffled his hair messily.
"Let's go," Lucas said, walking toward the door. They both followed after him. Lucas was heading to the elevators. In the distance, a row of elevators was visible, many of them already full of people. Nova was standing in front of an empty elevator, waiting for them.
"I saved us an elevator. Come on," he said, stepping inside. Xerxes and the others followed.
"Why are we in an elevator, though?" Xerxes asked, realizing he had been following them blindly.
"I don't know, but the other people were all running over to them, so I thought maybe we needed one too," Nova replied with a smile.
"That's because all the dorm rooms are underground. We need to get there by elevator," Lucas explained as he pressed the lower button on the panel.
The elevator doors closed, and they descended into the earth. For a while, it just kept going down and down.
"It's not taking us to hell, right?" Xerxes joked half-heartedly.
Finally, the elevator stopped, and the doors slowly opened to reveal a long hallway with no end in sight. It was crowded with people and robots moving about.
"Cyan imposters! So many of them too!" Kai exclaimed.
The robots were all copies of the robotic boy called Cyan. They were identically dressed, making them hard to differentiate. As soon as they stepped out of the elevator, one of the 'Cyans' came running toward them.
"Death's Angels confirmed. Moving to the assigned dorm," he said, pulling them over to a side hallway. This hallway looked different from the first; it had more spaced-out entry doors compared to the tightly packed doors in the main hallway.
The Cyan lookalike directed them to the closest door and handed them entry card keys. "This is your assigned dorm. These card keys are needed to open the front door and to return via the elevator. If you lose them, you can request a new one at the office next to the elevators. You also can't give this card to anyone else, but even if someone does get it, they can't use it unless they're the original owner. The cameras will catch anyone trying to break in, and they will be arrested on the spot," he explained hurriedly before running off to assist others.
Xerxes missed his chance to ask about his suitcase again. He sighed and opened the front door before anyone else, expecting a cramped room with bunk beds and a single toilet. To his surprise, it opened to a spacious living room.
"Are they all ours?" Nova asked, noticing four suitcases placed next to the shoe rack in the entranceway.
Xerxes finally found his suitcase, which he had been starting to say prayers for. They all went in different directions, exploring the new space. Xerxes stood in the living room, which featured a large black couch placed in front of a wall-mounted screen. Behind the sofa was a modern dining table made of unbreakable glass with seven chairs. He also spotted a bulletin board on the wall next to the dining table.
Xerxes took a pushpin from the board and pinned his flipped result paper with the team's name and members. He pinned the other three results next to it.
When he was done, he stepped back to look at his work. The papers were placed messily. He considered pinning them more neatly when an announcement rang through the dorm via speakers on the walls.
"Death's Angels, you have been assigned to a new dungeon. Please come to the office as quickly as possible."