The next morning, all the competitors were gathered again. There was no crowd this time. The next time they were in front of an audience would be to celebrate the victors.
Brightsail, Fire Kite, and Green Book each stood gathered before their individual instructor, the announcer, and the mayor of Bright Sail himself. Mayor Tobias was a tall man with a strong jaw and ginger hair. His mustache twirled finely in on itself, and he moved with the confidence someone needed to go into politics. The announcer stepped forward. It seemed he would be the one explaining the rules today.
“Yesterday was amazing, everyone, and all of you shone brightly before the audience!”
Alari gritted her teeth at that. Snake smirked.
“Today’s competition will be one of two parts. An independent commission consisting of faculty from all three academies worked together to create the setting for the following two rounds. Normally, you’d compete in the second round today, and the third tomorrow. But this year we’re doing something a little different. The second and third rounds will both occur today. Or at least, they’ll both be available today. Whether you complete both, or take time to rest in between, will be up to each of you. But be warned, the other schools might take advantage of any rest you take, and points earned in the third round will be significant if you want to win.”
The second and third rounds were both part of this dungeon? That was odd. Sen wondered what that might look like. Two halves of a whole? Or had they broken it up some other way?
The announcer continued. “Each school will take one of three entrances. They will not cross during the second round, but they will all lead to the same location. The room where the third round will take place.”
“In the second round, you’ll be traversing through a dungeon. You’ll need to clear obstacles and fight monsters while keeping up a good pace.” He flailed his hands, pretending to swing a sword and shoot spells around as he talked.
[This looks ridiculous.]
“Points will be assigned based on which teams reach the third round first. In the third round, there will be a fight against the boss waiting for you in the dungeon’s center. Killing the boss will award points, but we recognize multiple teams may have a hand in defeating it. So points will be awarded based on team and individual participation. Finally, the boss is guarding a treasure! Whoever strikes the final blow will be the owner of that prize!”
Mary Candless raised a hand. It didn’t even reach the top of her witch hat. “Um, isn’t this all a bit dangerous?” she asked.
Tonka nodded thoughtfully. He slowly munched on crackers from a box in his hands.
The announcer looked toward the mayor.
Mayor Tobias stepped forward. “You’re right, and the three academies could never risk the future generations, not even on something as prestigious as Academy Wars. The town of Bright Sail has spared no expense on these.” He pointed at runes along the entrance to the dungeon.
Sen had noticed them, but hadn’t had the opportunity to examine them closely. Blue markings covered the entrance to the dungeon and led inside. He pieced it together in an instant.
[Resurrection runes. Will those work?]
Sen nodded. If the runes were prepared properly, anyone who sustained a fatal blow in the dungeon would be safely teleported outside. Runes like this were tricky to pull off, and Sen had no doubt the mayor was telling the truth about the price. There was no way designing runes this complex would be cheap at all. They’d hired someone to do this for them, someone strong. He didn’t think even Dean Withershade could create something as complex as this.
“These runes will ensure we avoid casualties. You’ll still feel pain while in the dungeon, and acting recklessly or without regard for your life will result in deductions of points. But other than that, you’ll be perfectly restored upon leaving the dungeon. Use this as an opportunity to test yourselves in a real-world situation. The dungeon will be challenging, but we have faith you’ll rise to the occasion!” Tobias pumped a hand up.
Milim clapped. Only Milim.
Mayor Tobias swallowed and turned back to the announcer. He received a sympathetic pat on the shoulder from the announcer. “The winner of the previous round will decide which entrance they’d like. The other two academies will draw lots afterward. You’ll have thirty minutes to prepare, and then we’ll move forward with the second and third rounds of Academy War!”
This was simple enough. Sen and his team needed to beat the other schools to the center of the dungeon and slay the boss before anyone else could. Overwhelming victory was a real possibility in this case, and he wouldn’t need to worry about protecting his teammates as much either. It would be ideal to keep them around to help shoulder the burden of the dungeon, but at the very least they wouldn’t be in real danger. If one or two of them failed to make it to the end, it wouldn’t affect too much.
[I wonder if we can stab Snake in the back as soon as we’re inside? Do you think that’s allowed?]
Snake chose the entrance they were already at. Fire Kite and Green Book exchanged a few words, possibly plotting on how to bring Bright Sail down during the next two rounds. Fortunately, they wouldn’t really have the chance to work together from this point forward unless all three teams reached the boss round at the same time. With the unprecedented advantage Brightsail held in points, things should go rather smoothly, short of any unexpected complications.
This time when they gathered, Snake spoke again. But Sen noticed more eyes turning toward him as well, as if they expected him to interject at any moment. Snake noticed that as well.
[They’re well aware you’re the reason the last round went so well.]
“Girch and I will take the front. Susanna and Milim will fight from the center. Use that dream thing if we run into large groups, and Susanna, you’re going to handle mid to long range support. Joseia watch the rear,” Snake said.
Milim looked puzzled. “Um, what about Sen?” she asked.
Snake huffed. “Sen can sit outside for all I care.” With that, he walked away to wait for the start of the round.
Susanna shook her head, and Girch shrugged.
“That guy is such a butthead! I can’t stand him!” Milim said.
Sen chuckled. “It’s alright. I’ll help Joseia watch everyone’s backs.” In the previous round, Snake had allowed Sen to put him into position during the fight to strike down Alari. He’d thought that might bring them to a truce of some kind, but it seemed their team captain still wasn’t all that found of him. Sen had done well in the previous round, and Snake might not like the attention being off him. If that were the case, he’d need to keep an eye on the boy. Attitudes like that are dangerous on missions, and whether or not his teammates could actually be killed, hewanted to complete the competition in first place.
Especially because of the message he’d woken up to this morning.
[Quest: Achieve overwhelming victory in the second [and third] rounds.]
[Reward: High Grade Spell Tome and one other prize.]
He wasn’t sure why the quest had been formatted that way. Nor did he fully understand why only one of the two rewards was listed. The reward from his previous quest added quite a powerful artifact upgrade to his arsenal, so whatever the unlabeled prize was, he wanted it. A high-grade spell tome was valuable as well. It had taken him three high-grade spheres and significant effort to come up with his Tri-Infernal Hellscape technique. Those spheres were rare and in limited supply for the time being. A spell tome would allow him to learn and master a new technique without them. A pre-existing technique. It would likely be something that was developed in the thousand years of time he’d skipped right over. The more techniques and spells he had, the more dangerous he would be in an unknown era filled with threats lurking at every corner. He wouldn’t be at this school forever; once he left, he would need to be ready to take on whatever threats he encountered.
A trumpet sounded in the distance. The first of two. He made his way to join the others at the entrance. When the second one played, it would be time to enter.
He inspected the life-saving runes around the cave’s entrance and fell into the back of their group. Snake and Girch covered the front with Susanna and Milim just behind them. Joseia and Sen covered the rear. Joseia noticed him looking up and followed his gaze. “You think those things really work?” he asked. “I know you’re a first year but…you know your stuff.”
Sen nodded. “From what I see, yes. It’s high-quality work, but some of the runes are hidden. If we had more time, I might inspect it more, but I can feel the mana oozing off of it. It’ll certainly perform as intended.”
Joseia let out a breath. “That makes me feel better. Never been in a dungeon before. Heck, I’ve never even killed a monster.”
Sen smiled. “It’s not so bad. You faced down Alari and the other members of Fire Kite. I guarantee you they’re stronger than a lot of the monsters we’ll find in here. Plus, you're not alone. Everyone will keep an eye on you.”
Milim turned around at that. “Sure will! It’ll be fun!”
Sen had almost thought she’d be nervous as well, but Milim was surprisingly in good spirits. Maybe because of how well the first round had gone.
He readied himself, layering wards around him, Milim, and Joseia. Milim would notice, but Joseia certainly wouldn’t. He hadn’t even realized when Sen had created a temporary replica of him until after the fact. He’d keep an eye on his other teammates, but he didn’t trust them enough to show them the complexity of his wards yet. Besides, they’d be fine with the life-preserving runes. With their defenses in place, he waited.
The second trumpet blew. At the signal, Snake led the charge.
My first dungeon in a thousand years.
[Would that be considered a dad joke or a grandpa joke? I just want to make sure I insult you properly.]
Adrian
It was all going terribly wrong. The summoning circle hadn’t held. His brothers and sisters fled in every direction, but so far, none had escaped. It was eating them. Adrian lay in the dirt, remaining as still as possible. The chaotic noise was slowly winding down. Had the creature left? He was too terrified to look.
He heard heavy footsteps behind him and clenched his eyes shut. The footsteps stopped not far away, and something fell into the mud beside him. The air around him felt thick and warm. In front of him, Adrian could hear a faint whisper. He peeked to see what it was.
Brother Lamorin was lying in front of him in the mud. Lamorin’s eyes threatened to bulge out of his head, and his mouth gasped for air. Adrian knew the man well. They’d joined the cult of Harpis around the same time. He wanted to reach out and help the man, but his every instinct warned him to remain very still.
Lamorin saw his eyes open. He gasped, and finally Adrian could make out what he was trying to say.
“Run,” Lamorin whispered. “It’s staring right at you.”
Adrian’s eyes widened, and he wheeled around onto his back. A scream had barely escaped his lungs as the result of their failed summoning plunged a hand through his torso. A swarm of violent magic entered his body. Pain surged through him and his vision went dark.
It wasn’t supposed to go like this.
The creature grunted, and a pulse of magic buzzed in the air. Adrian fell into the mud like discarded trash. That was the binding. So it had taken partially. The circle had bound the creature to their will. It just hadn’t protected them. In a way, that offered him some peace in his last moments. At least his life had been useful. The last noise he heard was the sound of earth-shaking footsteps heading toward the dungeon.
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