“Alright. This is going to be easy. Just get in there and do the job you were assigned. There’s no need to be afraid.
I stood there, my heart pounding against my chest, as I prepared to face one of the most significant challenges of my life—public speaking. Pausing momentarily to gather my thoughts, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to connect with the present moment. Ensuring my readiness, I opened the double doors in front of me with care and entered the auditorium of Brickwall High School in a relaxed manner.
The room instantly hushed as all eyes turned towards me. I shrugged off their judgmental stares and casually made my way up the stairs onto the stage. Taking a seat on the stool, I glanced at the electronic board in front of me, setting down my stuff on the table. The auditorium was huge, able to fit around two hundred people with its spacious 2900 square feet. The lighting above beamed down, casting a bright glow across the whole place. Over at the control booth, one teacher was keeping an eye on things. Around a hundred students were scattered throughout the room, patiently waiting for me to speak my piece.
I loudly cleared my throat to get everyone’s attention. “Hello there. You probably know who I am, but I’ll say it, anyway. The names Joel Parker, ranked twentieth in the entire world. I am one of many Dungeon Conquerors, or superhumans, whose job is to enter Dungeons and eliminate any threats. I’ll be your guest speaker for the day. Before we begin, are there any questions you have for me?”
Silence once again. Were they nervous? Usually, there would be at least one person who’d ask questions regarding Dungeon Conquerors.
“Well then. Let us begin. Please pay attention to the board.”
Grabbing the remote from the table, I opened a PowerPoint I have created.
“I will first go over how it all began. It has been seven months since reports were released about an enormous object approaching the planet. Many thought it was a comet passing through, but we were severely wrong. It was none other than a planet.”
With a simple click, a new slide materialized, revealing an image of a planet: Planet A1, or as it was fondly known, Athiens.
“I’m sure you already know this. The media extensively covered the event, making it impossible to avoid. A great flash of brilliant light erupted from the planet itself, washing over Earth. Those who were immediately affected by the light reported having severe headaches and would pass out from the pain. After waking up, they would soon find out their bodies were different.”
“You’re talking about superhumans, right?”
The person who spoke was a blonde girl with a Chromebook sitting on her lap.
“Yes, I mean superhumans. Also, please raise your hand next time. Continuing on, not only were their bodies different, but they could also access the System, a game-like interface that appears in front of your face. To access it, all you had to do was say the word Status or visualize that word in your mind. This is what it looks like.”
The next slide was the all too familiar red Status screen.
Status Inventory Name: ??? Rank: Undecided Strength: Agility: Durability: Mana: Masteries: N/A
Name: ???
Rank: Undecided
Strength: Agility:
Durability: Mana:
Masteries: N/A
“All superhumans see this exact format. The only difference is that not everyone’s stats, shortened for Status, and masteries are the same.”
A couple of hands rose at the same time.
“You, the boy with the blue sweater.”
“Is each stat different for each individual, or is it set based on your build?” said a boy with a toothy grin and oily black hair.
“Good question. When we conducted tests on every superhuman we could get our hands on, all their stats were set to zero, even with the obvious physique disparity between them. Next question.”
“What’s that thing called next to Status?”
A different boy, with tousled sand-colored hair, was pointing at the tab next to Status called Inventory.
“That is the Inventory. It is what we’re about to talk about next.”
Another click later, the PowerPoint moved on to the next slide, showcasing the Inventory in all its glory.
“Think of the Inventory as a sort of dimensional storage. You’re able to store almost anything in some different dimension. The space is limited, however, to five slots, so you mostly store important items within it. Moving on, this next scene isn’t for the faint of heart. Close your eyes or leave the room if you do not witness blood and gore.”
Casting a quick glance along the row of individuals, I expected a few restless kids to abandon their seats and wander off. However, to my surprise, not a single soul budged.
“Wow, aren’t you guys fearless. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. What you see now will be the aftermath of a dungeon outbreak that occurred near the North Pacific…”
My voice trailed as I suppressed myself from saying anything else I shouldn’t share. Even though I’m a Dungeon Conqueror, looking at the first-ever outbreak doesn’t make it any easier.
As the images of the outbreak flashed across the screen, an audible wave of gasps reverberated through the entire auditorium, breaking the silence that had enveloped the room.
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“The hell happened here…”
“A-are those intestines…”
“Her whole stomach is cut open!”
“What caused all this destruction?”
“Is that some kind of humanoid fish creature?!”
“Quiet down. News channels across the world could not show these horrifying sights on their channels because it was too disturbing for the viewers. They could only describe a… water-downed version of the incident. This right here is the primary reason we superhumans exist. It’s to protect Earth and all life from going extinct by these creatures we call monsters. Questions?”
This time, half of them were raising their arms, eagerly waiting to be called upon.
“Since there are so many of you, I cannot answer everyone’s questions. Even so, I’ll do my best. You in the first row.”
A girl with short, curly chocolate hair noticed that I was pointing at her and blurted out her question nervously.
“W-What killed all those people and how did they arrive?”
“Amphibian-like creatures- a cross between different species of fish and amphibians in the ocean, is what caused this mess. We refer to them as Pisces-folk for obvious reasons. They arrived through the portals used to get in and out of Dungeons. Our guess is that they are inhabitants of planet A1. You in the fourth row, third column.”
“How did we stop them from causing any more harm?”
I chose my next words carefully, not wanting to scare the kids too much. “…It took most of America’s military might to destroy all the rampaging Pisces-folk. We even considered nuking the whole area after the evacuation. Even to this day, we are still recovering from the aftermath. This all happened near the North Atlantic Ocean. Next question.”
“Where were these superhumans? Could they not have been brought along to deal more effectively with those Pisces-folk?”
“The superhumans-“
“They were transported to The Tutorial,” a voice interrupted. The one who spoke was the blonde with the Chromebook.
I gave the girl a quizzical look as I stroked my chin. “Yes, that is correct. How do you know that, Miss…”
“Sara Rossi. For how I know, I was there myself,” she said bluntly.
So she was there when it all happened, I thought to myself. Someone so young having the misfortune to experience The Tutorial. Reminds me of Darion.
I cleared my throat before any of her peers could ask her uncomfortable questions. “As Miss. Rossi said, we were magically transported into an unknown area. We had to go through a tutorial to familiarize ourselves with the System and our new powers. By the time we returned, it was already too late to prevent the first outbreak. Speaking of powers, this is the last thing I will go over.”
I shut off the electronic board and got up from the stool. “For this. I will need a volunteer. If you would, Miss. Rossi.”
Caught in a moment of hesitation, the girl’s expression betrayed her surprise at being chosen among the crowd. However, her curiosity and perhaps a hint of excitement outweighed her initial uncertainty, compelling her to rise from her seat and ascend the steps leading to the stage. She stopped right next to my side and faced the audience.
“Miss. Rossi will now demonstrate what powers we superhumans possess. I’m assuming you have awakened to mana, right?”
“Yes, I have.”
“Good. Now, you may be wondering; what is mana? View it as an energy source that we are now able to tap into within our bodies. You may find it difficult to believe, but mana is present everywhere- in the food we consume, the air we inhale, and even in our waste products. Go ahead, Miss. Rossi.”
“Okay… I’ll just do this then.”
With closed eyes, the girl extended her arms outwards, her palms facing upward. In that moment, a hushed whisper escaped her lips, a silent prayer that seemed to carry her intentions into the air. As I directed my attention towards the central point of her hands, a distinctive flow of energy started to emerge, whirling and combining into a concentrated body. Within seconds, a mesmerizing spectacle unfolded before us—a perfectly formed water bubble, roughly the size of a basketball, suspended in mid-air. I gave her a round of applause, the students later joining.
“Great work, Miss. Rossi. I can see that you have been practicing. What you just witnessed was a superhuman using the surrounding mana to manifest their awakened powers. While it may seem great to have them, don’t let it get to your head. As there are good guys with powers, there will be people who want to abuse them and make others suffer. That is why I am here today. It is my job to recruit those who are fortunate and bring them under my newly established guild- Peacekeepers. If you want to keep the civilians safe and fight monsters, make a single-file line. I have this device that calculates the potential of those who may awaken.”
Right when I finished talking, half of the students rushed over to me and formed a line up the stage steps.
“Okay. Just remember, If I see that you have potential, I’ll give you a card with my details written on it.”
I pulled out a small glass orb embedded with Torqinite inside. “Place your palm on top of this here orb and it’ll show letters S, A, B, C, D, and F. With F being low potential and S being the highest. Go on, it won’t hurt.”
The boy with the blue sweater placed his hand on the orb and it lit up in a bluish color. A few moments later, a letter appeared inside it.
“And you got C. Your potential is average for a superhuman. This is a good thing. Don’t worry about it.”
The boy pouted as he eyed the letter. “Aw… I was hoping for at least an A.”
“Heh, getting a B is rare enough. Hell, when I used this thing, it marked me as C. Next!”
A petite girl with glasses nervously walked up to me. Like before, when she touched the orb, a blue light came, and a letter popped up.
“And for you, it’s D.”
The girl cast her eyes down to the floor, her lips trembling. “Figures… I knew someone like me would get a low score.”
Hm. The way she talks, and her demeanor, does she lack confidence? If you want to be a Dungeon Conqueror, we can’t have those who are mentally and physically weak...
I took a knee and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Hey. Don’t let this letter fool you. I haven’t mentioned that with enough training and hard work, anyone can reach A-Rank. Like I said earlier, when I used this thing, it marked me as C. But, as time went on and I improved my abilities, I managed to gain one rank higher. So, have more faith in yourself, got it?”
Instead of a frown, the edges of her lips curved for a moment. “Thank you, Mr. Parker.”
I continued ranking each individual as time went on. I was getting a lot of F and D ranks, with only a small few being C. It wasn’t long until one last person remained.
“You’re the last one, Miss. Rossi. You know the drill.”
Sara extended her hand and cautiously placed her trembling palm on the surface of the orb. The faint quiver in her fingers betrayed the nerves that coursed through her, a reflection of the immense pressure she felt in that pivotal moment. As her touch made contact, a spark of energy ignited within the orb, and the pulsating mana within surged to life. Like a radiant beacon, the luminosity grew in intensity, casting a brilliant glow that bathed the surrounding area. This much light being emitted could only mean one thing.
“…”
Pure joy escaped from my mouth as I belly-laughed at the sight. Was today my lucky day or what?! Finding a B-Rank on my first try?
Sara stared at me with an expression of terror. “U-Um, Mr. Parker…?”
It took quite a while for me to compose myself. I was fully aware that the other kids were gawking at me from my sudden outburst, but I didn’t care.
“Sorry. It’s my second time meeting a B-Rank who’s still in high school! The other B-Rank I had the fortune of knowing who’s still in high school is Darion.”
I pocketed the orb in my Inventory and pulled out a pile of cards. “Those who are interested in my guild and are at least D-Rank, come take a card and go back to your seats.”
Seven of the students, including the blue sweater boy and Sara, grabbed a card and returned to their original spots.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we are now reaching the conclusion of this discussion. Do not feel dejected that I hadn’t handed you a card. I would like it if you were to use that as motivation to better yourselves and be ready if you awaken. Just remember, with hard work, you’ll be able to overcome hurdles you thought weren’t possible. If and when you awaken as a superhuman, remember to stay classy, inform the authorities, and not let the power get to your head. That is all.”
Just in the nick of time, a bell rang throughout the auditorium, signaling the students to make their way to their next class. I watched as the room gradually emptied, their footsteps fading into the distance. My mind wandered to what my next course of action would be until my phone rang. Swiftly, I grabbed it out of my pocket and pulled it to my ear.
“Hello. This is Joel Parker.”
“…This is Darion. Mr. Reed wants to meet with us at the same location. Don’t be late again.”
He then abruptly hung up the phone without so much as a single goodbye.
“That was a quick call. If Darion called this time, that could only mean one thing... We’re about to enter a Dungeon.”