Lunch was tense, to put it mildly. My intention was to sit with Caroline, Ashe, and Sol; however, as I approached their table, I saw the first two glaring at me with disapproval while the villainess completely ignored me.

"Hey," I greeted, moving to place my lunch tray on the table.

"What are you doing?" Caroline snapped, blocking the only free spot with her arm.

"Caroline?" I asked, taken aback.

Sure, they took my terrible score on the theory exam to heart, but they were supposed to be my childhood friends, especially Caroline whose county bordered my family's.

"Tomorrow morning, when the grades come out, you're out of here. We don't associate with losers."

"But..." I began to protest.

Then Sol deigned to look at me, with such disgust that I felt like Mary must when she was the focus of her contempt.

Girl, chill, I'm not trying to steal the prince from you, I thought.

For a moment, I let their rejection stun me. But it was fleeting because, let's be real—I don't want to eat with them. I was just going along with what Bianca's life at the academy was supposed to be.

Without another word or glance, I turned around and sat at one of the few empty tables. I think there were whispers among the other diners as they stared at me. I didn't care. I wanted to become a powerful mage, not make friends. Besides, the villainess and those two suck-ups? I'm sure there are way better people to spend my time with.

I ate dinner lost in thought and went to bed early. Judith was already in the room, seemingly studying. Well, I wasn't going to touch a book until a professor told me to. I fell asleep almost as soon as I slipped between the sheets. The next morning, I checked the board with the grades. Not to see if I passed, the headmaster already confirmed that, but because the list assigned your class.

I think I passed by those two girls, who couldn't comprehend how I managed to pass the exam. I ignored them. The redhead and the sickly-looking brunet seemed to want to tell me something. I avoided them by taking a different hallway. There were two first-year classes, A and B. I was in A, which had a slightly higher level since that's where they put the best students. Out of the initial three hundred applicants, forty of us remained. I had breakfast and focused on ignoring everyone while learning as much as I could in class. That was my routine for two months: breakfast, classes, lunch, more classes, study, train, and sleep. The seed of evil was strangely still, behaving itself in my pocket without drawing attention. Who knows what it was plotting. I barely passed my first exams, especially the theoretical ones. Then it was time for the magic and combat exam in a dungeon, and everything suddenly got complicated.

"As you already know," the magic professor is explaining, "this test will evaluate you on both subjects. You have to retrieve one of the jars we've hidden in the dungeon. Last week you had the freedom to sign up in groups of one, two, or three participants. The jars are ceramic, so they can break, and there's exactly one per group. To reach them, you have to solve challenges that require magic and also fight. If someone doesn't find their jar, or it's broken, they fail the exam. No one will be expelled from the academy for getting a zero, but remember, if you don't achieve a passing average across all subjects by the end of the year, then you will return home."

We are gathered at a lake several kilometers from the academy, standing in a circle around the magic and combat professors. The first is Ailus. Like the headmaster, he seems old enough to be retired, although that concept doesn't really exist in this world. The second is Catrina, a warrior in her thirties who acts tough and shows a total bias against Sol: she can't stand her. Look, just for that, I almost like her.

In any case, we had traveled here by carriage because this is the home of a beginner's dungeon with aquatic parts. Hearing the professor mention going back home, I can't help but think they are much harsher than on Earth, where they let you repeat at least one year. I am going solo and, of course, I don't contemplate the possibility of failing. They say success starts in the mind, so I'm aiming for a good grade.

When they mentioned the groups in class, the skinny boy looked at me again with those eyes that made my skin crawl, like he was about to ask me out any second. I shudder just remembering it. I've been dodging him for two whole months. Every day he seemed to seek me out, and I always left him with his words hanging. I don't care what he wanted to tell me. So, that day in class, I quickly raised my hand and informed the professor that I was going alone.

"You will enter every fifteen minutes," he continues. "It is forbidden to directly attack students from other groups. The creatures in this dungeon shouldn't pose any problem for you, but if someone is in trouble, just use the exit stone we provided. Remember that your score depends on how long it takes you to return with the jar. These points add up and, in your third and final year, determine who competes in the games representing our school and kingdom. Check that you have everything and line up."

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Perfect. I wait my turn, somewhere in the middle. Darius, the redhead, is one of the first to go in. When the groups were formed, he tried to be in the prince's. Yes, in the otome game there was a prince at the academy, of course. He wasn't the heir, but the king's second son. To be clear, the romantic interests in the game were Prince Vincent and his two childhood friends: Alistair and Theodore. Both were heirs to a marquessate, with the former being a warrior with fire affinity and the latter a mage proud of his high affinity for water. From day one, Darius has been trying to join them and become part of their friend group. Since he started eating and spending free time with them, I'd say he succeeded. However, four can't go into this dungeon. So, as much as he insisted on taking Alistair's spot, who is also a redhead and seems just as airheaded, he didn't manage it. Instead, I watch him vanish into the darkness with a boy I don't know and Princess Lily, Vincent's little sister. The two royal siblings are in the same year, both in first, although she was born eleven months later in November (the months and seasons are the same as on Earth). Next, Sol enters with Caroline and Ashe. Mary and the remaining protagonist girls, despite interacting separately with the prince's group these days, curiously go in together. I mean Mary, Judith, and a red-haired fire mage named Karina. Along with the princess, they were the possible protagonists to choose from. Obviously, if you picked Lily as the protagonist in the game, the romantic route with her brother was closed off. And while a few more groups pass before my turn, no one I recognize from the otome or previously took note of.

When it's my turn and I hear my name, I step forward and enter the dark mouth opening at the base of the lake—a tunnel delving into the earth below. I'm glad to have the underwater breathing spell, as I'll undoubtedly need it soon.

As soon as I cross the magical darkness of the entrance, I find myself in a passage with floor, ceiling and walls lined with stone slabs. Every so often, torches on the walls provide ample illumination. This level of light in a dungeon strikes me as odd, but it was like this in the game too. When you crossed the entrance, you never knew what you'd find. Sometimes it could even be an underground city. For now, I hear no sound other than my breathing and footsteps. The groups ahead are far enough away that I can't hear them. After a few minutes, I reach a fork. Two passages, with identical designs, open to the left and right. Curious, I look to see if there are any markings, like the typical scratches made with a dagger on the wall slabs to know where you came from. To my surprise, there are a bunch of different marks, from lines to crosses, even including a little heart. Anyway... too many for the students preceding me, and some are so worn they're barely visible. I add my own mark, a B for Bianca, and take the right path. A few meters in, I see remains of spiders on the floor.

I scream.

Okay, not very mature for an Earth girl over twenty like me, but... giant spiders! I never remember if they're insects or not, but they disgust me terribly, and these bodies dripping with dark ichor are the size of a basketball. Just the body—the legs are longer than mine, although much thinner.

"No, don't bark," I whisper to the little wolf to calm him down, as he started growling menacingly when he heard me scream. "If there are more and we make noise, they'll come."

I'm carrying him in my backpack pocket again. Two months have passed and he's a glutton who has eaten a lot; however, he remains just as small.

By the way, I'm well aware that I haven't named him. I should, but I don't want to get too attached to an adorable little thing that I suspect has a soul corrupted by evil.

The seed of darkness whimpers once and falls silent. I keep moving forward. Now there are three passages branching out in front of me. I make a mark and choose the middle one. In games, I had guild mates who always went right to avoid getting lost. I, however, prefer to follow my instincts, even if they're usually wrong. About three hundred meters in, I see the passage is interrupted by a flooded area. That is, where there are slabs and floor beneath my feet, a little ahead there's water, as if someone took a huge, long pool and fitted it into the tunnel floor. In the distance, I see where the water ends and the floor resumes. This must be one of the magic tests. I can think of three basic options: swimming or diving, the first. Flying, the second. Managing to climb the wall or ceiling, the third. Honestly, if I had a high affinity for wind and the right spell, I could try flying. With my earth control, I could make small holes in the wall to support myself, but only if the destination were closer. Swimming is the simplest, but since you don't need magic to swim, I'm a little apprehensive about just getting in the water. I reach into the inner pocket of my school uniform shirt to make sure the return stone is there, close at hand, and I make my decision. Time is of the essence. I close my eyes and jump into the water.

I close my eyes?

Oh, please! I hasten to open them before hitting the liquid. Okay, I've been doing it all my life on Earth, but this isn't a pool. Here, there are bound to be monsters.

Or traps...

But look, it's too late to try throwing a rope or something into the water instead of getting in myself, and all at once—I muse to myself.

Cold and darkness greet me as I submerge. I swim to the surface to see the torchlight again. There doesn't seem to be anything strange. However, these waters seem dead, giving me no good feeling. I hurry to swim to the other shore. I haven't even reached halfway when something slimy grabs my ankle, above the sock, and drags me down. I quickly cast my underwater breathing spell and reach for my right thigh, where I have a dagger strapped under my miniskirt.

Giant octopus, level 2.

I discern its label by straining my eyes to see it. I'm amazed at myself for keeping control and letting that tentacle drag me down, towards the creature's body.

It's only level two and this is a novice dungeon, I tell myself. Even you at the first level of the skeleton dungeon could handle more.

As soon as it's within my reach, I twist and stab it near its open beak. Killing it takes a few slashes and the creature tries to push me away using more tentacles; but the level difference is large and the water fills with its blue bodily fluids as we fight. I defeat it without further ado. Its body begins to sink beside me and I quickly leave, lest more creatures be attracted by the carnage.

Too late.

Several are coming from behind and others are blocking my way ahead. Of my thirty seconds of aquatic breathing, only nineteen remain.