Lyon POV:

I walked through the bustling streets. The events that happened after the tutorial last night played through my mind once more.

***

“For you two, this tutorial isn’t over just yet.”

Barbara ruffled her straight hair that reached below her shoulders. She made it messy, causing the black glasses hanging from her wide hips to sway. A relieved sigh left her mouth, and the tension in her shoulders faded.

I glanced at Melo. He consoled the remaining group members, who were still crying from the experience. The proud girl from before kept wiping her eyes but was unable to stop the tears from flowing.

My gaze shifted to Kana, meditating on the ground a few metres away from me.

“I doubt the others will turn up tomorrow, so let me give you a quick rundown of some things that were left out.”

Barbara was unfazed by Kana’s position. Instead, she focused her gaze on me.

“First, let’s go over the basics again. Each dungeon has a Boss Monster. Every time that monster is killed, along with all of the Floor Bosses, we call that a Dungeon Clear. A gate will appear in the Boss Room to teleport the party outside, and a new map will be generated. Once a dungeon has been cleared, there’s a cooldown period. In most cases, the same Boss Monster will respawn after the cooldown. Dungeon Clears allow the Empire to obtain a continuous stream of precious resources from dungeons.

A Dungeon End is when the Floor Bosses and Boss Monster have been killed, but this time, the Boss Room is destroyed. This part is important because once cleared, Boss Rooms have a hidden mechanism that automatically leads to a Dungeon End if used. The dungeon will then destroy itself, and whatever artifacts that weren’t taken out in time will be permanently lost.”

*Purrr*

The Kinnix, sitting on top of my head, adjusted its position. Barbara’s eyes sparkled briefly before she coughed to hide her embarrassment.

“A-Anyway, as for Dungeon Breaks, they are a little more complicated than people make them out to be. It occurs when dungeon monsters gain what we call the ‘Will of Independence,’ which makes their population size grow. Eventually, this leads to an overflow. These monsters then break out of the dungeon, creating their own territory in the surrounding area.”

‘...’

The faces of my parents flashed through my mind. A pained smile spread across my lips when the Kinnix hung onto the ends of my hair. It rubbed its forehead against mine and purred softly.

“...You might not be aware of this, but that Kinnix isn’t normal. It’s a rare mutation that’s only found among the dungeon variant, but even then, few people have come across it. That dark blue fur is a dead giveaway. So if you plan on keeping her, I recommend you be careful.”

“Thank you for your advice.”

She raised an eyebrow before folding her arms. Barbara continued to examine me when the Kinnix’s paw tapped my forehead. It used my hair as a spring to shoot itself high into the sky, performing several somersaults. It landed right back in my hair where it hid.

“Lady Kana aside, you’re quite something. Calm and composed: accurately assessing the situation around you while utilizing all of the information at hand. You stabilized the spread of fear through actions rather than words because you knew that would have a stronger reaction with first timers.”

I remained silent as Kana opened one of her eyes. She gazed at me briefly before meditating again.

“...That being said, I apologize for Melo’s behaviour. I was the one who signalled for him to taunt you that way.”

Barbara dipped her head and rested her hand on her hip again.

“It’s not a problem.”

I felt the Kinnix rub its puffy cheeks against my scalp. A faint smile appeared on Barbara’s face as she shook her head.

“You’re way too nice. Anyway, the last thing I need to explain is dungeon types. There are three types of dungeons: Towers, Natural and Arcane.”

‘Arcane? How mysterious.’

I added a few more mental notes to the dungeon folder in my mind.

“The easiest dungeons to spot are Towers. They appear near cities or largely populated areas and, as the name implies, they tower over the surrounding vicinity.

Tower monsters regenerate faster at lower ranks and slower at higher ranks. For example, a Rank F dungeon could be cleared hundreds of times a day, whereas a Rank A dungeon could only be cleared dozens of times a week or maybe three times a month, depending on the dungeon.

Does everything make sense so far?”

I nodded my head, and Barbara smiled in response.

“We call the second type of dungeons: Natural. This is because these dungeons fuse with the natural environment around them. They are harder to spot than Towers, due to the size difference, but there are other ways to tell if you’re looking at an ordinary cave or a Natural Dungeon.”

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

She moved her finger in the air, creating a rather detailed miniature structure using her Elemental Ki. The earth creation floated in the palm of her hand, modifying itself along with her explanation.

“The key is the entrance. All Natural Dungeons are clearly defined by a wide stone entrance with two pillars on both sides. They have engravings that connect to a small stone pathway in front of the dungeon.

In addition to this, a thin, powerful Ki barrier protects the dungeon and entrance. So, in case you’re wondering about animals or monsters wandering in, that’s not possible.”

I shifted my gaze to the Tower of the Unknown. There was a thin barrier of Ki around it that could only be seen after I concentrated intensely.

‘Hmm.’

Some dungeons benefitted the Cotis Empire, but it was obvious that there would be plenty that wouldn’t. I pondered over how strong the barrier was while Barbara followed my line of sight.

“Forget about it. Not even Keo ‘The Superman’ Yeboah can put a dent in that barrier.”

“Seriously...?”

“Yeah. Believe me, he tried.”

I stared at the Tower with wide eyes. To be able to stop the Keo Yeboah was... Unimaginable. In my mind, I still placed him far above my Master in terms of strength. Even though I couldn’t use Ki back then, his aura was so phenomenal that I instinctively knew that he was in a realm of his own.

“It’s aggravating, but we have no choice but to follow the system rules.”

I noticed her hands ball into fists as she stared at the Tower. A flash of anger flickered through her eyes, followed by a helpless sigh.

“I don’t agree with the Council Leader’s decision to open up the dungeons to the public, but all I can do to dissuade people is show them the reality of what dungeons are. Melo feels the same way, so if we can save a few more lives like this, then I think it’s worth it.”

Barbara’s gaze rested on Melo, escorting the few remaining applicants home. Her lips formed a soft smile, and a faint blush added extra colour to her cheeks. Her words meant that, rather than the Guilds, Barbara and Melo had independently chosen to add extra emphasis to the danger of dungeons during the Dungeon Tutorial.

The corners of my mouth rose at this new understanding.

“You’re a very nice person, Barbara.”

She scratched the back of her head, avoiding eye contact as she coughed.

“Y-Yeah? Anyway, the last type of dungeon... We call them: Arcane. These are dungeons you must absolutely stay away from.”

The tone in her voice grew serious, and she narrowed her eyes.

“In Arcane Dungeons, the Boss Monster’s Ki overflows to the point that the dungeon’s barrier no longer contains it. Their Ki affects the surrounding habitat of the physical world, leading to mutations and rapid monster growth. The severity and speed of this process is based on the strength of the Boss Monster. In extremely rare cases, this can also lead to a permanent Ki Phenomenon.”

She held up one finger as a faint quiver ran through her smooth eyebrows.

“One. One unsuccessful attempt at clearing an Arcane Dungeon leads to a Dungeon Break. That’s all it takes.

If an Arcane dungeon appears near civilization, that area is evacuated immediately. The only peace of mind we have is that the boss monster itself can’t leave the dungeon. However, its Ki strengthens the monsters and allows it to manipulate them remotely.”

Barbara lowered her finger, resting her hand back against her hip. She shifted her gaze to Kana briefly before continuing.

“Keep this in mind: In Arcane dungeons, monsters don’t gain the ‘Will of Independence’, they already have it.”

‘...’

I remained silent as I went over all the information I had gained. I couldn’t help but ponder over whether or not Keo Yeboah could handle Arcane dungeons alone.

“I respect ‘The Superman’ a lot, but... He’s not the strongest.”

“What? What do you mean?”

My eyebrows furrowed at the solemn expression on Barbara’s face. For some reason, I didn’t like the words that just came out of her mouth. She tapped my shoulder before turning around.

“You know... There are a lot of strong people in this world. Let’s just leave it at that. Anyway, that concludes the tutorial. I leave Lady Kana to you.”

She vanished out of my view before I could ask any more questions, leaving me to stew in my own thoughts. After a few moments of thinking, I sighed inwardly. For now, I needed to focus on getting stronger.

“Kana, the tutorial is finished now.”

“And?”

I glanced at her. She was meditating in the exact same position, unbothered by everything that had just been discussed. The moon was already out on full display, illuminating the streets below.

“It’s already midnight. I’d feel better seeing you off before leaving.”

“So?”

‘...’

I crouched down in front of her and parted my lips.

“Ice Flower of the East.”

Her eyes flashed open, and I ignored the partially drawn katana pressed deeply against my neck.

“Don’t you ever call me that again, Oddjob.”

“I heard a frozen flower can represent a state of eternal beauty.”

Kana’s eyes turned cold. The katana dug a little deeper into my neck before she sheathed the white blade.

“Do not get ahead of yourself and mistake my feelings towards you as affection. That privilege will never belong to you. I merely respect you, that’s all.”

She got to her feet and increased the distance between us when a small sigh escaped my lips. I stood up while the Kinnix, hidden in my hair, poked its head out to observe the situation.

“You can’t breakthrough like this. You’re too agitated and your mind is unstable.”

Kana glanced back at me with ferocious eyes. She turned her body sideways and rested her hand on the concealed hilt of the katana.

“You don’t even know me, yet you act like you do from our brief encounters. I am the heir to the Hojo Clan! I possess the most talent ever seen within the Clan’s history, yet you believe I have hit a wall?!”

She narrowed her eyes; her hand tilting the blade’s hilt towards me.

“Oddjob, stop provoking me. Surely you at least know that I have a very short temper.”

‘So stubborn.’

“Then why can’t you breakthrough to Shin?”

Her face contorted with a mixture of rage and disbelief. She denied the reality in front of her, getting increasingly agitated despite the words coming out of her mouth saying otherwise.

“...You’re wrong. The path that a Hojo takes is different! I can breakthrough at any time! I’m merely choosing to refine my Ki Control first.”

She spun around, not wanting to hear whatever else I had to say.

“Kana, I’m going to tell your grandmother that you drew your katana.”

Her body froze. Seconds later, she cocked her head to the side before glaring at me.

“Oddjob, I advise you to be very careful when you open that mouth in front of m…”

Kana’s eyes swivelled to my left arm. She closed them briefly and parted her lips.

“I apologize for my rudeness, Lyon…”

I held back the chuckle, trying to escape my mouth while I shook my head. How could someone like me know The Scarlet Blade personally?

“I was just joking.”

“You...!!”

Her face went bright red, and she immediately vanished out of my vision. The smile on my lips faded once I was left alone. I had deliberately acted in a way to get different reactions out of Kana, but things didn’t look good.

If she was that concerned about her grandmother finding out about her simply drawing her katana, then the rumours I heard were still true.

The constant fluctuations of her Ki during her meditation proved that she kept hitting against the same wall as before; she still couldn’t break through to Shin.

‘The problem is her mind.’

I pondered over how my Master would have handled this situation and realized I still had a long way to go. Kana was a difficult person to talk to—I had only met her a handful of times but overheard others saying all she did was train.

*Purrr*

The Kinnix patted my head with its small paws. I had told Kana directly, so the rest was up to her now. My lips curved into a thin smile as I stroked the Kinnix’s puffy cheek.

“I should give you a name.”