A procession of carriages filled the entrance courtyard. Horses snorted and the smell of a farm permeated the air. There was a hubbub of activity: from carriage riders feeding and petting their horses, to baggage-carrying orderlies shuffling back and forth, to instructors and professors debriefing groups of students.
Yaaro was just one of many in the crowd, standing at the very back of his group. He was in no mood to socialize and impatiently tapped his feet.
I should’ve just left on my own that day.
His attention turned outward to the instructor at the head of the group. He provided a debriefing on how the carriage procession would travel, how long it would take, and instructions for arrival at Kuln.
With a banal question in mind. he raised his hand, a habit formed from years of going through the education system. Surprisingly, this gesture was received the same in another world as well.
“#@! ?” The instructor said, making Yaaro sigh. He had almost forgotten that a majority of people did not know how to use the voice. Almost exclusively, he interacted with people who could use it, so he’d forgotten this basic fact.
And then an energetic voice greeted him from inside the carriage,
“Yaaro!”
There were already a few people sitting inside, all of whom turned to look at him. There was a long-haired blonde girl with shy eyes, a blonde-haired boy with a relaxed and loose demeanor and an aloof raven-haired girl with striking ruby eyes. And then there was Sholin, who had just called him.
All put, there were four people.
Sholin patted Yaaro on his back and helped him sit down (although there was nothing to help with), “Guys this is Yaaro Ilay, I’m sure you’ve heard the name.”
Each of them had differing expressions: the blonde boy’s eyes narrowed like slits, the raven-haired girl continued indifferently staring out of the window and the blonde-haired girl looked away, blushing.
“Hi. Nice meeting you all.” He said without a smile. The cushions in the carriage were nice and comfortable. Just sitting down sapped all the energy from him and made him sleepy. After everything he’d gone through, he deserved a break.
But the Universe wouldn’t allow him to catch a break.
The door gently opened and an orderly stood outside, bowing.
“Sir Yaaro Ilay, the Chairman would like to see you.”
----------------------------------------
Once again he was back in that antique office. Things were just as he’d remembered: the old-money style desks, chairs and sofas, the dark oak walls and the oak floors, the skull of a three horned beast on the wall and a clock with no hands.
It might have been his imagination, but it seemed as though the statue of the beautiful woman was staring at him.
“Yaaro. Take a seat.” The Chairman said, his lush white hair and beard adding weight to his words.
“How are you feeling?” The Chairman inquired.
“Good.”
The Chairman nodded, “That’s good to hear.”
“What did you want to talk about?” Yaaro asked. He didn’t want to waste a second beating around the bush.
“Straight to the point then.” The Chairman leaned forward, folding his hands in a steeple on the desk, “Yaaro I wanted to talk to you about your magic.”
An eyebrow rose on his forehead, “What about it?”
“Hide your power. Is what I’m saying.”
Yarrow’s brows furrowed. The Chairman’s words may have been too straight to the point, and he was left clueless as to what and why he was saying that.
“What do you mean.”
Although the Chairman was as stoic as a stone carving, his silence alone spoke volumes. Eventually he broke through his silence,
“Yaaro…” The Chairman said, his voice grave, “I’ve seen your duels. Although it appears as if you use barriers and projectiles of wind, you don’t use elemental magic do you?”
Yaaro’s brows furrowed again, Is that what they think my invisible mana projections are? Wind?
“There’s no need to worry. I won’t reveal this secret of yours.” The Chairman elaborated.
Yaaro couldn’t follow the Chairman’s rhetoric. To the Chairman, it seemed as if his ‘secret’ was something monumental— enough to call for a personal intervention. But Yaaro didn’t understand why simply using different magic was a big deal.
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
“I don’t think I follow. Why is it such a big deal?”
This time it was the Chairman’s turn to be surprised. And he showed it through the slight raising of his eyebrows. A soft chuckle escaped him.
“You don’t think this is a big deal?”
“No.” Yaaro answered frankly.
“Then, do you believe in the Lord?”
Yaaro furrowed his brows. Many days ago, Sholin had asked him the same question with a concerned look in his eyes. But he didn’t think about it too much, and hence, his answer was the same as before.
“I don’t.”
“I see… Coming back to the question. Was that elemental magic?”
“No. It wasn’t.”
The Chairman nodded, as if the pieces in his head had finally clicked together, and then leaned back— the very personification of relaxation, “I see. Then, are you a player?”
His jaw dropped and his train of thought had completely derailed. In another world, in a world with only magic, he heard the word ‘player’. Although he barely paid it attention, the whole time, Yaaro had assumed he was the only one in this world with a system.
Now apparently, that was not the case.
“I’m sorry, what is a player?”
----------------------------------------
Surrounded by a group of his people, Darius sat silently in his dimly lit carriage. A courtesy of his father: his carriage was far more spacious than the others. The curtains were drawn, and only a single ray of bright sunlight peeked through it, casting a glowing line on the floor.
A thick miasma of silence permeated the air, uncomfortably settling on everyone like a blanket, with the exception of Darius.
Ever since their young master had woken up from his coma, he had become strangely reticent. It had become worse after being summoned by the Duke the day before.
In this awkward atmosphere, a knock on the door was a breath of fresh air.
“Come in.”
It was Holstein. He immediately bowed, “You called, My Lord?”
Darius’ eyes slowly scanned the members of the carriage, and they instantly understood the message. One by one they got up to leave. Then it was just Holstein and Darius present.
“Holstein. Sit.”
He did as he was told and took a seat, expectantly waiting for the words of his liege.
“I have something to discuss. And I want your opinions.”
“Yes My Lord! Anything!”
“You had once been an adventurer in Kuln. Am I right?”
Holstein nodded, “Yes My Lord, years before entering the Duke’s service, I was an adventurer.”
“Tell me about the Great Dungeon and do not leave a single detail.”
Holstein obliged, while Darius simply sat back with his arms folded.
“My Lord, nobody knows how many floors the dungeon has, but 24 are accessible for now, the 25th has not been cleared yet unfortunately. But there are definitely more floors, that is a fact.”
“How can you be certain there are more floors without clearing the 25th floor?” Darius asked.
“My Lord, this is because on every floor, there is a great stone bridge that has a bottomless chasm beneath it. From above, you can see the bridges of the lower floors. From the 24th, there is more than one bridge visible.”
Darius rubbed his chin, “Why hasn’t the 25th floor been cleared yet?”
“That is because of the dreadful guardian beast that guards the exit, My Lord. It has been a year since the floor had opened, and the largest Guild: The Super Kings, have failed to conquer it.”
An eyebrow rose on Darius’ face, “Is the 25th floor the only one with such a beast?”
“Yes and no My Lord. Although every floor has a guardian beast guarding the exit, the ones before the 25th get progressively weaker.”
Darius’ eyes sharpened, “And the University has assigned us to which floors?”
“Only the third, fourth and fifth floors My Lord.”
Darius clicked his tongue, “So the guardian beasts there are practically useless.”
Darius sighed, “Holstein. Treat me like an idiot and tell me everything. Tell me as if I am a newborn child and do not assume. What do these usual tasks involve?”
“My Lord I apologise!” He bowed and instantly straightened his head, “An adventurer essentially harvests materials inside Dungeons, be it monster corpses, their drops, or materials growing in the Dungeon.”
Darius sat in silence and stared at Holstein. It was completely unclear what he was thinking about and a bead of sweat rolled down Holstein’s brow.
“Enough about this useless dungeon… The markets of Kuln are famous for their strange goods. Tell me more about them.”
“There are so many things about them My Lord. It would take an entire day for me to recount them all.”
“Then give me a summary, I’ll decide if the rest is worth listening to.”
With a nostalgia-fueled passion, Holstein began recounting the strange goods of the market: their many trinkets, wonders, weapons and items. At some point, Darius stopped asking questions and simply listened to the very extended summary, enraptured by the exotic descriptions.
But a single word brought him out of his hypnotic reverie.
“Stop. Explain the previous part.”
“About the summons My Lord?” Receiving his affirmation, Holstein passionately explained, “There is unfortunately little explanation to do My Lord. A summon is exactly what its name suggests— it is an item that allows one to summon a creature or entity to aid them.”
“How strong are they?”
“My Lord, the strongest can raze entire cities.”
Darius’ lips curled and he repeatedly nodded, sometimes chuckling out of the blue.
“My Lord, if I may, why are you interested in the Dungeon?”
He rose from his silence, “A rat.”
“... My Lord?”
“Can you imagine a rat Holstein?”
Feeling very lost, Holstein simply nodded.
“If you were to catch a rat, would you carry a spear?”
Holstein stammered, “No— No My Lord.”
“What would you do?”
“I would use a trap…”
Darius clapped his hands, “Exactly Holstein, you are right on the mark. Think of the Dungeon as the rat trap.”
And then his eyes widened and his lips curled, “Are you excited?”
“For what My Lord…?”
His demented smile grew.
“To catch a rat.”