In the middle of a spacious hall the size of a football field, around thirty people were gathered together. Ten of them were teenagers of seventeen or eighteen years. The rest were their worried parents, relaxed teachers, and quiet Association's representatives.

"Believe me, mom, I'm going to be alright!" a youth of average build with chestnut hair and gray eyes spoke to his mom.

"I'm not a child anymore, you know?" he said with a grin. "This is just one Iron Ranked Dungeon, and I'm a Level-10 already, as is the rest of my group. What could possibly go wrong?" Jake Dexter patiently reassured his mother. Mrs. Dexter sighed in relief as she watched her son's relaxed smile.

"Just don't overexert yourself, okay?" the middle-aged woman with blonde hair who looked like someone in her early thirties said gently. "I don't need you to be a hero or a savior. I just want you to be happy. You have my full support, even if your Class is a Common one."

Jake silently looked at his mother's tired face. She experienced a lot. They experienced a lot. In fact, he was determined not to choose any fighting Class even if, by some luck, a Rare or an Epic one was available to him. His mother already lost her significant other to Dungeons. How hard would it be for her to lose her only child as well? No matter how strong you are, no Dungeon is completely safe. Jake knew it, and so he didn't want to have anything to do with them, even if conquering one guaranteed wealth and fame.

"Mrs. Dexter, you don't need to worry!" a bulky man in his mid-twenties interrupted the silence between the mother and son. "It would be easy for any of them to solo-clear this Dungeon - just look at their equipment! It is better than mine, haha."

This man was Jake's high school teacher, responsible for his whole class. When he said that his equipment was worse, it wasn't just a joke or exaggeration, but the truth. Hunter Association allowed all citizens to borrow Rare Ranked equipment when they enter a Dungeon to choose their Path and Basic Class.

"Moreover," the man continued, "they don't even need to kill any monsters, just to survive for three hours on the periphery with zero possibility of anything above Level-5 to show up."

"Teacher is right, mom!" Jake nodded his head in approval. "If you ask me, then I'd even say that the way Association deals with the first Path Choice is a real overkill."

"You tell me this," Mrs. Dexter answered after hearing them out, "but I know that the first time in a Dungeon is the best chance to gain Achievements. Those kids who didn't get a Path they consider good enough would be ready to risk everything to prove themselves."

Both Jake and his teacher felt awkward. It reminded them that Alicia Dexter wasn't just a charming woman in her early forties and a caring mother, but also a retired Monster Hunter with years of experience behind her back.

"Do you think that the Association is overprotective?" She smiled bitterly. "No, on the contrary. They give you young people the power you didn't get with your sweat and blood. They try to make you overconfident in your unearned abilities. Hunter Association wants you to risk your lives to get a better Class. They don't care about your safety, dear. All they care about is the number of powerful Players at their disposal."

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In all honesty, Alicia would prefer for her son to just stay without a Class. But she knew that it would terribly limit Jake's future. She didn't want him to repeat his father's fate, but she also hoped he could achieve his dreams in life.

"You really dislike the Association, mam," the teacher sighed while throwing glances at expressionless people in tight full-body latex bodysuits of different colors. Humans from the beginning of the century would find them funny-looking or assume that they are cosplayers. But, in the current era, this style, or, rather, this equipment, was a sign of special status.

Jake said as he tried to change the topic, "Teacher, how long was it since the Dungeon was Reattuned? I think that it is around the time we should enter."

"You have a good intuition, Jake," the man commented as he winked at the youth, "it is a sign of a potential Monster Tamer."

In less than half a minute after this exchange, the Gate revealed itself at the center of the hall. Everyone's eyes instantly gathered on this egg-like incorporeal sphere of white light that floated half a meter above the ground and was about seven meters in diameter.

"Group, gather before the gate within five minutes!" a young woman wearing a gray latex bodysuit shouted in an authoritative tone.

Only those at Level-10 or below can enter an Iron-ranked Dungeon, so no one other than the ten teenagers would be able to enter. And yet, the Association still sent nine Players at the peak of Basic Class and one, the woman in the gray bodysuit, at the beginning of Advanced. As a Level-31 Space Mage, she was barely qualified to Reattune a Dungeon after its clearance, but her competence and experience were more than enough for an Iron-ranked one, especially with the help of nine Mage Apprentices. It would take the Dungeon days or even weeks to Reattune on its own and revive the monsters, and Association doesn't like to wait.

"You heard her, Jake," the teacher said, "believe me, you don't want to piss off a Space Mage from Association, even if they are a woman. No, especially if they are a woman."

Jake awkwardly smiled at his teacher's flat humor.

"You don't need to say goodbye to your son, mam. You'll meet him just in three hours!" the man said with a reassuring smile as he left the mother and son duo alone.

"I think he has a crush on you, Mom," Jake whispered with a grin when he saw that the teacher was far away enough.

Alicia shook her head as she said, "You overestimate your mom's charm, dear. I think he is just a nice person who decided to entertain a worried single mother and lessen her worries with his lighthearted attitude."

Jake knew that her words probably were the truth, but he didn't acknowledge nor denied them. Instead, he approached the woman who raised him all this time and tightly hugged her. Though his Rare-ranked Leather Set increased his capabilities, including physical power, Jake knew that his mom wasn't a fragile lady. In fact, as a Level-39 Player, she was much stronger than him - he couldn't physically hurt her even if he tried.

"I love you, Mom," Jake said as he felt his mother's embrace.

She always greeted him with a gentle smile when he got home from school. She always encouraged him with kind words. She was always there for him when he needed it. She was his closest person and the best ally. She was his Mom.

"I love you too, son," Alicia responded softly. "Be safe."

As Jake released himself from her somehow tight hug, he said with a genuine smile, "I wouldn't say goodbye. Just wait for me here. In a few hours, I'll bring you the good news! I have a hunch that all my preparations in the school weren't for naught, and I'll get this Monster Tamer Path unlocked!"

Jake waved to Alicia for the last time as he joined the group of youths. It seems that everyone other than him had already been ready, and the Space Mage gave him an annoyed glance.

Jake wasn't close to anyone in the group, so he didn't try to start a conversation or apologize for the delay. Like trained soldiers, each young adult approached the Gate in an orderly manner and then entered one by one. Jake Dexter was the last of them, and as he disappeared in the sphere of light, it faded into the void as well.

Nothing unusual was going on... or so everyone thought.