Thanks to a team effort, Zack and the others were able to eliminate all the wolves that attacked them.

With only a few enemies left standing, half of them tried to flee while the other half tried to call for reinforcements. Thanks to Kenzo's skill, none of the wolves were able to escape alive.

After finishing off the last mutated wolf, the group formed up to face the oncoming enemies.

…

..

.

“Um. We still waiting?" Kenzo asked after five minutes keeping his guard up. His Danger Sense skill felt no threat.

"Clear" Ryu walked away from the group and inspected the surroundings.

Zack and the others spent the next twenty minutes making their way uneventfully until they found the stairs to the fourth floor.

It turns out that the pack of wolves that they had killed earlier were all the monsters on the third floor. At least, in their area.

Most of the dungeon´s monsters do not need to eat, their food consists of the chaotic mana of the dungeon, so it is normal that there is only one species of a monster on each floor, as they do not have to eat each other.

The possibility of two monster species is only possible when they have the same strength, otherwise, they would kill each other until only one species remain.

When they reached the stairs to the next floor, Zack suggested taking a break. Kenzo and Ryu agreed. The last battle had exhausted them physically and mentally, so it is not appropriate to advance further without recovering from their injuries.

"Hmm. This is delicious” Kenzo said quietly as he ate a piece of wolf meat in front of the fire.

The meat of dungeon monsters is normally edible unless the particular species is not. A reanimated skeleton, zombie, or mutated poison toad are examples of unedible creatures that can be found in certain dungeons.

In fact, the meat of dungeon monsters is very popular among the upper class and another way of earning coins. Supposedly, it has beneficial health effects due to the amount of mana in it. There are some rumors that the meat of especially powerful monsters can increase the attributes of the one who eats it. As for whether those rumors are true, or just a myth, Zack doesn't really care.

"YEAH. Having a mage with you is really fantastic. Who would have thought that we could enjoy a barbecue in a dungeon? Although we knew that having a magician in the team would be useful, this is another level” Ryu mentioned as he drank the water that Zack had conjured up with his magic.

Kenzo nodded. Even Zack had to admit that he had underestimated the usefulness of the spells Albert taught them.

Most tier 0 spells don't have much use at first glance. It is only when you need them that you realize how difficult it would be to survive without them.

Even so, Zack knew that he was very lucky to choose this group.

Kenzo could detect danger, and Ryu could survey the terrain. They possessed abilities that Zack did not, and they complemented each other well enough to know that this task would be a success. And they were reasonable enough not to demand explanations when Zack showed his third spell.

Everyone has their secrets.

"Zack" Kenzo said, interrupting his concentration.

"Hmm?" Zack raised his head as he ate a piece of meat, signaling he was paying attention.

"How is magician training?" Kenzo asked with an expression full of curiosity. Ryu pretended to ignore the subject and focus on the meat, but if Zack looked close enough, he could see that he was paying attention.

Zack paused for a moment to organize his thoughts. To be honest, Zack was quite satisfied with his routine. Thanks to being a summoned person, he had advantages and aptitude to learn magic easier than the rest. And he found his classes fascinating, but he knew that wasn't the answer they wanted.

Zack knew that if he told the truth, there could be problems in the cooperation from that moment on. No one wants to hear another brag about how wonderful his life is. What they want to hear is that you had more problems than they did. This may sound bad, but it´s the truth.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Just when Kenzo thought he wasn't going to answer the question, Zack spoke:

“Honestly, it's kind of boring,” Zack said after a while.

"Boring?" Kenzo repeated.

"What do you mean?" Ryu asked, surprised by the answer. Zack can use magic!! How can that be boring?

"Before answering, tell me. What your daily routine consists of?" Zack asked, ignoring the question.

Ryu and Kenzo looked at each other.

“Our routine? Honestly, we don't do anything special” Eventually, Kenzo responded to Zack “In the mornings we dedicate ourselves to training the body: running and lifting weights. Afterward, we headed to the training ground where we practiced with each other with real weapons. After the meal, we train the body again, and then we practice our skills with the castle soldiers, who give us advice on how to improve."

Zack nodded for a moment.

"Why are you asking us this?" Ryu said confused. Obviously, they were the ones who wanted to know how Zack trained. Ryu didn't understand how they were the ones talking.

“Are you guys alone during training?” He asked Zack again, ignoring Ryu.

"No. We have an instructor who explains to us what we have done wrong, and makes sure that we don't get away” said Kenzo with some embarrassment. He has clearly tried to skip training on a few occasions.

"Our training is nothing like that" Zack said, drawing the attention of the others.

“Once a week, we go to a room in the castle, where a magician explains to us, for an hour, some theoretical concepts of magical combat, and teaches us one spell per class”

"And what else? Kenzo asked, starting to get excited about the idea. Imagining himself as one of the students, receiving archaic knowledge with which they could perform extremely complex spells.

"That's it"

"That´s it?" Kenzo and Ryu said at the same time.

"What do you mean that's it?" Ryu asked confused.

“Exactly that. Except for one hour class each week, we don´t receive any training”

"Nothing?" Ryu asked.

"Nothing"

"And what do you do the rest of the time?" Ryu questioned enviously at Zack´s answer. They've seen what Zack can do in combat. Although he didn't have offensive spells, his abilities are very useful. One class a week for that level of progress sounds great on paper.

“We allocated our time as we wanted, but most of the time we spend it in the library”

(Except Austin) Zack thought in his head for a moment, before focusing on the conversation.

"Why? Didn't your instructor teach you in class? Why would you need to go to the library?” Kenzo asked confused. It's not that they didn't understand the value of books, but if Kenzo were in his place, he would spend his time learning and practicing spells, not in the library.

"How to say it? Our teacher's lessons are…incomplete” Zack said as he scratched his head trying to find a way to explain it.

“The lessons we have received contain specialized jargon, and cannot be understood without knowledge of basic theories, which we learn in the library. Most of the time we were studying on our own about basic understanding of what magic is, covering topics like what makes spells work, energy transfer during spell casting…” Zack went on to talk about some of the books Albert gave them. He did read until he saw the empty expressions of his companions, and decided to explain it in another way.

"In short, if we didn't study the fundamental laws of magic, we wouldn't be able to understand our teacher's lessons or learn spells"

Zack almost laughed when he saw Ryu and Kenzo's faces as if they had reached enlightenment. And so they asked the key question and the reason why, even with talent and the right class, it's nearly impossible to become a competent wizard unless you were someone important.

“Why doesn't he teach you those 'Fundamental Laws of Magic'? I mean, if he spent a couple more hours each day teaching you, I don't think it would be necessary for you to spend the rest of your time in the library, studying on your own" Ryu asked, starting to get frustrated by all the terminology Zack had just explained.

Zack sighed internally and tried to say the next words in the most relaxed tone possible, even so, Ryu and Kenzo noticed the frustration in Zack's words.

"No magician would spend more time than is strictly necessary on a task that does not benefit him at all"

That's the truth. Even though the number of wizards Zack had talked to during his stay in the magic tower was almost nil, he could hear them.

Beyond learning magic and casting spells, the life of a wizard is terrible. Nobody is happy about your achievements. All your companions try to make you fall. It's as if the goal of the wizards living in the castle is not to learn magic but to prevent their colleagues from learning magic.

Zack has attended plenty of high society parties and has seen firsthand how cruel people can be towards their competitors, but he's never, in his life, seen anything as brazen and direct as here, in a month.

In both worlds, everyone wears a mask. The difference is that where Zack comes from, people try to do things as discreetly as possible, without it being traceable to them, and of course, nothing too serious.

If socialites knew that a colleague was using methods outside the rules, such as harassment, assault, or death threats against the competition, they would not only distance themselves from him but would immediately report it to the authorities. After all, if it happens to a colleague, you could be next.

Here, if a conspiracy to bring down another magician succeeds, they don't hide it, they announce it. And worst of all, it generates respect and allies. Friendships don't exist, and it's everyone against everyone.

If it weren't for being under the direct protection of the king, it is most likely that Zack, Austin, Miyu, and Shun, would have been manipulated in the interests of their 'companions' long, long ago. In fact, that's the reason the other wizards don't talk to them because they can't get any benefit out of it.

Hearing Zack's response, Ryu and Kenzo fell silent.

One universal thing in all worlds is that soldiers must support each other, otherwise, if there is no unity on the battlefield among your allies, you will be slaughtered by your enemies.

Although they can't quite understand Zack's situation, they do know that things have been very different from how it's been for them.