After arriving back at school, all the second year students who went on the dungeon dive went back to their normal school schedule.

As students going on dungeon dives was a normal occurrence, the teachers were adept at handling their return and getting them up to speed. Naturally, a consequence of diving was needing to catch up on their studies, but as they came to find out, that wasn't as difficult as they imagined. Garel, Dirk's teacher, described it this way:

"When you go dungeon diving, you tend to learn about magic in a more applied sense. This can greatly accelerate your learning speed, making up for you losing out on school time. You'll find that spells become easier to learn and form. And as you come to advance in Tier, these classes will do less and less for you. You'll only need to attain the runes for a spell, and all the theory will be developed in your own mind. High level magicians often carve out their own way of handling magic, so they don't study, instead researching. Many of the upperclassmen refrain from taking classes at all anymore as they focus on other matters. Of course, the academy finds no problem with this. Magic is different for everyone, so as long as you make progress, it doesn't matter much how you do so."

Dirk listened to his teacher with surprise. He figured that learning magic was like learning other subjects. Keeping up with studies should help him out and promote his advancements. But the reality didn't seem to be that way. And as he went through his other classes, he found what Garel said to be true. He found himself more easily understanding the new spells that were being taught. He could form runes with fewer tries as knowledge about how the magic worked simply came to him easier.

Thinking about it, Dirk came to the conclusion that using magic on instinct helped the mind with more completely understanding the spell. He remembered how he was able to cast his spells during the night battle with skill. The circles appeared almost nonexistent, and he found himself directly controlling the mana and its function. This was silent casting, and it could only be performed by those who had a high understanding of their spell, the runes that formed it, and the element they controlled.

Now, Dirk was seeing the value of dungeon diving and being able to use magic without restraint. It simply wasn't possible to go far strictly by researching or studying. One had to apply their knowledge and actually use magic, forming their own unique understanding of the element. Dungeon diving was the perfect way to not only do this, but to make money in the process.

Knowing that, Dirk wasn't so hesitant about diving anymore. However, there were some subjects that couldn't be learned without studying. Two of these were Dirk's forging and enchanting classes.

Dirk was forced to stress his mind in an attempt to grasp all the things he missed in the two days he was gone. Luckily he was able to catch up in a timely manner, but he learned that it would be difficult to learn these subjects if he were always out for long periods of time. Enchanting and forging required a lot of study as well as practice. He would need to put in many hours, and he couldn't do that if he were gone.

So he began to plan his schedule. While he was in his fire class, it was Alec who came to him with a piece of information. The academy put out dungeon jobs for all of the students to complete. These jobs required groups to go out to specific dungeons and attain specific items, usually magic crystals and loot from a monster's body. There were also jobs that sent one to other cities, towns, or plots of land to complete requests. Some cities requested students to go and help kill monsters that were growing out of control, and sometimes there was a town that was requesting someone powerful to kill off a powerful beast. Jobs paid according to their difficulty and the time it took to complete.

Hearing this, Dirk had many ideas pop into his mind. With a list of jobs in front of him, he wouldn't need to spend much time finding a reason to go out and fight. The jobs provided a quick and direct goal with rewards. It was perfect for him. This way, he could plan out his schedule.

That evening, he grabbed Ava and went to go look at all the jobs. The jobs were posted all over some walls in a building built just for the purpose of displaying jobs and turning in loot. Apparently the place was jointly run by the dungeon association and the academy.

The two entered the building where dozens of other older students were wandering around. Most were looking across the walls. Each wall was divided between Tier, so there were Tier 2 jobs, Tier 3 jobs, Tier 4, Tier 5, and Tier 6. Dirk and Ava decided to look at the Tier 2 jobs first.

"Lesser dungeon dive, collect 80 grade 2 fire mana crystals from the dune worms. 35 gold."

"Lesser dungeon dive, collect 150 primary claws from the 3-clawed forest monkeys.53 gold."

They read through various jobs. All of them were straight forward, but Ava was shocked at how little money they gave. On their recent dive, they came out with 70 gold, and that was their first dive ever. These barely gave half that, and they would likely take longer.

However, these were only the Tier 2 jobs. They were likely rather easy, like going out and getting red eyes from the gremlins. The two quickly shifted over to the Tier 3 jobs where it was quite a bit more crowded.

"Lesser dungeon dive, collect 60 grade 3 water mana crystals from the water spitting forest mantis. 130 gold."

"Field job, town requesting help to subjugate rank 3 wolf infestation. Estimated 150+ wolves, at least two-thirds must be killed to cull population to tolerable levels. 210 gold. Must meet minimum requirements to accept."

Seeing these jobs, the two were happier. They ranged from 100 gold as the lowest to a few hundred in the higher end. However, the challenge was correspondingly higher. Seeing some of the jobs, Dirk and Ava weren't sure if they could complete them.

But that wasn't too much of a concern for them. Both of them only wanted a reason to go out and fight while making some money. They looked around and found some jobs that would be a good challenge for them. However, this brought them to another problem. Who would be in their group?

Technically there weren't any group requirements now that they were on their own. But more people would ensure their safety. If they were going to take on a greater challenge than the gremlin dungeon, they knew just the two of them might not be safe enough. Plus, they weren't sure how they would handle things like transportation and supplies. This was their first time, so they needed to learn how to take care of themselves.

Right as they were pondering though, a familiar face approached.

"Hey guys! Looking at the jobs too?"

Alec walked over with a bright smile. Ava greeted him back before noticing the paper in his hands.

"What's that?"

"It's a job. Tier 3 dungeon dive for 140 grade 3 fire mana crystals. It's paying 170 gold. Good difficulty, good money. In fact, I was just thinking about you two. How would you like to join me on this job?"

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"Really?"

"Of course! I can't think of anyone more reliable than you two. The only problem is time, but I'm sure we can work that out."

"...What do you think?"

Before answering for them, Ava turned to Dirk. Dirk looked at Alec who returned his gaze. The two seemed to stare each other down before Dirk nodded.

"Let's do it."

"Great! Now, I think I have some other people in mind to take with us, but since we're a party again, I'll ask for input. Do you guys think we should take 5 people with us?"

"Is there a reason we shouldn't?"

"I can think of a couple. Come, let's sit."

Responding to Ava, Alec waved them over to an empty table. The three sat down across from each other.

"There are a few pros and cons to taking bigger groups. Let's start with the pros. Safety is an obvious one. More people means more combat power. We'll also have someone who can be a bag handler like Jaxon was, freeing others up for combat. Then there's knowledge and skill diversity. Different people know different things, bringing more versatility to the group. However, these are about the extent of the pros. There are several cons. The most obvious con is the fact that we split the money between the group, so more people means less money for each. Then there are travel expenses. More people require more money to take care of, so it's less efficient. Then, the least obvious one is trust. More people can bring on more uncertainty, especially if they are strangers. Lack of trust is dangerous while in a dangerous environment.

If we bring fewer people, like just us three, then we'll have to compensate for the lack of extra safety with our skill. But that will afford us tactics we may not normally be able to use. Few people can maneuver dungeons better, and I don't believe we have any problems with trust, so we know that we have each other's backs. Now if we brought five, then we would be a larger unit, and we've already seen how that works."

"Hmm..."

Ava and Dirk listened to him intently, sorting out the best setup in their mind. Everything he said was correct, and Alec seemed especially knowledgeable about this stuff. Dirk didn't find any flaws in his logic either. Different numbers had different pros and cons. When he was back on Earth, it was the same way.

"...What do you think we should do?"

After a while, Ava asked Alec.

"I think we should take 5 in the same way we did in this last dungeon dive. This is a Tier 3 job, and because we don't have tons of experience, I think we should play it safer."

"I agree."

After giving his opinion, Dirk spoke up and concurred. Ava was surprised at his prompt agreement for a bit before agreeing as well.

"I also think that's a good idea. So, since we're taking 5, who do you think should be our other two? Harmut?"

"I can see if he's available. As for our fifth, I don't think I'll be asking Jaxon. He was a cool guy, but we need competence. I'll try and find someone who is strong but okay with carrying bags."

"We also need intelligence on the dungeon. The types of monsters, the environment, and any unique aspects like with the gremlin dungeon."

"Of course. This place will tell us the location, how to get there, the monsters, and some other basic information about the dungeon that will help us with packing our bags. As for the unique pieces of information, I've heard that that is usually found at the town next to the dungeon. We ask people for it, often times for a little money in exchange."

"Mm."

Hearing this, Dirk nodded, pleased. He didn't want to run into any unexpected changes like with the gremlin dungeon. If he were going to deal with anything difficult, he at least wanted to be prepared.

After finalizing more details, Dirk and Ava split away from Alec who went out to recruit. Apparently, the schedule for the job was determined by the latest date to complete it. For dungeon dives like theirs, upon taking the job, it was reserved for two weeks, after which it would be put back up for grabs for another group to have a go at it. That meant that Dirk's group had to complete the job preferably within those two weeks, otherwise another group would come in and could complete it before them, especially if they took too long.

................

Two days later, Alec found Dirk and explained to him that he had found people. The first wasn't Harmut as he had expected, but another water mage. Then there was the second who not only trained anima, but was an air mage.

Alec gave Dirk his house address, telling him to come with Ava after all his classes ended in the evening. When the time came, Dirk went with Ava and found the house. It wasn't that far from where he lived, and it looked like Alec lived the same lifestyle as himself. The two knocked on the door, and Alec promptly answered.

"Come in! Here, let me introduce you. This is Casma, the water mage, and this is Garet, the anima trainer and air mage. Both of them are actually childhood friends."

"Good to meet you."

Casma and Garet, one girl and one boy. Ava and Dirk greeted them before the five sat down at a table. Alec went on to explain their next steps.

"Alright, with this group, we are covering all the attributes. We have two water mages, two fire mages, an earth mage, an air mage, and plenty of combat power. I don't believe there are any situations that at least one of us couldn't handle. Now, I accepted the job two days ago, which means we have about 12 days before its reposted. However, we actually have around 20 days before needing to complete it. Reposted jobs are marked, and people won't usually take them since the group could just be running a little late. It would be unfortunate if you took a reposted job and the original group completed it right as you left. So, unless the job is a couple of weeks overdue, nobody will take it.

Now, I was thinking we could plan our leave 4 days from now at the end of the week. That will give us time to buy supplies and settle our classes. As for travel, I've already found a place where we can find a driver. The drive to the dungeon will take about two days, giving us at least two weeks to safely complete the job. As for expenses, just the drive will cost 2 gold per day per person. So each of us will pay 4 gold to ride. Then there are the supplies. We will need many basic necessities, primarily food. Water can be obtained from our water mages. If we plan on being in the dungeon for more than two days, then we need other things like a tub to bathe and wash clothes and armor in. I've got a list here."

Alec spoke as he laid everything out, eventually handing them each a sheet of paper. On it was a long list of items that they may want to take. There were basic things like the tent, blankets, and food, but also things like cooking supplies and storage for loot. It seemed like Alec had done a lot of research over the past couple days.

The group talked about what they should take. If they wanted extra things like cooking supplies, then they needed to pitch in and buy it together. But then came the problem of who would take it when they split after the job. Thankfully, it at least didn't seem like anyone struggled with money. Both Casma and Garet were viscounts, so they got allowances. Ava, Alec, and Dirk also didn't need to worry about anything, though Dirk wasn't sure what he would do if he spent the 60 gold he got from the recent dungeon dive.

Like that, the five discussed plans all the way into the night. This served to settle logistics as well as getting to know each other, so everyone was fine with it. Dirk and Ava eventually left with a list of things to do.

The next day, Ava decided to go out and buy their things since Dirk was in school until late. In the morning, he was going to hand her the money he got from the dive, but she refused it all, leaving with a promise that he would have everything he needed. He couldn't stop her from rushing out of the house, leaving him helpless.

With that, he went to school. The magic classes went by as they always did with Dirk being introduced to more advanced spells. He had also completely documented the book, so if he wanted he could study during the trip. This was actually recommended to most students. They could make notes and take them to study.

Then, he got to his forging class. Today, the dwarven teacher had them on the anvil using some basic iron. There was also a wall of furnaces that blazed with fire, heating up the room to excessive heats. However, none of the students were sweating. This was due to the fact that all of them had the fire attribute.

One thing Dirk learned was that if one had an attribute like fire, then they would have inherent resistances to fire. The fire mana within their bodies protected them, making them basically immune to fire that didn't surpass their Tier. This meant that basic fire, unless they lowered their defenses intentionally, couldn't burn them. Naturally this meant that heat didn't affect them much either.

"Alright! Today we're going to be forging the beginnings of a knife. This involves making the design, cutting the metal, and shaping it. Over the next few days, we will be tempering it and sharpening it. The final steps will be adding the handle. Now, grab a sheet of paper and look at the design that I've made for you all. For now, I won't have you design anything but simply follow the design."