Erik, a second-year student from Ares dorm, walked in the hallway of dorm with his disheveled brown hair. He made his way toward Seras’s room, located on the ground floor directly across from Alisa's room.

Reaching the door, Erik knocked twice. "It's me," he called out to announce his presence.

"Come in," came the immediate response from inside.

Erik stepped into the room, taking in the sight of Seras lounging on her bed. The bed was adorned with a light pink bed sheet and a white comfy puffy-looking blanket draped over her.

Seras’s room had a large table filled with books, many of which looked as new as if they had just been purchased. The walls were painted in two tones, the one with the door and the wall opposite to it, featuring a window and curtain, were light pink, while the other two walls and the ceiling were painted white.

The large window across the table allowed sunlight to come inside the room. A white curtain hung over it, softening the light. Above, a large chandelier made of white crystal illuminated the room, adding a touch of elegance.

Erik walked toward Seras’s bed.

"Do you want to go to the dungeon?" he asked eagerly, his eyes fixed on Seras as she lay sprawled on the bed.

Seras sat up on the bed, placing a pillow on her lap for support. She rested her left elbow on the pillow and placed her palm on her chin, adopting a thoughtful expression before responding.

"No, no, no," she said hurriedly. "We’re getting newbies this time. I mean, maybe—it’s a maybe-maybe situation, but hey, no way am I missing it." She crossed her arms firmly as she spoke.

"We could come back early! I mean, we could make it in time to meet any first-year if they’re assigned to Ares dorm," Erik exclaimed, his voice filled with determination and a hint of pleading.

"No." Seras shook her head and waved her hands dramatically to emphasize her refusal.

"What’s with that weird thing you just did?" Erik asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow.

Seras smirked at his question.

"Oh, it’s for extra emphasis Erik. Now go away, hush-hush. I’m going to sleep until lunch. You could go ask Braun to go with you or something," she suggested with a dismissive tone.

Erik looked slightly disappointed as he stepped out of Seras's room, closing the door behind him. He paused, glancing at the stairs, deep in thoughts.

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"Braun, huh? The moment we hit the 15th floor, he'd be off mining for ore. There's no way I'm bringing him along," he thought.

"Could I go and ask Alisa?" he wondered, but quickly dismissed the idea, knowing exactly what her response would be.

"Why don’t you go and sink in a drop of water? Or better yet, get lost in the woods or something before waking me up,” that’s the most likely thing she’d say if I woke her up, he thought bitterly.

"That depressed-tone idiot," he mumbled, slightly annoyed.

Erik headed toward the stairs. The staircase matched the main hall’s color scheme, with steps made up of white marble and golden railings. He grasped the railing and slowly began climbing, hearing the echo of his footsteps with each step.

As he reached the upper floor and turned right, he saw four rooms. On his right were two adjacent ones, Braun's room at the corner and his own, situated closer to the stairs. On the left side were two identical rooms, the corner one, directly opposite Braun's main room, was used by him as a smithy, while the other remained unused.

Erik glanced at his room. The door was made with wood, the wall on the left was adorned with a golden nameplate engraved with his name, "Erik Walher."

Erik began walking toward it, stopping briefly to take out the key. Unlocking the door, Erik stepped inside his room. It was nearly identical to Seras's room, except for the placement of the furniture and the color scheme. Erik's room followed a similar pattern to Seras's, but instead of pink and white, the colors were light yellow on the door and window wall, with white on the other two walls and ceiling.

His bed was situated near the window, while the cupboard and table occupied diagonally opposite corners. A similar chandelier illuminated the room, and the white curtain on the window didn’t fully cover it, allowing sunlight to stream through.

Walking to his cupboard adjacent to the window, Erik opened it. The upper right segment neatly held a few pairs of t-shirts, pants, and shirts. The upper left segment housed his magic wand, while the lower segment contained his armor—hand guards, knee guards, and other protective gear.

Erik stood thoughtfully in front of the cupboard. "Let’s go with a speed build today," he mumbled.

He pulled out his armor, a set crafted from mithril, the finest material available to adventurers. It was expertly forged by Braun, his dormmate, a skilled yet eccentric craftsman who sometimes ventured deep into the dungeon to mine materials without fear.

Erik took off his blue-green t-shirt, revealing a lean, muscular frame. He slipped on a white sleeveless t-shirt before donning the black mithril armor, which was accented with gold trim outlining the arm openings.

Next, he grabbed a simple pair of brown pants and secured black metal knee protectors to shield his knee joints.

Standing in front of a mirror, Erik began checking himself over.

"Armor, check. Knee protection, check. Wand—ah," Erik muttered, realizing he’d forgotten it.

He went to his cupboard, opened it, and retrieved a silver wand with a gold loop. The wand was a bit longer than a metre, it was narrower at the base and thicker at the top ending in a simple golden loop.

With the wand in hand, Erik closed the cupboard, locked his room, and walked out.

Erik headed toward the stairs and was about to begin his descent when a loud metallic clicking sound caught his attention. He turned to glance at Braun's smithy, the source of the noise.

"Is Braun making something?" He didn’t dwell on it for long and continued downstairs, focused on the dungeon ahead.