Monday.

For many, it is the most dreaded day of the week.

Setting aside arguments about whether Sunday or Monday is the first day of the calendar week, Monday is undeniably the first day of the work week on a traditional schedule. For normal people, it’s the time when they have to get serious and focus. They have to put aside the joys and leisures of the weekend and return to the reality that is slaving away for their paychecks.

When I was writing my novel, Mondays were just like any other day for me. Whether it was Monday or Thursday or Saturday, I was in one of three states:

Struggling to write my novel.

Thinking or daydreaming about my novel.

Trying to get other people to read my novel.

I sometimes wonder if I acclimated to this world too quickly. There was no hesitation when I killed the Magic Bomber, and I can’t admit to feeling all that much guilt about it. There were a few surprises here and there, but everything felt too familiar for me to be uncomfortable.

Truthfully, not as much changed as you might expect when I was brought here. I already spent so much time living here mentally that it didn’t feel like I left anything important behind. Anybody that I might have had lingering regrets about removed themselves from my life already.

Until now, I thought Mondays were just like any other day. I would laugh when people on forums complained about them, or when some new pop artist joked about how much they sucked in a hit single.

I laughed because it was true, yet their words still felt empty to me. Completely, one-hundred percent hollow. Mondays were like any other day because every day was hell, trapped in a world that I loved, attacked from all sides by criticism and deprecation.

So, if I’m being completely honest, it felt normal to be walking to the teleport gate early in the morning. Instead of lifelessly staring at a blank screen, daydreaming about walking the streets of Horizon, I was actually walking the streets. The criticism was replaced with life-threatening danger, but somehow it was more fulfilling this way. Since this world was a recreation based on my notes and the drafts of my story, it didn’t perfectly match my imagination, but it was close enough.

I immediately recognized the magic teleporter, a towering metallic archway surrounded by soldiers and guards. There was a line leading up to a small computer terminal on the bottom left-hand side, which guards were using to input coordinates.

After the magic lesson yesterday and my comments about how humans weren’t all that advanced at magic, some might wonder how we had teleport gates.

The answer is that we found them, or more accurately, they were given to us by an unknown force. Even as the author, I don’t know who that force is. I never got far enough in my novel. The most likely suspect would have to be the treaders, since their race thrives on cross-dimensional travel, but both the demons and the aliens had the tech as well. Humans were able to figure out how they worked through trial and error, but we weren’t at a level where we could create our own teleporters yet.

As such, the governments distributed the teleporters amongst the leading countries of humanity, namely America, the Eastern and Western Empires, and the KSP, and placed them in strategically defensible locations where the ability to move between continents in an instant is of high value.

Since I was a member of the royal class, I was able to skip the line, flashing my cadet license when prompted.

“I’d like to go to Remington,” I requested of the guard in front of the terminal.

“Sure thing, kiddo,” he said while inputting the coordinates.

The gate flickered and the scenery behind it distorted, replaced by a blurry canvas. Without hesitation, I stepped through the gate and entered Remington.

As a city in the Western Empire, it had a more traditional medieval fantasy feel. A stone castle in the distance surrounded by large walls marked the territory of the local lord, while row after row of sprawling structures surrounded it. The teleport gate was situated a short distance from the market square, close enough that merchants and traders could reach it without difficulty, but far enough that civilians had a few minutes to escape if a hostile force invaded.

The people nearby were mostly dressed in the fashion of the Western Empire, which meant the men mostly wore stockings or tunics, while the women wore long gowns.

Checking the time on my phone, I cursed to myself and quickly made my way through the crowded streets. None of the guards at the front gate stopped me as I rushed by.

The gnome dungeon outside of Remington was situated in the middle of an open field. Since dungeons were similar to rifts in the fabric of our universe, not dissimilar to large pocket dimensions. One of the best methods to find dungeons in populated areas was to look for the naturally occurring media outlets, journalists, and social media influencers that popped up around it like ants. After a short time searching, I stumbled into the massive crowd blocking the flow of traffic and otherwise being a public nuisance, desperately trying to get a good story.

“Idiots…” I muttered to myself.

A few nearby influencers heard me and gave me nasty looks, but I didn’t retract my statement.

These guys were here because this dungeon was under the control of Horizon and that made them feel safe. The reality was that a dungeon was very unpredictable, and most of these humans were people who never developed abilities, so they couldn’t use magic. If the dungeon were to release all the monsters at once they would all be massacred by an army of gnomes.

Not like I didn’t understand why they didn’t feel any danger. Those kinds of dungeon explosions hadn’t happened yet. The dungeon waves were a herald of the monster apocalypse and wouldn’t happen for a few more years.

Forcing myself through the crowd of civilians, I discovered that I was the last person to arrive, finding the other seven students, Professor Lincoln, and Lilith waiting.

“Cadet Layer, you’re late,” Professor Lincoln thundered. “There will be a small penalty on your assessment. Despite what media would have you believe, it is unbecoming of Heroes to be ‘fashionably late’.”

Eden snickered while Diana, August, and Vaevrel stared at me with disdain.

Thaddeus nodded in greeting when we made eye contact, and Asura mimicked him.

Luxjo seemed completely uninterested in the proceedings.

“Now, you are here because you are members of the Alpha class. While it should be understood that we are giving you special treatment, you must also realize that this treatment must be earned. Today is the day you demonstrate your worth. You will be sorted into two teams of four for the duration of this assessment.”

There were a few ‘resources’ that we gained access to by being assigned to Class 1A.

To put it simply, the royal class is a group of students who show either an extremely impressive level of ability or a ridiculously high potential for greatness in the future. These students are periodically excused from their standard lectures—though they are still expected to make up the work—and are given unique opportunities to grow and experience the world. These opportunities include but are not limited to, dungeon explorations, special training exercises, visitations from ranked Heroes as guest speakers, the use of a time-dilation chamber for training (from the second semester onward), and a dedicated personal trainer and nutritionist upon request. Furthermore, a professor is assigned to be their dedicated representative who will personally act in the best interest of the royal class students at every opportunity, including acting as a bodyguard, a mentor, a counselor, etc. For us, this would be Professor Lincoln.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Additionally, royal class students received priority on class enrollment every semester and they received unlimited free food from the cafeteria.

This trip to clear a gnome dungeon was an exclusive privilege of the royal class, so only the eight of us would be here, in addition to Professor Lincoln and another professor who would act as an additional safety precaution.

I was somehow judged to be worthy of the royal class, despite my mediocre performance on the written exams and poor ability to control my mana. Under normal circumstances, a place like this gnome dungeon would be something beyond my current capabilities, but as long as I was put in a group with Thaddeus—

“Team 1 will be Thaddeus, August, Vaevrel, and Asura.

“Team 2 will be Diana, Brick, Eden, and Luxjo.”

‘Or not…’ I inwardly sighed as Professor Lincoln announced the teams.

With the teams assigned, the second professor stepped forward and introduced herself.

“Mine epithet is Lilith. I am a fellow student at Horizon Academy, but today I am fulfilling the role of a professor liaison in place of Celia Carter.”

Professor Carter was the teacher in charge of Class 1B. She was here in the original work, but now that they had another professor to take over the job, I guessed that they let her stay with her class this year.

Lilith had on a similar outfit to the one she wore teaching Intro to Magic Power the other day. She had a pair of thin, square-framed glasses that I knew were entirely aesthetic, and a lilac-colored suit that accented her glistening black hair.

“There are two pathways through the dungeon, and each team will take a different one. You will receive a score on your clear time, your teamwork, the quality and safety of your methods, and your kill count. The composite of these four scores will be your grade for this assessment. There are other aspects that we will be tracking, but you will only receive those scores.”

This much was the same as the original story.

“I will be watching over Team 2 and Professor Lincoln will keep an eye on Team 1. If you find yourself in trouble, we will intervene. Your future training programs will be made based on the results to show us today, so make sure to go all out and show us what you’re capable of.”

“Ahem,” Princess Diana cleared her throat to catch their attention. “Do you have any advice for us?”

Lilith and Lincoln exchanged looks.

“Don’t underestimate gnomes,” Professor Lincoln said. “These gnomes have been entrenched here for over a month, so they’ve had plenty of time to prepare all sorts of nasty surprises for you. Use a measured approach and…”

“Carefully applied destruction is an adequate solution to most problems,” Lilith concluded. “In the worst-case scenario, nuclear magic is an excellent failsafe.”

“”...””

Well, she wasn’t exactly wrong… but I wasn’t sure that her words were wholly correct, either.

“With that, split up into your teams and get ready to go inside. You have five minutes to prepare,” she declared.

Diana, Eden, Luxjo, and I converged while the other four students gathered together a short distance away from us. There were a few clicks and flashes as several of the spectators took pictures. A quick glance revealed dozens of smartphones held up, filming the whole thing.

“I am not familiar with any of your specialties,” Diana said to start the conversation. “My name is Diana. I am a sorcerer specialized in area control magic.”

“So you’re a Control Mage,” I concluded.

“Sorcerer,” she corrected. “I don’t use psychic spells.”

I rolled my eyes. In the future, her discipline would be called Control Mage to distinguish it from Dominion Mages. The classification was already spreading at this point, but some people weren’t fond of the new name. The difference between the two was that dominion spells required the psychic resonance stat, which few humans had. Lilith’s demonstration in the practical examination was an example of a dominion spell.

“Sorcerer, then,” I agreed. “I’m a Destruction Mage. Next?”

Eden tapped a bracelet on her wrist and summoned a breathtaking bow with a gentle blue aura surrounding it. The frame had a soft, metallic sheen that reflected the blue light, giving the weapon an ethereal beauty.

“I’m not sure what terms you humans would use to define me. I specialize in archery, tracking, hunting, detecting and setting traps, and the assassination of high-ranking personnel. I am also adept at close-ranged combat and assassinating armies, though I have less experience in those areas.”

“Assassinating armies?” Diana repeated while stressing the second word. “I’m having trouble imagining what that looks like.”

“There are a number of methods. You’ll have to forgive me for sparing the details; those in my line of work thrive on being judicious with secrets.”

“Alright,” she said. “I’m sure I’ll figure a few things out working with you.”

“Probably,” Eden replied with a shrug.

We all turned to face the last member of our team, Luxjo Wokrut, the Great Gebnir of Fonol.

“My name is Luxjo,” he began in a low, unsteady voice. “I am from Planet C-13. I am a Gebnir, which means…”

He paused, waving his hands emphatically in meaningless gestures. “I do not know how to explain it in this language.”

“He’s a mesh between a shapeshifter and a fantasy barbarian class,” I said. “He can freely manipulate all the mass of his body, he regenerates quickly from any injury, and he becomes stronger the more damage he takes.”

All three of them stared at me.

“That is… an adequate description, I think,” Luxjo said “I did not understand every term you used, but the key points were accurate.”

“Why do you know that?” Eden asked, her brow furrowed with annoyance. I’d already messed with her several times at this point, and now I was revealing knowledge about aliens that I shouldn’t have.

“I’m very adept at using Wikipedia,” I answered.

“Wikipedia?” she repeated. “I am unfamiliar with this… device? Technique? What is it?”

“A repository for the collective knowledge of the human race,” I answered. “It’s not accepted as a source on college essays, but it’s good enough to pass a job interview.”

“...What?”

“He’s messing with you,” Diana said. “He’s an idiot.”

I shrugged. “An idiot that knows what a Gebnir is. What does that make you guys?”

Diana clenched her teeth. “Anyway. We don’t have much time left. If anybody has a plan worth talking about, now is the time.”

Nobody spoke up. After the silence stretched on long enough to be awkward, I decided to step up.

“Eden will scout, Luxjo will take the vanguard, I’ll cover the middle, and Diana bring up the rear.”

“That much is obvious,” Eden said. “We…”

“When Eden discovers a trap, she will disable it or otherwise guide us past it safely. Since we’re fighting British Army Gnomes, Luxjo is on guard duty. He needs to protect us from their bullets. Diana will use her control magic to defend the rear and to immobilize and isolate any gnomes that we encounter, and the rest of us will use our abilities to defeat them.”

Eden closed her mouth. She had to since she had no complaints about this basic formation.

“That is a reasonable plan,” Luxjo said. “I support it.”

Diana and Eden nodded begrudgingly.

With our plan settled, we moved toward the entrance to the dungeon. It was a rift in the field that looked like someone slit a hole in the ground with a knife and then pulled the gap apart, revealing a starry, black void. Lilith silently followed behind us as we took turns stepping into the rift and entering the dungeon.

It was a weirder experience than I thought, traveling through a dungeon rift. It was like someone punched me in the gut, knocking the wind out of me, but without the painful part of getting punched. My surroundings changed in the blink of an eye, revealing a dark, empty cave. My feet landed in a small puddle of water. Small droplets dripped from the stalactites hanging overhead, sending rippling waves flowing over the surface.

Once all of us were here, we quickly moved into formation. It was exceedingly uncommon to get ambushed at the entrance to a dungeon, but, by definition, ‘uncommon’ meant that it happened sometimes.

There were two paths out of the area we were in, not including the starry rift behind us that we could use to exit.

“Your group will take the path on the left,” Lilith instructed.

We complied and approached the assigned pathway.

“I’ll scout for a bit,” Eden said.

Then she melded into the shadows and disappeared.

We stood around on high alert for several tense minutes while we waited patiently.

When she reappeared, she had a nervous expression on her face.

“This might be a problem,” she said.

“What is it?” Diana asked.

She hesitated. “There’s a lot of them. I couldn’t count them all. They’ve built fortifications all along the tunnels and they’ve somehow managed to get inside the walls. On the other side of their barricades, the dungeon turns into a dense forest.”

Luxjo and Diana’s faces turned grim, but I didn’t react. I already knew about it, after all. This dungeon was classified incorrectly; it was way beyond the level that mere Class 1A students could clear under normal conditions. Thaddeus would manage to survive without help, but this group was supposed to fail and get rescued.

I stifled a yawn.

“You don’t seem worried,” Luxjo observed. “Do you have an idea?”

I nodded while shooting a glance at Lilith who was watching us with a bored look on her face.

“So I have some good news and some bad news,” I said. “Which do you want first?”

“The good news,” Luxjo answered.

“It’s possible for us to clear this with flying colors.”

“And the bad news?” Eden asked.

“...Have you ever heard of Tucker’s Kobolds?”