The Dungeon practical was a core part of the school’s curriculum.
It occurred only in the years when the School District returned to Orario, and those who expressed interest were permitted to advance to a floor appropriate to their status.
In order to graduate, a certain number of credits were required. During the Dungeon practical, credits could be gained by gathering drop items from designated monsters. Students were also required to provide written reports, so anyone not exploring the Dungeon properly would be caught.
The Dungeon practical was required training for every student in the Combat Studies Department.
“Looks like everyone is here. Let’s head to Orario.”
Once the 7th Squad had gathered, Lefiya set out from Meren.
After providing the entry permission slip, they passed through the southwest gate and the giant city walls of Orario.
While Nano and the others were in high spirits about seeing the Labyrinth City again after three years, Lefiya deftly guided them around adventurers eager to mess with the well-behaved little students. They filled out some necessary paperwork at the Guild and promptly entered the Dungeon.
The 7th Squad was indeed skilled, reaching the middle levels without issue.
“We’ll focus our activities on the fifteenth floor today.”
After several encounters with monsters, Lefiya stopped in an open chamber and turned around.
The members of the 7th Squad were wearing their gear atop the combat uniform provided by the school.
Nano wore a long, hooded robe and carried a long staff.
Milly had a partial breastplate that covered the right side of her chest, and carried a long bow.
Cole carried two daggers and wore a pair of goggles.
And Luke was wearing light armor, the combat uniform, which he had customized himself, and carried a longsword.
They spoke far less upon entering the Dungeon.
Now, as ever, standing in the Dungeon was a unique experience. Even students who had been in secluded, unexplored, and wild lands all over the world could not hide their nervousness.
Nano peered all around uneasily, wondering if a monster might crawl out of a wall at any moment. Milly and Cole moved only their eyes while paying close attention to their surroundings.
Most of the squad was noticeably tense.
“Let’s go to the twenty-fifth floor.”
Luke was different.
The others were taken aback, and even Lefiya’s eyes widened slightly.
All the other students were not allowed to go any farther than the fifteenth floor, and Lefiya had intended to have them eventually proceed to the eighteenth floor over the course of her time with them—with the permission of Balder, Leon, and the other School District staff, of course.
All of that had been decided with consideration for the strength of the 7th Squad, but…
“…No, I cannot permit that.”
“Why? We’ve been to the Dungeon so many times already. We’ve finished exploring the Cave Labyrinth already.”
“That was three years ago. You mustn’t make light of a gap like that. And more than anything, it is too soon for you to be going to the lower levels.”
Lefiya shook her head, not mincing words as she rejected the proposal.
Luke’s face twisted. The defiance that he had restrained thus far was coming to the surface.
“Nano and I are Level Three! We easily meet the Guild’s guidelines! We should be able to handle the lower levels!”
“No matter how high your level, the first time you challenge a new floor is always risky. Even if I’m simply accompanying you, I do not want to have to leave my safety in your hands.”
“…Gh!”
She said it out of earnest concern for Nano and the others, but Luke did not take it that way. Indeed, it had probably felt like she was looking down on him.
His ashen hair quivered, and he bit his lip while raising his voice.
“You went all the way to the deep levels as a Level Three, didn’t you?! All the way to unexplored territory that no one other than Zeus and Hera have seen! We’ve heard plenty about it even outside Orario!”
“…Yes. You are not wrong.”
She understood what Luke wanted to say. Even though it was a major expedition mounted by her familia, ignoring all guidelines, she had been brought to the deep levels and the Dragon’s Urn. They should be allowed to do this much if Lefiya had thrown herself into far more extreme situations already. That was what he wanted to say.
“But that was because I was a mage of Loki Familia.”
That was the answer to it all.
Lefiya was still alive today because Finn and everyone else had been there with her. She had been able to survive a tremendous series of deadly encounters because they’d protected her. And right now, Lefiya and the 7th Squad did not have Loki Familia. She was just a lone instructor, and they were students.
Luke’s brow furrowed deeply at Lefiya’s concise answer.
“None of you know the Dungeon as well as I do, and I am not so great an adventurer that I feel confident about protecting you no matter what happens. I’m not particularly happy about admitting my lack of skill, but… please give up on that.”
She finished with a quiet voice.
Nano, Milly, and Cole said nothing, watching with bated breath.
Luke looked down, and his fists trembled.
“You… Because you adventurers are like this!!!” He looked up, his emotions bursting out. “Why do you not even try to realize there’s no time to be taking things slowly?!”
“Slowly…?”
For the first time, Lefiya’s eyes arched dubiously.
As if even that annoyed him, Luke shouted back.
“Do you even know what’s happening outside Orario…all around the world?!”
With that, Lefiya finally grasped what he wanted to say.
“The suffering caused by monsters is increasing everywhere! Accelerating year by year! Humans who have lost their homes, animal people whose towns are ruins, elves whose homelands have been erased from the map! We’ve seen it over and over!”
“…”
“It’s the valley of dragons! More and more vicious dragons appear, making countless people suffer! The entire mortal realm is falling apart!”
The School District was a place of learning and one of the most powerful forces in the world, supported by Orario. One aspect of that was their role as a volunteer army, or even a mercenary group, taking requests from countries and towns it visited and sending its teachers and students who volunteered into battle.