The magical galleon cuts through the water at an insane speed, bringing the group of first-year Champions closer toward the Tomb of Fate. All ten Champions gather on the deck. Behind them, there are attendants, Squires, and people they recruited at the last minute in order to clear this Dungeon.
Surprisingly, one of the most silent mbers of the group is taking the lead to organise their collaboration.
It’s Vyrrak.
“First things first, has anyone ever been in a Colossal Dungeon before?”
No one raises a hand, and Vyrrak nods.
“Neither have I. They’re not great for training Skills because they are such an uncontrolled environnt. Which is exactly why I think that Vice Principal John most likely expects us to fail,” the Dragonkin said.
“You think so?” Asterion asks.
“Why would he even assign us a Special Quest like this then?” Sabrina Margrave asks.
“To teach us humility,” Vyrrak says, trembling in anger. “I know the man. He’s not as innocent as he looks. He and the Headmaster are probably trying to teach us that we’re not as strong as we believe we are. That’s why they took care of the logistics for us.”
“How do you know so much?” Kai asks, confused. “Did you grow up at the Academy or sothing?”
Vyrrak narrows his eyes at the giant young man and ignores his question.
“If I had to guess, this Dungeon was probably activated by us.”
Princess Iskara frowns, “Us? You think this is the work of the Generation of Legend effect?”
Jacob Cloud observes silently. He doesn’t have anything to contribute to this discussion, as he’s feeling rather out of his depth.
“It would make sense,” Vyrrak confirms. “The events connected to the Generation of Legends, which I have recently researched, are sotis tied to Dungeon hordes. The quantity of Mana across the world is expected to skyrocket.”
Orrivane, the Void Mage, steps forward and asks, “Are you serious? This is a lot of responsibility on our shoulders.” He looks as tired and chaotic as always, but there’s an anxiety to his voice that no one has heard before from him. “We can’t have triggered sothing this big by ourselves. We’re not even at Platinum-Rank yet!”
“The Generation of Legend is an event of, pardon my play on words, COLOSSAL proportions, Orrivane. This is just the beginning of what will happen as a result of our actions. There have been very few eras where it was triggered. And when it does, great disasters always ensue—those are the trials that Champions have to face. Vice Principal John and the Headmaster must want us to learn humility from this trial so that we’ll learn how to collaborate for the next.”
“Vyrrak,” Asterion interjects, “if this were true, wouldn’t it an we have no chance of completing this Special Quest?”
“It does seem that way,” the Dragonkin nods. “This must an that inside the Dungeon, we’re most likely to find genuine Diamond-Ranked threats. A few of us, with great difficulty, might be able to take down one Early-Diamond monster or two. If that’s the kind of monsters that are in this Dungeon, we can expect the Boss to at least be at Interdiate-Diamond. If my suspicions are correct, it would explain why the Vice Principal expects us to fail.”
“If the Boss is an Interdiate-Diamond monster,” Princess Iskara frowns, “that puts him significantly beyond the Level of monster we can safely destroy.”
“No,” Sabrina Margrave, surprisingly, is the one stepping forward. “I spoke to Vyrrak about this before. It’s only beyond us if we’re acting alone. I might regret saying this, but could all of you look at Jacob Cloud’s escorts?”
Everyone turns to Jacob, who stiffens under the scrutiny.
He expected Sabrina Margrave to reprimand him, mock him, or perhaps even try to have him stay outside the Dungeon. This is especially true since it is going to be completely outside of his power level.
“Cloud, tell the others who the three Elves behind you are,” Sabrina says.
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“These are Althir, Elyndor, and Ithriel. They are from my Monster Felling 201 Class. When Vice Principal John ntioned that this was going to have Platinum-Ranked threats, I decided to bring them with
because I don’t think I could face that Level of threat by myself. With my Party beside , I can contribute more and may actually be able to join the battle.”
The Champions are all rather sharp, and they imdiately intuit what Sabrina Margrave takes the ti to then explain.
“Jacob is the only one who thought about asking soone other than his servants and Squires for help with this Quest. We can collectively fight around Platinum Rank individually, except for him, but only he thought of bringing in outsiders.”
“Are you saying we should have recruited fellow students?” Asterion asks, confused. “But I thought Vice Principal John said this Special Quest was ant for Champions and their staff only.”
“He said we can bring allies,” Vyrrak sighs. “I have to admit, I was busy with other matters. I only realized what he ant when I saw Cloud bring his classmates aboard. We should have brought more people who can fight at the Platinum level. We could have coordinated a massive group in order to combat the Diamond-Rank threats we will likely have to face.”
“My Squire is Platinum Ranked,” Kaelric suddenly says, and everyone turns to look at the girl behind him, who bows slightly. “But she’s a Support type.”
“Other than Princess Iskara’s Squires, who are already counted as one party, we don’t have any real teams here.”
Vyrrak sighs and looks around.
“We have made a big mistake by underpreparing for this Dungeon. Vice Principal John likely gave us such a short tiline because he wanted us to fail.”
“So, what do you think we should do now, Vyrrak?” Asterion frowns, looking at the Dragonkin with an air of confusion. “Are we going to turn around and head ho? If the Dungeon is as dangerous as you think, we won’t be able to do much like this.”
“We are Champions,” Vyrrak says with a proud smile. “We are the Generation of Legends. Do you want us to start with such a cowardly streak?”
“If Vice Principal John doesn’t believe we can make it—“
“He doesn’t believe we can make it because he expects us to be arrogant, too full of ourselves to work together. The Tomb of Fate is a treacherous place that is full of traps. If the energy in the Dungeon has been accumulating this much, we can expect there to be Diamond-level traps, too.”
Vyrrak turns toward Zibrek and asks, “Zibrek, you’re the strongest Guide here. Can you safely dismantle Diamond traps?”
The Goblin girl hesitates.
“Vyrrak, I’ve never dealt with traps of that level before.”
“There you go,” Vyrrak says, smiling. “That’s what John expected us to do once we started putting our heads on straight. He knows Zibrek can’t handle Diamond Ranked Traps. But there’s one person among us who can. Otherwise, John would not have sent us on this mission.”
Everyone turns toward the other two mbers of a Great Race, Asterion and Iskara.
“Not them,” Vyrrak smiles. “Zibrek is only in Traps and Cracks 301, which you gain entry to by passing the trap assessnt and dismantling an Interdiate Platinum-Ranked Trap. But I’ve heard there’s soone here who entered a simulation full of that level of trap and completed it with a record-breaking clear ti. It just so happens that this person is soone that the Vice Principal would never expect us to trust in such an expedition.”
Everyone turns toward Boomgar.
“That’s offensive!” Boomgar frowns. “Just because I’m a Dwarf, I’m not in Traps and Cracks! I’m a Breaker, ya bastards! I explode things!”
“It’s not Boomgar,” Vyrrak smiles and turns toward the weakest Champion. “Jacob Cloud, you can disable Diamond-Ranked traps, can’t you?”
Everyone raises their eyebrows, stunned.
“Well,” Jacob says, clearing his throat, “I can definitely take them apart with help. I am best with chanisms that can be destroyed with a few precise strikes. But I don’t think my Skills pack enough power to—“
“Exactly,” Vyrrak says, turning toward the rest of the Champions. “Are you guys starting to understand now?”
It’s Iskara who speaks first, “Jacob wouldn’t be able to handle traps on his own, and no one who is strong enough would ever pair with him under normal circumstances. We’d normally keep him safely in the back line away from direct confrontation so that he doesn’t put our lives at risk. That’s what Vice Principal John is expecting us to do.”
“So, what are we going to do instead?” Vyrrak smiles in anticipation, turning toward Sabrina Margrave, raising an eyebrow expectantly.
Sabrina sighs and shakes her head, “I didn’t want to admit this, but when I first heard Vyrrak’s deductions, I was unreasonably angry. It wasn’t my first choice, but I agree with his argunts. There’s only one way Vice Principal John might have envisioned us clearing this Dungeon. And it’s…”
Now, it’s Asterion smiling, “By giving Jacob the leader’s position.”
Vyrrak nods.
“He’s the weakest, but he sohow created a malfunction in an otherwise perfect barrier that everyone else here destroyed through sheer destructive force,” the Dragonkin says, turning toward Jacob. “Cloud, do you think you can take on this responsibility for us?”
Everyone expects Jacob to shrink back and shy away under their collective attention.
Instead, the young man with blue eyes smiles confidently.
“I definitely can, Vyrrak. We're going to clear this dungeon with ease.”
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