In conclusion, forming teams with desired partners was successful.
All three of my friends and I received excellent grades, allowing us to select each other as teammates.
After entering the second week of October, we began the orientation for the upcoming field trip.
As the first-year students gathered in the auditorium, a familiar instructor stepped in front of the screen.
“Nice to see you, first-year rookies. I trust you all did your best on the exams. Did you enjoy lunch?”
“Yes!”
“Normally, this task would fall to another teacher, but they’re currently on-site. So, unfortunately, I’ll be handling this. No objections, I assu.”
Frederick let out a small sigh, took the microphone, and resud speaking.
“From now on, I’ll explain the details of the field trip. During October, you and your assigned teammates will enter the Cloris Grand Forest and complete several designated tasks. The types of tasks…”
While I was carefully listening, the instructor suddenly pointed at .
“So, what do you think is the most important thing in dungeon exploration? Answer . You’re the top student, so you should have no trouble answering.”
All eyes turned toward . I felt incredibly tense. Why did he have to ntion I was the top student?
After hesitating, I barely managed to stamr out a word.
“…Preparation.”
“What kind of preparation?”
“Uh… Learning about and understanding the enemy?”
Not knowing what else to say, I blurted out anything that ca to mind, but the instructor nodded as if satisfied.
“Correct, at least partially. What I’m about to explain is related to that. You need to understand the characteristics of the otherworldly regions within the dungeon and the traits of the beasts you’ll encounter there.”
He slowly began explaining the dungeon’s features, terrain, and vegetation through a presentation.
So far, it was all things I already knew: jungle-like terrain, multiple levels with gentle slopes, mostly low-tier beasts with so mid-tier ones, and hot weather…
“So of you may have already experienced combat, while others haven’t. In battle, many factors are critical: experience, skill, and strategy. Each is utilized differently depending on the individual.”
The lights in the auditorium dimd, leaving the room dark.
“What matters is how you impose your thods on your opponent while avoiding falling into their rhythm. The wars between humans and beasts have followed a similar principle. Although I’m no historian, I can summarize the essence of these conflicts as ‘who can force their way of fighting onto the other.’”
The projector turned on, brightening the screen.
“So, to emphasize the importance of staying sharp and focused, we’ll watch footage of veterans who faced beasts during the First Dinsional Invasion, long before any of you were born. Pay close attention.”
Before the video started, a warning ssage appeared.
Expecting a typical military education video, I concentrated as an old black-and-white film began to play.
“Nearly a century ago, during the First Dinsional Invasion, things were very different. Back then, there were no railguns, advanced tanks, hypersonic missiles, or exoskeletons. Even the alloy weapons and artifact-based armants you carry now were but a distant dream. I only know about it through stories from my predecessors’ predecessors.” Ꞧ𝙖Ν𝐨BÊṣ
The grainy, crude images in the black-and-white photos showed soldiers fighting beasts from within trenches.
“So call this period the dawn of Awakeners and magic, while others see it as the starting point of the Ether Crisis.”
The instructor cleared his throat.
“I may not know much about that era, but one thing is certain. Without the sacrifices of the early Awakeners and countless naless heroes, neither I nor any of you would be here. So don’t watch this as re entertainnt; show so respect.”
“What’s this? An old classic film?”
“Looks like a historical record.”
When the video began, soldiers in vintage military uniforms appeared on the black-and-white screen.
Seeing their rough, rugged appearances, I couldn’t help but think of a mont in Earth’s history—the end of World War I.
“In the gas, it was only ntioned in passing, but it’s real.”
“I heard the first invasion happened a long ti ago, but I didn’t think it was this ancient!”
“I’m not showing you this for fun. There are hints in this video about what to watch out for in the dungeon you’ll be visiting. Focus!”
As the blurry footage sharpened, the video started in earnest.
The cara panned over a dark, undulating mass approaching from beyond the horizon.
Despite the low quality, I imdiately recognized the mass as a horde of beasts.
The cara shifted to a closer view, revealing layers of barbed wire and sharp stakes piled high in front of the trenches.
-Ta-ta-ta-ta-tang!
Machine guns installed in the trenches fired rounds, and soldiers shot their rifles.
Even through the grainy visuals, the desperate resolve on their faces was evident.
However, the beasts broke through every attempt to stop them, advancing all the way to the trenches.
The soldiers resisted with all their might.
“They weren’t Awakeners, and they fought like that?”
The scene shifted to show clunky tanks rolling forward, accompanied by soldiers wielding submachine guns resembling crude steel pipes.
The tanks, belching steam, unleashed fiery attacks that scattered or killed the beasts.
The scenes continued to change.
The body of a beast is fundantally more robust than that of ordinary creatures, rendering it nearly immune to diseases and resistant to most poisons.
On top of that, its entire body is wrapped in an ether shield, which dampens impacts and reduces damage from all types of attacks.
A single bullet won’t kill it.
Humanity, witnessing this, likely thought:
‘If one hit doesn’t work, why not hit it more?’
When humanity mobilized its creativity to unleash a barrage of bullets and bombs, the beasts responded by deploying the high-velocity motion-blocking field.
The principle behind this field remains unexplained, and it’s closer to a filter than a conventional barrier.
The mont it activates, it blocks or deflects any object moving quickly through it without the use of magic.
It even blocks high-energy beams and electricity.
Interestingly, even magical attacks that are too fast are sotis deflected.
Yet, it selectively allows essential elents like air and light to pass through, making it seem like a magical ability.
Because of its performance, humanity longed to possess it but could only imitate it imperfectly through magic.
There are a few strategies to counter it.
Aside from the option of overwhelming it with even more firepower, you must either bypass the shield to eliminate its user or pierce it with magically imbued attacks.
The video continued.
Beasts, the size of humans, fired magic bullets or hurled fireballs from behind their shields.
Soldiers charging with bayonets were struck down by these attacks.
Those who managed to approach swung their rifles, but the beasts grabbed and threw the soldiers away.
“That’s absurd! It’s completely unfair!”
Even watching it felt unjust.
These strong monsters, impervious to a couple of bullets, forced humans into close combat.
To physically penetrate the ether shield, quick and powerful attacks are ideal, but those are blocked by the field.
Slower attacks capable of breaking through the shield generally struggle against the beast’s ether defense.
Grenades or rockets moving slowly enough might just be avoided or intercepted by the beasts.
thods like rolling over them with tanks or crushing them with boulders are only viable in limited situations.
An arrow suddenly pierced the neck of a beast hiding behind the shield, causing an explosion.
The cara shifted to reveal soldiers ard with bows and crossbows.
Attached to the tips of their arrows were large, round objects.
“One reason the earliest hunters used bows was precisely because of this blocking field. The field blocked bullet-speed projectiles but allowed slower-moving objects, like arrows or hand-thrown items, to pass through. Using this concept, people initially shot arrows coated with deadly poison or tipped with explosives. So even resorted to tossing grenades into the shield’s interior.”
As Frederick spoke, he pulled a small crossbow from his back and released a burst of magic.
The arrow shimred white as it was imbued with magic.
“Of course, once the use of magic beca widespread, people began shooting magically imbued arrows and bolts. Like the ether shield, the field cannot block magic-laden attacks. The tradition of hunters using bows and crossbows originates from humanity’s struggle to counter this field.”
The magic imbued in the arrow dissipated.
The auditorium lights ca back on, and the instructor addressed the students in a booming voice.
“I ntioned there was a hint about the dungeon in this video. What do you think it is?”
Irene raised her hand and answered.
“I think it’s the blocking field.”
“Correct. In the Cloris Grand Forest, there are beasts that can deploy such blocking fields. Moreover, they operate with intelligence, just like in the video. Ah, but don’t be afraid. The Cloris Dungeon is a low-yield area. In other words, there aren’t many beasts, and they’re mostly weak ones. Most importantly, instructors and hunters will be on standby at the site. If an ergency occurs, they’ll deploy and rescue you within five minutes.”
The instructor grinned wickedly as he scanned the students.
“So, if I catch anyone bringing firearms on the field trip, I’ll assu they weren’t paying attention during orientation and won’t let it slide. Got it?”
A student raised their hand and asked a question.
“Instructor! If speed is the issue, can’t we just use subsonic rounds?”
The instructor looked at the student with a disappointed expression and scolded them.
“You think nobody’s thought of that before? Just throw a bomb, you fool.”
Frederick clicked his tongue in annoyance.
I focused as the instructor delved into further explanations about the dungeon.
Most of it was basic advice: don’t stray from the path, manage your hydration, conserve your stamina.
Against the blocking field, always use magic-infused attacks.
Even with magic, don’t move too fast when targeting the field, as it might still deflect the attack, and so on.
“A week from now, we’ll et here again. Dismissed.”
The teams were set.
It was ti to prepare over the next few days.
***
The field trip began a week later.
There was training to complete and many things to inspect.
“How’s the bag? Everything secure?”
“I checked again today. No one’s been near it.”
Currently, the Violets were in the Novastia Canyon for final weapons testing.
If we wanted to strengthen our abilities, we needed to operate in larger territories.
Setting difficulty aside, there are many places where we could earn more than here.
“There’s no chance the place will get raided, right?”
“Not at all. That relic site is only accessible by activating a specific gimmick.”
Judging by the responses, it seed the dungeon’s owners weren’t even aware of its existence.
If they had known, it wouldn’t have remained intact in the main tiline.
We scanned our surroundings.
“It’s hard to believe, but this used to be a city where people lived.”
“Isn’t that just how dungeons are?”
As the instructor ntioned, Novastia Canyon had been a major city in a nation before the invasion.
During the war, it was eroded into another dinsion, disappearing entirely, only to reappear later as a dungeon.
Novastia wasn’t alone.
A significant portion of this planet’s continents had already been eroded into other dinsions, either disappearing beyond the rift or becoming dungeons.
Had the Federation not built barriers, mobilized armies to hold off the beasts, and dispatched clan hunters to destroy gates and halt expansion, the world would’ve perished long ago.
Still, it doesn’t seem like this world is on the verge of collapse.
After all, the Scholar is here, isn’t he?
For now, I should focus on what needs to be done.
I must bring my friends here soon.
As for who gets the bag, the decision has been made.
“Let’s give the bag to Daphne!”
“Right, it’ll be helpful for her support abilities. She could carry tons of dical supplies…”
We continued exploring the dungeon, carefully planning our next steps.
There’s so much to do.
Busy, busy.
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