Bookbound Bunny

Lily tilted her head in confusion. "Um? I'm sorry, but I think you're mistaken, my name is Lily, not Nina…"

Alice still appeared bewildered, as she seemed to be scrutinizing Lily up and down.

"That… makes sense, although you look almost exactly like her, just shorter. But that can't be the case, considering…" Alice trailed off.

"Considering what?" a nosy student asked.

"Well, she died," Alice answered bluntly. "She was a five-star adventurer; basically a legend amongst Lagia. She was both my role model and objective… until some unknown dungeon claimed her life."

Something clicked in Lily's head; she had never met the woman before, and Margit was her mom, as far as she was concerned, with Camilla also falling under the category of grandmother. However, Margit had once told her about the circumstances of her birth, and Lily, and she was reasonably sure Nina was her name.

"Oh… that makes some sense; I think she was my birth mother?" Lily replied, still a little unsure.

Alice was momentarily stunned by that revelation. "Nina had a child? Since when? And then why did Andreas not bring you with him after the accident?"

"Oh damn, that Andreas and Nina!?" a boy exclaimed. "They were a five-star duo of dungeon divers, famous for being trailblazers into lost and unexplored ones."

Alice nodded. "Yeah, those two. Andreas was her partner, and the two were betrothed."

Quite a few eyes were staring at Lily with anticipation, as if she knew the answer. Unfortunately for all of them, she had no idea.

"I don't know who Andreas is, sorry," Lily answered honestly. "I was left alone in the Ceedale orphanage. I can only vaguely recall that my birth mother's name was Nina…"

"The adventuring orphanage? Shit… that scumbug, did he really dump you after Nina passed away?" Alice growled.

"Um… something like that, I suppose?" Lily shrugged. "I'm sorry, I'm really not sure. I'm here to learn magic and explore dungeons."

"Wait, you're a Lagia with a magical bloodline?" Alice replied in shock.

The rest of the class was murmuring, and Lily even overheard someone chuckle: "Told her she shoulda worn a sign."

"Yes, I can cast magic," Lily answered and flourished her hand, causing a cluster of Starlight spells to emerge and swirl around.

The class was definitely paying attention to Lily now, much more than she would have liked. Lotte, next to her, was smirking with a "told you so" look in her eyes.

"Well, shit. I'll be damned… I always knew Nina was special, but to have the very first magical bloodline. If Andreas knew what he abandoned, he'd be kicking himself."

"Excuse me, as fun as all this drama is, can you two not discuss this after class?" a girl asked, sounding quite peeved.

There were whispers of agreement, but also disparagement; clearly, some of the class were enjoying this juicy bit of unexpected gossip unfolding before them.

"Oh right… class, yeah, probably for the best. I'll talk to you afterwards, then, Lily?"

"Sure… although again I don't know anything about Nina or Andreas," she repeated.

Alice seemingly brushed it off, clearly not willing to let Lily go without being interrogated, and walked over to the front of the class. She cracked her knuckles and neck, cleared her throat, and then began.

"Right, can anyone tell me what's the most likely reason for a dungeon run to fail?"

"Running into monsters too strong?" a boy answered first.

"Nope, anyone else?" Alice asked.

"Traps?" a girl replied.

"Eh… close but not quite."

People continued to murmur amongst themselves, but nobody else attempted to answer.

"Lack of preparation," Alice answered. "And a lack of basic wilderness survival instincts and training. Too many times, people go into a dungeon, overconfident in their abilities, and fail to suitably prepare themselves. The first few times, they may get lucky and nothing bad happens, which reinforces that belief.

"Then they run into their first bit of bad luck—perhaps the dungeon shifted, they get lost in an unfamiliar part, or they lose some supplies to a trap or monster. Then the panic sets in; they start burning through their supplies at a rapid pace, or they try to overcompensate and ration too much, leaving them unfit for combat.

"Either way, it's a downward spiral from there that can eventually lead to injury or even death. Now, obviously, you're mages, so you have a bit of leeway in that regard—you can probably conjure water to drink or flame to start a campfire. But, that's obviously assuming you have the Mana remaining to do so, or aren't restricted in casting either two spells due to a bloodline or something like that."

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

The class whispered; some were listening intently, while others were dismissive of her answer. Lily could probably predict that those who refused to listen to Alice's warning would likely fall victim to the exact situation she had described.

"The classroom lessons will be some typical common monster behavior, weaknesses, stuff like that. Additionally, we will review common pre-dungeon preparations, including food, supplies, tools, and other essential items. There will be a small section about the history of the dungeon and its ecosystem observations and whatnot, but to be completely frank with you, I'll just be reading from a textbook for that.

"Speaking of which… sadly, there will be a written test portion too, which means memorizing a bunch of stuff, which sucks, but I was overruled in that regard—the furball headmaster likes written proof of theoretical knowledge."

A majority of the class moaned at that remark, and even Lily, who was quite studious, felt a little disheartened. They had all come to learn magic and explore a dungeon, and to answer a written test about the subject was quite a buzzkill.

"Now for the fun part; practical lessons will be group endeavors limited to the first floor of the dungeon, starting as a big group and then eventually breaking down into smaller manageable teams with me supervising."

There was a murmur of excitement from the students.

"You may have heard that we even give you a mock dungeon run pretty early on, with even some donated dungeon loot as a reward if you reach the end. Hopefully, that will provide you with some good motivation and also provide you with a small taste of what you might be able to earn yourself one day."

That set the students off; the murmurs became an infectious buzz of eagerness and anticipation.

"There will also be some survival training mixed in and even some overnight dungeon camping—limited to weekends only, of course, to not interfere with your other classes. Exams will be mini-gauntlets in pre-prepared areas of the dungeon, to be challenged in both solo and group activities. I'll also warn you that there will be a camping test over a holiday, where you will be forced to spend multiple days in the dungeon.

"Your other classes will help you with all the magical stuff. I'm only interested in teaching you how to survive and thrive down there without any magic. Dungeons can be a real bounty, and it's even possible to live down there for days, if not weeks, if you need to."

Alice finally paused and tilted her head left and right as if pondering what she should say next. It seemed like she had run out of immediate ideas as she ended with a query.

"Now, any questions?"

"What about traps?" the girl from earlier asked, standing up.

"Oh. That will be handled in the second half of the year. Our dungeon doesn't start spawning traps until much deeper floors, and it's a common practice for most dungeons. Just be warned that some will trick your common sensibilities in that regard."

The girl seemed happy with the response and sat down. Alice gestured for someone else to continue.

"What kind of treasures can we expect from our trial?" a boy asked.

"Bits and bobs donated by students or teachers," Alice answered. "I wouldn't expect to find a legendary sword or anything like that, if that's what you were hoping for. But, you could find a useful knick-knack or tool that someone didn't want. I know sometimes some very generous students will donate a storage bag from time to time, but those are usually swept up by the front runners."

"Wait, it's a competition?" another boy asked.

"Well yeah, it's more fun that way, isn't it?" Alice responded. "If there's only one storage bag, shouldn't the winner get first pick at it?"

The class seemed mixed on that, but the majority appeared to take the bait and were eager for a sense of competition. Still, the few complainers were being quite vocal.

"Look, you can always try to find your own treasures once you get your dungeon pass. That is assuming you pass the mid-year exams, of course."

"We have to wait half a year to go in whenever we want?" Lotte abruptly asked, sounding disappointed.

"I'm glad you're eager, but it's for your own safety. If you get lost down there and something bad happens, then it's on my conscience. And it's not like you won't have plenty of opportunities to go into the dungeon outside of these classes as well; your respective factions might host a weekend dungeon excursion for newcomers, for example, and some teachers host similar events."

That seemed to placate Lotte, and she slumped back to her seat.

"What about secret rooms?" a boy asked.

Alice raised an eyebrow at that question. "No comment."

"Wait, are you serious?" he asked again, sounding disappointed.

"Yup. It's not something you should know or worry about until you get your dungeon pass. "

Looks like Rose wasn't the only one to blab.

The boy grumbled, but Alice was unrelenting, and he was forced to give up.

"For the camping, are we allowed to bring our own outside supplies or will they be provided?" Thomas asked.

"Good question. You'll be tested on both scenarios, with the first time being prepared by yours truly as an example run. After that, it will be up to you to prepare everything yourselves."

"And how are we supposed to afford that?" Arthur asked.

"You get a budget to work with, but of course, if you can earn or create extra, then that's an option. Just don't expect to earn any extra marks if you do come overprepared."

"What kind of monsters can we expect on the first floor?" Lily asked.

"Pretty much nothing bigger than a direwolf—nothing too scary."

"Are there no specifics?" Lily prodded.

"It changes as the dungeon shifts. Sometimes it will be a week of nothing but gremlins and slimes, other times it will be nothing but animals."

"Really? Slimes?" Arthur complained. "How is that a challenge to anyone?"

"Well, if they fall on your head from the ceiling, they can be," Alice responded, although Arthur didn't seem impressed. "Dungeon slimes are quite different from the normal variety you might occasionally see on the roadside. They are ambush monsters and will sneak up on unsuspecting dungeon divers. Not to mention their slime trails can become quite a hazard if you need to run away from a swarm of dire centipedes."

"Dire… centipedes?" Arthur replied.

Alice smirked. "Trust me. You'll be glad they aren't usually bigger than a dire wolf."

That revelation seemed to disturb quite a few members of the class—Lily included.

And I thought the spiders in the forest were evil. Now there are giant centipedes?

[You should ask if there are elite monsters or gatekeepers, assuming you are willing.] Arakil suggested.

Lily pondered for a bit and eventually decided it was worth a shot.

"Does this dungeon have any gatekeepers?"

Alice looked genuinely surprised as she stared at Lily. "Huh… looks like there's a lot of blabbers from the second-year students this time around," she paused and looked like she was considering whether to answer or not. "There are, but that's not something you'll worry about anytime soon."

[That is some good news for us. Assuming you can defeat one by yourself, they will usually provide ample rewards.]

"Wait, you answered her question and not mine?" the boy from earlier asked.

"Her question, while advanced, is a common dungeon occurrence, while yours is something unique to our dungeon," Alice replied. "Plus, I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise… Trust me, it's something to look forward to, and I'd advise you not to ruin it for yourselves."

When everyone ran out of questions to ask, Alice took a short break before beginning her first lecture. To the disappointment of many students, her very first lesson was not on monsters, but instead on the basic "must-haves" in any adventurer's backpack.