NOVEL NEXT Chapter 38: Novice Depths
On the day of the Novice Dungeon test, every student was gathered outside in the Academy's wide premises, waiting for the arrival of the buses that would transport them to the designated Bridge for Novice Depths.
While waiting, the instructors urged the students to use the time wisely and form themselves into groups of five, which was the ideal number for a balanced dungeon party.
For those who had paid close attention to their modules, this wasn't news.
In fact, the majority of the students had already paired themselves prior to the day.
Some were left unpaired because certain parties decided to go in fours, duos, or trios. After all, rewards gained in the dungeon were to be shared among every member of the party.
So, these incomplete groups wanted to keep themselves as few as needed to maximize their profits.
Darien wanted to go alone into Novice Depths, because if he braved the dungeon by himself, every reward would be his to claim.
But he knew he had made a promise to his colleagues earlier to pair with them.
Ayn, Jakob, and the rest stood by, wondering if Darien would break his word, but Darien pushed aside his selfish side once again, joining them with a smile.
"Once you've paired yourselves, you can have Party Bracelets. These will help anchor every member of your party together, allowing the system to identify you as a single group and ensuring you all enter the same dungeon instance."
The instructor speaking was the Headmistress, and as she spoke, Party Bracelets were introduced into the open field.
Some students were still unpaired, or rather, unpaired with others whom they weren't familiar with.
Among them was Mirielle, and in the throng, she was searching for Darien and Jakob in order to pair with them.
But she stopped in her tracks when she saw both of them standing within a group of five, already receiving their Party Bracelets.
"Darien! Jakob! Are you leaving me out of your party…?!"
Mirielle demanded as she marched toward them, her voice freezing them.
Jakob almost jumped, but he ended up scratching his head, looking away, while Darien only nodded slowly.
Ayn took control, stepping out firmly to barricade her away.
"Young lady, leave. We don't need you. Our party's already occupied.
Darien as our Swordsman, Jakob as Spearman, Bowen as our Tank, myself as Healer, and Ramsey as our Ranger. We already have balance—we don't need two archers."
He said this as he glanced down at Mirielle's weapon before giving her a knowing look.
Mirielle only stared back in fury before shifting her accusing eyes to Darien and Jakob.
Turning away, her boots stomped as she headed toward others who still hadn't paired.
Eventually, everyone was paired, and the buses arrived.
Though they were called buses, they looked more like carts: a long chain of connected wagons with chairs inside and no roof.
Aside from the exposed top, the only openings were the small sections on one side of each cart, serving as doors.
The students got into the wagons, taking seats with enough space remaining. And once they were in, the bus took off and flew into the sky.
Not everyone had the opportunity to ever experience flight, so it was a thrilling moment for everyone, granting them a paradisiacal view of the capital city.
The thirty-minute flight felt like a mere five minutes because of the surreal experience.
The flying bus made it out of Eldermead and toward Highcrest's borders, the neighboring dukedom.
Entering a wilder and less developed region with abandoned destruction savaging the open fields, an announcement of arrival came from the flying bus.
Straightening up as the bus descended, Darien knew he was ready.
The bus glided to a stop, and one by one, the students disembarked onto the charred field, facing the pulsing Bridge.
**Good luck! May the will of the Old Gods guide you through!**
Those words echoed before the carriages lifted off once more, the bus snaking back up into the sky with divine glory.
Darien and the students were left behind to face the Bridge.
One by one, every student swallowed deep breaths to boost their confidence before stepping into the portal.
As long as the Hero of Light, Vincent Velgrane, led the way, everyone naturally followed, inspired by him.
Shrugging, Darien pounced into the Bridge when it was his turn, the portal shimmering, the world twisting until everything was erased and a new reality materialized.
[You have entered the First Zone of the Primordial World]
[You have entered Rank 1 Dungeon: Novice Depths]
Once he passed through the swirling portal, Darien felt a mild headache, but it subsided the moment he landed on his feet, the thud echoing endlessly.
He didn't waste time getting to his feet as quickly as possible, hearing the landing thuds of his party members behind him.
'Hmph. This place smells like sewage…' Darien thought.
He had a clear view of the shrouded, narrow hall he stood in, with primitive torchlights lining the walls.
Grrr… Grrr…
The monsters of the dungeon didn't waste time revealing themselves from the darkness, their hideous bodies stumbling out into the flickering light.
(Goblin Goon)
(HP: 250)
(Rank 1 Stray!)
About twenty in number, the goblins emerged, revealing their crude weapons—rusted daggers and sharpened sticks.
Their uneven footsteps and rasping snarls filled the hall as they spread out, forming a nauseous wave of green flesh and malice pressing toward the young Warriors.
"C'mon, friends! We can do this!"
Ayn proclaimed, raising his staff to boost everyone's confidence even higher.
Yet, before any of them could make their move against the monsters, Darien suddenly leapt forward with glee.
A blade they had never seen him wield materialized in his grip out of nowhere.
The weapon was curtained in a red and orange hue, blazing at the edge with flames licking at its surface.
The air around it shimmered, casting a glow across Darien's glad face.
Ayn and the rest couldn't believe that Darien possessed a weapon of that kind.
They glanced at each other, gulping, before advancing, following the bastard's lead.
[You slayed a Rank 1 Monster!]
[You slayed a Rank 1 Monster!]
[You slayed a Rank 1 Monster!] x 4.
Darien tore through the goblins, restraining not a single margin of cruelty.
With <Perfect Stealth>, the poor monsters were unable to even see their attacker.
He moved briskly through the shadows of the dungeon, cutting arcs of scorching light through the atmosphere of the cramped hall with his fiery blade.
Each swing left trails of heat that scorched the air, and every strike split flesh, bone, and those pitiable weapons of theirs.
The goblins shrieked in pain, their snarls turning to gurgles as they fell one after another, burned and broken under the onslaught.
Swish! Swish!
With <Infernal Devour>, Darien's Rare weapon engulfed every goblin it struck within seconds, their bodies consumed in roaring combustion that left no corpse behind!
"Now we're talking."
The very essence of all monsters was absorbed in that process of engulfing, and Darien could feel the weight of energy in his grasp.
Since he was Rank 1 now, he wouldn't get Skill Points for slaying these low-tier Rank 1 monsters because the system required him to slay beings of higher rank than himself.
But just like everyone else, he received experience points too, which was essentially progress in numerals.
Fortunately, Darien had thought ahead, making a 100x XP skill that would multiply all experience points gained by 100!
For him, this was the most broken skill he had created so far.
With it, he would soar over the ranks so quickly, while others would still be crawling to level up.
[You slayed a Rank 1 Monster! You get 300 XP!]
[You slayed a Rank 1 Monster! You get 240 XP!]
[You slayed a Rank 1 Monster! You get 270 XP!] x12
[Knight Rank: Novice 3600/250]
Ding!
(Congratulations on reaching Rank 1 Apprentice)
(+1 points all Attributes)
[Knight Rank: Apprentice 3350/1000]
Ding!
(Congratulations on reaching Rank 1 Adept)
(+1 points all Attributes)
[Knight Rank: Adept 2250/5000]
'Nice,' Darien thought, knowing that reaching Adept level of Rank 1 in just the first phase of a single dungeon was unbelievable.
Many could take weeks of grinding through low-tier Strays to climb this far, yet Darien had leapt across stages in minutes.
He wouldn't be surprised if he entered Rank 2 just from this dungeon alone!
'I need to head deeper while Jakob and the others clear the rest of the Goblin Goons.'
He thought, glancing back over his shoulder where his party mates were still fighting the goons he had left for them.
The hall was filled with shouts and clashing steel.
The Goblin Goons were smaller and quicker, but Darien didn't expect his party mates to take such time with only six.
'Well. This is almost a solo dungeon after all….'
Turning around, the young Warrior retrieved a Life Core from his inventory to absorb.
It was the Life Core of the Gravel Mole he had yet to absorb.
Now, as he planned to head deeper, he thought it would be wise to replenish himself with some Primordial Energy.
(Energy Core)
(Lv.2)
(Neutral)
(Stable)
Absorbing the Life Core, Darien advanced forward with <Gravion Control> to prevent sudden attacks from the darkness as he entered the next tier of Novice Depths.