Chapter 20
When I opened the door, Phyllis-sensei was there. I couldn't thank her enough for coming all the way to my room to help me avoid the recruitment battle.
Instead of the sharp suit she'd been wearing earlier, Phyllis-sensei was dressed in a pale blue hakama.
That must be equipment from the Lady Samurai Series, a rare drop from an upper-mid-tier dungeon.
Its VIT wasn't particularly high, but its special effect—〈STR and AGI bonuses while wielding a katana〉—was pretty good.
Wearing the entire set should grant a set bonus, but Phyllis-sensei wasn't wearing the gauntlets or tabi. They probably hadn't dropped for her.
Apparently, this was Phyllis-sensei's dungeon combat outfit.
When I asked, I was surprised to learn that Phyllis-sensei had graduated from Labyrinth Academy's main campus—and that she'd even been in the same 〈Dungeon Strategy Major〉's 〈Combat Course〉 as me.
By the way, her Job was 【Jozamurai】, an advanced Job of 【Bushido】.
Oh, so Phyllis-sensei was my senior. It's a small world.
We chatted as we made our way to the dungeon with Phyllis-sensei.
The academy had eighty dungeons, and one of them was a practice dungeon for students to tackle first. It was the lowest-level dungeon, with the lowest possible rank.
It was called the 〈Beginner Dungeon〉, better known as the Tutorial Dungeon.
It was said to be located almost at the center of the academy, and that the academy had been built here because of this dungeon.
After walking for a few minutes, we came into view of a facility whose exterior looked like a domed stadium.
The dungeon entrance was inside. This facility was called a Dungeon Gate.
Its official name was 〈Dungeon Gate: First Tier〉. We called it 〈Sho-Dan〉 for short.
Inside 〈Sho-Dan〉, the ceiling was a retractable roof, and at the moment the blue sky was visible. Sunlight poured in, giving the place a remarkably bright atmosphere for a dungeon. It looked great. This was one of the game's main stages, and the artwork was incredibly detailed.
At the back of 〈Sho-Dan〉 stood ten gates. They led to dungeons.
There were no doors, only gates to other dimensions, standing there as if proudly waiting for challengers.
The moment you stepped through one of these gates, you were transported into a dungeon.
Calling them entrances to another dimension might be more accurate.
Well, it was a game, after all.
Once we entered 〈Sho-Dan〉, Phyllis-sensei headed straight for the gate on the far left without hesitation.
"This is the entrance to the 〈Beginner Dungeon〉. Are you ready?"
"I'm ready whenever you are."
"Yes. I'm ready."
She stopped in front of the gate, turned around, and gave us one last check.
I nodded without hesitation.
Hannah said she was ready, too. She'd apparently found out what to expect somewhere beforehand.
Phyllis-sensei stepped aside, so I reached out and placed my hand against the gate's interdimensional space.
She'd probably let me touch the Dungeon Gate to help me get used to it.
But I'd stepped through this gate hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of times on-screen in the game.
Even though it was real now, there was no reason to be intimidated.
It's been a while, this gate.
The gateway to another dimension that I'd seen on-screen every day until two weeks ago.
When I touched it, it felt a little cool, sending a shiver through me.
I gave it a slight push, and my finger slipped right in.
I shouted inwardly.
Dungeon, I'm back!!!!
And before I knew it, I was inside the dungeon.
"Whoa. The scenery really changes in an instant, huh?"
Hannah, who was behind me, looked around in surprise at the sudden change in scenery.
"Hehe, that's right. I thought the same thing the first time, too."
Phyllis-sensei chuckled at Hannah's words and agreed.
Apparently, all of us had made it into the dungeon together.
"......"
"Huh? Zephyrus-kun? What's wrong?"
Hannah must have come closer because I was standing there in silence.
But hold on a second.
Right now, I was busy taking in this incredible feeling.
"In... out..."
I drew a deep breath, then slowly let it out, satisfied.
This was the air of a dungeon.
This is incredible. I'm so moved.
The real dungeon I'd visited countless times in my imagination, the one I'd even dreamed about.
I was savoring every bit of this emotion.
I almost wanted someone to praise me for not dancing around in a frenzy of joy.
"Whoo!—!—!"
Ah, crap. A little of that got out.
"Hey, Zephyrus-kun. Don't just stand there spacing out! You need to listen—this is your lesson!"
"Fnyah?"
Hannah tugged on my shoulder, and I turned around to see her looking rather huffy.
For some reason, that alone made my awe come spilling out of my mouth in a little fnyah.
In short, she'd brought me back to reality.
"Hannah... Hey, Hannah..."
"W-what?"
I sagged. I wanted to savor that feeling a little longer. What a shame.
"Come on. Phyllis-sensei went out of her way to make time for us, so you need to pull yourself together! Now, Zephyrus-kun, stand up straight."
Are you my mom?
No, I'm your childhood friend.
"Got it. I'm sorry. ...Sorry, Phyllis-sensei. Could you continue?"
"Hehe. It's all right. Everyone reacts differently, but they're all surprised the first time they enter a dungeon. Waiting until you settle down is part of the lesson, too."
As expected of Phyllis-sensei. She was so understanding.
I thanked Phyllis-sensei, and she gave us our practical lesson in the dungeon.
I already knew most of this (the dialogue was almost exactly the same as in 〈Dan-Katsu〉), so I'll skip it. Basically, it was just, "Watch out, monsters will appear."
After that, we moved on to the practical part.
I took the lead, with Hannah behind me and Phyllis-sensei bringing up the rear as we made our way through the 〈Beginner Dungeon〉.
Since it was a tutorial, the 〈Beginner Dungeon〉 was just an empty, straight path. There were no treasure chests or anything, but that meant there was no chance of getting lost, and no traps, either.
"Phyllis-sensei, I've spotted a monster. May I cut it down?"
Now, the first monster I encountered in the dungeon was a 〈Mochikko〉.
It was a rice-cake-shaped monster, white and puffy all over. Naturally, it had almost no attack power.
Hey, isn't this just ripping off Slimes?! People had called it out for that over and over, but for some reason it gave three times as much experience as a Slime. That's the power of a dungeon monster.
Wait, then what about the Slimes?!
Slime respawns keep them safe.
Thank goodness. The Slimes' place in the world was secure.
While I was thinking about stupid stuff, I got the go-ahead and slashed at it with my short sword.
For an instant, I thought I felt a squishy boing travel up my arm, but I killed it in one hit, so my first battle (?) ended in victory.
Glutinous rice dropped.