Chapter 8
The day after I arrived at the academy, the entrance ceremony began.
Labyrinth Academy is a school where students acquire Jobs, study them, and learn to use them effectively.
They put what they learn here to use in the future, spending the rest of their lives alongside the Jobs they acquire.
However, you can't acquire a Job right away.
〈Dan-Katsu〉 has an enormous number of Jobs, and each one has its own conditions for manifesting.
In other words, unless the Job you want manifests, you can't even get to the point of studying it.
Since your Job choice will affect the rest of your life, there's absolutely no room for compromise.
Or rather, you can't afford to compromise.
Everyone stakes their whole life on choosing a Job.
If you take a detour, the other students—your rivals—will quickly pass you by, and you'll never catch up. After all, changing Jobs resets your level, and you carry over nothing, so you have to start all over again. It's not something you can do on a whim.
Once you've made your choice, all that's left is to press straight ahead without looking back.
Now, the first thing ordinary students do after enrolling at this academy is meet the conditions for manifesting a Job.
They have one month. There are no common classes during that period; every class is an elective.
Once the month is over, the students are reassigned to specialized classes for each Job, and their academy life properly begins.
During that month, the students desperately try to acquire a good Job.
That was the system explained to us in the gymnasium during the entrance ceremony.
The person carefully explaining it from the stage was a sturdy old gentleman with such a long, white beard he could've been mistaken for Santa Claus.
He was the principal of the 〈National Dungeon Exploration Support Academy—Main Campus〉.
When I was a student, the principal's speeches went in one ear and out the other, but somehow I found myself listening to everything about 〈Dan-Katsu〉.
Even though I already knew it all, I still found it fun.
Funny how that works.
Anyway, the entrance ceremony ended, and I met back up with Hannah.
“Zephyrus-kun, have you decided which major you want to join?”
Hannah asked anxiously, right off the bat.
“Yeah. I'm planning to join the 〈Dungeon Exploration Major, Combat Department〉. I've already decided on my Job, too.”
“O-oh, I see. ...Yeah, I guess you have.”
“What about you, Hannah? Where are you planning to go?”
“I'm thinking of joining the 〈Dungeon Production Major, Alchemy Department〉... If that doesn't work out, then maybe the 〈Potion-Making Department〉...”
Ah, I think I could guess why Hannah looked so gloomy.
“Yeah, the Exploration and Production departments are in different buildings, and the dorms are separated by gender, so we won't be able to see each other very easily.”
“...Yeah.”
Labyrinth Academy is huge.
I mean, ridiculously huge.
By law, all young people who turn sixteen have to attend a school like this, and institutions like it can be found in various places. But this main campus is by far the best in the country, with the most dungeons, the highest quality of education, and a reputation for producing outstanding graduates every year.
Naturally, it's incredibly popular, and countless young people hope to come here.
The school kept expanding until it became a gigantic institution with room for twenty thousand students.
One side effect is that students in different majors often can't see each other very easily.
Even though we're on the same grounds.
“Well, if you want to see me, you can. We could even form a party.”
“Huh?”
Hannah tilted her head, looking like she genuinely had no idea what I meant.
“If you're going to the Alchemy Department, you're aiming for the 【Alchemist】 Job, right?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“Then why don't we form a party and go into dungeons together?”
“Wait, what? But I'm a production Job user!”
“Production Job users go into dungeons, too. It's perfectly normal.”
“What?! Dungeons are full of danger! A production Job user with low combat ability can't go into a dungeon!”
“Well, you can't in the later stages. An area attack would take you out even if you defended yourself.”
“See?!”
“But at the beginning, you can manage just fine.”
“Huh?”
The initial difficulty is low enough that you can clear dungeons solo, after all.
And if I cover her, it'll be easy, even with a production Job.
Actually, if you're an 【Alchemist】, you should go into dungeons early on to gather alchemy materials. Buying materials costs money, so collecting them yourself is more efficient and easier on your wallet.
The only 【Alchemists】 who can afford to avoid dungeons because they're scary are the rich or those with sponsors.
Hannah's just an ordinary village girl, so she'll have to gather her own materials.
“So, we're forming a party.”
“What do you mean, 'so'?! How did you get to that?! You're being way too pushy, Zephyrus-kun!”
“Then, Hannah, do you not want to party up with me?”
“Ugh... I-I wouldn't say I don't want to. But, ugh, I think asking me like that is a little unfair.”
“Hahaha. Then I take it you have no objections. Looking forward to it, Hannah.”
“Hmm, I feel like I got tricked somehow, but... Looking forward to it, Zephyrus-kun.”
I was pretty forceful about it, but I managed to get myself a party member.
All right! I absolutely wanted an 【Alchemist】, now and down the line.