Chapter 3: To The Dungeon

The bus rode across the cemented road and they soon exited the confines of Trathe city. The steel city was left behind as they entered the sandy plains. They traveled for another 15 minutes before military blockades started appearing. Striped jeeps with heavy guns positioned on them aimed at the road.

“Now listen up.” Mr. Adam stood near the exit of the moving bus and called for attention. Near him stood two teachers, a chubby male figure and a thin lady in her 30s. “Mr. John and Mrs. Lucy will also go with us to the dive. You already knew about them, so I’ll skip the introductions.”

He took a deep breath and continued, “The dungeon we’re about to dive into today is named Four Sides of Death. A teacher will go with each team and three teams will head into the dungeon each time. They will travel on 3 different paths found, but the teacher will not travel with you.”

A hand rose and Mr. Adam noticed it was Jacob.

“Ask away,” he said.

“Sir. If they don’t travel with us, how is this drive supposed to be supervised? And what about our third member?”

Jacob’s heart shook after knowing he would go inside without the teacher’s protection. All courage seemed to evaporate, and he couldn’t help but feel afraid. He was counting on Sumei for her knowledge not strength. That was something he expected the teachers to provide.

Mr. Adam understood him but smiled without warmth.

“Jacob. I know your case. But we are trying to awaken talents in this dive. How will you get a sense of danger or experience extreme emotions if the teachers go with you? But we’re not leaving you alone.”

He looked at everyone this time.

“You will be given a signal flare which you can use, and they’ll immediately come to your rescue within 1 minute. About your remaining partner, you’ll see him soon.”

Coincidentally, the bus also stopped at this moment. The students noticed they were in a place that looked like a military camp and got out of the bus in order.

As they gathered outside the bus, Kevin sneaked over to Jacob and said, “Enjoy your last days loser. I already can’t stand the sight of you.”

Jacob stared at him with annoyance but didn’t take him seriously.

‘This guy used to bully me out of sight of the teachers. How will he dare to do anything here? Is he out of his mind?’

Kevin seemed to notice the disdain on Jacob’s face. But he simply sneered and went back to stand with his group while Jacob did the same.

“So, did you hear anything about our new member?” he asked Sumei.

She moved in obvious discomfort due to the coarse leather brushing against her soft skin. But she still replied, “A little, and it’s not good news.”

Jacob’s forehead furrowed. He didn’t wish to hear bad news now. Still, he wanted to know the details.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Remember Bob?” she asked, while finally adjusting to her clothes.

“Bob who? Bob the builder?” Jacob joked, as he couldn’t remember anyone with that name in his class.

“I’m not kidding!” Sumei shook heard head. “It’s your predecessor.”

Jacob’s heart shook, and he tensed up. His blood pressure jumped, and countless thoughts clashed in his mind.

‘Did she know? How did she know? How many know this? What should I do? Silence her? Here?’

Jacob looked around the military camp filled with soldiers and the teachers around. He looked hesitant as sweat drenched his back, but his eyes soon flashed with coldness.

‘She cannot be allowed to share this with others. If someone else knows my secret, I might even end up on a dissection table in the hands of a mad scientist or a scary Hunter!’

Sumei was unaware of the plans of her team mate whom she planned to protect today. She continued, “I’m talking about the boy Kevin’s gang bullied before you. They did that to him from the beginning of the year and he stopped coming after a month.”

Jacob finally understood what she was talking about and relaxed. The four plans he had just made for her vanished into thin air. He even began feeling guilty for planning something so terrible for her. But he didn’t regret it.

“Oh him. I remember that thin stick. So he’s finally willing to come out of his shell?” Jacob clearly looked down on him. Even though Jacob’s predecessor remained silent at the bullying, he didn’t stop going to class. So he looked down on Bob, who didn’t fight back and gave up in a month.

“You…” Sumei noticed the disdain in Jacob’s tone and didn’t know what to say. She actually knew about the details of the bullying that Bob suffered and the reason for his absence. But she also respected Bob’s privacy, so she didn’t share it.

“Be normal with him. He’s had a tough time too,” she finally said.

Jacob shook his head. “Not as tough as me. But don’t worry, I know my priorities.”

Sumei nodded in relief.

Just then, Mr. Adam approached the gathered students.

“Listen up. I’ve talked with the Commander here and there’s a slight change in our plans. I’ll stay outside while Mr. John and Mrs. Lucy will take you in. Two teams will go in at a time. Your job is to…”

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He was soon done with explaining their mission. The students left for the dungeon entrance while he stopped Sumei and Jacob.

“Follow me,” he said.

They looked at each other in confusion, but obeyed him. He took them across a few green tenets and entered one of them. They followed him inside. He was talking to a chubby man with a stubble wearing full framed square glasses. He seemed unusually quiet and mostly nodded or shook his head in response.

After a moment, Mr. Adam came back and said, “He’s Bob, your third team mate.”

“What!?” Jacob involuntarily shouted.

“Calm down,” Sumei pulled his shirt.

But he didn’t seem to listen. “How did he turn out… I don’t understand.” Jacob said.

Mr. Adam sighed. “There’s no choice. The others chose their teams, and he was the only one left. But don’t worry. He’s obedient and won’t trouble you.”

Jacob looked him dead in the eye.

“You know about my body.”

“Yes.”

“You know I can’t kill a chicken.”

“Yes.”

“Can he solve traps?”

“He will try not to trigger them.”

“Can he act as bait?”

“He’s not smart enough for that.”

“So can he fight?”

“He can run.”

Jacob was speechless.

Sumei was speechless too. Though she knew she’d have to carry Bob as well, she didn’t know he was as big of a dead weight as Jacob.

Bob lowered his head and remained silent.

Mr. Adam knew how upset Jacob was, but he didn’t have a choice in the matter.

“Listen Jacob,” he said. “I know you’re not happy with him, with your body. But there’s no option now. I don’t expect you to awaken today. But you can at least follow Sumei’s lead and learn more about an actual dungeon, even if this is a Conquered Dungeon. This will greatly help you survive in the Graduation Exam!”

Jacob nodded. He knew the world didn’t revolve around him and didn’t plan to continue his tantrum.

“Good. Now gather in front of the dungeon. You’ll be following Mr. John, so head over to him.”

Mr. Adam finally left the tent, leaving three of them alone.

“H-hello,” Sumei broke the awkward air and streaked out a hand towards Bob. Since she only reached his chest, it looked as though a dwarf was greeting a giant. Sumei was slightly nervous. She wasn’t aware of Bob’s personality after he had been severely bullied and been out of society for so many months.

Bob finally raised his head and shook her hand gently. Sumei saw that face and those innocent eyes. She then knew that Bob would not be difficult to lead. It was because he was a gentle giant.

Jacob resigned to fate and shook hands with Bob as well. He didn’t want to cause further issues with the team because it could end up harming them.

The trio of a chubby giant at 195 cm, a thin teen at around 170 cm with a kid of around 155 cm finally left the tent. They soon reached the entrance of the dungeon.

Four Sides of Death was a conquered dungeon. It meant that the mana inside was gentle, and the final boss was taken care of. Since it was given for public use, most of the resources inside had already been excavated. The only value it held was now giving newbies experience in dungeon diving and getting accustomed to high levels of mana.

Jacob saw a stony gate held with 2 pillars at the side. Upon them he could see carved monsters like goblins, kobolds, and cows. They screamed brutality, and he noticed hostility in those stony faces. At the top of the gate lay the statue of a gargoyle on whose forehead lay four embedded prisms in a rhombus. Three at the bottom among them were cracked.

Mr. John noticed their arrival and waved at them. They joined the line behind him while other students formed a line parallel to them lead by Mrs. Lucy.

Jacob finally saw two groups disappearing into the dungeon with their respective teachers.

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