Chapter 41: C41 – Preparing

Garel was there to greet Dirk right as he walked into class. Greetings like this occurred almost every day, and it embarrassed him a bit every time.

Dirk had thought that Garel was the first-year teacher, thus he was happy come graduation day since he assumed he would get a new teacher. Not because Garel was bad, but because Dirk wanted a change of pace. However, the school had other plans, apparently. Dirk was stuck with this volatile teacher for another year. He made a note to never come into this classroom with any wound showing, otherwise he may risk getting force-fed another weird potion. He also carried his knife on him just in case.

Dirk always lamented the fact that if Garel were just a little dialed down, he would be infinitely more bearable. Unfortunately, in exchange for the quality teaching, Dirk would have to sacrifice a bit of his sanity. 

Garel, with his one arm, began his teaching with unbridled enthusiasm. Dirk's brain went on autopilot for the first bit of class in order to get past all the questionable stories and intrusive questions for the students. When he finally got to teaching though, Dirk snapped back into it, listening intently. 

Dirk's first year, Garel hadn't taught any dark spells. He only taught how to manipulate the dark element and had everyone hone their control over it. By the end of the year, everyone was able to form odd shapes and diagrams with strings of dark mana. While it sounded easy to do, Dirk found it surprisingly difficult. This was because the dark element never seemed to want to listen to him. It took great willpower in order to get it under control. 

In fact, this method of controlling the dark element was against Garel's teachings. He always talked about how one had to flow with the dark element, both person and mana syncing together to guide each other in the same direction. To help with this, Garel actually had the class do meditation sessions in an attempt to harmonize with the dark element. Unfortunately, even though Dirk tried to do it his way, he just couldn't. It felt wrong whenever he felt himself letting go and 'harmonizing' with the element. He hated the feeling of losing control. 

So, he had to resort to the only way he knew. Using sheer willpower, Dirk forcefully bent the element to his will. When forming shapes with strings of the element, it was like bending a steel pole. The element didn't want to listen, but it had no choice under Dirk's domination. 

Garel didn't exactly like this, saying it was the wrong way to use the element. And Dirk had to admit, when he saw other kids easily playing with the element, he got a bit doubtful. But he didn't know what other way to go about controlling it. So, he decided he would just take it as far as he could. Garel could only let him do as he wished. For some reason, Garel didn't argue much with Dirk. With the other kids though, he had no trouble scolding and correcting them. 

Thus summarized Dirk's dark element class. Thankfully, he at least never fell behind and could follow along fine. 

After that class, Dirk left and went to his next one. After walking to another area of the academy, he could hear shouts and hollers. His blank gaze rested on the Hall of Artisans, the home of the academy's production sector. 

This was where nearly all crafting was done and where Dirk's classes were. He walked into the hall and maneuvered through running persons to make his way to a room. He quickly opened the door and stepped in, closing the door behind him. All the outside noises were silenced.

The room he was in now was rather large. The dwarven teacher sat on a chair at the front of the class while a few dozen other students stood around their desks. These weren't normal desks though. They were all anvils with little metal tables next to them. Each student had their own spot.

"Alright! Listen up."

Not long after he walked in, the dwarf started class. Dirk opened up his book to the instructed page, but didn't bother looking at it. Over the last week, he was able to look at other books and document the full pages. He could now view it anytime he wanted in his head. 

The things Dirk learned about varied. There were many aspects to forging an item. Every single piece of equipment or material had things to learn about. Each student was being educated on all the parts of forging from the ore to the sharpening of a weapon. They had to know what all these things were if they wanted to do it themselves. This fact disappointed all the kids who thought that it was a brainless job consisting of nothing but slamming a hammer. 

But Dirk actually enjoyed it. There was a systematic way to go about forging, and he was able to pick up on everything easily. The dwarven teacher always nodded when Dirk answered something correctly, pleased that one of his students was smart. 

Finally, after the forging class was the enchanting class. Dirk went to another room in the hall of artisans, making sure he didn't run into anybody on the way. Upon arriving, he saw the same 5 people who merely glanced at him. They seemed very serious about this class, making him wonder why. And when class ended, all of them always stayed behind, making Dirk feel a tiny bit awkward when he immediately left alone. He pretty much understood everything though, so he didn't think much about it. 

Dirk's classes went from early in the morning to late in the evening, taking up basically all of his day. Even when he got home from class though, he was quick to begin training. Luckily, his physical training went from an average of 3 or 4 hours to only half an hour. When Dirk activated all the anima in his body and did exercises, it rapidly drained his energy, making for a quick and effective workout. Then, he would move on to training his mana heart. 

This routine went on for a while. Ava quickly got over her little trauma and they both continued to train martial arts with Ava rapidly advancing in skill. They also started practicing with their weapons. Dirk would take time to use his bow while Ava swung her axe around at trees, cutting some down in the process. 

This went on until the end of the month where the second years were finally given the announcement they were waiting for. 

"Tomorrow, those who have been signed up for it will be taken to do their first dungeon dive. The details are on this paper. You'll report to the arena in the morning in all of your gear, and all of you will be taken to the nearby dungeon. Things like food, water, and other supplies will be provided, and you'll be briefed on how to prepare for a dive in the future."

The teacher in Dirk's first class explained to them. The date of the dungeon dive had been told to them a while ago, and this was the final announcement for it. All the students who had signed up, which were most of them, were excited. Dirk was also expectant. The dungeons were the next most mysterious thing about this world next to magic. Things like hostile monsters that could use magic themselves were interesting, and Dirk wondered how he would fare against them. 

For the rest of the day, all the second year students were excited. For the first time in a few weeks, they weren't so gloomy or traumatized over their first kill. They were actually glad, and they looked back to the kill and wondered if they could do the same to these other monsters. All talk that day was about how strong the monsters were and how each person would match up. Plus, everyone had their armor and weapons, so they were all fantasizing about being valiant knights or mages and striking monsters down. 

However, although Dirk was expectant, he was also wondering what he would do about schooling while dungeon diving. According to his sister, dungeon dives could last weeks, even months. He didn't know the details as to why, but he knew he would be doing the same. He wondered how he was supposed to handle school and continue learning spells and magic theory.

Unfortunately, nobody explained it to him, so he would have to just wait and see. Dirk went through the rest of his day, and upon returning home, Ava excitedly greeted him.

"Are you ready for dungeon diving? I heard we're going to the lesser dungeon next to the city. There are plenty of weak monsters there similar to the goblins. Nothing we can't handle. Oh, your gear is prepped, right? I brought mine over just in case."

Ava bounced around as she chattered nonstop. Dirk thought over what she said. 

His first year, Dirk had learned quite a bit about dungeons. Dungeons existed around the entire world, and they came in three types. First, there were the 6 Elemental Dungeons. These 6 dungeons were the most powerful in the world, and there was an empire that resided over each of them. The reason these 6 dungeons were significant was because there was a great dragon that resided in each one. Each of these 6 great dragons was supremely powerful not unlike the emperors of each empire, and each held dominion over one of the elements. 

6 dungeons, 6 elements. The Horizon Empire resided over the Dungeon of Fire. However, there weren't only 6 dungeons. Around each of the 6 dungeons were major dungeons. These were less powerful than the 6 and more plentiful, but kids like Dirk would be easily slaughtered inside one. Then, there were minor dungeons. These were the most plentiful and the least powerful, and there was one just outside of the capital city that all the second year academy students would be going to. 

While there were fluctuations of power among the monsters in each dungeon, that could be studied and prepared against. Each dungeon was its own separate space, so unless one had been observed and documented, nobody knew what could be inside. Luckily, the one the students were going to didn't hold any secrets and had been used for many years as training grounds for all kinds of people. Nothing could possibly go wrong there.

That night, Ava went through all her gear and worried if she was underprepared. She constantly thought about what else she should bring and repeatedly asked Dirk if there was anything else he could think of. He just sighed and shook his head after a while. They had only been told to bring themselves and their main gear like armor and weapons. Everything else would be given to them, so Dirk wasn't concerned about not having food, water, or anything for a long term trip. It didn't look like this would be long term anyway.

With that, Dirk forced Ava to go to bed, not bothering to make her go back to her dorm. She went to sleep with an anxious and overly excited mind. Dirk was the same, except that only made it so he went to sleep 30 seconds after his head touched the pillow instead of 10.

.............

"Dirk! I can't find my axe! Do you know where-"

"Couch."

"Oh! That's right."

As the sun crept over the horizon, Ava bustled about Dirk's little house. He paid no attention as he pointed out her items and prepared his own. This time, he obviously didn't plan to go in cloth clothes. Dirk put all his armor on and equipped his weapons. He tied all the knife sheaths around his body and slotted in the knives. The hatchet was put on the back of his waist while the spear was taken apart into two pieces. That was actually a nifty feature Dirk's mother let him know about. Spears were long and could get in the way, so some of them were made to be taken apart. Dirk put the two pieces on each thigh for easy access. 

Lastly, his quiver of arrows was put across his back, as was the bow. With that, Dirk was prepared. Any of his weapons could be easily drawn and none of them, except for the bow, got in the way at all. Even the bow wasn't much of a nuisance.

Under his armor, Dirk wore his normal workout clothes. The cloth both kept him comfortable and prevented the leather from rubbing against his skin. Plus, he didn't mind sweating in these clothes, so everything worked out. 

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In less than 5 minutes, Dirk was totally prepared to go to battle. However, Ava had a hard time preparing herself despite everything being in front of her. Dirk had to help her put things on to move it along, and even then she triple checked everything. In the end, Dirk was dragging her out of the house, saying that she could deal with whatever came with just the things she had. 

The two walked across campus after that fully geared up. They stuck out quite a bit among other crowds of normal students, but instead of looking like clowns, everyone glanced at them with an impressed gaze. After all, everyone who looked at them were either first years who thought they looked awesome, or upperclassmen who commended them for their bravery. 

They weren't the only ones either. Along the way, they could see many of their classmates dressed in gear as well. They all gathered in various groups, and by the end when they approached the arena, there were several large clusters of students marching through the doors. It looked like a small army was invading. 

They packed into the empty arena, finding many staff members and some teachers. One of them guided everyone to gather where they officially began the day.

"Attention! Today will be your first dungeon dive. Everyone should have come in their gear and with any weapons they need. Those who have forgotten anything, well, tough luck. Now listen up. Each of you will be handed a bag filled with essential items, including a list of all the items within. These are the minimum you should take with you in any dungeon dive in the future. The bag and everything inside are yours to keep, but this will be the only time you receive these things for free. Should you lose or destroy anything, you will need to go out and get it again yourselves. Now there are some things that we will not be providing that are somewhat essential, such as extra pairs of clothes. For this dive however, you will not need any. Now come receive a bag."

With that, the teacher called everyone forth. A few staff members began tossing bags out of carts which students went up to catch. Dirk and Ava grabbed theirs, both quickly looking at the list inside the bag.

"Tent, two blankets, some food rations, medical bandages, some bags of water, and toiletries. Seems thorough enough."

Dirk nodded at the kit. The bag wasn't that big and could easily be slung over one's shoulder. The tent was obviously meant for sleeping, and while the blankets weren't thick, he found that they were great insulators. With them and one's clothes, keeping warm wouldn't be a problem. The food rations were dried meats and breads, rather basic but good fuel. Then there were the toiletries which were a given. 

Everything here was enough to allow one to survive in a foreign place comfortably. While the food and water wouldn't last them forever, they didn't need it this time. 

The teacher explained after everyone received their bags.

"These items are enough for you to survive a few nights while out of contact with the world. Now, worst comes to worst, water mages and fire mages are the two most sought after members of any diving party. Water mages can create water to drink, and fire mages can create fire to cook meats from various monsters. With these two, a party can survive almost indefinitely. There are also earth mages who can create little buildings to sleep in at night, and air mages are good for detecting monsters in the dark. Each element has its specialties that make it valuable to members in any party. 

"However, sometimes a party won't have all the elements. Sometimes there will be no fire mage or no water mage. In this case, you must prepare accordingly. There are things like firestarters to make a fire and water cleansers to take water from different sources. These things are luxuries that you must acquire yourself depending on your party composition. Naturally though, getting a diverse array of elemental mages in a party is the most valuable thing you can do. And speaking of, it's time to form your parties."

Getting to this point, all the students perked up. Upon hearing him, Ava moved a bit closer to Dirk, while Dirk noticed Alec step into his field of view. Students all around started to find their friends.

"Dungeon diving is never done alone. That is something only the most powerful have the privilege of doing. There are a variety of strategies and preferred group counts, but for now you all will be going by what we say. Each of you will assemble into groups of 5 people. For this dungeon dive, there will be no less. If you wish to make a group of more, be my guest, but it must not exceed 7. Now, we will give you 15 minutes to find your friends and gather into groups. If by the end there are unassigned people, you will be automatically assigned by us. Now, go."

As soon as the teacher finished, all the students immediately began yelling. It was a frenzy as everyone rushed every which way, calling out names. Ava put her shoulder against Dirk's as the people around them came crashing in. At the same time, Dirk watched as Alec made his way over with a friend. Everyone made sure to avoid bumping into the charismatic knight. 

Alec was dressed in different armor than what he wore for the tournament. This armor was still made with scales, but they were dark blue in color. The scales layered on each other around the vital areas while they were tailored for the joints to maintain mobility. On his back, a medium sized sword was sheathed, while a knife was sheathed on his hip. He held his helmet under his arm while his bag was slung over his shoulder. 

"Dirk! How about we group up?"

He spoke as he stopped next to him. Dirk pondered while Ava quickly opened her mouth. 

"Sure! Who's your friend?"

"This is Harmut, an earth mage. He doesn't train anima so the only item he has is a shield, but his magic more than makes up for it."

"How do you do."

Harmut put his hand out, shaking Ava's. He then turned to Dirk and nodded to him, Dirk nodding back. Alec smiled.

"Alright. Now we need one more."

"I have a friend I could probably find."

Ava offered while Alec pondered. 

"Hm, maybe. The fifth person is going to be what's called a porter though."

"Porter?"

Ava tilted her head at the unfamiliar term. Alec explained.

"A porter is someone who will carry all the bags and luggage. We can't be worrying about our items when a monster appears, so we need someone to take care of them for the group. However, this person won't be fighting much in exchange, at least not as much as everyone else. We should get someone who's okay with that."

"Oh, I see. But who would be fine with that?"

"I think there would be plenty of people. Here."

Saying that, Alec turned and looked around a bit before laying eyes on someone. It was a boy who didn't look like he had a group. Alec walked over to him, stunning the boy. The two conversed for only 10 seconds before the boy nodded and walked back with Alec.

"Alright, this is Jaxon, and he'll be our fifth member."

"N-nice to meet you all!"

Jaxon stammered as he waved to the group. Inwardly, he was screaming. 

This group consisted of the top three students in the entire class. There was no more powerful group, and he was just invited to it. Jaxon couldn't be happier at the moment, though he felt incredibly intimidated when he looked at Dirk's blank gaze that seemed to peer to his very soul.

 

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