Chapter 19
After turning the entrance ceremony into a chaotic marketplace, the teaching assistant nearly burst into tears while scolding me, but I just let it go in one ear and out the other.
It wasn’t like I had a predetermined speech. They just told me to say whatever I wanted, so I did.
All in all, the entrance ceremony wrapped up in a way that I found quite satisfying.
[Only the Master is satisfied, while the staff must be pulling their hair out.]
‘Not my problem.’
[That’s true!]
Of course, there would be people who wouldn’t take this well, but if this incident helped make the mana authentication system more famous, that fame would serve to establish me as an outstanding engineer and a strong candidate for a professorship.
In this field, results were all that mattered, after all.
And as a bonus, it would also contribute to the economic revitalization of my hometown.
“Now, we will proceed with the announcement of dormitory and class assignments.”
A holographic projection appeared before the waiting freshmen, displaying their respective dormitory and class placements.
On the surface, it seemed like a simple image projection, but in reality, it was a highly advanced magical technique—one that could show different images to hundreds of individuals simultaneously.
“So, I’ve been assigned to Class A and Dormitory A-1…”
A quick glance around gave me a rough idea of how the assignments were determined.
[It’s merit-based!]
The dormitories and classes were divided from A onward, making it clear that this was a strict meritocratic system.
A clear distinction between the top students and the weaker ones.
For me, this was welcome news.
“The dormitories may be different, but we’re all in the same class, huh? Looking forward to studying with you all!”
“Good thing there are plenty of familiar faces.”
What surprised me was that the black-haired guy had also been placed in Class A.
‘He might be worthless as a martial artist, but does he have some talent in magical engineering?’
[That seems to be the case! If we rope him in, he could make a promising servant in the future.]
Hmm…
I decided to keep a closer eye on the black-haired guy.
Meanwhile, it seemed that the dormitory assignments were based purely on overall academic rankings rather than by department, since even Linia ended up in the same dormitory as us.
“So, we ended up in the same dorm, huh? I was feeling a bit left out, but now I’m relieved.”
Linia joined us a little later.
“The only one in a different dorm is me, huh? That’s a shame… I heard the A-dorms are incredible.”
“Really?”
“There’s a rumor that they’re basically luxury hotels! Apparently, A-dorm students do everything they can to stay there, while students in the lower dorms fight to get in…”
The black-haired guy looked genuinely disappointed, as if he had heard about this before.
But what could he do? He had barely made it into Class A for magical engineering, but his overall ranking must have fallen short.
‘He’d make a good servant in the future, though.’
And so, we parted ways with the black-haired guy and followed the upperclassmen and teaching assistants stationed throughout the academy toward the A-dorms.
---
Thanks to the merit-based dormitory system, the black-haired guy was no longer with us as we headed toward the dorms.
Upon arriving at A-dorm, my first impression was that the system made sense.
The A-dorm buildings were designed to rival the mansions of high-ranking nobles, and among them, A-1 stood out as the most extravagant and largest.
If the other A-dorms were like high-end residential areas, then A-1 was practically a penthouse suite.
“Raniel! Did you see this?! We each get our own room, and all the furniture is top-tier!”
“It’s quite decent.”
“It’s almost on par with the Leventesia mansion, isn’t it?”
With the money earned from the auction, the entire mansion had been lavishly decorated with the highest-quality furnishings. Yet, this personal room was nearly of the same caliber.
Apparently, the dormitory was equipped with all sorts of conveniences, making it so that, unless one wanted to go out for fun, there was practically no need to leave.
“Wow! And we’re all in the rooms next to each other!”
Building A-1 was designed as a four-story structure, housing a total of seven residents.
The first floor contained various facilities, the second housed four individual rooms, the third had three more, and the fourth was a spacious lounge.
Somehow, it seemed like only the top-ranking students from each department had been gathered in this dorm. But considering that only familiar faces ended up on the same floor as us, should I consider this good luck?
“El! Raniel! Hurry up and unpack so we can go check out the lounge!!”
Just as I was about to get lost in thought, Linia’s excited voice pulled me back to reality.
“Calm down and unpack first.”
“I’m already done!”
“This lady has long since finished as well!”
While I had simply stuffed all my miscellaneous belongings into my dimensional storage, how did they finish unpacking so quickly?
[The way you use your dimensional storage these days…]
‘It’s convenient. There’s no helping it.’
Other than the fact that living creatures couldn’t be stored, it preserved items better than any refrigerator or freezer, and the capacity was practically limitless. How could I not use it?
Especially now, with all my weapons removed, there was even more space available.
“Raniel! Hurry!”
“I get it, I’m coming.”
I hastily pulled out just the essentials, tossed them into my room, and followed Linia outside.
By the time I stepped out, the other two had already placed their feet on the stairs leading up.
“Hurry up!”
“Honestly, you guys…”
Scratching the back of my head, I followed them upstairs.
But seriously, why weren’t they using the elevator?
Even when we first arrived, Linia had enthusiastically dashed inside and taken the stairs. It was exhausting.
[Master, you lack exercise.]
‘Even when I do work out, my strength barely increases.’
[That’s exactly why you need to exercise more!]
That sounded like something only a fitness fanatic would say.
I chose to ignore it and continued climbing the stairs.
Since each floor was designed with high ceilings, even going up a single level meant climbing a lot of steps.
“Why aren’t you guys using the elevator?”
I finally broke the silence.
I could understand Linia, since she had endless stamina, but El was visibly struggling. So why take the stairs?
“I use them for exercise,” El replied, looking rather flustered.
Why was she so flustered?
“El does need to work out a bit. Her belly is so soft…”
“S-stop! Don’t say it out loud!!”
Ah, if that’s the reason, then I guess it makes sense.
At Linia’s innocent remark, El panicked and hastily covered her mouth.
If that tiny thing started gaining weight, she’d eventually just roll around like a ball.
[Master, weren’t you the type who doesn’t gain weight?]
‘I also don’t build muscle.’
That would be the worst possible trait for someone from a martial arts family, but since I had no interest in becoming a warrior, I never paid it much mind.
“I see. So El is exercising, and Linia is… never mind.”
Seeing Linia show no signs of exhaustion, I decided to drop the subject.
“What? Why did you stop mid-sentence? That’s so annoying!”
“I don’t need to say it. It’s obvious.”
That girl could probably sprint up and down from the first to the fourth floor all day without breaking a sweat.
That was enough explanation for me.
“More importantly, what even is an elevator?!”
Wait.
Did she not even know it existed?!
[Come to think of it, there are no elevators in Leventhesia at all, right?]
"That’s true."
I just didn’t expect her to be completely unaware of their existence.
I walked up to the fuming Linia, placed a hand on her shoulder, shrugged, and shook my head before walking past her.
"What?! Why are you treating me like an idiot?! Just because I’ve never heard of it doesn’t mean I should know!"
As I left Linia behind, El glanced at her before quietly following me.
"You’re not going to tell her?"
"It’s more fun this way."
"Well, you’re not wrong."
El nodded, though his expression was a little conflicted.
For someone who dragged me all over the castle despite being scared out of her wits just for the sake of her pride, she sure had a weak heart.
I led the way up the stairs, and before long, we finally reached the top.
Looking around the stairwell, I spotted an elevator not too far away.
I pressed the button, and since no one else seemed to be using it, the elevator arrived immediately.
Since El was already familiar with elevators, he had no particular reaction, but Linia stared at it with fascination.
Clearing my throat, I turned to her and solemnly announced:
"Ahem, ahem, this is called an elevator."
I explained its function in a serious tone.
"It allows you to move between floors."
After my kind and thorough explanation, I looked at Linia expectantly.
"What? Why?"
"Hah, you don’t get it. In moments like this, you’re supposed to say, ‘Wow! Sugoi! Amazing!’"
"I don’t know what that means, but I do know you’re treating me like a fool."
I simply shrugged and shook my head at her.
I wasn’t treating her like a fool—just a total airhead.
"Why are you two just goofing around when there are staff members right here?"
At El’s exasperated remark, I turned my gaze.
"Heh, how refreshing. You must be the new top students."
A friendly-looking staff member behind the lounge bar was watching us with an amused expression.
As I awkwardly scratched the back of my head, he continued with a standard explanation.
"Alcohol is served only between 8 PM and midnight. At other times, we offer tea and light brunch options."
"Is it free?!"
Ever burdened by an empty wallet, Linia’s eyes sparkled.
"Yes, of course. However, this service is only available to top students."
In other words, people from A-1 dorm couldn’t bring in outsiders for a free meal.
Meanwhile, I slowly wandered around the lounge, taking in my surroundings.
I examined everything from the displayed selection of drinks and menu options to the interior design and the magi-tech engineering used in the place.
Then, suddenly, I felt an odd gaze on me.
"……."
The bartender, who had been kindly explaining things earlier, was watching me with a strangely satisfied look.
"Ahem."
I cleared my throat and subtly signaled for him to stop staring, but he didn’t seem to care and kept looking intently.
Eventually, unable to ignore it any longer, I opened my mouth to say something—
"That cat on your head is really cute."
"…Excuse me?"
"Really, it’s such an adorable cat."
Ah, so he wasn’t looking at me, but at Mackerel.
"Meow."
I had completely forgotten about him since he was sitting on my head so naturally.
No wonder climbing the stairs had felt harder than usual.
"You should get down now. My neck hurts."
"Meow."
At my words, Mackerel leaped off my head and curled up in a corner of the bar.
"It is cute, though."
"Can I pet it?"
The bar employee looked at the mackerel with sparkling eyes.
"It should be fine."
Since it had never caused a disturbance, it should be okay.
As soon as I gave permission, the employee eagerly began stroking the mackerel.
"Meow."
"Wow, this cat is really well-behaved. It's rare to see one this calm."
It did beat up El after escaping from the underground prison, but yes, it was indeed calm.
"You must have trained it well. Hmm, is there something I can give it?"
The bar employee immediately went behind the counter and returned with a bunch of treats suitable for a cat, offering them to the mackerel.
"Meow."
The mackerel, realizing the food was meant for it, skillfully accepted the offering and began eating.
Seeing this, El also looked at the mackerel with an expression of satisfaction.
"The more I see Mackerel, the more intelligent it seems. If only it would follow me instead of you, but strangely, it prefers you."
"Hmm, is that so?"
As I gently scratched the cheek of the cheeky little creature, it began to purr in contentment.
"Meow."
It certainly is cute.
["Cats are adorable! They're lethal!"]
"Wow, why is our Mackerel so cute? Raniel, you're going to keep Mackerel, right?"
Not only El but also Linia had fallen for the cat, squeezing and petting it enthusiastically.
Keeping it, huh? Raising a living creature is quite an inefficient task...
"Meow."
Well, if it's this cute, it might be worth keeping around.
And so, together with the bar employee, we all spent quite some time petting and playing with Mackerel.
"Come to think of it, wasn't class starting today?"
Linia murmured wistfully while patting Mackerel’s back.
Starting classes on the day of the entrance ceremony—truly fitting for an academy.
"I heard the schedule was to attend the entrance ceremony in the morning, unpack in the dormitory, and then start classes in the afternoon."
If there’s nothing special in the morning, I suppose we can relax like this and then attend class in the afternoon.
We spent the rest of the morning leisurely chatting and petting Mackerel.
This kind of peaceful time isn’t so bad.
["Something always happens at times like these."]
'Shut up.'
Though the AI made an ominous remark, the morning was generally peaceful.
---
Clishé Family
The Clishé family.
A prestigious household known for its mastery of the sword, with Karon Clishé, the empire’s finest swordsman, as its head.
The knights and soldiers under its command possess skills surpassing even those of the regular army, wielding power worthy of being called the Empire’s Blade.
Because of their formidable strength, the Clishé family took the lead in addressing the Dungeon crisis.
"National defense must never be taken lightly."
With a solemn tone, the Clishé family’s knight commander surveyed the gathered knights before speaking.
"As the lord has emphasized, with the ominous movements of the Doomsday Cult, we cannot afford to ignore the strange phenomenon known as 'Dungeons.'
Our duty is not only to subdue and clear these dungeons but also to ensure that our successors are well-prepared to face such threats in the future."
To that end, the Clishé family had arranged for a hands-on learning experience.
The plan was to let students observe an actual dungeon and, under controlled conditions, allow them to engage with weaker monsters left within.
The most important aspect of this plan was, of course, safety.
"The interior has been thoroughly secured, correct?"
"Yes! There are no issues. This dungeon was never home to particularly strong monsters, and our knights have meticulously cleared the area.
The only creatures remaining are those that students should be able to handle, and with our presence, we can ensure—"
“They’re all foes we can handle.”
In fact, it was a dungeon that had been thoroughly searched and cleared by the knights over the course of more than a week. Inside, there were only small creatures or weak entities like slimes.
“Yes, make sure the entrance is strictly managed and that everything is prepared thoroughly until the field training.”
“Yes, sir! Understood!”
After receiving a disciplined salute from the knights, the commander left the scene.
However, there was one thing neither the knights stationed there nor the commander who oversaw the operation knew.
Deep inside the dungeon, behind the sealed entrance—
In a corner of a cave where the knights had trampled through multiple times, something slimy and viscous was dripping down.
- …….
It was something so ambiguous that it could hardly be called alive. It looked like the corpse of a slime or the bodily fluids of some monster.
But within that hazy, viscous substance, there was something reddish.
Even up close, it was too blurry to make out clearly. Yet, through the dripping slime, a faint glimpse revealed something that looked like a “red armor.”
Almost as if it were a powered suit.
