January 26th. It was a rest day—one day off for every six days of classes—so there was no need to go to academy. I could have slept in.
But I woke up early anyway.
Careful not to wake my sleeping roommate—my new teammate who had accepted me—I quietly got ready and slipped out of the room, whispering softly:
"Tisna, I'm heading out."
Today, I wanted to enter the dungeon alone and push my limits.
Ever since I learned about Mr. Karen's combat style—fight at range whenever possible—I had decided to start learning magic. At the same time, I hadn't neglected my physical training. Every evening, I ran and increased the number of sword swings I practiced. Since I had received guidance from Karen, I had to grow stronger. I couldn't let his down.
Speaking of Karen… he and his companions had left the capital yesterday without even saying goodbye. It made me a little sad. They were all such good people… I wondered if I would ever see them again.
Lost in that thought, I turned a corner and spotted a woman standing there—glasses on, hair neatly tied up, posture perfectly upright and elegant.
It was Kate, our teacher and dorm supervisor—someone who could be quite intimidating at times.
I quickly greeted her.
"Good morning, Dorm Supervisor."
Since we were in the dorm, I had to address her as Dorm Supervisor. At the academy, I would call her "teacher." When we first enrolled, we often mixed it up, but she would only correct us sternly without getting angry. She must have gotten used to it after years of dealing with new students.
"Good morning, Lixia Ethe," she said. "It's a rest day. Where are you going?"
She really was amazing—she remembered every female student's name and genuinely cared about us.
Yesterday, she had questioned me for quite a while because I hadn't returned to the dorm the night before. But she wasn't angry—I could tell she had simply been worried about me.
"I'm going to the dungeon."
The moment I answered, her expression turned a little stern.
"Did you forget there's a ball tonight?"
Of course I hadn't.
There was an inter-grade ball tonight, held on rest days since everyone would be too tired on school days. And for girls, preparation took time—dressing up properly mattered, since it reflected on our families.
She was worried I wouldn't make it back in time.
But I didn't want to waste a single rest day. I wanted to grow stronger.
"I didn't forget. I'll definitely be back in time to get ready."
She looked at me for a moment, then sighed softly.
"Know your limits. Don't push yourself too hard."
After saying that, she walked past me.
"Yes!" I called after her.
I left the girls' dorm and followed the stone path toward the gate of the dormitory area. The boys' and girls' dorms stood on either side, with a hall in the middle and the main gate straight ahead.
From there, I headed to the train station and took a train to the capital, Adaka. After arriving at Saint Yor Station, I went upstairs to grab breakfast.
On school days, the dorm provided breakfast and dinner, and we ate lunch at the academy. But on rest days, the cafeteria staff took a break too. Some students even slept until noon—like my roommate—so only lunch and dinner were served.
After breakfast, I made my way to the dungeon, full of determination.
At the entrance, I pulled out a map showing the fastest route from level 2 to level 10.
Since I was alone, I had to be extremely careful. No one would protect me—I had to stay alert at all times.
Even though the monsters from level 1 to level 10 were easy to hunt down, one careless mistake could still be fatal.
"I can do this."
I steeled myself and stepped inside.
Level 1 was filled with slimes. They didn't attack humans, so I simply passed through without bothering them.
On level 2, I encountered goblins—always in groups of three to five. This time, there were four.
Without hesitation, I used the advanced magic I had just learned.
"Water Pressure Cannon"
The moment I finished chanting, a massive surge of water burst from my hand, sweeping through the goblins and wiping them out instantly—leaving nothing behind.
"Wow… magic is amazing…"
I had seen Shien use advanced magic so often that I thought I was used to it. But using it myself… it felt overwhelming. For a moment, it even felt like I could do anything.
But I knew better.
It was only because goblins were weak. Even basic magic would have been enough.
"I can't let my guard down… even against slimes."
I reminded myself, sharpening my focus again.
Up to Level 10, I used magic whenever there was more than one enemy. Otherwise, I fought with my sword.
Magic was powerful, but I couldn't neglect my swordsmanship. Right now, I wasn't strong enough to handle multiple enemies at once without magic. I had to keep building experience—until I could hunt down monsters quickly and efficiently.
From Level 11 to 19, the creatures didn't attack me, but I had to be careful not to step into teleportation traps.
Level 20 was dangerous. Tornadoes formed constantly, and getting caught in one would be disastrous.
As I ran, I used the basic magic "Water Gun" to disperse them, narrowly making it to the next level.
From here on, I would only use magic when absolutely necessary.
But reality gave me a hit hard.
I could see the rabbit lunging at me—but my sword was too slow.
All I could do was brace myself and block its relentless attacks.
"That hurts…"
The damage wasn't severe, but the repeated hits added up.
Defense alone wouldn't work. I had to defeat it.
"...I have to try harder. I want to surpass Shien."
My goal now was to surpass his record on my own. Before, I had only reached level 43 because of him. I hadn't grown at all.
Now, I was part of a new team. While they weren't strong individually, their teamwork was excellent. And Karen had said that as a swordsman, I needed faster reactions.
For that reason, I can't afford to hold everyone back—I have to work even harder to make up for my past laziness.
"Alright… time to go on the offensive."
The rabbit was fast. I couldn't swing wildly and waste stamina.
I focused carefully on its movements. The moment it leapt into the air to attack—
That was my chance.
"Haah!"
I swung downward—
But I was too slow.
The rabbit struck me first, knocking me off balance. I fell hard onto the ground.
It hurt. A lot.
But I forced myself to get up.
Compared to the wolves on level 43, this was nothing.
If I kept trying, I could do it.
Again and again, I swung my sword.
Finally—
I defeated it.
My strength gave out immediately. My sword slipped from my hand, and I collapsed onto the ground, breathing heavily.
"I… I did it… thank goodness…"
I hadn't given up.
It wasn't pretty, but I had taken my first step.
I was exhausted. Level 21… this was my limit for now.
If I couldn't even defeat a single rabbit easily, going deeper would only put my life at risk.
I needed to train more.
After resting for a while, I got back on my feet.
More rabbits attacked during that time, but I didn't have the strength to fight them with my sword anymore, so I used magic instead.
Then I took out my knife and skillfully extracted the magic cores from their bodies. The corpses disappeared afterward.
At first, I had been disgusted by touching dead bodies—especially reaching inside them.
But I had no choice.
Shien always kept watch for danger, so extracting magic cores fell to me, Hera, and Sicilia.
But Hera and Sicilia were too scared to even look. So it became my responsibility.
Now, though, I didn't have to worry anymore. With Shien's encouragement, they had finally found the courage.
The academy also had a year-long exam: collecting magic cores.
Fail to meet the quota, and you'd repeat the year—even if you ranked first academically.
The minimum requirement was 150 magic cores.
But rankings mattered too.
Only the top ten received rewards:
1st place: A wish granted by the king
2nd–3rd: Dorm fees waived until graduation
4th–5th: One year of free dorm fees
6th–10th: Free train fare until graduation
Every three months, the top 50 were announced.
I didn't know who was first right now… but it was probably Shien.
After cleaning myself up, I found a teleportation circle and left the dungeon.
Then I caught the noon train back to the dorm.