The next two days flew by in a blink.
Sianna didn't show up to teach our class on either of those days.
The substitute teacher announced that she had temporarily moved back to her estate in the capital to deal with pressing personal matters.
I really wanted to feel bad about pushing her over the edge.
I genuinely did. But honestly, I just couldn't.
Not when there were far more pressing matters trying to kill me right now.
Surviving an apocalypse takes priority over an older woman's broken heart.
To my right, Zephyr had been awfully silent.
That morning in the hallway, he had grabbed my arm and declared that he wanted to talk to me about something important.
But by the very next day, he completely stopped giving a fuck.
He just sat at his desk, staring straight ahead with those intense eyes, completely ignoring my existence.
And from the corner of my left eye, I could feel someone constantly staring at the side of my face.
It wasn't Melissa this time.
No, it was Mia.
The quiet, noble girl had been staring at me constantly since yesterday, ever since she walked into Melissa's room and saw me standing there in a messy state.
'What exactly is this weird ass situation?' I thought to myself, trying to focus on my notes instead of the uncomfortable feeling of being watched by two completely different, dangerous people.
We eventually moved out of the classroom and headed down to the main training grounds.
Tomorrow was the official start of our first real assignment: the underground cave exploration.
This was the point where the actual story of the novel started.
It was the moment my miserable life as an irrelevant extra finally shifted, and my chance to actually change the narrative began.
"Students, I sincerely hope you all are well prepared for your first diving assignment tomorrow," a loud voice echoed across the open training field.
Absolutely no one in the crowd nodded.
Why would they?
Despite this specific cave being rated as one of the weaker dungeons on the continent, it was still their very first time willingly walking into a dark place filled with violent, bloodthirsty monsters.
"For those of you who cannot seem to grasp the basic details from your textbooks, I will say it clearly for you," the voice continued.
The man speaking was Professor Theosborn.
He was the head combat training teacher, and he usually only taught the advanced classes for the second and third-year students.
He was a tall man with dark black hair long enough to reach his neck, and a very deep scar running right next to his left eye.
One of the good guys in the novel. In the original timeline, he was killed by a giant monster while trying his best to save a group of terrified students during the academy outbreak.
Even knowing the story, I couldn't save him last time.
I was just too weak.
'I guess I could try to save him this time around,' I thought, crossing my arms over my chest.
"A cave is a hostile environment extending to a maximum of twenty kilometres straight underground from the entry gate," Theosborn explained, pacing back and forth in front of the students.
"It has its own unique, twisted habitation. Whatever you see down there is entirely the monsters' doing. There are three distinct levels to every cave."
He held up a calloused finger.
"The first level is Discovery. For the first ten kilometres, you will be dealing strictly with smaller, weaker monsters. Mostly E or D-rank creatures. Some of them are just giant worms, spiders, or even rabbits. But they are mutated by the mana, so you need to be very careful."
The students immediately started whispering and talking among themselves.
I could hear a few of the snobby nobles scoffing, thinking about how a mutated rabbit could possibly hurt them.
They were clueless about the horror inside it.
"The next five kilometres will be the real deal," Theosborn said loudly, cutting through the chatter.
"The main path will separate into twelve different, narrow tunnels. You have to split up to explore on your own. You will choose your teams yourselves."
I looked around the field.
Some of the more arrogant students had already formed their little elite groups, like Lucien and his cronies.
I could feel Melissa's intense stare completely piercing my back from across the grass.
In my last life, she went straight into the tunnels with Zephyr. I remembered that clearly. He protected her, and she basically fell in love with him right there in the dark.
'Why does she want me on her team now?' I wondered, rubbing my jaw.
'Is she just trying to use me to get closer to Zephyr, or is there something else going on?'
"And then comes the final five kilometres," Theosborn continued, his voice dropping into a serious tone.
"There is only one leader for every cave. The one you are entering tomorrow is classified as a D-Rank, so the final boss will either be a swarm of multiple creatures or one single, very angry giant."
"Sir, do we have to fight five completely different monsters?" one of the nervous students raised his hand and asked.
"Since we separate onto different paths on our way down?"
"No," Theosborn answered bluntly.
"All five of the different pathways eventually lead to the same central boss room."
"Then why would we ever split up our forces?" the student asked, looking genuinely confused.
"Because the physical space becomes narrow as you move deeper underground," Theosborn explained patiently.
"And the more living people that enter a single narrow path, the more difficult the mana density becomes to handle. Splitting up into smaller groups is actually a strategic way to reduce the overall threat level and avoid getting trapped."
Everyone in the crowd nodded understandingly, the reality of the danger finally starting to set in.
"The expedition will last for a total of five days," Theosborn said, clapping his massive hands together once.
"Talk to your parents one last time tonight. Two faculty members will be going down with you as emergency supervisors. Now, everyone, sit down and start training your core."
I did exactly what he said.
I sat down on the soft grass, crossed my legs, and closed my eyes to focus entirely on my internal mana core.
My core was significantly stronger than it was last time. My boosted stats made the energy flow smoothly through my veins without any of the painful friction I used to experience.
The specific path I was forced to choose last time was a nightmare. It was filled with deranged barbarians and violent cannibals who ambushed me in the dark and brutally broke both of my legs.
Although this time around it would be comparatively easier because I actually knew what was coming, I still needed to focus completely.
The boss at the end of the dungeon is hard to beat.
The Black Witch is the first major boss of our academy excavation.
She is a twisted, terrifying monster that uses psychological manipulation and dark magic to tear students apart.
Every cave monster reflects the worst of humanity and other races.
I opened my eyes slowly, looking down at my hands.
'How exactly does my weird seduction system relate to fighting a murderous dungeon boss?' I thought to myself.
'Unless...'
The system wants me to seduce the witch.
Or something far worse than I could grasp.