And So, We'll Raid a Dungeon

"The Ingal forest?"

"Monster hunting?!"

They all voice their confusion simultaneously.

"That's the most dangerous monster infested region in all of Halrio," Darius starts, sweat dripping down his forehead.

"And you're telling us to train there?" Eleric speaks, finishing Darius's train of thought.

"Why?" I ask, wondering why they're wimping out so much. "Is there a rule saying we can't?"

"No, not necessarily a rule," Larien answers, picking the right words to use to explain. "It's just that, no students from the magic theory department willingly go into the Ingal forest unless they're accompanied by a teacher. The only ones who would even try are the magic knights students and the alchemy department students."

"But we don't necessarily need a teacher to go with us do we?" I inquire.

"No?"

"Then what's the problem?"

"... Hah," Larien sighs, ending it with a small chuckle. "I suppose you're right."

"Because of the way you look, I sometimes forget that Alice is on a whole different level than just a magic theory student." Darius remarks, joining in the laugh.

"I don't know what you mean," I say, nonchalantly playing it off. "Then we can start on our days off."

"Yes sir," Eleric muses, giving up without argument. "As long as I can be as strong as you, even if you tell me to fight a dragon, I'll do it."

"Mmm?"

Didn't expect that to come from the prickly Eleric. But a dragon huh? That's actually a pretty good idea. Might even be enough to finally get Ceb out of his cave. Usually when he senses my presence he would come to me immediately. He's always been a spoiled kid, but suddenly he never shows himself. Is he pouting?

"Do you have a specific area for training in mind?" Larien asks, searching for something in the bookshelves at the corner.

"Mmm," I start, thinking about the monster settlements I saw a little away from Aeolia when I went exploring. "Yes, I have a good idea where we could start."

"Then you can mark them down on this map," Larien says, finding what he had been looking for and laying it across the table. A map of the kingdom of Halrio. "Depending on the areas you pick, I may need to prepare extra precautions."

"Alright," I respond, circling the west and southeastern areas of the Ingal forest with a marker.

Those were the areas I spotted a few monster settlements, and a minor low level dungeon. And its a bit away from Aeolia so nothing troublesome would occur. It's still far to early for anyone to make a connection between Alice and Aeolus, no matter how faint it may be.

"Hm..." Larien ponders, staring at the locations I circled on the map. "The Kobold dungeon huh?"

"Kobold dungeon?"

"Ah, the area you circled here," He answers, pointing to the low level dungeon I circled on the far west side of the forest. "It's a pretty well known low level dungeon for beginner and intermediate adventurers."

"I see," I reply. "Then it's perfect for our training."

"I suppose," He agrees, tapping his chin as he falls deeper in thought. "Plus you don't necessarily need an adventurers license to attempt it."

"Still, even though it's just a low level dungeon, a few beginner adventurers occasionally go missing or sustain fatal injuries there," Eleric adds, looking down on the circled area of the map. "We've never faced any monsters in a dungeon before, so their numbers and movements will be new too. Don't you think we should at least bring someone from the magic knight course?"

"He's right," Larien concurs with a slight nod. "I can prepare sufficient gear, but I know better than anyone that plans don't always go through the way you want. It would be reassuring if we had someone who has actual combat experience with facing against several monsters besides you."

"Hmm..." I begin to think.

What they're saying would make sense if it didn't sound so ridiculous. Well, if I take into account the difference between levels and experience, I suppose I do understand where they're coming from. Even with a level of 51, I guess they don't feel assured leaving all the burdens to me, though it's what I want them too. And their cautiousness is unfounded really. Eleric's level is 25, Larien's is 32, and Darius's is 21. Those are higher than the average bronze class adventurer.

I guess this is one of the flaws of magic schools. They're all spoon fed nobles so they've all been trained systematically and comfortably at their homes until now, and then right from there they enroll into a prestigious magic school with state of the art equipment that does some more spoon-feeding. They've never had the chance to realize just where their skills actually stand in society. Being this wary of a low level Kobold dungeon that beginner bronze class adventurers get hurt or level up when their stats are equivalent to silver class adventurers. It all comes down to experience I suppose, and all they've ever done is most likely just sparing. That's about to change.

"No need, I'll be enough," I say, finally arranging my thoughts.

"Uh, really?" Eleric questions with an expression that says he's worried about this.

"Alice, I know your skills better than anyone here," Larien starts, placing his hand on my shoulder. "But, we're all inexperienced when it comes to dungeons, it would be wise to be cautious."

"I know," I respond, turning to face him. "And I'm saying I'm enough precaution you need."

The all stare at me with their mouths gaped open in confusion, and a lose for words.

Pulling out the gold tag that I'd kept hidden behind my clothes, I add. "Trust me, there's really nothing to worry about."

"That's..." Larien starts, but trailing off as he stares at the tag around my neck in surprise.

"An adventurer tag?!" Darius finishes, awing at it.

"Gold class..." Eleric lets out an exasperated laugh. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Haha," Larien chortles, finally gathering himself. "Well then I guess we'll have to take your word for it. I'm guessing you didn't just get that gold class tag for nothing. We'll follow your lead."

"I trust you Alice," Darius smiles gently, indicating that he's leaving his safety in my hands.

"Ah what the hell," Eleric exhales, tipping his head forward, then forming a smile. "I don't know why I even bother denying it anymore at this point. You're the team leader for a reason right?"

"You should have just said that to begin with," I say, returning their smiles. "Then we should get ready to go dungeon raiding."