Chapter 168 Monster villages [ 3 ]

-Oriana Mengral Point of View:

"Let's go."

I gave the order as all the teachers began to disperse shortly thereafter.

As I walked, Oriana observed several cadets.

Earlier, the teachers had not moved, giving the cadets a few hours until they were fully dispersed at the start of the entire Dungeon.

Of course, the cadets really didn't know exactly where the temple was.

However, that was why the teachers allowed them to disperse: they had to familiarize themselves with the surroundings before facing dangers that the cadets would not be able to handle. So, the time had come.

The temple was a full week away, just walking.

Cadets normally moved quickly toward the center of the Dungeon.

One of the reasons Oriana opted for a long start was because of the numerous difficulties the cadets would face as they moved toward the center of the Dungeon, of course.

First there were the biomes, which were quite difficult to adapt to quickly.

In each biome there were several races of monsters, depending on their grade, between 9 and 8; the poles were the most difficult.

Interestingly, there were no deserts in this Dungeon, which is specifically known for its great diversity of biomes, except for a few, such as the desert.

"..."

Oriana stopped suddenly.

"The cadets are starting to fight each other."

Those who lose will have difficulty moving on, either because they will be wounded or robbed of their collected resources.

The cadet groups, with a maximum of 10 members, were decided because teamwork was essential.

Another difficulty was internal problems within the groups: those cadets who disagreed with their leader's rules.

I looked at the cadets.

They were two groups, each with more than seven members on both sides.

From the top of a tall tree, I could see several more groups in the distance.

In particular, a large lake was visible.

"Several groups should be arriving at the lake."

I sensed the presence of several manas in that direction.

At this distance, it would take me about two hours to get there.

I looked down.

Muffled sound!

Soon, several types of magic were cast, creating different colors in the air as the group began their attack.

"I guess they'll be unlucky if they cross Asher and Freddy."

Not long ago, I noticed that Freddy had reached the second circle and was even a step away from the third.

How was that possible?

"Elemental stone, huh?"

I hadn't seen many such stones, but Freddy's breakthrough came as quite a surprise to me.

It was unexpected to see such a quick turnaround.

I wondered if I could get one for Asher.

But.

"He's not an elemental mage."

Unique mages, with special affinities, can't use the elemental stone for obvious reasons and circumstances related to their affinities.

Asher was neither an elemental mage nor a unique mage.

So, it was a question Oriana had asked herself before.

"What kind of mage would he be?"

He uses darkness as his magic.

Would he be a sorcerer, a demonic mage, or what could he be called?

Well, I really have no idea.

Darkness wizard.

That was the name I came up with.

"Well, I should get moving."

I quickly moved through the treetops.

I was heading for the center of the Dungeon.

Oriana and some of the teachers were also heading towards the center.

If they didn't arrive and the cadets did, it would be a delay that would be frowned upon by the headmistress.

She had barely managed to convince the few cadets who did not see Oriana as the new headmistress, but she had succeeded. If she did anything wrong this semester, her standing would drop again, and distrust would be evident.

I moved quickly, and the hours passed.

***

-Change of scene.

-Asher Frostblade's point of view:

"What?"

The cadet looked at me confused by the question I asked.

It was unexpected and somewhat confusing to everyone.

However, there was one main reason why I asked him if he knew anything about this lake, since his group seemed to have been here much longer than I had.

Therefore, the question was quite obvious.

The cadets did not answer right away because they were still confused by the sudden question.

Then, the cadet spoke up.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

So, you don't know anything.

That's when I noticed something strange about the lake.

I was supposed to have taken a detour from the beginning, but I was going straight into the lake.

Was that normal in this Dungeon?

Because of this, I wondered a couple of times, but no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't find an answer.

"Forget it."

I turned around and continued on my way.

"Wait."

I stopped in my tracks.

Earlier, the cadet seemed pretty confident, but now she was acting different.

I looked at her again and frowned.

Asher, noticing the cadet's strange behavior, hesitated to intimidate her for the moment.

"What is it now?"

I asked, and then the cadet swallowed saliva and spoke.

"We saw that you're pretty strong, so.... Would you help us in a raid on a monster village?"

Monster village.

Although monster villages were known to be scattered throughout the Dungeon, I had never come across one.

I planned to look for a monster village, as they had large amounts of supplies so I wouldn't go hungry for several days. Water was also plentiful in those villages.

Therefore, if I wanted to survive for two weeks, I had to find at least three monster villages and steal as much as I could.

Therefore, the words were very tempting and made me open my ears.

"I'm interested."

"Really?"

"Yes, I need to find three villages, but I haven't found any on the way, do you have any idea where there is one?"

"That's just it, we need one more member, someone strong, and we ran into you."

"..."

Then I realized the mistake I had made from the beginning.

This group actually had no intention of fighting Asher.

However, unable to convince Asher to join their group, they tried to force him among all of them, knowing that Asher was very strong, as he had killed a mana beast in one hit.

That's why I realized the mistake I made earlier.

I shouldn't have attacked.

Although it is true that this group initiated the attack, I did not hesitate to respond.

If you attack, it is to defeat your enemy, not to speak at the wrong time. However, this time the proposal was interesting enough for me to accept.

"Where is the village?"

"Across the lake."

The cadet pointed in the direction of the center of the lake, and looking towards the opposite shore, I saw several structures made of sticks and leaves on flat, dry ground, with several monsters walking around.

It was a rather large village, and I watched the monsters for a moment.

"In that area alone there are about ten of them."

Then I looked back at the cadets.

"All right, but on one condition."

Maybe these cadets found the village, but I was going to cross to the other side of the lake anyway.

So, if these cadets hadn't shown up, everything in the village would have been mine.

So, it wouldn't be bad to negotiate 60/40, right?

Either way, it would be Asher who would clear the village of monsters, not these cadets, who couldn't even fight two monsters at once, and besides, with so few members.

"All right."

There was no need for Asher to mention the conditions.

The cadet looked at Asher and nodded, knowing exactly what he had in mind.

They would split the rewards according to contributions, which was obvious to the cadet: Asher would do all the heavy lifting while they collected everything from the village and then split the loot.

It was crucial to go to the village.

Only then would supplies for the whole group be enough for a few days before they ran out.

"Right."

Asher nodded as he walked towards the cadet.

"Come on, we'd better get there before nightfall."

I briefly looked up at the sky.

It was noon, and getting to the other side of the lake would take a few hours.

If you stay, I won't stop, and the loot will be mine alone.

The cadet quickly spoke up.

"Follow him, if anyone stays behind, we won't wait for them."

"..."

Although some seemed hesitant, they agreed.

Anyway, they all understood one thing that they would keep in mind for the rest of the day.

The cadet in front would do everything, while they would just carry the loot.

So, the cadets nodded and began to move in line. Hours passed and they finally reached the village, but by then night had fallen.

Asher decided to wait a few hours before acting, planning to make a scene with plenty of light in the middle of the darkness...