Chapter 15 - 'Academy'

"Here, your license. We are preparing for our next dungeon visit, so stay here until the afternoon." Arriving at the guild in the morning, Lukas was greeted by Karen and Noelle.

The two were having coffee on the first floor.

"Thank you." Lukas took his license. It was like a badge from an office, and on it was written his name and his rank. In addition, it also had a photo that Lukas didn't know where Karen had gotten it.

But that didn't matter. At least now he had his license.

He kept it and stayed in the house until the afternoon came. In the meantime, Giovan and Ember had also arrived at the place and had something to eat before the meeting started. It was just like the first meeting. A table was set up, and the curtains were drawn.

On the wall, The projector showed the dungeon that the guild would visit.

"Our next goal is to get the materials from these monsters." On the screen, a dark-furred wolf appeared.

"Just that?" Lukas asked.

"Yes. The association is paying a large bounty for its claws and fangs. They are used for medicine. Don't ask me how that works." Karen replied.

"I see."

"Right. Noelle and I will go out to buy some things and take care of some important matters about the guild. Just the three of you will be enough." Karen said as she smiled.

Giovan and Ember didn't seem to be against it, so Lukas didn't complain either.

Next, Karen began to show the dungeon structure to the three of them. It was like the previous dungeon, but it was a little smaller. It had a total of 3 floors. The whole dungeon was infested with canine monsters.

On the second floor, you would find wild wolves the size of a rottweiler, and on the second floor, you would find the wolves that were your targets. Dark-furred wolves that could be up to one meter tall.

"Lukas, you may think this monster is dangerous, but don't worry, their attacks are dull and simple to deal with. Usually, they use their claws and teeth. They can't use magic."

"I wasn't worried."

"I see..." Karen smiled a little awkwardly.

"Giovan, I leave this 'mission' under your leadership. And Ember, obey your brother."

"..." Ember looked away.

Then the three of them got up and got ready. But before they left, Karen approached Lukas and handed him something wrapped around a large amount of cloth.

"Here, use this." She smiled.

Lukas removed the cloth and found a dagger.

Its handle was gold, and its blade black.

"A dagger?"

"Yes. You don't have a weapon, do you? I don't know if you have any experience using this, but I'm sure it will help."

Lukas wrapped the cloth around the dagger again and smiled. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

So, Lukas left and then got into the car.

####

[ 14:25 - Lukas, where are you? Could you go to the market for me? ] As he was heading towards the dungeon, Lukas received a message from his mother. He quickly answered her. [ 14:27 - I'm at a friend's house. I'll stop by the market if you want. What do you need me to buy? ]

[ 14:29 - Bring meat and also some tomatoes. Also, bring a gallon of milk. ]

[ 14:31 - Okay, I'll do that. ]

[ 14:33 - Thanks. Come home early. ]

[ 14:34 - Don't worry. ]

"Who are you talking to?" Distracted, Lukas didn't notice Ember looking at him.

"With my mother. She wants me to stop by the market."

"There's no market in this area."

"No problem, I'll stop by the market on my way home."

"..."

So, they arrived at the dungeon.

This time the dungeon was far away from the rest of the buildings. This time, the "deserted" radius around the dungeon could reach 400 meters. Inside and outside the area, many guards were protecting the place.

As they approached, a guard stopped them as before.

Lukas and the others handed their permits, and Giovan also showed the guard the permission to enter the dungeon.

After the guard released all three, the three went towards the dungeon and entered the first floor. The guards seemed quite surprised by Lukas' presence. He wondered if he really did look so young.

And, at the moment, there were other Hunters inside the dungeon. Not that this was a problem.

####

Lukas and the other two left the dungeon a few hours later. It had been easier than expected. Lukas had done nothing but watch the other two do most of the work. The most he had done was to use his dagger to cut the throats of some wolves.

He didn't have much experience using one, so he killed very few of them. But Lukas didn't care about that. He only cared about 'sucking' the souls of all the wolves that killed.

While Giovan and Ember were tearing the claws and fangs off the wolves, Lukas took the opportunity to suck the blue flame out of all of them.

There were many, so he got more than 200 soul points when he was finished. 232, to be exact. The number of points the wolves gave was higher than the poisonous lizards because they were stronger monsters.

Lukas was very excited when he remembered that he could now use the [ Academy ].

So when Lukas arrived at the guild, he quickly said goodbye to everyone and headed towards his home. Before he got back, he didn't forget to stop by the market. His mother had sent him the money, but it didn't matter since he hadn't spent a single dollar of the 400 he had received a few days ago.

After getting home and showered, Lukas locked his room and quickly called the system.

"System. I want to know how I get to use the academy system."

[ To use the academy system, wish for it. An interactive message will appear so you can confirm your purchase. ]

"Purchase? Fine." Lukas wished the academy was open. Then a message appeared in front of him. Just like when he took the soul of a monster, he had two options to choose from.

[ Would you like to buy a ticket to the academy? ]

[ This will cost you 100 soul points ]

[ Y/N ]

Lukas, without a second thought, selected the first option.

When he selected it, something began to appear in the middle of his room. It was like a whirlwind, but it did not produce any wind. The 'whirlwind' extended and created a sort of bluish coloured portal.

Lukas swallowed his saliva and then took a step forward.

When he touched the portal, he felt every hair on his body shiver.

He took a few more steps, and his vision went dark for two seconds before it lit up again. On the other side, he found a Japanese style tatami. It was a large 200 square meter room wholly filled with equipment.

"The system wasn't lying when it said it was a [ Academy ] system."

Lukas laughed, approaching a piece of weight lifting equipment. He lay down and then held the bars.

[ Welcome to the academy system ]

[ Chosen Training - Weight lifting ]

[ Quest - Do 10 lifts before the time limit ]

[ Reward - 5 strength points ]

[ Punishment applied if the user fails ]

[ Time remaining - 00:40...00:39 ]

"Huh?"