First Dungeon (5)

Central Tower on the Island

"As expected, the 9 clan bastards are doing pretty good." A raspy voice spoke out into the silence.

Robin was seated at a window at the top of the central tower on the island, his legs hanging out as his sharp eyes took in the events happening throughout the island.

Evelynn Isolde was freezing a large section of the river and massacring any monster or beast that dared to come near it.

Julius Crimson was indiscriminately burning large swathes of the forest as he walked through, incinerating the enraged monsters that attacked him.

Lionel Lionheart, surrounded by a fierce golden aura, each swing of his sword decapitating many beasts from the horde charging at him in the grasslands.

Many other students were battling as well but his gaze kept going to the students whose battling prowess exceeded common sense.

Swallow turned from the multiple screens of drone footage she was watching to look at the man dressed in red before adjusting her goggles on top of her head while flaring her wings.

"You shouldn't call them that." She cautioned him.

"Why? It's not as if anybody would hear it." Robin retorted before tilting his head backward at an unnatural angle and smiling sharply, "You don't care what I call those damn brats, right Captain Merlin?"

"I have no opinion. I'm just here to do my assigned job." The robed person replied in a monotone voice. "It seems some students got trapped in the spider lair. I'll go get them if you prepare the portal to send them back to the academy."

"Wait. I'll fly us over to save you some energy." Swallow told Captain Merlin before walking over.

As she got directly behind Captain Merlin, her arm quickly darted forward as she wrapped her arm around Captain Merlin's neck. Grabbing her knife, she immediately sliced across the throat. The knife bounced off a barrier, and as Swallow began struggling to restrain Captain Merlin, her wings flared out for support, the hood of the robe came off exposing a shock of gray hair and brown skin. Tightening her grip around Captain Merlin's throat, Swallow wrapped her knife in mana and slashed at the throat again but before it was deflected by an arm as Captain Merlin smashed the back of her head into her face, breaking her nose.

"Argh!" Swallow screamed as blood began streaming down and her eyes began watering

Clutching her bleeding arm, Captain Merlin cried for help, "Robin, help me, she's gone fucking cra-"

Robin immediately clamped a hand over Captain Merlin's mouth, sinking his sword into her stomach and slicing upwards before pulling out the blade and slashing her neck for good measure. As the blood splattered across him and her body slowly fell to the floor with an expression of betrayal, he gave her an expressionless look.

"Why?" Captain Merlin's voice gurgled before her body fell still.

"For Survival." Swallow whispered as she began resetting her nose and drinking a potion.

"For Survival." Robin echoed before grabbing the body and dragging it into a corner, a streak of blood trailing after him.

Glancing at the healing face of Swallow, he ordered, "Do better next time."

"My bad."

He pulled a device from his pocket and pressed a button before attaching it to the wall. The device emitted a strong light before an invisible shield of mana expanded from the tower and slowly surrounded the entire island.

"Well, that should do it. The barrier should stop all outside portaling and interference until we're done. It will slowly begin stopping the outside transmission of footage as well" He dusted his hands off.

"And we're sure none of the students will notice? Or even the outside professors?" Swallow asked. "They're pretty strong."

"The only one who's sensitive enough to notice anything is that Nova brat and he got restricted by his own clan master. That's why we moved the plan up. As for the professors, all we have to do is give our daily reports and tell them the students got antsy and began destroying the drones. By the time they notice anything is wrong, their little test will be over. If students cause any trouble while we're testing things out, kill the ones that can be killed and avoid the ones we shouldn't touch for now." Robin stared out the window with a cold expression.

"And Captain Merlin?" Swallow glanced at the dead woman.

"An unfortunate accident when rescuing students. An unexpectedly strong monster evolved and took her out while she went in solo. We were too late to stop her from being devoured."

"Tragic."

"Isn't it? You go get the kids in the spider lair and take them to the lighthouse to feed that thing. We have to test how successful 'that' is. I'll go scout around for stragglers and check in on our insiders. We'll circle back in the evening."

"Got it." Swallow, spread her wings as she stood by the window, prepped to take off.

"And remember. Act professional. We're supposed to be protecting the kids as heroes after all." Glancing at the crazed look on Robin's face as his entire body was covered in blood that was darker than his clothes, Swallow shrugged responding.

"Make sure you clean up before you head out. No one will believe you're here to help them when you look like that."

Done saying her piece, she leaped off the tower, her wings expanding to their full wingspan as she glided down.

***

POV Asani Martin

"What the hell is that?"

I paused while rinsing my blood-soaked body and looked up at the giant rock monster that had Lina Meraki on its shoulder.

"Oh, this? It's a pet rock. Don't worry, my Golem is very obedient." She patted the thing's head before smiling at me.

"Grrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!" The 'pet rock' opened its jaw and screamed, causing the ground to shake and all the fishes in the river to dart away.

Asani: "..." This was a pet rock? Why did it look like a monster he had seen in the monster encyclopedia?

Seeing her still smiling expression and taking in the blood splattered around the things feet and club, I shrugged.

"That's fine but it can't camp inside with us."

"…Fair. Do I want to know why you're covered in blood?"

"Practice. Want more details?" I gave her a soft smile, chuckling as she shuddered.

"Pass."

"Good call. Come eat. I have some food grilling on the fire." I told her as I dunked my body once more in the river, roughly scrubbing everything before stepping out and crafting a towel to drape over my body.

Quickly walking ahead, I led her up a moderately sized rocky outcrop to the cave that I had found tucked away. It was located close to a small stream and bordered the forest on one side with open grassland on the other. When I climbed to the top, I had a relatively unobstructed view of the surroundings.

Inside the cave was a cozy camp set up utilizing the supplies I had brought with me.

In the center of the cave was a magical campfire. Over the fire was a camping grill with a couple of food items wrapped in foil whose smell filled the cave and made my stomach grumble.

Further inside, I had placed a cozy tent for myself that had my sleeping bag and pack.

As Lina took in the interior, she lightly commented.

"Cozy. Rather than on an island for survival, you look like you're camping for fun."

"I know." I grinned before grabbing a plate and utensils and taking the food off the grill. I had made garlic roast chicken, roasted potatoes, and steamed veggies. As she stared at me wide-eyed, I pointed a drumstick at her as I ate.

"Sit and eat. And let me know what you've experienced. We have to plan for tomorrow."

Lina: "….." I watched as she shook her head before dropping her pack with a thud and making herself a plate.

"What exactly is in there?" I asked curiously. I had filled my bag with enough food and supplies to fill an army for a month and it wasn't even heavy to carry. Hers was an even higher model and yet it made sounds as it was dropped.

"You want to know?" she asked as she delicately bit into the chicken.

"Yes."

"… You're supposed to say no."

"I'm curious. Tell me." I continued eating and stared at her intently.

"I guess you've already seen my golem." She tilted her head downward.

"Yes?"

"It's for one of my gifts. Using monster cores, I can create creatures using different materials. The stronger the material and core, the stronger the creature will be. The one outside is based on a troll core and made from rocks."

"Monster cores?" I tilted my head as I asked. I knew of mana crystals but monster cores was a new term to me.

"Yeah, some monsters have things inside then called cores. The stronger they are, the more likely they are to have them. I actually got a couple today which is quite surprising since the monsters here are pretty weak."

Asani: "...." Remembering the gorilla that had backhanded him into the tree, he didn't know if he could agree that it was weak. Sure enough, 9 clan children were built differently.

"Is that a good thing?"

Seeing my blank expression, her eyes widened, "Don't tell me you didn't search the monsters you killed for cores?"

"No? Should I?"

"You! You're a total waste of money! Yes, you should search for them! It can be sold on the market and I will even trade you for points if you find any good ones!"

"Oh. Sorry. Back to your pack, why is it heavy?" At my insincere apology, she could only sigh.

"I ended up packing several tons of different raw materials to prepare for any situation."

"Tons?"

"Tons." She confirmed, "My pack reduces it to a couple hundred pounds so it's not a big deal carrying it around." She shrugged before continuing to eat.

"Interesting. How many can you make? What's the strength of the one outside? How do you control them? Can I see you make one?" I began asking curiously. This was my first time seeing something like this and I wanted to know if I could replicate the skill.

"Hey! Not too many questions. We're still competitors by the end of the day. Besides, I've shared mine. You share yours. What exactly is your gift?"

"I can create things with my gift." I held out my hand and crafted a gun, willed it away, and crafted a bat, then a brick.

"A variable crafting gift? That's amazing. Are you limited to weapons and how long do they last?" Lina asked, her eyes gleaming.

"Around 30 minutes. And I mainly create weapons and common items." I smoothly lied before continuing to eat my food. Even if we were in a partnership, there was no need to tell her the full extent of my skills.

"Tsk. That's too bad. If you could create permanent items, that would be overpowered. You could make anything you want and sell it for a lot of money with minimal costs. My clan would snap up somebody like you no matter the terms you demanded."

"An unlimited Meraki check? That would be the dream." I chuckled before becoming serious.

"I saw your ranking on the scoreboard. Met anything interesting?"

"I got attacked by a couple of monsters and students but it was no big deal. I did pass out those flyers you forced me to make and have my golem as my identifying landmark. You wanted to talk strategy?"

"I plan on sticking around this area and hunting anything that shows up. If I come across people who are peaceful and desperate, I'll trade for points. If they come in trouble, I'll take care of them one way or another. I can switch off with you throughout the day if you want and split the points in half or you can do your own thing. I have traps around to protect this spot but just in case I suggest taking your stuff with you."

"Traps?"

"Fun toys are hidden all around as deterrence," I smirked.

"Traps????! What if I hit one by accident?"

At her incredulous expression, I laughed. "Chill out, I saw you coming from a mile away and cleared the ones in your path. I'd keep your pet rock close tonight though. I'll show you where they are tomorrow."

"…..Fine." Lina reluctantly agreed and finished the rest of her meal in silence. As I began cleaning up, she asked

"Between the two of us, who's keeping watch in case we get attacked?"

"You take the first watch and I'll grab the second one."

"Okay. Then I'll do that?" she got up and began heading outside.

"Speaking of which, did you sense anything weird today?" I asked her, wanting to understand the odd feeling that I felt today.

"Weird how?"

"It kind of felt like a wave of mana brushed over me. I'm not sure how to explain it."

"Are you sure it's not just a leftover feeling from being portaled? We were sent quite a distance from the academy."

"Maybe that's it then. Good night." I waved at her before heading into my tent to sleep.

The night passed pretty peacefully. When Lina woke me up, I went on a stroll around the hill, taking care of anything I spotted and my required crimes far away so she wouldn't hear anything.

When Lina woke up the next morning, it was to me frying up some bacon and eggs.

"Sniff. Sniff. Why do I smell blood?" she glanced at me suspiciously

"I had to take care of some monsters while you slept. If you still smell blood, I'll wash up again." I replied with a yawn.

"Really? I didn't see anything when I was on watch."

"Lucky you. Eat up, we have a guest approaching." I turned to look outside and spotted Evelyn Isolde of all people stomping over. Quickly crafting a shotgun, I stood at the mouth of the cave and stared at her. To be honest, she looked horrible, like something a cat dragged in. Her ice-blue hair hung limply down her back and was littered with leaves and twigs while her eyes had bags under them. Her white body suit had a large brown stain on it and even from the distance that she stood, I could smell a foul smell radiating from her.

As she caught a glimpse of me, the scowl on her face deepened.

"Where is Lina? I know she's here since I can see her golem. I'm here to trade with her not talk with irrelevant trash like you." Evelynn held up a flyer with an unwilling expression on her face.

"No," I told her with a smile.

"What?" Her enraged voice rang out.

"I said no. Anybody but you can trade with us Evelynn." I smiled coldly before shooting an explosive bullet at her feet, watching her leap backward to avoid it.

"If I catch you near me. Don't blame me for not being polite. Now fuck off."

"You think this will stop me black rank? I'll rip that watch from your hands and take all your supplies then since you don't want to go the peaceful route." she snarled as multiple spears of ice began forming around her.

"Graaaaaaaaaaaaah!" a loud voice thundered out and the ground began shaking as the golem charged before Evelynn, slamming its club on the ground.

"Why are you always picking a fight with her?" Lina sighed as she stood beside me.

"She's always picking a fight with me."

"Meraki!" Evelynn yelled out when she caught sight of Lina.

"Yes hello, Evelynn. I would say it's a surprise but seeing as you're here for me, I guess it's not."

"Are you going to let him talk to me that way?"

"Since you don't want to talk to people like a human being yes. Go away Evelynn. I won't trade with you."

"I should have known a weakling like you would team up with that loser. Trash."

"Watch your mouth Evelynn, before I rip it off. Besides, who came looking for who for supplies? Leave." Lina replied coldly.

As if to enunciate her words, the golem roared, slamming its club on the ground again and I shot another bullet directly at Evelynn's feet causing her to jump back once more.

She glanced between the golem and Lina and me before making the ice spears disappear.

"Fine! This isn't over black rank. Wait for me. I'll be back and even that Meraki girl can't protect you. After all, there are no eyes in the forest. It would be unfortunate if something tragic happened to you." She threatened while dragging her finger across her throat.

"I'll be waiting you crazy obsessed bitch." I replied with a smile, pumping the shotgun.

"Peh."

She spat in my direction before turning and walking away.

Turning to Lina, I asked.

"You know her. What exactly is her problem with me? I don't think I've done anything to warrant this attention."

"Evelynn like all Isolde's are….prideful, especially to those they think are beneath them which is almost everybody. Compared to the rest of her family, she's actually pretty tame as the rest of them would have killed you and just paid whatever restitution they had to since you have no notable family or backing. You should have cried and begged for her forgiveness after the first altercation. Since you didn't, she's probably going to continue until she breaks you. Either you quit the academy or beg her on your knees for forgiveness. Which one will it be?" Lina glanced at me curiously.

"Neither," I coldly responded. After all, what was I begging for? I hadn't done anything wrong and if that was how her family operated, that was completely messed up. I truly hated bastards like her.

"Then I suggest you be careful while on the island. She sounds like she wants to kill you and I don't know how closely those heroes are watching each of us. We might even want to move from here."

Thinking about Evelynn's final words, I began thinking about what I could do about her. Although I wasn't strong enough to kill her and get away with it, there had to be a way to fuck her up and knock her down a peg. I didn't plan on continuing to deal with her nonsense without retaliating.

As I looked up, a flash of something caught my eye.

For a while now, I had spotted objects flying around in the air. I had originally thought they were birds, but as they flew closer and the lens caught the sunlight, I saw that they were drones. Seeing them, a thought came to my mind.

"Lina. You said you can make any type of golem right? Can you make one that can fly? I need you to catch something for me."

She followed my gaze before speaking.

"A drone?"

"Yeah. They've been buzzing around for a while now and seem to be flying in a grid pattern. Can you catch the ones in this area without breaking them?"

"I'm pretty sure that's what the professors are using to watch us. Why do you want it?"

"Evidence." I gave her a cold smile. Whether I would be destroying or collecting the evidence for later use remained to be seen. It all depended on how Evelynn acted.

If Evelynn wanted to come and kill me, she shouldn't blame me for what would happen to her afterward.

Seeing my expression, Lina sighed. "I can but you owe me for the core."

"Add it to my tab. I'll pay later."

"This tab of yours is growing extra long. I don't want you to die before I get my money's worth." She grumbled even as she walked to her pack.

"I'll give you a down payment with potions now. And I'll pay the rest later. Just grab them for me. I'll be back, I have something to do."

"Do I want to know what you'll be doing?"

"I recommend you stay in the cave or go to another location where I can meet you later. I plan on adding lots of pleasant surprises around and relaxing here. If Evelynn wants to come back, I have to give her a proper welcome."

"Asani, you plan on fighting her? Can I just say that's immensely stupid of you!! The rank difference alone is crazy and there's no professor to stop her this time." Lina stared at me intensely.

"It's not a fight. I'm simply going to welcome her if she comes back." It would be an explosive welcome that she had never seen before.

"Asani!"

"This is all just banking on her coming back. if she doesn't then it will be fine. Leave if you need to. Just get me the drones before you do."

As we stared at each other in silence for a moment, she glared once more before turning away.

"....I'll get the drones for you. Make sure you give me my potions and I'll head out. I don't support such foolishness."

"Fine by me. Remember, undamaged is best."

"Tsk."