First time in the dungeon

Lucca's group left the auditorium, and Lucca expressed, "What a disappointment."

Ivy asked, "Why?"

"I wanted to level up and test that so-called dungeon," Lucca replied.

"But that's exactly what we're going to do!" Alice reassured him.

Lucca continued, "But that woman said we can't. It must be an academy order. I don't want to get expelled on the first day."

"Hahaha, you're quite naive!" Ana laughed.

"What?" He was left puzzled, as were Ivy and Nolan.

"That woman is from the Student Council, supposedly the most exemplary students. And for your information, she's in her third year at the academy."

Lucca interrupted and asked, "But what does that have to do with it?"

"Pwe," she sighed, "she said that to delay the progress of the first-year students, even if it's just for a week. They will do anything to slow us down."

Nolan inquired, "Why would they do that?"

"Because if we level up too much, we might take the positions they want in the future." lucca said

"I still don't get it," Ivy admitted.

"Imagine if you join the military and have a higher level than other people, who would earn more merits and promotions?" Ana responded.

Nolan added, "It depends; level isn't everything."

Ana explained, "That's true, but it's rare to find individuals like that. So instead of slowing down the geniuses, they want to delay the common folks. After all, for them, time is everything."

Lucca remarked, "But at the same time, they're indirectly slowing down the geniuses."

"But they are geniuses, so they will eventually surpass them!"

"We're here!" Alice said.

"What! I wasn't even paying attention to the way," Lucca said.

When they arrived, there were two groups coming out of the dungeon, and they were probably from the 2nd or 3rd years.

The one who seemed to be the leader of one of the groups asked, "Has anyone seen them at the academy?" Everyone nodded, indicating that they hadn't.

"The council is becoming more and more useless! Can't even keep the first-year kids from coming to the dungeon on the first day, useless!" he said angrily, teeth clenched.

"Well, it looks like someone's upset," Lucca remarked, overhearing his senior.

"And it won't be just him," Alice added.

"Hey, but we don't have weapons. Are we going to fight barehanded?" Lucca asked.

"I have no problem with that," Ivy said with a smile on her face.

"Don't worry; we have to go to that booth over there, and they'll provide us with weapons," Alice pointed to the wooden booth near the dungeon.

The group approached the booth and encountered an elderly man behind the counter.

"We want to enter the dungeon, and we don't have weapons. Could you provide them for us?" Alice asked.

The old man responded, "First years, right?" The group nodded. "It's quite rare to see first-years on their first day here at the dungeon."

"It is. The seniors do a good job keeping us away from here," Lucca replied.

The old man chuckled, "Ahah, that's true. Go ahead and pick what you like." He opened the door and let the group in.

Lucca entered the booth and thought, 'What a nostalgic feeling!' The booth was small but just the right size for the number of weapons it held. Inside, there were several shelves displaying weapons.

Lucca went to the staff section and noticed that the bonuses provided by the staff were the same. The only difference from one staff to another was its aesthetics.

So, Lucca chose the one that appealed to him the most. It was a staff about 1.40 meters (4'7") in length, made of old wood. Its surface was polished and smooth, and the wood had a natural color in various shades of brown. At the top, there was a precious stone embedded in a wooden setting. The stone was an amethyst crystal with violet tones."

---Information---

Common Wooden Staff

Weapon Attack: 2 Magic

Lucca noticed that Alice had already finished choosing her weapon, so he went to her and said, "These weapons are quite basic!"

Alice gave a slight smile. "They are the most basic weapons you can find in the market."

Shortly after, Ana and Nolan seemed to have made their choices.

"It looks like she's having trouble choosing her weapon," Ana remarked, pointing at Ivy.

Lucca thought to himself, 'I can't let someone with that level of talent choose the wrong weapon.'

"Ivy, choose one of the axes!" he told her.

Ivy was surprised and asked, "Why?" while swaying a longsword in her hand.

"This weapon suits you better! Choose between these two," he said, pointing to the one-handed and two-handed axes.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive!" Ivy chose two one-handed axes.

Afterward, they left, thanked the old man, and headed toward the dungeon. The dungeon appeared to be a tower in ruins with a blue portal in the middle of the entrance. As Lucca saw the portal, he thought to himself, 'Not this again.'

"Alright, we need to enter all at the same time; otherwise, we might appear in different places. So, be careful not to stray too far from the group," Lucca instructed. Everyone nodded in agreement. Lucca took a deep breath and entered the portal along with the group.

As soon as Lucca opened his eyes, they were in a completely different environment. Towering trees with thick branches almost blocked the sunlight from passing through the treetops.

"Okay, let's see how many levels I'll gain."

Lucca 

Heath 112

Vitality: 31

Strength: 31

Agility:31

Stamina: 31

Mana: 31

Magic: 31

Rank: mortal 0 ( level 0) 

Weapons mastery: staff ( level 0)

"OK, let's start moving," Alice said.

"What level of monster are we going to kill?" Lucca asked, already looking at the map.

"I was thinking of going for a level 10 to test things out."

"OK, I think that path over there is easier to traverse," he pointed to a part of the forest.

"It's all the same," Ivy replied.

"Let's go then. I have a good feeling about this area."

They walked for some time until they encountered a level 11 colossal beetle. The beetle stood at 2 meters in height with sharp claws and a massive horn.

---Information---

Colossal Beetle HP: 1600

Alice, who was at the front, raised her hand and crouched down. Everyone followed suit. "Are you ready?" They all nodded in agreement. "OK, Ivy and I will try to draw its attention, and Lucca, Nolan, and Ana, look for openings to attack."

Ivy and Alice moved forward to engage the colossal beetle. Lucca cast a fireball, and Ana shot an arrow.

130 damage

51

The beetle charged at Ivy with its horn, leaving her with no time to react. She quickly placed her axes in front of her. Seeing this, Nolan took advantage and sliced the beetle's hind leg with his dual daggers.

Ivy was thrown backward and hit a tree, while Alice immediately took Ivy's position and sliced one of the beetle's legs. It let out a painful cry and attempted to strike back at Alice, but Lucca unleashed another fireball at its head, and Ana targeted the joints of its hind legs.

The battle continued for about a minute until Ivy dealt the final blow with her two axes to the beetle's head.

"You have defeated the level 11 Colossal Beetle."