Perfect Response

Lucas gritted in rage as he saw the face of Anjie.

Anjie used to be a good girl. She was quite funny and was very kind to him. She also likes to stick around him all day long, as if her world just revolved around him.

At least, that was what Lucas thought before.

At this moment, Lucas glared at Anjie and the person beside her.

Unsurprisingly, it was Hector, whose hand was holding Anjie's waist intimately.

In an instant, Lucas thought and saw through Anjie's ruse. His conjecture from before was further confirmed. Now that Anjie had found another 'genius' to stick to, she obviously would not be on his side anymore.

What she said earlier was a clear indication that she wanted to oppose Lucas now, perhaps, in a way to please the 'genius' beside her.

If he flared up at this moment, they would just continue with their remarks, and it might escalate into something big.

At this moment, Hector was the school genius. He would be favored and protected by the school, so even if they were in the wrong, the school would only look to the side and make it seem like it was Lucas' fault.

If she succeeded in riling him up, Anjie would rejoice and would successfully integrate herself into Hector's circle completely.

Lucas scoffed inwardly, not planning to play along.

Instead of flaring up, he just found the perfect counter for the current situation.

He looked at the two of them with a smirk. He focused his gaze between the two of them before saying, "I see. Another man's trash is indeed another man's treasure."

He chuckled and turned around coolly, no longer bothering about the dumbfounded gaze of his classmates, not expecting him to respond in that way.

Anjie also froze on the spot.

Hmmpp!

Hector harrumphed and released his grip on Anjie's waist, even pushing her to the side a little bit.

He was actually quite proud earlier, as he managed to snatch Lucas' girlfriend. However, hearing his remarks, Hector did not feel that happy anymore. Instead, he even looked at Anjie as if she were truly another man's trash. 

If he picked her up, wouldn't that mean that he valued Lucas' trash?

Meanwhile, delivering the perfect response, Lucas proceeded to a square where a lot of people were present.

Since today was the day that they would enter the dungeon for the first time, they have already been informed by the teacher that they will gather in the Dungeon Area the moment they arrive at school.

The Dungeon Area was a special area where the school-regulated dungeon was present. According to the school's history that Lucas has read before, the Starlight Academy was established fifteen years ago, and this sole dungeon controlled by the school itself was one of the keys to the school's establishment.

Dungeons had descended all over the world a hundred years ago and were still continuously descending at random intervals at this moment.

The dungeon located in the Dungeon Area was a dungeon that appeared in this area fifteen years ago. After the experts dived into the dungeon, conquered the beasts inside, and thoroughly studied the environment as well as the dungeon's rules, it was finally deemed to be a regulated dungeon.

A regulated dungeon was just another term for a controlled or conquered dungeon. Meaning, the situation inside was thoroughly studied, and the minimum and maximum strengths of the beasts were identified. They would then classify the dungeon into different levels according to the danger it posed to the dungeon divers.

The owner of the school, Mr. Starlight, then bought the rights to the dungeon and finally established the Starlight Academy around it.

In front of Lucas was a huge and towering building. This building was the tallest among all the buildings in the neighborhood, and it was pretty popular as the school-regulated dungeon can be found inside of it.

Two guards were standing at the massive door. Even though they did not summon their grimoire, one look, and it would be easy to tell that they were formidable summoners.

As he arrived at the Dungeon Area, Lucas noticed that they were divided according to their class.

There were four second-year classes in the Starlight Academy, named after the first four letters of the alphabet. 

They were not ranked according to their abilities, and they were just randomly assigned to their respective class, so a genius could be assigned to Class D.

Lucas was a student in Second Year Class B, so he walked forward to join his classmates who arrived earlier than him.

There were a lot of familiar faces around, including the classmates who hurled some snide remarks at him yesterday.

Upon noticing him, some of them even smirked, especially after seeing his weak appearance.

"Look at Lucas' eyes. I think he cried out all night long. His eyebags are literally dropping to his cheekbone."

The others nodded their heads, completely agreeing with the statement.

Lucas ignored them as he found a corner to sit.

Since the teacher was not here yet, he decided to check his grimoire once again just to confirm some information.

Unlike the others that looked metallic and cool, his grimoire cover was brown in color, akin to dirt. It also showed the texture that it was made of dilapidated paper, completely different from the metallic luster that Iron Grade and above grimoires emit.

Lucas ignored the gaze of everyone present as he flipped to the grimoire's first page.

[Name: Lucas Valen

Age: 17

Grimoire Grade: Unranked

Rank: Unranked (0/100 XP)

Spiritual Energy: 50

Beasts: Gentle Dog

]

The first page did not contain that much information. According to what he knew, there would be information later that would pop up at the bottom part of the page, so his profile or information just mostly occupied the top part of the page.

After seeing that there was no new information, Lucas nodded his head and looked at the Gentle Dog's information as well. Seeing the Hellhound Manifestation skill being there, a smile bloomed on his face.

'Stable,' he thought to himself as he retracted the grimoire.

It just so happened that their teacher, Teacher Julian, had already arrived at the scene.

Julian took a glance at Lucas and could not help but shake his head in pity.

Teacher Julian clapped his hands, instantly gathering the attention of the chattering students. His authoritative presence made the crowd quiet down as he stepped forward, his voice calm but firm.

"Alright, Class B, listen up!" he began, sweeping his gaze across the students. "Today is a critical day for all of you. It's your first time diving into the dungeon, and I don't need to tell you how important it is. This is where theory meets reality. The monsters inside won't care about how high your grades are in class or how impressive your theories are during discussions. Out there, it's your skill, your grimoire, and your quick thinking that will keep you alive..."

He proceeded to warn them of the dungeon's danger. Even though it was considered regulated or controlled, there were still beasts inside that could kill anyone if they were not careful. 

He reminded them not to act recklessly, and they must remember to always act with caution and help others if they can.

He also especially reminded them that they must only search for beasts in the periphery area, as the inner and core areas were dangerous places not suitable for their current level.

Julian's eyes scanned the students, making sure they were listening carefully.

"Since you guys know your abilities the best, I won't assign you to teams. Instead, you can form teams of your own with a maximum of five members per team. I've seen talented individuals fail simply because they thought they could do it all alone. You need to trust your classmates and understand that every member of your team has a role to play—whether they're strong or weak in your eyes."

He glanced at Lucas briefly, then turned back to the class. "And remember this: the dungeon has its own rules. Follow your instincts, but follow your training even more. If, at any point, things seem out of control, retreat. The goal today is not just to defeat the beasts but also to come back alive."

Another pause filled the air before he continued, "Your first target inside will be Iron Grade beasts. Some of you might be confident; others might be nervous. That's fine. But just know that the real danger lies in being overconfident or careless."

"Now, are there any questions before we begin?"

The students exchanged glances, most of them too nervous to speak. Julian nodded, satisfied with the silence.

After realizing that the other class teachers also seemed to be done with their instructions, Julian moved his hand and allowed the student to follow him inside the Dungeon Building.

Once inside, Lucas finally saw the appearance of a dungeon personally for the first time in his life.