As with any other dungeon in Aurum Academy City, all dungeons form along the mountain range that surrounds the city to the north and west.
The dungeon before us was, as Enrick had stated, a stone-gate dungeon.
On the way here, Enrick had given us a few more details.
Apparently, it was a close-spaced dungeon filled with green monsters like goblins and orcs.
The most worrying part was that if orcs were considered regular enemies in this dungeon, then the boss would likely be something even more powerful.
Goblins weren't a problem for me. I'd fought them countless times before.
Orcs, however—while I'd fought them before—it had always been one-on-one, never against a group.
At first, I was a little worried about the difficulty, but Enrick reassured me this was considered normal for most second-year classes.
That did calm me a bit, but it didn't change the fact that I wasn't supposed to be facing this kind of difficulty in my first year.
Which meant I would have to rely on the others to finish off the enemies I couldn't kill on my own.
Once inside, Agatha and Vi did their usual routine—setting up a divine room and an occult room in the gate room.
The gate room itself was dark and spacious, every small sound echoing against the walls.
Eusta let out a high-pitched whistle. "This one sure is a big dungeon!"
"It was one of the last available to us, which means no one else wanted to explore it," Enrick sighed.
One of the main differences between close-spaced and open-spaced dungeons—aside from the obvious difference—is that close-spaced ones tend to be easier and shorter.
You won't normally see a close-spaced dungeon with a Lapis Lazuli or Ruby gate.
The reverse is also true—open-spaced dungeons almost never come with a stone-gate difficulty.
That's not to say high-difficulty close-spaced dungeons or low-difficulty open-spaced dungeons don't exist—they're just uncommon.
"How many floors does this one have?" Vi asked as she began setting up a mini camp in the gate room.
"Judging by the mana in the gate, the grey hats wrote it should have between six and eight floors."
Grey hats were workers from the Adventurer's Guild—which, in Aurum Academy City, is the Green Tower.
Their job was to enter a dungeon and gather basic info: monster types on the first floor, dungeon type, and the expected length based on mana readings.
What they recorded would later be posted in the guild so adventurers knew what they were getting into.
They'd been mentioned in the game, but their purpose was never explained!
I'd only learned about them in my dungeon exploration class.
"Alen, can you keep an eye on the main paths?" Agatha asked.
"Sure."
This gate room had three exits—one to the south, one to the east, and one to the southeast.
Despite the darkness, my vision was clear as day thanks to my class passive.
The eastern path ended in a drop-through hole.
The southern path narrowed until it would be impassable for someone like Enrick in heavy armor—or for Eusta, given his bulk.
That left only the southeastern path. Unlike the others, it led to another room—and I could sense monsters there.
I turned and motioned for the closest teammate to come over.
Vi approached, holding a mana potion in one hand and her staff in the other.
"What is it, Alen?" she asked calmly.
I explained the only viable path was the southeastern one.
"However, there's a group of goblin riders there," I added, pointing forward as I drew one of my daggers.
"Th-there are…?"
"Yeah…"
She leaned forward, squinting into the dark, trying to see what I saw.
"Your eyes are amazing, Alen!" she finally said, straightening and patting my shoulder.
"To see better than a demi-human—that's incredible!" She gave me a thumbs-up before heading back to the others.
I stood at the edge of the spell's range, shaking my head.
The class passive was better than I thought…
After a moment, the group gathered behind me.
"Ready, little man?" Eusta asked.
"We'll explore every part of this dungeon and take as much as we can!" Agatha declared, holding something that looked like a portable lamp.
"What's that?"
"We finally saved enough to buy a portable spell lamp," Eusta boasted, spinning his axes.
"Portable… spell lamp?"
"You've never heard of it?"
I shook my head, still watching the path to avoid ambush.
"It's a lamp that can hold the emit light or floating torch spell," Enrick explained, opening a small back door on the lamp—just big enough to fit a hand through.
"You cast the spell inside, and you can carry it around. You can even pull this lever to drop plates and block the light," he said eagerly.
Agatha demonstrated, flicking the lever so metal plates slid down to cover the glass.
"I don't think it'll be that useful here," I said, eyeing the darkness ahead.
"Using a light source might be like putting a giant target on our backs."
Agatha clicked her tongue and shook her finger at me. "We thought about that!" she said smugly. The others nodded.
"Neat. So what's the countermeasure?"
"The plates that cover the light source!"
…Uhh.
"Keep in mind we can't see as well as you, Alen," Vi added.
"I guess it could help once the fighting starts…" It had its uses, just… maybe not enough to justify buying it.
Then again, I wasn't the target audience.
"Alright!" Agatha clapped sharply. "Let's start exploring, or we'll be here until tomorrow—and I don't want that!"
"How many monsters are down that path?" Enrick asked, readying his lance and shield.
"Two goblin riders and three regular goblins."
"So… five goblins and two dire wolves?" Eusta confirmed, taking position alongside Enrick at the front.
"I can immobilize the wolves," Agatha said, opening the lamp's back door.
Vi reached in, starting to cast a spell.
"Wait!" I interrupted. "I can probably lure them here for a surprise attack. They can't see past the divine and occult rooms, right? You all hide behind them and strike once the goblins get close."
"That's… not a bad idea," Agatha said, tapping her chin.
"Are you sure, little man?" Eusta asked, concerned.
"I'm sure. I can see better than the goblins and blend into the dark with this cloak."
"The cloak does make for great camouflage," Agatha murmured.
"What about the wolves? You can hide in the dark, but they can still smell you," Vi pointed out.
"That's the only part that worries me. But I'm pretty sure I can pull it off."
"If you're confident, we'll follow your plan," Enrick said, staring into the darkness.
"Enrick? You sure?" Vi asked.
"I trust him," the armored man replied, still standing at the edge of the gate room within the protective spells.
"Thanks, Enrick." I smiled before stepping into the darkness.
Once I stepped out of the gate room, I felt the protective spells fade away.
I moved down the dark, rocky path, each step careful and deliberate.
When I was far enough that the group wouldn't hear me, I began chanting the incantations for my spells—reserving them for later use.
Strong Sandstorm.
Neutral Wind Hammer.
Quick Feather Dart.
Strong Breeze Step.
Neutral Sandstorm.
Quick Whisper Current.
With all six spells reserved, I chanted the incantation for another—Breeze Step.
Even with one already reserved, I could still chant and immediately cast a new one without consuming the stored spell.
It seemed the reserved spells operated on a separate track from newly cast ones.
I assumed this was because the reserved spells had already consumed my mana; they were essentially "preloaded" and ready to fire. Casting a new spell didn't affect that reserve, since it was an entirely separate casting.
With my footsteps now drastically silenced, I could move much faster.
From slow, deliberate steps, I shifted to quick, light movements, making my way toward the monsters' room. My cloak let my body vanish into the thick shadows, rendering me invisible even to a monster's eyes.
Once I neared the room, I stopped—close enough to observe, yet still perfectly hidden in the darkness.
The goblins seemed to be hoarding a treasure chest. Two of them—clearly the leaders—rode atop dire wolves, while the regular goblins practically drooled at the sight of the chest.
Both dire wolves had their heads buried deep in the belly of a larger monster, tearing into its flesh with savage hunger.
They were so focused on their meal it was as if they hadn't eaten in weeks.
The regular goblins were equally distracted by the chest they were guarding.
The only ones maintaining any vigilance were the goblin riders.
Unlike the regular goblins, these two seemed less feral—more deliberate in their movements as they scanned their surroundings.
Even so, they never noticed me, not even when I had first entered the dungeon.
I crouched behind the corpse of another monster, using it as cover while I assessed the room.
It was clear the goblins had fought and defeated these fallen creatures.
From their remains, the monsters appeared to be reptilian in nature—scaly hides, clawed limbs, and long tails.
As for the treasure, the goblins were brutish and impatient in their attempts to open it.
They bit, kicked, punched, and clawed at the chest in a desperate effort to force it open.
This was the perfect time to lure them back to the gate room.