1-star.
2-stars.
3-stars.
They were generally safe for Normal Grade individuals who existed within the middle of the pact and whatnot. Which is why they were purely reserved for students who goes under the academy teachings.
However, the jump from 3-stars and 4-star is far too magnifying for a Normal Grade to believe they could attempt one.
Being an Intermediate-Grade was necessary.
Falling into the other side, Grace fell from above. Quickly regaining his senses, Grace looked around him.
Anne and Ivan.
"Shit!" He cursed quietly.
The teleportation split them up horribly. Landing on a rough terrain, Grace crashed into Anne and Ivan, all three of them emitting a groan of pain.
"Guys!" Grace got up and shook both of them. Their eyes rolled open, their gaze extending to the area that they had crash-landed into.
"What--!" Ivan got up immediately and observed their surroundings. The skies - dark and cloudy - hung over them like a black trench-coat. There were endless trees behind them, however, there was something far more insidious and profound in front of them.
A bridge that led to a dilapidated town, almost victorian. The bricks were shoddy and grayish, and the atmosphere had a distinct smell of smoke.
"We got split up," Grace whispered. "That assistant professor got dragged into the gate, as well." It was unfortunate, but considering that the dungeon gate turned out to become a 4-star dungeon--it was a bit more reassuring.
However...
"It was blue before... a very light one. It couldn't have been more than a star. To jump from that to a 4-star--is this an abnormal occurrence?" Grace rubbed his temples.
"We're... a bit down on our luck..." Anne sighed, fearfully looking up front. She could have never expected herself - or any of the students - to fall into a dungeon.
Grace leaned against the side of a tree, observing their surroundings.
"Should we stay still?" He asked them. As long as they didn't recklessly do anything hasty, then the possibility of stalling for time so other teachers could arrive sweep in to save the day existed.
On the other hand...
"What about the others?" Ivan looked at the village. "If we got separated, then the other could have been dropped at any part of the dungeon." Grace couldn't deny it.
Just as they were dropped outside of the village, the others could have been dropped inside a torture chamber or something more dangerous than their current circumstances.
"They have the assistant professor," Anne jutted in. "Shouldn't we believe in his strength?"
That's the problem--
"We can't... not necessarily," Grace looked beyond them, much further into the victorian village. There was a castle at the horizon. It was faint, but one could clearly see the contours of it.
"Even for a low-level Intermediate-Grade... this is something that'll be hard even for him," Grace confessed admittedly.
As I recall... that character - Ray - is a commoner that grew up with poverty. And he was never taught at a prestigious academy. This meant, while he progressed to an Intermediate-Grade... 9... his dungeon experience may be lackluster. Grace couldn't help but question why it had to be him of all people that came to rescue them.
Grace turned to Ivan.
"Do you truly want to venture into it?"
Ivan balled up his hands into powerful fists.
"Absolutely," he responded with resolve. "Even though it may be too dangerous for us and that assistant professor may not need our help--the possibility of his and Rufus' and Albert's circumstance being worst than ours... it can not be ignored."
This...
Right... I almost forgot--this is who Ivan is. In the end, even though he craves strength and is determined to gain the resources to further his abilities, he is still ruthlessly kind and selfless to a fault. Something that I am not. Which was why he was so adamant on finding a way to change the ending.
Grace looked over at Anne. Her eyes still stung with a hint of fear, but she soon shook her head to the left and right, enforcing her eyes to hold a familiar intensity.
She nodded her head.
"Very well," Grace said to Ivan. "But you'll have to call the shots." The latter nodded his head. This would be good experience for him, Grace chalked up. He would be leading many parties to battles, after all.
This was necessary.
~~~
"Can't believe I got stuck with you..." Albert muttered to Rufus. The red-head merely glared at him in response.
"You'll have to deal with me for now... this shit is too serious." When they fell into the separate dimension, they had fell into a stream of water that was directly under a bridge that led into the dark castle.
"I can't believe that assistant got caught by the guards," Albert gritted his teeth. Ray had been with them, as well. But he had fell directly on top of the bridge rather than the stream of water.
However, he had hit his head hard on the bridge. So, while he wasn't knocked out, the guards that were guarding the bridge and come towards him and struck his arms and legs with swords.
Which allowed for the nearby guards to detain him and drag him someplace elsewhere. Still floating atop the water, Rufus and Albert dragged themselves out of it, situating themselves underneath the bridge in order to not be seen by any wandering guards late into the night.
"Fuck... getting split up is such a pain the ass," Albert muttered to himself. He then turned to Rufus, who was trying to gain an angle which would let him have a tad-bit better view.
"What are the chances that the others are in the castle?" Rufus asked.
"Probably... 50%. 'Cause they are either in there or they aren't."
Rufus merely dead-panned.
"But don't you think it's probably better to search the village first for any items that can help us?" Rufus gestured to the village that was further down the road and on a much lower altitude.
"You're right."
Though their clothes were still wet, their eyes carefully wandered around the area and stealthily slinked through the underpass.
~~~
Pain.
Pain.
Pain.
Pain.
"This will do it," a foreign voice said. Ray swung his eyes open as a burning sensation began to spread all along his body.
"AGGGHHHHHHHH!"
Chained to a wall, Ray saw two individuals clad in iron armor. Their faces were neatly covered by a helmet, though the entirety of the armor had hints of rust. And behind them were rusted bars and on the corner of the room stood a torch that was attached to the decayed bricks. On his stomach area, the men were branding him with burn marks, torching his body with engravings.
More yells, more screams of agony began to spread all throughout the room. He budged his arms, trying to escape, but to no avail.
These cuffs... AGHHHHHH!
They were blocking any and all mana usage.
The guards stopped using the rusted iron brander and instead switched to something more intense. They unsheathed their swords from their scabbard and begun to slowly poke him.
"This is your fate."
"For entering without the permission of our Lord."
Behind their iron helmets were the smiles of the deranged. Their mouths hung open and their eyes filled with tragedy.
"For the Lord!"
"For the Lord!"
At the same beat of their heart, the two guards engraved their respective engravings on his ribcage. As the pain slowly hung over him, his eyes drooped and his vision begun to blur.
"Please... Please..."
Dungeons were unpredictable.
Even the strong can be subjected to torture.
And even the weak can be saved.