Kresha finished his speech, addressing a few more things to the students, one of them being the fact none of them were to leave the dungeon until it's king was destroyed.
A king in question was a beast that held the heart of a dungeon. If killed the entire dungeon would start to dilapidate and eventually collapse under a long timeframe, the portal disappearing with it.
After explaining that bit, Kresha cleared his throat and spoke again, "Enter into the dungeon now, either in groups or singly, whichever your capacity can allow."
Many of the students did not need an invitation twice, immediately breaking up into groups of three to ten.
Especially the lower ranks who were flocking over to the A and B ranks.
Meanwhile the higher ranked Students did not bother about making a team. According to the Headmaster, they were to clear the dungeon on their own, and only help groups that needed it.
A way the academy wants to showcase the strength of their students I guess.
Drake stood silently gripping the hilt of his sword as he studied the portal in wait. 'Am I nervous?' he asked himself staring at his hands to see if they were shaking.
Apparently they were not.
He was not scared, though there was a feeling that stood uncomfortably in his chest no matter how much he tried to reassure himself to get rid of it.
Was it anxiety, he asked himself. Probably one that came from his fear of being a Summoner.
Soon enough the high ranked student began to lead the move forward to the portal.
"I can't stop shaking."
"It's now or never."
"I hope my talent is good enough."
There were silent whispers between the students...
And with every step forward, the encroaching crackling from the portal seemed to Increase in an uproar, making each of the students heart throb in what could have been considered as anticipation.
Yes, that was all that stood on their mind,— utter anticipation on whether they would excel, or maybe, failure would be the result of it all—
What about their talents? Their ranks? would it be useful as a combatant or rendered useless at the face of an enemy?
They were brimming with unanswered questions,that only escalated the more they laid unanswered in their minds as though a disease.
Drake knew this pressure; anticipation was one of humankind's greatest enemies. An enemy that gave hope and took hope, it was the lie his mind told to his body to give a false sense of safety and he refused to believe in such falsehood.
So he gave no thoughts to the grim situation.
After all it was their first dungeon hunt, and apparently, the moment their lives would change for the better as everything done during the hunt would be recorded and broadcasted throughout ALCRAN through their suits.
So this was the time to change their lives for the better.
Finally reaching the portal there was no hesitation within the group of high ranked students as they began to enter into the swirling purple hue of energy.
The portal gave Drake a sense of Foreboding, an hostility yet weariness that stayed in the body as though a sweet sensation as he crossed through it.
It was almost... Addictive.
However in a simple second, that feeling was gone.
And so was the appearance of the outside world, he had entered into the dungeon.
Scanning around curiously, Drake held his breathe as he saw massive walls scaling up to a hundred feet high, crimson in colour, the arched cave roofing was illuminated by blue like rocks that gave a calm glow to it.
'This place almost looks like an abandoned hallway...' he thought.
'So this is a dungeon.'
Now that he was here he turned his head around searching for something in particular and from the way his expression lightened, he had found it... Or more appropriately, confirmed it.
For as far as his eyes could see, he was the only one present in the dungeon... At least the portion he was in.
According to what he had learnt while being in ALCRAN academy, entering into dungeons, people would get misplaced to random places within the dungeon.
And the only solution to that was by holding hands or connecting to another physically, in that case, those connected would appear together at the same place after entering into the portal.
Despite that—
'As an high ranked students we are to enter into the dungeons alone as a test of our power and also, to make a show for the viewers at home,' Drake scoffed pulling out his blade from it's sheath.
Right now he was in enemies territory, and no announcement was needed to be told for him to instantly be on high alert.
"Just like the old days," reminding himself of his past life, Drake began to walk down a path of the cave at a steady pace.
...
For what felt like a while he had walked through the dungeon, seeing no enemies or obstacles along the way. However as time went on, signs of what seemed like life began to come to his attention.
At first he saw a few carvings in the walls, weird drawings of marks, which made him question, 'How Intelligent are the monsters here?'
The question's answer came almost immediately to the young awakened.
"..."
He paused in his footing as he had come up to a larger portion of the cave, where the walls seemed to have spread out further to reveal more space within that section.
And in this vast expanse was something that made Drake's mouth jarr open and his sword almost fall from his sweaty grasp.
Right before his eyes, was a heap of bones, skeletons, that belonged to humans; women, men, and maybe even children alike. Their bones piled up as though a hill or... A nest.
But this wasn't what made Drake's heart falter or his eyes sink in it's sockets out of disbelief.
But the number of red starving eyes that bared down on him from the heap.
It was a nest of massive monsters that resembled Dire wolves however they were more ferocious, and had jagged rocks for skin, with much deformed frames that made them resemble mighty statues in the form of monsters.
"Fuck me!" Drake muttered raising his sword high and taking a battle stance.
{Species detected}
{Elemental Dire wolves}
{Rank: E}
{You have received a quest}
The notifications flooded Drake one after the other.
There was no time to read them well so skimmed through them as fast as he could while watching the pack of wolves slowly get riled up for their next meal.
{Slay all 26 wolves}
{Reward +2 to dragon core}
Drake furrowed his eyes in confusion, "What the hell is this."