Teleportation magic and warp magic are essentially similar, but when examined closely, they have many differences.
Teleportation magic works by inputting spatial coordinates into a magic circle in real-time to facilitate movement.
In contrast, warp magic involves creating two identical magic circles, allowing free travel between the two locations.
Thus, warp magic is less complex than teleportation magic, requiring only the infusion of mana into pre-drawn magic circles.
However, it has the disadvantage of only allowing travel to predetermined locations. Additionally, if one of the two magic circles is damaged, the connection is severed entirely.
Moreover, the farther the distance between the circles, the exponentially greater the mana required for the magic to activate. As a result, even with warp magic, carriages remained the dominant mode of transportation in the empire.
The warp magic circle used in the joint exam followed this same principle.
“That means we can at least know where the magic circle inside the dungeon is connected to.”
“And what does that mean?”
Gren confidently pulled a sheet of paper from his belongings.
“Look at this magic circle.”
“Uh… sure.”
When Gren unfolded the paper and presented it, Rosaria inspected the contents, tilting her head in confusion.
“Senior, you know how to use magic?”
“Nope.”
“…Then why do you have a magic circle?”
It was no wonder Rosaria felt dizzy, seeing a combat-focused individual suddenly pull out a magic circle.
“This magic circle is identical to the warp magic circle we used to get here.”
Rachel, the only one among them from the magic department, glanced briefly at the magic circle and immediately understood its nature.
“As I mentioned earlier, the warp magic circle used to enter this dungeon has always been the same. It’s essentially fixed in place.”
“If that’s the case, what if someone already knows exactly where each magic circle in the dungeon connects?”
Swish—
With Rachel’s answer, Gren smirked and pulled out another sheet of paper. This time, it was a detailed map of the dungeon.
“This is… a map? But I thought we were supposed to map the dungeon ourselves…”
“You fool. The test takes place in the same location every time. Why would we need to make a new map when we can just use one that’s already drawn? Though, I had to go through some trouble to get this.”
Rosaria, who had been under the impression that they needed to map the dungeon themselves, questioned whether this was acceptable. Gren simply shrugged in response.
“Here’s our current location. Luckily, we’ve landed near the center.”
“Now, we’ll quickly clear the dungeon and wait at the center. No objections, right?”
“None at all.”
“Uh, yeah… sure…”
As Gren laid the map on the floor and traced their current position to the dungeon’s center with his finger, the others nodded, indicating no disagreement.
“Well, alright… no issues here.”
Finally, with Rosaria as the last to respond, she reluctantly nodded as well, though somewhat hesitantly.
“Alright then, let’s move out.”
With everyone in agreement, Team D-19 set out toward the depths of the dungeon.
“The exam is finally starting.”
As the joint exam began, the supervising professors observed the dungeon’s interior through crystal orbs installed throughout the site.
About 20 minutes into the exam, most of the teams had finished their preparations and started entering the dungeon.
“Everyone is pretty quick…”
Among those observing the crystal orbs was Felix, who had played a significant role in preparing for the exam.
“They said information about this joint exam was being sold at high prices among the students… Seems that was true.”
“Oh, you startled me! When did you get here?”
“Just now.”
Hearing a sudden voice, Felix turned his head to find Lumillion standing right beside him, her slightly weary eyes fixed on him. Felix flinched at the sight.
If Felix had been busy internally with the preparations for this exam, Lumillion had been just as busy externally.
Felix had spent his time modifying the magical structure of the artificial dungeon, coordinating with other professors and engineers, leading assistants in organizing the students, distributing supplies, and infusing mana into the magic circles all without a moment’s rest before finally returning to the observation area.
“Aren’t you working too hard?”
“I am, but I plan to become someone very important in this academy someday. No matter how hard it is now, all these efforts will accumulate and leave an undeniable impression.”
“Wow… You’re incredibly diligent.”
If there was one phrase to describe Lumillion, who had somehow become Felix’s closest colleague in the academy after Tene, it was that she was extraordinarily hardworking.
Her passion wasn’t limited to magical research; she also took great pride in her position as a professor. She constantly worried about how others perceived her, evidence of her meticulous nature.
While some might interpret her actions as a simple thirst for power, Felix could sense that her determination stemmed from her need for recognition. Being a commoner and a demi-human, she had faced significant discrimination, driving her to carefully consider her position and status at every turn.
“Ahem… Anyway! Those students seem to have prior knowledge about the dungeon.”
“Well… For this exam, the location never changes, and the team leaders likely took this same test in the same dungeon when they were underclassmen.”
The academy’s dungeon exam had been conducted annually for the past five years.
Whether to prepare students for future mercenary work, foster teamwork, or for other reasons, enough information about the dungeon had already been disseminated to give certain teams an advantage.
“I’ve always wanted to redesign the dungeon into something like a roguelike game, with the structure changing every time, but there’s never enough time to implement it.”
“Rogue…like? What’s that?”
“It’s a thing.”
“…Sometimes you say the strangest things.”
Felix sighed, wishing he could completely overhaul the dungeon’s stagnant structure.
If left as it was, the exam would unfairly favor students with prior knowledge, creating a significant disparity between them and those without access to such information.
However, when the dungeon was first built, the concept of creating an artificial dungeon was entirely new. The construction process had been incredibly complex, and the resulting magical foundation was a tangled mess of symbols and patterns—resembling spaghetti code.
Even when Felix first examined the maze of magical scripts running through the walls, he had been overwhelmed. Reworking the dungeon structure in such a short time was nearly impossible.
“Well, at least this exam won’t go as smoothly as some might think.”
Felix’s tone carried a confident edge. After all, he had personally designed the key elements of this exam.
“Just in case… Do you think anyone will actually pass this time?”
“Hmm… Probably. The other professors seemed satisfied with the setup.”
“Most of the professors are highly experienced in real-world combat! I mean, even Professor Gutton, a former platinum mercenary, gave your work glowing praise. That’s seriously unsettling…”
“They won’t die.”
“Can you really say that so casually?!”
“Anyway, it looks like the students are in for a tough time with this exam.”
Having closely observed Felix’s work, Lumillion couldn’t help but tilt her head in concern, questioning whether things would really be okay. Surprisingly, however, the other professors had nothing but praise for Felix’s design.
Comments like, “This is what a real dungeon should feel like,” or “Students need to learn in conditions that simulate real combat as closely as possible,” were common.
The most enthusiastic praise, though, came from Gutton, a former platinum-ranked mercenary, who was deeply impressed.
‘Even if I were told to navigate that dungeon without a map, it would be incredibly difficult… I wonder if the students can handle it.’
‘This is going to be fun.’
With their own thoughts swirling, the two professors turned their attention back to the crystal orbs, ready to watch the students tackle the challenge ahead.
“Where are we?”
“Uh…!? Th-that… uh, to the left.”
“Okay.”
At that moment.
In a dungeon as dark as an abyss, with only a single light source guiding their path, Rosaria’s party encountered their fourth fork in the road.
At the forefront was Rasell, who excelled in reconnaissance, followed by Glen, ready to take the lead in battle. Rachel, the magician, held the middle position, while Rosaria guarded the rear to protect against possible ambushes and to ensure the safety of the mage.
“The lantern’s light barely covers this space. We can’t see beyond that point, can we?”
Rosaria, who was at the back, muttered as she considered the range of the magic lantern strapped to Rachel’s waist.
Before the mission, they had been provided with supplies, including the magic lantern, which came with exactly three days’ worth of mana stones.
The other supplies included:
– Three knives.
– Enough dry rations and water for four people for three days.
– A magic lantern with mana stones for three days.
– A rope approximately 15 meters long.
– A grappling hook.
– Parchment, ink, and a quill for mapping.
– Simple bedding (a thin blanket).
The supplies were just sufficient for them to survive for three days.
“Still, walking like this really gives the feeling of exploring a dungeon.”
Although Rosaria was a bit dissatisfied with how Glen’s plan deviated from her ideal scenario, she couldn’t help but think this was turning out to be quite enjoyable.
“Huff… huff… huff…”
“…? Are you okay?”
Then, Rosaria suddenly noticed Rachel, who was walking ahead of her, breathing heavily. Concerned, she called out to her.
“W-what is it…?”
“No, you seem really exhausted… Are you okay?”
Rachel turned to face her, and Rosaria noticed beads of sweat forming on her forehead, trickling down profusely.
“I-I’m fine… I can keep walking…”
‘I’m running out of stamina much faster than I thought! But I haven’t had time to build endurance because I’ve been so focused on my research…’
While the others seemed to have no problem with stamina, Rachel was a different story.
As the daughter of a count and a magic major at the academy, she had always spent her time after class reviewing lessons or working on magic circle research instead of exercising. Her physical endurance was notably lacking.
Additionally, her determination to reach the central area ahead of everyone else had led to a faster walking pace, which only added to her exhaustion.
“Uh… Glen, senior?”
“What?”
“I think Rachel is really struggling. How about we take a short break to regroup and rest?”
Unable to ignore Rachel’s state, Rosaria called out to Glen, suggesting they take some time to recover.
“What? We’ve barely gotten anywhere, and she’s already wiped out? Hah, I swear… Magicians. This is why noble bookworms are useless.”
Hearing the suggestion to stop when they hadn’t even covered half the planned distance, Glen frowned in irritation and took the opportunity to mock Rachel.
“I-it’s fine! I can walk!”
Rachel, who also furrowed her brow at Glen’s sarcasm, stubbornly pushed herself forward on her shaky legs, as if trying to prove it was no big deal. Already on poor terms with Glen, Rachel was determined not to let herself become a burden, no matter how much it hurt her pride.
“But still…”
“Don’t worry about it! It’s nothing!”
“Fine, just keep up. If you fall behind too much, I’ll leave you behind.”
“That won’t happen, so just keep moving forward.”
“…”
Rosaria looked at the two with unease, unsure how to handle the tense atmosphere.
Then.
“…!? Hold up for a moment.”
Rasell, who was leading the group, raised his hand to stop them.
“About 50 meters ahead, I sense movement. Three… no, four figures.”
Reporting what he had detected, Rasell spoke with an unusually calm and precise tone, very different from his usual nervous and awkward demeanor.
Despite his timid personality, once his senses were fully engaged, he became entirely focused, allowing him to deliver sharp and accurate observations.
“Judging by the footsteps and the sounds, the figures are much smaller than average humans. That suggests…”
“Goblins.”
Before Rasell could finish, Glen interrupted with the answer.
Monsters with small bodies and a tendency to travel in groups—there was no doubt they were goblins, the most common type of dungeon creature.
“Alright, rookies. Time for some action.”
As Glen cracked his knuckles with an audible crunch, Rosaria’s group prepared for their first battle in the artificial dungeon.
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