After the First Years entered the Initiation Ceremony for the new students of Brynhildr Academy, the Headmaster dismissed the students, so that they could go to their respective Manors.
The Second Years, Third Years, and Fourth Years had all undergone the test in the past. However, the setting of each test changed each year.
Last year, the Professors of Eques Manor prepared the welcoming event for the First Years.
This year, the Professors of Schwartz Manor, who specialized in Dark Magic, were responsible for testing the First Years, and they created a very nasty surprise for the newcomers to their Academy.
“Headmaster, are you sure this is fine?” Professor Ophelia looked at the projection where her niece could be seen. “If this goes on, no one will be able to clear this year’s Initiation Ceremony. Maybe we should step in?”
Professor Rinehart only smiled after hearing Ophelia’s proposal.
“The Professors of the Dark Arts are the ones responsible for this year’s ceremony,” Professor Rinehart replied. “Whether the First Years clear the test, or not, is fine as well. I’m sure that they will learn a lot from this experience, although Magic can do many things… it is not omnipotent.”
The Headmaster of the Academy gave Ophelia’s niece, Alice, a side-long glance, and smirked.
The silver-haired lady had turned the zombies around her into crystal statues. However, she was panting so hard, and her face was very pale.
Although she was a powerful witch, and should have been one of the rightful Pillars of the First Years, she had almost depleted the mana in her body as she fought against the zombies blocking her way.
“This is ridiculous,” Ophelia said as she looked at the dozens of zombies that were slowly, but surely, walking towards her Niece’s location. “A test like this is unfair.”
“Exactly,” Professor Rinehart said as he sipped his cup of coffee. “Life isn’t always fair.”
—————
Inside the Dungeon…
“Ignis Fulmine!” Chloe shouted as she pointed her wand at the approaching zombie.
It took her three attempts before the monster turned into particles of light, and disappeared from their sights.
“Hah… Ha… Ha…” Chloe panted for breath as she leaned on the wall of the dungeon. “Just… how… many… must I… kill before… this test… ends.”
Ethan looked at her with pity and used his handkerchief to wipe the sweat on her face.
“Don’t use magic anymore,” Ethan said. “I’ll handle the rest.”
Kon was also worried because her Master’s face was quite pale due to exhaustion. Because of this, she rubbed herself on Chloe’s leg, as if telling her that everything was going to be fine.
The blue-haired boy allowed Chloe to rest for five minutes before they continued to look for the exit of the Dungeon.
Along the way, they heard shouts, screams, as well as curses, but Ethan and Chloe didn’t move towards these locations. Instead, they avoided them like a plague and would always choose a different path to travel.
It was not because they didn’t want to help people.
It was because they only had enough strength to protect themselves, and didn’t have any leeway to help others. Especially now that Chloe’s mana was almost depleted.
As they continued to traverse the dungeon, they came upon a junction where there were three paths to choose from.
“Kon, it’s your time to shine,” Ethan looked at the little Golden Fox who nodded its head in understanding.
Kon looked at the right path and allowed its senses to check if there was danger ahead. She did the same for the left, and middle path as well before returning to report to her Master.
“Kon said that the left, and right paths are filled with monsters,” Chloe stated. “The middle one also has monsters, but their numbers are fewer. She also said that she could hear the sound of something breaking in the middle path, but she is unsure of what caused it.”
Ethan frowned after hearing the Golden Fox’s report. However, it was very obvious where Chloe and him should go, so he decided to take a chance and go to the middle path.
“Remember, don’t use any more spells,” Ethan reminded his cousin. “I can take down a zombie or two without any problems.”
Chloe nodded and walked a few steps away from Ethan, who had taken a fighting stance as he walked forward.
After facing off against several zombies, the blue-haired boy had generally understood their attack patterns, and was able to take the initiative to eliminate them before they could hurt him or Chloe.
After walking for a few minutes, they stumbled upon several zombies who had turned into crystal statues.
In the middle of this frozen zone, they saw a person lying on the ground and seemed to be unconscious.
‘It’s her,’ Ethan thought as he walked towards the unconscious silver-haired beauty, whose face was now as white as snow. ‘I think her name is Alice?’
The blue-haired boy was about to shake the silver-haired beauty in order to wake her up, but Chloe intervened.
“I’ll do it,” Chloe stated. “You watch the surroundings and make sure we don’t get attacked while I try to wake her up.”
“Okay,” Ethan thought that Chloe’s words were on point because right now, he was the only one between the two of them who could fight.
He wasn’t aware that the real reason why Chloe volunteered to wake up Alice was because she didn’t want Ethan to touch another girl, especially someone that was more beautiful than her.
A few minutes later, a groan escaped the silver-haired beauty’s lips before her eyes opened.
“Are you alright?” Chloe asked as she looked at the pale-faced beauty. “Can you stand?”
“Who are you?” Alice asked as she looked at the unfamiliar girl in front of her.
Although her face was pale as well, Chloe still managed to give Alice a smile of assurance in order to calm her down.
“My name is Chloe,” Chloe replied. “And this boy here is my cousin, Ethan.”
Alice’s gaze landed on the blue-haired boy, who was standing a few meters away from them while keeping watch on their surroundings.
“It’s you!” Alice said as she tried to prop herself up, but was unable to do so because she was feeling very weak. 𝑂𝗏𝔩xt.𝚌𝗈𝓶
“Don’t force yourself,” Chloe stated as she supported Alice’s body. “You are suffering from Mana Deficiency, you need some time to rest.”
After realizing her current condition, Alice closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths in order to calm herself down.
A minute later, she opened her eyes once more and looked at her surroundings. The zombies that she had frozen were still there, and this gave her a sense of security.
“This Dungeon is filled with zombies,” Alice explained. “The more zombies you kill using magic, the more they will swarm at you. It is negligible at first, but those with strong magic powers will find themselves fighting against multiple zombies at once.
“This is why I froze them instead of killing them. When you guys encounter zombies, it is best to run away or simply avoid them.”
Chloe shuddered after hearing the silver-haired beauty’s explanation. Fortunately, she had only killed a few zombies, and the rest were handled by Ethan. They had also noticed that the number of zombies that attacked them seemed to increase each time Chloe killed them.
However, when Ethan took over, the numbers of the zombies attacking them decreased drastically.
“May I know your name?” Chloe asked the silver-haired beauty. “My name is Chloe. Chloe Gremory. You can call me Chloe.”
“Alice,” Alice replied. “Just call me Alice.”
Chloe nodded. “Can you stand up? I don’t think that it is safe to stay in this place.”
Alice didn’t say anything. Instead, she tried to stand up on her own, but seeing that she was unable to do it alone, Chloe offered a hand, which Alice didn’t reject.
“Lean on me,” Chloe said. “Don’t worry, my cousin is strong. He can take us to the exit on his own.”
Alice gave Chloe a faint smile. “Thank you”
“You can thank us after we find the exit,” Chloe replied before shifting her gaze to the blue-haired boy who stood a few meters away from them “Cousin, the rest is up to you.”
“I’ll do my best, Ma’am.” Ethan gave Chloe a playful salute, which made the latter smile helplessly.
A few minutes later, the three teenagers began to look for the exit, while most of the First Years were being eliminated by the zombies whose numbers had increased exponentially.