Avoiding Death in an Otome Game

The entrance of the dungeon resembled the mouth of an enormous cave, roughly thirty feet high and more than sixty feet wide, with massive stone walls extending around it.

Yet the cave itself was impossible to see into. The entire entrance was covered by a translucent barrier.

It was not a simple wall. It looked almost like a sheet of glass made from magical energy, stretching across the entire entrance while faint waves of mana moved across its surface.

Nothing could be seen beyond it.

Several students started murmuring among themselves.

"What is that?"

"Is that the dungeon barrier?"

"I can’t see anything through it."

"Of course you can’t."

"Attention students" A voice is heard as principal Alfred appeared out of thin air, catching the attention of all the students.

Principal Alfred’s voice carried across the entire area with enough clarity that even the students standing at the very back could hear every word, and as the conversations died down completely, everyone’s attention shifted toward the principal, who was standing several meters in front of the enormous dungeon entrance with the translucent magical barrier behind him.

"The practical examination will consist of one primary objective."

He paused briefly, allowing the students to settle down before continuing.

"The Dungeon of Anastomosis has five starting points, each of which takes the form of a large chamber located at a different position within the dungeon’s outer section, and all five of these chambers are connected to the entrance through the dungeon’s natural magical mechanism."

Several students exchanged glances.

Alfred continued in the same calm tone.

"Once you pass through the barrier, you will not enter the dungeon from a fixed location. Instead, the dungeon itself will randomly transport you to one of those five starting chambers."

That part was already familiar to me.

It was one of the reasons the practical examination was difficult for ordinary students, because knowing that there were five possible starting locations meant that a student could not simply memorize one route from the entrance and expect to follow it.

Of course, that rule was considerably less useful against someone who had played the game and had completed the task in multiple attempts.

"The moment you arrive inside your assigned chamber, your examination begins," Alfred said. "Your objective is to reach the deepest point of the dungeon."

He paused.

"In terms commonly used by adventurers, this location is known as the boss room."

A few students visibly became more serious.

"The time limit for reaching the boss room is twelve hours."

A murmur passed through the students.

"Any student who fails to reach the boss room within those twelve hours will be considered to have failed the practical examination and will be required to take the supplementary examination next month."

Twelve hours.

That was more than enough for someone who knew the dungeon well, but for a student wandering through an unfamiliar maze while fighting monsters and searching for the correct route, it could disappear surprisingly quickly.

Principal Alfred raised one hand.

Several teachers immediately began moving through the students.

They carried small spherical objects, each one roughly the size of a child’s fist, and began distributing them to everyone.

I received one from a teacher who passed through our section.

It felt surprisingly light.

I turned it over in my hand.

It looked like an ordinary orb made from translucent material, although there were several tiny magical formations embedded beneath its surface.

"This is a rescue orb," Alfred explained. "The ordinary monsters inhabiting the Dungeon of Anastomosis are not particularly powerful, and under normal circumstances, none of you should encounter anything that exceeds what you have been taught to handle."

His gaze moved across the students.

"However, if you find yourself in a genuinely dangerous situation and determine that you cannot escape through your own abilities, break this orb. You will then be rescued by either me or one of the instructors."

The atmosphere became somewhat lighter. Several students visibly relaxed at that information.

Principal Alfred immediately added another sentence.

"However, any student rescued in this manner will automatically be considered to have failed the practical examination."

The relaxed expressions disappeared.

A few students looked down at their orbs.

"It is therefore in your interest to avoid unnecessary danger."

The rescue system was reasonable.

It prevented the examination from becoming genuinely life-threatening while also ensuring that students could not intentionally use the rescue system as an easy escape whenever they encountered an inconvenient opponent.

Principal Alfred continued "Now, regarding your marks. The earlier you reach the boss room, the better your initial score will be."

That sounded simple.

But then principal Alfred added the important part "However, reaching the boss room alone does not mean that you have passed."

Several students looked confused.

"The boss room must be cleared. You will therefore have to defeat the boss monster."

A few students swallowed nervously.

"Let me remind you that the boss monster is considerably stronger than the ordinary monsters you will encounter throughout the dungeon."

"Instructor Ben will be stationed near the boss room and will intervene if the situation becomes genuinely dangerous, but that does not mean I recommend attempting to fight the boss monster alone simply because you arrived before everyone else."

I understand exactly what he means. The fastest student is not necessarily going to receive the highest score.

He continued "In fact, if you reach the boss room early, you may choose to wait for other students and fight alongside them."

Several students began thinking about the implications.

"Doing so will increase your chances of defeating the boss safely, but your performance during the battle will also be evaluated."

He looked over the group.

"A student who reaches the boss room several hours after you but contributes significantly more during the final battle may receive a higher score than you."

The meaning was obvious. Speed matters, so does the judgment, cooperation and combat ability. There is not a single optimal strategy that would work for everyone.

Principal Alfred stopped speaking for a moment, giving the students enough time to think through the rules themselves.

I could see several of them quietly discussing possible approaches.

"Now, regarding your entry order."

The students turned their attention again towards principal Alfred.

"You will enter the dungeon according to your entrance examination ranking. Students with the lowest entrance examination rankings will enter first, followed progressively by those with higher rankings, with the highest-ranked students entering last."

That explained why I am standing so far back. The same is true for Elena, Ian, and several of our other friends. Most of us are within the top twenty.

"One final point regarding contracted or tamed creatures."

His eyes briefly moved toward the various cages and beasts being prepared nearby.

"When entering the dungeon, make certain that you maintain physical contact with your contracted or tamed creature."

"If you fail to do so, the dungeon’s transportation mechanism may send the creature to a different starting chamber."

That would certainly complicate things.

"However, you are not permitted to hold onto another student. Each student will be transported independently according to the dungeon’s natural mechanism. Once you arrive inside, you may form a group with whichever students you encounter, regardless of your original entrance order or ranking."

That was the final important rule. The examination is not forcing students to remain in predetermined groups.

You start alone, then you made your own decisions.

"These are all the instructions you need. Listen carefully to your assigned instructors and do not ignore the warnings provided to you. The academy expects you to demonstrate the skills you have learned throughout the year, not simply your ability to defeat monsters."

He turned slightly toward the teachers.

"Proceed."

The moment he finished speaking, principal Alfred disappeared from his place. There was no dramatic explosion of mana. His body simply vanished from where he had been standing just like how he had appeared.

I stared at the empty space for a moment.

*I want to do that too.*

The thought came naturally.

Teleportation was one of the things I had always found fascinating about magic, although principal Alfred’s technique clearly is not ordinary teleportation.

He had appeared in Albert’s office in a similar manner despite not possessing the Space attribute.

Whatever technique he is using, it relies on a level of magical control that I cannot even begin to reproduce.

*Tch.*

*Reaching that level will probably take several years.*

I turned my attention back toward the dungeon. There are more immediate matters to deal with.

The teachers began organizing the students into lines according to their entrance rankings, and gradually, the examination area became more orderly.

The first group entered and then another.

One by one, students walked toward the translucent barrier and disappeared as soon as they crossed it.

I remained toward the back of the line with Ian, Elena and other class A students.

Aeris is perched calmly on my left arm.

Over the past month, I have spent considerable time training with her. She is a smart spirit beast and understands my command but whether she would follow them is a different matter.

I had also learned that the contract does not magically turn her into an obedient puppet. It simply established a connection between us.

At least now Aeris is gradually becoming more comfortable around me, although she still maintained a certain level of caution.

I do not mind that.

The relationship was developing naturally. I have brought her into the examination partly because I wanted to see how well we can actually function together in a real practical situation.

Elena seemed to have a similar intention with Lumi.

The smaller Spirit Hawk is willing to follow simple commands from Elena, but she still is not intelligent enough to completely comprehend everything Elena says.

Lumi is more impulsive than Aeris.

She would sometimes fly toward something simply because it looked interesting, forcing Elena to call her back.

I have watched them practicing together several times and honestly it is strangely amusing.