The Royal Dungeon Expedition!
It was supposed to happen four days ago, but after Adam's sudden death, the entire thing was canceled.
Everything went on lockdown, and no one in the Royal Council, or the entire Alliance as a whole, mentioned it after that.
… Until now.
"After giving it much thought, we have decided to proceed with the Royal Dungeon Expedition plan." Grandmaster Conrad's voice echoed in the air.
His words caused Rey to jerk back to reality, the latter's eyes blinking numerous times.
"Truthfully speaking, we need you all to advance in both power and experience, and training won't be enough."
Conrad took a short moment to exhale before continuing.
"That is why the Royal Dungeon Expedition is our best bet. There's no better place to gain experience than in a Dungeon."
Dungeons were crawling with Monsters who had a diverse set of abilities.
A lot of Floors—especially the topmost ones—had one set of Monsters per Floor, but the deeper one went, the more there tended to be a variety of Monsters occupying a single Floor.
Of course, it went without saying that the deeper Floors were far more challenging.
"I can see the look of apprehension on your faces, but you don't need to fret too much. Lucielle and Brutus will be accompanying, so you'll all be safe."
Those words were enough to assuage the concerns of many students, but they weren't completely bought over.
After all, after seeing one of the die, everyone was reminded of their own mortality.
… As well as the words Adam had said when he was still alive.
"I don't want to do this anymore." Someone finally snapped, and a voice echoed out to prove it.
Conrad paused as he glanced in the direction of this random student.
It must have taken a lot of bravery to utter those words.
However, the moment he did so… the brewing storm exploded.
"M-me too!"
"I think I'll just call it quits and fend off on my own."
"I don't care if you kick me out. I think it beats dying in some dangerous place."
"C-can't we just go back home…?"
Voices like this began to escape the lips of the audience, and before anyone knew what, the entire group had descended into chaos.
More than half of the students wanted to call it quits, and it didn't seem like the numbers were going to reduce anytime soon.
In fact, more students trickled in to join their ranks.
'This is bad…' Rey thought to himself as he observed the divide.
'Thanks to the words of that single guy, everyone has started spiraling out of control.'
It had escalated to the point where it wasn't even easy to pinpoint who started all of the drama, to begin with.
At this rate… nearly all the students were going to leave the Royal Estate before the day ran out.
"May I have your attention, please?" A voice suddenly radiated out.
It had so much presence that the loud commotion instantly came to a halt.
Everyone who was raising their voice, or arguing, or merely shouting ceased their outcry—all because of one young man.
"I can understand your plight. I know your fears, and I can feel your worries…"
The boy who spoke wasn't a stranger to them.
He had been with them through thick and thin, and ever since they arrived in this world he had represented all of them fairly.
He fought for their rights, he encouraged them when they were down… he was there with them through it all.
Every single student felt the boy's words ring true within them—as if he was speaking to only them as individuals and not the group.
His name was Adonis Levi—Hero and leader of the Otherworlders.
"This world needs help. I won't force you to care about the countless families and numerous children that require protection in this city alone, talkless of the many others that exist beyond."
Adonis' tone was not pretentious or hypocritical.
He spoke from his heart, and people listened.
"We all have our desires and goals. It's rather unfortunate that those desires were cut short during that accident back home…"
Adonis returned the memories of everyone to the incident that started it all.
"We were meant to die back then. All of us."
The faces of the students began to fall. Their pompous and entitled facade cracked under the weight of his words.
"We were saved by the summoning of these desperate people. Our desires and dreams were preserved by the denizens of this reality… people who also have their own dreams and ambitions."
Adonis' golden eyes glimmered as he formed a slight frown.
"The Dragons don't care about those dreams—not ours, and certainly not theirs. They will trample everything underfoot and destroy everything in their path."
The reality of the enemy that they inevitably had to face began to manifest.
Adonis painted it too vividly.
"And once they are done desecrating all that can be desecrated, and they snuff out the last dream and hopes of the people of this world… who do you think they will turn to next?"
His gaze was serious—calm, undeterred, but serious.
"You are not safe. I am not safe. None of us are safe… not until those monsters are gone."
Then, the only question that was left to ask was how.
How could they stop these horrid creatures? How could they preserve their dreams and be safe?
Well, the answers lay before them.
"We need the Dungeon. We will be able to Level Up and gain actual experience from it." Adonis stretched out both of his hands, as if expecting a hug.
The despairing expressions of the students were already beginning to fade away.
Even the selfish ones who only cared about their safety could not deny the allure of gaining more strength to protect themselves.
"That is why I implore all of you, my friends… let us not abandon this opportunity."
As Adonis gave a brilliant smile, filled with confidence and I shaking resolve, the last of the resistance was quelled.
The dissatisfied sound of a clicked tongue silently echoed, but it was drowned by the overwhelming voice of Adonis.
" So PLEASE! Please, don't give up now! Don't give in after you've endured all this time!"
Memories of the training they underwent to get stronger flashed in the minds of the students.
How could they throw all of that away now?
"Stand with me! With us! We can't do this without you… and honestly…."
Adonis slowly dropped his two hands and slowly shook his head.
"… You can't do this without us."
The rest was history after that.
Cheers and roars of excitement arose from the students.
It was as if everyone found their source of motivation and forgot the fear that coursed through their hearts.
They could only think about Adonis and his words.
"WILL YOU STAND WITH ME?!
The answer was obvious.
"WE WILL STAND WITH YOU!" Everyone cheered.
Rey was among the majority and went along with their excitement as if he was swept up in the moment.
He smiled and roared with so much energy that you would think he meant every ounce of it.
But, that wasn't really the case.
'Good job, Adonis. You've managed to keep everyone together again.'
He truly was impressed by Adonis. It almost felt like they weren't even the same age at all.
However, despite all of this, a dark thought crept within Rey's mind.
'This solution is only temporary, though…'
Unease among the students was bound to keep growing until it became unstoppable.
'At that stage, not even the best of pep talks—even from someone like Adonis—would be able to do the trick.' Rey thought in worry.
And, just as he feared, that moment was coming soon.
… It was only a matter of time.
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