Growth Hero

by Brent Tyman

  In any case, over five days and multiple trips in and out of the Dungeon, I had amassed 4,836 copper. Selina had been nice enough to convert all that copper into silver for me. 48 silver and some change.

  Not a bad haul; not at all.

  The fact that I had enough coin to stay in the inn for longer periods gave me a sense of relief. The prospect of sleeping outside in the forest was not appealing in the slightest for a guy like me; I preferred city life to the wilds. Although, I did end up spending the majority of my time in the dark caves of the Dungeon fighting rats, which was quite a contrast to my old life back home.

  I fell into a groove as the days passed, especially after I’d earned enough to buy some leather armor from a smithy on the way to the Dungeon.

  As fantasy tropes go, this had been as stereotypical as it could have gotten. The smith was a grizzled old dwarf who had simply handed me a set of leather armor that was roughly my size and demanded twelve silver for it. The armor fit over my old clothes perfectly, giving me more of an adventurer’s look instead of the night clothes I had been wearing this whole time.

  The dusty-brown leather protected my legs, torso and arms. It even gave some modest protection to my shoulders as well.

  As far as I was concerned, it was perfect for me and I gladly handed the dwarf his due.

  The Rats were no problem for me at this point, but as I got further into the Dungeon, I was sure there would be more threats that I would need to overcome and I had to make sure I was ready for them. And I swore to myself that I would be… If only so that I wouldn’t have to feel a monster bite my leg again!

  On the sixth day of my routine, there was a commotion at the front of the Dungeon that had drawn quite the crowd. I wasn’t sure what was happening at first and debated whether it wouldn’t be better to try a different entrance instead, when I heard some whispers nearby.

  “The Academy students are here!”

  “Hey look, that’s the heir of Hoganna over there. The other two must be here as well!”

  “Crazy to see all three heirs of the major powers in one place.”

  “Right? Wonder what their stats are…”

  The words Hoganna felt strangely familiar, and I suddenly remembered that Vencia had mentioned them. As far as I knew, ‘Hoganna’ referred to the Clan in charge of a nation somewhere around here.

  My curiosity got the better of me and I wanted to see what the fuss was about. The crowd was growing quickly as everyone behind me had stopped to discuss this Academy and the heirs. I elbowed my way through the crowd to get to the front and saw amongst a few men in full-plate armor were what appeared to be students listening to a teacher.

  The students appeared to be divided into three groups—at least that’s how they were spaced out. Each group had different styles of uniform, with the main contrast being the different colors. One wore sharp red, another donned green as bright as the nearby grass, and the last one’s outfit was ocean blue.

  The first thought that came into my head was that they wore the same colors as the RGB lights from my computer back home. I had paid a pretty penny for them when I had upgraded my computer, way back when. I wondered what the authorities would do with all my possessions when they discovered my body back home? Likely sold off at auction or something.

  I hoped that the next person that got my computer appreciated the expense and effort I put into hooking up the RGB lights. The ordeal I had to go through to sync up the lighting scheme and the amount of cables I had to manage at the back from all the fan connections was akin to a boss battle…

  I shook my head to clear my thoughts.

  The teacher was a middle-aged woman with silver hair, who wagged her finger—first at the students and then towards to the Dungeon entrance.

  I could only assume that they were preparing to dive down into the Dungeon as well.

  The massive, heavily armored men were blocking quite a lot of the students from my view. I wanted to see if I could recognize Juliana amongst all the faces.

  While that turned out to be a wasted effort, as I couldn’t spot her anywhere, I had to admit, each of the women I could see were breathtakingly attractive. Far above what I had noticed during my travels in the city.

  Part of me insisted I stick around to admire the ladies, but a more practical side of me—north of my belt buckle—wanted to get back to work. There was a lot more grinding to be done.

  The busts on some of these women were truly staggering though, easily reaching light novel territory in terms of scale…

  Right, back to business.

  Only a portion of the crowd bothered to slip past the Academy students, as they called them, but it looked like I only had to walk around the group in order to get back on track.

  “Now remember,” the silver-haired teacher barked. “Most of you are extremely powerful thanks to your upbringing and your personal training, but remember these words: One mistake can cost you your life, and the only one you’ll have to blame is yourself.” She frowned at her charges. “Follow my instructions and you will succeed.”

  The teacher seemed fairly stern and reminded me of my high school days. I got chewed out a lot for skipping school because of this or that new RPG release. I remembered it wasn’t pleasant, not in the slightest.

  “Can we at least advance to the second floor today?” a woman’s voice called out, and the teacher narrowed her eyes at whoever had asked the question.

  “Of course not! Red Ravens are dangerous in groups, and I don’t have enough patience to heal every single one of you. First floor only today. We won’t advance to the second floor until I have determined you can safely be left to your own devices.”

  Red Ravens, huh? So that was the monster on the second floor… If the Ravens were the flying type of bird that I thought they were, that didn’t sound too bad. Then again, the smith hadn’t given me a helmet with my leather armor set, so I’d still have to be cautious.

  The armored men near the students gave me wary looks as I slipped past them, and I had almost reached the Dungeon entrance when a hand grasped my shoulder.

  “Alex, is that you?” a familiar voice asked, and I turned to look directly into Juliana’s perfect emerald eyes.

  “It is!” she practically squealed, her smile so wide it nearly split her face. “I had hoped I’d run into you again.”

  “Hey there, Juliana,” I managed, once I had gotten over how beautiful she was. “Is this the Academy you were talking about?”

  “Indeed. We had orientation this past week and now it’s time to train in the Dungeon. Oh… I’m so glad to have found you again.”

  “Nice to meet you again, too,” I said politely as I noticed some more shapes behind her. “Uhh… who are the rest of this lot?”

  Four others stood behind her in the same red colored uniform that Juliana wore, watching me with curious eyes.

  “Ah yes,” Juliana said, turning to the group. “Everyone, this is Alex, please treat him warmly.”

  She turned back to me.

  “Allow me to introduce you to the rest of my retainers,” she said, waving a hand to point towards a familiar one.

  “You, of course, know Vencia,” she started. “Besides being my healer, she is also a lifelong friend.”

  Vencia gave me a measured look before nodding. “We meet again, Alex. My given name is Vencia Invonas, but please refer to me as Vencia.”

  “Haha, never seen her be so informal,” a man’s voice said. “She always tries to make me call her Lady Invonas.”

  I looked over to see a tall man with remarkably good looks and striking blond hair giving me a lopsided grin.

  “Daiver Vos Hexladanis, heir to the Dukedom of Favona, at your service,” he said, extending an armor-clad hand. His attire was mostly armored plate with the Academy’s red surcoat over it. I shook his hand and winced when his grasp was crazy tight. I returned the gesture, which made him laugh once more.

  “A firm grip, I dare say!” he bellowed, drawing the atte
ntion of the rest of the Academy students behind him. I opened my mouth to speak but didn’t get the chance.

  “Knock it off, Daiver,” Vencia snapped. “Now’s not the time for sizing anyone up.”

  “I’m just exchanging greetings, Vencia,” Daiver said unapologetically, holding his hands up in the air.

  “It’s Lady Invonas to you.”

  “See what I mean, Alex, she’s always like this,” Daiver grinned.

  “Please don’t start. Not now of all times,” Juliana ordered, which most certainly prevented the shouting match that was about to happen. Didn’t this Daiver know that Vencia always won those?

  “Moving on,” Juliana said to me, “the support member of my retinue is Kesara Rethlos.”

  A petite woman with short black hair and striking, blue eyes nodded to me. She made a show of examining me up and down before grinning wildly.

  “Heir to the county of Lodus. Might I say, Alex, that you are quite the attraction back at the Academy. Juliana couldn’t stop talking about you for… well, she just didn’t stop talking at all. I can see why, with those cheekbones of yours…”

  Juliana clapped a hand over Kesara’s mouth as her own face became beet red. “Don’t you dare say another word. Not. A. Single. Word,” Juliana huffed as she dragged Kesara away.

  “But he’s so manly and attractive and…”

  That was all I could hear before the last member of Juliana’s group stepped forward. I had to look up as this guy was tall, even taller than Daiver.

  “Excuse the rest of my peers,” he said with a refined voice. His hair was cut neatly on one side and he was the first person I had seen in this world that actually wore glasses. They weren’t as stylish as the modern pairs of glasses that I was used to seeing, but on the other hand, with how they perched on his aquiline nose, they weren’t far off either.

  “My name is Karl Taronik, heir to the county of Erdahon. This group has a few disorderly quirks to them, but with what I’ve seen in the training grounds, I’m sure we will be an exemplary force in the Dungeon.”

  “Oh, well, nice to meet you, Karl. I never knew Juliana had such a rowdy retinue,” I said.

  To be honest, I didn’t know she had a retinue at all. I was pretty sure these people were the group she would grind in the Dungeon with, but it also looked like she studied with them in this Academy, too.

  I had also noticed that every single one of them was heir to some Duchy, County or whatever piece of land that I had no reference to. Did this mean they were all nobles and liked to let everyone know that?

  “I would like to say you caught us at a bad time,” Vencia muttered as she crossed her arms under an impressive bosom. “But this is how it’s been ever since initiation. Daiver is the real troublemaker, though.”

  “Trouble merely latches onto me at first sight,” Daiver grinned. “These muscles can’t be ignored after all.”

  I watched, my lips pressed into a thin line, as Daiver showed off, flexing his arms rather impressively.

  Jeez, he was one of those…

  “Must you really do that here? It seems we are almost ready to enter the Dungeon,” Karl commented as he adjusted his glasses.

  “Don’t want me to pull a muscle in there, do you?” Daiver smirked.

  “And this man is heir to a Duchy,” Karl muttered under his breath.

  I looked around for Juliana and saw that she was heading back with Kesara trailing meekly in tow.

  “I deeply apologize for any brash words, Alex,” Juliana said once she’d returned to my side. “But I hope you don’t hold it against them.”

  “No, not at all,” I said immediately. “They all seem like a good bunch. All of you are fighting on the first floor of the Dungeon, right? Heard that from the teacher.”

  “You mean Lady Kotobara? She’s like Vencia, but ten times more of a pain. Chewed me out when I punched a hole in my dorm wall,” Daiver complained.

  “Because you punched a hole straight into my room. Who’s bone headed idea was it to not put the women’s dorms into another wing? The one next to the central courtyard has a pleasant view,” Vencia said.

  “I believe that is because they wish to keep students from the same nations in the same wings, to prevent infighting,” Karl offered.

  Vencia rolled her eyes and clicked her tongue. “I know that Karl, but sharing a wall with this idiot has sapped away most of my patience.”

  “Not that you had that much to begin with, Lady Invonas,” Daiver snickered.

  “Enough, we can’t look so divisive before the other students,” Juliana ordered, which caused everyone to quiet down.

  Although Daiver and Vencia were still giving each other pointed glares.

  “And yes, Alex, this is our first trip into the Dungeon as a group. I have high hopes we will be effective as a close-knit unit,” Juliana said.

  “Time for everyone to enter the Dungeon!” the teacher bellowed from the rear of the crowd. “Remember that you must keep the location crystals with you at all times and return here by sundown. I will be evaluating you individually, so no slacking!”

  “Ah, here we go,” Daiver huffed excitedly. “Let’s go in and stomp some rats.”

  “I have my mind occupied with something else at the moment,” Kesara breathed. When I looked over, I saw her batting her eyelashes at me innocently.

  Okay then…

  “Follow me and let’s train in the area we discussed,” Juliana said. She grabbed my arm and lightly tugged me towards the Dungeon.

  “Join us, Alex? Perhaps you can learn a few techniques we picked up in the Academy.”

  Given that Juliana had a surprisingly firm grip on my arm, I doubted I had much of a choice in the matter. Not that I would refuse her. As long as I was grinding, I didn’t mind the company.

  “Sure, I would like to see how a group compares to my solo efforts,” I replied.

  “Solo? You have been training in the Dungeon alone?” Karl inquired from behind me. I was just about to answer when a set of eyes caught my attention.

  It seemed the other students from the Academy, both green and blue uniformed ones, were watching me closely. Like Juliana, they had assembled into groups with their own colors which, from what I had inferred, meant different nations.

  Both groups were led by strikingly beautiful women, who offered me curious looks.

  “Seems our handsome Alex has caught the attention of the opposing Clans. Not that I blame them, not one bit,” Kesara commented.

  “Hey, how come you don’t talk to me like that?” Daiver asked.

  “Because while you have a handsome mug, what’s inside of that leaves a lot to be desired,” Kesara replied without losing that dreamy look she had donned.

  “Please ignore the other Clans, Alex,” Juliana whispered to me. “They are simply curious, since they don’t recognize your face.”

  “Right…” I said. “This whole Clan business is really confusing.”

  Juliana laughed at that, a beautiful, full laugh as she tugged on my arm. “I would say it’s more about us ruling Clans scheming against each other one day and seemingly getting along the next. Such is the life we were born into.”

  I got a few more looks from the other students but didn’t pay them anymore mind as we descended into the Dungeon.

  Juliana led the way. Most of the time, I simply picked a random direction to go to as this Dungeon was vast and I wanted to explore it as much as I could. Juliana apparently had more knowledge than me, as she effortlessly led us through the Dungeon’s dark corridors until we reached our first pack of Rats in no time.

  “Just as we practiced, form up!” Juliana ordered, and I watched as everyone got into positions I was familiar with.

  Daiver, as the party’s tank, got in front of the group. Juliana and Karl, acting the role of damage dealers, stood behind him with their arms outstretched while Kesara and Vencia brought up the rear as supports.

  “Keep your eyes on me Alex and watch how I’ll take thes
e rats down no problem,” Daiver said before charging full bore towards the pack.

  The man had a shield on his back, yet instead of pulling it off, he produced a slim yet extremely long sword that he used to flatten the Rat that got in his way. He probably would have been better suited with a hammer but it was still very effective.

  All the rats focused on him while Juliana and Karl popped off a variety of attack spells.

  I watched in fascination as Juliana threw fireball after fireball. This was my first real look at magic use in this world, since my first attempt at it had knocked me out cold.

  Karl had his fingers separated in a claw like fashion to produce continuous lightning bolts. I had expected the spell to be loud but either he was holding back, or it was a low tier spell, since it didn’t seem to be that powerful.

  It did one shot each Rat that he hit though, so maybe it wasn’t half bad.

  Daiver moved forward, as did the rest of the party, and I followed closely after them as they traveled deeper into the Dungeon where more and more Rats appeared.

  Kesara’s and Vencia’s role seemed a tad redundant here, since I assumed both of them provided support, with Vencia being the party healer. Daiver shrugged off every Rat that attacked him so I could only imagine he was taking maybe one hit point of damage at most.

  Assuming hit points were even a thing in this world.

  Kesara mostly cast some kind of buff from what I could tell, emitting a blue glow that spread through the party. Since they all seemed to be over leveled for these Rats, it was hard to tell what exactly her buff did.

  As I watched them fight in the Dungeon, it showed me that I still had little clue about how some aspects of this stat system worked in this world. Maybe I could find a buff or something else to help me in the Dungeon or at least see if there was a magic spell that could speed up some aspects of my grinding.

  The possibilities were limitless with magic in play.

  And I thought throwing fireballs seemed a bit cooler than me swinging my sword down on Rats but that was probably my envious inner gamer talking. Their positioning and roles was the classic trinity style of Tank, damage dealers, and Healer or support. I should have figured that would be the case in this RPG like world, since most MMO games stuck to this setup for parties.