Chapter 193: Dungeon Run

After Abigail finished explaining the importance of Rules, she began assigning the students to their groups.

"Each group must have five members. Once you’ve formed your groups, I’ll assign a dungeon to each of you. Remember, this is a training exercise, so work together instead of trying to prove how strong you are."

The students immediately began looking for teammates.

Kaiser glanced at Alex.

"We’re obviously in the same group, right?"

Alex nodded. "Of course. I wouldn’t trust these guys to watch my back anyway."

Kaiser ignored his comment and looked around the classroom. Several students had already formed groups, while others were still searching for their remaining members.

Before long, a few students approached them.

"Can we join your group?" one of the boys asked.

Alex looked at Kaiser, leaving the decision to him.

Kaiser examined the three students standing in front of them. He recognized them as classmates, but he hadn’t interacted with them much.

"Sure," he replied. "As long as everyone follows the rules and cooperates during the dungeon exploration."

The three students nodded, and their group was complete.

Abigail soon finished assigning the students to their respective groups. She then led the entire class out of the training hall and toward a large building on the academy grounds.

Unlike the other buildings, this one had several reinforced gates and defensive formations covering its walls. A number of instructors were stationed near the entrance, while a large screen displayed information about different dungeons.

"This is the academy’s dungeon training facility," Abigail explained. "The dungeons connected to this facility have been carefully selected for students. Their environments and monsters are suitable for training, but that doesn’t mean you can lower your guard."

She stopped in front of the entrance and turned toward the class.

"Your assigned dungeon is Rank 4, and its monsters don’t possess Rules. However, you are still required to fight using your Rules alone. You may cooperate with your teammates, but you cannot use your class abilities, Soul Bonds, summoned creatures, or any other abilities unrelated to your Rules."

Her gaze briefly settled on Kaiser.

"That includes your undead, Kaiser."

Kaiser shrugged. "I understood the first time, Teacher."

"Good. Then I won’t have to repeat myself."

A few students chuckled, and Abigail continued explaining the procedure.

"Each group will receive a dungeon token. Once you activate it, you’ll be transported to your assigned dungeon. Your progress will be monitored throughout the exploration, and you’ll return here automatically once the dungeon is cleared or your group is forced to withdraw."

She paused to make sure everyone was paying attention.

"If you encounter a situation you cannot handle, you can activate the token to withdraw. However, doing so before completing the dungeon will count as a failed attempt. Don’t be reckless, but don’t give up simply because things become difficult."

The students nodded.

Abigail then distributed the dungeon tokens to each group.

When Kaiser received his, he inspected it briefly. It was a small silver disc with several runes engraved on its surface. A faint magical energy circulated within it, indicating that it was connected to the academy’s transportation system.

’Convenient,’ he thought before putting it away.

Once every group had received its token, Abigail gave them their final instructions.

"You have three hours to complete your assigned dungeon. The monsters inside will provide experience, but your main objective is to improve your ability to use your Rules in actual combat. Pay attention to how your Rule behaves when facing different opponents and situations."

She looked across the class.

"Now, activate your tokens."

Kaiser turned toward his teammates.

"Ready?"

The others nodded.

Alex grinned. "Let’s get this over with. I want to see how much stronger we can become after a few fights."

Kaiser activated the silver disc.

A flash of light enveloped the five students, and the surroundings began to distort.

A moment later, they disappeared from the facility.

When Kaiser opened his eyes again, he found himself standing inside a dark forest. Tall trees surrounded them, their thick branches blocking most of the sunlight. The air was damp, and the distant sounds of monsters echoed between the trees.

A notification appeared before his eyes.

[Dungeon Entry Successful.]

[Dungeon Rank: 4]

[Myriad Serpent Abode]

[Objective: Clear the Dungeon.]

[Time Limit: 3 Hours.]

Kaiser glanced at the notification before looking around.

"So, we’re in the Myriad Serpent Abode," Alex said as he checked the information displayed before his eyes. "Sounds like we’ll be dealing with a lot of snakes."

"That’s probably what we’ll find here," Kaiser replied. "Stay alert. We don’t know how strong the monsters are yet."

The other three students nodded. Although they had entered a Rank 4 dungeon, they couldn’t rely on their usual abilities. Their Rules were the only powers they could use, making this exploration quite different from their previous dungeon experiences.

"Let’s move forward together," Kaiser suggested. "There’s no point splitting up when we don’t know the layout."

The group began moving through the forest, keeping their guard up as they examined their surroundings.

The trees grew densely, and thick roots spread across the ground. The air was damp, with a faint earthy smell mixed with something unpleasant. Every so often, they heard rustling among the bushes, but nothing appeared immediately.

Alex glanced at the trees.

"Do you think these snakes are hiding in the branches?"

"Probably. They could also be beneath the ground or inside those bushes," Kaiser answered. "Watch your surroundings instead of focusing on just one direction."

As they continued forward, Kaiser suddenly stopped.

"Wait."

The other four halted and looked at him.

Kaiser narrowed his eyes, examining a patch of ground a few meters ahead. At first glance, it looked no different from the surrounding forest floor. However, a faint movement beneath the fallen leaves had caught his attention.

Before he could warn the others, a thick green serpent burst out of the ground.

Its mouth opened wide, revealing two rows of sharp fangs as it lunged toward the nearest student.

"Watch out!"

The student reacted quickly, raising his hand as energy surged around his body.

A powerful wave of Rule energy struck the serpent in midair, knocking it sideways. It crashed against a tree before falling to the ground.

However, the serpent wasn’t dead.

It twisted its body and immediately prepared to attack again.

At the same time, several more movements appeared beneath the surrounding leaves.

"There’s more than one!" Alex shouted.

Several green serpents emerged from the ground and branches, surrounding the group from different directions. Their scales blended perfectly with the forest, making them difficult to detect before they moved.

Kaiser quickly assessed the situation.

’Their camouflage is quite good. If we aren’t careful, they could launch surprise attacks from any direction.’

One of the serpents lunged toward him.

Kaiser moved aside and raised his hand. Black energy gathered around his fingers as he focused on the Shatter aspect of his Rule.

He released a concentrated burst toward the serpent’s head.

The energy struck its scales.

Crack!

A faint fracture spread across the serpent’s protective layer, and the impact sent it crashing to the ground. Before it could recover, Kaiser attacked again, concentrating his energy on the same damaged spot.

This time, the force broke through its defenses and injured it badly enough to stop its advance.

Kaiser glanced at his hand.

’The Shatter aspect works against physical defenses too. However, I still need to concentrate the energy carefully.’

He had managed to injure the serpent, but the process consumed more Rule energy than he would have liked. If he continued fighting this way without improving his control, he might struggle against stronger opponents.

Fortunately, this was an opportunity to practice.

Meanwhile, Alex had already begun using Blood Sap. Reddish-green energy flowed through the jade vines he summoned, strengthening them as they wrapped around two serpents and slammed them against the ground.

The remaining students also activated their Rules, keeping the monsters from surrounding them completely.

"Don’t let them separate us!" Kaiser called out. "Keep your attacks focused, and watch out for anything hiding in the trees!"

The group adjusted their positions, forming a defensive formation with their backs facing one another.

The serpents continued attacking, their movements quick and unpredictable. Some lunged from the ground, while others dropped from the branches above. The students had to remain alert, using their Rules to defend themselves and counterattack whenever an opening appeared.

Kaiser focused on his own opponent, carefully observing how the Shatter aspect interacted with its scales.

Rather than wasting energy on powerful attacks, he tried to identify the weakest points in its defenses. Whenever the serpent moved to strike, he targeted the exposed areas around its head and neck.

His attacks gradually became more efficient.

’This is useful. The more I practice, the better I’ll become at identifying where to concentrate the Rule’s power.’

After several minutes of fighting, the last serpent finally collapsed.

The group took a moment to catch their breath while checking for injuries.

Alex looked at the fallen monsters and smiled.

"That wasn’t too bad. If the entire dungeon is like this, clearing it within three hours shouldn’t be difficult."

"Don’t get too confident," Kaiser replied. "We’ve only just entered. We still don’t know what awaits us deeper inside."

As if responding to his words, a distant hiss echoed through the forest.

Unlike the earlier sounds, this one was deep and powerful, carrying across the trees with enough force to make the ground seem to tremble.

The expressions of the students changed.

Kaiser turned toward the source of the sound.

’That doesn’t sound like an ordinary serpent.’

He looked deeper into the forest, where the trees grew thicker and the sunlight barely reached the ground.

"Let’s keep moving," he said. "But be prepared. I have a feeling the real challenge is still ahead."