-Radiant-

I worked to get on the combat gear laid out in my size. The equipment had been delivered to me in the room that Minex had given us directions to. After Minex had approved me and Lucky for the next test, the staff had probably gotten the gear ready just like it seemed to have been done for everyone else getting ready in the room.

The gear was designed to be worn over light clothing, so I had to take off my favorite jacket and pretend to store it in a nearby locker while actually storing it in my Internal World. It was so nice to be able to use my spatial abilities without fear of being constantly watched, though I still froze slightly out of habit whenever I used them. It was something I needed to fix over time, but currently I was using [Mental Operator] to finish up the development plan laid out in the future message; fixing up little habitual quirks would be nice, but I was on a 3 year clock, dealing with the little mental things was going to have to be done the old fashioned way for now, that was what my Mental Stats were for after all.

I sat on a bench while putting on the black combat gear with red highlights. I didn't have much to do while getting on the gear, so I decided to once again practice my social skills with Lucky being conveniently nearby.

"Hey, Lucky. You seem to be pretty passionate about being an adventurer huh?"

Lucky seemed to vibrate from excitement at my question, "Oh! You bet! I've been preparing and studying ever since I was a kid. In fact I've probably read everything there is to know about Tri-Heart City's Dungeons."

"Everything? Then can you tell me why there are red accents on this combat gear?"

"Sure, I'm not completely certain, but my guess is that it's because this beginners adventurer gear needs to have identifying colors so other beginner adventurers can easily identify the others."

"If you're not certain, then why would you guess that?"

"That's because of the primary hostiles on the first floor of the Central Heart. You see the Vermilligators are colorblind to red, so having these red highlights wouldn't have any purpose unless it was for people."

"You sure seem to have read a lot about the Dungeon if you know such small details."

"This is nothing, just an insignificant detail. If you're really looking for useful information, then you should know that one of the Central Heart's main concepts is water, so dealing with water based enemies is a crucial ability for those trying to delve into it."

I nodded, "That makes sense, with the floating rivers flowing into the Dungeon it would be pretty strange if that wasn't one of its main concepts." I hit my fist against my chest armor, "This gear also seems to be made out of a lightweight material that seems like it would be buoyant in water, so I would assume that at least the first level of the Dungeon will have a lot of water on it?"

"Absolutely. The first level of the dungeon is mostly underwater, though most of the underwater portions are only explored by treasure seekers; the test almost certainly won't require having to do anything other than deal with the above water portion of the level."

"Nice, I recently had to deal with an underwater level in my Tribulation Dungeon, so I don't particularly want to handle another underwater adventure for a while."

"An underwater level? I've heard that's almost like a death sentence for the lower Tiers, you must have to deal with underwater stuff on the regular to survive something like that right?"

"Uh, yeah, sure."

"Oh man, you know I-"

Someone interrupted our talking with an announcement to gather in two minutes.

"I guess we should finish up then."

"Right."

We quickly finished getting our gear on, having to rush a little bit because we had entered later than everyone else.

After finishing we went along with everyone else and walked through the large hallways and outside the Adventurer's Guild, back out into the city's center.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

As we neared the Dungeon, we had to use the floating platforms floating on top of the water to get to the Dungeon's entrance. Before we walked into the pitch black void though, the person guiding us spoke up, "After you enter the Dungeon, you will first enter a sort of transitory space where you will be able to group up with whomever you like before being sent into the first floor of the Dungeon. Then Proctors already in the Dungeon will help you team up and whatnot, so if you want to team up with anybody do it in the transitory space."

The person guiding us stepped aside and motioned for us to enter the Dungeon.

We all filed into the Dungeon, with only a few people hesitating before entering. And with me and Lucky at the end of the line we were the last ones to enter.

It didn't feel like anything as I entered the Gate, even with my [Space-Time Sense], but one moment I was outside in Tri-Heart City, and the next I was in a large spherical place with four rivers flowing through from the outside and into a turbulent pond/lake in the center. On the outside edges of the sphere there was solid land with grass and trees making for a pleasant atmosphere.

Everyone who had entered before me had already made their way onto one of the solid lands on either side of the river, and were gathering around various doorways where different proctors were standing.

After seeing the guide that had led us all in here walk into view behind me and Lucky, one of the proctors standing beside one of the nearest doors shouted out, "Everyone gather with your group in front of one of the doors. I, along with the other proctors standing by the doors, will enter with your group and keep an eye on you throughout your test."

They didn't say anything else afterwards, and Lucky turned to me saying, "So, partner, you want to team up with anyone else?"

I shook my head, "I think just me and you will be enough to go through the first floor of a Dungeon. But you're the one who's studied this Dungeon, you tell me if we need more people to clear it."

"No, just me and you will be good enough for floor one. However, I'm not sure how the test is being scored." He turned to the lady that had walked in behind us, "Hey there, miss proctor lady, can you tell us how this test is scored?"

The lady turned towards Lucky with an amused expression and said, "There's nothing much to it, each team will be given a task by the proctor following them, and they will have to complete the task and go through the Dungeon while being watched by the proctor. The proctor will have a recording device on them, and after you exit the Dungeon that recording will be reviewed by a few people to determine if you've passed. As long as you're not a complete idiot there shouldn't be any problem."

Lucky smiled, "Thanks! So I guess we don't need more teammates as long as we can complete the task we're assigned."

I nodded, "Hmm, well I'm pretty confident in my ability to complete whatever task we're handed. So let's find a doorway and enter it."

"Alright."

We both walked off of the floating platform and away from the other forming groups. Eventually walking up to a door with a relatively short man standing next to it. He looked perfectly normal besides his short stature, but my [Space-Time Sense] sensed something strange about him. It was so subtle I could barely sense it, but I could tell that there was more to this person than first glance would tell.

As always Lucky was eager to speak up, "Hello there! It's just us in a group, so if you're ready to go then so are we."

The proctor shrugged and then pointed towards the doorframe he was standing beside. "Take out one of the tokens and touch them to the one in my hand."

Along the outside of the stone doorframe were many ornate stone hexagonal decorations that were fitted into small indentations regularly spaced along the frame. One of these indentations was empty, and the short man pulled a glowing white hexagon out of his pocket that seemed to be the missing decoration, or at least I guessed that the token was supposed to go in the indentation.

Lucky and I easily slipped out our own hexagon tokens, and just like the guide told us we touched them to the glowing one in his hand. Making our tokens start glowing too, but less bright than his.

"Alright, now we'll walk into the door with our tokens and we'll be transported onto the first floor of the Dungeon as a team. If you come into the Dungeon after this and want to form a team, then all you need to do is find the white glowing token and do exactly the same thing."

Lucky nodded, "I already knew that, but it's good to have it demonstrated."

The proctor nodded and said, "Just remember to have the person with the leader token enter the door first." He reached into a pocket on the side of his backpack and pulled out a clear sphere. Then he opened another pocket on his backpack and inserted the sphere into a device inside. He then seemed to turn on the device and all sorts of lights turned on as he pushed one more button before closing up the pocket with the device.

"Alright, from here on everything is being recorded. Follow me and let's get this show on the road."

I had no idea how the device covered up inside of his backpack was recording anything, but it definitely didn't seem to have any camera lenses or anything, so whatever it was doing was definitely magical in nature.

Lucky and I looked at each other, and he nodded while putting a hand on the sword at his waist. He then straightened himself up and put his shoulders back saying, "Let's do this."

Then we all walked into the stone doorway. First went the proctor, and he seemed to disappear as he walked through the doorway, and an empty spot on the doorframe started to grow a white non-glowing token. It wasn't growing fast, but I guessed that the token growing back was like some sort of timer for those following behind. So Lucky and I didn't waste time and followed behind the short proctor.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.