Everyone was waiting for the details of the test.

The smile on the old man was more fitting with the film “It”. He reminded Tiffany of this nasty clown who was simply there for his perverted pleasure.

“Now everyone will go to the dungeon specially prepared by the academy. It is a level 0 dungeon, so it shouldn’t be too difficult for you guys.”

“Yup, that smile was definitely creepy”. Tiffany thought. However, she had no idea what a level 0 dungeon meant. Before she could ask about it, someone did it for her.

“Sorry sir, what is a level 0 dungeon?”

“Well, don’t we have some curious one here. Curiosity is good, but it also killed the cat”. Answered the old man followed by a slightly mad chuckle.

“Thank you Elder Finar. I will take over from here”. Interrupted a man wearing the academy teacher’s uniform.

“I am professor Merrik and I am in charge of your entrance examination. Elder Finar will be your instructor in charge of making you into one of the few elites if you have the chance to catch his eyes”.

This did nothing to reassure the students and they all prayed to not fall in this category.

“Now, a level 0 dungeon is one that is used to initiate new comers into the full system awakening. You will gain your first level upon killing a monster found in the dungeon”. Professor Merrik continued with his explanation.

“Wait a second, I am already level one. How can I go in the dungeon?” Sounds of disaffection could be heard from most of the gathered students.

“That is your problem. The only requirement was to not have a level. If you couldn’t even read the academy announcement properly, you are even less qualified to join Origin academy. And before anyone complain even more, let me remind you that you will be going into the dungeon by yourself”.

All the complaints stopped with this declaration. They knew that their level 1 was not a true level 1. They had hanged up on a level 0 monster in the past in order to cheat the system.

The system complied with their wishes and gave them the level but no experience or benefits for achieving level 1.

They could no longer go to a level 0 dungeon. Their only chance was to go to a level 1-10 dungeon and try to kill an even stronger monster. This was clearly impossible.

To the dismay of the majority of the students, their complaints and pleas fell on deaf ears.

By the time the commotion settled down, only sixty-two students were left.

”Sixty-two left. This is much better than the last two years combined. Hopefully they won’t die or give up in the test”. Muttered Merrik.

“Alright, so the simplicity of this test is to go inside this dungeon and kill one goblin. You will be teleported out once the kill has been confirmed by the system. The only advice I can give you is: if you are not teleported out, then it is not dead. Alright, lined up and let’s get started”.

The first in line was panicking. “Wait, wait… how else can we get out of the dungeon?”

“Oh! There are two other options. You can shout ‘escape’ and it will take you out of the dungeon or if you die you body will be sent out. I’m not of these case you fail”.

Without waiting for anymore questions, Merrik threw the young man into the portal.

Ten minutes later, the young man reappeared sitting on the floor. His pale face and soiled trousers were proof that it didn’t go well.

The results were the same for the next eleven candidates. They all failed looking miserably. The last one was the worst. He was missing his right forearm and bite marks could be seen on his elbow. It was clearly bitten off.

The twelfth person went in and he reappeared 5 minutes later. He was standing there unfazed as if he had just gone to talk a walk in the park. His body gave a short mana glow indicating the successful level up.

Everyone got fired up, seeing the possibility of passing. The next three candidates passed the exam as well in various states. The last one had his chest to red out by a claw and he was rushed to the infirmary.

The sixteenth student was no so lucky. His mutilated corpse was sent out. His throat was torn making unable to speak while the goblins feasted on his body.

At the back of the line, Tiffany could not see the commotion by the portal. She was also focused on a goblin student. That was next to her. He was cute in a strange way. He clearly was intelligent and didn’t have a threatening appearance.

Finally, it was Tiffany’s turn to go in the dungeon. She made sure she had her gun strapped to her right leg and spare cartridges on her torso and left leg.

Crossing the portal she felt her sense being distorted and stretched. They came back to normal right after arriving in the dungeon.

She was surrounded by tall gloomy trees. The atmosphere was suffocating. Just as she struggled to adjust to the darkness, her second skill, night vision, activated. This was a definite advantage compared to the rest of the students.

The silence was broken by a discordant screech. Tiffany jumped in fright and pull her gun facing the the direction where the sound came from.

Her arm was shaking, fear and hesitation could be seen on her pale face. She stood frozen for a minute.

Gathering her courage, Tiffany cautiously walked forward, trying to hide behind trees in order to hide her presence.

The closer she got the more screeches she heard. She finally arrived at a clearing and felt nauseated. Her previous idea of cute goblins was shattered. It was like comparing a Pokémon to an alien.

Twenty meters away from her, three dirty goblins were present. They had long ears, arms dangling up to theirs knees. Long claws filled with grim could be seen gleaming from their three fingered hands.

The first goblin was tearing into an animal carcass, its sharp fangs tearing the guts with ease. Blood splattered everywhere. The other two were a male and female pair engaging in animalistic sex, mindless of anything around them.

Tiffany’s mind went blank. These things were nothing like the cute goblin she had been talking to a few minutes ago. They were clearly some feral monsters.

They were grotesque, the more she looks, the more disgusted she felt. She couldn’t stop herself when she saw the two goblins stopping their primal activities and displaying their sexual members. Their was not erotic about this.

Tiffany forgot all her training and with trembling arms, she blindly shot at the trio. the bullet disappeared into the dense foliage of the forest.

Three pairs of pale yellow eyes filled with savagery zoned in on Tiffany. She didn’t wait for them to react and fled in panic. Branches kept hitting and cutting her face in her mad rush.

Hearing the scrapping of claws and guttural screams coming closer, Tiffany turned her head to see where they were. The sight of three goblins on all fours froze her blood.

This was a terrible mistake, she missed her footing and went crashing onto the grounds. In a moment of desperation, she turned and brought her arm up to protect her face. This move saved her life.

A bloody maw closed on her forearm. She could feel the fangs biting into her flesh. Her leather jacket saved her from losing her arm. The pain cleared her confused mind, she quickly brought her gun to its temple and pulled the trigger.

The top part of its head disappeared in a shower of blood, bits of skin and tissue matters. Disappearing right in front of the other two goblins stunned them for a second before they started feasting on their dead comrade.

Tiffany appeared in the same position as she was in. Laying face up, greenish blood adorning her face. She couldn’t stop grimacing due to the pain. The only gratifying point was the soft glow acknowledging her level up.

On the way to the infirmary she could only think about her short time in the dungeon. There was nothing glamorous about them. Monsters were not cute and cuddly. The pain in her arm was a good remainder that it was a battle for survival and death was the best prize you could asked if you became the loser. What if she had been captured and unable to escape?

Tiffany was brought out of her nightmares by the sudden pain in her arm when the doctor tightened the bandage.

“Alright, we are done now. Just don’t get it wet. We don’t have any healers for the first years. That’s the rules. So try to not come back to often.

Tiffany thanked the doctor and went back to the testing site. Despite the fear of her ordeal, she was eager to begin her academy life.