“William, you are this world’s last hope. Please save this world.” The voice of my goddess faded away as I lost consciousness.

I woke up in cold sweat, shivering even though I had layers of blankets covering me.

“Damnit. This dream again.” I got up and started my training. Ever since I was reincarnated into this world by the goddess of life, Aerith, I’ve dedicated my whole life to her. I saw the evils of society and how backward this world was. It was like a standard transmigration story that my otaku friends always talked about. However, I was experiencing it in the flesh.

A lot has happened since then. I saw the worst of society. Poverty-stricken villages, the corruption of the aristocracy, human-trafficking, I’ve seen them all. I’ve also had it happen to me. My whole village was destroyed by a flood of monsters. When I went to beg for help from the lord in charge of my village, he ignored my pleas. Ever since then, I swore that I would cleanse the upper class of their filth.

After finishing my daily workout, I returned home and cleaned myself up. Suddenly, a knock was heard at my front door.

*Knock Knock*

“William, are you awake?”

“One minute!” I hurriedly got dressed in my gear and left. When I exited, the faces of the few friends I’ve made in this world greeted me. From left to right they were Alec Lennings, the heir of a baronet family, a family of famous knights. Faris Nightingale, a quiet, but otherwise cunning girl that always gets what she wants. Sophia Evergreen, the daughter of a Duke and the person that convinced me that not all aristocrats were corrupt. Finally, there was Aya Hana.

I have been attracted to her since the first time I saw her beauty. She resembled my childhood friend from my past life. I swear I’m not lying! Anyways, she has been hanging around with Vincent, that detestable person, but I think things have begun to change. I haven’t seen in him a while, Alec tells me that he’s wasting his life away in the red-light district. However, it’s good to see that Aya was finally able to get rid of that man.

“What took you so long, William?” I watched as Sophia pouted with her hands around her waist.

“Hehehe~! Every young man needs their alone time, Lady Sophia.” Aya giggled and spoke ambiguously. I blushed a little at her words. I noticed that Sophia seemed uncomfortable with Aya, but that might just be my imagination. “Then are we ready to leave?”

“I’m ready,” I answered. We hurriedly joined up with the rest of the seniors from the Dungeon Exploration Society. Today was the day we visit a conquered dungeon to get a feel for what an actual dungeon was like.

The location of the dungeon was nearby, close to the capital. It was controlled by the royal family. When we got there, I saw a small village that was set up around the mouth of the dungeon.

“Halt! No one is allowed beyond this point.” A soldier blocked our path. I looked over to the club leader, Sven.

“No worries. We’re here on a learning excursion from Lancelot Academy. Here are our papers.” Sven produced a set of documents with the signatures of the academy heads.

After a brief moment, while the soldier was getting the documents examined, we were let inside the village. Inside, I saw a lot of soldiers doing their day-to-day activities such as training, drilling, resting, etc. I also saw many craftsmen processing monster materials and lugging around carts of magic crystals. A conquered dungeon was a goldmine. That’s why it belonged to the kingdom once conquered. As we approached the waiting point, just outside the dungeon entrance, the leader-like soldier approached our group.

“Who’s the one in charge?” The soldier asked.

“I am.” Sven stepped out. Sven was a fourth-year student and would soon graduate. He has already submitted his aspirations to the academy and would join the adventurer’s guild upon graduation.

“I want to go over the details of this excursion. Would you please step inside with me?” The leader spoke out in a neutral tone. Although it’s called an excursion, Aya tells me it’s more like a babysitting job for the soldiers.

“It smells disgusting,” Faris complained and covered her nose. She has a stronger sense of smell than most people.

“This is the sacrifice adventurers have to make. Just bear with it.” Aya smiled wryly.

Alec also sniffed a bit, “I don’t smell anything. Do you?” He asked me.

To be honest, it does smell a little stale. But it’s expected since a dungeon shouldn’t have too good of a ventilation system in place.

“It’s okay.”

“It smells horrible.” Sophia also complained, covering her nose. Our seniors looked at us like a parent watching their child grow up. It was unsettling.

Soon after, Sven returned from the building, holding a map of the dungeon.

“Alright, everyone. Form into teams, we’ll move as one group, but we’ll practice what we were taught in the academy.” We quickly formed a team. It was me, Aya, Sophia, Faris, and Alec in one group. I don’t know why, but everyone chose me as the team leader.

“Student William, you’re the team leader?” Sven looked confused and shot a look at Aya.

“I think it’s good practice,” Aya answered back, to which Sven nodded and handed over a crude map.

“Here. There are limited copies, and the soldiers expect it back after. So don’t lose it. We’ll be taking this route throughout the dungeon, stop by the dungeon core room and then take this route outside.” He traced the route over the map. “For the most part, we’ll follow the soldier patrol, so there’s no need to worry.”

“I understand.” I handed the map over to Faris, who was in charge of navigation and retold what Sven told me.

“Everyone all set?” The sergeant asked. “Then let’s go!”

“Here we go.” I nervously said and stepped forward into the dark interior of the dungeon.

---

“Over there!”

“Hyaa!” I chopped down and split the white-striped ground bat in half. It wasn’t a tough fight, these monsters were only D-rank, I’ve fought many of these weak types when I was exploring near my old village.

“Good job, William.” Aya happily shouted and sliced up another ground bat. Sophia and Faris worked together to kill their own target. Alec was busy holding off another three with his massive shield.

“I’ll take one more, Alec!” I shouted and managed to draw a ground bat away, alleviating some stress from the otherwise occupied Alec.

The rest of the group were also busy handling their own monsters. The soldiers held back and allowed us to fight these weak mobs, but stepped in a couple times to protect the less fortunate students.

“Good job, everyone. Let’s move in further.” The sergeant called out, and we continued our trek. We rounded a couple corners, also cleared a few traps that the dungeon core created. Finally, we arrived in the dungeon core room, well… outside of it.

“Patrol Team Davis will be relieving Patrol Team Craven of their duties. Good work out here.” The sergeant in charge of our group said while saluting another soldier.

“They are?” The sergeant of the Patrol Team Craven asked. “They don’t look like workers to me.”

“These are the students from Lancelot. They’re here to see how we do things.” Sergeant Davis answered back.

“Is that so?” Sergeant Craven smiled and waved, “Call me Sergeant Craven. Why don’t I show you the operations inside the dungeon core room?”

“Craven, is this okay with the captain?” Sergeant Davis asked.

“I don’t know. It’s not like it’ll hurt to let them see this, right?” Sergeant Craven shrugged and led them inside.

“It’s your head, not mine.” Sergeant Davis sighed and started organizing his squad to replace Sergeant Craven’s squad.

“Everyone, understand that this isn’t a normal occurrence. So please pay close attention to what we’ll see.” Sven quickly thanked Sergeant Craven.

They were led inside the room. What greeted their eyes when they entered were rough workers vigorously chipping away at the crystalline materials lining the dome-like interior of the core room.

“Welcome to the dungeon core room.” Sergeant Craven readily introduced everyone to the actions of the workers. “They’re busy mining the mana crystals. These naturally occur in the dungeon core room.”

“Mana crystals are a purified form of mana.” I commented and then asked, “But why would they appear in this room specifically?”

“Not sure, I’m just doing as told.” Sergeant Craven shrugged and started moving toward the center of the room where a stargate-looking ring was erected. “This is the dungeon core.”

“Amazing!” Alec’s eyes glowed with excitement as he approached the structure.

“Hold it!” Sergeant Craven held out a hand to stop the proactive teenager. “It’s dangerous to approach the core.” The serious look on his face told everyone that he wasn’t kidding around. The workers and soldiers around them also wore grim expressions.

“Alec, did you not read up on anything before coming?” Sophia hastily berated the youth.

“Who needs all that unnecessary information…” Alec started to argue back but stepped down under the stares of everyone. “Sorry, I’ll be sure to reflect upon my mistakes.” He gingerly retreated back into the crowd of students.

“I understand that the youth are curious, but safety is of utmost importance. Here, let me demonstrate what would’ve happened if you had approached the core.” He motioned for a worker on the side to cross the wooden barricade.

The worker appeared reluctant, but with a bit more urging from the sergeant, swallowed his fear and leaped over the fence.

*KSSSHHHHHHHRRRRRK*

The dungeon core came to life. The ring lit up as runes appeared around the gate. A viscous bright blue screen glossed over the center of the ring, emitting a pulsing wave like a ripple in a calm pool of water. A short moment later and a small ground bat popped out of the gate.

“Kill it.” Sergeant Craven commanded. The soldiers surrounding the wooden barrier crossed over the swiftly dispatched the new monster. “There’s a short window between summoning monsters that we’re allowed to approach.” He answered the unspoken question.

“Sergeant Craven, I noticed that earlier you asked a worker to approach the dungeon core instead of one of your men. Is there a reason?” Sven asked excitedly.

“You have a keen eye. There’s a reason for that.” Sergeant Craven proudly stood up straighter and said, “If any of the soldiers were to approach, a strong monster would step through the gate. We can’t risk this when children are about.”

I narrowed my gaze a bit. This wasn’t the first time that adults looked down on me because of my age. However, I was here by invitation from the Dungeon Exploration Society and didn’t want to cause any trouble for Aya, so I remained silent. At the very least, I tried to stay out of it.

“What do you mean by children?” Alec, who was already embarrassed earlier, decided to speak up. He came from a long line of somewhat famous knights, so he might be a bit stubborn when it came to others underestimating his abilities. “Age has little to do with ability.” He challenged.

“Oh, really?” Sergeant Craven also narrowed his eyes in contempt. Having his authority challenged in front of his subordinates was the same as smacking his face. More ever, the reason he invited the students to observe the operation in the dungeon core was to stroke his ego. “And I suppose that you flowers that are cultivated within a glasshouse can hold up to we who have marched through blood and fire?”

I could sense the atmosphere turning bad and was just about to interrupt when Alec hurriedly looked around for support. When I saw his gaze land on me, I knew there was no way of getting out of this.

“Ha! You? Marched through blood and fire? The most action you’ve seen is probably the occasional goblin on your daily patrols. Everyone knows that true battles are waged in the outskirts of the kingdom.” As a child of a proud line of knights, he also spent time following his father in campaigns to subjugate monsters in the wilderness surrounding their small land.

“You…” Sergeant Craven shot out a deathly glare. Alec had poked at his sore spot. He was just about to curse out Alec but then stopped and smiled coldly. “Then why don’t you prove that you are superior? Show me your resolve.” He pointed at the dungeon core.

“That is…” Alec hesitated and looked back at me once more. This time, the Sergeant caught the subtle glance and also trained his bloodthirsty gaze this way. The Sergeant looked like he came to an epiphany and stomped over my way.

“So you were behind all this.” He assumed. “Who are you to challenge my authority?” His voice boomed loudly.

“Sergeant Craven—“ Aya tried to interfere.

“Shut up! I’m talking to this kid!” Sergeant Craven yelled. “Speak! What are your intentions?”

I honestly have nothing to do with this. This is why I hate nobles. Their pride always causes trouble wherever they go. Although Alec was to a lesser extent, in the end, he was still a noble.’ I thought.

“I…” I was about to answer, but then a particular hothead answered in my stead.

“He’s William. The best swordsman of Lancelot Academy in the last century. Do you think you can speak that way to a prodigy?” Alec challenged back. Seeing that I was pulled into this butting of stubborn hotheads.

“Damn, so this scrawny kid is a prodigy?” Sergeant Craven sarcastically asked. He scrunched up his facing for a brief moment and then said, “Then you go instead of that braggart.”

“Me?” I frowned. I have a bad feeling about this.

“Are you also an idiot?” Sergeant Craven scoffed, “Of course you! Go!” He violently grabbed my shoulder and shoved me in the direction of the dungeon core.

“Sergeant…” I tried to ask.

“What are you waiting for, Will?” Alec also urged. His pride was also being challenged.

“Then, I have to?” I looked around at the other students, many of whom were also children of nobles and felt their pride being challenged when the sergeant called them cultivated flowers. They all remained silent, no one was against me approaching the dungeon core.

“Sergeant Craven, I think everyone should take a step back and cool down. Doing this won’t achieve anything and will only put everyone’s lives at risk.” Aya was the only reasonable voice in the crowd.

“Him? I’ll be amazed in he could even call out a ground bat.” Sergeant Craven sneered. Right, I do look a bit malnourished because of my past, but I know myself the most, and I know what would come out of there wouldn’t be a good thing.

“No, I don’t think you understand,” I tried to explain my circumstance, but was interrupted.

“Getting cold feet? If you don’t have the balls to back up your claim, then don’t start shit you can’t finish.” Sergeant Craven came to a conclusion and sneered.

I really wanted to just let it go. I really didn’t want to cause any trouble, but the look of disappointment from everyone was too hard to bear. I vowed that ever since that day, I will never bow down to anyone that humiliates me. Is this the extent of my resolve? No! You dare to challenge me? Then I will answer your challenge, for I am, William.

“Step aside,” I commanded and shoved aside the sergeant. He stumbled a bit and flushed with embarrassment. I stepped over the barricade and watched as the core hummed to life.

*KSHHHHHHHRK!*

*BOOM!*

“!!!”

“…”

“What? HOW?!”

“R-r… RUN!!!”

“RAAHHHHH!” A beast with the body of a lion and the head of an eagle leaped through the gate. Fire spewed out from its beak as it burnt down a handful of workers. Pandemonium exploded around the entire room as panicked people shoved their way out of the room.

“What the fuck!” Sergeant Craven roared as he grabbed the collar of Sven. “Who the fuck is that kid?!”

“W-William. Royal Knight Candidate…” Sven shakily responded, an odorous liquid flowing down his leg.

“Fuck!” Sergeant Craven quickly waved to his men, “Everyone, hold the beast back. I need to go get reinforcements.”

This bastard. Is he trying to save himself at the expense of his men? I watched as everyone shook where they stood, then drew my sword. This would be a challenge for me. If I can slay this monster, this means that I am not weak. I am better than HIM.

“What did you do?!” Sergeant Davis shoved his way into the core room and saw the panicked Sergeant Craven running toward him.

“One of the kids summoned a boss! I need to go report this to the captain outside!” He stammered out and rushed past Sergeant Davis.

“Okay. I’ll hold it back as long as I can.” Sergeant Davis looked grim, but his gaze remained unwavering.

“Y-yes.” Sergeant Craven kept his head down and ran off.

“You kids retreat. Follow Sergeant Craven out!” Sergeant Davis’ voice raised by an octave as he watched the griffon tore off a man’s arm with a swipe of its front paw.

“Sir! I can help!” I answered.

“No! This is a result of our negligence. We will take care of this matter. Retreat! That’s an order!” Sergeant Davis and his patrol team rushed forward. Their orderly conduct gave the students some confidence as they retreated.

“C’mon Will! Let’s go!” Sophia grabbed my arm and pulled me away. I was about to shake her off but saw Aya’s worried look.

‘Maybe it was best if I listened to the sergeant. At least, I’ll escort Aya to safety before coming back.’ I thought as I followed after the panicked students.

“Hold the left! We cannot let this beast past!” Sergeant Davis ordered as I ran past. I took one last look at the sergeant before promising to myself that I’ll return swiftly.