"Principal Logan, is this... alright? They are just rookie hunters."
High above the sky of the Elite Hunter Academy, overlooking the massive training field shimmering with multiple portals, Professor Lyra asked, her voice tinged with worry.
"Heh… it is just an E-rank dungeon. Why are you getting so worked up?"
Logan, a muscular middle-aged man with a thick mustache and burly build, nearly twice Lyra's height, scoffed as he floated beside her.
Surprisingly, he was the current Principal of the Elite Hunter Academy, Logan Harris. An SS-rank warrior with a trace of Giant's blood running through his veins.
"But they are not even level 20 yet. Aren't you overestimating them? How are they supposed to conquer an E-rank dungeon when most of them are entering one for the first time?"
Professor Lyra looked visibly annoyed at his nonchalant attitude. She did not know what had gotten into the principal.
He insisted on giving this new batch of students a "surprise" by throwing them into an unknown E-rank dungeon.
What if something happened to them?
"Well, well… no need to get angry at me, Professor Lyra. It is for their own good, isn't it? Besides, they do not need to conquer the dungeon at all. Even if they leave right away, I will have no complaints."
Principal Logan smiled as though everything was under control, his gaze drifting toward the training ground below.
"Although I will be very happy if some of them give me a surprise."
He spoke faintly, his eyes filled with childish anticipation.
Professor Lyra still could not understand what he was thinking.
***
"Crescent Sever!"
"Fireball!"
"Piercing Shot!"
In the shadowy corner of the F-rank dungeon, streaks of light, fire, and arrows tore through the goblin horde.
Blades sliced through shields, arrows whistled past, pinning goblins to trees, and fireballs erupted in the center of the pack.
A summoned Stone Golem slammed down on the largest attackers, crushing them under its weight, while a warm golden light flared behind the group, healing cuts and bruises as the remaining goblins scattered in panic.
Yet they couldn't run, as one arrow after another pierced their heads with deadly accuracy, each shot striking like a sniper's.
"Graaah!"
"Eeek!"
"Hyaaah!"
It wasn't even a fight but a complete massacre. Soren's arrow alone shot down twenty goblins instantly, each one killing two or three at a time.
To be honest, hundreds of goblins, and it still wasn't even enough for them.
'Finally reached level 16.'
Soren killed the last goblin with a precise arrow and looked at his status panel.
---
[Name: Soren Kingswell]
[Class: Archer (B)]
[Level: 16 (20/2200)]
[Hunter Rank: B]
- Attributes -
> Strength: 21+8
> Agility/Dexterity: 40+16
> Intelligence: 21+12
> Endurance: 23+8
> Charm: 51
> Mana: 25+12
> Luck: 15
> Free Stat Points: 3
- Invariable Stat -
> GAP: 1
> CRITICAL HIT: 1
- Skills -
> Passive: Eagle Eye [B]
> Active: Piercing Shot [A], Rapid Shot [B]
-Active Quest-
> None!
-Status-
> Side Character
—
'But this is clearly not enough.'
Soren already knew that the attributes gained from leveling up were somewhat dependent on your class rank.
As a B-rank archer, his overall attribute gain was around 14 points. For an A or S-rank, it should be 16, 18, or even higher.
Looking at it, the difference didn't seem like much, but he knew how huge that gap really was when their level increased higher and higher.
It wasn't without reason that he was just a side character in this dating sim.
'It seems I must increase my class rank before I get left behind.'
Fortunately, a class's rank wasn't always fixed and could be raised by conquering special types of dungeons.
As a transmigrator, he knew of one where Evan had increased his class to SS rank in the game.
With his current strength and level, though, he would be dead if he tried it, even if he used GAP stat.
Of course, there was still another possibility for him. His system!
"Hey Soren, can we go kill that boss now? Look, I don't think there's any Goblin settlement left now. Or do you want us to keep farming air for experience?"
Just as Soren was making plans, Sylvia's shout brought him back to reality. She was looking at him with those blue eyes filled with annoyance.
After all, it was Soren who had stopped them from directly attacking the boss all this time and made them grind around like this.
One settlement after another, massacring low-level goblins again and again. Even she had already reached level 15.
But it couldn't be denied that everyone was bored. They only agreed to his advice because he said it was necessary for building their teamwork.
It was the first time they were fighting together, after all.
"Why are you so anxious? Aren't you a healer?"
Soren rolled his eyes at Sylvia. This girl had been constantly nagging him since the start of the fight, which was starting to irritate him. Maybe this was her way of taking revenge for what he did before.
"It isn't like you can kill that guy solo when you would faint at the sight of a ghost. So much for being an S-rank hunter."
But that didn't mean he would take everything thrown at him lying down.
Sure enough, the moment he said those words, Sylvia immediately got angry.
"Then you, a B-rank hunter, can kill it alone?"
"Of course!"
"Oh, really? Then why don't you go first and give us a grand performance? Just don't crawl back to me when you're missing an arm. I might suddenly forget how healing magic works."
"Wow. That's cold. Aren't we supposed to be teammates?"
"Tch... teammates support each other. I'm just supporting your confidence. From a safe distance."
"You're playing with words."
"As if..."
The banter between them went on and on, leaving Aurelia and Evan speechless. Evan, especially, was quite confused.
He didn't know when they had changed like this.
They were fine just yesterday, like amiable friends.
What happened?
"G-guys, d-don't fight..."
Aria Luna, on the other hand, tried to stop them when suddenly a heavy earthquake shook the entire dungeon.
The ground trembled violently beneath their feet, small stones rolling across the forest floor as dust rose into the air.
The trees around them rustled as if a strong wind had swept through, leaves shaking and branches swaying without any visible source. The air grew strangely heavy, and for a brief second, everything went still.
"Roar!"
A deafening roar shattered the moment of silence, heralding the appearance of the Goblin Chieftain.
It seemed that because they had massacred every goblin settlement nearby, the boss himself had come with his army to deal with the intruders.
Soren's eagle eyes could already make out hundreds of goblin warriors advancing through the trees, along with a giant goblin clad in crude armor, a massive weapon dragging behind him as the ground shook with each step.
Final Boss: Goblin Chieftain, Level 16.
'Nice! After killing it, we can finally try to clear the E-rank dungeon.'
There was a reason why Soren had stopped them from clearing this dungeon. If he had allowed them to do that, they would immediately have been teleported into an E-rank dungeon prepared by Principal Logan.
In that case, the same tragic, struggle-filled plot of the original game, where Evan reigned at the top, would follow, which he didn't want to happen.
Rather, Soren wanted to clear it himself.
By doing this, first, he wanted to see if he could change the established plotline, and second...
'I want to be the leader of this group.'