Dungeon race is the common term for intelligent species that have been introduced to our world through the rupture or merging of a dungeon into local reality. The number of known dungeon races is ever-growing, with a few well-known examples including dwarves, elves, orcs, cyborgs, beastkin, and more.

  There are also several races which claim not to have originated from dungeons, but instead diverge from humans through the lingering effects of the Wasted War and System intervention. One example is the people calling themselves ‘manaborn’, who primarily reside northwest of Lost Angels near the western end of the Griffin’s Range. This assertion relies largely on their own testimony, and many scholars believe that they are in fact a dungeon race as well.

  - Rufus Veres, Level 37 Verbose Historian, A Brief History of the System

  In the lobby I found everyone but the orcs, who’d apparently gone outside to enjoy the warm – or blazing hot – sun. The Head Instructor’s assistant was standing around with his arms crossed, looking impatient. I finally Identified him.

  Name: WilsonStolen from RoyalRoad. Support AzureInk by reading the original.

  Class: Personal Assistant

  Tier: 1

  I had no idea Personal Assistant was a Class, but I supposed important people like the Head Instructor needed helpers to get everything done. Wilson looked at us, then gestured for us to follow him outside.

  “Let’s get you settled in some rooms. The rest of the students won’t be arriving until tomorrow, so I’ll give you a quick orientation and you’ll learn the rest with the others.”

  He led us out into the sun, where we gathered up the orcs. The senior Delvers headed off on their own, but the older orcs stayed with us, apparently interested in seeing the Academy grounds. He told us that the building we’d just been in was the administration building and Head Instructor’s quarters. The long, low building nearest the main gate was the stables, and not too far from that was a barracks for a small force of guards.

  “Most of the protection for the Academy comes from the instructors themselves, who are all Delvers. Still, we need a small force of full-time guards to keep watch and sound the alarm, especially during the break between semesters when there aren’t many students around, like right now,” Wilson explained.

  He pointed out the dining hall across from the administration building next. The dining hall, administration building, and guard barracks formed the school’s main square.

  “You’ll be eating mostly in the dining hall over there. The food there is free, and while the selection is limited it will fill you up. The next building there,” he pointed to a two-story building next to the dining hall, “is the bar and restaurant. The bar is downstairs, and yes, students are allowed to drink there, but you have to pay for your drinks – no tabs. And your instructors will make you pay if you’re hungover during classes. The restaurant upstairs serves much nicer food than the dining hall, but again, the cost is on you.”

  I nodded along with the others, expecting that I probably wouldn’t even see the inside of the restaurant unless there was a special occasion. We followed Wilson as he walked through the square and past the bar, following the main path down the valley. We passed several large buildings which he told us were the training facilities. Unfortunately, those weren’t open until classes started.

  Next to the training buildings were outdoor training grounds – sparring areas, obstacle courses, and an archery range. Beyond the training area was a small infirmary with the usual red cross symbol painted on the door. Next to that, in the same building, was a small general store, a small blacksmithy, and an armory.

  “You’ll be issued training weapons according to your Class if needed. Also, your instructors may need you to wear additional armor components for training – all of that will be sorted out when classes start. You don’t need to pay for basic weapons and armor, but you’ll have to return them when you leave.”

  On the other side of the path from the stores was a tall, odd-looking square watchtower. It had to be around a hundred and fifty feet high and the view from the top probably let you see the whole school. The strange part was that the stairs were on the outside of the tower, completely open with no railings or anything.

  The even weirder part was that they didn’t wrap around the tower. They just stuck out from one side – the side opposite the path – in a straight line, descending from the top of the tower in a long wall of stone. Every ten steps or so there seemed to be a wide, flat area maybe about six feet long, then it continued down.

  Why would anyone put the stairs on the outside like that? Is it solid stone inside?

  I wanted to ask Wilson but he was hurrying along towards a set of buildings beyond the tower. A pair of two-story buildings faced each other, with a three-story building parallel to the path forming three sides of an open square. The shorter buildings were identical plain stone, but the taller one in the back looked more elaborate, with a small porch and double doors.

  “These are the dormitories where you’ll be living. This one on the right is where you and all the other new recruits will be staying. Across from you is the one for the second semester students. The one in the back, there, is where the paying trainees stay. You’re only allowed in your own building unless you’ve been invited by someone who lives in one of the others. Follow me and we’ll get you your rooms. You’re the first ones here, so you can pick whichever ones you like, they’re all pretty much the same,” Wilson said.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  He led us into the first building, which had a heavy door but was unlocked. Inside there was a small common room with a few tables and couches. Bookshelves on the walls held a few scattered books, and I found myself hoping I wasn’t going to have read all of them. Beyond the common room were the shared bathrooms, with toilets on one side of the hall and something called a ‘shower’ on the other.

  Wilson stopped and looked at the crowd of orcs, who were in the back of the group and could easily see over the rest of our heads.

  “Do I need to explain how a shower works?” he asked condescendingly.

  I saw eyes narrowing at his tone. Before any of the orcs could speak, Raylan jumped in.

  “I don’t know about everyone else, but I’d sure like to know!”

  I sent him a grateful look and he winked at me. I’ve never used a ‘shower’ either… I wonder if Wilson has ever even seen a small town like Sunland before. Only a few people there had indoor bathrooms, period.

  Wilson sighed, then opened the door and led us into a long, narrow room with eight doorways arranged along the opposite wall, each with a curtain pulled to the side. Inside each one was a small room that was probably about four feet on each side, and a small bench along one wall. Then there was another doorway into another room of the same size. The inner rooms each had a small window up near the ceiling, and the floor sloped downwards in the middle towards a small hole.

  “This is a shower. There’s a light switch here, and then next to it is a rune where you channel in mana. The runes cause a tank” – he pointed at the ceiling – “overhead to fill with water. The water comes out through the showerhead and you stand under it to wash.”

  He stood outside the shower room and reached his arm around the side of the doorway. A moment later, a modest rush of water spilled from the metal fixture in the center of the ceiling, splashing onto the floor and running down and disappearing into the hole on the floor. He pulled his arm out, and the water continued to flow, reminding me a bit of the waterfall inside the dungeon, on a much smaller scale.

  “You’ll get thirty seconds of water for each point of mana you channel in, and you can add up to five points at a time. Don’t force more in! You don’t want to know how much it costs to fix one of these if you break it. There’s soap in a cubby, don’t take it out of the shower, it’s for everyone.

  “You can buy your own at the store if you don’t want to share. To be polite, don’t take too long, especially in the mornings. You can easily be done in five minutes. These outer rooms are for drying off and changing. Got it?”

  Not everyone had been able to see the first time, so we shuffled around and made him repeat the demonstration for the orcs. Then, deciding we were all savages or something – which I at least would happily admit to – he showed us the toilets across the hallway as well.

  “You do your business just like an outhouse, then you hold your hand over this rune here – don’t touch it – and channel a point of mana. It will Conjure Water in the toilet to flush the waste, and also into this sink here for you to wash your hands. Don’t throw random trash in the toilet, the sewage gets turned into fertilizer for the town’s Farmers. OK?”

  It was all far more luxurious than I was used to, even though the walls and floors were plain stone and undecorated. It was a huge step up from having to go to an outhouse and then use the Conjure Water Cantrip, which only made a small amount of water at a time, to wash up afterwards.

  Past the bathrooms were the first bedrooms, four on each side of the building. We all peered into the rooms curiously – they were about the size of the room I’d shared with the kids back in Sunland. These rooms had only two single beds instead of the bunk beds I was used to, though. Each bed was also noticeably larger than the ones in Sunland. At least the orcs shouldn’t have to sleep curled up into a ball.

  The beds came with a pillow, sheets, and a blanket all folded up in a neat pile on the mattress. Next to each bed was a small chest and a plain desk with a wooden chair. Above the desk was a single shelf already stocked with several books. Curiously, I grabbed the first one and looked at the cover. It had the Guild logo painted in red and the letters DGH. I returned it to the shelf and went back into the hallway as Wilson clapped his hands for our attention, cutting the chatter of conversation short.

  “Up the stairs,” he pointed, though we could all see them, “there are another twenty-two rooms just like these. Two people per room, except for team leaders who can claim their own unless all the other rooms fill up. That’s rare, though. Inside the chest is a lock and a key. You can leave things there but I’d recommend keeping anything really valuable in your Inventory.

  “Pick your own roommates, there’s only one simple rule – no sharing rooms with someone you’re hooking up with. It’s too much of a pain for everyone else when we have to shuffle people around later if you break up. So, if you’re going to fool around with someone, that’s your business. Just remember that none of the instructors are going to be interested in dealing with your drama.

  “I’m going to head back to my desk. You can usually find me there during the day. Head Instructor Thompson told me that some of you need to fill out a report for her, so come see me for that tomorrow morning. Things will be busy once everyone arrives. Oh, last thing – to claim a room, just make your beds and put the lock on your chest. The doors only lock from the inside, there are no room keys. Any questions?”

  “What should we do the rest of the time before classes start, Assistant Wilson?” Zaire asked.

  Wilson gave the Earth Mage a put-upon look and sighed.

  “I’m not your teacher, recruit. Do whatever you want. You’ll probably find the Delvers you came with in the bar. Pick out your rooms, that’s all I care about. Oh, and come up with a name for your Squad.”

  With that, he turned and left. The older orcs looked at each other for a moment, then Korgath told us they’d be in the bar as well. It took about ten seconds for us to decide on our sleeping arrangements – Raylan and Zaire would share a room, the two sets of twins would room together, and I’d be on my own at least for now.

  We ended up taking rooms on the second floor – the orcs grabbing the room furthest from the stairs on the south side of the building, which they hoped would be warmer. The rest of us took the last three rooms on the north side in the hopes of staying cooler. I ended up in the room opposite H’ruk and G’hala, and carefully made my bed as I’d been taught.

  Then I realized that no one – meaning Hazel – was going to be checking to see that I’d done it just right, and deliberately messed it up just a bit. Grinning, I removed my extra clothes and pack from my Inventory and stored them in the chest, then locked it up and headed to the bar with the others.