“Alright, students, can anybody tell me what the Amber Dungeons are?”

A number of kids raise their hands. Professor Oak looks around and picks Donna Day to speak.

“The Amber Dungeons is the name given to the mysterious space located below the Central Node. Once entered, a person would be transported to strange lands full of wonders and dangers.”

“That is correct. Amber Dungeons is the location where the influence of the Central Node is the strongest. Strange phenomena happen there. Things that even researchers cannot explain—but not for lack of trying. As researchers of the Umber Tower, it is our duty to delve into the dungeon to unlock the mysteries hidden within.”

The professor snaps his fingers and the room miraculously transforms into a boundless grassy field with starry skies above. The students look around with “Oohs” and “Ahhs” while Eleanor bites her fingernail. He snaps his fingers again and the projection changes into an endless wasteland. Then a snowy mountain range. Then a crystal cave.

“The Amber Dungeons are divided into multiple zones, connected to each other illogically. You can be walking in a desert one moment, then suddenly find yourself atop a snowy mountain. At first, it was believed that the people who enter the dungeons are teleported to random spots around the world. But as it turned out, these locations are unique and don’t exist anywhere else.”

The room projects an image of a glass city floating above the cloud. Eleanor takes one glance around and messages her temple.

“Shit, it’s a pocket dimension… It’s a wonder this place hasn’t collapsed on itself yet.”

Professor Oak reverts the room back to normal and explains that the first-year students will be spending three days exploring one of the safest zones in Amber Dungeons.

“Students in the knight and mage departments will be able to stretch their limbs, fighting monsters in a controlled environment. While you, young researchers, will be studying the effects of the Central Node and can choose to write a report on whatever catches your eye. Simple enough, right?”

“But professor, what if we get lost and find ourselves transported to a dangerous zone? You said teleportation can happen randomly.”

“Not randomly, Miss Day. Thanks to the efforts your predecessors put in throughout the years, we have a good idea of what the dungeon as a whole looks like. So unless you wander off on your own, you’re going to be just fine. None of you are planning to do that, do you?”

Professor creates a hellish landscape filled with fiendish monsters. Donna and the other students jump as the monsters growl at them, and quickly shake their heads. Professor Oak chuckles and claps his hands and everything turns back to normal.

“Okay, that’s it for today, boys and girls. You can return to your dorm early to pack your bags. Tomorrow, we’ll gather at the main hall at six o’clock sharp. So don’t stay up late and don’t show up drunk!”

That evening, Duchess Gilda tells Eleanor about the times she and Duke Ambrose spent together in the dungeons.

“Your father, originally, wanted to become a knight. But to be frank, his sword skills were subpar and he would complain about the mosquitos and mud all the time. So guess what he did.”

“He learned magic?”

“Your father mastered high-rank magic all by himself just to keep his shoes from being dirty! After that, he poured all his efforts into becoming a mage and cleared an entire zone all by himself. In the end, he got a big fat F from fencing class, and that’s how he was forced to change his career path and become the world’s greatest mage! Hahahaha!”

A-hem… That’s not exactly what happened… Okay, maybe…

The duke coughs and scratches his cheeks.

The next morning, Eleanor arrives at the main hall alongside Grace and Carter.

“Eleanor, are you sure you don’t want to bring a servant with you? We don’t know what the landscape inside will be like,” Carter says.

“Don’t worry, Carter. I’ll be fine. Thank you for bringing my luggage.” Eleanor smiles.

“Elle will be fine. She got us!” Joanna takes Eleanor’s luggage from Carter and waves her hand, gesturing to Carter to go away.

Carter glances at the crowd of Eleanor’s fan club who looks at him with green in their eyes. Carter awkwardly scratches his hair as Princess Grace grabs his arm and takes him away.

When the clock strikes six, the instructors arrive and Judge Paton Prescott steps in front of the students to give a short speech, reminding them to stay safe. Then the teachers lead their class to enter the Amber Dungeons.

The entry point appears to be a small purple crack floating a meter above the ground. The students are instructed to walk right into it and they disappear one by one. When it’s Eleanor’s turn she touches the crack and finds herself on a scenic rolling hill alongside her classmates.

“Huh, I thought for sure something would go wrong… Guess not.”

Eleanor looks at Xander who is standing next to Donna Day. Donna notices Eleanor’s sight so she quickly blocks Xander like a mother hen protecting her chick.

Eleanor smirks and switches her attention to the space around her.

“Yup, this is definitely a pocket dimension… a surprisingly stable one. Odd. Very odd. And this place… these vegetations… they don’t look like they originate in this realm… Is this place some sort of fragment from some other place?”

Eleanor mutters words that don’t make much sense to anyone but herself.

When the final student arrives, Professor Oak leads his class to a large wooden inn on the hill. “This is where you’ll be spending the next three nights sleeping at,” he says and starts assigning rooms to the children.

“Professor, this has to be some sort of mistake!”

“Is there a problem, Miss Day?”

“You assigned me to share a room with… with that horrible woman!”

Donna points at Eleanor who’s still deep in her thoughts.

“Miss Day, I understand that you and Miss Ambrose don’t see eye to eye. That’s why this is a good chance for the two of you to patch things up. You will be spending several more years studying together.”

“Patch things up?! Professor, it’s not that I don’t want to befriend everyone if I can, it’s just that…”

Donna argues with the professor for some time, to no effect. In the end, she has no choice but to be Eleanor’s roommate. Lady Joanna and co bring Eleanor’s luggage to her room and give the side eyes to Donna.

“Don’t mind freckles over here, girls. Go place a nail in blondie’s bed or something.”

“Miss Eleanor! How could you!?”

“I could. I can. I’ll keep doing it. Now, shut up, freckles, you’re giving me a headache.”

Eleanor wipes the blood dripping down her nose and wraps a cloth around herself. The location is fairly chilly.

After half an hour, Professor Oak gathers everyone and introduces them to the upperclassmen who’ll be keeping an eye on them.

“Remember class, you’re still in the middle of a test, so I’ll only be babysitting you for today. Tomorrow, you can explore this zone to your heart’s content. Don’t push your luck. Stay safe. And ask for help when you need it.”

Professor Oak guides the class around the area and points out the unique minerals and vegetation to them. He then takes them to see a colony of horned rabbits and luminescent birds.

In the evening, they have a barbeque by a bonfire, and Professor Oak points out the strange constellations in the sky. He explains that each zone has unique constellations but there will always be the same bright purple star that will lead them to a transport point in case they’re lost.

“Unlike the man-made transport points back in Mellow Bay, these points will only lead you to a fixed destination. Some lead outside. Some lead to other zones. And some… lead to unknown destinations.”

“But professor, didn’t you say we have a good idea of what the dungeon as a whole looks like?” Donna asks.

“More or less… The safe zones… the moderately dangerous zones… the really dangerous zones… we know these like the back of our hands. But then there are zones where explorers go in… and never come out. We call them… the abyss.”

Professor Oak’s words send chills to the students.

“But don’t worry, there’s no entry point to the abyss anywhere near us. Only fifth graders and trained professionals are allowed to go near there.”

Oak chuckles at his students’ ashen faces and starts telling them campfire horror stories. When the night starts to get cold, Eleanor returns to her room and buries herself under heavy blankets.

“Aren’t you going to pray before going to sleep, Miss Eleanor?” Donna says.

“I’m a heretic, remember?”

“...Miss Eleanor, I don’t understand—how are you a priestess? You don’t believe in the lord. You don’t belong to any church. Your nature is rotten beyond belief. Do you truly possess holy magic or was it all… a lie?”

“Who knows? Yawn… You tell me.”

Eleanor closes her eyes and allows sleepiness to overtake her.