020 Her Luck - Part 3 - Mirai’s POV

  “How did you do, Ron?” I asked, turning to the ever-goofy golden retriever of a prince.

  Ron beamed and held up his test paper. A perfect score.

  Anna whistled. “As expected of His Imperial Highness.”

  Mark scoffed, leaning back in his chair. “Yeah, yeah. We get it. The prince is a genius.”

  Ron just ughed, rubbing the back of his neck. “It wasn’t that hard.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “What did you even write for the grandma question?”

  Ron blinked. “Oh, that? It was easy. I wrote, ‘I would first call the authorities while making sure the grandma was safe. If possible, I would de-escate the situation and prevent unnecessary violence. The well-being of the victim takes priority.’”

  There was silence.

  Anna and I stared at him.

  Mark groaned and facepalmed. “Oh, come on!”

  Anna buried her face in her arms, shoulders shaking. “I can’t believe… it was that simple.”

  Ron added, “Yeah, it is that simple.”

  Anna groaned, stretching her arms over her head. “What’s the next css?”

  Before anyone could answer, the door smmed open with a loud bang.

  “Heyo~ kids!”

  Oh no.

  Master Reina stood at the doorway, grinning like a fox who just found an unattended henhouse. Her b coat swayed as she stepped in, hands on her hips, radiating pure chaos.

  “Guess what? It’s Combat Sparring II!”

  A collective groan echoed through the cssroom. More like not because of the subject, but the person involved.

  “Miss me, kids?” she continued, completely ignoring our misery. “Now, settle down! I know everyone’s thrilled about the ranking match with Professor Merrick—cuz that dude loves numbers—but I have my own way of establishing a hierarchy within my css.”

  Mark leaned toward me, whispering, “We’re gonna suffer.”

  I elbowed him. “You more than me.”

  Reina cpped her hands. “Normally, Combat Training I is about theory, and Combat Training II is for sparring, but I do things differently! I’ve already seen what you guys could do this morning, and now, we’re gonna see what you can do when under pressure.”

  A bad feeling curled in my stomach.

  Reina’s grin widened. “Get out!”

  Nobody moved.

  “Did I stutter?” She pointed to the door.

  Chairs scraped as we scrambled to our feet.

  “Good! I have a bus waiting outside, and it’s going to be fun—whether you like it or not!”

  We filed into the bus, still shell-shocked from Master Reina’s enthusiasm. There were seventeen of us in total, so space wasn’t an issue. The seats were two-seaters, meaning I had to make a quick decision.

  Before I could react, Mark grabbed my wrist and pulled me into the seat next to him. I blinked.

  “You’re sitting with me?” I asked.

  “I’d rather take my chances with you than someone else,” he muttered.

  Fair enough.

  Ron plopped into the seat behind us with Anna beside him. “Why is there no driver?” Ron asked, peering toward the empty driver’s seat.

  I didn’t even have time to process his words before Master Reina stepped forward, cracked her knuckles, and stomped on the accelerator like a maniac.

  The bus lurched, shooting forward with the force of a rocket.

  A chorus of yelps and screams filled the bus as we were smmed into our seats. I barely had time to grab onto Mark before my face nearly hit the window.

  Mark, meanwhile, sat perfectly still, arms crossed, looking unfazed.

  I gripped his sleeve. “How are you this calm?”

  He turned his head slightly toward me. “No matter what, hold onto me—”

  Before he could finish, the entire bus shook violently, bouncing like we were on some uneven terrain.

  My stomach dropped.

  “DID SHE JUST DRIVE THIS BUS OFF A CLIFF?!” I screamed.

  Mark closed his eyes, sighing. “Worse.”

  “WORSE THAN A CLIFF?!”

  He opened one eye. “A dungeon.”

  The moment the bus came to a screeching halt, Master Reina kicked the door open like a lunatic and hopped outside.

  “Alright, kids! OUT!” she hollered, hands on her hips.

  I was still reeling from the fact that we had just crashed into a dungeon, but Mark grabbed my wrist and practically dragged me out of my seat. I stumbled after him, stepping onto rough terrain. The air smelled damp, like moss and earth, and there were eerie, glowing crystals embedded in the cave walls.

  Yep. Definitely a dungeon.

  The others filed out behind us, muttering compints and looking just as disoriented as I felt.

  Master Reina cpped her hands together. “Okay! Rules!”

  We all tensed.

  She grinned, all teeth. “We are deep in a pretty low-level dungeon. Nothing too dangerous. There’s only one way out, and guess what? We’re making it a race.”

  A murmur rippled through the css.

  “The rankings will be determined based on who gets out first! If you fall behind? Too bad! If you get incapacitated? Eh, don’t stress it. The local patrols will fish you out eventually,” she said cheerfully.

  “What happens if we don’t make it out?” someone asked warily.

  Master Reina’s grin widened. “You flunk out of the Pioneer Css.”

  Silence.

  I gulped.

  “Now—” she cracked her neck, bouncing on her heels. “Try to keep up!”

  And then—

  She took off, sprinting into the depths of the dungeon at full speed, leaving us completely speechless.

  We all just stood there, watching her dust trail vanish into the darkness.

  “...What?” Anna croaked.

  “Did she just—?” Ron started.

  “She really just left us,” Mark finished, pinching the bridge of his nose.

  And then—

  The ground rumbled.

  Somewhere in the distance, something howled.

  Mark grabbed onto me, his grip firm but not painful.

  “Use your luck,” he said, his voice calm despite the growing panic around us. “Wish that we stay together.”

  I blinked at him.

  “What?”

  “Just do it.”

  Well… what could go wrong? I was a very good listener, and sometimes I instinctively acted on things people told me. So, without overthinking it, I focused.

  And then—

  Light erupted from below us.

  My vision warped, my stomach dropped, and suddenly the ground wasn’t ground anymore—

  I nded with a hard thud, knees hitting solid rock.

  The world spun for a second before settling, and I realized I was in some kind of cave-like passage. Dimly lit. Narrow. A single path forward.

  And—

  “Mark, you’re heavy,” I groaned.

  There was a whole person weighing down on me.

  “Sorry…” Mark muttered, shifting off me.

  He helped me up, steadying me as he stood himself. I dusted myself off, gncing around.

  “…Where are we?”

  Mark exhaled through his nose, already in thought. “It was a random warp,” he said, scanning the cave. “This dungeon’s main aspect.”

  “Random warp?” I repeated, my brain catching up.

  Meaning… the others were probably not here.

  Meaning… I was alone with Mark.

  Great. Just great.

  Mark, unfazed as ever, continued, “The cryptids around here should be at the level of a low-geared goblin… and maybe a hobgoblin as a final boss.”

  I rubbed my temples. “I don’t like the maybe in that sentence.”

  A distant growl echoed from deeper within the cave.

  I really didn’t like the maybe.

  Everything was happening too fast.

  One second, I was standing there, trying to process the insanity that was Master Reina, and the next—

  Mark grabbed onto me.

  “Use your luck,” he said, voice steady even as chaos unfolded around us. “Wish that we stay together.”

  I blinked at him. “What?”

  “Just do it.”

  Well, what could go wrong?

  I was a very good listener, and sometimes I instinctively acted on stuff people told me.

  So, I did it.

  And then—

  Light exploded beneath our feet.

  My vision warped. My stomach dropped.

  And suddenly, the ground was gone.

  I hit solid rock with a thud, nding hard on my hands and knees.

  For a second, my brain struggled to catch up. The air smelled damp, the temperature had dropped, and the sounds of my cssmates had vanished.

  I was in a cave.

  A singur, dimly lit path stretched ahead of me. The walls were uneven, jagged, with patches of moss glowing faintly in the dark.

  And…

  Something was on my back.

  Something heavy.

  “Mark,” I groaned, trying to shift. “You are heavy.”

  “Sorry…” Mark muttered, rolling off me.

  He helped me up, dusting himself off as he scanned our surroundings. I rubbed my sore arms, still trying to process the fact that I was no longer standing outside in broad daylight.

  “Where are we?” I asked.

  Mark didn’t answer right away. His expression was calm, but I knew him enough to tell he was already calcuting something.

  After a moment, he exhaled through his nose. “It was a random warp. This dungeon’s main aspect.”

  My stomach sank.

  Random warp?

  Meaning… the others weren’t here.

  Meaning… I was alone with Mark.

  Oh, fantastic.

  I crossed my arms. “And you knew this would happen?”

  He gave me a ft look. “I guessed.”

  I sighed. Of course, he did.

  Mark crouched, pressing his fingers against the dirt. “The cryptids around here should be at the level of a low-geared goblin…” He paused, then added, “And maybe a hobgoblin as a final boss.”

  I froze. “Maybe?”

  A low, guttural growl echoed from deeper in the cave.

  I turned to Mark. “I don’t like the maybe.”

  Mark and I stood in the dimly lit cave, surrounded by damp stone walls and eerie silence. I still wasn’t over the fact that we had just been randomly warped into some underground cryptid-infested dungeon.

  Mark turned to me. “Have you ever gone dungeon hunting before?”

  I huffed. “One time. Just to test my luck.”

  His eyebrows raised slightly. “And?”

  “It was a very educational experience,” I said dryly. “Taught me a lot about how different I am now.”

  Mark nodded, as if that made perfect sense. “Good to know.”

  I crossed my arms. “Too bad I don’t have a weapon.”

  He shot me a gnce. “Fighting isn’t the main priority. Running is. This is a race, remember?”

  Right. Rankings. Getting out of here first.

  Still, running sounded horrible.

  Mark reached into his pocket and pulled out a butterfly knife. He flicked his wrist, and the bde snapped open in one smooth motion.

  I blinked. “Where did you get that?”

  He twirled it between his fingers like it was a toy. “Mom’s gift.”

  …Of course, it was.

  Before I could respond, a growl echoed through the tunnel.

  A small, hunched figure skittered from the shadows.

  Goblin.

  It was about knee-height, with sickly green skin, long cws, and a face that looked like it had been hit by bad evolutionary luck. Beady red eyes locked onto us, and it bared its jagged teeth, hissing.

  Mark didn’t hesitate.

  He moved faster than my eyes could track. A quick step forward. A flick of his wrist.

  The goblin crumpled before it could even react.

  Mark stood over the body, flipping his knife closed like it was nothing.

  I stared. “Sheesh. Such a show-off.”

  He smirked. “You’re welcome.”