Chapter 65: Announcement II

Several of the second years had already started discussing the kinds of monsters they might encounter inside the dungeon.

"Are you taking all three?"

"Probably." Leon replied as he turned towards him.

It was an easy enough answer to give. Those were the summons everyone knew about, and there was no reason to tell them that he had obtained another Great Swordsman the previous night.

Leon himself hadn’t decided what he would summon once they entered the dungeon. He would need to know what kind of monsters were inside first, and how much freedom they would have, if not, he would have to stick to public knowledge.

"Linda’s the only other first year." Raul said while looking back towards the hall. He couldn’t find her.

"Yeah."

"She’ll probably be taking last night’s lessons quite seriously."

Leon looked towards the entrance just as Linda came out. She was speaking with another student, but she noticed the three of them and looked over. Their eyes met briefly, and she gave him a small nod before returning her attention to the conversation.

Leon nodded back.

Her Yeti would be quite useful inside a dungeon like that. It had given his Swordsman a difficult fight, and there were probably many monsters that wouldn’t be able to handle its strength or ice as well as the Swordsman had.

"At least you’ll know someone." Dustin said after following Leon’s gaze.

They continued talking as they walked off.

"I wasn’t expecting us to get picked for a Yellow dungeon anyway." Raul said.

"Neither was I." Dustin admitted. "Still, only two people from our entire year."

He looked at Leon again.

"You’d better have something interesting to tell us when you come back."

"Like what?"

"I don’t know. What the monsters are like, how the third years fight when it isn’t a tournament, or anything else that happens."

Despite the jokes, neither of them seemed bothered about not being selected. They were mostly curious about the expedition, and Dustin had kept glancing towards the professional summoners as they came out of the hall.

Leon understood the curiosity.

Most of what they had done in the academy had been against other students, under an instructor’s supervision, or in exercises designed around what their summons could safely handle. The expedition would also be supervised, but a Yellow-grade dungeon was still a considerable step up from any of that.

Leon wanted to see what it was like, but more than that, he wanted to know how his summons would perform against the monsters inside.

"Come on. We still have class." Raul said as he adjusted his bag.

Leon walked between the two of them as they headed back, listening to Dustin ask Raul what kind of monsters he thought lived inside a Yellow-grade dungeon as if it wasn’t almost common knowledge.

The rest of the day passed like that without any other surprise, until they were done and headed back to their hostels.

...

That night, Linda spread everything across her bed and checked them one after the other against the list on her phone. The academy had already gone through what they would need during the briefing, but there were a few other things she wanted to take for herself.

Her water and food were already packed in parts of the bag where she could easily reach them without having to remove everything else. On the bed beside the bag was a small first-aid kit, a light jacket, clean socks and the small portable notebook.

She opened the first-aid kit, checked everything inside and closed it again.

’That should be enough.’ She thought to herself. She might have just been over preparing, since certain things were certainly going to be accounted for, and especially as students were involed, it was very likely that someone with a Summon that could heal would be present.

She still looked across the bed one more time before picking up the jacket. Her phone started ringing while she was folding it, and seeing her mother’s name on the screen, Linda placed the jacket down before answering.

"Hello, Mum."

"Linda, darling. I heard about the wonderful news! You’ve been selected for the expedition."

"Yes."

"Well, that’s lovely. Only two first years, wasn’t it? I thought that was rather nice. It shows they’re paying attention."

"Yes. Only two." Linda said as she sat on the edge of the bed.

"I was speaking to someone about it earlier. She asked whether you were going, and I told her I would have been surprised if you weren’t. With your summon, it would have been a little strange, wouldn’t it?"

"I suppose." Linda replied while looking at the jacket beside her.

"Of course it would. You’ve always had such a good foundation. That’s why I’ve never worried about you needing to struggle the way some of those other children do."

Her mother paused for a moment, but only long enough for Linda to adjust the phone against her ear.

"Still, you mustn’t take that for granted. An opportunity like this is exactly where people begin to form their opinions. Teachers notice who handles themselves well, and so do the professionals. You never know who might be watching."

"I understand."

"I’m sure you do. I just wouldn’t want you to think being selected is the achievement. It’s a promising start, certainly, but you need to make something of it."

"Yes, Mum." Linda said as she picked up the jacket and folded one of its sleeves inward.

"And do try to be a little more open when the instructors speak to you. You’re a very beautiful and capable girl, just like your mother, but people don’t always know what to make of someone who says so little. They might think you’re unsure of yourself."

"All right."

"I know you don’t mean it that way. I’m only saying that you should make it easy for people to see you properly. It would be unfortunate if all your hard work went unnoticed because you seemed uncomfortable."

Linda finished folding the jacket and placed it beside the bag. Her mother continued speaking without needing anything more from her.

"I was pleased when I saw the notice, though. Very pleased. After the tournament, I think this is just what you need."

"Yes." Linda replied, her hand stopping on the bag’s zip.

"The tournament wasn’t quite the result we’d hoped for, but there’s no reason to dwell on that now. I’ve said as much whenever it comes up. These things aren’t decided by one event."

"I know."

"Exactly. It’s how you carry yourself afterwards that matters. People can be very quick to draw conclusions, especially when someone has been given more advantages than most. You don’t want them wondering whether those advantages have been wasted."

"I’ll do my best." Linda said while looking towards the notebook.

"I’m sure you will, darling. Although you shouldn’t feel the need to say that every time. I already know you’ll try. What matters is showing people what you’re capable of."

Linda remained seated as her mother started talking about the conversation she had with the woman from earlier, explaining what she had told her about the expedition and what the woman thought about the academy.

There wasn’t much Linda needed to say. Whenever her mother paused long enough, she gave a short answer, and whenever she continued before Linda could speak, Linda simply waited.

"I told her you’ve always taken your training seriously." Her mother said. "I think that’s what people ought to remember about you. Not just that you awakened a Grade 4 summon. Plenty of people have a good starting point and do very little with it."

"Yes."

"Of course, I’m not putting pressure on you. I wouldn’t want you to go there feeling nervous. You should enjoy the experience. It’s simply a chance to remind everyone what they can expect from you."

"I understand." Linda replied, resting her free hand on her knee.

"Good. Are you getting ready now?"

"Yes. I’m packing."

"Then I’ll let you get on with it. Make sure you’re properly prepared. There’s no need to give anyone a reason to think you can’t manage these things."

"I will."

"And do well, darling. It would be lovely to have something nice to tell people when you get back."

"All right. Good night, Mum."

"Good night."

The call ended.

Linda lowered the phone and remained seated for several seconds before releasing a long breath. She placed the phone face down on the bed and looked at the things she had already checked.

’Just finish packing.’