After everyone had awakened their skills, the next phase began.
Students who gained combat-related skills were allowed to enter the dungeon solo or in pairs.
Those who awakened weaker or utility skills could still participate—but only if they had a partner.
The teacher spoke through a floating hologram.
"Next up: Dungeon Dive.
Though we call it a 'dungeon,' it's more like a whole different world.
Anyone who wants to join, step through the portal."
Students started entering—some confidently alone, others nervously in pairs.
Leon and Sarina stepped in together.
A screen appeared before them.
Please choose a difficulty level:
• Easy
• Normal
• Hard
• Hell
• Infernal Hell
Leon gulped. "Let's just pick Normal. That should be safe…"
"Okay," Sarina replied calmly—
—and then tapped Infernal Hell.
Leon turned pale.
"WAIT, WHAT—?!"
Before he could protest, Sarina smiled and pulled him into the portal.
---
The world around them shifted instantly.
They landed in a vast grassy plain, the sky tinted a strange crimson.
"Leon," Sarina asked, "should we just walk straight?"
Leon looked around nervously. "Yeah… I guess. Looks peaceful.
No monsters in sight."
He exhaled in relief.
Just then, the grass began to rustle.
From behind the tall blades emerged dozens… no, hundreds of goblins.
Leon's face went blank.
"No monsters, huh? This place is nothing but monsters!"
Without hesitation, Sarina raised her hand.
[Skill Activated: Unlimited Fireballs – Level 1]
A hundred fireballs spun into existence, surrounding her like a glowing storm.
The fireballs launched themselves at the goblins, targeting them automatically.
2 EXP
2 EXP
2 EXP
Every time a goblin approached, a fireball shot out and burned it to ash.
When the fireballs ran out, Sarina calmly cast the skill again.
Any goblin that got too close? Leon stepped forward, blocking with his Lightning Shield—delivering a shocking surprise.
[DING! Congratulations! You leveled up to Level 2!]
[DING! Skill Upgraded: Unlimited Fireballs – Level 2]
100 Fireballs → 120 Fireballs
It wasn't just Sarina who leveled up.
Leon also felt something change.
Now he could summon two shields at once—and the electricity around them sparked more violently than before.
After the wave of regular goblins, larger goblins began to appear.
Each one required three fireballs to go down.
The battle dragged on for 45 minutes straight.
Goblin after goblin.
Burn. Shock. EXP.
Finally, they cleared the area.
They continued walking through the crimson-tinted plain.
Most of the monsters here were just variations of goblins—some small, some huge, but all ugly and angry.
"I thought this was supposed to be hard," Sarina muttered. "But this is kind of easy."
Leon twitched.
"Easy?! That's because your skill is broken! If I were here alone, surrounded by hundreds—no, thousands—of goblins, I'd be goblin stew by now!"
Sarina smirked. "Maybe. But look—we leveled up to 2 super fast. Most people would take weeks or months to get here."
Leon sighed. "You've got a point."
They kept walking until they reached another glowing gate floating above the ground.
A system message popped up:
Would you like to enter the next portal?
[Next Stage: Level 2 Dungeon]
[Difficulty: Locked – Infernal Hell]
As Sarina and Leon stepped into Dungeon Level 2, the scenery changed completely.
Now they were in a vast forest, the trees tall and thick, the air damp with mystery.
The monsters here were more diverse—and more dangerous.
Ahead, they spotted a pack of wolves, their glowing eyes watching from behind the brush.
Without hesitation, Sarina activated her signature move.
[Unlimited Fireballs – Level 2]
120 fireballs began to hover around her like glowing orbs of death.
The wolves hesitated.
They turned to flee—
Too late.
The fireballs chased them down like guided missiles and exploded one by one.
10 EXP
10 EXP
10 EXP
DING! You've reached Level 3!
DING! You've reached Level 4!
[Unlimited Fireballs – Level 3]
Increased fireball count: 120 → 140
[Unlimited Fireballs – Level 4]
Fireball count: 140 → 150
Fireballs now burn with blue flames (hotter, stronger)
After clearing the forest of wolves, Sarina and Leon advanced to Dungeon Level 3.
This time, the environment changed to wide, flat stone terrain—like a rocky wasteland.
Here, the monsters were no joke: Stone Golems.
Big. Tough. Resistant to fire.
Sarina's usual fireballs didn't do much damage at first.
But luckily, her fire had upgraded to blue flames, and with enough blasts, the golems finally began to melt.
Still, it took much longer than before.
They fought for what felt like hours, but with grit and teamwork, they pushed forward.
By the time they reached Level 5, something special happened.
[DING! You've reached Level 5!]
[DING! Unlimited Fireballs – Level 5]
Blue Fireballs: 150 → 160
New Effect: Each fireball now causes a small explosion on impact.
[DING! New Skill Acquired: Ice Ball]
"Shoots a freezing orb that instantly freezes targets. Cooldown: 10 seconds."
Suddenly, a divine message popped up.
[Divine Blessing Activated!]
[Skill Upgraded: Ice Ball → Zero Sphere]
"Fires a Zero Sphere—a freezing orb with temperature approaching absolute zero.
Cooldown: 5 seconds."
With the new Zero Sphere skill, Sarina and Leon had a much easier time dealing with the stone golems.
The battle lasted until nightfall, and eventually, they reached the end of Dungeon Level 4, where a glowing portal waited ahead.
Leon looked up at the darkening sky.
"It's already night. Let's rest here for now."
Being from a rich family, Leon casually pulled out a special ring—something that might seem rare to most people, but to him, it was just another gadget.
He activated it, summoning a storage menu full of supplies.
Out came a small tent, some frozen sausages, and chicken meat.
"Sarina, can you make a small fireball?
Preferably one that doesn't explode or turn everything to ashes."
"I'll try," Sarina replied.
She focused, imagining a smaller version of her usual attack.
A tiny fireball floated in front of her—a gentle, steady flame that consumed very little mana. In fact, her mana recovery outpaced its consumption.
"Nice," she thought. "I can keep this up forever."
Leon began roasting sausages and chicken over the soft flame.
Luckily, he'd packed enough for both of them.
This level had nothing but rock monsters—definitely not edible, so Sarina gladly accepted his offer.
After dinner, Leon tapped his ring again.
With a whoosh, an auto-deploying tent unfolded and assembled itself.
"Whoa… fancy," Sarina murmured.
"Did you bring a tent?" Leon asked.
"No."
"Huh? But I only brought one…"
Sanjaya (inside Sarina) internally panicked.
"I was literally thrown into this world this morning! No way I had time to think about camping gear!"
Sarina shrugged. "Well… it's big enough for both of us."
Leon blinked. "Are you sure? I mean, I'm a guy, you know."
"It's fine," Sarina said casually.
"He's gay anyway," she added in her mind.
---
Inside the tent, Leon curled up tightly in one corner—leaving a noticeable gap between them.
This, of course, only confirmed Sarina's assumptions.
"Yup. 100% gay."
Meanwhile, Leon was sweating bullets.
"If I accidentally touch the Ice Queen in her sleep… she might incinerate me or freeze me solid!"
Despite her warmer personality lately, the image of a cold, deadly Serina still lingered in his mind.
**
The rocky plains were freezing cold at night.
When morning came, both Sarina and Leon slowly opened their eyes…
…only to find themselves hugging each other tightly.
The air was still chilly.
Sarina blinked but didn't panic.
"Hmm… body heat. Nature's heater."
She did feel something hard pressing against her stomach…
"Whatever. Probably just a guy's morning thing.
He's gay anyway, right?"
Leon, on the other hand, was dying inside.
"I'm doomed. Absolutely doomed."
One of his arms was around Sarina's back.
Fine.
But the other?
Pinned under her butt.
Which meant his dragon was currently being squeezed between her stomach and his panic.
Despite the raging situation down there, Leon didn't move.
"If I twitch even a little, I'm toast.
She'll fireball me. Or worse—freeze my soul."
Then Sarina looked up at him with half-lidded eyes.
Leon froze.
She definitely noticed.
"Morning," she mumbled. "Still cold. Can I hold you tighter?"
"H-huh??"
Leon's brain shut down.
He had mentally prepared for an explosion.
Instead… she snuggled closer.
"Nooo! My dragon! Don't explode! Hang in there!!"
Without thinking, Sarina hugged him tighter like a sleepy cat.
As a modern soul who hated cold mornings, she had zero energy to wake up properly.
All she wanted was to go back to sleep in the warmest place possible.
Leon, still frozen in panic, very carefully hugged her back.
But only a little.
He needed just enough space for his poor dragon to breathe.
He glanced down at Sarina's peaceful, sleeping face.
'Oh God… she's really asleep again.
And I… I have to endure this for hours?'
And endure he did.
By the time Sarina finally woke up and the weather warmed slightly…
Leon had survived.
Barely.
"Thank the gods she didn't notice.
Or… maybe she did? But she's just that innocent?"
"She seems cold on the outside…
but maybe she's just lonely. Maybe she's never dated anyone."
Leon looked at her one more time as she stretched lazily.
He didn't know what he was feeling.
But one thing was clear.
"That was... the warmest hell I've ever been through."