In the Academy as Sukuna

(POV: Ryomen Sukuna)

I pushed open the stone door, which rolled over with grinding sounds, revealing a place which truly seemed to embodiment of the word 'dungeon.'

I walked through, Nina's hesitant yet determined footsteps following behind me.

My steps came to a halt as I looked around, the scenery awakening something within me.

It was almost an honor to see something I only read in texts and stories… right in front of me.

The walls of the room were made of rough rocks, mana stones attached all around them which looked like they could fall out any time.

There was no vegetation around, except for small patches of weed growing on the walls and ceiling.

A repugnant smell of rotting flesh, mixed with that of blood, wafted in the air, reaching my nose and almost making me cough a bit.

I could see a group of wolves in front of us… most of them seemed to be E-Rank, while some seemed to be strong enough to qualify for D-Rank.

There was only one exit to the room, right opposite to where we were standing, which probably went towards the center of the dungeon… to the boss room.

I cracked my knuckles, the smile on my face not fading.

Nina slowly walked to a position beside me, her eyes filled with determination which seemed to me masking the fear she felt.

I wasn't worried about myself… but about the main cast.

I couldn't have them die so quickly… but as per the story, they shouldn't be strong enough, currently, to get through a B-Rank.

However, I've noticed that they are stronger than the story… so there is still hope.

Well, if everyone goes to the center of the dungeon, we'll meet up soon enough.

I took a step forward, the sharp sound echoing in the silent room.

A few growls escaped the wolves' throats, their heads turning to our direction, their eyes seemingly burning with hunger.

I felt mana concentrate behind me. It seems Nina was readying up her magic.

I glanced behind at her, and I could see her hands trembling as she casted a spell… which seemed to be a fire spell.

I turned back, walking towards the wolves as they slowly crawled towards me.

A good time to test my strength, isn't it?

With a little smirk on my face, I leapt, landing right in the middle of the horde with a loud thud, kicking up some dust in the process.

The wolves baked off at the sudden movements. But suddenly, their eyes seemed to turn red as they shot towards me, their mouths open, their sharp teeth visible, connected by strands of saliva.

I raised both my hands, my index and ring fingers out as I swiped them horizontally.

My deep voice echoed in the room, Nina's eyes widening as she witnessed the spectacle.

"Dismantle"

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(POV: Anny Leonheart)

The dim glow of the mana stones lit the room as I took in my surroundings.

My eyes landed on the horde of monsters crawling on the floor in front of us.

They were goblins… not normal ones, but much larger, almost 6 feet tall, their eyes filled with an uncanny hunger, their number… too many to count.

I quickly assessed the situation. Goblins were weak individually, but dangerous in numbers, aiming to beat their opponents with sheer force. However, they were stupid and predictable.

"D-Rank at best," I muttered, Johan listening and nodding, his gaze fixed at the monsters with an excitement in his eyes.

Goblins were easily dealt with using concentrated elemental magic. They lacked defense. Their predictable movement made them easy prey for a fighter like Johan.

I glanced beside me at Johan, who cracked his neck, ready for action.

"Go for the legs," I instructed in a low voice.

He simply gave a nod, shooting off into the horde, a huge smile on his face.

I couldn't help but crack a smile as he followed my command without hesitation… his almost dumb courage was something I found… oddly attractive.

The goblins rushed towards him, their movements slow, their arms raised to attack.

Johan's movements were effortless, his fist landing on a goblin's abdomen. A sound of cracking ribs resounded as the goblin fell to the floor, a high-pitched shriek escaping its lips.

I raised my hands, mana concentrating at the top of my palms as I casted a low level spell.

[Fire Arrow]

With the mental incantation, a controlled burst of flames shot out from my palms, engulfing three goblins at once, who had been knocked down by Johan beforehand.

The shrieks slowly died down as a smell of charred flesh filled the air. All that remained of the goblins' bodies was a black ash.

Johan didn't stop, running through the horde and taking care of the goblin like it was child's play.

One goblin managed to break through, running at me with its arm raised, its mouth open, spilling saliva onto the floor.

I sighed, and turned my hand towards it, mana concentrating on top of it, forming transparent, shining crystals which slowly converged into a spike.

With a flick, I sent the ice spike flying towards its throat, cleanly shooting through it, leaving the goblin writhing on the floor, before it fell still.

The room was quickly cleared, the remaining goblins taken care of easily by us two.

"Easy," Johan muttered with a grin, his eyes glinting with excitement. "Next room?"

I nodded, walking towards the exit, passing him on the way, a small smile on my face. "Let's move."

We walked through the only exit… a huge stone door, which Johan pushed open quickly, albeit with a little difficulty.

The next room was larger, the floor damp, a smell of decaying flesh assaulting our noses as we walked in further.

The ceiling was high, shards of ice hanging down from it that seemed like they could fall at any moment.

The ground and walls were uneven, rocks and mana stones protruding out.

In the center of the room stood a creature… a bear.

No… not just any bear, but a huge one, easily more than 3 times the size of a normal one, standing on its hind legs.

Its fur was patched with blood in some areas, its eyes glowing with a red, malicious glint as it slowly turned to us, noticing our presence.

"C-Rank," I whispered, my heart beating in my chest. This would be the first time I was fighting a C-Rank monster without supervision.

A low growl reverberated in the room, the bear slowly moving towards us, its massive claws glowing as it moved its huge paws.

"I'll distract it," Johan's calm voice reached my ears, comforting me. It was as it he was a rock in the middle of a storm… standing courageously in the face of danger.

After all, that's who he is.

I took a deep breath, calming myself down as I raised my hands, concentrating mana into my palms.

Johan lunged towards the bear, a huge grin on his face. However, his eyes glint with something… dangerous. It wasn't normal… I could feel something amiss.

The deafening roar of the bear broke me out of my stupor. The sound echoed in the confines of the room, I could almost feel the ground under me vibrate with the intensity of the cry.

I realized… it wasn't time to be lost in thought.

The bear swung its massive paw down at Johan, who dodged it with something that can only be deemed as… grace.

His agility surprised me… he seemed to be even faster than normal.

He ducked down, launching towards the bear, punching it on the side.

The sound of cracking bones reverberated in the room. The bear, however, didn't even flinch, retaliating with the swipe of its paw, aimed right at Johan, who was now in the air, unable to dodge.

Shards of ice formed around my hands, quickly converging into a spike, which I sent flying towards the paw.

The spike hit the paw, bouncing off, causing a shallow wound.

Fortunately, it succeeded in changing the paws trajectory, barely missing Johan's body, who landed in the floor with a thud.

The bear staggered back, the sight of its own blood flowing out of the wound seemingly infuriating it.

Its eyes locked on to mine, its red eyes glowing even more brightly.

I felt a chill run down my spine as it charged towards me, its steps cracking the ground as it ran.

I concentrated as much mana as I could on top of my palm, unleashing a wall of flames towards its face, momentarily blinding it.

Johan didn't let go of the opportunity, jumping towards the blinded monster, his fist connecting with its jaw, the force enough to send the bear crashing towards the floor.

The fall cracked the floor beneath the bear, sending a torrent of dust and debris flying into the air.

The crystals from the ceiling started raining down, a few falling around me, piercing my skin before melting away.

The bear, however, still wasn't done, it tried to push itself off the floor, blood dripping from its nose… its fur charred at the place where my spell had hit.

I conjured another spell, a mixture of fire and ice, whirling with contrasting colors that hit the bear right in the chest.

The temperature difference made the bear shriek in pain, its flesh sizzling at the point of contact.

Johan took advantage of the bear's state, landing blow after blow on the bear's chest, more blood flying into the air.

The bear's growls became weaker… but it wasn't dead yet.

With a loud road, the bear lunged forward in a final, desperate attempt, swiping its paw towards Johan's face weakly.

Johan jumped, catching the arm, pulling it down. With a loud cry, he twisted the bear's limb, the sound of cracking bones echoing in the room, followed by weak, yet painful screams of the bear.

Johan leapt forward again, landing on the bear's chest, his arms raised high in the air.

He pushed his arms down with a speed almost too fast for my eyes to catch, his fingers aimed right at the bear's eyes.

Time itself seemed to slow down as Johan's fingers slowly entered the bear's eye sockets, a huge grin plastered on his face.

The bear howled in agony, its body convulsing in overwhelming pain, its limb thrashing around in a desperate attempt to crawl out of Johan's torturous grip.

I raised my arms one final time, casting one final spell.

[World of Fire]

A column of fire erupted from the ground, engulfing the bear whole. Its body sizzled, the smell of burning flesh filling the rooms as Johan jumped back from the flames.

The bear let out one last pitiful groan before it collapsed, its body turning into a black, charred mass.

Johan wiped the blood off his face, on his face a victorious smirk as he looked down on the charred remains of the bear.

"Not bad," he muttered, giving me a thumbs up with a smile.

I nodded my head, though my heart was still racing… the battle was intense, but we had come out on top.

"Let's go," I said, trying to steady my voice, walking forward. "The others are waiting."