Rek was a blur of movement. His eyes wild, a feral grin on his lips, he danced around his foe.


    The [Junkie] was a shivering, fumbling mess, its attacks falling consistently wide of the mark. The monster roared, foam spraying from its lips. Its purple-lined eyes glared at Rek, hate and hunger melded into a single look of pure malevolence.


    Rek grinned. He charged forth. The [Junkie] released a noxious spray his way. He deftly leapt out of the radius of the attack, before closing in. The creature was slow to react, and his sword found easy purchase in its chest. It heaved, vile black blood spilling from its lips. Rek stepped away from the foul fluid, his nose crinkled as he watched the monster die.


    With a shift of his mana, he withdrew his Blood Ink, letting the power and aggression flow out of him like water down a drain until he was calm and contained once again. Staring at the corpse, Rek sucked in a breath and uttered a quick prayer before he turned to watch as Alissa contended with her own foe.


    The second [Junkie] had been the weaker one of the two: only level two. Barely worth a second thought, but useful for experimentation. Which was exactly what the woman was doing. The creature was covered in streaks of red paint that lined it like a tiger’s stripes.


    Alissa was deftly avoiding its hail-Mary assault, a focused calm affixed on her face. It didn’t come from her power, for once. She’d gotten good at not depending on it as much anymore.


    He was almost proud, though he’d never admit it out loud.


    Alissa glanced his way and noticed that he was done with his fight. Smiling, she easily swept past the monster until she was by his side.


    “Ready?” she asked, her voice muffled by her improvised mask.


    He nodded.


    She reached out, her brush held like a wand in her hand and her brow creased with focus. Rek felt her mana surge forth in response, and he could imagine the tangles it was tying itself in as the woman tried to formulate the trigger mechanism. The System had imprinted the basic knowledge of its use into them the moment they’d taken ownership of their rewards, but basic knowledge did not equate to mastery.


    With Alissa, it hadn’t even equated to usability for a while. The woman struggled, but eventually, the paint slathered over the creature started to glow, an inner light flaring in a charging blaze across the substance until the creature was covered in a cloak of flames. Its agonized screams filled the air for all too long until it finally drew its last breath.


    Rek whistled appreciatively.


    “I think I’ve got it down now, right?” she asked, nervousness warring with pride in her gaze.


    Rek gave her a critical look. “Too slow.”


    Alissa sighed. “I’ve always been a fan of positive reinforcement. Heard of it?”


    “No.”


    “Fine. You’re right. It was too slow, but I’m getting better. You have to admit that much, at least.”


    “Maybe.”


    “That’s Rek-speak for yes. I’ll take it.”


    The goblin hid his smile as he walked away. Approaching the charred corpse of the [Junkie], Rek spared a moment to study the damage the paint had dealt. He’d expected something good from a quest reward, but what the paint had proven to be capable of had far exceeded his expectations.


    With the application of a little mana, the Radiant Red could be transformed from a pretty, glittery, decorative goop to an explosively fiery weapon. One that could easily take down a monster their own level, or higher, if applied properly. And that was just the Radiant Red.


    The Generous Green that he’d chosen?


    "Still think that your paint is better than my paint?” asked Alissa as she sidled up to him.


    “Mhm.”


    “Even after that? Did you see how that thing burned? It was a briquette in like ten seconds.”


    Rek rolled his eyes. “Killing is easy. Healing, harder. Talk when you’re bleeding out, or your arm is broken. Tell me then which paint is better.”


    The woman crinkled her nose. “You’re just being stubborn. It’s a sign of serious personality issues.” She folded her arms and stalked away. Rek rolled his eyes.


    He glanced back at the bulge of the bucket in its holding place strapped to the back of his backpack. The bucket itself had proven to be a fairly sturdy material, resistant to a good deal of wear and tear, which it would have to be to safely contain his treasure. He didn’t want to imagine losing it all to a spill.


    “What next?” asked Alissa as she stretched her arms. “We still experimenting?”


    “No. Limited supply. Save it for emergencies.”


    The woman nodded. Gathering their bags, the two continued through the bathroom. At a certain point as they neared the cafeteria, the endless deluge of cookie-cutter classrooms had started to break with sprinklings of different, more interesting venues. The Art Room had only been the first, and the bathroom had come quickly after.


    The room was as big as all the rooms thus far had been, though that was where the similarities ended. For this room was ... dank, and it carried with it a certain aroma that almost made him miss the fetid chemical stench of the Art Room.


    Large, rumbling pipes ran zig-zag lines at random locations, crawling from the floor to ceiling at points, and free-standing wash-basins sprinkled water from leaky faucets onto the cracked, tiled floor.


    Stalls littered the space in no certain pattern, along with large, treacherous holes in the ground filled with bubbling soups of... viscous... unmentionable liquid.


    It wasn’t the worst sight he’d seen over the years, but maybe that was the only reason why he was able to calmly tolerate the wretchedness of everything around him. Even so, he certainly had no desire to linger for any longer than absolutely necessary, a sentiment that Alissa shared.


    The woman had gagged thrice in the first two minutes inside, and nearly wretched within the first five minutes. It took removing her glasses and their perception buff combined with a mask made out of several layers of pilfered cloth sprinkled with perfumes that they’d found along the way wrapped around her face to make the space barely navigable for her.


    Still, she didn’t complain, and that he could appreciate.


    After they both spared a moment to wrap up some business involving a functional toilet stall, the two continued their exploration of the maze-like space, revealing a half dozen yellow-named [Junkies] and a handful of [Wimps] that had ambled aimlessly about the room, their levels ranging between two and five. Rek and Alissa had made quick work of the [Junkies], with the [Wimps] fleeing out of the room at lightning-speed.


    The gains had been enough to push Alissa into her fifth level, and earn her a shiny new power.


    “It’s called Suggestibility. It makes me more convincing when I speak.” The counsellor had explained after digesting the System imparted knowledge of the spell, seemingly none too bothered by what had sounded to him like mind-control.


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    The opposite, in fact. She’d even seemed excited by the prospect.


    “How much more convincing?” he asked.


    Alissa smiled. "Time for a test?”


    Rek gave her his assent without much fuss. He knew that a lower-level spell couldn’t have been anything too crazy, and testing the power proved just that. It revealed that whilst Suggestibility was more difficult to detect and even harder to block than her other powers were, it was conversely weaker in its influence.


    Alissa managed to suggest that he smile more, which the power convinced him to do, but it couldn’t manage to make him slap himself. She almost looked disappointed by that.


    “Sad that you can’t mind-control me?” he asked irately.


    “Yes.” she admitted readily, before chuckling. “I’m just kidding. But seriously, this power is insane even if I can’t convince anyone to do anything major. The amount of good I could have done with some of my students if I’d had this power, if I could’ve just talked them out of their terrible, self-destructive habits? This is... it''s a game-changer.”


    “It is a responsibility.” reminded Rek, his tone brooking no argument. “Mind-control is dangerous. Even limited mind-control. It makes you a threat, and people don’t like threats. I know. Had some foes with similar powers in my world. There, they were only tolerated one of three ways. By being too strong to risk fighting, or being attached to someone too strong to risk fighting.”


    Alissa furrowed her brow. “What’s the third?”


    He gave her a look. “By being dead.”


    She blinked. “Okay. Message received. I promise to not go all evil villain and mind control everyone into smiling more. It’s just... this could really do some good.”


    “Mhm. Do bad, too.” Especially when combined with her suite of other powers, and whatever else she was likely to develop in the future. Alissa was already showing the potential to become someone truly powerful in the future.


    Rek knew that he’d have to teach her how to wield that power wisely. He didn’t expect it to be a difficult task. The woman was snappy, but she was no egomaniac.


    He hoped. It was a difficult thing to judge the future threat of someone he’d only known for a little over a day.


    Alissa said nothing for a while after that. She remained lost in thought as they explored the bathroom, and all the way up until they fought their next lot of monsters.


    The poor wretches. They were little more than training dummies for the counsellor.


    Experimenting on the unfortunate [Wimps], they quickly learnt that the ability to resist her suggestions varied with an individual’s willpower, which explained why Rek had proven hard to influence. The [Wimps]?


    She had them slapping themselves on end for a half minute before she finally allowed the poor creatures to run free.


    “Okay.” she said as she watched them flee. “Maybe this could be bad.”


    “Mmh. Use it on monsters for now. Too useful not to. But when we find people...”


    “I won’t. I promise. Not unless I absolutely have to.” The woman looked uncertain before she laid a hand on his shoulder. “If nothing else, I have my sensei here to keep an eye on me, right? You’ll stop me before I fall to the dark side, won’t you?”


    He nodded and then pinched her.


    “Ow! What was that for?!”


    “Pinch of discipline. Pinch if you cross the line.”


    She glared at him. “I am not a fan of physical discipline.”


    “Fan of being evil?” he asked, an even look on his face.


    Her glare tightened, and a moment passed as neither dared to look away from the other, before she finally swore and broke contact. “Fine. Whatever. Not like it’ll matter anyway because I’ll never give you cause to pinch me.”


    “Oh? Good. But threat exists to motivate.”


    “Okay, listen here Yoda. There’s been like a million studies carried out over the years that prove that physical punishment, or the threat of physical punishment, never lead-”


    Rek cupped a palm against her face, pushing her scarf into her mouth. Alissa went wide-eyed with surprise, which quickly became indignation, and then confusion. Because Rek was no longer looking at her. She quietly followed the goblin’s gaze.


    There, stood veiled within an open toilet stall, was a small thing.


    A very, dangerous, small thing.


    [ Student Advisor Lvl. ??? ]


    Alissa swallowed thickly. Rek gently drew his hand away from her mouth. The creature was almost comically spherical, with small-button eyes and a smaller mouth. Its skin was coloured the same shade of yellow as a sunflower, save for its tiny, pinkish ears.


    A bite-sized set of formal office-wear wrapped around its rotund frame; the look completed by the thick glasses that sat snugly on its face.


    The creature was seated on the stall, a calm expression on its face as it stared upwards towards the large pipe that leaked water directly beside it.


    It looked like it hadn’t noticed them yet, though Rek knew that that was just wishful thinking. At its level, there was no way it hadn’t sensed them. It’d simply chosen to ignore them. That was fine. Rek had no desire to contend with a question-marked.


    “Walk away quietly.” he whispered in Alissa’s general direction.


    The woman needed no convincing. Together, they inched away from the monster and towards where the exit laid. Their pace was calm and collected until the stall disappeared from their sight, after which they turned, their pace set to a mad rush.


    They made it all of three steps before they found a little thing blocking their way. The two froze in place. Alissa was tense, her every muscle screaming that they run. Rek was more focused.


    The [Student Advisor] had followed them at impossibly fast speeds, and now, it was looking at them. Nothing about its mien indicated any hostility at all. Its name was still yellow. They were still safe, which meant that there was something about this encounter that they had to play out.


    Steeling his back, Rek stepped towards the creature. It was only as tall as his chest, which was saying something considering that he was only as tall as Alissa’s neck, and she hadn’t struck him as a particularly tall woman.


    It was unimposing in just about every way, but he knew better than to judge on appearances alone. Its question marks spoke for itself.


    “Can I help you?” he asked.


    The creature’s eyes trawled up and down his figure before they levelled on his face.


    “You are being watched, Rek the Earthsong.” it said, its tone entirely without emotion.


    “Not surprising in a dungeon.”


    “Indeed. Our esteemed [Principal] keeps a close eye on all the students enrolled in these hallowed halls, but you have earned a closer eye than most.”


    “Why?” asked Rek as calmly as he could manage. His face betrayed none of the feelings bubbling within him and given the protections in place, he didn’t think that the being could tell the truth of his nature, even with its level advantage. The veil on his true information was powerful. Even the likes of the [Principal] itself couldn’t manage that. This must’ve been something else, he was sure.


    “Your background.” it answered evenly. “Even if your former level did not amount to much in the grand scale of things, you were still a person of great influence in your world. I wouldn’t claim to know the statistics of The System’s workings, but I daresay that it isn’t too often that someone of your standing in a world involves themselves in an Induction.”


    That much was true enough, though few could claim a reasoning like his.


    “Greatness often leads to greatness, says our great [Principal]. Your levelling speed indicates as much, even if you have been slowed down by your... distraction.” It glanced at Alissa, who responded with a calm, unperturbed look. “Well, strength of numbers is a power all its own, no doubt. The [Principal] believes that since you are a former person of greatness, you must be destined to achieve such heights once more. As such, he wishes to offer you the title of Advanced Placement Student.”


    [ Title Available:


    Advanced Placement Student


    +10% to 2 stats of your choice


    1 advanced class spell/ skill


    Access to AP Assignments ]


    Rek studied the screen, his pulse quickening as he eyed the glorious reward on offer. A raw percentage boost to two of his stats? At ten percent? Such a thing was rarely heard of, and even more rarely earned. He’d only possessed a singular three percent boost to a single stat in the other world, and that had been a victory much lauded across his clan.


    This?


    There was no reason to decline, even if he knew all too well that such a fine reward couldn’t possibly come without strings attached.


    “What must I do?”


    “You will have to immediately participate in a test to prove your worthiness, of course.” it said matter-of-factly. “A simple test, but very dangerous test nonetheless. Perhaps your experience will allow you to minimize that danger to a degree, but you nevertheless run the risk of a most gruesome death. And even if you were to pass and earn the title, you will still need to defend it. Earn anything less than a B on an assignment and you will be stripped of the title immediately.”


    Harsh, but hardly unfair, or unexpected. Rek agreed immediately. A threat of death was nothing in a dungeon. Every moment that he drew breath implicitly carried that threat. The gains were more than worth the risk.


    “I agree.” he declared without hesitation.


    The [Student Advisor] nodded as if his agreement had been a foregone conclusion.


    “Are you sure?” asked Alissa, her concern obvious. “Well, I know by now that you’re always sure. But... Rek. Are you really sure? This feels more dangerous than anything we’ve seen so far.”


    It was. Without a shadow of a doubt, but danger wasn’t enough to keep him from accepting. “Definitely.” he replied with an easy confidence. “Don’t worry. Go to the last classroom we passed. Barricade it until I return. I’ll finish the test and be back quick.”


    The woman swallowed thickly; hesitation evident in her mien. Still, she steeled herself and nodded.


    “Are you ready?” asked the being.


    “Mhm. Allowed to bring items?”


    “If you care to. We do not mind. You have earned everything you’ve collected thus far.”


    Rek quickly donned his mask as well as his backpack. Something told him that his Generous Green in particular would prove very necessary in the situation to come. He gave the creature his assent afterwards. The last thing he felt was a sudden sinking feeling, the same as he’d felt after the portal to Earth had activated, and then all he knew was darkness.