Hizashi No Kage

  Chapter - 7

  The next class was Magic Theory, and specifically about the use of magic by **Knights**.

  This class is also attended by mage students. But there was a difference between the two.

  One difference was that Knights were taught more **close-range combat magic**, while mages were taught **long-range magic**.

  Knights were trained more in **quick-activation magic**, whereas mages were taught every kind — and so on.

  This class was being taken by Sapna Ma'am, and obviously, Sapna Ma'am explained everything very well. But since it was the first day, she focused mostly on introductions.

  When she asked who the Class Representative (CR) was, Manjula's name came up immediately because she was the topper.

  *(Let me also mention here that Manjula's level is 95 and her magic type is Shadow Magic.)*

  Akash wasn't surprised at all. Manjula was exactly the way he had always imagined her in his mind — powerful, brave, intelligent, calm................

  The last class of the day was the **Dungeon Class**. The teacher for this class was Madam Leona. As soon as she entered the classroom, she said just one sentence:

  "Get ready, my weak children. We're going into an **A-rank dungeon** right now, this very moment."

  Ma'am first took everyone to the field, then used her **Earth magic** to separate a large chunk of the ground from the earth. She made all the students sit on it and then carried that piece of land to the part of the city where the dungeon was located.

  This dungeon had been fully cleared many years ago, but it was still extremely dangerous.

  **Extra info (Ranking system):**

  - 10–30 → D and D+

  - 30–50 → C and C+

  - 50–60 → B

  - 60–70 → B+

  - 70–80 → A

  - 80–90 → A+

  - 90–95 → S

  - 95–99 → S+

  There was also one more rank — Level 100 **Z-rank**… but it was no longer in use because no one had reached it in hundreds of years. --

  So this was an **A-rank dungeon**, filled with threats up to level 80, and most of the students in the class were between levels 75 and 80. Some students were scared, some were excited.

  Everyone had brought their preferred weapons. Some children had already formed parties, while some went **solo**. Naturally, Akash went alone.

  Zavier asked Manjula to go with him, but she refused, saying:

  "No, I want to see how far I can go by myself."

  Zavier didn't like it, but what could he do? His opinion didn't matter in front of Manjula.

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  Before starting the dungeon raid, Leona Ma'am gave some instructions:

  "Listen carefully, weaklings. If you die, don't come crying to me. Haha, well, you won't even be able to come back. Inside the dungeon, you have to collect materials. The student who brings the highest quality material will get benefits in the future. Do not fight each other. And… that's it. I'll wait for all of you at the entrance gate. Go, run!"

  "What a teacher," Akash thought as he entered the dungeon.

  The straightforward logic was: The highest quality material would come from the strongest monster, and the strongest monster would be found on the lowest floor. This dungeon had **50 floors**. Each floor was below the previous one. The original boss of this dungeon had already been killed long ago, but new monsters kept spawning over time.

  A new boss too.

  **Extra info (Dungeon concept in this story):**

  On Marth, there are two types of mana particles — **Negative** and **Positive**.

  Positive mana is diffused in the atmosphere, but negative mana slowly and continuously accumulates in different places. The place where it gathers in large quantities becomes a **dungeon**.

  One important thing: Negative mana affects humans very slowly, but it instantly mutates animals. That is why animals in dungeons mutate and turn into monsters.

  ---

  Akash was moving forward at high speed. Most students couldn't go beyond floor 20, but Manjula, Zavier, Akash, Lily, Dron, Nick, Bison, and a few others were performing well.

  Akash's strategy was clear: While running, he used his **Light Radar skill**. He could detect incoming monsters in advance and then cut them down with the **Sword of Light**.

  *(He could only use one skill at a time.)*

  Goblins, Hobgoblins, Red Bulls, Giant Snakes — he kept killing all kinds of monsters and advancing.

  At first, everyone was shocked seeing his strength — especially Zavier. But soon all the students scattered in different directions. Dungeons have traps, multiple routes, etc.

  Akash didn't slow down. Some kind of passion had taken over him — perhaps the desire to impress Manjula.

  But Manjula paid no attention to Akash. To her, he wasn't anything special.

  Manjula, using her **Shadow Magic**, was taking entirely different paths. While others thought of collecting materials from the boss room, Manjula had decided to search for a special material in a **hidden room**. She had already studied this dungeon in advance. Topper, after all.

  Akash had descended quite deep. On floor 41, his Light Radar sensed the presence of a **demon**. He stopped immediately. This was no ordinary matter.

  After the World War, demons had been confined to the **Demonic Continent**. Half-demons appeared occasionally, but a full demon on the human continent?

  If Akash wasn't careful, he could lose his life.

  Yet Akash still moved toward the direction of that demonic presence. The demonic mana he sensed was weak and stationary in one place. That was why he dared to proceed.

  Deep inside a cave, Akash found a weak-looking demon stuck to a wall in a spider's magical web. He realized it was a low-level demon caught in a spider monster's trap.

  But now the question was — should he help a demon?

  For Akash, the answer was easy. He went in front of it and charged magic into his axe. The demon got scared and started shouting in the human language:

  "No! Don't kill me! I beg you! I came looking for my daughter! Mercy--

  With a single swing, Akash cut through the magical web. The demon was stunned.

  **Extra information**

  After the war, all humans created a **universal language**. That's why humans from any continent could communicate with each other. This demon had learned the same human language.

  The name of this language was — **Marith**.

  ---

  "How did you come here? Do you know what will happen if someone sees you?" — Akash was genuinely concerned for him.

  The demon was first very surprised. This was the first human who had shown mercy to a demon.

  Then, regaining his senses, the demon said:

  "Get me out of here somehow, human. I will never forget your kindness."

  Akash immediately replied:

  "I'll get you out, but you won't kill humans, right?"

  "No! My daughter herself is a **half-human**. I came among humans only to find her," the demon explained.

  Akash didn't fully understand, but there was no time. They decided to talk on the way to the boss room. Akash quickly healed the demon, and then both headed toward floor 50.

  "My name is Jaga Full-Crow. I used to live on the Demon Continent, but one day I went hunting on a deserted island. There I found a human female. At first I thought I would eat her, but she looked so weak that she wasn't even worth eating. I didn't eat her. Instead, I brought her food. Soon we fell in love. She was fed up with humans, and I was fed up with demons. We started living on that island. Time passed without us realizing. We were very happy. We even had a daughter. We named her **Jagruti**."

  *(Akash's eyes widened in shock.)*

  "But perhaps our happiness was only till there. When Jagruti was about 30 years old, somehow a demon found out about our location. A squad of demons attacked our home. They killed my wife. I somehow managed to send my daughter away from there, but I was captured. A few years ago I escaped from prison and came among humans. Since then I've been searching for my daughter in different countries."

  — That was the essence of the story Jaga told. —

  After hearing the entire story, Akash asked just one question:

  "Was your daughter… the one who had a blue horn on her head?"

  "Yes—yes! How do you know?" Jaga asked in a startled voice. A ray of hope ignited inside him.

  But there were tears in Akash's eyes. With a choked voice he said:

  "Please forgive me, but your daughter is no more."

  And then Akash narrated the entire story of Jagruti. At the end he said:

  "Please forgive me, Jaga ji. I couldn't save her."

  Now Akash broke down completely and started crying. Jaga's eyes also filled with tears.

  After a while, regaining some composure, he said:

  "Was she… sad when she died?"

  Lowering his head, Akash replied:

  "No… she died with a smile on her face."

  Jaga took a long, deep breath and said:

  "Human Akash, thank you. I can't express how much you have…

  Akash interrupted him midway. Both remained silent for a moment. Then Akash spoke:

  "You should leave this place as soon as possible. But where will you go?"

  "I will return to the Demon Continent and tell the demons, the story of good humans like you. I should have done this work a long time ago. But anyway…"

  Jaga said.