The next few days pass without incidents. I learn from Andrew that Anthony is shy with everyone, and I see during that time that he rarely comes out of his room. Even when we eat, he just grabs his food and goes back to his desk to watch videos on his laptop.
I used my free time to play games on my laptop and portable console. One evening, Andrew managed to get everyone in the dorm to play games on the TV, but Anthony ended up leaving without a word and Cal looked bored the entire time, but that might be because he always looks like that. I had fun, though.
And with that, the few days of break I gave myself come to pass, and I find myself attending the first class of my first semester in university.
"Welcome to the History of Aetherelogy 1 course. As I'm sure most of you already know, magic was only discovered around 85 years ago, shortly after the first dungeons manifested themselves. In this class, we're going to learn about the methods developed and used to conduct scientific experiments on this new phenomenon during the first 40 years. You will learn the rest next semester."
I'm absentmindedly taking notes on my laptop, but I don't want to tune out completely. Learning more about how science is conducted on magic could be a key to understanding my own power.
There are a lot of people in this class. As far as I can tell, some aetherology classes are given in other programs as well, so it's likely that most students here are actually studying in a different field.
Around the end of the class, I receive a notification on my phone. Looks like the leader of the party I cleared a dungeon with a few days ago sent me something.
"Hey! We're scheduled to clear a dungeon tonight, but one of our frontliners is sick. It's a level 10, like last time, and you handled yourself well, so I wanted to know if you'd be interested in joining us?"
Tonight, eh? I don't have any classes tomorrow morning, so I can afford to get a dungeon done and then sleep in the next morning. Getting closer to these guys is probably good for me as well. It'll help build up my reputation.
I send him a message telling him that I'll be there. With a thanks, he sends me the coordinates and information about the dungeon in question.
After class, I head to my dormitory to have lunch. Anthony is in his room, as usual, and it looks like Andrew and Cal are still out. I don't have any class in the afternoon, so I use the time I have after eating to continue my search online for any adventurer who might have gone through something similar to what I did.
This endeavor ends up being fruitless once more, so I grab my stuff and prepare to head out. Cal, who came back at some point during the afternoon, asks me:
"Going out to clear a dungeon?"
"Yeah."
"Cool. Be careful to not wake us up when you come back."
I grumble in response. I've only lived with them for a few days, but I'm starting to get a sense for everyone's sleep schedule. Andrew is all over the place. He might be asleep at 10 PM or still be up at 4 AM, depending on what's planned the next day. Cal, by comparison, is like clockwork: gone to bed by 11 PM every single day, including on weekends. The only exception was when we played some games together, he stayed up until midnight that time.
Anthony seems to stay up all night every night and catch up whatever sleep he's missing during the day. Sometimes I can hear him snoring in his room in the middle of the afternoon, only to see him engrossed in his games when I get up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night.
And me? Well, I try to stay consistent, but on days like today, I have to adjust my schedule to the work I do.
And so, it seems likely that I'll have to be careful not to wake Cal up, but Andrew might still be up and Anthony definitely won't be asleep when I come back.
With that in mind, I leave the dormitory and make my way to the location of the dungeon.
When I reach my destination, it's Michael, the Lance Fighter, who comes and greet me. Looks like the leader is busy discussing something with some of the higher-level members of the squad.
Now that I've awakened this mysterious power within me, I can tell who's weaker and stronger in a group of adventurers. Michael, as an example, seems to be around the average level for that party, while the leader and the few members near him are much higher level.
I can't accurately tell anyone's level, but I can sense how much magical power is within their body, which helps approximate the value.
As Michael approaches, I see his facial expression morph from joy to surprise to suspicion back to joy in a flash. Since he can sense my power, he likely noticed that I'm way stronger than last time we met. Hopefully, this doesn't pose any problem for me.
Whatever he's thinking, he doesn't let it show:
"Glad to have you back with us tonight. This dungeon should be a lot less wet and rainy than the previous one, but there's a warning about unpredictable monsters. We were granted access because we have higher-level members with us, but if anything unexpected happens, make sure to stay back and let them handle it."
"Understood."
Unpredictable Monsters warnings are rare, but they indicate that the monsters in the dungeon might be stronger than their level indicates, or that monsters that are currently outside of it might come in while a party is clearing it. It's effectively a warning that the dungeon will be harder than its level suggests, with a chance of coming back with rarer loot as a result. In a video game, something like that might be labelled "high risk, high reward", but since we only have one life in this world, it's usually higher-level parties that take care of dungeons like that, specifically to minimize risk.
This party has some weaker members, but it looks like the top guys are confident in their ability to protect them.
I'll try to keep a low profile, but I won't let anyone die if anything happens. Since my control over this power is still relatively tenuous, I have no doubt that the top-level people in this group are better than me in combat, but I can still stay in the backline and throw dangerous projectiles if anything gets past them.
"Looks like everything is ready. Let's get going."
And so, for the first time since I awakened my full power, I enter a dungeon.
As expected, this place is a lot dryer than the swamp we found ourselves in last time. We appear to be in a small ruined village. Most buildings are collapsed, and there's no sign of anyone having lived here in years.
As we walk towards the center of the dungeon, I notice that Michael starts using hand symbols to communicate with the other party members. This is rather common among adventuring groups, as being able to communicate silently or in a way that an opposing group cannot understand can turn the tide of battle. However, to my surprise, I have no issue understanding what he's saying, despite having never seen these symbols before.
Is this like when the orc talked to me? I couldn't understand the words it was saying, and I was aware of that, but what it was trying to tell me came across perfectly. I guess this strange ability extends to more than just monsters, and to more than spoken words.
"Guest, monster, attack, not kill."
Unlike when the orc talked to me, however, each hand symbol here has a limited meaning, so I don't get a full sentence forming in my mind, but I can interpret what's being communicated just like the other adventurers are currently doing.
I'm probably the "guest". The second two words, "monster" and "attack", seem to be saying that I'm a monster and that they need to attack me, with the "not kill" command indicating that he wants me to stay alive.
Hey! That's rude! I'm not a monster and I definitely don't want to be attacked, even if I appreciate that they won't be trying to kill me, at least at first.
A last hand symbol concludes the order: "on my signal".
Some of the adventurers reposition themselves around me to cut off possible escape routes. They're trying to be subtle, but since I managed to decipher their message, I see what's happening.
We walk for a few more minutes. At some point, the party leader tells us to stop, turns towards me, then looks at Michael, who screams "Now!".
It's better if I don't fight back, right? Allowing myself to be captured will probably lead to a discussion during which I'll be ale to explain that I'm human, while fighting them off might further entrench them in the idea that I'm actually an enemy.
And so, I stay immobile as vines sprout from the ground and catch my arms and legs, pulling me down on my knee. At the same time, a paralyzing spell hits me, but I barely feel it. While it certainly didn't work at weakening me, it's probably better for me to not let them know.
Michael approaches and points his spear at my throat before asking:
"Who are you?"
"My name's Matt, we met when I joined your group to clear a dungeon a few days ago."
"Quit lying! I can tell you're much stronger than he was, and your energy is completely different from his. Heck, it's not even human! You probably thought you could fool people by pretending to be him, but I've seen through your plan. Now, reveal the truth!"
Uh? My energy isn't human? Is that what's actually going on?
After awakening my power, I noticed that humans and monsters don't quite have the same type of energy. I could tell what was an orc and what was human from a distance based on how it felt to me. However, my own energy felt different from both of these, and I never really stopped to think about it, but... Do I appear as a monster to Michael?
That might also be why the aetherologist's machine put me all the way down to level 0. I learned a few years ago that the machines used to calculate an adventurer's level and the machines used to estimate a monster's level are completely different. Since scientists had plenty of humans to study and run tests with, they managed to create a machine that's extremely precise, but only works on humans. Monsters aren't taken prisoner due to the danger they represent, so anything meant to work on them has to do a lot more guesswork and thus gives readings that are inherently flawed.
It's all starting to make sense. Whoever is lending me their power isn't human, so I don't appear human right now. I don't know where my "human power" went, but it's possible it's been absorbed into the greater power currently existing within me, leading to those level 0 readings.
This situation isn't going to be easy to get out of.
"I swear it's the truth. Remember how you told me that something seemed to be messing with the flow of energy within me? Well, I managed to break that something. I still don't know what's going on or why my power looks to you as if it's a monster's, but I'm still me."
"So you even stole his memories? Are you some kind of parasite who takes over people?"
Michael thinks for a moment before continuing:
"Yes, that might be the case. Your body is currently hosting a parasite, but you haven't realized it yet. The power I see is the parasite's, but you still feel like your body and thoughts are your own."
I don't think a parasite would have given my leaking power the appearance of a woman.
"That... doesn't sound very likely. Why would this parasite allow me to freely use its power?"
"Well that would... uh? You can use it?"
To demonstrate this, I break out of my binds and stand up.
"As I said, I don't really know what's going on... But I've gotten a lot stronger."
The leader approaches and says:
"There's still a lot we don't understand about magic. Looks like Matt's power is part of that. For now, I choose to trust him. I don't think he's a monster, and even if he somehow is, he still seems to be in control of himself. Otherwise, he would already have wiped us out."
While saying this, he brings out a portable magic detector. On the small screen, it's possible to read "Alert! Monster level between 60 and 70 detected! Evacuate dungeon immediately!"
"It's annoying that this thing is made useless by your presence here, since it detects you as a monster, but if you really are above level 60, I'm counting on you to protect us if things go wrong."
"Of course! I fully intend to ensure everyone here makes it back home."
With this, I strike my chest.
"Very well. Everyone! Let's keep going. This dungeon isn't going to clear itself."
I can tell some of them are still wary of me, but they all accept their leader's decision. He's clearly well respected.
And with this little incident behind us, we start walking towards our destination once more.
