The Transmigrated Professor

Chapter 23: Cherry Blossoms

Back at the entrance of 'The Snow Forest', a pair of geta clacked against the rocky ground. A man gently strolled into the dungeon. His attire consisted of a blue kimono, decorated with cherry blossoms. A red wagasa was held open in his left hand, despite the lack of direct sunlight. His right hand held a white hand fan, painted with a cherry blossom tree.

"What a cool breeze!", he exclaimed, as he stepped foot into the Dungeon. His shoulder-length black hair fluttered in the strong wind.

He turned back to face the dark cave, from where he exited moments ago. His fiery orange eyes stared at the exit, pity etched across his face.

"Cool?", a voice echoed out. "It's freezing here."

"Perseverance, young Hero." The man advised his companions behind him. "Now come on, you two. Let's complete the first assignment the League gave us and we can have some hot chocolate on the way back."

Two young adults stepped out of the darkness of the cave. The boy was wearing a dark olive full T-shirt and black running tights. Two silvery-black studs dangled from his right ear. His hair, hidden under a black cap, was completely dyed pinkish red, which clashed with his clear blue eyes. He slowly rolled forward on a graffiti-covered skateboard, showing reluctance to join his superior in the freezing weather.

Beside him, stood a girl. Her clear, pale skin was like porcelain and her hair was silver like a silky spider web, giving her a vampirish look. She was sporting a loose hip-hop long T-shirt and denim shorts, a shade matching her hair. Knee-long boots, ashen grey, covered her legs. A gun holster was strapped to her right thigh.

The man in the traditional attire was Sakura Kazuya, the 178th Ranked Hero in the Human Continent and one of the strongest A+ Rank Awakened, affiliated with the Hero League. His ancestors hailed from the country called Japan, before The Catastrophe hit Earth seventy years ago, and erased any concept of countries in the world. But Kazuya has always had great pride in his ancestral nationality and he honours it by wearing the traditional clothes of ancient Japan. His unique fashion sense, paired with his handsome looks akin to those of pre-Catastrophe Nihonjin, has made him quite popular with young ladies.

Behind him were the students of the Star Academy, Luca Wagner, and Evva Pavlov. Third year at Hero Academies was unlike the first two years, where the students would go to different Guilds for internships and get practical experience in real Dungeons, which were far more dangerous than the artificial ones the Academy created for their exams.

Luca and Evva were the top students in their class. They had both applied for internships at the Hero League and had been sent on a mission, with Kazuya as their supervisor.

Apparently, some rogue monsters were causing trouble for the Heroes who went to 'The Snow Forest' Dungeon.

Since it was one of the rare 'Loop Dungeons', this Dungeon would never close, even if the boss monsters were killed. When killed, they would just resurrect in another part of the Dungeon. And the materials gained in this Dungeon were not of high quality, so not many Guilds wanted to spend their time and resources in these Dungeons.

But if these Dungeons were not raided periodically, the Dungeon would Rampage and the monsters would be let out into the woods, which would further pose a threat to the city barriers. The Hero League tried to portray it as the unbreakable defence of humanity, but anyone who had a brain knew if the monster numbers beyond it weren't curbed, then they could break it and rampage inside the city.

So, the Hero League's strategy to prevent the Loop Dungeons from going on Rampage was to open this Dungeon for public use, with the official reason being for new Heroes to gain battle experience.