In the morning, Sarah was feeling much better. She told her parents about the awakening and they were very supportive of her. Specially since she had no intention of dungeon diving.
Matthew, ate breakfast, and, when asked when he was going to the dungeon, he said he would rest that day which made his mother very hopeful he would quit soon. Luckily for him, none of the three discovered his wounds.
After resting for most of the morning. Matthew decided to sell the Mana Crystals he still had on him and didn't have a chance to sell. He also needed more supplies for when he could go to the dungeon again.
He walked to the crystal exchange store near the dungeon he frequented. Arriving there, he notice the dungeon was closed for investigation about the fluctuation. Lucky, for him, the weapon and the crystal exchange store weren't.
He sold all the crystals, bought more bullets and a new protective vest and had his machete sharpened. It was chipped after all the hacking he's done.
His mind wandered towards the girls he saved. Erin was alright after the fluctuation, but he wasn't sure about Faralynn and the other student who was knocked out. He didn't however had any way of contacting them. Perhaps if he went to the school Erin or the teacher would be there?
After he got his machete back, he got into a bus and went to the Laufgraan school. It wasn't that far from there.
The school was smaller than he expected for such a prestigious establishment. It was about as big as his high school, which had about 5.000 students. It was comprised of a 5 store building of elven architecture, a lot of wood and tall roofs. It was surrounded by impressive greenery, lots of flowers and trees that seemed to melt into the architecture as if the construction was naturally sprung from the plants.
However, the biggest part of the lot was occupied by a huge gym. The gym was not made in elven architecture, but looked like a huge plane hangar. Matthew could only wonder how it was inside, since entry was forbidden to outsiders.
To enter the school itself, Matthew had to surrender his weapons on the front gate and be escorted to the administrative office by a security personnel. Perhaps because of the number of VIPs who studied there, or was it that adventuring created a lot of enemies?
"Erin?" The blond cute receptionist asked. "Without a last name I can't really give you anything. We have three students with that name."
"She was at the Dungeon 001889 on Monday with her class. I was just wondering about the welfare of her and other students after what happened."
"Oh. You were one of the adventurers that fought the fluctuation?"
"Yes. I helped Erin and Faralynn and other student that I didn't get the name and was wondering how they are."
"I see. Well, I'm not familiar with the details, but I think Professor Orpheu was responsible for that class. If you are willing to wait a couple of minutes, I'll ask him to come talk to you during the lunch break. It'll take only about 5 minutes now."
"Please do it then." Matthew smiled.
He was directed to wait in a room right there in the administration office. It had a nice couch and a couple of chairs. He was welcomed to serve himself of some coffee or tea and even biscuits. Everything was very luxurious. Even the cups were made of proper porcelain and not just plastic. The view was also incredible showing in a very flowery garden with a multitude of colors.
Matthew sat down, took his phone out and started to scroll on the internet reading about the history of that place. The school itself was founded 80 years ago by the current dean Farzan Laufgraan, Faralynn's father. Bringing knowledge about Mana from his world, the school quickly formed excellent adventurers and quickly became one of the top schools of the world.
About 10 minutes passed when Orpheu entered the room.
"Matthew. Good to see you whole." He said shaking his hand. "When your girlfriend came to pick you up I didn't realize you were in such bad state."
"She's just a friend." Matthew said blushing.
"Oh. I'm sorry. I just assumed…" Orpheu got embarrassed as well. "You don't mind if I eat while we talk, do you? I have class first thing after lunch." He said while sitting and opening a lunch box on the coffee table.
"Oh no, please do. I just came on a whim, since I can't go to any dungeon for a while."
"Was it that bad? You seemed fine." Orpheu asked while munching on his food.
"I was using a skill to endure the pain. Got some nasty cracks and bruises. Doctor said I should wait a week before going back." Matthew said while lifting his shirt and showing the 3d printed corset he was wearing.
"Oh, you got beat up. But I'm glad it wasn't anything major."
"Yeah. Thank you."
"Anyway, what can I help with you today?"
"I was wondering how Erin and Faralynn are… Oh, and the other one."
Orpheu took a while to answer because he took a huge bite of his meal, but answered after swallowing: "Erin is fine, she was uninjured because of you. Fred, was not so lucky. He got a nasty concussion, we had to call a specialist to look after him. But he'll survive."
"And Faralynn?"
"She's doing well. But you really saved her back there. That stab messed her insides, she almost died. If we waited just a second more she would've died." Orpheu took another bite. "But don't worry, she's not in any danger now. She's already awake and speaking. She only needs some surgery to correct a part of her intestine that didn't heal properly with the potion, so she'll be hospitalized for while." After seeing Matthew's expression darken, Orpheu soon complemented: "But it's not your fault. If you hadn't given her that potion then, she would've bled to death. So you really saved her. It's normal for wounds like that to not heal properly after taking a potion. Don't worry. Her family is bringing in a very good surgeon for that."
"Thanks, I'm glad to hear that."
"I also wanted to say I'm sorry. I put you in a delicate position. I'm really thankful to you for stepping in for my students."
"It's ok. I would've done the same even if you hadn't asked me to help them."
"You are a nice kid." Orpheu said making Matthew, again, feel like a child. "You also saved me from looking for you."
"What?"
"Yeah, the dean wants to thank you for saving his daughter. But he's not here today, he's with her at the hospital. So… Can I ask for you phone number? I'll be sure to give it to the dean." Orpheu paused with a mischievous smile and completed: "Also make sure Erin and Faralynn also get it."
Matthew laughed nervously, but was eager to give him the number.
"Also, before you go, one more thing. Did you see anything different at the dungeon that day? Anyone strange?"
"No… I can't recall anything. Why?"
"The hobgoblins were real."
Matthew felt a chill down his spine. He didn't realize it until now. The hobgoblin bled over him. He used his head as a weapon. This weren't possible with dungeon monsters. Someone brought them in there. Meaning someone also caused the fluctuation.
"But you don't need to concern yourself with it. Their target might've been one of the students, so we're helping the police investigate it. I also doubt they will do the same thing in that dungeon again. So don't worry about it."
"Ok…" Matthew said, but was still worried.
Soon after those words, he said his goodbye, and left he school. He couldn't say for sure, since he didn't know all the students that were in that class. But Faralynn seemed the most obvious target there. He couldn't help but get worried for her. Why would that be?