Finally came the day that we would enter the Eternal Testing Grounds, the dungeon in the middle of Probium. Suddenly, I find that I am actually excited about it, not just as a way to prove myself, but as something that might be a genuinely fun challenge. The three of us woke up very early and ate a light meal before we left the inn and headed to the city's center. There, right in the middle would be the entrance.

Both Alexius and Helena looked quite different from the usual. While before I had seen him wearing only light armor, now I saw him in full plate armor, As for Helena, although she did not go so far, I could see that under her clothes she was wearing padded armor and a chain mail. As for me, I was wearing my usual clothes, but that's because before entering, I will finally show them my Magic-armor-construct, then inside the dungeon I will show them its power.

It was actually kind of weird exiting the inn along with two fully armored people and not be looked at strangely in any way, but I suppose that's what you get in a city that has a high population of adventurers. Even if you step out looking like someone who is going to battle, nobody bats an eye.

“Well, let's do this!”

The two of them nodded at me. Hmm, that's kind of disappointing I wanted it to have little more oomph. Oh well. It didn't take long for us to arrive at the center and identify which building was the dungeon.

It was a building entirely made of unpainted grayish stone, made in a style that made it really stick out among all the other buildings in the city. How to describe? It looked like the entrance to some weird ruins. There were cracks here and there. Some five pairs of pillars, some whole, some broken, seemed to be there to lead people to the dungeon. The entrance itself was really... square. It was watched by a single very bored-looking guard, probably put there to make sure groups of children didn't wander into the dungeon.

Helena didn't look all that impressed.

“So that's what it looks like. Certainly looks dungeon-like, but from how you spoke to me of all these impressive characteristics, it does lack a certain imposing aura.”

I stopped between the farthest pair of pillars from the entrance. The floor was made from the same kind of stone as the dungeon, so I suppose here, using the earth here would not affect the city's pavement. I took a deep breath.

“Okay, time for me to show the two of you the fruits of my research and and labor.”

I lowered myself, put both my hands on the floor and concentrated. I felt the earth around me and as I manipulated my mana, both inside myself and that which I injected in the earth around me, I pulled the earth around me and shaped it. Even as darkness enveloped me and I became unable to breathe I did not panic. It's only a temporary problem. Soon, as I create the inscriptions of the circulation spell I can breathe and hear once again. Then, I create the mana circuits to better control the armor. I fill multiple cores scattered throughout the armor with my mana, then start working on the spell that gives me vision of what is going on outside. Last is the spell that allows people outside to hear me. Constructing my magic-armor-construct is quite taxing on the mind, but I can do it.

As the armor rises, with me in it, it's like my vision of the world has completely changed. Where I before had to look up at Alexius and Helena, now I looked down on them. The astonished looks in both of their faces was priceless and gave me a lot of confidence.

“That's... actually quite impressive. Can you really fight inside of this thing?”

They couldn't see it, but I was really smiling inside my armor. Not just Alexius, but Helena also seemed quite impressed by my new appearance. I struck my two hands with each other in a fist, producing a loud noise. Not a single crack appeared in the armor.

“Of course I can fight! What do you thing I developed this for? One day people will bow down to my genius and every elite dwarf warrior will use something like it. Mark my words.”

I started walking towards the dungeon's entrance. The guard now looked less bored and more interested. He said nothing as I walked by, but he gave me a thumbs up and a smile.

“Whoa, that thing is quite limber, it really doesn't look that way.”

Alexius remarked as he followed me into the dungeon.

“Haha, of course, making sure the movement is good was one of the first priorities when I developed this.”

Yes! Gone are the days of the past when I was stuck in the dark without being able to move, as if I was encased in stone. Of course, such embarrassing things should remain in the past. The me of now creates an armor that is as flexible and durable as the best of golems a shaper can create.

“Anyway, what now? There's only a wall in front of us. How exactly are we going to enter the dungeon?”

That damned wall. It taunted me so much as I tried to enter the dungeon by myself. Now that I think about, how do we enter the dungeon? Alexius had a smile as he explained.

“We are in a sort of antechamber right now. As we stand here for an extended period of time, the way that we came in should close, then part of that wall should open so we can enter the dungeon proper.”

That sounds pretty strange, though I suppose it should be expected of a dungeon. Does that mean it can somehow feel the presence of people? As I pondered the question I was startled by a sound that felt like a big boulder falling down. The entrance had closed. At almost the same time, a part of the wall I was looking at slid up, revealing descending stairs. Strangely enough, even if there seemed to be light coming out of somewhere, I couldn't really see very far down those stairs. Dungeons really are weird things

“It might not look that impressive, but dungeons really are mysterious. Could other people enter while we are inside?”

It seemed Helena was also curious about the dungeon.

“The answer is yes and no.” Huh? What does that mean? “It's actually not even clear whether we are anywhere at all. Once a group enters, the entrance closes and opens again. Another group of people can enter, but both groups will never see each other. Weird right?” Weird? It's beyond weird. But that's the charm of dungeons. “The vast majority of dungeons have weird proportions inside compared to the outside, but as far as I know, this is the only one that has this weird characteristic. I think it must be here for its function as a training grounds of some sort.”

While Alexius told us about the dungeon we had arrived at the foot of the stairs. It was finally beginning. I didn't think I would be, but really, I feel quite nervous right now. Helena interrupted Alexius' lecture.

“Hmm, that's very interesting, but now is the time for you to show what you've learned of how we clear this thing.”

Alexius nodded and struck a confident pose.

“Of course! Just leave it to me.”

We had arrived at the dungeon's main room. Okay, let's do this!