January 22nd, 2012 — 8:23 AM
The Subterranean Labyrinth Gate
Perspective: Elfie
The massive iron gates of the Subterranean Labyrinth loomed in front of us, the dark maw of the academy's artificial dungeon breathing cool, damp air into the staging cavern.
All five groups of Class C stood at attention. The tension in the air was thick enough to choke on.
My eyes swept across the main players leading each group.
At the far left stood Milo Sterling, practically vibrating with aggressive energy, his heavy greatsword resting easily on his shoulder.
Beside his group was Kayla Caroline, her jet-black hair tied back, her eyes sharp and focused as she stretched her legs.
hen Rigel Ravin, adjusting his glasses, whispering a strategy to his team.
Delyra Nysira stood near the center, looking entirely unbothered as she checked her manicured nails.
And then, there was us. Group 5.
Instructor Theodor stepped up to the elevated platform, his massive frame casting a long shadow over the cavern.
"Listen up!" Theodor's voice echoed off the cavern walls. "Today is your first Practical Dungeon Exam! Your primary objective is simple. Descend to the 5th floor, locate your group's designated colored flag, and bring it back up to the gate. However, there are rules."
He held up a thick stack of sealed envelopes.
"First, the first floor is a designated safe zone. No inter-group combat is allowed. From floor two downward, all bets are off. Magic and physical combat are permitted. Second... there is a bounty system."
Whispers immediately broke out across the class.
"Each group has been randomly assigned a bounty target," Theodor continued, his voice drowning out the murmurs. "Capturing your target's flag yields double points. However, because there are an odd number of groups... Group 1 will have a double bounty."
Milo grinned, cracking his knuckles. His eyes immediately darted toward me. I felt a cold chill run down my spine.
"Your flag's location is inside these envelopes," Theodor said, handing them out to the group leaders as he walked down the line. "The locations are written as riddles. Figure it out, or fail. You may now select a weapon from the armory racks on the wall before descending. Good luck."
I ripped open our envelope. Xavier, Mira, Scarlet, and Kaiser immediately crowded around me.
I read the paper aloud. "Where the iron veins bleed into the weeping stone, look beneath the shattered archway."
Mira tilted her head, her silver cat ears twitching. "Weeping stone? Does that mean we need to find a crying statue? Maybe some kind of monument room?"
"No, that's not right," Xavier said quickly, adjusting his glasses. His usual stutter vanished the moment we started talking about dungeon architecture. "In dungeon ecology, iron veins refer to magma cooling channels. And weeping stone means a porous rock ceiling where an underground aquifer is leaking through."
Scarlet's green eyes widened, her twin braids bouncing as she nodded excitedly. "Then the shattered archway must be the ruins of the old structural supports! Where the water pressure broke through the stone! We need to find an underground lake or a flooded cavern!"
I smiled widely. "That makes perfect sense! Good job, guys!"
I looked back at Kai, who was leaning against the stone wall, looking completely zoned out. "What do you think, Kai?"
Kaiser blinked, looking at the paper. "I have absolutely no clue. I was just thinking about what they serve for lunch."
Mira sighed, Xavier shook his head, and Scarlet just offered a polite, strained smile. I just giggled and pulled him toward the armory racks.
Most of the mages ignored the weapons entirely. We were taught to rely on our mana. Scarlet took a small parrying dagger just in case, Xavier took nothing, and Mira grabbed a short wakizashi.
Kaiser, however, reached past the standard swords and daggers and picked up a set of four bladed shurikens.
"Shurikens?" Rigel Ravin asked as he walked past, raising an eyebrow. "Those are typically used by Beastkin assassins, Kaiser. They require intense aim."
"They looked cool," Kaiser replied flatly, sliding them into his pockets. "Like in the comic books."
Rigel let out a long sigh and walked away. I covered my mouth to hide my laugh.
Kai never missed an opportunity to make himself look silly.
A loud horn blared through the cavern. The exam had started.
We moved into the dungeon quickly, stepping into the dim, moss-lit corridors of the first floor. It was a shifting labyrinth of stone and earth.
We fell into a natural formation. Mira took the lead, her cat ears swiveling constantly as she sniffed the air for danger. Xavier walked in the center, his leather notebook open as he rapidly sketched the turns we were making. Scarlet and I kept our eyes peeled on the flanks.
"Air is getting damp," Mira called back softly. "We're heading toward a water source. Xavier's navigation is spot on."
"T-thanks," Xavier mumbled, his cheeks flushing as he kept drawing. "The seismic cooling cracks are approaching. I made a highlight about this layout from a textbook last time. We should take a right turn soon."
I glanced back to make sure Kai was keeping up. Instead of looking down the dark path, Kaiser was staring straight up at the rocky ceiling, his hands casually shoved in his pockets.
"Kaiser?" Scarlet asked, noticing him too. "Why are you looking at the roof?"
"I was daydreaming," Kaiser answered smoothly, not looking down. "I thought I saw a butterfly."
"In a cave?" Mira laughed from the front, her tail swishing in amusement. "You're so weird, Kaiser."
We kept walking. A few minutes later, the corridor split. The path to the right was clearly wider and sloped downward.
"There's the right turn," Xavier said, pointing his pen.
Before Mira could step forward, Kaiser suddenly paused. "Actually, can we not take a right?"
I blinked, stopping. "Why not?"
Kaiser shifted awkwardly on his feet. "Because I'm kind of scared of the dark, and I also really need a bathroom break. That right tunnel looks spooky."
"A bathroom break?!" Xavier hissed, clutching his notebook. "Now?!"
"Kai, we just started!" I whispered, playfully swatting his arm.
"When nature calls, Elfie, you have to answer. It's basic biology," Kaiser defended himself with absolute deadpan sincerity.
While we were arguing, Scarlet stepped slightly closer to the right tunnel, her eyes narrowing as she studied the rock formation.
"Wait," Scarlet said, her voice trembling slightly. "The ceiling... it's dipping. If the ceiling begins to converge toward a specific angle like that..."
She didn't get to finish her sentence.
From the shadows of the right tunnel, four pairs of gleaming, sickly-yellow eyes snapped open.
Skreee!
Three massive Gloom-Stalkers—sleek, subterranean reptiles the size of large dogs—lunged out of the darkness. They had been clinging to the ceiling, perfectly camouflaged against the rocks.
"Get back!" I yelled, stepping in front of Xavier. I threw my hand forward, pulling on my celestial mana. A burst of blinding, starlight-infused energy erupted from my palm, slamming into the first Stalker and sending it crashing into the wall with a sickening crunch.
The second Stalker lunged for Scarlet.
She didn't panic. Her green eyes flashed with intense focus. She threw her hands up, summoning a massive torrent of water. In a split second, she injected a speck of earth mana into the center of the liquid.
Crack!
The water flash-froze instantly, forming a brutal, razor-sharp wall of ice. The Stalker slammed face-first into the jagged spikes, letting out a gurgling shriek before collapsing to the ground, pinned by the ice.
Mira blurred forward, her wakizashi flashing as she cleanly severed the third beast's head before it could recover from the flash-freeze.
Silence fell over the corridor, save for our heavy breathing.
"That was amazing!" Xavier gasped, looking at Scarlet's ice wall. "You cast that instantly!"
Scarlet's chest heaved, but a bright, proud smile broke across her face. Her elf ears prickled straight up.
"I did it. I actually did it!"
"I'm so sorry," Mira said, her ears flattening in distress as she looked at the dead reptiles.
"I didn't detect them at all. They must have masked their scent with the dust and stayed perfectly hidden."
She turned to look at Kaiser, who was still casually standing in the back, once again staring at the ceiling.
"Wait," Mira said, her eyes widening slightly. "Kaiser... did you know they were up there? Is that why you asked for a bathroom break?"
"What? No. I told you, I really just need to pee."
Xavier didn't seem to care either way. He quickly pulled out his phone, pulling up his digitized dungeon guide.
"It says here that creatures moving through these tunnels displace air," Xavier read rapidly. "If the air pressure shifts, it means a dense cluster is ahead. The air coming from that right tunnel feels way heavier now."
"Meaning more of them are waiting for an ambush," Scarlet realized, shivering.
"Let's use another way," Xavier suggested, pointing to the left path. "I can map a detour."
We all nodded in agreement, giving the right tunnel a wide berth. As we walked down the left path, I fell into step beside Kai.
I leaned in close, bumping my shoulder against his, a teasing smile on my lips.
"You totally knew they were there, didn't you?" I whispered so the others couldn't hear.
"Elfie, I am in physical agony. Please find me a bush."
"Okay bush camper."
I giggled, covering my mouth. He was so impossible.
But as we continued our descent toward the second floor, my heart felt a little lighter.
*
Floor Two was darker, the air thick with humidity and the smell of sulfur. We navigated quietly, bypassing a few roaming packs of low-level rock-boars by sticking to the shadows.
We reached a massive, well-lit corridor that sloped downward. It looked like the obvious, straightforward path to Floor Three.
"We should take this one." I whispered, peering down the wide hall.
"Wait," Xavier hissed, grabbing my sleeve and pulling me back into the shadows. "We shouldn't. Wide paths in dungeons are choke points. If the other groups are already ahead of us, they'll place traps on the main arteries."
Mira nodded in agreement, her cat ears swiveling to catch the distant echoes. "Xavier is right. When beastkin hunt or navigate hostile territory, we never take the open roads. It's basically asking to get ambushed."
"Then where do we go?" Scarlet asked nervously, looking at the solid rock walls around us.
"We look for the waste paths," Mira explained, sniffing the air carefully. "The narrow, secondary vents meant for dungeon ventilation or drainage. They are always less guarded, heavily concealed, and they bypass the main traffic completely while still leading toward the central core."
Xavier's eyes lit up. "Yes! The tectonic algorithm always builds runoff channels. If we follow the water erosion lines on the floor..."
He pointed to a faint, damp groove in the stone near the wall. We followed it into a tight, incredibly narrow crack in the cavern wall. It was barely wide enough for us to squeeze through single-file, but the air flowing upward was noticeably colder.
"This is it," Mira whispered, taking the lead. "It's a steep drop. Watch your step."
We slid through the waste path, the stone walls pressing close on either side. It was claustrophobic, but it worked perfectly. We bypassed all the main corridors, sinking deeper and deeper into the labyrinth.
"We should be approaching Floor Three soon," Xavier whispered, holding his notebook close to his chest.
Suddenly, a horrid, clicking sound echoed from the darkness directly above us.
Clack. Clack. Hiss.
"Above!" Mira shouted, drawing her wakizashi.
The ceiling was crawling with them. Centi-Crawlers—massive, multi-legged insectoid beasts with armored plating and dripping mandibles. They didn't even give us a chance to breathe before they dropped down from the dark vents.
"Earth Wall!" Xavier yelled, slamming his hands onto the rocky floor. A thick slab of stone shot up, intercepting two of the Crawlers that were aiming for Scarlet.
Mira was a blur of silver hair and flashing steel, her wakizashi slicing cleanly through the joints of a Crawler's armor as it landed near her.
I raised my hands, pulling starlight into my palms, ready to blast the ones above us. But then I heard a heavy thud behind me.
I spun around.
A Crawler had dropped perfectly behind our formation. It lunged straight at Kai's back, its mandibles snapping open.
Kai didn't cast magic. He didn't pull out his shurikens. He just turned, casually raising his forearm to block the insect's massive, snapping jaws with his sleeve. The sheer force of the impact pushed him back a step, but he didn't counterattack. He just stood there, using his arm as a physical barrier.
"Kaiser!" Scarlet screamed, her eyes wide with terror. "Fight it! Do something!"
My heart stopped. The world narrowed down to a single, terrifying point. The beast's mandibles were inches from Kai's face.
No.
I didn't think. I just moved.
My celestial mana didn't just flare—it erupted. A blinding, violent surge of pure, white-hot starlight blasted from my hand, tearing through the narrow corridor. The beam struck the Crawler with concussive force, instantly shattering its armored carapace into a million tiny, smoking pieces.
The explosion of light illuminated the entire cavern for a split second before fading, leaving nothing of the beast but scorch marks on the stone floor.
I stood there, panting, my hand still raised. My heart was hammering so hard it physically hurt my chest.
Kai slowly lowered his arm, brushing a bit of ash off his sleeve. He looked at the scorch mark on the floor, then looked at me.
He let out a soft, long sigh. "Thank you, Elfie."
I dropped my hand, my knees feeling a little weak. "Don't scare me like that." I breathed out, my voice shaking slightly.
We quickly regrouped, stepping away from the crawler remains.
Mira sheathed her sword, looking at Kai with a deep, frustrated sigh.
"Why didn't you dodge, Kaiser? Or attack it? You had weapons!"
Kaiser rubbed the back of his neck, looking perfectly relaxed. "I'm not that good at combat, Mira. I just have a decent memory. That's how I passed the academics. I freeze up when things jump at me."
Mira sighed again, her ears drooping. "You have to be more careful. If Elfina hadn't reacted so fast, you would have lost your head."
"I'll try," Kai said flatly.
I didn't say anything. I just stayed close to him as we continued down the vent. My heart was still heavy, beating a frantic rhythm against my ribs. Seeing Kai in danger like that... it made me panic in a way I hadn't felt in a long time. I needed to be faster. I needed to protect him better.
*
By the time we finally squeezed out of the waste paths and into the expansive, cavernous ruins of Floor Five, we were exhausted, covered in dust, and completely on edge.
But we had made it.
Following Xavier and Scarlet's brilliant deduction of the riddle, we found the flooded ruins of a Dwarvian pumping station. Beneath the shattered, moss-covered archway of the central pillar, a bright pink flag was staked into the stone.
"We found it!" Scarlet cheered, splashing through the shallow water to grab the flag. She held it up proudly. "Group 5's flag!"
"That was actually... much easier than I thought it would be," Xavier admitted, adjusting his glasses and letting out a massive breath of relief.
We found a dry, elevated rock formation near the underground lake and collapsed onto it, taking a well-deserved rest.
Kai stretched his arms over his head, letting out a yawn. "Alright. I need a five-minute bathroom break."
"Again?" Xavier groaned, burying his face in his hands.
"Hydration is important, Xavier. I'll be right back." Kai waved lazily, wandering off behind a cluster of tall, glowing stalagmites.
Mira laughed, stretching out on the rock like a lazy cat. "He really is impossible to stress out, isn't he?"
"He's unique," I smiled, pulling my knees to my chest.
The smile faded slightly as the reality of our situation settled back over us. We had the flag. But now, we had to go back up.
"Things are going to be tough up there," Xavier said quietly, staring at his notebook. The nervous stutter had returned to his voice. "We bypassed everyone going down. But now... the other groups must've reached the bottom, found their flags, and are heading back up. They're probably fighting amongst each other right now."
Scarlet hugged her knees tightly, her elf ears drooping. "Milo's group has a double bounty on us. If they find us on the way up... they won't just take our flag. They'll hurt us."
"Milo's group is physically overwhelming," Mira noted, her tail swishing in slow, anxious arcs. "In a straight fight, even with Elfie's magic, it would be dangerous. Especially in these enclosed corridors."
I looked at the three of them. They were terrified. And they had every right to be. We were the leftovers. The physically weak. The ones nobody wanted.
But they had gotten us here. Mira's scouting, Xavier's mapping, Scarlet's brilliant deduction of the riddle.
I reached out and placed my hand over Scarlet's, then looked at Mira and Xavier.
"We are going to be fine," I said, keeping my voice soft but absolutely firm. "Think about how far we've already come! We bypassed traps, we solved the riddle faster than anyone, and we fought off ambushes together. Milo only has brute strength. But we have a team."
Scarlet looked up at me, her green eyes wide.
"Xavier will build the walls. Mira will guide us through the safest routes. And Scarlet, your ice magic is incredible now. You can freeze anyone who tries to chase us," I smiled brightly, pouring every ounce of my confidence into them. "We aren't going to fight Milo in a straight brawl. We are going to outsmart him, outrun him, and win this exam."
Xavier looked at his notebook, taking a deep breath. His hands stopped shaking. "I... I can map a defensive retreat route. With plenty of choke points for Scarlet's ice."
"And I'll hear them coming a mile away," Mira grinned, her ears perking up.
"I'll do my best!" Scarlet nodded firmly, wiping her eyes.
I beamed at them, my heart swelling with genuine warmth. We were going to make it. We just had to get our impossible, bathroom-frequenting slacker back, and we could go.
We can do this.
*
January 22nd, 2012 — 11:15 AM
Floor 4 — The Ascending Corridors
Perspective: Rigel Ravin
---
The ascent was supposed to be the hardest part.
We had retrieved our flag from Floor 5 smoothly. My team was moving in a tight diamond formation, keeping to the wide, well-lit corridors of Floor 4.
Then we heard the groans.
I held up a hand, signaling my group to stop. I drew my greatsword from my back, the heavy steel humming with residual mana. We crept around the corner of a massive stone pillar.
Lying on the damp floor were Delyra Nysira and Cressida. They were bruised, bleeding, and struggling to sit up.
The other 3 members of their group were nowhere in sight.
I immediately dropped my sword and rushed over.
"Who did this to you?" I knelt beside Delyra, inspecting a nasty cut above her eye.
"Milo," Delyra spat the name like poison, coughing as she clutched her ribs. "The other 3 ran ahead with the flag while we tried to hold him off."
I looked over my shoulder. "Leena. Please."
Leena glided forward, her elegant hands glowing with soft, pale green Elvian magic. She knelt and pressed her hands to Delyra's ribs, closing the deepest cuts and soothing the bruises.
From the center of our formation, Sophia walked up.
Sophia was 14, slightly older than the rest of us. She had flowing brown hair, piercing green eyes, and wore a spotless white academy uniform. She carried no weapons, relying entirely on her Celestial magic.
She knelt gracefully next to Delyra. "Is your flag really gone?"
"It is." Delyra gritted her teeth as Leena's magic worked.
Sophia stood up, crossing her arms. She looked at me. "Isn't she our opponent? Why are we helping her?"
"We're still classmates." I stood up, offering my hand to Delyra and pulling her to her feet. "And as nobility, we do not step on those who are already down."
Delyra brushed the dust off her ruined track pants. "Don't worry, Ravin. I don't have a bounty on your group. My target was Milo from the start. That barbarian just hit first."
The tension in our group finally eased. If Group 4 wasn't hunting us, we could safely escort them back up to the surface.
Then I heard the footsteps.
They were so quiet they barely registered. Just the soft shift of leather against stone, coming from the dark corridor directly behind us.
Sophia didn't hesitate. She threw her hand forward. A violent, electrified burst of celestial light shot into the darkness, illuminating the tunnel with blinding force.
The figure simply tilted its head. The lightning struck the stone wall behind it, raining sparks over the corridor.
I gripped my greatsword.
The person stepped into the light.
They wore a white mask molded into a wide, eerie smile, with a single, painted black tear dripping from the right eye. Not an inch of their skin was visible, completely hidden beneath layers of dark, ragged clothing and a heavy cloak.
In their hands, they held twin axes, the curved blades glinting in the torchlight.
Who is that? A summoned beast? A student?
"Stop!" I yelled, raising my hand. "We aren't your enemy! State your group!"
The masked figure didn't speak. It just blurred forward.
The speed was horrifying.
Before I could even swing my greatsword, the figure was inside my guard. I brought the flat of the heavy blade up just in time to block a vicious, downward strike from the right axe. The impact sent a shockwave up my arms, rattling my teeth.
This wasn't brute strength like Milo. This was refined, terrifying martial arts.
The technique was flawless.
"Run!" I roared back at my team. "Get the flag out of here!"
Sophia didn't run. She ducked under the masked figure's second axe swing, her hands crackling with electricity. She threw a close-range blast straight at the mask's chest.
The figure casually grabbed Sophia's wrist mid-cast, twisting her arm with brutal efficiency, and drove a vicious kick directly into her stomach.
Sophia gagged, the breath leaving her lungs in a rush, and collapsed to the floor.
I roared, swinging my greatsword in a wide, horizontal arc aimed at the masked figure's back. The figure didn't turn around. They ducked the massive blade, allowing the momentum to carry me forward.
I quickly reversed my grip, using the pommel to strike. The hit landed solid, knocking the left axe out of the figure's hand. It clattered across the stone floor.
But it was a trap.
The masked figure used my forward momentum, spinning flawlessly and delivering a devastating spinning kick directly into my face.
My vision flashed white. I staggered backward, tasting blood.
"Vine Bind!" Leena shouted.
Thick, glowing green roots erupted from the stone floor, wrapping tightly around the masked figure's legs and violently throwing them across the corridor. The figure slammed hard against the stone wall.
But the masked individual didn't fall. They used the momentum of the crash, planting both feet against the vertical wall and propelling themselves forward like a compressed spring, launching directly at Leena.
I threw myself in front of her, raising my longsword to block.
The impact of the flying kick hit the flat of my blade with the force of a cannonball. The longsword snapped back into my chest. Leena and I both went flying, crashing into a tangled heap on the cold floor.
Before I could get up, the masked figure landed smoothly on their feet and stepped over me. A heavy boot drove into my ribs, then another into Leena's stomach, mercilessly keeping us pinned to the floor.
I coughed up blood, my vision swimming.
Who the hell is that?
The masked individual didn't finish us off. They simply stepped over us, breaking into a terrifyingly fast sprint down the corridor.
I forced my head up, watching helplessly as the figure easily caught up to the physically weaker students of my group who were trying to run with our flag.
It was a massacre.
The masked figure didn't use magic. They just used ruthless, calculated physical strikes, breaking guards, sweeping legs, and beating the lower-ranking students into the dirt in a matter of seconds.
Then, the figure slowly walked toward Delyra and Cressida.
"I don't have anything," Delyra said, stepping backward, her hands glowing with volatile air magic. "My teammates took the flag up to Floor 3."
The masked figure didn't care. They launched forward, throwing a rapid front kick.
Delyra dodged, her violet eyes flashing. She slashed her hands forward, sending a blazing, cutting wave of elemental air straight at the figure's chest. At the same time, she cast a localized air-knot spell, violently twisting the atmospheric pressure around the figure's boots to trap them.
Cressida lunged from the side, drawing a short blade, aiming directly for the masked figure's forearm to disable their remaining axe.
It was a perfect, coordinated counterattack.
The masked figure simply leaned backward, letting Delyra's cutting air wave shave the fabric of their cloak. They forcibly snapped the air-knots around their feet through sheer physical leg strength, sidestepped Cressida's blade, and closed the distance.
The close combat was brutal.
The masked figure deflected Cressida's blade with the shaft of their axe, driving an elbow into her jaw that sent her spinning to the ground. Delyra tried to cast again, but the figure grabbed her collar, sweeping her legs out from under her and slamming her violently onto the stone floor.
Delyra gasped in pain, entirely overwhelmed.
The masked figure knelt beside her. They didn't hit her again. Instead, they reached into the hidden lining of Delyra's track jacket and pulled out a rolled-up piece of cloth.
It was Group 4's flag. Delyra had lied about her teammates taking it.
The masked figure stood up. They casually reached into their cloak and pulled out two other flags.
One was our flag, taken from my beaten teammates.
The other was a bright green flag. Group 2's flag. Kayla Caroline's group was already defeated.
Only Group 1 and Group 5 were left.
Suddenly, a deep, booming laugh echoed from the ceiling vents above us.
It was Milo Sterling's laughter, echoing through the dungeon.
The masked figure tilted their head upward. The eerie, crying mask seemed to lock onto the sound.
Without a word, the figure turned and rushed toward the eastern staircase, disappearing into the darkness.
I don't understand... Why would someone want to sabotage us? And after sterling will they go after Elfina's group too...?
No.. they will go after him too?
January 22nd, 2012 — 11:20 AM
Floor 5 — The Flooded Ruins
Perspective: Elfie
Kaiser ambled back into the cavern, letting out a massive, theatrical yawn.
"I'm sleepy," he announced, rubbing his eyes.
Xavier sighed, pushing his glasses up his nose. "You took a 10-minute bathroom break."
"It's a big dungeon, Xavier. Takes time to find the right spot." Kai shoved his hands into his pockets. He looked at the pink flag still clutched tightly in my hand. "Are we leaving?"
"Yes," I smiled, standing up and brushing the dust off my knees. "Let's go."
Kaiser stepped closer to me. "Elfie, can I hold the flag?"
I blinked in surprise. "You want to carry it?"
"Yeah." He looked down at the stone floor. "It'll make me feel less useless."
Scarlet immediately shook her head, her braids bouncing. "You haven't been useless, Kaiser!"
"You helped Elfie dodge those Crawlers by... standing there," Xavier offered weakly.
"I insist," Kai said, holding his hand out toward me.
I smiled softly, handing the rolled-up fabric to him. "Here you go."
"Thanks," Kai said, slipping the flag into the inner pocket of his hoodie.
"I will keep it to myself and give it back once we're done."
We formed up again and began moving toward the narrow waste paths to begin our ascent.
As we walked, Kaiser suddenly crouched down near a cracked stone wall. He scraped some yellow, chalky powder off the rocks and dropped it into a small leather pouch. A few steps later, he peeled a cluster of pale Cave Fungi off a stalagmite.
Xavier watched him from the center of our formation. "Why are you gathering Sulfur deposits and fungus?"
"I was just wondering if I can do something with them," Kai answered casually.
"They are useless materials," Xavier assured him. "They don't hold any mana charge."
Kai didn't answer. He just pocketed the fungus anyway.
Mira twitched her cat ears, glancing back at him. "What else did you scavenge while you were 'in the bathroom'?"
"Guano," Kai listed off, completely deadpan. "Quartz stalactite tips. A few more things."
I looked at Scarlet. "I don't even know what most of those are."
"Me neither," Scarlet whispered back.
Mira sighed, her tail swishing. "You're weird, Kaiser."
The mood was light. We talked and laughed as we squeezed through the narrow, secondary vents. Xavier mapped the inclines, and Mira kept her ears perked for any distant sounds. It felt like we were just on a slightly dangerous field trip.
Until we reached the exit leading to Floor 3.
We squeezed out of the vent into a massive, circular cavern.
Sitting on a pile of broken rocks directly in the center of the room was Milo Sterling.
His heavy warhammer was resting against the stone beside him. He rested his elbows on his knees, his massive frame coiled tight with violence. Two wicked, curved sickles hung from his belt.
He looked up. His dark eyes locked onto me.
"I've been waiting for you, Elfina." His voice was a cold, dangerous rumble.
Scarlet gasped, shrinking behind me. Xavier took a terrified step back, clutching his notebook. Mira drew her wakizashi, her ears flattening against her head.
"You were so persistent about being the class representative," Milo said, standing up slowly. He rolled his heavy shoulders, the sound of popping joints echoing in the cavern. "I couldn't help but want to see your capabilities. Prove to me why you deserve to lead."
My heart hammered against my ribs.
I leaned back toward my team, keeping my eyes locked on Milo. "We stick to the plan. Xavier, walls. Scarlet, ice. We need a distraction so we can slip past him to the stairs."
"I should make a run for it," Kaiser suggested suddenly from the back. "Scarlet creates a distraction, and I'll sprint past him with the flag."
"No," I hissed, grabbing his sleeve. "It puts you at too much risk, Kai! He'll crush you!"
"I'll be fine," Kai said.
Before I could stop him, Kaiser sprinted.
He didn't run toward the stairs. He ran in a wide arc around the edge of the cavern, his sneakers slapping against the wet stone.
Milo reacted instantly. "Running already?"
He lunged toward Kaiser, his massive hand reaching out to shove him into the wall.
"Now!" I screamed at Scarlet.
Scarlet threw her hands forward. A massive wave of water blasted from her palms, splashing directly across Milo's path and soaking the front of his uniform.
Milo scoffed, confused. "What can water even do?"
He got closer to Kaiser. He reached out.
Scarlet's eyes flashed green. She injected a single speck of dirt into the water.
Crack!
The water covering the floor and Milo's boots flash-froze instantly into a massive, jagged cluster of solid ice. Milo's foot caught, throwing his balance entirely off. He stumbled heavily, his hand swiping empty air just inches behind Kai's hoodie.
Kaiser didn't look back. He bolted down the adjacent corridor, disappearing into the shadows with our flag.
Milo easily shattered the ice around his boots with sheer brute strength. He looked at Scarlet, a cruel, mocking laugh echoing from his chest.
"Last time you couldn't even cast an ice speck," Milo sneered. "Now you can do this? Wow."
He reached down and grabbed his massive warhammer, his eyes turning cold and murderous.
"But it won't save you."
He swung the warhammer. A massive wave of violent earth magic erupted from the impact, tearing the floor apart as it rushed toward us.
"Watch out!" Xavier screamed, slamming his hands down.
A slab of rock shot up, but Milo's attack obliterated it instantly.
The shockwave hit Xavier in the chest, sending him flying backward into the cavern wall.
"Xavier!" Mira shouted. She blurred forward, slashing at Milo's side.
Milo didn't even flinch. He let the wakizashi scrape against his reinforced aura, reached out, and grabbed Mira by her throat. He slammed her viciously into the ground, knocking her unconscious in a single hit.
In less than 10 seconds, 2 of my teammates were down.
Milo turned his murderous gaze back to me.
He leaped into the air, bringing the warhammer down with enough force to split the cavern. I barely dove out of the way. The heavy hammer struck the floor, creating a massive crater that shook the entire labyrinth.
He isn't kidding... He's trying to kill us.
"Scarlet! Follow me!" I yelled, scrambling to my feet.
Scarlet nodded, tears streaming down her face.
She launched another torrent of water, shaping it into a spear. I channeled my celestial magic, wrapping the water in blinding starlight.
We fired it together.
Milo just laughed. He swung his massive fist, cloaked in earth magic, and punched the spell right out of the air. The water and light shattered harmlessly around him.
He didn't stop moving.
He charged Scarlet, raising the warhammer high.
"No!" I screamed, throwing both my hands forward.
A thick celestial barrier flared to life directly above Scarlet just as the hammer came crashing down. The impact sent a spiderweb of cracks through my shield. My arms screamed in agony from the pressure.
"Freeze it!" I gritted my teeth.
Scarlet didn't hesitate. She cast a localized burst of water directly over Milo's boots, instantly supercooling it and dropping a speck of dirt. The flash-freeze locked him to the floor.
I dropped the barrier and pushed a condensed beam of starlight straight into Milo's chest.
The hit connected. A burst of celestial energy scorched his uniform and pushed him back half a step.
Milo looked down at his chest. Then, he looked at me.
He just laughed.
"Not bad," he growled, ripping his boots free from the ice with a sickening crunch.
"But you're just a bunch of ants trying to stop a predator."
He reached down to his belt and unhooked the 2 curved sickles, dropping his heavy warhammer.
The air around him suddenly crackled with volatile, violent electricity.
Scarlet panicked. She threw another massive wave of water at him to freeze him again.
"Idiot." Milo grinned.
He swung the sickles. A massive arc of yellow lightning shot from the blades, traveling instantly through the water suspended in the air.
The electricity hit Scarlet full force. She screamed in agony, her entire body seizing as the shock traveled through the wet stone beneath her.
Milo found the loop. He blurred forward, stepping inside Scarlet's guard.
He swung the sickles low. The blades bit deeply into the back of Scarlet's calves.
Scarlet shrieked, collapsing to the ground, crying in sheer, helpless pain.
"Scarlet!" I yelled, throwing a blast of light at him.
Milo sidestepped it easily. He was already in front of me.
He drove the blunt hilt of his sickle directly into my stomach. The air left my lungs in a violent rush. I doubled over, gasping for breath.
Before I could recover, he kicked my legs out from under me. I hit the hard stone floor.
Milo stood over me. He raised one of the sickles, letting a vicious spark of lightning jump from the blade into my chest.
My body arched in pain, a ragged scream tearing from my throat. I couldn't move. My muscles were completely paralyzed.
Milo looked down at me, his eyes full of absolute contempt.
"This is why you'll never lead, Elfina," he spat, twisting the sickle in his hand. "You rely on parlor tricks and weaklings. You aren't fit to wear the Academy crest."
He raised the sickle higher.
Then, he stopped.
He turned his head slightly, his dark eyes narrowing toward the dark corridor.
Heavy, deliberate footsteps echoed through the cavern.
A figure stepped out of the shadows.
They wore a white mask molded into a wide, eerie smile, with a single black tear dripping from the right eye. The figure was completely hidden beneath a heavy, dark cloak, holding twin axes lazily at their sides.
Milo grinned, turning his back on me to face the new arrival.
"Who the hell are you?" Milo demanded, electricity crackling around his arms.
The masked figure didn't answer. They just tilted their head, the painted smile staring blankly at Milo.
"Doesn't matter." Milo cracked his neck. "I'll crush you anyway."
He blurred forward, faster than a man his size had any right to move.
He swung both sickles in a brutal, crossed arc aimed at the masked figure's neck, a massive wave of yellow lightning trailing the blades.
The masked figure didn't retreat. They stepped directly into Milo's guard.
The twin axes came up in a flawless, cross-block, catching the sickles perfectly at the hilt. The impact sent a shockwave of displaced air rushing over me, making my hair whip back. The lightning crackled violently against the axes, but the masked figure didn't even flinch.
Milo snarled, forcing his weight forward to crush the smaller fighter.
The masked figure simply released the tension. They let the axes slide off the sickles, dropping their center of gravity, and drove a vicious elbow directly into Milo's ribs.
Milo grunted, stepping back. He immediately slammed his boot into the floor.
A jagged pillar of earth shot up from beneath the stone, aiming to impale the masked figure.
The masked figure leaped backward with impossible grace. In mid-air, they threw their left hand forward. A compressed burst of violent wind magic shot from their palm, striking the earth pillar and shattering it into dust before it could reach them.
I lay on the floor, my body completely paralyzed, watching the two of them clash.
How? my mind reeled. How can they fight like this?
It wasn't an academy spar. It was a high-level deathmatch.
Milo was an apex predator. His battle IQ was terrifying. He didn't just swing wildly; he used his brute strength to force the masked figure into corners, chaining earth magic to cut off escape routes, and threading lightning through his strikes to make every block agonizing.
But the masked figure... their technique was absolutely immaculate.
They didn't waste a single movement. Every step was calculated. They flowed around Milo's brutal strikes like water, using twin axes not just to slash, but to hook Milo's wrists, deflect his weight, and redirect his momentum. They countered Milo's earth and lightning with bursts of wind and water magic, neutralizing the environment effortlessly.
They were fighting equally. The cavern shook with the force of their magic.
Milo roared, abandoning his sickles. He reached down and grabbed his massive warhammer from the floor, spinning it with both hands.
"Die!" Milo screamed, bringing the heavy weapon down with a colossal surge of mana.
The masked figure found their opening.
They didn't block. They didn't dodge backward. They stepped directly inside the swing's arc before the hammer could gain momentum.
The figure drove the hilt of their right axe into Milo's wrist, numbing his hand instantly. The warhammer clattered to the floor. With their left hand, they grabbed Milo's collar, stepped behind his knee, and swept his leg with brutal, mechanical efficiency.
Milo slammed hard onto his back, the wind knocked completely out of him.
Before Milo could recover, the masked figure casually reached into their cloak.
They pulled out a dark red fabric and tossed it onto Milo's chest.
Milo gasped, his eyes going wide as he stared at the cloth. It was a flag. Group 1's flag.
His team's flag.
"How...?" Milo whispered, the realization hitting him that his entire team had been wiped out before this fight even started.
The masked figure didn't answer. They just raised their heavy boot and drove a merciless kick directly into Milo's face.
Milo's head snapped back against the stone floor. He went completely limp, unconscious.
The cavern fell dead silent.
The masked figure stood over Milo's body for a second, then slowly turned their head. The eerie, crying mask locked onto me.
They walked toward me, the twin axes hanging loosely at their sides.
I was still lying on the cold stone, my muscles refusing to obey me. The residual lightning from Milo's sickle made every nerve in my body scream.
The figure stopped right in front of me, staring down.
Waiting.
They were waiting for me to hand over the flag.
Tears of sheer terror spilled over my cheeks, hot and frantic. I was so scared I could barely breathe.
But I remembered Kai. I remembered Scarlet bleeding on the floor, and Xavier unconscious against the wall.
"I have it!" I screamed, my voice cracking wildly. "I have the flag, and I won't give it to you!"
The masked figure tilted their head slightly.
Then, they raised their heavy boot.
I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for the impact. I waited for the kick that had just knocked out the strongest boy in our class.
But it didn't come.
A second passed. Then two.
I slowly opened my eyes.
The masked figure's boot was hovering inches from my face. It had stopped right as it was about to land.
The figure stood perfectly still, their leg suspended in the air. For a brief, terrifying second, the entire atmosphere around them seemed to freeze—as if they knew this one, specific decision would have the gravest consequences imaginable.
As if striking me would trigger something worse than death.
Slowly, deliberately, the figure lowered their boot back to the floor.
They didn't look at me again. They turned their back and began walking away, heading toward the staircase leading to the surface.
I lay there, completely stunned, my tears soaking the stone floor.
"I have the flag!" I screamed after them, my voice echoing desperately in the empty cavern. "Where are you going?!"
The masked figure didn't look back.
They disappeared into the shadows, leaving us alone in the dark.
No... they are going to go after Kai next.
If they get to him... Kai can't win...
January 22nd, 2012 — 12:15 PM
Dungeon Gate Control Room
Perspective: Aisha Olyvra
I slammed my palms onto the metal console, the screens rattling under the force of my mana.
"It is already 20 minutes past the scheduled class time!" I demanded, turning my glare to Theodor. "Why haven't you brought any of the students back?"
Theodor didn't look up from the glowing green map of the dungeon. His face was pale, his eyes scanning the digital telemetry.
"There has been a change of circumstances, Aisha."
"What do you mean?" I leaned over his shoulder, studying the blinking red and blue dots. "Are they in danger?"
"I've been monitoring the mana signatures and phone locations." Theodor tapped a sequence on the keyboard, bringing up a localized tracker of the 3rd and 4th floors. "One of the students inside Class C has gone rogue. They are systematically hunting down every group and taking their flags."
My heart skipped a beat. "Is it Kaiser?"
"No." Theodor let out a dry, humorless chuckle. "Kaiser Everhart has done absolutely nothing in this entire practical test. He spent the first half hiding behind Elfina, and the second half running away to hide in the secondary drainage vents."
He rubbed his temples, shaking his head.
"I set too many expectations on that boy. They were shattered with disappointment. He is nothing but a coward. And right now, the masked individual is heading directly toward him. Kaiser holds the last remaining flag."
"And the other classes?" I asked, my voice tight.
"Class B and Class A have both completed their tests." Theodor stated, gesturing to the logs. "All 5 groups in each class came out safely. They had their share of internal conflicts, yes, but the supreme leadership of Rose Valentine and Victor Sterling led them to victory. Class C, however... this class of leftovers is doomed."
I gripped the back of his chair. "If the rogue student decides to destroy the flags, no one wins."
"Precisely. In truth, even their own group won't pass."
"Why would anyone sabotage their own classmates like this?"
"I have a hunch," Theodor murmured, his eyes reflecting the blue screen light. "Maybe they want to teach their class a lesson—that without working together, they can never win. Or perhaps they have other motives, forcing a future decision. Whatever the reason, they are doing this through coercion, violence, and undeniable precision."
I looked back at the screen. A single blue dot, labeled Kaiser Everhart, was standing completely still on the 2nd Floor.
He wasn't moving toward the exit. He was just waiting.
"He should have made it up by now..." Theodor muttered, his brows furrowing. "Why is he waiting in that corridor?"
"I'm not losing hope." I said, staring at the flashing indicator.
"According to the telemetry, he has been collecting materials around the dungeon." Theodor said, pulling up a sub-log of local resources near the drainage vents. "Sulfur deposits, cave fungi, dried guano... he's gathering useless debris. Perhaps to craft something?"
"What can he even use to stop such a violent force?" I asked, looking at the second dot—the masked rogue—moving rapidly down the stairs to the 2nd Floor.
Theodor's eyes locked onto Kaiser's static dot. His voice dropped to a cold, chilling whisper, speaking more to himself than to me.
"Is he a genius playing the fool, or a fool playing the genius?"
Before I could ask what he meant, the rogue student's indicator entered the corridor.
They had reached the 2nd Floor.
They had reached Kaiser Everhart.