As Oliver sat up, his eyes caught a folded note lying on the small table beside his bed.
He reached for it and read the simple message:
[Report to the conference room at 7 PM]
"What's this about?" he muttered, furrowing his brows. "Did something happen while I was out cold?"
His stomach growled in protest.
"...Well, I'll think about that later. First—food."
He glanced toward the covered plates on the table. His maid had, as usual, anticipated his routine fainting and left his meal ready for whenever he woke up.
After eating until his stomach felt heavy, Oliver wiped his mouth, stood up, and made his way toward the conference room. The note hadn't given him much time to spare.
[Conference Room Entrance]
When he arrived, Oliver found he wasn't the only one summoned. All of his classmates were gathered outside, waiting.
A few were chatting in low voices:
"Any idea what this is about?" one boy asked.
"No clue," another replied with a shrug.
"This better be worth it," a third grumbled. "I was in the middle of getting a back massage from my maid when someone knocked on my door."
"Oh, cry me a river," a girl scoffed. "At least you have a maid who gives massages."
From the bits and pieces of conversation he caught, it was clear no one knew why they were called here.
They didn't wait long. The door opened, and a knight in polished armor stepped out.
"Everyone, please come inside. The captain is waiting for you."
Naturally, Daniel took the lead—being the appointed leader of their group—and everyone followed in.
The conference room was large, with tiered seating arranged in a semi-circle. Several knights stood stationed along the walls, their eyes sweeping the room like sentinels.
"Please take your seats," one of them instructed.
Oliver quietly moved to the back row and sat by himself.
Once everyone settled, Samuel stepped forward, clapping his hands to draw attention.
"Hello, everyone. I trust you've had enough rest after today's training?"
Daniel spoke up immediately, "We have, but… we're all curious. Why exactly have we been gathered here?"
"Don't worry," Samuel replied evenly. "I'll explain everything shortly."
"You've trained for weeks," Samuel began, his deep voice filling the room. "Sword, spear, magic—you've bled, you've bruised, and I'm sure more than a few of you have cursed the day you were summoned here."
He stopped, scanning the rows of students seated in the semi-circle. His gaze was calm but carried weight.
"But tomorrow…" He paused deliberately, letting the silence press down on them. "…tomorrow, you step into the real fight."
That was all it took for the room to stir.
"What does he mean by 'real fight'?"
"Are we finally going to fight demons?"
"Yeah—about time! I've been waiting to put one of those bastards down."
"No, no, I'm not ready for that. What if I get killed?"
"Tch, speak for yourself. I want to see some action."
The chatter broke into overlapping voices, excitement mixing with unease.
Evelyn rose from her seat, her tone even but firm. "Captain Samuel, what exactly do you mean by 'real fights'? Are you talking about sending us to an actual battlefield?"
Samuel gave a short chuckle. "Relax. We're not about to throw you into the middle of a war. You'll be exploring the upper floors of the dungeon near the royal capital. The monsters there are weak—harmless compared to what's deeper inside. From what I've seen of your progress these past weeks, you're more than capable of handling them. This is for experience. No matter how hard you train in a closed yard, you'll never become warriors without facing real danger."
"Dungeon?"
"Floors?"
"Monsters?"
The terms bounced around the room, confusion spreading among those who had never heard them before.
Samuel blinked, then gave a small nod as if he'd just remembered something. "Right… none of you have been briefed about the dungeons yet, have you? Well, bear with me for a bit. I'll answer all your questions."
He turned to a pair of knights by the wall and gestured. They gave a sharp nod before leaving through the side door.
For a moment, the only sound was the scrape of chairs and the shuffle of boots. Then, the knights returned—pushing a massive slab of polished stone mounted on a heavy frame.
Gasps went around the room.
It was a map—an enormous, carved relief of the known world. The stone gleamed under the torchlight, every detail painstakingly etched. You could see mountain ranges curling like spines across continents, winding rivers, jagged coastlines, and the spread of vast seas.
But none of that held the students' attention for long.
What truly drew their eyes were the seven black pillars embedded in the map. Each one rose like an obsidian spike, positioned across different parts of the world. They stood out starkly against the pale stone, as though they didn't belong there at all.
Samuel's gauntlet tapped one of the black sigils.
"These…" his tone dropped, commanding silence in the room, "…are the Pillars of Eternity — what you would call dungeons." His eyes swept the faces before him. "They have stood longer than any recorded history. The oldest scrolls speak of them as if they had always been here, unchanging and eternal. No one knows who built them, or why they still remain… but every king, emperor, and warlord has dreamt of claiming them."
He straightened, the weight of his words lingering. "And to help you understand just what these places are… I'll tell you the tales as recorded by the great historians. My words alone wouldn't be enough to convey their magnitude."
His gauntlet shifted, pointing at the first sigil.
[Erevalis — The Obsidian Runes.]
"A city older than the mountains, carved entirely from a black stone no craftsman today can shape. This was the heart of a civilization of master engineers. Their machines ran without fuel, their structures have stood untouched for millennia. Even a broken gear or a torn blueprint from the upper floors can change the fate of kingdoms. Yet no one has ever reached its lowest level. The stone guardians there do not rest, and they've crushed more warriors than anyone dares count."
[Velanthris — The Arcanum Labyrinth.]
He tapped a marker to the east.
"A maze of floating corridors and endless libraries where the air itself hums with power. The civilization that built it wielded magic so advanced it could weave souls, bend time, and trap dreams. Every few years, some daring mage brings back a single page or rune from within… and entire nations rise or fall because of it. But the labyrinth thinks. It shifts. And those who linger too long inside… are simply gone."