"WHAT!"
Arion's shout echoed off the stone walls of Teacher Sophia's office, completely shattering the quiet peace of the early morning.
He dropped onto the small, incredibly soft couch in the corner, sprawling out like a man whose bones had completely melted.
Behind her desk, Teacher Sophia flinched. She looked like she hadn't slept in a decade. She rested her elbows on the dark wood, aggressively massaging her temples with both hands.
"A four-person squad?" Arion complained, staring up at the ceiling. "Are they insane? That sounds exhausting."
"It is the Principal's absolute condition," Sophia groaned, keeping her eyes closed. "If you do not form a full, standard party before the Assessment Labyrinth begins, you fail by default. And if you fail, you are expelled."
Arion let out a long, suffering sigh.
"Why do I need a squad?" Arion muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "Can't I just go alone?"
"Because it is an Academy, Arion!" Sophia snapped, her voice cracking. "You are supposed to learn teamwork! You are supposed to follow the foundational rules! Do you have any idea what kind of mess you made yesterday?"
"I didn't make a mess," Arion argued mildly, sitting up a little. "I was just trying to be helpful. The professor was teaching an incredibly tedious method. I just wanted to show them there is another way. A practical way."
"You detonated raw fire mana in a crowded room!"
"Because reciting a twelve-word incantation takes too long," Arion reasoned, waving a hand casually. "If you are in a real fight, a monster isn't going to sit there and wait for you to finish your chanting. I was just showing them that if your internal pathways can handle the recoil, you can just grab the mana and throw it. It saves time."
Sophia let out a hollow, broken laugh. Her headache was visibly pulsing against her forehead.
"Listen to me," Sophia said, her voice strained. "Normal students cannot handle the recoil. You committed academic heresy in front of a strict traditionalist. You completely shattered their worldview. Now, every single noble in the first-year class thinks you are a public menace."
"Great," Arion said cheerfully, leaning back again. "That means they will leave me alone."
"No, it means no one will join your squad!" Sophia yelled, slamming both hands down on her desk. "And if you don't have a squad, you fail! And if you fail, I get fired! I will have to go back to active combat duty, Arion! I will die in a ditch!"
Arion opened his mouth to reply. He was just going to tell her he would find three desperate minor nobles and offer to carry them through the labyrinth while they slept.
"I can arrange the team for you."
The voice was flat, cold, and completely devoid of emotion.
The temperature in the office instantly plummeted. A thin layer of white frost crept across the edges of Sophia's wooden desk.
Arion and Sophia completely froze.
They slowly turned their heads toward the darkest corner of the room, right next to a tall, dusty bookshelf.
Standing in the shadows, perfectly still, was Kara Abyssos.
The Student Representative's pale, whirlpool eyes were fixed directly on Arion. She wasn't breathing heavily. She wasn't moving. Neither Arion nor Sophia had any idea how long she had been standing there.
"How long have you been in here?" Arion asked slowly.
Kara ignored the question. Instead, she stepped out of the shadows. Her cold eyes swept across the room, taking in the plush velvet couch, the gleaming mahogany desk, and the expensive imported rugs.
"You have an astonishing room, Teacher Sophia," Kara stated, her voice perfectly flat. "It is entirely spotless."
Sophia stiffened, a drop of cold sweat sliding down her neck.
"I wonder," Kara continued, tilting her head slightly. "How does a teacher with zero students secure such a luxurious room? If the Academy Board were to audit this office..."
Sophia visibly paled. "I—I just value a clean workspace! Please don't call an audit!"
"I have no interest in faculty budgets," Kara said coldly, dismissing the terrified teacher entirely.
She shifted her gaze back to Arion.
"Your academic survival is in jeopardy," Kara stated. "I have the solution. I will select your squad."
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!"
Exousia's voice completely shattered the quiet atmosphere of the empty training hall. Her face was flushed bright red, her long black hair whipping around as she pointed an accusing finger directly at Arion.
"I refuse! I will not participate in this! This is a disciplinary trial! I am not risking my flawless academic record to help a rule-breaking brute prove his heresy to the Principal!"
Standing next to her, Sebastian Ambrose was vibrating with a completely different kind of energy. The blonde noble stepped forward, his blue eyes shining with absolute, manic reverence. He immediately reached out to grab Arion's hands.
"A party!" Sebastian gasped, entirely ignoring Exousia's outrage. "To navigate the shifting architecture of the labyrinth by your side! To observe your chantless spellcasting in a live-combat scenario! It is a blessing from the heavens! Please, Arion, let me be your vanguard!"
"Personal space, kid," Arion said flatly.
He took a quick step backward, dodging Sebastian's grasp, and held up a hand. "Three feet of distance at all times. Do not try to hold my hand again."
"I understand!" Sebastian nodded enthusiastically, completely unfazed by the rejection. "I will observe your physical movements from exactly three feet away!"
Arion let out a long, heavy breath. He shifted his heavy bag on his shoulder.
He looked at Exousia's fiery fury over being dragged into his mess. He looked at Sebastian's terrifying, scholarly obsession.
Then, he slowly turned his head to look at Kara Abyssos.
The Student Representative stood perfectly still beside him, her face a mask of absolute, chilling indifference.
"Kara," Arion sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose like an exhausted adult dealing with a massive headache. "This is a specialized test just for me. That professor wants to watch me fail. Why did you drag these two into it? You'd better find other students than them."
"The Principal mandated that you complete the labyrinth in a standard four-person squad," Kara replied, her voice entirely flat. "I assessed your social variables. They are the only students in the first-year class who actively engage with you. Therefore, I concluded they are your friends."
Arion stared at her.
"Kara, that is not how friendship works," Arion explained patiently. "Sebastian is just trying to figure out how my internal pathways work so he doesn't blow himself up. And she actively monitors me because she thinks I am a public menace. This is just a massive misunderstanding."
"Friends?!" Exousia shrieked, her face turning an even deeper shade of crimson. She stomped her boot against the stone floor. "What do you mean we are friends?! I am a high noble! I do not volunteer for this, and I certainly do not associate with someone so utterly lacking in basic decency!"
Kara slowly blinked her pale, whirlpool eyes. She turned her cold gaze to Exousia.
"Your statement contradicts my data," Kara stated mathematically.
"What data?!" Exousia demanded, crossing her arms defensively.
"I observed you following him yesterday," Kara said, her voice devoid of any inflection or judgment. "You trailed him from the lecture hall to the library. You then hid behind the historical archives bookshelf and watched him read for forty-two minutes."
Exousia froze. The absolute silence in the training hall was suddenly deafening.
Arion raised an eyebrow, looking at the black-haired girl in disbelief. "Wait. You watched me read about municipal bricklaying for almost an hour?"
"I was investigating you!" Exousia yelled, her voice pitching up an octave as she frantically stepped back. "You are suspicious! You are a danger to the Academy! It is my duty to monitor potential threats!"
Kara tilted her head a fraction of an inch.
"When he shifted his posture at the twenty-minute mark, your heart rate elevated," Kara argued with deadpan precision. "Your face flushed. Biological indicators strongly suggest a romantic attachment, not an academic investigation. You desire his attention."
"I demand you stop stating my biological indicators!" Exousia yelled, her voice echoing in the large hall.
She took a deep, shuddering breath. She slapped her hands against her cheeks, forcibly trying to make the violently red flush recede. When she lowered her hands, she stood up perfectly straight, desperately summoning the haughty dignity of a high noble.
"Fine," Exousia declared, pointing a trembling finger directly at Arion's chest. "I will participate in this absolute farce of a trial. But I am doing this strictly to monitor you! It is my noble duty to ensure a dangerous anomaly like you!"
Arion blinked. "You're actually agreeing to join?"
"Under strict conditions!" Exousia interrupted loudly, crossing her arms. "If I am to risk my flawless academic record for you, there will be terms and agreements!"
"Alright. What are your terms?" Arion said tiredly,
"First," Exousia said, raising her chin proudly. "I am the squad leader. When the trial begins, you will not make any tactical decisions without my explicit approval. You will follow my pathing and my orders."
"Deal," Arion agreed instantly. "You can hold the map, navigate the traps, and decide where we walk. I will just stand in the back."
Exousia faltered for a fraction of a second. She clearly hadn't expected him to surrender authority so willingly.
"S-Second!" she continued, her voice recovering its sharp edge. "You are strictly forbidden from using your chantless heresy! I will not have my family name associated with a magical brute. If you cast a spell, you will use a proper geometric base and a standard incantation, or you will not cast at all!"
"Perfect," Arion nodded. "I didn't want to waste energy casting anyway. I'll just carry the bags."
"I have already prepared to carry the supplies!" Sebastian announced proudly, adjusting an imaginary backpack on his shoulders.
"Then I will do absolutely nothing," Arion corrected smoothly. "I will just walk. Are there any other terms?"
Exousia stared at him, her mouth slightly open. She had prepared for a massive argument. She had expected his pride to flare up. She had not prepared for a man who actively wanted to be a useless background character.
"Third," Exousia finally stammered, trying to regain the upper hand. "You... you owe me! A massive favor! To be determined at a later date!"
Arion let out a long, tired breath.
"Fine. I owe you a favor."
Kara Abyssos stepped forward. She pulled a small, silver pocket watch from her uniform and checked the time, logging the exact moment for her records.
"The verbal contract has been established," Kara stated, her voice entirely flat. "I have witnessed the agreement. The four-person squad is officially formed and ready for deployment."
Arion paused. He looked at Exousia. He looked at Sebastian. Then, he looked directly at the Student Representative.
"Wait," Arion said slowly. "It's meant for a four-person squad. That's me, Sebastian, and Exousia. Who is the fourth?"
Kara looked back at him with her pale, whirlpool eyes. Her expression did not change even a fraction of an inch.
"I am," Kara stated.
The training hall fell into absolute silence.
Exousia's jaw dropped. Sebastian gasped in pure awe.
Arion felt his soul slowly try to leave his body. "You are the highest-ranking upperclassman in the school. You are the Student Representative. You can't take a first-year assessment."
"I am authorized to serve as a proctor for any academic trial," Kara replied mathematically. "By joining your party, I can directly observe and grade your performance from within the labyrinth. It is the most efficient method of data collection."
Arion stared at the ceiling.
He had a high-strung noble girl screening his every move, a hyperactive blonde heir treating him like a god, and an emotionless upperclassman who was literally grading his every breath.