The orange hue of the false sky glimmered faintly above the ruined chamber. The red sun hung motionless, its light bleeding across cracked stones and battle-scarred ground.

Ron sat on the cold ground, his shirt torn fullya and near the right chest where the scar still pulsed faintly. Lia sat close beside him, her hand resting gently over his, while Jax, Lirael, Selene, and Torren sitting in a loose circle around them.

Ron exhaled deeply. "That's everything," he said, voice low. "Arin... he wasn't himself anymore. He was taken over by something. And just when I thought it was over... that thing disappeared after the switch Professor Zane gave me activated."

Torren crossed his arms, frowning. "Since the entrance exam, I knew that guy was a nutjob," he muttered. "But I didn't think he was this delusional..."

Lia's expression softened. Relief and gratitude flickered in her tear-worn eyes. "Ron, once we get out of this dungeon," she said quietly, "we have to thank Professor Zane properly. If he hadn't given you that switch..." she stopped, tightening her grip on Ron's hand, "we might've lost you."

Torren nodded slightly, his tone shifting back to calm professionalism. "You should," he said. "From how you described it, that switch wasn't just some trinket. It was an artifact. A high-grade one."

Lirael, still resting her staff across her lap, added thoughtfully, "Artifacts of that level aren't common even among nobles. In our royal family, there are only a handful of such items... and each one is guarded closely."

Selene brushed a strand of wet midnight-blue hair from her face, sighing. "That means our professor isn't just strong—he's someone far above ordinary mages. To casually hand out something like that... either he might be extremely strong ."

Jax raised an eyebrow. "You mean, he is strong ," he said, forcing a grin to lighten the tension. But even his usual humor couldn't mask the weight that settled in the room.

The red sun dimmed slightly, shadows stretching across their faces.

Ron glanced upward, his hand brushing the circular scar on his chest. "Whatever that thing was," he said quietly, "it's gone now."

Lirael frowned, tapping her staff softly against the ground. "Hmm… I still feel uneasy about it," she said, her tone thoughtful but edged with concern. "Someone—or something—was controlling him. And that transformation you described... no normal being could do such thing...."

.

.

.

Ron exhaled softly, looking around at everyone. "Alright, guys… everything I told you here—no one else can know about it. Not a single word."

Lia nodded immediately, eyes still a bit red from earlier.

But Lirael frowned. "Why?" she asked, her voice carrying quiet disbelief. "You almost died, Ron. And that creature that possessed Arin… that's not something normal. We should report it. And if we don't tell anyone, how are you going to explain that scar on your chest?" She pointed toward the faint circular mark on his right side.

Ron shook his head firmly. "We won't say anything. Professor Zane can handle this. After all, it was his device that made Arin disappear—and he gave me this mission."

He glanced down at the scar. "As for my injury, if anyone asks, I'll say I got it fighting that snake... but managed to kill it. Simple."

He looked at each of them in turn. "So promise me—all of you. We never met Arin in this dungeon. We don't know what happened to him."

Lia nodded again without hesitation, followed by Jax and Selene.

Torren shrugged. "I don't really care about that guy anyway. I promise."

Lirael hesitated for a moment, then sighed and gave a small nod. "It's a promise."

Selene straightened, brushing the dust off her robes. "Let's move," she said, her tone calm but firm. "It's already been over twelve hours since we entered this dungeon. We should finish it quickly—and we still need to learn more about that joined crystal."

Ron nodded in agreement. Lia, still keeping her arm intertwined with his, gave a small nod too.

Jax stretched his arms with a grin. "Then let's go! We'll conquer this dungeon!"

Ron immediately turned to him. "Shhh! Don't say things like that."

Jax blinked, confused. "Huh? Why, bro?"

Ron sighed. "I don't know… but haven't you noticed? Every time someone in our group—or even our class—says something positive after a big event, something bad happens right after."

Jax's eyes widened slightly, and he quickly covered his mouth. "Noted."

Ron just sighed again. "Let's just go."

Lirael frowned, scanning the surroundings. "There are… more people here than when we left," she murmured, confusion flickering in her eyes.

Before anyone could respond, Maera hurried toward them, her gaze immediately landing on Ron. Her eyes widened as she took in his torn upper clothing and the large, circular scar across his chest. "What the hell happened to you…?" she demanded.

Aurelian appeared beside her, equally concerned. "Yeah, Ron—what happened?"

Ron and the others exchanged quick glances before Ron exhaled slowly. "It's… a long story," he began. Then, together, they explained everything—how Ron had been ambushed by a massive serpent hidden deep within a secret chamber, how its tail had pierced clean through his chest, and how he had somehow managed to kill the beast before Lia and the others saved his life.

As they finished, Maera and Aurelian both nodded, their faces turning grim.

Maera broke the silence first, her expression softening into a small, relieved smile. "It's good that you survived, Ron…" she said quietly. Then her tone shifted back to business. "Anyway, after your group left, Class Arboris found us. We told them about the abnormalities in this dungeon, and their leader agreed—we'll raid the boss room together and finish this quickly."

She glanced around, her brow furrowing slightly. "Still… we haven't seen or heard anything from Class Solis yet."

Maera turned to the group and gestured toward the tall figure standing beside her. "Anyway, this is the leader of Class Arboris — Kain Draven."

The man stepped forward with calm confidence. His vivid sun-yellow hair was tied into a long braid that draped neatly down his back, a few loose strands framing his face. His eyes were pure black — deep, unreadable, and quietly intense.

"Nice to meet you," he said in a composed tone. "I'm Kain Draven." His gaze swept over Ron and the others briefly before he continued, "Now that your group is back, we should locate the boss room as soon as possible… and put an end to this dungeon."

Ron gave a firm nod, mirrored by Lia and the rest of his group.

Maera and Lia quickly turned to their respective classmates, raising their voices to organize them. Aurelian and Lirael began doing the same for their group, while Kain issued concise instructions to his own class, his words sharp and efficient.

Soon, the three combined classes began to move together through the sprawling dungeon corridors, their footsteps echoing faintly off the cold stone walls.

As they advanced, Maera spoke under her breath, her expression thoughtful. "I still wonder where Class Solis is… It's strange we haven't run into them even once."

Meanwhile,

Chaos reigned within the boss chamber.

Dozens of students from Class Solis lay scattered across the cracked stone floor — some unconscious, others struggling to stay on their feet. The air was thick with the sound of clashing steel and desperate shouts as a few remaining students fought against a swarm of mutated goblins.

These goblins were nothing like the ordinary kind — their frames were bulked with unnatural muscle, veins glowing faintly beneath their skin, and their eyes… pure, pupil-less blue, radiating a chilling, eerie light.

At the far end of the massive chamber, two figures clashed fiercely.

Celeste Azurecrest, her usually composed face streaked with sweat and blood, fought with gritted teeth. A gash ran down her left temple, staining her white silver hair crimson. Her sword gleamed under the blue glow of her aura — a deep, swirling azure-blue light that flickered violently as she parried a crushing blow.

Opposite her stood the dungeon boss — a monstrous Hobgoblin, towering and broad-shouldered, its entire body covered in pitch-black skin that shimmered faintly like obsidian. Embedded deep in its chest was a brilliant blue crystal, pulsing with energy.

If anyone from Class Caelis or Lunaris had seen it, they would have recognized it immediately — the crystal's shape and structure were nearly identical to their green and red ones.

The Hobgoblin's eyes blazed the same eerie blue as its crystal, and with every breath, it emitted a low, distorted growl that rattled the chamber.

Then it roared, a thunderous cry that shook the ground beneath her feet—

"KAAARRHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Its massive club came crashing down, forcing Celeste to raise her blade, azure light flaring as she blocked, her feet skidding backward from the sheer force.

Her breath came heavy, but her eyes burned with defiance. She could feel it — this thing is getting stronger minute by minute.

Celeste gritted her teeth as sparks flew from the clash of steel and stone. Her arms trembled under the sheer weight of the Hobgoblin's strike, boots digging into the cracked floor.

This shouldn't be happening… she thought, her mind racing as she pushed the monster back with a burst of azure energy.

This dungeon was supposed to be of normal

E rank difficulty… so why—why does it feel like we're fighting in a C rank dungeon.!?

Her chest heaved as she swung again, her blade cutting through the air, barely grazing the creature's arm.

And Arin… her thoughts flickered, a sharp pang hitting her chest. What happened to him? He should've been with us by now… where is he!?

The Hobgoblin roared again, charging forward with blinding speed. Celeste barely raised her sword in time, her frustration bursting out with a hissed—

"Damn it!"

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