"Mhm… three days left until the ball," Gray muttered as he stood in front of the mirror, turning his shoulders a little to see the fit of the suit.

It fitted him perfectly, and it was fucking comfortable.

"…At least he has good taste," he whispered under his breath, not sure if he should be grateful or irritated about that.

He slid out of the suit and slipped back into his student uniform.

The shirt fit loosely at the shoulders, the gloves needed a small pull at the wrist, and he brushed the sleeves down until the folds were smooth.

"…Good enough," he murmured.

He gave himself one last look and stepped out of his dorm. His boots tapped softly on the marble floor as he walked through the quiet halls of the academy.

Apparently, today it was a dungeon raid day, and the rumor was that the level they'd be clearing touched the border of the Master realm.

Creack...

He pushed open the classroom door.

The hinges complained, and the moment he entered, Professor Otto's sharp gaze stabbed into him like cold needles.

Gray didn't blink. He simply walked forward, but then stopped for a second when a bright voice rushed into his ear.

"Gray!"

He lifted his eyes.

Lyra sat a few rows back, waving at him with a smile so bright it felt like sunlight hitting his face. Her golden eyes sparkled, not just with energy, but with pride.

'…When did she move into Class AB? Did she challenge someone?' Gray thought, his eyebrows twitching slighly.

He walked over without hesitation and sat beside her.

"When did you challenge someone?" he whispered curiously.

"Yesterday!" she whispered back, leaning closer to him.

"I challenged the eighteenth seat and won! So now," her grin widened, "we can spend all our time together!"

Her happiness was so loud he could almost feel it vibrating off her. His expression softened against his will. He slid an arm around her waist and pressed a light kiss to her cheek.

"Kyaa—!"

Her voice shot up in a small yelp, but he reacted fast, covering her mouth with his hand.

"Shhh."

Lyra nodded, face red, eyes shaky with excitement.

But then, the professor's voice reached both of them.

"Student Gray," Professor Otto's cold voice cut through the room, "are you done flirting with the new student?"

Lyra's whole body stiffened, turning deep red from ears to neck. Gray, however, didn't even move his hand from her waist.

"Yes," he replied with such calm sincerity that Otto's eyebrow twitched.

The professor inhaled deeply, then pushed his glasses up with a stiff motion before continuing.

"Like I was saying, today we are conducting a dungeon raid. The level of this dungeon reaches the early Master stage. Because of that, students will once again form groups of four. This time, you may choose your own teams."

The room erupted in quiet murmurs.

Otto raised a hand to silence them.

"This assignment counts for twenty percent of your total grade. The first semester ends in three days. Use your time wisely."

His gaze swept through the whole class, checking every face before he let out a short breath.

"That's all."

He lifted his hand and snapped his fingers.

Crack.

The air bent as the walls stretched like soft fabric, then the entire classroom blurred into streaks of color.

A second later, the floor hardened under their feet as they had been telerpoted to the training grounds.

A giant red portal spun in front of them, its surface pulling the air in small sucking waves.

"You have five minutes to choose your teams," Otto ordered.

At once, everyone rushed to form groups.

Just like before, Gray didn't need to move as his team filled instantly. Lyra clung to his side, Selina walked lightly, and Selene followed right after.

But someone was missing even if their team was already full, so Gray scanned the area again.

'…Where's Lira?'

He turned to Selina.

"What happened to Lira?"

"Ah!" Selina blinked.

"I heard she got into a fight with a special admission student. She lost badly. If I remember right…" She lifted her finger and pointed into the distance.

"It's that guy."

Gray followed her gaze, and he frowned slighly.

Leon and Maelis stood with their usual group, but added to that circle was a tall man with brown hair, bright golden eyes… the same shade as Lyra's.

A sharp annoyance pricked at Gray's chest.

'Don't tell me…'

"Brother!"

Lyra's voice suddenly reached his ears as she hurried toward him, tears forming in her eyes.

Gray almost panicked upon seeing this.

'Wasn't she adopted by the church? How come she has a brother? If she indeed had done, she probably wouldn't be able to know him at first sight...'

He frowned deeply.

'...Am I overthinking?'

[Gray, be careful of him. He's the same as Cassandra... he inherited the whole power of a dying god.]

And to make things worse, Jasmine said those words.

Before he could react, Lyra grabbed the man's wrist and tugged him toward the group, still sniffling but smiling brightly.

"Brother, these are my friends! Selina, Selene... and that's my boyfriend!" she explained excitedly, before strolling over to Gray and hugging his arm.

"This is my brother," she nodded to Gray.

Gray gave a polite nod and reached out his hand.

The man didn't even look at it, and instead, his gaze slid past Gray like he was a piece of dust, landing directly on Selina and Selene.

'...This fucker,' Gray retracted his hand before his eyes narrowed coldly.

And Lyra, even after seeing this, just looked at Gray with a pleading look as if saying, "I'm sorry for his actions, I'll repay you later, alright?".

"The name's Adrian, ladies," he said smoothly, smiling charmingly as he stepped closer to the girls. "I hope we can become the best of friends."

He even bent down, reaching to take Selene's hand...

Slap!

Selene's hand cracked against his with a sharp smack.

"You may be our friend's brother, but that doesn't mean we'll go easy on you." Selina planted her hands on her hips, glaring at him.

Selene didn't even need to add anything as her narrowed eyes said enough.

But Adrian only smiled, as none of it bothered him.

"Don't worry. I'll prove myself by actions."

Both girls rolled their eyes.

Then Adrian finally turned his back on them, strolling toward Leon and Maelis. But before he reached them, he glanced over his shoulder and shot Gray one last sharp glare.

Gray's fingers twitched instantly, and that small movement was enough to show he was holding himself back from punching him on the throat.

"Your brother sucks," Selene muttered straight into Lyra's ear.

Lyra let out a weak smile and made a little apologetic face, her shoulders shrinking slighly.

"Sorry… I didn't think he would act like that." She tugged at Gray's arm, as if asking him not to explode.

Gray still didn't say anything.

But the next voice made a vein pulse on his forehead.

"…At least he's pretty handsome. If he were a little uglier, I would've slapped the shit out of him." Selina shrugged, as if that made everything better.

Lyra's eyes lit up at once.

"Oh? Do you like my brother?" she asked with way too much excitement. "I'd love to have you as my sister-in-law!"

Selina's face froze as her eyes widened instantly in a panicking way.

"NEVER!"

Lyra was taken back to her sudden shout, after all, she herself had mentioned that her brother was quite handsome.

Meanwhile...

Selina then looked at Gray, guilt tightening her expression.

He ignored her completely.

She was a sacrificial piece, so it didn't matter if she dated Adrian or not.

As long as she did her job well, Gray wouldn't give a fuck about their relationship. Thinking about this, Gray easily calmed down.

"Attention!"

Otto's voice boomed across the field. The five minutes had passed, and all the groups gathered in front of him.

"One last warning," Otto continued, pointing at the huge red portal.

"This is a RED portal. That means the dungeon's environment will be completely random. Normal dungeons are predictable—caves, ruins, tunnels. This one could throw you into a forest… or straight onto a snow mountain."

Murmurs rose across the field.

"Also, this exam may take one day minimum, three days maximum. If it reaches three days, I will enter the portal myself and drag all of you back. Understood?!"

"YES, SIR!"

The reply thundered.

"Good. Then everyone may enter the portal!"

The students burst forward, wave after wave, stepping through the swirling red light.

Gray paused with his group for a moment as Lyra tightened her cloak, Selina cracked her neck, and Selene exhaled softly.

"Stay close. No stupid moves," Gray looked at them.

"I only do smart moves," Selina smirked.

"That's what scares me," Selene added, rolling her eyes.

Lyra nodded quickly at their interaction before shouting lightly:

"Everyone hold hands! It's safer!"

Gray gave her a dry look.

"It's not—"

She grabbed his hand anyway.

Then they stepped through.

The world snapped around them.

A blast of freezing wind slammed into their faces the instant they appeared on the other side.

All four of them shouted at the same time:

"WHAT THE FUCK—?!"

They were standing on the very peak of a snow mountain, icy air cutting into their skin like tiny knives.

"…Great. Just great."

"I'm going to freeze my tits off—!" Selina wrapped her arms around herself.

Clunch!

Selene stomped on the snow.

"WHO STARTS A TEST LIKE THIS?!"

"I-I can't feel my fingers!" Lyra's voice shook as she tightened her grip in Gray's hand as if seeking out warmth.

"Fucking hell..."

Gray instantly adjusted the sleeves of his shirt.

"...We don't have a fire mage... we're fucked."

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