The faint hum of the dungeon returned as Arios descended the spiral staircase that appeared after the Dire Alpha's collapse. The steps were carved unevenly, rough, as if they had formed naturally rather than by design. The deeper he went, the more he realized how silent everything was. No wind. No dripping water. Just the rhythmic sound of his boots against stone and the distant echo of his breath.

He glanced back once. The passage above had already sealed itself, leaving him no option but forward.

"So, that's how it's going to be," he muttered. "No retreat."

The air changed gradually, becoming heavier with every meter. His body started to feel resistance—not from gravity, but from mana density. The dungeon's atmosphere was thick, almost tangible. Each inhale felt like breathing through syrup.

By the time he reached the base, a dim light greeted him from ahead—a cavern wider than the last chamber. The walls were veined with glowing threads of blue and green mana, crossing like roots. At the center was an obelisk similar to the previous crystal core, though smaller and dormant. Around it lay fragments of old armor and equipment, rusted and dust-covered.

He crouched, examining one of the broken pieces. The design wasn't of the academy's standard issue. It was older. Etchings of symbols unfamiliar to him lined the metal.

"This predates the academy's dungeon system," Arios murmured. "So that masked person wasn't bluffing."

He tapped the obelisk lightly with the tip of his sword. No reaction. The core was dead—or maybe waiting.

Something else caught his eye. Beneath the dust near the obelisk, faint footprints were visible. Fresh.

He crouched lower. The prints were small—too small for a grown instructor. They moved erratically, circling the obelisk before leading toward one of the side tunnels.

Arios straightened slowly. "Someone else got pulled in."

He followed the trail.

The tunnel ahead was narrow but stable, the kind that branched off from the main dungeon architecture. His steps were quiet, measured. The deeper he went, the clearer the signs of struggle became—scratches on the wall, scorch marks, scattered debris.

Then, he saw it: a small silver brooch lying on the ground.

He recognized it instantly.

"Liza's," he said softly.

That confirmed it. The separation spell from Floor Six had split them, but she had somehow fallen into this section too.

Arios pocketed the brooch and continued moving.

Minutes turned into an hour. The tunnels twisted endlessly, leading to chambers that looked half-formed, as if the dungeon itself was in the process of building them. Occasionally, he caught faint flickers of mana in the air—phantom lights that danced before fading.

He stopped when the air shifted again.

The faint smell of ozone returned.

He turned just as the stone beside him cracked, a clawed hand bursting out of it. A monster pulled itself free—a hulking creature resembling a centipede, its body translucent and lined with veins of dark light.

Arios drew his sword immediately. "You things never stop."

The centipede lunged, its mandibles snapping. Arios sidestepped and struck, slicing off its foreleg. It shrieked, the sound grating and high-pitched. Another strike cleaved its head in half. The body disintegrated into smoke, leaving behind only fragments of dark crystal.

He knelt, touching one of the shards. The mana resonance was different from normal dungeon monsters—more erratic, less pure.

"Same corruption pattern as the Dire Alpha," he muttered. "So this isn't a one-off."

He pocketed a shard for analysis later, then moved on.

After several more turns, the tunnel widened into another cavern. This one, however, was occupied.

Liza was there, standing over the corpse of another monster, breathing hard. Her clothes were torn at the sleeves, her blade chipped, but she was alive.

"Liza!" Arios called.

Her head snapped up immediately. Relief flashed across her face, followed by disbelief. "Arios?! How the hell—"

He jogged over quickly. "You alright?"

"Mostly," she said, sheathing her weapon. "Got separated when that trap triggered. I've been fighting these… things for a while now. They keep spawning out of nowhere."

"They're not normal dungeon mobs," Arios said. "They're corrupted. Something's interfering with the system."

Liza frowned. "You mean like tampering?"

"Exactly like that."

She exhaled, brushing dust off her shoulder. "I should've guessed. This place feels wrong. Even the mana here feels unstable."

Arios nodded slightly. "I met something—or someone—who claimed to be correcting the dungeon."

"Correcting?" Liza repeated, looking skeptical. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"No idea. But they knew my name."

Liza blinked. "That's… not comforting."

"Tell me about it."

For a moment, neither spoke. The silence of the cavern pressed around them, thick and uneasy.

Then Arios said, "We should regroup with Lucy and Pokner. If this place is being modified by an external source, it's not safe to wander separately."

Liza nodded. "Agreed."

They started walking, following another tunnel that sloped upward. It was slow progress—the path was uneven, littered with debris, and every few minutes they had to fend off lesser creatures that crawled from cracks in the walls.

During one brief pause to rest, Liza leaned back against the wall and glanced at him.

"You've been quiet," she said.

"Just thinking."

"About?"

"Garron," he replied simply. "If this dungeon's reacting to tampering, it could be connected to him—or whoever's backing him."

Liza sighed. "You really think he had the authority to do all this? Feels way above his level."

"I don't think he acted alone. But if the Council's oversight team missed this, someone had to cover it up."

"Meaning Chase?" she asked.

"Most likely," Arios said. "He's been too composed about the fallout. If Garron's involvement ends up public, Chase's influence in the Council weakens. So, he needs to redirect the narrative—and I wouldn't put it past him to use this dungeon exam as a stage."

Liza folded her arms. "You always sound too calm about this kind of stuff."

Arios smirked faintly. "Someone has to be."

"Yeah, well," she muttered, "I miss when you were just a quiet guy reading mana theory books."

"Liar."

She laughed softly. "Maybe a little."

They kept walking.

The tunnel finally opened into a large atrium—a partially collapsed hall filled with glowing crystals and ancient machinery. Dozens of inactive runic circles were etched into the floor.

Liza crouched to inspect one. "Looks like teleportation matrices."

"More like containment seals," Arios corrected. "They were probably meant to stabilize the dungeon's core. But someone's been rewriting them."

He pointed to faint scratches overlaid on the runes—fresh ones, shallow, but deliberate.

"Modified symbols," Liza said. "So someone is still working down here."

"Exactly," Arios said. "And if they're still here, we'll find them."

A low hum rippled through the air. The crystals around them flickered faintly.

Liza stood quickly. "What was that?"

Before he could answer, a sharp voice echoed across the chamber.

"Well, well. Took you long enough."

They both turned.

At the far end of the hall stood a figure draped in a long black robe—hood drawn, but face partially visible. It was a man, middle-aged, with streaks of white hair and eyes that glowed faintly red.

Arios recognized him instantly.

"Instructor Garron," he said flatly.

Liza's expression hardened. "You—"

"Don't waste your breath," Garron interrupted, his tone casual. "You two aren't supposed to be here. But since you are… I'll have to improvise."

He raised his hand. The crystals embedded in the walls began to glow violently, their light pulsing in sync with his movements.

Arios stepped forward, sword half-raised. "You're controlling the corruption pattern."

Garron smirked. "Observant as always. But no—I'm refining it."

"Refining?"

"The academy's version is incomplete," Garron said. "Do you really think the founders built these dungeons for mere training? These were repositories—records of power. I'm just reclaiming what they left buried."

"You're insane," Liza snapped.

"Perhaps," Garron replied easily. "But insanity and progress often share the same bed."

Arios tightened his grip. "You've killed students for this experiment."

Garron shrugged. "Collateral damage. You of all people should understand sacrifice, Pureheart."

Something in Arios' expression shifted, but he didn't rise to the bait. Instead, he said, "You've exposed yourself. The council will find out."

"Oh, they already know," Garron said, smiling thinly. "They just won't act. Not yet. Chase made sure of that."

Liza's fists clenched. "So he is behind you."

"In a manner of speaking," Garron said. "He provided resources. I provided results."

Arios exhaled quietly. "Then I guess this conversation's over."

He moved.

Garron reacted instantly, thrusting his palm forward. A surge of red mana erupted from the floor, forming a barrier. Arios' strike slammed against it, sparks flying.

The impact rattled the chamber. Liza moved to flank, firing off a compressed mana bolt, but Garron deflected it with a casual sweep of his arm.

"You two are persistent," Garron said, his smirk widening. "But you're not ready."

He snapped his fingers.

The floor beneath them rippled like water, then solidified again. Before Arios could react, dozens of spectral tendrils erupted from the ground, wrapping around his arms and legs.

Liza darted forward, slicing at the bindings, but more tendrils appeared, forcing her back.

Garron lowered his hand. "I admire your spirit. Truly. But this is where your little investigation ends."

Arios gritted his teeth, pushing back against the magical restraints. The air shimmered around him as his mana flared.

Garron's eyes narrowed. "Still resisting? Impressive."

The stone beneath Arios cracked, the tendrils snapping one by one under the pressure of his growing energy.

"I don't need to be ready," Arios said evenly, "I just need to be standing."

He broke free, lunging forward with renewed force. The two clashed again, the sound of steel and mana colliding echoing through the cavern. Sparks showered the floor.

Liza moved in to assist, her strikes sharp and precise. Together, they pressed Garron back. But the instructor's strength was no bluff—his control of the dungeon's corrupted mana gave him an edge in sheer power.

The fight raged for minutes, neither side yielding easily.

Then, abruptly, Garron laughed.

"Enough!" he shouted.

He raised both hands, and the walls of the cavern began to close in. The mana veins pulsed brighter, faster, unstable.

"This entire section will collapse," he said, voice echoing. "Let's see how long you can survive that!"

He vanished in a flash of crimson light, leaving them behind.

Arios cursed under his breath. "Move!"

He grabbed Liza's arm and sprinted toward the opposite tunnel as the ceiling started to crack. Massive slabs of rock fell, the floor trembling violently.

They dove through the collapsing passage just as the cavern imploded behind them, sealing the way shut.

For several seconds, they lay still, catching their breath.

Finally, Liza said, "That man's insane."

Arios stared at the blocked tunnel, his jaw tight. "He's more than that. He's desperate."

"Now what?"

"We find Lucy and Pokner," Arios said. "Then we finish this."

He turned his head slightly, the faint glow of the next passage reflecting in his eyes.

The dungeon pulsed again, alive and waiting.

And Arios kept walking.

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