The stillness that had settled over the underground chamber didn't last long. Arios had known it wouldn't. He had been in enough dungeons to recognize that quiet was rarely permanent. Dungeons behaved like living organisms—breathing, pulsing, and shifting with the flow of mana. They didn't remain calm for long.

Liza stirred awake after what couldn't have been more than two hours. Her movements were sluggish, her arms stretching above her head as she blinked away the haze of rest. "You didn't sleep," she said, voice low, still heavy with fatigue.

Arios shook his head. "Couldn't. The mana patterns are changing again."

She frowned, sitting up. "Already?"

"Yeah." He pointed toward one of the tunnel exits. The soft blue glow that had lined the stone was flickering. The pulse of the mana veins wasn't steady anymore. The rhythm was breaking, like a heartbeat beginning to falter.

Liza pushed herself to her feet, brushing moss from her uniform. "Then we move."

They gathered their things, checked their equipment, and without any further conversation, headed for the nearest corridor. The floor vibrated faintly beneath their boots—not violently enough to throw them off balance, but enough to make both of them stop every few steps and listen.

The corridor ahead was narrow. Stone pressed close on both sides, and their footsteps echoed back at them in muffled rhythm. The air here smelled of iron and wet dust. The flickering blue mana veins ran like cracks along the ceiling, providing dim light.

Liza spoke first. "Do you think the others made it through to the next floor?"

"If the dungeon didn't separate everyone permanently," Arios said, "they should still be moving through alternate paths. But if the core is shifting layouts, they could be on entirely different floors by now."

"Meaning we could be alone down here."

"Possibly."

The tunnel branched after a short distance. One path sloped upward, faint light flickering near the top; the other curved down, the blue glow darkening to violet. Arios paused, studying both directions.

"Which way?" Liza asked.

"Up leads toward the outer ring," Arios said. "It's safer but might take us away from the central core. Down is closer to the energy source."

Liza smirked faintly. "You already know what I'm going to say."

"I do." Arios turned toward the downward path.

They followed the slope until the air grew colder. The floor transitioned from rough stone to smooth tiles, each one inscribed with faint symbols. Some of the markings were glowing weakly. Others were cracked. The dungeon was decaying here—slowly but visibly.

Arios crouched beside one of the symbols, tracing his fingers along the etched lines. "Ancient barrier marks," he said. "But these weren't made by the dungeon itself. Someone placed these manually."

Liza leaned over his shoulder. "Instructor Garron?"

"Could be. Or someone before him. These sigils are old, though. Decades, maybe longer."

Liza knelt next to him, her voice quieter. "You think the academy knew?"

Arios didn't answer. He didn't need to. The look in his eyes said enough.

They continued forward. The corridor widened into a new chamber. The ceiling was high, and a large platform sat in the center—metallic and circular, faintly vibrating. Around the platform, crystalline shards jutted from the ground like frozen waves. The air buzzed faintly, filled with static.

Liza whistled softly. "Looks like a teleportation circle."

"Or a containment zone," Arios said. "Either way, it's functional."

She circled around the platform, eyes scanning its edge. "Do we risk it?"

Arios didn't answer immediately. He took a few slow steps forward and rested a hand against one of the nearby crystals. The surface hummed under his palm, and faint images flickered across it—distorted visions of moving shadows and fragments of rooms. He could make out faint voices, too faint to understand.

"This is connected to the other sectors," he said. "If we activate it, we might be able to find where the others are—or where Garron is."

Liza's brow furrowed. "And if it drops us into something worse?"

He looked back at her. "Then we deal with it."

She sighed, then smirked faintly. "You really need to work on your motivational speeches."

"I'm consistent."

She walked over, standing beside him. "Fine. Let's do it."

Arios placed his hand at the center of the platform, channelling mana into the core. The glyphs lining the metal surface lit up one by one, forming concentric circles of light. The low hum deepened into a sharp vibration, and the shards around them began to pulse in unison.

"Brace yourself," Arios said.

The world around them flickered.

For a split second, everything went white—then gravity vanished. Arios felt his stomach lurch as the light swallowed them both. The sense of falling didn't last long, but it was disorienting. When the light faded, the world returned—but it wasn't the same.

They stood now in another chamber, smaller and dimly lit. The air was dry, and the walls were covered with moving runes that shifted like living ink. There were no visible doors.

Liza blinked, steadying herself. "Okay… that was new."

Arios scanned the room slowly. "We're not where we were supposed to go."

"That doesn't sound like good news."

"It's not."

He moved toward one of the walls, examining the runes. They pulsed in irregular intervals, forming patterns that didn't match any written language he knew. But the mana signature was familiar—corrupted, like the earlier floors, only stronger now.

Liza stepped closer. "You think it's reacting to us?"

"Not reacting," Arios said. "Testing."

The word hung in the air for a moment. Then the floor beneath them rippled. The movement was so subtle that at first it seemed like an illusion—but it grew more violent with each second, until cracks split across the tile.

"Something's coming," Liza muttered, already reaching for her weapon.

Arios stepped back, drawing his own. His eyes tracked the widening fissures as they glowed faintly red. A low growl echoed from below.

The first thing to break through was a claw.

Arios didn't wait. He lunged forward, striking down as the creature pulled itself up—a malformed beast that looked like a fusion between a wolf and a shadow. Its body was half-transparent, and the edges of its form bled into smoke. Its eyes burned crimson.

Liza moved beside him, slamming her blade into the creature's side. The impact dispersed part of its body, but the mist reformed almost instantly.

"They're not solid!" she shouted.

"They're projections," Arios said, parrying another swipe. "Mana constructs tied to the dungeon core!"

"Can we even kill them?"

"Temporarily."

The two of them fought in tandem. Arios' movements were measured and efficient, his strikes aimed at the glowing nodes that formed along the creatures' spines. Liza's were faster, heavier, breaking through their misty limbs and scattering them. One after another, the beasts dissolved into fading embers of mana, though the room showed no sign of stabilizing.

By the time the last one vanished, the floor was covered in faintly glowing residue. Liza exhaled, lowering her weapon. "If that was the test, I don't want to see the next one."

Arios looked around the chamber again. The runes on the walls had changed—they now formed a pattern. Circular, layered, converging toward the far end of the room. At its center, a single doorway had appeared, glowing faintly blue.

"Looks like we passed," he said.

"Yeah. Great. Let's hope it doesn't congratulate us with another monster."

They walked toward the door. The air grew colder the closer they got. Arios stopped just before reaching it and turned slightly, scanning the walls once more. The runes pulsed faintly in response to his gaze, shifting from blue to green.

"What is it?" Liza asked.

"Someone's guiding us," Arios said. "These runes aren't dungeon-coded. They're being rewritten in real time."

"By who?"

"Someone outside."

Liza frowned. "The academy?"

"Or Garron," Arios said. "If he still has access to the control matrix."

He took a step forward and pressed a hand against the blue light. The door dissolved instantly, revealing another long passageway beyond. Dim light flickered at the end.

"Only one way to find out," he said.

They moved forward again, cautious but steady. The corridor twisted twice, then opened into another wide chamber. This one was brighter. A faint hum filled the air, like machinery running beneath the surface. Floating crystals lined the ceiling, casting pale white light.

In the center stood a massive stone column with embedded sigils. Around it, floating screens of mana projected faint outlines of maps—blueprints of the dungeon itself. The markings showed shifting rooms, moving staircases, and constant distortions.

Liza stepped closer, eyes widening. "This… this is the control hub."

Arios nodded, scanning the displays. "That confirms it. Garron's not just using the dungeon—he's manipulating its layout from within."

Liza folded her arms. "So he's been watching us this whole time?"

"Probably. Adjusting rooms. Triggering traps. Maybe even deciding who gets separated."

Liza shook her head. "And the academy never stopped him."

Arios looked at the screens, his expression unreadable. "Maybe they didn't want to."

That thought lingered as they approached the central column. At its base, a faint inscription glowed—something written in an older language. Arios traced his fingers across the letters, quietly translating under his breath.

"It says… 'Only the deserving ascend.'"

Liza frowned. "Deserving of what?"

He straightened. "That's what we're going to find out."

The faint hum around them deepened, and the light began to shift. The dungeon wasn't still anymore. Somewhere deep below, gears were turning. Walls were moving.

The next floor was awakening.

And for the first time since they entered, Arios felt that this wasn't a normal exam at all. It was something much bigger—something built long before any of them arrived.

He exhaled quietly, glancing toward Liza. "Stay close. Whatever happens next, we don't let the dungeon decide it for us."

Liza nodded, adjusting her stance. "You don't have to tell me twice."

The chamber pulsed once with bright light, and the sound of grinding stone echoed all around them. The path ahead opened, leading downward again.

Neither of them hesitated.

They stepped into the light together.

And the dungeon shifted again.

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.