The moment Arios stepped through the portal, the sharp glare of blue light vanished, replaced by a dull grey hue that stung his eyes. For a few seconds, he stood still, waiting for his balance to catch up with him. The faint echo of battle — the roar of the construct, the crash of collapsing pillars — still rang faintly in his head. When the noise finally dulled, he realized where he was.

The floor wasn't a new level. It was the entrance chamber of the dungeon. The same stonework. The same sigils along the walls. Only this time, the usual ambient hum of mana was gone.

He was out.

Arios drew in a long breath, his body still tense, his hand resting on his sword hilt. His system interface blinked faintly in the corner of his vision, updating the log.

[Sub-Quest Complete: Illusion Terminated]

[Objective: Escape the Controlled Field — Success]

[Reward Pending Evaluation]

He closed the log. None of it mattered.

There was only one thought repeating in his mind — find the others.

The teleport chamber was empty, save for faint remnants of magic residue where others had passed earlier. The dungeon, though still active, no longer pulsed with that erratic behavior it had shown before. He scanned the area once more, then walked toward the exit gate leading back to the academy compound.

The gate opened with a low creak, and daylight hit his face for the first time in hours.

Outside, the air was heavy with commotion. Students, instructors, and field assistants moved around, their voices overlapping in confusion. The supervisors had gathered near the barrier monitors, checking readings and mana stabilization charts.

Liza was the first to notice him.

She stood a few meters away, her uniform disheveled and streaked with dirt. The moment her eyes caught Arios, she blinked once — then jogged toward him.

"You're alive." Her tone was flat at first, as if she was making sure her eyes weren't tricking her. Then, after a few seconds, she hit his shoulder with a firm smack. "You had us worried sick, idiot."

Arios let the corner of his mouth lift slightly. "I told you not to get caught in the circle."

"You disappeared into a mana implosion, Arios!" Liza snapped, though her voice cracked toward the end. "You don't just walk out of that and act like nothing happened."

Before he could reply, another voice joined — softer, hesitant.

Lucy approached from behind the barrier frame. Her expression was pale, and her hair was pulled back messily as if she hadn't slept. When she reached him, she didn't speak at first. She just stared for a long moment, then punched him lightly in the chest.

"That's for worrying me."

"I figured," Arios said quietly.

She hit him again, but this time with less force. "And that's for being gone so long."

Liza crossed her arms. "We thought you were dead."

"I almost was."

That made both of them pause.

He didn't elaborate immediately, but his tone carried enough weight to silence further questions for now. Instead, he motioned toward the side path leading out of the testing field. "Let's move. I'll explain somewhere quiet."

The two followed him without another word.

The trio ended up at the academy's northern rest pavilion — a small structure near the training fields, often empty during major exams. Arios took a seat on the wooden bench while Liza fetched water from the nearby dispenser. Lucy sat beside him, silent but alert.

Arios leaned back slightly, glancing at both of them before speaking. "That floor wasn't natural. It was being manipulated."

Liza stopped halfway through drinking. "You mean, like an outside interference?"

"Not just interference," Arios said. "Full control. The mana circuits were being fed external energy. The illusions, the traps, even the monster formations — they weren't part of the original exam design."

Lucy frowned. "Who could even access the core system like that? The exam floor is supposed to be sealed under the academy's council authority."

Arios hesitated for a brief second, then answered. "Instructor Garron."

The name hung in the air like a cold draft.

Liza lowered her cup. "You're serious."

"He's been using the dungeon as a test field," Arios said, tone flat. "I saw traces of data collection arrays. He's gathering information on combat patterns — mine, yours, the other classes'. It wasn't about the exam at all."

Lucy's brows knitted. "You mean he's… studying us?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because he wants to build something," Arios said. "He called it a protection system. But it's not protection. It's control. Every illusion, every simulated threat — it's meant to analyze how we react. And he's feeding that data somewhere."

Liza cursed under her breath. "And the academy doesn't know?"

"I don't think so. Or if they do, they're turning a blind eye until they have proof."

Lucy looked down at her hands. "So all that— the traps, the monster behavior — it was deliberate."

Arios nodded once.

The silence stretched for a while. Only the faint sound of wind filled the gap between them.

Liza was the first to break it. "What do we do about it?"

"For now, nothing," Arios said. "If we act too soon, he'll bury the evidence. I disabled part of his network, but he still has other backups. I need to confirm what kind of system he's linked to."

Lucy's gaze softened slightly. "You can't handle this alone."

"I'm not planning to." Arios looked up. "We'll need Pokner's help too. Her access to faculty records can bridge what I can't see."

Liza nodded reluctantly. "So we start digging?"

"Yes. Quietly."

Later that afternoon, they returned to the dorms. The hallways were quiet again — too quiet. Most students were still confined for evaluation after the dungeon malfunction. The overhead lights flickered slightly as Arios entered his room, followed closely by the girls.

Pokner was already there, sitting by the table, arms crossed.

"Took you long enough," she said flatly. "You've caused quite the mess."

Arios closed the door behind him. "So you've heard."

"I heard everything," Pokner said. "The council's in emergency session right now. They think the dungeon malfunctioned due to residual mana instability."

"Convenient excuse," Liza muttered.

Pokner ignored her and looked straight at Arios. "Tell me what you found."

He summarized the events — the separation illusion, the mirror test, the data chamber, the conversation with Garron. He kept his tone steady, laying out each fact without embellishment. By the time he finished, Pokner's expression had shifted from mild irritation to full seriousness.

"So he's building a behavioral matrix."

"You know about it?" Arios asked.

"Only rumors," Pokner said. "There were whispers about a forbidden research project during my previous faculty training. It was called Project Aegis. The goal was to create a predictive combat system using student mana resonance patterns. It was banned because it required invasive data collection without consent."

Lucy frowned. "So this has been going on before Garron even arrived?"

"Possibly," Pokner said. "But he's the first one capable of rebuilding it. The council thought the files were destroyed years ago."

Arios leaned forward slightly. "If that's true, then his connection to Chase makes sense. Chase's family has ties to military funding sectors. He could be supplying Garron with external resources."

Liza crossed her arms. "So the council might be compromised."

Pokner's lips tightened. "Not fully. But if even one of them is turning a blind eye, we'll have trouble exposing him."

Lucy looked at Arios. "What do we do now?"

Arios took a slow breath. "We gather proof. Enough to make the council act without him being able to twist the narrative."

Liza exhaled, rubbing the back of her neck. "That means breaking into the faculty system, doesn't it?"

"Not directly," Pokner said. "But I might know a way."

Everyone turned toward her.

"There's an internal archive room under the western wing — old research documentation, back before they modernized the academy's server systems. If Garron pulled references from Project Aegis, there'll be copies there."

Arios nodded. "And access?"

"Restricted to staff," Pokner said. "But I can get us in. I still have temporary clearance from my instructor certification."

Liza whistled. "So we're breaking school rules again."

Lucy sighed softly. "What else is new?"

Arios stood up. "Then we move tonight. If we wait, the council might lock the archives during their investigation."

Pokner nodded once. "Agreed. We'll meet at the west wing entrance after curfew."

Hours later, the academy grounds were silent. The lamps along the walkways burned dimly, casting long shadows over the cobblestones. Arios moved first, hood pulled low, steps soundless. Liza and Lucy followed behind him, while Pokner led the route ahead.

The west wing loomed in front of them — older than the rest of the campus, with stone walls covered in creeping vines. Pokner approached the locked gate, pressed her hand to the sigil panel, and whispered a short incantation. The runes lit up, scanning her mana signature.

A faint click followed. The gate opened.

"Clear," she said quietly.

They slipped inside.

The interior was cold, dust heavy in the air. Rows of ancient shelves lined the hall, stacked with files, scrolls, and crystal archives. A faint humming came from deeper inside — the sound of dormant mana generators.

Liza muttered under her breath, "Feels like walking into a crypt."

"Focus," Arios said.

Pokner guided them toward a far corner where a large sealed cabinet stood. She tapped a code into the side panel, and the barrier covering it flickered. Inside were dozens of sealed capsules, each labeled with a faint emblem — Department of Magical Engineering, Year 1315.

Lucy crouched beside one and squinted at the faded text. "This predates Garron's tenure by at least a decade."

"Exactly," Pokner said. "That's where he would've pulled his foundation data from."

Arios examined the nearest capsule. The surface was coated with a protective layer of mana that had long since degraded. He drew his short blade, pried open the latch, and removed a thin crystalline sheet from inside. The inscriptions glowed faintly when exposed to light.

He read the heading:

Project Aegis — Phase 4 Behavioral Mapping Log

Lead Supervisor: G. Harrow

Arios froze. "G. Harrow."

Lucy blinked. "That's not Garron's name."

"No," Arios said slowly, "but it's close enough."

Pokner took the file from his hand, scanning through it. "Harrow was expelled from the academic council twenty years ago for unethical research. His records were erased after the tribunal."

Arios's expression hardened. "Then Garron didn't just inherit the project. He's continuing Harrow's work — maybe even is Harrow, under a different identity."

The room fell silent.

Liza broke it after a long pause. "So the instructor we've been dealing with might not even be who he says he is."

Arios nodded once. "And that's exactly what we're going to prove."

Pokner resealed the capsule. "We take this data to the council tomorrow. They'll have no choice but to listen once we show them the link."

Arios turned toward the exit. "Let's move before patrols change shift."

They left as quietly as they came, the door sealing behind them with a faint hum.

As they walked through the courtyard, Lucy glanced up at Arios. "You think he knows we're onto him?"

"He will soon," Arios said. "But by the time he realizes, it'll be too late."

Liza gave a small, grim smile. "Let's hope so."

The four of them disappeared into the night, the old wing behind them silent again.

But far above, in one of the faculty towers, a pair of eyes watched the courtyard through a glowing screen — cold, calculating, unblinking.

Garron's voice murmured to himself, almost amused.

"You think you're ahead, Arios. Let's see how far you can really go."

The screen flickered once, then went dark.

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