"Alden! Alicia!"
I turned just in time to be assaulted by a smile so bright it honestly should have come with a mana-safety disclaimer.
Sarah von Solaris waved enthusiastically, her golden hair catching the ambient light like a banner of hope fluttering in a battlefield. Edwin followed close behind—tall, broad-shouldered, and radiating the kind of heroic presence that made other male students question their life choices. He looked like he'd stepped straight out of a legend, or a very biased history book.
"This is amazing!" Sarah said, clasping her hands together. "All four of us together—what are the odds?"
SSS+ Luck, I thought grimly.
That's exactly the odds.
Edwin laughed easily, folding his arms across his chest. "Looks like fate wanted to make things interesting."
I met his gaze. No arrogance. No hostility. Just curiosity—sharp, observant, and slightly wary.
"So," he said, eyes narrowing a fraction, "you're Alden, right? I've heard some… unusual things about you."
I gave him my most innocent smile. "All of them are probably exaggerated. Dramatically."
Alicia let out a quiet snort.
Sarah tilted her head, studying me without any attempt to hide it. "You feel… strange. Not bad strange. Just… different."
Saintess intuition, I noted silently.
Fantastic.
"Well," I said, clapping my hands together once, "before we all start talking about destiny, hidden powers, and tragic backstories, maybe we should plan. Professor Carasina gave us two hours."
Edwin nodded immediately. "Agreed. Let's find somewhere quiet."
Team 7 – First Meeting
We gathered in one of the academy's tactical discussion rooms—a circular chamber with runic engravings lining the walls. At its center hovered a floating map table. When Edwin activated it, a detailed holographic projection rose into the air.
Designation: Verdant Hollow
Threat Level: C-rank
Primary Hazards: Magical Beasts, Environmental Traps
Objective: Core Clearance and Relic Retrieval
"A standard growth dungeon," Edwin said, tapping the projection. "But C-rank means mistakes can still kill you."
Sarah's playful expression faded, replaced by calm focus. "I'll handle rear support and healing. Light, purification, and emergency recovery."
"I'll take the frontline," Edwin said. "Defense and heavy offense."
Their coordination was effortless. Natural.
All eyes turned to Alicia.
"I handle control," she said coolly. "Ice magic. Area denial. Ranged suppression."
Then—
They looked at me.
Four gazes.
Four expectations.
I leaned back slightly. "I'm… flexible."
Edwin raised an eyebrow. "That's vague."
"It's also accurate," I replied. "Mid-range combat, mobility, and improvisation when everything goes wrong."
Alicia glanced at me briefly.
Sarah smiled, clearly relieved. "That sounds reassuring."
It absolutely shouldn't, I thought.
The team formation was perfect.
Which was exactly why it worried me.
✦✦✦
Far beneath the roots of the world, where light thinned and mana curdled into something foul, a presence stirred.
Voices echoed through a cavern that was not a cavern—its walls pulsed like living flesh, etched with sigils that drank sound and swallowed intent. No torches burned there. None were needed.
A fragment of scrying glass hovered in the air, replaying moments from the academy grounds: four figures walking together, their auras flaring briefly before fading beneath wards and discipline.
Golden light.
Cold, disciplined mana.
Unyielding resolve.
Potential.
One voice spoke, calm and dispassionate.
"Growth curves confirmed."
Another replied, amused.
"So early, and already casting shadows."
The image shifted—bloodlines, projections, probability threads branching and collapsing. Some futures burned too brightly. Others ended too abruptly.
"Such inheritances are troublesome," a third murmured. "They inspire loyalty. Hope. Resistance."
A pause.
"Left unchecked," the first voice continued, "they mature into obstacles."
The glass focused briefly on three signatures in particular—each marked not by current strength, but by something far more dangerous: inevitability.
"They do not need to be slain publicly," someone noted. "Accidents suffice. Dungeon anomalies. Corrupted zones. Miscalculations."
Soft laughter rippled through the chamber.
"The world is cruel," another voice said mildly. "We merely allow it to be efficient."
The image dimmed as a final presence, older and heavier than the rest, pressed its will into the space.
"Proceed," it intoned. "Quietly. No traces. No patterns."
The glass shattered into ash.
Far above, unaware eyes stepped across ancient thresholds—
and fate adjusted its grip.
✦✦✦
Two hours later, we stood before the dungeon gate.
Verdant Hollow loomed before us like a festering wound in the earth. Ancient stone arches were choked with glowing vines, and a faint green mist seeped outward like a slow, toxic breath. The mana in the air felt thick—unnaturally heavy.
"Team 7," the overseeing instructor announced. "You may enter."
The moment my foot crossed the threshold—
Astral Perception ignited.
Something deep within the dungeon reacted.
Not hostility.
Not hunger.
Recognition.
I stopped for half a heartbeat.
"Alden?" Alicia whispered.
"…Nothing," I said quickly. "Just adjusting."
The gate slammed shut behind us with a thunderous boom.
Dim bioluminescent moss illuminated the winding path ahead. Thick roots twisted through stone walls like veins. Somewhere in the distance, something growled.
Edwin cracked his knuckles. "Formation Alpha. Eyes open."
Sarah whispered a short prayer.
Alicia's mana cooled the ground beneath us, frost creeping silently forward.
I stared ahead, my bloodline faintly stirring—curious, restrained.
"…So this is how it starts," I murmured.
We advanced carefully.
Five minutes passed.
Then ten.
No monsters.
No traps.
No ambush.
"This dungeon is… quiet," Sarah whispered.
Too quiet.
I suppressed a yawn.
"So," I said casually, "Edwin—does heroic brooding come naturally, or is it part of noble education?"
He blinked. "What?"
"And Sarah," I continued, "if you over-bless someone, do they explode or just glow dramatically?"
"I—I don't—!" Sarah flustered.
Alicia sighed. "Please stop provoking fate."
"I'm not provoking it," I replied. "It started this."
Then we found the first corpse.
A monster lay sprawled across the path, its body half-burned, flesh cracked and blackened.
I crouched, inspecting it.
"…Curse burn," I said quietly. "Corruption-type magic."
The deeper we went, the worse it became.
Bodies everywhere.
Dozens. Then hundreds.
Some reduced to ash. Others torn apart, limbs scattered like broken dolls.
"Sarah," I said softly. "Light."
She nodded and released a wide illumination spell.
The path ahead revealed a nightmare.
Thousands of monsters lay dead.
Even a boss-class creature, twisted and destroyed beyond recognition.
A thick, choking miasma seeped from the remains.
"…This wasn't a dungeon clear," Alicia said quietly.
"It was a slaughter," Edwin finished.
My stomach tightened.
"…A demon," I said. "And not a weak one."
The air suddenly—
Collapsed.
Overwhelming pressure slammed down on us, crushing and suffocating. My knees bent. Sarah gasped. Edwin gritted his teeth, forcing himself upright. Alicia's frost shattered instantly.
Then—
He stepped forward.
A pitch-black figure, his body warped and corrupted, faint traces of humanity still visible beneath layers of abyssal corruption.
A demon.
He smiled.
"Ah…" he murmured. "Visitors."
My instincts screamed.
A-rank.
Far beyond us.
"Well," I said weakly, forcing myself upright, "on the bright side…"
Everyone glanced at me.
"At least we finally found the monster."
The demon laughed.
And the battle began.