Three days after the tournament ended, the Vale Junk Shop no longer looked like a junk shop.The rickety wooden building with peeling paint and a crooked sign was now surrounded by a sea of people. A line of buyers snaked out the front door, across the cobblestone sidewalk, turned at the Old Merchant Street intersection, passed a bakery that had closed because its owner joined the line, and ended three blocks away near the market district fountain. Hundreds of people stood shoulder to shoulder, from street vendors to silk-robed nobles, from academy mages to curious housewives.Everyone came for one reason: they wanted to buy something—anything—from the hands of the man rumored to command lightning with nothing more than a bamboo fan.Behind the counter, cracked at the corner, Aster Vale stared at the empty shelves with an expression that could hardly be called happy. His face was red, not from pride, but from pure frustration. The wooden shelves behind him were completely bare. The bo

Four days after the Vale Junk Shop was flooded with customers, morning in Aethelgard began with the sound of bells that never sounded pleasant.The Main Hall of Aethelgard Academy held all the students from first year to fourth year between four marble pillars reaching up to the vaulted ceiling. Sunlight came through the stained-glass windows, casting red, blue, and gold colors onto the cold stone floor. Hundreds of students sat on long wooden benches, whispering anxiously.At the main podium, Professor Balthazar stood with a scroll of parchment in hand. His gray robe was wrinkled as usual, his round glasses were slightly crooked, and tea stains were still visible on his collar. But today, his expression was serious."The Final Exam," he said, and the whispers in the hall died out instantly.Balthazar unrolled the scroll. "This year's format is different from previous years. Every team with a standard setup of five members will enter the Exam Dungeon—an artificial academy dungeon loca

The morning of the exam began with dew that had not yet evaporated from the grass on the grounds of Aethelgard Academy.The sun had just touched the peak of the North Tower, casting long shadows in every direction. The academy's main courtyard was already packed with hundreds of students gathering in small groups, checking their gear one last time before departing for the Exam Dungeon beneath the tower. Low chatter mixed with the clinking of metal and the rustle of leather bags, creating a collective hum that hung in the chilly morning air.Amidst the crowd, Kaelen stood alone.He did not check his gear. He did not talk with teammates. He simply stood with his Cracked Iron Sword slung across his back, arms crossed over his chest, staring blankly toward the gates of the North Tower. His posture was upright yet not rigid—upright like a tree that had stood in one place for far too long, forgetting that it could fall.Grand Inquisitor Helena walked across the courtyard with measured steps

Two hours after the stone gate swallowed them, Aster's team left the Crystal Forest behind and descended the spiral staircase toward Floor Two.The air changed.If Floor One felt dry and metallic like the inside of a giant bell, Floor Two felt damp and alive. Humidity instantly clung to their skin as the last foot stepped off the bottom stair. The scent of fresh water mingled with something sweet—like honey mixed with morning dew and a faint hint of ozone.The Mana Lake stretched before them.The water's surface was not blue, not green, not black. It shimmered. A bluish-white light pulsed from invisible depths, creating the illusion that the lake had a beating heart of its own. Atop the water, massive lotus flowers floated with wide-open petals. Each petal emitted a soft light that blinked in sync with the lake's pulse, creating a hypnotic visual rhythm.Around the lake, stalactites and stalagmites met to form calcite pillars dripping with glowing water. The drops fell onto the lake's

Grand Inquisitor Helena stood in front of the gate, her hands clenched beneath her gold-and-white robe.She was not an examinee. She was not a student. She was not a professor. She was an official observer from the Church of the Holy Light, and an observer was not supposed to enter the dungeon. It was not in her mandate. It was not in her protocols. It had not been in her twenty-year career as an Inquisitor.But something was wrong.Helena had felt it an hour ago—a spiritual disturbance radiating from deep underground like a second heartbeat that shouldn't exist. It was not an ordinary mana fluctuation. It was not a construction tremor. It was something older. Deeper. Thirstier. And that disturbance grew stronger with every passing minute, as if something down there was awakening from a very long slumber.Behind her, two assistant inquisitors stood holding small wooden chests containing ritual equipment. Helena turned to them."You two stay in the control room with Professor Balthazar