I Ended Up in a Magic Academy

Chapter 7: Dungeon Trial: The First Exam Part 3

Before the instructor called our names, a shadowy presence appeared as a slight distortion in the air beside me, and though my teammates didn't notice it, I felt it before I even saw Zinnia appear at my side.

She leaned closer, her voice low enough that it barely reached me as she whispered, "My lord… there is something I must report to you personally," prompting me to turn my head slightly and ask, "What is it?" before her eyes scanned the dungeon entrance ahead and she added, "…An anomaly," which earned a small nod from me.

I looked toward the dungeon entrance again to see my two teammates already watching me as Seiren said, "What are you doing, Emil? Let's go," prompting me to shift my gaze forward toward whatever was waiting for us inside while I murmured, "…I see."

"Ah, before that, Zinnia, I have something for you to do before my team and I depart," I muttered, causing Zinnia to give a small nod.

Far from the students, somewhere hidden from view, a man in a black hood stood in front of another screen.

"I know you're strong, young master Emil," he said quietly. "But this… isn't something you can handle yet."

And he kept watching.

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Inside the dungeon, Shayna, Seiren, and I took our positions in absolute focus until a roar tore through the quietness, echoing through the stone corridors as if something had just awakened.

The moment a Minotaur stepped into view, Seiren moved first as water gathered around her hand while cold mist formed alongside it, her affinity with water and ice blending naturally.

"I'll slow it down," Seiren said before adding without looking back, "Shayna, buff us," prompting Shayna to nod immediately as she cast her "Regenerative Light."

A soft glow spread outward, wrapping around us like a gentle field that wasn't overwhelming but left my body feeling lighter, steadier, and with mana flowing more smoothly, prompting Seiren to glance at me after casting and state, "You do your thing."

I nodded, saying, "Got it," realizing that since Seiren was already calling the shots without forcing it and everything just flowed naturally around her, she was clearly the leader, which worked perfectly fine for me.

Water surged across the ground, spreading beneath the Minotaur's feet before she layered another spell on top without pause, shouting, "Frostbound Constraint!" as the liquid instantly froze into solid ice.

The Minotaur's legs were caught mid-step, ice locking around it as its movement came to a halt, prompting Seiren to say, "…Ten seconds," before glancing at me and adding, "Now, Emil."

I rushed straight toward it while feeling their hesitation behind me, prompting Seiren to shout, "Why are you rushing? Aren't you casting a skill or something?"

"I want to try something," I responded as I poured a small amount of mana into the staff, causing it to convert into a small short sword with a shorter grip and sharper balance that was far more suited for a blade than a staff.

That was all I needed.

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Outside, the students watching the screen frowned in confusion as they murmured amongst themselves, asking, "Wait… is he rushing in with a staff?" before others noticed the change and countered, "…No, that's not a staff, it looks like a short sword," while a few began to question, "Is that even allowed?"

But the instructor watching quickly responded that it had been given a green light by the principal, so it was permitted.

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The moment I stepped into range, I struck, delivering a first slash that cracked the ice.

The second cut deeper and precise. I shifted my footing, sliding past the Minotaur's frozen arm, turning my body just enough to avoid its instinctive movement as the ice began to break.

Delivering a third strike even faster, the blade traced a sharp line across its body before I moved again, low and quick, reappearing at its side to execute a final cut before it could fully react.

The frozen shell shattered at the same time my blade passed through.

I looked at the customized staff now converted into a sword and was surprised by the result. I received this two days ago and can finally test it now. This is actually decent.

For a split second everything stopped until the Minotaur's body suddenly split apart, sending smoke and shattered ice filling the air to hang low over the battlefield until everything became hard to see right before it all slowly settled into a moment of pure silence.

Shayna and Seiren looked at me with a mix of awe and disbelief. "We finished it early," Shayna said, still shivering while smiling.

But for some reason… there was no completion clock.

Then, there was a faint shift in the air, and in that same moment, the Minotaur's severed body twitched and began to rise again slowly and unnaturally like the dead coming back to life, prompting me to mutter under my breath, "An undead beast, huh?"

As Zinnia's warning flashed through my mind, making me realize this was exactly what she meant, I exhaled slowly while feeling almost amused despite myself, even as Shayna stood shaking so hard beside me she could barely stand while whispering, "Th-That's not normal…"

Seiren stepped forward half a pace, her eyes narrowing as she studied the rising monster using the Threat Index, a rare trait possessed by some mages who have reached Class 3 that allowed them to gauge an opponent's level, which she was one of the few to have already unlocked, causing her voice to tighten as she instinctively muttered, "That's not a Class 2 monster anymore… Class 5 or 6 minimum."

I tilted my head and muttered, "Oh," while looking at the beast curiously, causing both of them to snap their gazes toward me right before the thing moved with a slow, eerily different motion like a completely different monster while a dark aura leaked from its body to press into the air like a heavy weight.

Standing near the creature made a person's thoughts heavier and movements a fraction slower, causing Shayna's hands to tremble while even Seiren, who was always composed, went completely still as her stance tightened from being painfully aware of the massive gap in strength.

They froze when I looked at them and asked, "…Do you guys want to leave?" right as I noticed the entrance gate was turning red, indicating it had become a forced closure dungeon.

"We were locked in," Shayna said, her voice trembling as she shook with fear.

I glanced at the clock hovering above us as it continued ticking, realizing that if this thing hadn't reanimated into an undead we would have been in first place, right as Shayna's voice rose in panic, shouting, "We can't beat that!"

I scratched my cheek slightly while my eyes stayed on the monster, realizing that since I didn't get a proper entrance evaluation and don't actually know my class, an undead like that could apparently be handled by a Class 5 mage.

Then I looked at them again, asking, "We can try fighting it and then wait for help to arrive, right?" only to be met with a silence that Seiren finally snapped by demanding, "…What? Are you trying to die?" which made me let out a small sigh.

"Calm yourself," I said. "Since the exit was now sealed, there was no point panicking. We could either handle it and defeat the thing… or end up as food for the undead."

Both Shayna and Seiren looked at me now, fear clearly written on their faces.

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Outside, the students watching the crystal screen were initially stunned when Emil's slash landed cleanly on the Minotaur, but their shock quickly shifted when the Minotaur stood back up.

The reaction in the crowd changed almost instantly. Confusion turned into unease.

The teachers observing the screen straightened, their expressions tightening as they began to sense that something was wrong.

Something inside the dungeon had changed, and everyone could feel that the atmosphere was no longer normal.

Elira and Lucia exchanged a glance at the same time as Elira quietly noted, "Something goes wrong there," to which Lucia nodded without hesitation, letting a heavier silence follow that confirmation.

Cassandra stepped in, her expression tightening as she studied the screen more carefully, causing both Elira and Lucia to turn toward her immediately as she confirmed, "It's a Class 5 Undead Minotaur."

Across the viewing area, Alex and Ealric were no longer relaxed either, with Alex muttering, "This isn't good…" as his eyes darted around the hall to ask where the old instructor was, prompting Ealric to frown while slowly scanning the area and realizing that the white-bearded professor was gone.

A tense silence followed.

"We need to report this to Sir James Moore, our homeroom teacher!" Alex said urgently, his voice sharper now, almost panicked.

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At the audience tables, Samantha, Emil's older sister, had a grim expression. Her gaze slowly shifted toward the Student Council President, who was equally tense—her hands slightly clenched as she stared at the screen, knowing her younger sister was inside that sealed dungeon.

The realization weighed heavily between them.

Because to an untrained eye, it might still look like just another Minotaur.

But to those who opened the Threat Index and had seen enough to recognize the wrongness in its mana pattern, the truth was undeniable that it was no longer a living monster but an undead creature.

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A while before Team 4 began the dungeon trial exam, Zinnia and I stood outside the dungeon gate where I glanced at the entrance and spoke without looking at her, calmly asking, "If things go sideways in there… seal the exit, can you do that for me?"

Zinnia froze for a moment, clearly not expecting that. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she studied me, as if trying to understand what I was really asking. "…Are you certain, my lord?"

A faint smile formed on my lips, almost amused. "You know me," I said. "I can be a petty person."

Zinnia didn't respond immediately. Her gaze lingered on me longer than it should have. Then, slowly, she bowed her head. "As you wish, my lord."