“Tch… why today of all days?”

  Sophia muttered as she pushed herself up, brushing dust and bone splinters from her cloak with a sharp, irritated snap of her wrist.

  If there were only a dozen of them—like she’d assumed at first—she could’ve put them down without much trouble.

  But once Flare exposed the truth—hundreds closing in from every side.

  The only choice was to fight while falling back—

  bleed them slowly, and bleed herself slower.

  The moment the swarm lunged at her like arrows loosed from a bow—

  Sophia vanished—

  snapped out of existence.

  She moved at her absolute limit, leaving behind nothing but a thin, fading streak—an orange smear slashed across the air.

  Her motion was so fast, so irregular, that naked eyes couldn’t possibly track it.

  But these giant, eyeless mantis-things didn’t rely on sight.

  The horde froze—

  as if one mind paused to think.

  Then the red, glowing feelers on their heads began to blink in rapid pulses.

  A harsh clacking rang out—like metal teeth grinding together—

  a signal passed through the swarm.

  And then they turned.

  They hurled themselves toward the direction Sophia had just escaped to—

  like a flood that would never stop.

  …

  …

  Sophia pulled out her portable spellwatch to check the time.

  And what she saw made the heat drain out of her body—colder than the dungeon air itself.

  The hands didn’t match what her body felt.

  Not even close.

  “Judging by how much mana I’ve burned…” she bit her lip hard enough to draw blood, “I’ve been in this pit for at least six hours.”

  Her eyes narrowed, furious.

  “But the watch has only moved three? What kind of bullshit is this?”

  She shoved it back into her cloak, teeth clenched.

  The theory she’d learned—about high-density mana zones twisting even time—rose up in her mind.

  So this really is a dungeon.

  And not a tame one.

  A high-tier field, maybe.

  Something that made time flow differently inside and out.

  By now, Sophia was drenched—sweat mixed with thick green ichor from the creatures she’d cut down.

  The monsters that tried to tear her apart had been sliced into pieces by Vacuum Bladehs as if they were paper.

  One kick—packed with compressed air—could split several at once.

  But it was a war with no end.

  Kill one, and ten replaced it.

  Every second became pure expenditure—stamina and mana burned away for nothing.

  Then, in the middle of one clash, she noticed something.

  When she severed the red-glowing feelers—

  the monster immediately lost direction.

  It slammed into rock, flailing like a beast that had gone truly blind.

  Those feelers… they’re not just sensing vibrations.

  They were scent-organs.

  An organ for smelling mana.

  Sophia’s gaze sharpened as her thoughts dug deeper.

  No matter where she ran, no matter where she hid—

  they always found her. They always detected the foreign mana of a human.

  But then—

  how did they avoid tearing each other apart?

  She’d seen it happen: when she forced them to collide, they would snap and bite each other in a frenzy—

  and then, within a heartbeat, stop.

  They would turn as one… and come back for her.

  So they share a signature.

  A special scent. A matching mana frequency.

  That was the only way.

  Once she reached that conclusion, Sophia made a gamble.

  A big one.

  She suppressed her mana until it was almost zero—

  swallowing her disgust, she plunged her hand into the ichor from the eyeless corpses and smeared it over her body until the stench clung to her like a curse.

  She slid into the darkest crack between stones, held her breath—

  and waited.

  The swarm moved past her.

  And not one of them noticed.

  In the crushing dark, she stayed still as carved rock.

  A normal student—raised in clean classrooms and comfortable halls—would’ve been shaking by now, or broken completely.

  But Sophia was different.

  Her mind drifted back to the “hell-dungeons” she’d been thrown into since childhood.

  She let out a soft whistle, just to stab through the silence.

  Fighting.

  Surviving alone. Being abandoned to face death.

  Do you really think I’m like those polished Lancaster brats…

  or those fragile nobles upstairs?

  For others, this place would be a nightmare.

  For her—

  it was just another hell she’d have to cross, like always.

  From the terrain and the paths she’d taken, she began to suspect this dungeon was ancient—forgotten, uncharted—perhaps a relic from the era of the Divine War.

  And the Academy had been built on top of it—

  like a lid.

  Either the founders never knew…

  or they knew exactly what lay beneath—and sealed it as a prison with no exit.

  “Whatever,” Sophia muttered, shaking her head to clear the spiral of thoughts.

  “If I don’t find a way out… I’ll end up in that pile.”

  She’d considered raising a wind-domain—a defensive perimeter, an alarm—

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  but the moment she flared her mana, the swarm would smell her again.

  And today she’d spent too much already: hundreds killed, countless bursts of speed.

  Fatigue crept into her limbs.

  Her eyelids grew heavy.

  Sophia leaned her head against the cold, damp stone—

  and slipped into sleep before she meant to.

  …

  …

  She didn’t know how long she was out.

  But then—a faint, scraping sound from behind her.

  Sophia snapped awake.

  “Monsters—!”

  She sprang up and spun into a strike stance on pure instinct—

  only to freeze.

  It wasn’t a swarm.

  The stone wall at her back… was moving.

  It slid open, revealing a doorway just large enough for a person—

  washed in soft light from a mana lamps within.

  And then…

  a messy head of hair poked out.

  “Oh. So it opens from this side.”

  A boy stepped into view.

  His eyes shone an impossible blue—

  calm in a place that had none.

  “…Rein?!”

  Sophia’s mouth fell open.

  “Wait—Sophia?” Rein asked, completely deadpan. “What are you doing in a hole like this?”

  “I… I…”

  Her throat tightened without warning.

  Tears swelled at the edges of her eyes, impossible to hold back—

  because survival had just stepped through the wall—

  wearing the face of the boy she called a rival.

  Rein scanned her state—filthy, soaked in sweat and monster stench—

  and nodded as if it explained everything.

  “It’s fine. Come in,” he said casually. “Before those mantis-things catch your scent.”

  Sophia followed him in—wordless and too tired to argue.

  But the moment she crossed the threshold, her eyes widened again.

  Inside was a grand hall, richly arranged like the study of an ancient sage.

  A magic chandelier lit the space in warm clarity.

  At the center stood a large round table crowded with maps and documents.

  One wall displayed an irreplaceable ancient map of Aetheria.

  Another side held towering bookshelves packed with tomes—

  and an alchemy bench fully stocked with instruments.

  Rein led her to the far wall and pushed a hidden mechanism.

  A door opened.

  And beyond it was something Sophia never expected to find a thousand feet underground—

  a wide, circular hot spring.

  White steam curled upward.

  Water trickled from four golden gargoyle spouts, one in each direction—

  a scene so gentle it felt like a dream.

  Sophia lifted a hand to her mouth.

  This time, tears spilled for real.

  After an entire night of blood, filth, and fighting—

  this was heaven carved into hell.

  She didn’t hesitate.

  She shoved Rein out of the room and slammed the door shut.

  Then she tore off her filthy cloak and clothes, snatched a clean white towel from the wooden shelf—

  and sank into the warm water with a sound that was half a sigh, half a sob of relief.

  Over the soft sound of running water, Sophia leaned back and stared up at the chandelier on the ceiling, grumbling with the wounded bitterness of someone who’d been cheated by fate itself.

  “You’re seriously something else, Rein… lounging around in a comfy room like this, while I was out there rotting and fighting monsters.”

  She clicked her tongue.

  “Why does heaven always play favorites?”

  …

  …

  Hours earlier—

  as Rein’s body plunged into a shaft so deep it felt like it would never end, he refused to let panic take the wheel.

  Wind screamed past his ears.

  He activated MiDAR at once, scanning his surroundings in real time.

  Data flooded to LIZ, who rebuilt it into a three-dimensional model hovering before his eyes—sharp beneath the iron mask.

  [LIZ: Confirmed depth. Impact in 18 seconds. Recommendation: begin deceleration immediately.]

  Rein swept his right hand through the air and cast Vortex, conjuring a counter-rotating spiral of wind to cut his falling acceleration.

  With his left, he followed with Levitate, compressing air into an invisible platform suspended roughly three feet above the ground.

  All of it executed through a technique called Gesture Casting.

  In the end, he drifted down onto that layer of air as lightly as a feather, swallowed by darkness—save for the faint blue glow of LIZ’s interface, the only light his eyes could claim.

  Rein narrowed his eyes at the slowly-forming map and frowned.

  “…What? We’ve only mapped half? This place is larger than the Ekhosar.”

  [LIZ: You’ll need multiple MiDAR passes to complete the map, Rein. Based on preliminary structure and mana density, there’s a high probability this is an ancient dungeon—thousands of years old. If that hypothesis is correct… it may qualify as S-Rank.]

  “S-Rank…”

  Rein recalled the dungeon geography texts he’d read.

  Dungeons were classified by complexity, scale, and the lethality of the ecosystems within.

  S-Rank dungeons were the continent’s most powerful architectural organisms—most of them dating back to the era of the Divine War.

  Some ran ten layers deep.

  Each layer could sprawl for dozens of kilometers.

  And the deeper one went, the more the rules of physics—and mana itself—began to warp.

  History recorded that many S-Rank dungeons had never been conquered at all, but sealed beneath the earth to prevent catastrophe.

  Rein glided forward on Levitate through the abyssal corridor carved from black obsidian, his mind working hard to assemble the puzzle.

  One hypothesis sharpened into focus.

  In the primordial age, this dungeon might not have been built to imprison demons.

  It might have been a hidden base—an underground research facility for war—meant to develop bioweapons for a war between races that lasted thousands of years.

  And later, those weapons—abandoned, uncontrolled—evolved into what the modern world simply called monsters.

  Maybe mana isn’t just energy.

  Rein studying the walls where massive claws had scored deep marks, violence preserved like a fossil.

  Maybe it’s a catalyst—something that forces life to change at the genetic level.

  [LIZ: Wait, Rein. I’ve recalculated mana density and the latest spatial distortion… Probability high: this dungeon exceeds S-Rank. Classification—S+. MiDAR detected fluctuations of space-time at a 1:2 ratio—and it may increase further as we descend.]

  “S+… and one hour down here equals two hours up there?”

  Rein murmured, rubbing his chin.

  “It’s like our early Mana Realm.”

  The situation carried both advantage and risk.

  More preparation time—

  but fatigue would also accumulate at double speed.

  Then the map window flickered rapidly, highlighting a chamber concealed behind a massive stone wall.

  [LIZ: Bad news aside… there’s good news. I found a hidden route leading to a room with a high probability of being the ‘primary lab.’ Mana density drops significantly there—which suggests a complete anti-infiltration field is active.]

  “Perfect.” A glint flashed in Rein’s eyes beneath the mask.

  “Let’s move. Now.”

  And then, with the kind of brightness that only debt could summon—

  “Finally… a way to pay off 132,000 AC.”

  …

  …

  Sophia stepped out of the bath reborn.

  The orange hair that had been soaked with blood-stink and sweat had been washed clean with Clean, then dried into smooth waves by a gentle current of wind.

  She walked with her hair loose, absurdly cheerful—nothing like the feral battle-girl from earlier.

  Her steps carried her toward the boy still hunched over a stack of documents on an ancient wooden table.

  He looked grim, intensely focused, as if decoding the most merciless equation in the world.

  Sophia had a hundred questions clawing at her throat.

  How did he get here? What even is this place? Which part of the Academy could possibly hide something like this?

  But before she could speak—

  Rein spoke first, his eyes never leaving the archaic script on the parchment.

  “How did you get here?”

  So Sophia told him everything—honestly.

  How she’d gotten sick of the meeting and walked out for air.

  How she’d spotted a “black-clad criminal” slipping into a wall of the Whitmore manor.

  How curiosity took over.

  How she followed—

  and fell into a hell-pit, fighting tooth and nail just to stay alive.

  At the words black-clad criminal, Rein’s hand stilled on the page.

  He exhaled long and propped his chin on his fist, listening until she finished.

  Then he said a single sentence that stole the breath from Sophia’s lungs.

  “The one you followed…”

  He spoke flatly.

  “…was me.”

  He reached beside him, picked up the iron mask, and set it down on the table with a heavy thunk—as if presenting the whole truth in one ugly object.

  “Wha—?!” Sophia’s eyes went wide.

  “So you’re the bastard in black who got me stuck in that hell-hole?!”

  “Sorry.” Rein’s voice carried responsibility—no excuses, no drama.

  “I disguised myself to infiltrate the manor and dig up information. But I got caught, and the plan collapsed—exactly like you saw.”

  He scratched his messy hair, awkward for a moment, then gave her a partial version of the truth:

  his infiltration into Whitmore Manor,

  his discovery that Shapeshifters had infiltrated the Academy disguised as students,

  his fall into the trap and plunge into the depths—

  and how he’d been “lucky” to stumble upon this hidden room.

  He kept MiDAR and LIZ buried behind a locked door in his mind.

  “So… we fell into a Shapeshifter trap?” Sophia frowned.

  “You could say that.” Rein shrugged and let out a quiet chuckle.

  “But they might not even know the bottom of this pit is an ancient dungeon. To them, it’s probably just a trash hole—a place no one climbs out of.”

  Sophia narrowed her eyes.

  “And how do you know I’m not a Shapeshifter? Or maybe you’re the fake one.”

  Rein didn’t even look up.

  “I don’t,” he said simply.

  “I just believe you’re not.”

  “Why?” she pressed, refusing to let it go.

  Rein finally answered—still deadpan.

  “Because no Shapeshifter would cry with snot bubbles over a hot spring.”

  A vein pulsed at Sophia’s temple.

  Her face went red—half humiliation, half rage.

  “Hah!” she snapped.

  “And someone who can annoy people with that kind of consistency probably isn’t a Shapeshifter either!”

  “Good.” Rein said, as if concluding a calculation.

  “Then we’re finally speaking the same language.”

  He stopped reading. Set the parchment down.

  And when he looked up this time, the seriousness in his eyes shifted the air in the room.

  “Work with me, Sophia.”

  “Work… on what?” She crossed her arms, still guarded.

  “The offer I made you the other day still stands.” Rein’s mouth tilted into a sly curve.

  “And I’ll add something extra.”

  “A benefit that will let you break through the bottleneck of Troposphere-tier…”

  His voice sharpened, precise.

  “…and break through into Stratosphere-tier.”

  These entries expand the lore and mechanics introduced in this chapter.

  Completely optional—read only if you enjoy diving deeper into the system.

  Location

  Hell-Dungeon

  A term used by Sophia to describe death-zone dungeons used for extreme training. These dungeons are filled with lethal enemies, zero support, and are meant to forge survival instincts and combat resilience. Sophia’s past reveals she was sent to such dungeons during childhood, shaping her into the ruthless and adaptive fighter she is today.

  Hidden Safe Room

  Behind a sealed stone wall lies a sanctuary Rein discovers via MiDAR. It contains:

  – Maps and ancient documents

  – A full alchemy setup

  – A hot spring powered by mana mechanisms

  This acts as a temporary base, providing safety and recovery amid the chaos.

  Monsters

  Eyeless Mantis-Type Creatures

  Monsters found in the deep dungeon beneath the Academy. These biologically engineered organisms lack eyes but detect targets via mana-scent—a unique frequency emitted by living beings with magical energy. Their hive-like behavior suggests a shared neural or mana-linked network.

  Concepts

  Mana-Scent / Mana Signature

  A conceptual mechanic where living beings emit distinct mana frequencies, functioning similarly to scent in animals. These frequencies can be recognized, imitated, or suppressed. In this chapter, Sophia masks her own signature by covering herself in monster ichor, effectively blending in with the swarm.

  Mana-Sensitive Antennae (Feelers)

  The red-glowing appendages on the mantis creatures’ heads. Destroying them disorients the creature, suggesting these are critical for mana detection and orientation. Once severed, the creatures behave as if blind and lose coordination.

  Hive Intelligence

  The swarm of monsters acts as a single unit, reacting to threats in perfect synchrony. They stop infighting moments after accidental conflict and resume pursuit of the main threat (Sophia), indicating a possible shared cognitive system or pheromone-like command signal.

  Ancient S+ Dungeon (S-Rank → S+)

  LIZ recalculates the dungeon classification as S+, based on:

  – Enormous scale and complexity

  – Spatial distortion (1 hour inside equals 2 outside)

  – Unknown biological entities with coordinated behavior

  – Potential origins in the Divine War era

  S+ dungeons are rarer than S-Rank and are theorized to contain not just hostile environments but relics or threats of continent-shaking scale.

  Mana-Time Distortion

  In high-density mana zones like this dungeon, the flow of time is warped. Time inside passes slower than outside. This creates opportunities (for preparation) but increases fatigue and internal mana drain.

  Underground Lab Hypothesis

  Rein theorizes the dungeon wasn’t built to trap demons, but was once a bioweapon research facility from the Divine War. The monsters below might be evolved remnants of these experiments, with mana acting as a genetic mutagen or catalyst—not just energy.