The white light of the system purge faded, leaving behind a silence so profound it was almost deafening.

The chaotic shriek of the vortex, the psychic screams of a hundred terrified minds, the demonic laughter of Derisu Vengraud's phantom—all of it was gone.

I stood in the center of the now-tranquil chamber, my virtual body trembling with an exhaustion that felt bone-deep and chillingly real.

My mind felt scoured, raw, as if I had sprinted a marathon through a landscape of nightmares. Every neuron screamed in protest.

Across the room, my teammates stared, their faces a mixture of awe, confusion, and stark terror.

Alex's shield was still raised, though his arms shook. Seraphina had an arrow nocked, her aim fixed on the spot where the vortex had been.

Kaelen's Holy Ward still pulsed around them, a golden sanctuary in a room that no longer held a threat

.

"Michael…?" Alex's voice was a hoarse whisper, breaking the silence.

"What… what was that?"

I didn't have the strength to answer. I simply lowered Draken, the blade dissolving into motes of light, and pointed a trembling finger at the center of the room.

Where the monstrous vortex of fear had churned, a single, small object now floated gently in the air. It was a crystalline orb, no bigger than my fist, glowing with a soft, steady blue light.

The dungeon core. The purified heart of the Labyrinth of Echoes AI.

"The… the boss… it's gone," Kaelen stammered, his staff lowering as the Holy Ward finally flickered and died.

Seraphina slowly lowered her bow, her sharp archer's eyes darting from the core to me, then back again.

Her usual mask of noble disdain was completely gone, replaced by a raw, unfiltered disbelief. "You… you didn't just fight it," she said, her voice barely audible. "You went inside it."

I managed a weak, tired smile. "Had to… pull the plug."

Before any more questions could be asked, a familiar, digitized voice echoed through the chamber, calm and serene.

[Labyrinth of Echoes – Cleared.]

[Final Objective Complete. Commencing Log-Out Sequence.]

The world around us began to dissolve. The stone walls turned translucent, the dark ceiling faded into white light, and the last echoes of the labyrinth were swallowed by the sterile hum of the VR system.

I took the dungeon core, the object feeling solid and real in my virtual hand, just as the world blinked out of existence.

______________________________

[VR Hall ]

The hiss of the VR pod opening was jarring.

PSHHHHH.

Cool, recycled air washed over my face, smelling of sterile metal and ozone. I stumbled out, my real legs feeling unsteady, my body drenched in a cold sweat that had nothing to do with physical exertion.

The mental strain had been so intense that my physical body had reacted in sympathy. My head throbbed with a dull, persistent ache.

Around me, other pods were opening. I saw my teammates emerge, looking just as shattered as I felt.

Alex leaned against his pod, his face pale, taking deep, shuddering breaths. Kaelen was on his hands and knees, looking like he was about to be sick.

Seraphina stood ramrod straight, but her knuckles were white where she gripped the edge of her pod door, her gaze distant and haunted.

We hadn't just won a trial. We had survived a war fought within our own minds.

Then, the main holographic screen in the VR Hall flickered to life, capturing everyone's attention.

The murmurs of the other students, who were emerging from their own, far less traumatic simulations, died down as the final rankings began to show.

[Labyrinth of Echoes – Final Team Rankings]

A hush fell over the hall. Names and scores flashed, but everyone was waiting for the top spots.

4th Place: Team 3 (Aiden Stromfang, Elara Moonshade, Ranmon Calder, Chris Blackthorn, )

3rd Place: Team 2 (Eric William, Petric DeLorne,Noora Veylen, Seon Yeon)

2nd Place: Team 1 (Leon Lionheart, Selena Veylan, Zack Halberd, Rita Almark, )

The expected names. The powerhouses. A ripple of applause, polite and predictable, went through the crowd. Then came the final entry.

1st Place: Team 4 (Michael Wilson, Alex Vonstel, Seraphina Croft, Kaelen Vance)

The hall fell silent. Utterly, completely silent. No one clapped. No one cheered. They just stared, their faces a canvas of shock and confusion.

The team of misfits, the lowest-ranked qualifiers, had taken first place. It didn't make sense.

But then, the screen updated, and the reason became brutally clear.

[Team 4 – Score Analysis]

[Time & Exploration: 650/1000 pts]

[Combat Performance: 700/1000 pts]

[Teamwork & Strategy: 950/1000 pts]

[Special Contribution – System Anomaly Resolution: +3000 pts]

[Total Score: 5300 pts]

The words "System Anomaly Resolution" hung in the air, glowing with an importance that overshadowed everything else.

The other teams' scores, even Leon's near-perfect 4800, were dwarfed by the massive bonus my team had received.

The whispers started then, low and venomous.

"System Anomaly? What the hell is that?"

"They cheated. They must have."

"Look at them! They look like they crawled out of a grave. How could they have won?"

I ignored them. My gaze found my rivals. Leon stood frozen, his hand still on the door of his pod, his face a mask of confusion and frustration.

He hadn't won. His perfect strategy, his flawless execution—none of it had mattered. He looked at me, his eyes filled with a question he didn't know how to ask: What did you face in there?

Eric William's reaction was far less subtle. When he emerged from his pod, alone and radiating a furious energy, his eyes went straight to the scoreboard.

The moment he saw his team in third and mine in first, his face contorted into a mask of pure rage.

"A TRICK!" Petric roared, his voice echoing through the stunned hall. "This is nothing but a cheap trick! A commoner manipulating the system to steal a victory he didn't earn!"

He pointed a trembling finger at me. "I demand an investigation! He cheated!"

The accusation hung in the air, and for a moment, it seemed like half the students in the hall agreed with him.

The narrative was too perfect: the upstart commoner, using underhanded means to topple his noble superiors.

But before the chaos could escalate, a single, sharp clap echoed through the hall.

CLAP.

Evelyn Whitehound stepped forward, her heels clicking on the polished floor.

Her expression was unreadable, a calm mask of authority that instantly quelled the rising tide of anger. Alastor stood behind her, his arms crossed, a grim, almost proud look on his face.

"There was no cheating, Mr. Petric," Evelyn said, her voice smooth as silk but edged with steel.

"There was, however, a system malfunction. A critical error that put every student in the Labyrinth trial in severe danger."

She turned her gaze to the hall at large, and the weight of her S-rank presence silenced every whisper.

"The Labyrinth of Echoes was compromised by a hostile program. A virus. It amplified the psychic feedback to lethal levels. Every student in that trial was in danger of suffering permanent mental damage."

A wave of gasped horror swept through the students and the spectators in the gallery. Permanent mental damage. The words were a cold slap of reality.

Evelyn's gaze then settled on my team, and finally, on me.

"Team 4 was the first to encounter the core of this corruption. Instead of being eliminated, they fought. They held the line. And their leader," she paused, her eyes locking onto mine,

"did the impossible. He interfaced directly with the AI core and purged the virus, saving not only his team, but every other student in that simulation from a fate worse than death."

The hall was silent once more, but this was a different kind of silence. The shock, the anger, the suspicion—it was all being replaced by a dawning, horrified understanding.

Evelyn's lips curved into a small, sharp smile.

"The 'Special Contribution' score was awarded by the NOVA AI itself, as an automated reward for resolving a system-critical threat. Team 4 did not win this trial by being the fastest, or the strongest. They won by saving you all."

She let the words sink in, then turned her back on the stunned crowd and walked towards me.

Alastor followed, his heavy presence a silent declaration of support.

As she approached, I finally allowed myself to check the System notifications that had been patiently waiting in my mind.

[Urgent Task Complete: System Purge]

[Rewards Claimed:]

[+75,000 SP]

[Title Acquired: 'Mindbreaker' (Passive: Grants +20% resistance to all mental and psychic attacks. Increases intimidation factor against weaker-willed opponents.)]

[Item Acquired: 1x Skill Evolution Stone]

_________________________

[Status Update:]

Name: Michael Willson

Age: 15

Class: Magic Swordsman

Rank: E+

Affinities: Ice, Space, Lightning

Traits: Mana Manipulation, Weapon Master

Title: Mindbreaker

STR: 147

STA: 145

AGI: 149

ENC: 92

INT: 145

Mana: 4800 / 4800

Unallocated Stats: 0

SP: 224,720

======================

The numbers were a comforting balm to my frayed nerves, but they did little to prepare me for the approaching storm in the form of my homeroom teacher.

Evelyn stopped in front of me, her expression unreadable. For a long moment, she simply studied me, her sharp eyes taking in my exhausted state, the slight tremble in my hands, the mental fatigue I couldn't hide.

Then, she spoke, her voice low enough for only me to hear.

"Michael Wilson," she said, her tone devoid of its usual teasing lilt, now carrying a weight I had never heard before.

"We need to have a private conversation. Now."

(To be continued)

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