I hurried to the edge of the hole. Darkness swallowed the space below—too deep for the light to reach.

“Senior! Meiling!”

A splash echoed, and moments later a voice came back.

“We’re fine! There’s water down here! Meiling’s okay too!”

Seo Yui.

Thank goodness.

I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.

Latessai had all kinds of traps—hordes of monsters, pits bristling with spikes, arrow barrages—but this wasn’t like anything I knew. A ceiling collapse triggering the floor to give way? I’d never seen that in this dungeon.

Knowing they were safe, Lumina let out a long sigh and sat down beside me.

Soon, light flickered below—Meiling had poured mana into her wand to make a glow.

“What’s it like down there? Do you see a path?” I called, peering into the dark.

“I can see stalactites on the ceiling. Looks like we’ve fallen into an underground lake.”

An underground lake?

I’d never heard of anything like that beneath the Underground Temple.

How do we bring them back up…

By Latessai’s settings, Flight-type Abilities were as rare as Healing. At least among this year’s HAUT candidates, no Companion had flight.

And for this practical, we weren’t allowed personal gear. All we had were supply skills and what we’d picked up. We had looted a few items, but nothing like rope, and this dungeon wouldn’t yield any, either.

Still, the fact the space is connected means they didn’t drop to a different floor. If monsters spawn, odds are they’re the same level as here.

Decision made, I called down, “We’ll look for a place to meet up. You two try to find a way up from your side.”

“Got it,” Yui answered.

I stood. “Sorry, but we need to suspend the assignment. Saving them comes first.”

The recording drone that was supposed to capture our combat had been smashed in the collapse anyway.

Taeil nodded. “Emergency protocol—use Abilities.”

“Yes.”

He turned. Behind us stood Mayu, her face knotted with guilt, and George and Poff, staring at the floor with clenched jaws.

“George, Poff,” Taeil called.

Both flinched and looked up.

“Help us.”

They stared at him for a beat, then nodded.

After that, we scoured every inch of the third floor.

With everyone but me using their Abilities, the monsters were no issue at all.

Poff’s Ability was Free Step—immunity to movement debuffs and a boost to speed. As a tank, he still moved like a blur, throwing the monsters into chaos.

George’s was Burning Soul—adding fire damage to attacks and draining HP from enemies suffering Burns. Most wounds knit back together as he fought. If you could stomach the pain, it was perfect for maintaining fighting strength.

While they held the front and brawled head-on, Taeil covered and supported from midline with his crossbow.

Taeil’s Ability was Keen Sense, a buff that increased damage and critical damage. It looked plain, but with the right gear, he could easily be Dai’s strongest damage dealer.

From the rear, Mayu supported with magic skills or her Ability, Cold-Shut Gag—a dual debuff that inflicted non-damaging Frostbite in an area and simultaneously imposed Silence, sealing enemy spellcasting.

They really can fight.

I couldn’t help admiring them. They had struggled to score at HAUT, but with both skills and Abilities unleashed, they were formidable. George and Poff, especially, were fighting all-out now, and the four of them moved as one.

In the later stages, Dai’s going to surge.

HAUT’s back half leaned heavily on duels and live dungeon combat—and Abilities were allowed then.

Of course, we’d be using ours too, so we weren’t about to lose.

For the record, Lumina had split off to scout rooms alone. When they heard she could move indefinitely without being detected by monsters while Stealth was active, the four from Dai were stunned—and a little envious. That Ability really was unique.

About fifteen minutes into our sweep—

“Yein!”

I turned to see Lumina sprinting toward us.

“Found it! There’s a mechanism that goes down!”

There really is one!?

I forgot myself for a second, excitement spiking. Every time I stumbled on something the game never showed, my heart raced.

Focus. Not the time.

I put on a serious face. “Lead the way, Lumina.”

“Mm-hm! Ah—there are monsters on the way…”

“Leave them to us,” Taeil said, glancing back at his team. “Let’s move.”

All three of Dai nodded at once. Leader was leader.

Lumina took point to guide us. Dai followed, and I brought up the rear, watching our flanks.

Even if you’re not worried, don’t grin like an idiot, I scolded myself.

But really, there isn’t much to worry about, another part of me argued back.

True enough. It was an emergency down there too, so they’d be using Abilities. If the cave counted as part of Floor 3 and Meiling unleashed the Death Domain, the monsters would be paper in a storm. Seo Yui wouldn’t even need to step in.

“Here,” Lumina said, pointing into a chamber.

“We never passed this room, and it was the only one without monsters. When I touched this, the floor opened.”

A hatch yawned in the floor, revealing steps, and on the temple’s stone pillar where she pointed—a switch.

Definitely not in the game.

My heart thudded again.

We descended, walking by the light from Mayu’s wand.

After a few minutes, the corridor ended—and the cave opened out.

“I can’t believe this was under the dungeon,” Taeil breathed.

The others gaped, turning slowly to take it in.

As for me, I was busy steadying my own heartbeat.

“Yein… do you think our voices will reach them from here?” Lumina asked.

I nodded. “Let’s try.”

“Okay. Huuup.” She cupped her hands like a trumpet and shouted, “Meiling! Yui-senior! If you can hear us, answer!”

Her unusually loud voice rippled through the cavern, bouncing back in echoes.

We waited a few seconds—

[Over here!! This way!!]

Lumina’s face lit up.

Meiling’s voice.

Dai’s team all looked relieved.

We kept calling, following whichever direction made their replies sound clearer.

At last, we found them.

Meiling and Seo Yui stood in a vast chamber within the cave, the ceiling soaring higher than anything in the Underground Temple.

Lumina sprinted the last few steps and threw her arms around them both.

I advanced slowly with Dai toward the middle of the chamber.

Two strange things stood out immediately.

First, there were no stalactites or stalagmites at all—the floor and ceiling were perfectly smooth.

Second, in the exact center stood a massive statue. Its gentle glow bathed the surroundings in soft light.

I took a good look—and goosebumps raced over my skin.

“Ugh.”

“What is it, Nam Yein?” Taeil asked as I grabbed my chest.

“…Nothing. Guess I relaxed a little—my strength just left me.”

“I see.”

Taeil nodded as if he understood.

In truth, it was simply that the sight before me had set my heart racing far too wildly.

I steadied my breathing and stepped closer to the statue.

What are you doing here…

It was the figure of a male god, eyes covered with a cloth, body robed in garments reminiscent of monk’s attire.

Behind his head spread an ornate halo carved in stone.

“Looks different from the statues upstairs,” Taeil remarked.

“Yes. I’ve never seen anything like it,” Mayu agreed with a nod.

“Senior, did you encounter any monsters in here?” I asked Seo Yui.

She shook her head. “Not a single one on the way here.”

“Then what is this place supposed to be? Is it even part of the dungeon? Why would a statue like that be here?” Meiling frowned, baffled.

“…No idea.”

I had never seen anything like this either. But one thing was certain—if a professor like Jeon Yango, with his obsession for demonology, caught wind of this, he would stop at nothing to investigate.

Which means, before that happens…

I circled around the statue, checking carefully.

Something had been tugging at me since we entered.

There it is.

At the back, I found a groove. From within it seeped a faint violet glow.

That subtle purple mixed with the statue’s pale aura—that was unmistakably the aura of an item.

No one else seemed to notice; they hadn’t followed me around.

I pressed the groove. A hidden hatch slid open, smooth as a safe’s door.

A gem?

Inside the pedestal lay a cut gemstone, the size of a clenched fist.

[Ability Craftsman activates.]

As always, a status window tried to rise.

[Failed to analyze item’s properties.]

[Ability Craftsman is too low.]

For the first time, instead of details, the display scrambled like a static TV before vanishing.

What the hell…

One impossible thing after another.

We left the cave afterward and cleared the dungeon boss, then reported everything to Abel outside.

When we told him about the collapse and the underground space, his smile vanished for the first time.

“The drone?”

“It was crushed when the ceiling came down,” I answered.

“The cave under the Underground Temple really exists. We all saw it,” Taeil added.

Abel stroked his chin.

“To prove the clear, we brought the boss drop.”

I handed him the Mana-Infused Stone from my inventory.

“This does confirm you beat the third-floor boss… but it doesn’t prove you followed the assignment. Without the drone footage, there’s no way to know.”

I had no rebuttal. If I were Abel, I’d think the same. We’d broken the rules, used Abilities.

“Well, either way—good work. At least you all made it out safe.”

He dismissed it there and told us to board the bus.

Inside, the other academies were already seated.

I caught Iris’s mocking smirk aimed my way. My hand twitched with the urge to flip her off, but I swallowed it and sat deeper in.

Seo Yui followed and sat beside me.

“Looks like Teacher Abel didn’t believe us.”

“Seems so.”

I gave the polite answer, but inside I thought otherwise.

It wasn’t disbelief—it was secrecy. Abel wanted to keep knowledge of hidden areas to himself, report it straight to All Around’s upper brass. I wouldn’t be surprised if a strike team was already dispatched to the Underground Temple tonight.

But it won’t be so simple. Independent dungeons shift each entry. Even if they go in on our word, there’s no guarantee they’ll find the same thing.

In the end, we earned no points this round.

But that didn’t mean we left empty-handed.

First, there was the gem I’d secretly pocketed from the statue.

Not blue, scarlet, or crimson—but violet. That alone was a hint.

Legendary. The new item grade introduced in Phase 2.

The problem was, I had no clue about its level or type. It looked like a material, but it could be a consumable with passive effects—like the Substitute Doll or Weight of Phase Fixation.

The message said my Ability level was too low to analyze. Maybe someday I’ll unlock it.

And second—an intangible reward.

That night, after everyone else had gone to rest, George and Poff called us behind the dormitory.

“…We were wrong.”

“Sorry.” Both bowed their heads.

“You were right, Yein,” Poff said. “We let ourselves assume every Gwangcheon member was another Hwang Hae-seon.”

George added, “Back there, Seo Yui saved Mayu. Threw her clear while falling herself. If it had been me, I don’t know if I could’ve acted so selflessly. I was honestly moved.”

He looked at Seo Yui. “Thank you. Truly.”

Yui hesitated, then offered a faint smile. That was answer enough.

I had noticed their shift back when we searched the dungeon together after Yui and Meiling fell. They had fought earnestly, rushing the search.

So it wasn’t my words—it was Yui’s sincerity that reached them.

Either way, it was a relief. Dai would no longer be locked in blind hatred toward Gwangcheon.

The next day, the first weekend since arriving at HAUT finally dawned.

(End of Chapter)

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