The sole room ihe building was stark, a single, circur stoairway heading down dominating the ter of it. Surrounded by a thial railing, the air hung heavy over the Pit, thick with an almost palpable anticipation. A small waiting area, sparsely furnished with unfortable-looking benches, lined one wall. Otherwise, the room was eerily empty.

  “Quite the spectacle,” Krion muttered, his gaze sweeping over the desding staircase.

  Hector chuckled, “Ihough perhaps less so than you might have expected.”

  Hatsuanding beside him, shivered slightly. “It feels… cold. And old.”

  “Because it is,” Hector replied, his voice dropping to a spiratorial whisper. “Dungeons are not mere strus. They are entities, woven from the fabric of Essence, imbued with their own will. They grot, and sometimes fight back.” He gestured towards the staircase. “This ohis one has a reputation.”

  Krio a shiver go down his spine. “And what reputation is that?”

  Hector leaned closer, his eyes gleaming. “They say the Pit whispers.”

  What did that mean?

  As they walked closer to the stairway dowor tinued. “I would imagi’s a test of some sort. Dungeons like the Pit are essential to bat Studies, and from what my cousin said, additional csses for ter years at the Academy. They provide trolled chaos — a pce to test yourself without unleashiru on the Academy grounds. But make no mistake, they’re dangerous. Each Dungeon is unique, shaped by the Essences around it. For the Pit, some specute it mirrors the ambitions and flicts of those who e.”

  Krion frowned, w at the implications of what Hector was saying. “So it adapts to its challengers?”

  “Precisely,” Hector firmed. “It’s why f the right party is critical. The Pit doesn’t just test individuals; it tests dynamics. Who leads, who supports, who breaks under pressure.”

  Krion’s frown deepened as Hector’s words settled in his mind. A Duhat adapts to its challengers wasn’t just dangerous — it was insidious. The cept g him, a blend of intrigue and unease swirling in his thoughts.

  Sileretched between them for a moment before Hecthed. “Look, if you’re serious about surviving down there, you should know what yetting into. That’s all I’m trying to say. The problem is that the Pit is rgely uable—it reshapes itself every time a new group enters. But over the years, a few patterns have emerged. At least, that’s what I have been able to find out.”

  Krion turo face Hector fully. “Patterns?”

  Hector nodded. “Three on figurations. Let me expin.” He held up a finger. “The first figuration is that of the cssic Labyrinth. It’s a sprawling maze of narrow corridors, twisting paths, and dead ends once you desd the stairwell into the Dungeon itself. Pitch bck, save for faintly glowing moss or simple torches that barely light the way. Traps are everywhere, from pressure ptes to colpsing walls. The monsters in this setup are usually ambush predators as well.”

  Krion listened ily, his eyes narrowing as he absorbed the information. “And the other two?”

  “I’m getting to them,” Hectently chided, then held up a sed finger. “The sed figuration is like an Arena. It’s open spaces with minimal cover, desigo force direct frontations. Think massive chambers with t pilrs and rubble. The monsters in this setup are usually brute types.” Hector held up a third finger. “The st on figuration is what has been terms the Dest. This one is often the deadliest. It’s a series of vertical staircases, suspeforms, and endless opportuo fall. Gravity is yreatest enemy here, but the monsters make it worse.”

  “Sounds charming.”

  “It gets better.” Hector chuckled without humor. “The Pit has only one Boss per run, but no one’s ever fought the same owice. It’s different every time someone reaches the final chamber. Some say it reflects the fears or weaknesses of those who face it. Others believe the Dungeoes somethiirely new each time, testing challengers in ways they’re least prepared for.”

  “Basically impossible to prepare for, is what you’re saying,” Krion said, his tone dry.

  “Exactly, and it’s not just the variety that makes it dangerous,” Hector pressed. “My cousin said that, when she delved it, the Boss adapted itself thting style mid-battle. Apparently, it learns from you, so if you rely too mu oactic, it’ll find a way to ter it.”

  Krion sidered what Hector was saying, and could e to only one clusion. “So it es down to the party itself. But how do you even choose a party? Trust seems… plicated at the Academy.”

  Hectave a chuckle that had an edge to it. “plicated is putting it lightly. Partnerships i, much as with any Dungeon on this pocket pne, are as much about politics as they are about capability. You want strength, yes, but also loyalty — or at least, a mediate betrayal.”

  Krion’s expression darkened slightly. Something seemed off. “And if you choose wrong?”

  “Well,” Hector said, l his voice spiratorially, “that’s where things get… iing. Dungeons operate under a differe of rules. As within them don’t carry the same sequences as those outside.”

  “What do you mean by that?” Krion asked sharply, sensing an uohat didn’t sit well with him.

  Hector hesitated for a moment as if gauging whether to tihen, with a casual shrug, he said, “Let’s just say Dungeons are the perfect loophole for resolving disputes. Rivalries be… terminated, and it’s all chalked up to the i danger of the challenge.”

  The words hit Krion like a block of ice. His gaze so Hector, his posture rigid. “You’re saying ss use the Pit to kill their rivals.”

  At his accusation, Hatsuensed, her hand slowly going to her side to rest on the hilt of her longsword, eyes fixed oor who slowly backed away out of her range.

  Hector held up his hands, a disarming smile on his lips. “I’m not saying it’s on, but… well, acts happen. The Academy ’t monitor inside of a Dungeon.”

  “That’s barbaric,” Hatsune said, her voice low but trembling with anger. “How the Academy allow it?”

  “They don’t do, of course,” Hector replied, his toill infuriatingly casual. “But they doly prevent it either. Dungeons like the Pit are dangerous by nature after all. If someone doesn’t e out, it’s the Dungeon’s fault, not theirs.”

  Krion’s expressio ft, unreadable. Inside, however, a storm brewed. He’d known the Academy would be a crucible, a pce where power dynamics would py out in every css. But this? This was something else entirely.

  “Based on the look yiving me, I take it you don’t approve,” Hector said, stepping to the side, which Krion noticed gave his blue-scaled bodyguard a clear line of sight. “But think about it, Krion. In a pce like this, sometimes the only way to survive is to make sure your enemies don’t.”

  Krio Hectaze, his eyes cold. “I don’t o stoop to murder to prove myself.”

  Hector scoffed, clearly unimpressed. “Idealism has its pce, I suppose. But don’t let it blind you. The Pit doesn’t care about morals, aher do most of the ss here.”

  Krion stared at the s he thought could have bee another friend at the Academy. Something g the edges of his mind, a disquiet he couldn’t shake. Hector’s words echoed in his head: “Sometimes the only way to survive is to make sure your enemies don’t.”

  Krion’s stomach ed. Hector had seemed so genuine, even friendly, in their earlier versations. But the closer they had e to the entrance of the Dungeon, the more Krion began pieg together the signs he had missed. Hector’s insistehey e down here, his bodyguard’s ever-watchful gaze, the casual way Hector had dismissed the Academy’s cutthroat nature as if it were a game he pyed with ease.

  The block of ice turned into a blizzard.

  Was this Hector’s pn all along? To isote them in a pce where rules barely existed and help wouldn’t arrive in time? A knot of dread tightened in his stomach. He ched his fists, readying himself.

  “Are you one of those people, Hector?” Krion asked.

  Hector hesitated, his lips pressing into a thin line. “I like to think I’m pragmatiot heartless. But to answer your unstated questions, and to save us some time, I’ve thrown my lot in with Chadwiot because I like the man, but because he promised to intercede on my behalf with House Bright with some… issues my family has been dealing with.”

  “You’re being used. You know that, don’t you?”

  “Of course I know,” Hector spat in anger. “But I’m willing to pay that price if it means keeping my family safe. I’d prefer things were different,” Hector tinued, voice softening somewhat. “Holy, I like you. You’re refreshing—different from the usual p idiots around here. But the Academy isn’t a pce for friendships, Krion. It’s a pce for survival.”

  “Is that what you call letting Chadwick get away with whatever he wants?” Krion growled.

  Hector’s jaw visibly ched. “You think I like what he does? How he… hungers after your Lepori disgusts me. But all I do is make sure she doesn’t fall into his hands, no matter how much he pushes for it.”

  Before Krion could respond, the snakekin bodyguard moved. In a sudden blur of blue scales and muscle, the bodyguard rushed forward. Krion tensed, ready for the blow, but to his horror, the snakekin dashed past him.

  Hatsune.

  Turning, Krion saw the snakekin jerk himself to a halt, transferring all his momentum to a sharp, ruthless kick aimed directly at the Leporiorso. The force of the blow sent her flying backward, her bance lost as she smmed into the metal railing, causing it to break into pieces around her.

  “Hatsune!” Krion shouted, reag for her, but it was too te. He was too slow.

  Hatsune’s eyes widened in shock as she fell, her body disappearing over the edge and into the Dungeon below. Her scream echoed up out of the darkness of the abyss she desded into, her small form swallowed by the darkness below.

  Krion raised his fists, cursing the fact he had left his greatsword behind befoing to css. “You didn’t have to do that,” he said, voice trembling with fury. “She wasn’t even part of this.”

  Hecthed, looking away as if he couldn’t meet Krion’s acg gaze. “It wasn’t personal,” he said quietly. “You should know how this works, Krion. She’s boo you, which makes her part of the game whether you like it or not.”

  “This isn’t a game, Hector. This is betrayal. You will regret this.”

  Hector wihe regret in his expression deepening. “I regret a lot of things,” he admitted, voice heavy. “But doing what I must to save my House, my family, isn’t one of them.”

  Krion’s rage fred. “Even if it mearaying someone who might’ve stood beside you? Someone who might have sidered you a friend?”

  Heet his gaze at st, his expression hardening. “Yes,” he said simply. “Because survival isn’t pretty. My family is on the brink of ruin, Krion. Chadwick promised Bright’s support—resources, alliances, prote. Things you and your House ’t provide right now. Without it, my House will fall. My siblings will lose their futures. My parents… everything they’ve worked for will be gone. I ’t let that happen.”

  “And all they required was for you to py this game?” Krion spat in anger.

  Guilt flickered across Hector’s face for a moment before settling into resolve once more. “I don’t expect you to uand,” he said. “You may follow such ideals. But I don’t have that luxury. This is my reality, Krion.”

  The door that served as the entrao the Dungeon waiting area creaked open behior, and Krion’s stomach dropped as a group of first-year ss and their bodyguards stepped ihe metallig of their boots against stone reverberating through the room.

  One of the ss, a wiry human woman with calg eyes, smirked as she led the group up behior. “Looks like the mighty Bcksword is about to take a fall,” she sneered.

  Behind her, a burly human man with arapped to his back chuckled darkly. “Heard that ss of House Bcksword were supposed to be tough. Guess we’ll see if the stories are true.”

  Hector raised a hand, and the others relutly quieted. His gaze softened slightly as he looked at Krion, but the determination in his eyes didn’t waver. “You don’t deserve this,” he said. “But her do I. Aher does my family.”

  Krion’s jaw ched, his mind rag as he sed the room. Hatsune was gone, swallowed by the Dungeon. He didn’t know if she’d survived the fall—or what might already be hunting her in the darkness below. His chest ached with the weight of his helplessness.

  “You’re making a mistake, Hector,” Krion said, desperately trying o time. “Chadwick doesn’t care about your House. When you’re done here, he’ll throw you away like you’re throwing me down into the Dungeon.”

  Hector flinched but refused to look away. “Maybe,” he admitted. “But if there’s even a ce he’ll keep his word, I have to take it.”

  “You’re a fool.”

  “Maybe,” Hector repeated. He gestured to the hole ial railing. “Now, Krion, you have a choice. You jump in yourself and spare us all the trouble, or we throw you in.”

  The other ss behior exged eager gheir bodyguards stepping forward with ons drawn. The room felt smaller, the air heavier, as the tension mounted.

  Krio his gaze, unfling. “You’ll regret this, Hector. I promise you that.”

  Without hesitation, Krion turned and hurled himself over the edge.

  Down into the Dungeon.

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