"Shit. It's a trap."
The curse slipped from Draven's lips as the last escape route vanished behind a roaring wall of fire.
From the academy's main hall, hundreds of students gasped in unison. Some lurched forward from their seats, others covered their mouths, and a few instinctively clenched their fists as if they were the ones standing inside the inferno.
On-screen, the square chamber had transformed into a blazing furnace. Fire poured endlessly from newly opened vents in the walls, flooding the enclosed space with suffocating heat. The air shimmered violently, warping visibility, while sparks and embers swirled like living creatures searching for prey.
The raiding team vanished behind the curtain of flames.
Sheliya slammed her palm against the table, eyes narrowed in sharp irritation.
"That's a high-grade incineration trap," she muttered. "Built to burn intruders alive while cutting off all escape routes. Either you endure until it runs out of fuel… or you destroy the gas supply. But the problem is, there's no guarantee it will stop."
Silas leaned forward, brows furrowed. 'If the dungeon keeps feeding it mana, the trap could last indefinitely.'
Inside the dungeon, Draven clenched his jaw as heat battered the barrier shielding the team. The magical shield rippled violently, its surface glowing under the intense pressure of the flames.
"Mages," he barked, voice sharp but controlled, "maintain the barrier. Don't let it weaken, even for a second."
All mages responded instantly, channeling mana into the defensive field. Sweat already beaded down their foreheads as the oppressive temperature climbed by the second.
Draven cut off his own mana supply from the barrier.
"I'll clear our surroundings."
He spun his wand overhead, rotating it with flawless control. The chaotic flames suddenly twisted, spiraling unnaturally as if seized by an invisible hand. Fire bent and folded into violent vortexes, pulled away from the barrier and forced outward.
Wind pressure surged.
The raging inferno distorted, compressed, and pushed back, forming a clearing of breathable air around the raiders.
The watching students erupted.
"He's manipulating fire while inside a sealed barrier? That's insane!"
"Isn't that impossible?"
"Not for high-ranking mages," another replied. "He's not overpowering the fire, he's redirecting airflow to force it away. That's precision control."
Aren crossed his arms, a faint smirk forming.
'Perfect judgment. Instead of wasting mana countering the element, he controlled the environment itself. Efficient. Minimal loss. Maximum effect.'
The flames thinned enough to reveal the chamber.
Dozens of narrow gas vents lined the walls.
Without hesitation, Draven flicked his wand in a wide, horizontal sweep.
CRACK.. BOOM!
The vents collapsed simultaneously. The flow of fire choked off, sputtered, then vanished in seconds.
The chamber plunged into smoky silence.
Cheers erupted throughout the academy hall.
"That speed…!"
"That accuracy!"
"He crushed all of them at once!"
But among the elite spectators, reactions were restrained.
Rowan scoffed quietly. 'He should be able to handle that much.'
Morevan's gaze remained cold. 'Bare minimum for someone at his level.'
Narasha tapped her knee anxiously, her eyes fixed on the screen. Even though she pretended not to care, she couldn't stop herself from watching closely, waiting for Ashan's arrival.
"…Is Ashan seriously not showing up yet?"
Ashan's shadow clone, seated beside her, replied calmly.
"Relax. My real body will enter… at the right time."
Inside the dungeon, the raiding team pressed onward.
The corridor narrowed, forcing Draven to reshape the barrier around them as jagged rock formations scraped dangerously close to their shoulders.
A dim glow appeared ahead.
"The hallway is ending," one raider muttered. "Second zone?"
"Stay alert," Draven warned.
They stepped into a massive semicircular chamber.
Heat washed over them like a living breath.
Magma pulsed behind cracked, glowing walls, oozing in slow, molten veins. The ground was uneven, scorched black, and fractured with faintly glowing fissures. The air felt thick, heavy, burning with every inhale.
Five enormous tomb-like structures stood half-buried in hardened lava around the perimeter of the chamber.
Each tomb radiated ominous mana.
"Professor," Eirena asked quietly, hand resting near her weapon, "what is this place?"
Sisiliya scanned the area, expression tense.
"A killing field. A ritual arena. Or a core defense zone. We won't know until we trigger it."
Draven stepped forward.
Slam.
A massive iron wall crashed shut behind them, sealing their only exit.
"We're trapped. Again," Eirena muttered dryly.
Suddenly, cracks spread across the tombs.
Molten slabs fell away.
Then something colossal began to rise.
"They're coming," Sisiliya whispered.
The structures ruptured completely as towering magma golems emerged, bodies forged from molten stone and burning rock. Lava coursed through visible cracks in their forms like glowing blood. Every step they took sent tremors through the chamber.
ROOOOAAARR!
The roar shook the dungeon violently. Loose magma shards rained down from above like fiery meteors.
Tankers reacted instantly, slamming their shields and abilities into place to block the barrage.
Silas smiled grimly while watching.
'Five high-mass elemental constructs. Splitting the team is mandatory. If they focus on one, the others will overrun them.'
Draven dropped the barrier.
"Formation B!" Sisiliya commanded.
"Mages—water and liquid-based spells only!" Draven shouted.
"Tankers—intercept charges!"
"Fighters, assassins, psychics—flank and pressure!"
The golems charged.
Their movements were heavy but terrifyingly fast, molten limbs crashing into the ground and launching shockwaves that cracked stone and shattered footing.
Tankers smashed their weapons down, fracturing terrain to slow the advance.
Under cover, mages unleashed torrents of water, compressed liquid bullets, and freezing mist.
Steam exploded into the air as magma hardened and crumbled off the golems' bodies.
"Yes!" Eirena smirked. "We're locking them down!"
But then,
BOOM!
Two golems detonated violently, scattering molten fragments like shrapnel. Shields flared as tankers barely blocked the eruption. Several raiders screamed as burning debris pierced armor and scorched flesh.
Sisiliya sprinted forward, casting healing spells even as sweat soaked her hair.
Then something unnatural happened.
The molten fragments trembled.
Pulled.
Magnetized.
They ripped themselves across the battlefield, snapping back toward exposed glowing cores.
"No…" Sisiliya's eyes widened.
The golems rebuilt themselves mid-battle.
Their new forms burned hotter. Denser. Faster.
"They're regenerating!" she shouted. "Target the cores!"
Heat surged.
Magma walls bubbled violently. The dungeon itself seemed to react, pulsing, breathing, feeding power into the constructs.
"The dungeon is supporting them," Draven realized grimly. "It's channeling mana into the golems."
"Tankers—brace harder!"
"Fighters—pin them down!"
"Mages—don't stop water flow!"
Each shattered limb reformed stronger than before.
Molten fists slammed into the floor, cracking it open and sending lava geysers upward. Assassins barely leapt away as magma splashed across the battlefield.
"This is insane!" Eirena snapped, sweat rolling down her face. "The floor is turning against us!"
Steam thickened, choking the air.
A mage collapsed coughing. "I… I can't breathe…"
Students watching fell silent.
No cheering now.
Only tension.
Aren clenched his fists, jaw tight.
'This is beyond standard A-rank difficulty. Those constructs are evolving.'
Ashan's shadow clone narrowed his eyes.
'Main body… where are you?'