Year 6075, September 15th — Minerva Academy, Kosala
"Hey, Vivek, watch out!"
Before Vivek could react, another student slammed into him at full tilt. Neither had time to change direction, and both tumbled onto the hard pavement in a chaotic heap.
Vivek:- What the hell, Ansh?!. What's your problem? We collide so often you'd think we were magnetized!
Ansh scrambled to his feet immediately, shaking his head to clear the sting of the impact. He quickly offered a hand to help Vivek up.
Vivek:- Are you going to explain yourself, or just stand there like an idiot? And how about an apology? What's the massive hurry, anyway?
Ansh:- First off, I'm sorry! And Second, they're in danger! The first-year class is in serious trouble! The practice dungeon they entered snapped shut—it was a fake dungeon! It was registered as a Class D-C, but now that it's unmasked its true identity, it's a Class B-A threat!
Vivek gasped, his face draining of color.
"What?!"
"Why the hell are you wasting time with me then?! Hurry up and inform the faculty and the Principal!"
Deep within the forests of Kosala stood a massive, jagged mountain, rising to the height of two giant war elephants. Set directly into its base was a heavy stone portal glowing with a ominous red hue—a sign that the entrance was sealed. Next to the gate, an official signpost displayed a newly updated rank: Class A.
Outside, academy scouts were already trying to maintain a perimeter, shouting orders to arriving students:
"Fall back! Do not wander off on your own! It’s a Fake dungeon!"
Meanwhile, inside the mountain lay a isolated sub-dimension. A faculty instructor was struggling desperately to keep a group of terrified first-years from devolving into total panic.
Rudra:- What is a 'fake dungeon'?
He asked, leaning casually against his weapon despite the tension in the air. Then there instructor came to explain him.
Shuresh:- Kid, a fake dungeon is a living anomaly It disguises its rank and energy signature to lure in weak prey—like us. Once enough victims enter, it reveals its true shape and locks the doors to harvest their life force.
Sumit:- That's right, Normal dungeons are just static mana structures born from environmental waste energy. But a fake one—
Rudra:- Oh, please be quiet, I didn't actually ask for a lecture.
Sumit:- just Shut up and take the knowledge!
Shuresh:- Relax students, Fake dungeons operate on their own dimensional rules. In a very real sense, the dungeon itself is alive… just like the monsters inside.
Hiss… Crack!
An eerie, scraping noise echoed from the hollow fissures in the cavern walls. Suddenly—BOOM!
A series of mini-acidic explosions detonated across the stone face. Thick plumes of noxious green poison gas and blinding dust burst into the cavern. The fissures split wide open, and sleek, scaly heads began sliding out from the dark.
Shuresh:- Cover your faces!, Coat your bodies in a protective layer of life force! The gas is coming from C-Rank Mountain Serpents!
There were thirty students in the trial group. A handful of the more talented cadets immediately flared their life force, forming defensive barriers around themselves. But many were fresh recruits—some hadn't even unlocked their aura yet, while others lacked the control to manifest a proper shell.
Within seconds, poison gas blanketed the chamber as dozens of serpents slithered out from every nook and cranny.
"Snakes! Look out!"
"Run! They're C-Rank Mountain Serpents!"
"Help me! I can't breathe!"
"My aura shield is breaking!"
"Run for your lives!"
Panic erupted into sheer chaos. Despair gripped the first-years as the room turned into a death trap.
Shuresh:- Stand behind me!
He stepped to the front, unleashing a massive, translucent dome of force that expanded to cover the defenseless students.
Right behind him, a talented student named Yufi stepped forward, his hands glowing with brilliant emerald light. he cast high-level purification magic, cleansing the localized air and applying emergency healing to those choking on the venomous fumes.
Meanwhile, Rudra's eyes flashed red. Using his blood magic, he condensed crimson energy into a pair of razor-sharp twin daggers. He surged forward in a blur, effortlessly dicing five striking serpents in a single fluid motion.
Rudra:- Easy money.
Sumit:- Stop showing off and wipe them out!
Rudra licked his lips, but he didn't slow down. Within a minute, he had slaughtered fifteen serpents, his tight life-force barrier cleanly deflecting their acid spray. Five minutes later, all thirty Mountain Serpents were lying in pieces on the cave floor.
Rudra:- Uff… manual labor really isn't meant for a lazy guy like me, By the way… where’s Shekhar?
With the poison gas fully purified by Yufi, Shuresh lowered his massive energy shield.
Yufi looked around, frowning.
"I don't know. I haven't seen him since the cave locked down."
Shuresh:- Wait… what?!
He quickly counted heads and realized that not only was Shekhar missing, but a few other stragglers were gone too. He glanced back toward the sealed entrance, then turned his gaze deeper into the abyss—toward the inner sanctum where the Dungeon Boss resided.
Shuresh:- We have to move, now! We need to find those missing kids and kill the boss. In a fake dungeon, we can't just teleport out at will. The boss's death is our only key out of here!"
BOOOOM!
A violent explosion shook the cavern, sending dust cascading from the ceiling. A second shockwave followed immediately after, rattling their teeth.
Terrified but resolute, Shuresh and the students sprinted toward the origin of the vibrations. Every step took them deeper down the winding, jagged path toward the boss chamber.
As they rounded the final corner leading to the primary cavern, Shuresh braced himself for a horde of elite guardians. But as he peeked around the stone wall, his jaw went slack. The path behind them had been completely empty for a reason.
'something had already cleared the way.'
The boss chamber before them was vast, but it had been transformed into an otherworldly wasteland.
Prismatic black ice covered every inch of the floor and walls like shimmering obsidian. Flakes of dark snow fluttered through the freezing air. At the center of this frozen domain stood a solitary figure, holding a majestic black sword like a ice and mix of clear crystal that hummed with frigid, dark icy energy.
It was Shekhar.
Before anyone could call out his name, Shekhar moved. In a flash of terrifying speed, he grabbed the massive leg of an elite Silver Wolf—the dungeon's primary boss who is frozen with black ice. With a single, effortless twist of his arm, he hoisted the giant beast into the air and hurled it upward.
CRASH!
The Silver Wolf slammed violently into the high ceiling, instantly flash-freezing upon impact before shattering into thousands of dark, crystalline ice shards that rained down around Shekhar like falling stars.
Source: r/u/Recent-Victory2445 · by /u/Recent-Victory2445