Chapter 75 - Early in the Morning
Vael stepped back from the ancient mahogany desk, his boots making no sound against the polished stone floor.
He reached into his inner uniform pocket, pulled out his mobile device, and adjusted the lighting settings to ensure every detail on the open ledger was captured clearly.
CLICK—
The quiet shutter sound echoed softly through the silent archive.
Vael took several high-resolution photos of the fresh ink entries, focusing specifically on the text reading [Experimental Mana Channeling: Subject Batch C-12] and the surrounding administrative logs. He then recorded a quick, continuous video sweep of the entire hidden chamber, capturing the ancient bookcases, the glowing crystal orb, and the specific structural layout of the room.
Once the digital evidence was securely saved and backed up, Vael stepped back to the stone desk. He carefully checked the position of the open ledger, ensuring it sat at the exact same angle as when he had first found it. He dusted off his own footprints near the desk, wiping away any trace of his presence.
Satisfied that the room looked completely untouched, Vael turned on his heel and exited the archive. He pulled the silver plaque from the lock, listening as the heavy stone door slid shut.
Thud-
He slipped through the narrow crevice behind the stalagmites, stepping back into the damp cavern tunnels of the first floor.
Instead of rushing toward the exit, Vael deliberately slowed his pace. He maintained his normal, relaxed composure as he walked down the main path, occasionally stopping to pick up a low-tier monster drop or dust off his uniform sleeves.
When he finally got out of the dungeon, he offered a polite, casual nod to the security guards on duty.
"Finishing up for the night, Kid?"
The guard on duty asked, glancing up from the ledger.
"Yes, sir. Just wrapped up some extra footwork drills,"
Vael replied smoothly, keeping his tone light and completely unbothered.
"Good work. Get some rest,"
The guard said, stamping his exit pass.
Vael walked out of the building into the cool night air, heading straight back to his dormitory room.
*****
Inside his private room, Vael locked the door behind him and immediately pulled out a blank notebook.
He sat at his desk, transferring the recorded photos to a secure, encrypted storage drive before laying out a detailed map of the academy’s internal administration on paper.
’Whoever is running these experiments isn’t just a rogue cultist,’
Vael thought to himself, staring at the glowing screen of his phone.
’They have high-level administrative access, the ability to bypass dungeon security networks, and the resources to plant dark mana catalysts directly into students without raising immediate alarms.’
He reviewed his game memory of the overarching narrative.
In the original game storyline, the corrupted student incident was treated as an isolated tragedy caused by Jodan succumbing to demon temptations. The game never revealed the identity of the hidden handler during the early Chapters, forcing the player to deal with sudden, unscripted monster outbreaks throughout the school year.
However, Vael knew two crucial facts for certain: Headmaster Sebastian Desmond and Professor Ulfar were completely innocent.
In every branch of the original game, both faculty members fought on the front lines to protect the student body, eventually sacrificing significant power during the grand war against the demon faction in the later part of the gane story.
’If I bring this directly to them without solid proof, it might look like a wild conspiracy theory,’
Vael reasoned, tapping his pen against the desk.
’I need to verify how the traitor is hiding that chamber from the official dungeon patrols before I hand over the evidence.’
... ... ...
... ... ...
... ... ..
Vael couldn’t sleep all night because of what he had learned, so he passed time by swinging his sword and going over his plans again and again.
FWOOOSH-!
He stood in the center of his dimly lit room, executing precise dual-wielding thrusts with [Frost] and his silver dagger. He repeated the motions hundreds of times, letting the familiar physical rhythm calm his overactive mind while refining his strategy step by step.
As the first faint light of dawn began to bleed through the window blinds, Vael put his weapons away, took an early bath, and ate a quick breakfast.
Then as soon as the sun peeked over, he left the dorm.
*****
He walked across the quiet, foggy campus grounds, heading straight back to the facility where the dungeons are being managed.
He stepped into the building, flashing his silver plaque at the staff member on duty.
The staff guarding the place didn’t find it weird that someone was going to enter the dungeon this early in the morning. After all, there are a lot of people entering and exiting the dungeon at random times, some senior students even stay in dungeons for days!
"Early start today, Student?"
The guard commented, approvingly scanning his pass.
"Just getting a few quick rounds in before morning lectures."
Vael answered with a small smile before stepping through the portal gate.
... ... ...
SWOOSH~
The spatial light flashed, depositing Vael back onto the first floor of the evaluation dungeon.
"I need to hurry."
Vael headed straight to the secret area on the first floor once again, and this time, instead of going in—he stood still and focused around him.
He stopped a few paces away from the stalagmite crevice, closing his eyes and taking a deep, controlled breath.
He let his massive mana pool extend everywhere in the chamber!
SWAAAAAHHHH~!!!
A dense, invisible pressure of raw mana radiated outward from Vael’s core, expanding in wide, concentric waves that blanketed the entire cavern section.
And after doing so, he was able to confirm that the whole chamber was covered in a weird energy!
"...?!"
His expanded aura hit an invisible wall right at the perimeter of the rock formation. His mana couldn’t come out of the chamber properly, and it was extremely hard detecting what was happening in the outer corridors.
Vael suspected that the whole chamber was being protected, or hidden by an artifact. After all, there are a lot of staff members patrolling the dungeon 24/7.
So unless all of them were in cahoots with the traitor, which was practically impossible given the academy’s strict vetting process, then a concealment artifact hiding the spatial signature of the archive was the most plausible explanation!
The only reason Vael had found the secret area in the first place two days ago was because of his thick mana, and by pure chance!
He concentrated his extended mana, forming a sharp, focused point at the tip of his aura, and using it... He pushed straight through the barrier covering the chamber!
CRACKLE—
A faint, high-frequency distortion rippled through the air as Vael’s dense frost mana forced its way through the invisible magic veil.
And after that, he was able to sense what was happening outside!
He could feel the distant mana signatures of two official academy patrol guards walking down the main tunnel fifty meters away, completely oblivious to the hidden chamber behind the rocks.
Vael’s mana was so thick and abundant that it was breaking through the barrier!
The concealment field was designed to mask subtle spatial anomalies from standard detection spells, but it couldn’t filter out the sheer volume of Vael’s dense, high-purity core.
Anyway, Vael wasted no time after confirming everything that he needed.
"It’s time to go. I need to tell them this."
He retracted his mana back into his core, turned on his heel, and immediately left the dungeon, heading straight toward the central administrative building on the surface.
*****
As he walked briskly across the main courtyard toward the headmaster’s tower, he spotted a broad, towering figure jogging along the perimeter path in a simple training shirt.
It was Professor Ulfar.
Vael altered his course, quickening his pace to intercept the instructor.
"Professor Ulfar!"
Vael called out politely, stopping a few feet away.
Professor Ulfar halted his jog, wiping sweat from his brow as he looked down at the freshman.
"Frostguard?"
Ulfar blinked, noticing the intense, unwavering focus in Vael’s eyes.
"What are you doing up so early? You look like you haven’t slept a wink."
"Professor, please come with me to the headmaster’s office,"
Vael said, his voice dropping into a low, deadly serious tone.
"I have found critical evidence regarding the incident on Ring 12 and the dark mana source."
"What?"
Professor Ulfar was in his morning routine of light training, but seeing how serious Vael’s face was...
"..."
He put everything down and nodded his head.
"Lead the way."
Ulfar stated firmly, his relaxed expression vanishing instantly into the sharp glare of a veteran battle hero.
The two of them moved quickly through the administrative corridors, taking the private elevator straight up to the top floor.
They arrived at the headmaster’s office not long, and Ulfar pushed the heavy double doors open without knocking.
CREAAAK-!
"Huh?"
Headmaster Sebastian was sitting behind his mahogany desk, reviewing financial reports with a warm cup of tea in hand. He raised his eyebrows in surprise to see them enter at such an hour.
"Ulfar? Vael?"
Sebastian asked, setting his teacup down on its saucer.
"Is something wrong?"
Professor Ulfar stepped up first, standing beside Vael with his arms crossed.
"Headmaster, Frostguard brought me here."
Ulfar stated gravely.
"He says he has discovered something vital regarding the Jodan incident."
Then he declared that.
Headmaster Sebastian immediately frowned and his face turned serious after hearing that.
"Are you sure the information is serious? You’re not inventing random things to gain recognition, right? Vael?"
He asked looking at Vael with a doubtful gaze.
But before Vael could even say anything--
"Frostguard is not that kind of student, you know this too, Headmaster. You already met him a couple of times before, he’s not the type of person to lie just to get recognized."
Professor Ulfar stepped up and declared that.
"Hmm... right."
The headmaster agreed to his words as well.
And so, the two of them went silent, letting Vael have all of their attention.
And just then Vael started telling them what he had discovered.
Vael took a step forward, resting his hand on his satchel.
"Headmaster, Professor..."
Vael began, his voice calm, clear, and steady.