Chapter 31: The Dungeon Squad Announcement
The Grand Assembly Atrium was packed before the first morning bell.
Hundreds of second-year mages and knights crowded around the central brass bulletin board. The enchanted surface hummed with faint blue light as updated squad assignments materialized line by line across the polished metal. Cold morning air drifted through the tall arched windows of the main hall, carrying the smell of wet stone and old parchment.
I stood near a stone pillar at the back of the crowd, hands in my pockets.
The atmosphere was loud with nervous energy. Everyone knew what Floor Twelve meant. The Enigma Dungeon wasn’t a standard training ground. It was an ancient continental rift where monster waves spawned from unmapped depths.
"Squad Four is posted," someone near the front shouted.
"Look at Squad Two!" another voice called out. "They put the prince on Squad Two!"
I didn’t need to push through the crowd to read the board. My enhanced vision picked out the glowing blue runes from twenty paces back.
EXPEDITION COMBAT SQUAD TWO — FLOOR TWELVE
1. Prince Lucien Ardent (Squad Leader — 3rd Ascension Peak)
2. Lady Celestia Raine (Rear Ward Elementalist — 3rd Ascension)
3. Lady Elara Snowveil (Vanguard Specialist — 3rd Ascension Peak)
4. Lord Caelum Frostford (Vanguard Knight — 3rd Ascension)
5. Leo Vance (Support & Warding Specialist — 2nd Ascension)
My eyes stayed on the fifth line.
Leo Vance.
There it was. Written in glowing blue mana for the entire academy to see.
In the original novel plot, this exact squad arrangement was the trap that killed old Leo. Prince Lucien was the hero of the empire. Caelum was the loyal knight. Celestia and Elara were the high-noble heroines. And old Leo had been the useless baron’s son jammed into their squad through political pressure, only to be framed when a warding stone cracked on Floor Twelve.
I focused on the heat under my ribs.
The purified residual core sitting at the Fourth Ascension threshold thrummed quietly against my sternum.
I was no longer the weak, incompetent bully from the original story. But standing on that roster next to Lucien, Caelum, Elara, and Celestia inside a volatile dungeon floor meant every move I made would be watched under a microscope.
---
A sudden wave of quiet swept through the left side of the atrium.
The crowd parted automatically. Students bowed their heads or stepped back to give space as a tall figure walked toward the board.
Caelum Frostford.
He wore his formal silver-trimmed knight uniform, but his posture wasn’t right. His usual confident stride was stiff. His face was pale, almost grey in the morning light. He stared at the bulletin board without seeing it.
Whispers broke out in low, sharp bursts among the noble groups near the fountain.
"Did you hear?"
"The formal notice reached the High Council yesterday."
"House Snowveil cancelled the marriage arrangement. Lady Elara signed the break herself."
"Without consulting House Frostford?"
"She didn’t even meet him in person. Sent the formal seal by messenger."
I kept my eyes on Caelum.
His jaw was clenched so tight the muscle twitched under his skin. His hand rested on the pommel of his longsword, fingers gripping the leather wrap until his knuckles turned white. He looked like a man who had been struck in the dark without warning.
For two years, everyone in the academy had assumed Caelum and Elara would wed upon graduation. A perfect noble match. House Snowveil’s Ice bloodline paired with House Frostford’s martial standing.
Now it was over. Broken cleanly by Elara’s own hand.
Caelum took three slow steps closer to the board. His eyes tracked down to Squad Two’s line. He saw his name written directly under Elara’s.
He didn’t move for a long time.
---
Footsteps sounded from the upper balcony stairs.
Lady Elara Snowveil walked down into the atrium, flanked by two lower-noble attendants. Her long white hair was tied back in her flawless Rank 1 style. Her dark wool blazer was buttoned tight to her throat. She moved with absolute poise, her head held high, her golden eyes fixed straight ahead as if the whispers filling the hall didn’t exist.
She walked right past Caelum.
She didn’t glance at him. She didn’t slow down. She passed within three feet of his shoulder as if he were nothing more than a stone pillar in the hallway.
Caelum turned his head slowly as she passed.
"Elara," he said.
His voice was low, rough, and strained. Not loud enough for the whole hall, but clear enough for everyone nearby to hear.
Elara stopped. She didn’t turn around. She stood with her back to him, her posture cold and straight as an ice spire.
"The atrium is not the place for personal talk, Lord Caelum," she said. Her voice was smooth, crisp, and devoid of any warmth. "The squad rosters are official. We have expedition duties to prepare for."
"You broke the contract," Caelum whispered, his voice trembling slightly under the forced restraint. "Our fathers signed that agreement when we were twelve. You didn’t even give a reason."
Elara turned her head just enough for her side profile to catch the morning light. Her golden eyes were dead flat.
"The reason was included in the official document sent to your father," she answered calmly. "House Snowveil requires a partner whose path matches our future. Your path no longer does."
A sharp collective gasp rose from the surrounding noble students.
That was a brutal public rejection. In noble terms, she had just declared Caelum incompetent to walk beside her.
Caelum’s face drained of what little color it had left. He took half a step forward, his hand tightening further on his sword hilt.
"Elara, please—"
"We are squad members for the Floor Twelve expedition," she interrupted, her tone cutting through his words like a blade. "Nothing more. Maintain your composure, Lord Caelum. People are watching."
She turned and walked away toward the West Wing, her attendants following two paces behind.
Caelum stood frozen in the middle of the crowded hall. He looked down at the flagstones, his shoulders shaking slightly under his heavy silver cloak.
No one spoke. Even the gossip among the minor nobles died out into awkward silence.
I watched Elara’s retreating back as she rounded the corner.
Underneath that cold, perfect Duke’s daughter performance, I knew what was really happening. Only two nights ago, she had been on her knees in my dorm room, her white hair soaked in sweat, begging me to force her and fill her while sticky fluid ran down her thighs.
She had broken her engagement with Caelum not because of noble politics, but because her body could no longer stomach the thought of being touched by a man who couldn’t break her.
---
A soft rustle of fabric came from the right side of the pillar.
Celestia Raine walked into the atrium, accompanied by Prince Lucien.
Lucien was smiling his easy, confident public smile. He walked with one arm slightly raised near Celestia’s waist—close enough to show ownership to the crowd, but careful not to touch her skin directly in public.
"It’s a solid roster," Lucien was saying to her in a clear, pleasant voice. "With Elara on vanguard and myself leading the core line, the rear ward will be completely secure."
Celestia nodded politely. "Yes, Lucien."
She wore her pastel-blue hair in a silver clip today. Her face was calm, but her eyes were restless. She glanced at the bulletin board, then looked away quickly.
Then her eyes found me standing near the pillar.
Our gaze locked for one brief second.
Her cheeks flushed soft pink instantly. Her breath caught in her throat, her lips parting slightly before she forced herself to look straight ahead at Lucien. Her fingers tightened on the strap of her leather bag until the material creaked.
Lucien didn’t notice. He was already waving to a group of third-year knights near the doorway.
"We’ll hold our first squad briefing tomorrow afternoon in Training Hall Three," Lucien announced to the room, his voice carrying easily over the crowd. "We will ensure our coordination is perfect before we descend to Floor Twelve."
He looked over at Caelum, who was still standing pale and silent by the board.
"Caelum," Lucien said, his tone warm and supportive. "Come with us. We should review the vanguard defense routes."
Caelum hesitated for a moment, then nodded stiffly. He forced his shoulders back, put on a rigid, artificial smile, and fell in line behind the prince.
Lucien led them out of the atrium toward the high-noble wing. Celestia walked half a pace behind him. As she passed my pillar, her eyes flicked toward me one last time—a dark, helpless look filled with silent tension.
I stayed standing against the stone pillar until the atrium began to empty out.
I looked back at the glowing blue roster on the brass board.
1. Prince Lucien Ardent
2. Lady Celestia Raine
3. Lady Elara Snowveil
4. Lord Caelum Frostford
5. Leo Vance
All five of us. Locked together on the same squad.
Two heroines whose bodies had already surrendered to me in secret. One broken knight whose fiancée I had stolen. One proud prince who believed he controlled everything.
And two weeks until we descended into the dark of Floor Twelve, where the Black Sun seal was waiting.
I turned and walked away into the morning mist.