The roar echoed through the dungeon chamber.
Dust drifted from the ceiling.
The ground trembled beneath their feet.
Avdhoot's fire sphere flickered above his palm, throwing shifting orange light across the cavern.
The tunnel had opened into a vast underground chamber.
Jagged stone pillars rose from the floor like the ribs of some ancient creature. Strange blue fungi clung to the walls, their faint glow barely illuminating the darkness beyond.
Water dripped somewhere in the distance.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
Priya rolled her shoulders.
Flames danced around her gauntlets.
"Well…"
She stared into the darkness.
"Whatever made that noise is definitely not small."
Raivan's frost sword released a thin mist.
"Stay alert."
Manaswini crouched near the edge of the chamber.
Her fingers hovered over a deep groove in the stone.
"These aren't ordinary scratches."
Avdhoot looked down.
The marks were enormous.
Three parallel grooves had carved through the stone floor.
"They're claw marks."
Manaswini nodded.
"Fresh ones."
Avdhoot's eyes narrowed.
"So it lives here."
Another roar answered him.
Closer.
The blue fungi trembled against the cavern walls.
Something shifted behind the stone pillars.
Then came the sound of heavy footsteps.
THUMP.
THUMP.
THUMP.
Priya's grin returned.
"Finally."
Raivan raised his sword.
"Don't rush."
Priya glanced at him.
"I wasn't going to."
She paused.
Then added—
"Probably."
Before Raivan could respond, something massive moved behind the nearest pillar.
A shadow emerged.
Slowly.
First came its claws.
Then its head.
Then the full creature stepped into the dim blue light.
The four students went silent.
It was enormous.
A Stoneback Ogre Lizard.
Nearly four meters long.
Its thick reptilian body was covered in overlapping plates of stone-like armour. Each plate was irregular and jagged, forming a natural shield over its back, shoulders, and flanks.
Its forelimbs ended in claws almost as long as short swords.
A heavy tail dragged behind it, crushing loose rocks beneath its weight.
Two crimson eyes fixed upon the students.
The creature inhaled.
Its throat expanded.
Then—
ROOOOOOAR!
The entire chamber shook.
Loose stones fell from the ceiling.
Manaswini's expression tightened.
"Stoneback Ogre Lizard."
Raivan glanced at her.
"Tier?"
"At least Tier Two."
She hesitated.
"Possibly approaching Tier Three."
Priya's smile disappeared.
"That's considerably less fun."
Avdhoot tightened his grip around his dagger.
The creature lowered its body.
Its claws dug into the stone.
Raivan's voice became sharp.
"Formation."
They moved.
Priya forward.
Raivan slightly to the right.
Manaswini behind them.
Avdhoot between the front and rear lines.
The creature charged.
THUMP.
THUMP.
THUMP.
Each step shook the chamber.
Priya moved first.
Flames erupted around her gauntlets.
She accelerated.
"Let's see how hard that armour really is!"
Her fist slammed into its side.
BOOM!
The impact echoed through the cavern.
The creature shifted barely half a step.
Priya stared.
"…That is not encouraging."
The Stoneback Ogre Lizard swung its tail.
WHOOOOSH!
Priya ducked.
The tail smashed into the stone behind her.
CRACK!
A section of the floor fractured.
Raivan attacked immediately.
His frost blade swept across the creature's flank.
Cold mana spread over the armour.
A layer of ice formed.
For a moment, the creature slowed.
Then—
CRACK!
The ice shattered.
Raivan's eyes narrowed.
"The armour is resisting direct elemental attacks."
"Then stop hitting the armour!" Avdhoot shouted.
The creature charged again.
Manaswini raised her staff.
"Anchor."
A faint inscription appeared beneath the creature's feet.
"Bind."
Mana surged through the circle.
Stone erupted from the floor.
Three pillars locked around the creature's legs.
The beast struggled.
For several seconds—
It was trapped.
Avdhoot's eyes sharpened.
"Now!"
Priya rushed forward.
Raivan followed.
Priya's flames hammered against the creature's head.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Raivan struck at its legs, targeting the joints between the stone plates.
Avdhoot moved beneath its body.
Low.
Fast.
Controlled.
His eyes searched.
The armour wasn't completely seamless.
Every movement exposed tiny gaps between the plates.
Shoulder.
Elbow.
Knee.
Abdomen.
He watched the creature twist.
The plates shifted.
There.
A narrow gap beneath the lower rib section.
Avdhoot's expression changed.
"Found it."
He stepped in.
The dagger drove forward.
STAB!
The blade slipped between two plates.
The creature screamed.
Its entire body convulsed.
The stone bindings shattered.
Avdhoot barely escaped before a claw ripped through the space where he had been standing.
He rolled across the floor.
The creature turned toward him.
Its crimson eyes burned with fury.
Priya shouted.
"Avdhoot!"
"I'm fine!"
The creature charged.
Avdhoot sprinted sideways.
The monster's jaws snapped shut inches from his shoulder.
He felt the rush of air against his face.
Too close.
He continued moving.
Don't fight its strength.
Study its movement.
The creature turned.
Its weight shifted heavily toward its front leg.
Its rear leg dragged slightly.
Injured?
No.
The frost.
Raivan had frozen the joint earlier.
"Raivan!"
The Frost Serpent looked toward him.
"Right rear leg!"
Raivan understood instantly.
He changed direction.
His blade flashed.
Frost condensed along its edge.
"Frost Sever."
The strike hit the weakened joint.
CRACK!
One of the armour plates broke.
The creature stumbled.
Priya didn't hesitate.
She drove both flaming fists into the exposed section.
BOOM!
The armour shattered.
The creature roared.
But it remained standing.
Manaswini raised her staff.
"Move!"
Everyone scattered.
A massive claw slammed down.
CRASH!
The impact sent a shockwave across the chamber.
Manaswini stumbled.
Avdhoot caught her arm before she fell.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome."
She looked toward the creature.
Then toward the broken armour.
Her eyes narrowed.
"The exposed tissue is still protected by condensed mana."
Avdhoot nodded.
"So we have to break through that too."
Manaswini's gaze moved rapidly across the chamber.
"Not necessarily."
She pointed toward the ground.
"The stone beneath it is unstable."
Avdhoot followed her gaze.
Several cracks ran beneath the creature's feet.
An idea formed.
"Can you make it stand there?"
"With enough time."
Priya grinned.
"Then I'll give you time."
She charged.
The Stoneback Ogre Lizard roared and turned toward her.
Priya attacked relentlessly.
Punch.
Step.
Punch.
Step.
Flames burst against its face and shoulders.
Not enough to injure it.
Enough to keep its attention.
Raivan joined from the opposite side.
His frost blade struck the creature's legs.
The monster swung its tail.
Raivan jumped over it.
"Now!"
Manaswini slammed the bottom of her staff against the ground.
Three small inscriptions appeared beneath the creature.
One.
Two.
Three.
The symbols connected.
"Anchor."
The first inscription locked.
"Compression."
The second activated.
"Release."
The third triggered.
The stone beneath the creature collapsed.
The Stoneback Ogre Lizard lost its balance.
Its massive body crashed onto one knee.
The chamber shook.
Avdhoot moved.
He didn't rush blindly.
He watched.
The creature's armour had shifted from the impact.
The same weak point was exposed.
But this time—
It was wider.
Avdhoot lowered his stance.
Mana gathered around his dagger.
Not excessively.
Just enough.
He sprinted.
The creature opened its jaws.
Avdhoot slid beneath them.
Its claw came down.
He twisted aside.
The claw missed by inches.
He reached the exposed joint.
And drove the dagger forward.
Deep.
The blade pierced through the remaining mana barrier.
The creature screamed.
Avdhoot gritted his teeth and held his position.
"Now!"
Raivan's frost blade struck the wound.
Priya's flaming fist followed.
Manaswini's inscription activated beneath its body.
Three forces hit simultaneously.
Frost.
Flame.
Mana structure.
The creature's armour cracked from within.
CRACK.
CRACK.
CRACK.
A final fracture ran across its chest.
The Stoneback Ogre Lizard staggered.
It tried to stand.
Its legs failed.
The enormous creature collapsed.
THUD.
Silence.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Only their breathing filled the cavern.
Priya finally lowered her fists.
"That…"
She looked at the corpse.
"…was definitely not a Tier One."
Raivan wiped his blade.
"No."
Manaswini adjusted her glasses.
"We should not have been able to defeat it alone."
Avdhoot looked at the others.
"We didn't."
The four exchanged glances.
No one argued.
They had fought as a team.
Not four separate fighters.
One formation.
Priya smiled.
"That was actually pretty good."
Raivan gave a faint nod.
"Acceptable."
Priya stared at him.
"Acceptable?"
Raivan sheathed his sword.
"We survived."
"That's your version of praise?"
"Yes."
She rolled her eyes.
"You're impossible."
A faint smile appeared on Avdhoot's face.
For a moment, the tension disappeared.
Then—
A faint blue light flickered beneath the corpse.
Avdhoot noticed it first.
"Wait."
He stepped closer.
The light was coming from beneath the creature.
He moved the body slightly with the others' help.
Something glittered beneath it.
Small crystalline formations emerged from the stone floor.
Manaswini's eyes widened.
"Mana crystals."
She crouched immediately.
"Natural formation."
Raivan looked around.
"How valuable?"
"Very."
Manaswini carefully examined one without touching it.
"These crystals have been absorbing ambient mana for years."
Priya whistled.
"So this dungeon is worth something after all."
Avdhoot didn't answer.
He was staring deeper into the chamber.
The crystals weren't scattered randomly.
They formed a line.
A faint trail of blue light continued toward the far wall.
He followed it with his eyes.
There was something strange about the stone.
A section of the wall looked too smooth.
Too deliberate.
Avdhoot walked closer.
"Manaswini."
She followed.
"What?"
"Does that look natural to you?"
She studied the wall.
Her expression slowly changed.
"No."
Raivan approached.
"Then what is it?"
Manaswini brushed some dust away.
Beneath it was a faint inscription.
Old.
Almost completely eroded.
But still visible.
Three concentric circles.
A vertical line through the center.
And a symbol neither of them recognized.
Priya frowned.
"Is that an inscription?"
Manaswini shook her head slowly.
"I don't know."
Avdhoot reached toward it.
The moment his fingers came within an inch of the stone—
His pendant pulsed.
Once.
A faint red glow appeared beneath his shirt.
Avdhoot froze.
The inscription flickered.
For less than a second—
A single line of ancient symbols illuminated.
Then disappeared.
Nobody spoke.
Raivan looked at Avdhoot.
"Did you see that?"
Avdhoot pulled his hand back.
"No."
The answer came too quickly.
Raivan stared at him.
But before he could say anything—
The dungeon trembled.
Not violently.
Deeply.
As though something far beneath them had shifted in its sleep.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
The mana crystals flickered.
Then—
A sound emerged from the darkness beyond the chamber.
Not a roar.
A low, resonant growl.
The sound seemed to travel through the stone itself.
Priya slowly turned toward the tunnel.
"…That's not another Stoneback."
Manaswini's face had gone pale.
"No."
Raivan raised his frost blade.
"Something deeper."
Another pulse shook the cavern.
This time—
The old inscription behind them briefly illuminated.
Avdhoot turned.
The symbol was glowing red.
His pendant answered it.
One pulse.
Two.
Then silence.
Avdhoot stared at the wall.
Something about this place felt familiar.
Not because he had been here before.
Because something inside him recognized it.
He tightened his grip around his dagger.
"Whatever is down there…"
He looked toward the darkness.
"…it knows we're here."
From somewhere far below—
Something moved.
Slowly.
Heavily.
And then came a second sound.
Metal scraping against stone.
The four students exchanged a silent glance.
The dungeon was no longer simply a hidden training ground.
Something had been waiting beneath the Academy.
And they had just disturbed it.
[End of Chapter 28]