The ground shook as Lee Shin emerged from the lower ruins.
Dust and mana drifted through the air, mixing with the faint shimmer of collapsing barriers. The academy labyrinth — once a controlled test ground — had turned into a war zone.
Chunks of stone floated midair, fragments of magical constructs twisting in and out of form. Students from all four classes clashed in desperate chaos — spells flashing, blades colliding, and instructors shouting to maintain control.
And at the center of it all, near the highest platform where the artifact core pulsed in unstable rhythm, stood his half-brother, Lee Hyun.
Clad in silver-blue armor, Hyun looked every bit the golden prodigy the academy praised. His mana flared with cold precision — sharp, efficient, and arrogant. Around him, Class A students rallied like soldiers guarding a prince.
"Maintain the perimeter!" Hyun barked, his voice cutting through the roar. "If we control the core, Class A wins this exam!"
His classmates responded with fierce loyalty.
No one questioned him. No one ever did.
Shin watched from below, unseen for now. His new sword — reborn from the ruins — hummed faintly in his grasp. The mana inside him pulsed in rhythm with the labyrinth's instability. He could feel it — the artifact core was about to break.
If it shattered, the entire dungeon simulation could implode.
He took a step forward — and that's when he heard her voice.
"Shin! Over here!"
Turning, he saw Hana, the fiery-haired girl from Class D who had once scolded him for "acting too cool." Her clothes were torn, face smudged with dust, but her eyes burned bright with determination. Beside her, two of Shin's teammates struggled to hold a defensive line against a barrage of Class B spells.
Shin dashed toward them, his blade slicing through a bolt of lightning midair. The blast shattered into harmless sparks.
"Thought you were dead," Hana said, half-laughing, half-gasping.
"Just visiting old ghosts," Shin replied, parrying another strike. "Status?"
"Class D's scattered," she said, grimacing. "Class C retreated, and Class A's hoarding all the artifact points. We're basically done unless someone punches through that barrier."
Shin's gaze flicked toward the top platform — to Hyun.
"That's where I'm headed."
Hana blinked. "You mean him?"
"Yeah."
A grin tugged at her lips. "Then let's make it count."
Together, they fought their way upward — climbing through shattered corridors and half-collapsed bridges. The closer they got to the top, the heavier the mana pressure became. Even elite students struggled to breathe under it.
But Shin moved like the pressure wasn't there.
Every step synchronized with his ring, his sword absorbing stray mana currents. Students from higher classes turned to face him — mocking sneers twisting into confusion as they realized how fast he was.
"What class is that guy from?!" someone shouted.
"Class D—"
The word died as Shin's blade deflected three spells at once.
He moved with surgical precision — cutting through ice walls, dodging explosions, his presence commanding attention like a storm. By the time he reached the final bridge leading to Hyun, dozens of students had stopped fighting to watch.
Hyun turned at the sound of the commotion. His eyes widened slightly when he recognized the face approaching through the smoke. Then, his lips curved into a cold smile.
"Well, well," he said. "The family disappointment actually made it past the halfway mark."
Shin didn't answer. He just kept walking, sword lowered at his side, steps calm.
"Class D trash must be getting desperate," Hyun continued, his voice echoing. "You should've stayed where you belong — in the dirt."
Behind Hyun, a few of his teammates snickered, but none dared move. The aura around Shin was too sharp, too controlled.
He stopped ten paces away. "You talk too much, Hyun."
Hyun's smirk vanished. "What did you just—"
"Let me guess," Shin interrupted. "You cheated your way into Class A again? Just like midterms? Or maybe Daddy covered for you this time too?"
A murmur rippled through the watching students. Even Class A members exchanged uneasy glances.
Hyun's mana flared violently. "Watch your mouth, bastard."
"Half-brother," Shin corrected, eyes narrowing. "Don't mix our blood."
Hyun's fury finally broke. He drew his sword, a gleaming mana-forged blade, and lunged forward. The air cracked as his aura exploded outward, shaking the bridge beneath them.
Their blades collided with a deafening roar.
Sparks flew, mana waves rippling across the platform. Hyun's strikes were fast, disciplined — the kind drilled into elite heirs of great guilds. But Shin's movements carried weight, instinct, and something deeper — battle-hardened precision that no classroom could teach.
Hyun swung, expecting Shin to block. Instead, Shin sidestepped, twisted his wrist, and disarmed him in one smooth motion.
Gasps erupted from the watching crowd.
Hyun staggered back, disbelief on his face. "How—"
Shin moved faster than he could finish. His blade stopped just at Hyun's neck, the tip glowing with blue light.
"This is what real strength feels like," Shin said quietly. "Earned. Not gifted."
Hyun trembled, fury and humiliation twisting his features. "You think you're better than me? You think being Class D's pity project makes you strong?!"
"Better?" Shin tilted his head. "No. Just not fake."
Before Hyun could respond, the artifact core behind them let out a violent pulse. The entire platform shuddered, red cracks spreading through the air.
"The core's destabilizing!" Hana shouted from below. "It's going to blow!"
Shin's eyes darted toward the crystal — the center of the exam.
If it exploded, half the academy would be buried in mana collapse.
Without hesitation, he grabbed Hyun's collar and yanked him back. "Move!"
"Let go of me—!"
Shin ignored him and leapt forward, thrusting his sword directly into the core's energy stream. The blade absorbed the backlash, glowing with fierce blue fire. The ring on his hand flared — burning against his skin, channeling the unstable mana into itself.
For a moment, everything went white.
Then silence.
When the light faded, Shin stood in the center of the platform, breathing hard. The artifact core had stabilized — its furious red glow replaced by calm silver light.
Around him, stunned students stared in disbelief.
He had done it.
A Class D nobody had saved the entire labyrinth.
Hana grinned from below, shouting, "That's our guy!"
Even the instructors watching from the observation deck exchanged looks of surprise. One of them muttered, "Who is that student?"
Shin lowered his sword slowly. The weapon's edge shimmered faintly, and the ring's glow subsided to a steady pulse.
Hyun stood a few steps away, eyes filled with confusion and wounded pride.
Shin glanced at him once. "Next time, try winning without cheating."
Then he turned and walked toward the exit, leaving the battlefield silent behind him.
As he passed under the shattered archway, the ring's whisper returned — soft and ancient.
The second fragment awakens.
Shin didn't smile. He just tightened his grip on the sword and looked toward the academy's main spire.
This was only the beginning.