Chapter 2 – Squad of Misfits
When my alarm went off at five-thirty in the morning, my first instinct was to throw it across the room and go back to sleep. Unfortunately, the thought of Aria Veyron dragging me out of bed by the neck was more terrifying than any dungeon monster. So, I rolled out of bed, shoved on my uniform, and trudged toward the training grounds with all the energy of a condemned man heading to the gallows.
Gate B-17 loomed at the edge of campus like a wound in reality. A swirling, pulsing rift of darkness, ringed with glowing runes that barely contained the chaos inside. I'd seen dungeons from afar before, but standing this close, I felt like it was staring back at me. Hungry.
Aria was already waiting at the gate, arms crossed, expression sharp enough to cut steel. She looked disgustingly awake for someone who'd probably been up raiding all night.
"You're late," she said.
"It's five fifty-eight," I pointed out. "That's two minutes early."
"Late is anything that isn't five forty-five."
I groaned. "Are you like this all the time?"
"Get used to it."
Before I could argue, she turned sharply as three other students approached. My supposed new squadmates.
The first was a tall, broad-shouldered guy with messy blond hair and the kind of grin that screamed "reckless idiot." A massive warhammer rested across his shoulders like it weighed nothing. He looked me over, smirked, and said, "So this is the newbie, huh? Looks soft."
"Thanks?" I muttered.
The second was the complete opposite—a quiet, silver-haired boy with sharp eyes and twin daggers strapped to his thighs. He didn't say a word. Just glanced at me once and then looked away, as if I weren't worth his time.
The third was… different. A girl with round glasses, arms full of books, and a staff taller than she was strapped to her back. She beamed at me like we were already best friends. "Hi! You must be Eiden. I'm Lyra, team Support Mage. Please take care of me!"
"Uh. Yeah. You too."
Aria gestured to each of them in turn. "That hammer-wielding idiot is Garrick. The dagger brat is Kael. And you've met Lyra. Together, we're Squad Seven."
"Squad Seven?" I asked. "How many squads are there?"
"Sixteen," she said. "We're ranked twelfth."
"Twelfth out of sixteen doesn't sound very good."
Aria's eyes narrowed. "It's better than you, unranked rookie."
Fair point.
Garrick laughed and slapped me on the back so hard I nearly faceplanted. "Don't worry, kid! Stick with us and you might just survive. Maybe."
Kael snorted quietly, still not looking at me. I got the feeling he didn't do "friendly."
Lyra leaned closer and whispered, "Don't mind Kael. He's always like that. But he's really reliable in the field."
I wasn't reassured.
Aria snapped her fingers, instantly silencing the group. "Listen up. Today's raid is a Class-C dungeon. Low risk, good for testing the rookie. Objectives are simple—eliminate all hostile monsters, secure the core, and extract. Standard formation. No screw-ups."
She looked at me when she said that last part. I pretended not to notice.
The gate pulsed. A deep hum vibrated in my bones. The runes flashed red.
Aria unsheathed her greatsword with a single smooth motion. "Squad Seven, move out!"
And just like that, we stepped into the abyss.
---
The dungeon swallowed us whole.
It was like plunging into icy water, except instead of wet, it was… heavy. My chest tightened as if unseen hands pressed down on me. The world warped, colors twisting, sounds muffled. When I blinked, the academy campus was gone.
We stood in a cavern lit by glowing crystals embedded in the walls. The air was damp, reeking of moss and blood. Far in the distance, I could hear guttural snarls echoing through the tunnels.
"This feels wrong," I whispered.
"It's a dungeon," Aria said simply. "Of course it feels wrong."
Garrick cracked his knuckles, warhammer resting on his shoulder. "I love this part."
Kael was already gone, melted into the shadows like smoke.
Lyra began chanting softly, her staff glowing with a protective barrier that shimmered faintly around us.
Meanwhile, I just stood there, heart hammering, wondering what on earth I was supposed to do.
Aria glanced back at me. "You've got an ability, don't you? Otherwise they wouldn't have let you in the Academy at all."
I hesitated. Should I tell her? My so-called "ability" wasn't exactly flashy. In fact, it was the reason I'd been shoved into Theory in the first place.
"…I can analyze monsters," I admitted reluctantly. "See their weak points. Nothing more."
"That's not nothing," Lyra said brightly.
Aria gave me a long look, as if reassessing me. Then she nodded once. "Fine. You're on observation. Call out enemy weaknesses. If you freeze, we all die. Got it?"
I swallowed. "Got it."
We moved deeper into the cavern, boots crunching on jagged stone. The snarls grew louder, closer. My palms were sweaty against the hilt of the short sword they'd issued me yesterday—standard academy gear, barely better than a kitchen knife. I had no illusions about actually using it.
The first monster appeared suddenly, lunging from the shadows with a guttural roar.
A wolf. Or at least, something shaped like one. Its fur was matted with dark slime, its eyes glowing sickly green. Fangs like daggers snapped inches from Aria's throat.
"Left flank!" I shouted instinctively. "Joint's weak—strike low!"
Aria pivoted without hesitation, greatsword flashing downward. The blade cleaved clean through the beast's leg joint, severing it instantly. The monster collapsed with a screech, and Garrick's hammer came down to finish the job in a spray of gore.
"Not bad, rookie," Garrick said, grinning through the blood.
I tried not to vomit.
But something strange stirred in me. When I'd looked at the wolf, glowing lines had traced across its body in my vision—an instinctual overlay, highlighting its vulnerabilities. The moment I spoke them aloud, it was like I knew with absolute certainty where to strike.
Maybe my ability wasn't as useless as I thought.
More snarls echoed through the tunnels. Shadows shifted. Eyes glowed.
Aria raised her blade, voice sharp. "Squad Seven, prepare for contact. Rookie, keep talking. Everyone else, keep him alive."
And then the monsters came.
---
By the time we cleared the first chamber, I was drenched in sweat and my throat felt raw from shouting weakness after weakness. My squad, however, looked like they were just getting warmed up.
Garrick was laughing like a maniac, swinging his hammer with bone-crushing glee. Kael was a ghost, slipping between enemies, daggers flashing, throats opening before his targets even realized he was there. Lyra's spells lit up the cavern, shields flaring to block strikes that would've gutted me, fire bolts searing through packs of beasts.
And Aria—Aria was a force of nature. Every swing of her greatsword cut through monsters like paper. She moved with precision, grace, and terrifying power. Watching her fight was like watching a storm made flesh.
Meanwhile, I just tried not to die.
Still, every time I called out a weakness, they listened. And every time, the monsters fell faster.
By the time the last beast dissolved into ash, the cavern was silent again, save for our ragged breathing.
Aria lowered her sword and glanced back at me. For the first time, her expression wasn't annoyance. It was… approval.
"Not useless after all," she said.
I blinked, unsure whether to be offended or proud.
Lyra patted my shoulder warmly. "You did great! See? Teamwork."
Kael just grunted and vanished into the shadows again.
Garrick laughed, clapping me so hard on the back I nearly faceplanted again. "Rookie's got potential! Maybe you won't die after all!"
"High praise," I muttered.
Aria sheathed her sword. "Don't get comfortable. That was just the warm-up. The core chamber is ahead. Real fight starts now."
My stomach dropped. That was the warm-up?
I wanted to go home.
But as we marched deeper into the dungeon, a tiny part of me… felt alive.
Terrified, yes. Exhausted, absolutely. But alive in a way I'd never felt in my safe little Theory classes.
Maybe—just maybe—this wouldn't be the end of me after all.