Harem System in an Elite Academy

The faint blue light from the dungeon walls had dimmed by the time Arios reached the next floor. The transition gate behind him sealed with a low hum, and the room ahead opened into a large circular space with no enemies — just silence, broken only by the rhythmic dripping of condensed mana from the ceiling.

He adjusted his grip on the training sword strapped to his back. The last fight had left fine cracks on the handle, but it held. He preferred not to switch weapons unless absolutely necessary.

A moment later, footsteps echoed from the tunnel ahead.

Liza's voice called first, dry and slightly out of breath. "Well, you look terrible."

Arios glanced up. "You're late."

"We had to navigate collapsing corridors because someone shut down the field node," she replied, walking in with a light smirk. "Next time, leave a warning."

Lucy appeared next, still slightly flushed. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," Arios said simply. "Just low on mana."

Pokner followed last, her usual calm expression unchanged. She carried the runic scanner tucked under her arm. "We traced your position when the interference died down. The signal source you found — did you manage to pull its identifier?"

Arios nodded once. "It was connected to Chase Lexon."

Pokner exchanged a quiet look with Liza. "You're sure?"

"Yes," he said. "I checked the log twice. His name was attached to the relay's security key."

Lucy crossed her arms tightly. "So that confirms it. He's been meddling with the dungeon system."

"Most likely," Arios replied. "But that's not something we can prove publicly yet."

Liza crouched down near the wall, tracing the mana residue with her fingertips. "This whole floor feels wrong. It's like the mana network's still recovering."

"It'll stabilize," Arios said, kneeling to examine a nearby circuit line. "The interference node was acting as a transmitter. Removing it forces the field to re-align."

Pokner watched quietly as he spoke. "And you handled that guardian alone?"

He didn't look up. "Yes."

There was a short silence before Lucy muttered, "You could have called for backup."

"I did," he said, glancing at her. "You just didn't have signal yet."

She frowned. "Still…"

He gave a small shrug. "It's done."

The group settled into a brief silence again. The sound of distant wind flowing through the cracks of the floor filled the gap in conversation. Arios stood and leaned his back against one of the stone walls, lowering himself to sit.

Liza dropped beside him a moment later, pulling out her canteen. "You know," she said casually, "if this exam was meant to test teamwork, we've been failing it spectacularly."

Pokner sat cross-legged across from them. "We didn't fail. We adapted. The dungeon's interference made teamwork impossible at times."

"That's one way to justify it," Liza replied with a small smirk.

Lucy sat down between them, rubbing her temple. "The instructors better acknowledge that this whole thing was tampered with. Otherwise, it's going to look like we just got lost."

"They'll notice," Arios said quietly. "The mana disturbances were too large to go unnoticed."

Pokner nodded. "Especially with how unstable the lower floors became."

Liza leaned back, stretching. "So what's next? You want to report this to the council directly, or through the academy examiner?"

Arios looked at the cracked ceiling above. "Neither. Not yet. If Chase was able to plant something inside the dungeon's field, he's either working with someone in maintenance or has higher clearance than expected."

"Meaning?" Pokner asked.

"Meaning," he said, "that the moment we report it, he'll know."

Lucy frowned. "Then what do we do?"

Arios's response came steady. "We keep quiet for now. Gather more."

Pokner didn't argue. She just studied him for a few seconds before saying, "You think this connects to what happened with Garron."

"It's possible," he said simply. "Same pattern — subtle manipulation, external tampering, all hidden behind academy protocol."

Liza tilted her head. "You're suggesting Chase has people inside the staff."

Arios didn't confirm or deny it. "It's not impossible."

They fell quiet again.

After a while, Lucy exhaled and pushed herself up. "Alright. Enough heavy talk for now. We still have hours left before curfew."

She walked toward one of the small alcoves on the side of the room, where a narrow stream of condensed mana flowed through like water. She dipped her hands into it to wash off the dirt. The glowing fluid shimmered faintly around her fingers.

"It's weird," she said, half to herself. "Even after all that, the dungeon feels peaceful now."

"Because the interference's gone," Liza said, lying on her back and tossing a mana pebble into the air. "It's like someone turned off background noise."

Pokner leaned against the wall and checked the scanner one last time. "Signal field is stabilizing at eighty percent. We'll be able to move safely soon."

Arios nodded, resting his forearms on his knees. "Then we'll continue to the surface after it reaches full."

Lucy turned to him. "You don't want to rest?"

"This is rest," he replied.

She blinked. "You mean sitting there in silence?"

"Yes."

Liza snorted softly. "Typical."

Pokner closed her scanner with a quiet click. "Don't mock him. He's right. The quiet moments are necessary."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "You sound like him."

"Maybe I've been around him too long," Pokner said with faint amusement.

Liza propped herself up on her elbows. "You two starting to talk alike is terrifying."

Arios ignored their banter, eyes on the faint mana flickers still pulsing through the walls. Something about the residual trace bothered him. It wasn't just interference — there had been layers of encryption beyond the usual dungeon scripts.

When the others had settled into light chatter, he reached for his interface again and quietly opened the trace log once more. The data stream scrolled by, repeating the same identifiers — all connected to one embedded source.

[Encrypted Header Detected]

[Trace Attempt: Unauthorized Signal – Origin Masked]

He frowned. "Masked?"

Liza noticed his expression. "What's wrong?"

He minimized the screen. "Nothing. Just verifying something."

Pokner tilted her head. "You found another anomaly?"

"Possibly," he admitted. "But I'll need to cross-reference it later."

Lucy walked back over, drying her hands on a cloth. "You're not going to stop working even when we're stuck underground, huh?"

"Old habits," he said simply.

Liza yawned. "If this floor's safe, I'm sleeping."

Pokner smirked slightly. "Then we'll take shifts."

"I'll take the first," Arios said.

Lucy looked at him. "You sure?"

He nodded. "You all need rest. I'll monitor the readings."

Liza was already lying down. "Fine by me."

Pokner joined her near the corner, sitting upright with her arms folded. Lucy hesitated, then sat down beside Arios. The dim light from the mana stream illuminated both their faces faintly.

For a while, neither spoke.

Then Lucy said softly, "You really think Chase would risk getting caught just to mess with us?"

"He's already been caught once," Arios replied. "But he's not stupid. If he's continuing, it's because he's confident he can hide behind someone else."

"Like who?"

"Could be anyone," he said. "Faculty, technician, maybe even another student."

Lucy frowned. "That's… unsettling."

"It is," he agreed quietly.

She leaned her head back against the wall. "You don't look worried."

"Worry doesn't help."

She huffed softly. "Of course you'd say that."

There was a short pause before she added, "Still, thanks for making it back in one piece."

Arios gave a small nod. "You're welcome."

"Not the most emotional answer, but I'll take it," she said, faintly smiling.

He glanced at her for a brief second before looking away again. "Get some sleep."

"Fine, fine."

Hours passed.

The dungeon remained quiet, the ambient glow of the walls dimming further as the internal circuits shifted into standby mode. Lucy had drifted off beside him, her breathing slow and steady. Across the room, Liza and Pokner were also asleep — or pretending to be. Pokner's eyes occasionally flickered open, checking their surroundings before closing again.

Arios remained seated, his thoughts moving.

The interference had been deliberate, that much was clear. But the reason wasn't. Chase didn't need to kill him — not yet, at least. Which meant the dungeon trap had another purpose: testing his abilities, measuring response times, or just sending a warning.

He reviewed the fight in his head again, step by step — the corrupted sentinel, the overload, the mutation. None of that fit the pattern of natural dungeon errors.

He reached for his interface and pulled up the last few seconds of his fight. The system had recorded it automatically.

[Playback Segment: Mana Surge Log]

[Timestamp: 02:14:36 — 02:16:02]

He slowed the playback to one-quarter speed.

The moment before the sentinel mutated, a secondary pulse had come not from within, but from above — external. A data signature layered with the dungeon's core frequency.

He stopped the playback and stared at it.

Someone outside had triggered the mutation.

That meant Chase wasn't alone.

He leaned back against the wall, his expression blank, but his mind was already working through possible conclusions. If Chase had collaborators, then this was more than an isolated act of revenge. It was organized — quiet, calculated, and positioned within the academy's infrastructure.

He didn't like that thought.

The air was cooler now, the mana streams slowing slightly. He adjusted his posture, closing the display.

He didn't notice Lucy stir until she spoke softly, still half-asleep. "You're still awake?"

"Yeah."

"Thinking again?"

"Yes."

She smiled faintly, eyes still closed. "You never stop, do you?"

"Not when things don't add up."

"Then I guess things never add up for you."

"Usually not," he said quietly.

She hummed softly, drifting off again.

He remained awake until the faint artificial sunrise pulse flickered through the dungeon walls — a signal that the system was syncing with the academy's time.

He stood, brushed off the dust from his uniform, and looked over at the others. Liza was still asleep, sprawled out carelessly. Pokner had one eye open, alert as ever.

"You didn't sleep," he said.

"Neither did you," she replied.

He nodded. "Let's wake them. Time to move."

Pokner stood, stretching slightly. "You're planning to head straight up?"

"Yes. The exam's still ongoing. If we stay too long, we'll lose rank points."

She nodded, then kicked lightly at Liza's boot. "Up."

Liza groaned. "Already?"

"Yes."

Lucy yawned, rubbing her eyes. "Morning already?"

"Something like that," Arios said.

They packed quickly and prepared to ascend. The portal at the end of the chamber had reactivated — faint light spilling from it, marking the path back toward the surface layers.

As they approached, Lucy spoke again. "Arios."

He looked at her.

She hesitated, then said, "You're not going to report Chase yet, right?"

"Not yet."

"Then at least tell me you'll be careful."

"I will."

"Promise?"

He gave a small nod. "Promise."

She smiled faintly, then turned toward the gate. "Alright then. Let's go."

They stepped through one by one, the glow consuming them in steady rhythm.

Above ground, the morning sun was just breaking over the academy towers. The Dungeon Administration Building's upper floors flickered with runic light as the systems recalibrated from the night's disturbance.

In one of the top-floor monitoring rooms, a pair of technicians looked at their consoles, puzzled.

"Hey," one said, "we got a data spike in the lower floors overnight. It's weird — it shows an unauthorized relay shutting down on its own."

The other leaned over. "Tampering again?"

"Looks like it."

"Should we report it?"

The first hesitated. "I already did… to the council branch overseer."

"Who's that this term?"

The technician glanced at the file. "Chase Lexon."

The second frowned slightly. "Huh. Guess he'll deal with it then."

They turned back to their screens.