Chapter 40: The Day Before

The group registrations continued, and on the third day, when it finally closed, Class 1-A sat in full attendance.

The lecture hall was louder than usual before the period started as teams clustered together in threes, some still arguing over equipment loadouts, others comparing rumors about which dungeon they might be aassign to, and Ethan sat in his usual place with Lila beside him and Nora one row ahead.

The noise continued for another few minutes, and when Professor Crane entered the noise dropped.

She set her tablet on the podium, scanned the room once, and began.

"Group submissions are finalized. If your name is not on a registered team, see me after this lecture and you will be assigned to one. However, keep in mind that the process may or may not favor your preferences."

A few people shifted uncomfortably but Crane continued, "The practical evaluation begins tomorrow morning. This will not be a single-day event as there are too many groups and too few available dungeons for simultaneous entry. Teams will rotate through assigned dungeons within ten days. The first groups enter tomorrow and the remaining groups will follow in sequence according to the schedule that will be posted as soon as this class is over."

She tapped the tablet and a projection lit behind her. It was a simple calendar grid filled with entry windows and times.

"Bear in mind that the Instructors will not enter with you."

That landed harder than the schedule. A low murmur moved through the seats and Ethan sat straight with a shocked expression.

He had planned to minimize his ability because of Nora. That was only decided because they had expected the instructors to go in with them.

However, now that they were going to be alone, this gave Ethan more room as he could do whatever he planned without restraints.

The noise went on for a few more moments. Crane did not raise her voice over it. She simply waited until it died.

"You will be observed from outside the boundary through standard monitoring protocols. Emergency intervention remain available under life-threatening conditions only. Each team has a limit of two hours from the moment of entry. At the end of that window, you will be pulled out whether you are finished or not."

Lila’s fingers tapped once against her knee as she listened attentively.

"Scoring is based on two primary metrics," Crane continued. "Confirmed beast clears and recovered Aetherite so volume and quality both matter. Coordination, casualty avoidance, and time efficiency will be noted as well, individual contribution will be assessed separately from group performance. These will all affect your standing."

She let the projection hang for another second, then closed it.

"You are expected to treat this as a professional clearance under time constraint. This is not a field trip. Restricted-class students will operate under the same rules as everyone else, but there will still be additional observations."

Her eyes moved across the room and she spoke again.

"Check the schedule, confirm your entry window and prepare accordingly."

Class was dismissed shortly after that, and the hall emptied as students started making noise again—pulling out phones, trying to guess entry days and arguing over who needed what from the supply desks.

Ethan remained seated long enough to see the schedule appear on his academy device.

He scrolled through it until he saw their group.

[Entry window: Day Three.]

He put the phone back in his pocket. They had two full days left.

***

They used the first of those days for another joint session and Ethan noted that it went better than the previous one.

It was not a dramatic change, and it was sure as hell not enough to envoke a confidence boost.

It was just better in the ways that mattered. Nora called her lane changes, Lila kept her flame output at a minimum and stopped filling space already marked.

Ethan held Death Link in shorter bursts and let the Iron Golem carry the pressure of the center without constant adjustments.

Bef’s scouting pattern also improved as well...

They ran the same structure three times and finished with a short session that only broke once.

"Okay, this was good." Nora said when they stopped.

Lila wiped sweat from her forehead with the back of her wrist. "Don’t sound so impressed."

"I’m not. I’m just saying that we are less likely to die from poor co-ordination than we were two days ago."

Ethan dismissed the golem and let the residual strain in the link settle.

Manageable. Death Energy use had been efficient enough that he still had a comfortable reserve. He closed the system as he nodded in satisfaction.

"We stop here," he said. "No more full sessions before entry."

Lila nodded, and Nora did too. Ethan stared at them a while longer as watching them not argue once felt strange to say the least.

***

The day before their entry window passed quietly...

Too quietly, by academy standards.

Ethan spent the morning on light training only... Short command drills with Bef, and a single clean summon cycle with the Iron Golem to keep the Storage connection sharp— nothing that burned serious energy.

Lila did her own version of practice on the far side of the east grounds and only joined him afterward, dropping onto the grass beside him with a bottle of water in hand.

"Tomorrow’s the day." she said eventually.

Ethan nodded. "Yeah."

"Nervous?"

"About the dungeon or about the scoring system?"

"Both?"

Ethan considered it. "The dungeon is something we know about. We also know that we will be timed.

We also know we have to recover Aetherite— the more the better. Meaning that there is manageable risk if we don’t get stupid. The scores is the part that belongs to other people."

Lila gave a hum of agreement and leaned backwards. "Marcus’ group goes tomorrow. They’re in the first wave."

"I saw."

Lila groaned. "He’s going to be unbearable if they score well."

Ethan shrugged. "He’s unbearable either way."

That got a short huff of laughter out of her. She tilted her head toward him, studying his profile in the afternoon light.

"You sure about the formation?"

"Yeah, pretty much. I’m still the weakest here so the best I can do is put my skills to use and support you two anyway I can." He glanced at her. "Unless you want to change something."

"No." She looked towards the ground. "It works well enough."

They sat there until the sun started to set, and Ethan mentally prepared himself for what awaited him...

***

That evening the dorm was quiet as Ethan sat on his bed, reviewing the numbers on the system screen...

.

```

[EXP: 203 / 300]

[Death Energy: 500/500]

[Control Capacity: 54]

```

Light training over the last two days had pushed the experience bar without stressing the pool too much.

He shrugged. Good enough.

Lila knocked once and opened the door without waiting, the same way she had been doing for weeks. She leaned against the frame with her arms crossed, looking at him for a long second before speaking.

"Sleep," she said.

"Yeah, yeah."

"I’m serious. If you stay up thinking and Death Energy or something, I won’t be held responsible for you if you collapse again."

Ethan chuckled. "I got it. I’ll go to sleep."

"Good." There was silence for a moment...

Then —

"Ethan?"

The softness of her voice caused him to turn, and when he did...

"—??"

She kissed him.

Her lips pressed against his softly in a motion that left him stunned for several moments.

When she finally pulled back, there was a furious blush on her face...

"...Sorry," She said, tucking her hair beneath her ear. "I... uhm needed that..."

She turned to the door, walking faster that she probably should. "Goodnight, Ethan."

Ethan came out of his daze... "G—goodnight," he stuttered.

The door closed, and Ethan sat there with his eyes slightly wide as he replayed the last several moments in his mind...

"Wow..."