20. The Inefficiency of Solo Celebrations

In front of the Labyrinth.

The warm afternoon sun beat down on the Academy courtyard. The secretary sat at the grading table, checking the heavy iron pocket watch in her hand. Beside her stood the strict theory professor. He wore a smug, triumphant smile, his arms crossed confidently.

"Eighteen minutes," the professor noted, his tone practically dripping with satisfaction. "The labyrinth will have shifted at least twice by now. Without proper geometric pathing and strict adherence to the rules of twelve words, the anomaly is already hopelessly lost."

RUMBLE.

The massive iron doors of the clock tower groaned loudly. Heavy gears shifted as the doors pulled apart, violently halting the professor's speech.

A cloud of ancient dust spilled out into the courtyard.

Arion strolled out of the darkness. He was entirely uninjured, his hands tucked casually into his pockets, still chewing on a handful of roasted, spiced nuts. Behind him, the rest of his squad and Sophia trailed out in utter, traumatized silence, looking as though their entire understanding of reality had just been shattered.

Arion walked straight up to the grading table. He pulled the stamped golden token out of his pocket and casually tossed it onto the wood. It landed right next to the secretary's inkwell with a heavy, undeniable clack.

The professor stared at the golden token. His smug smile melted off his face, replaced by a mask of pure, unadulterated horror.

"What..." the professor choked out, his eyes bulging as he looked from the token to the clock tower. "What is this? It has barely been eighteen minutes! The time limit is four hours!"

The professor pointed a trembling, furious finger at Arion. "You cheated! I demand a full investigation! How did you get past the armored Minotaur?!"

"I didn't," Arion said, brushing a bit of limestone dust off his shoulder. "I just grabbed the shiny thing from behind his hooves and we sneaked out the front door."

Arion stretched his arms, letting out a long, exaggerated yawn. He looked at the secretary, who was staring at him through her narrow glasses with absolutely zero shock.

"So, I pass, right?" Arion asked lazily. "Because all that walking around really took it out of me, and I desperately need a nap.”

The secretary slowly picked up the golden token. She inspected the magical indentation of the Minotaur's seal. It hummed with authentic dungeon mana.

"The stamp is verified," the secretary said, her voice entirely flat, completely ignoring the professor who looked like he was about to pass out. "Arion, disciplinary assessment complete. You may return to your dormitories."

Without another word, the secretary picked up her inkwell, snapped her pocket watch shut, and walked briskly back toward the administration building. The theory professor stood frozen for a second before letting out a strangled, high-pitched noise of absolute defeat. He spun around and chased after her, frantic, still trying to argue about the mathematical impossibility of the situation.

Silence fell over the courtyard.

Arion stretched his arms high above his head, letting out a satisfied groan as his joints popped. He tossed another roasted nut into his mouth and looked at his surviving squad.

"Well, that's easy task," Arion said with a carefree grin. "No magic, just pure physical."

He cast a sideways glance toward Kara.

Exousia’s eye twitched. Her pristine, orthodox worldview had just been dragged through the mud, and Arion was treating a lethal dungeon like a light morning jog. But beneath her aristocratic outrage, a completely different, much more frustrating emotion was bubbling up in her chest.

"You..." Exousia stammered, her face flushing a brilliant, angry crimson. "You are utterly unmanagable! I need to lie down before I try to burn you! Sebastian! We are leaving this premise immediately!"

She spun on her heel, her long black hair whipping furiously behind her. She blasted off toward the noble dormitories. Sebastian scrambled after her, furiously scribbling in his notebook..

Arion chuckled, turning his attention to Kara. She stood perfectly still, her unblinking eyes fixed on him.

"Your physical parameters remain highly anomalous," Kara stated, her voice a flawless monotone. "However... your tactical execution was adequate."

She gave him a curt, precise nod.

"I am departing."

With that, Kara turned and glided away, moving with her usual perfectly silent steps, not even disturbing the grass beneath her boots.

Now, only Arion and Sophia remained. Sophia was sitting on the ground, leaning against the stone wall, clutching her knees and looking completely traumatized by the day's events.

Arion walked over and offered her a hand, pulling her to her feet.

"Look on the bright side, Teach," Arion smiled. "We broke the record."

Sophia grabbed his shoulders, her eyes wide and desperate.

"Arion, please," she begged, her voice trembling. "Just... don't mess anything else up."

"No promises," Arion winked.

Sophia let out a defeated whimper and shuffled away toward the faculty offices. Arion shoved his hands into his pockets and whistled a cheerful, off-key tune as he walked to the dormitory.

The walk back to the dormitories was quiet. Kara glided over the cobblestone path, her expression remaining an unreadable, emotionless mask. Yet, as the towering spires of the student housing came into view, her pace slowed just a fraction.

She lifted her right hand to her chest level. She slowly curled her pale fingers inward, forming a tight, practiced fist.

Her pale, whirlpool eyes studied her own knuckles. She replayed the memory from the structural void. She vividly remembered the moment Arion had effortlessly shattered the maintenance golems, turned to her with that completely ridiculous grin, and bumped his knuckles against hers.

It was an illogical, low-velocity kinetic collision. It provided no tactical advantage. And yet, her internal threat-assessment parameters had recorded a strange spike in her pulse at the exact point of contact.

Curious, Kara raised her left hand. She curled it into a fist as well. With deliberate, measured precision, she bumped her left knuckles against her right knuckles.

Clink. Kara paused, standing still in the middle of the path. She analyzed the sensory feedback. The kinetic force was perfectly replicated. The angle was geometrically flawless.

But the result was a failure.

It didn't feel the same at all. Touching her own hands together just felt empty. It lacked the sudden, jarring warmth. It lacked the chaotic energy that seemed to radiate out of Arion's very existence.

She lowered her hands, a faint dusting of pink appearing across the bridge of her pale nose as her usually sharp mind went entirely blank.

Exousia’s Room

"Absolutely ridiculous! Utterly preposterous! A complete mockery of the magical arts!"

Exousia paced furiously back and forth across her room, her expensive silk boots stomping on the plush carpet.

She stopped and glared at her reflection in the ornate vanity mirror.

"And that... that fist gesture!" Exousia muttered, her face turning bright red all over again.

She vividly remembered the moment in the dark maintenance shaft. Arion had completely ignored her commands. Instead, he had grinned at Kara and tapped his fist against the swordswoman's hand like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Exousia grabbed a heavily embroidered silk pillow and squeezed it tightly.

"Why her?!" Exousia argued with her own reflection. "She is literally an emotionless ice block! I am the Squad Leader! If he was going to blatantly disregard Academy decorum with that stupid fist bump, it should have been directed at me!"

"Are you yelling about Arion again?" a sleepy voice mumbled from the other side of the room.

Exousia froze. She looked over her shoulder.

She threw the pillow across the room with a frustrated shriek, burying her burning face in her hands. She wasn't just angry that Arion had broken the rules of magic. She was incredibly, overwhelmingly jealous.

"Stupid," Exousia grumbled into her hands, her heart racing against her ribs. "Stupid, rule-breaking, infuriating idiot..."