Attention

After the dungeon fiasco, Rhald and the rest of Lunar Light was called into the Principal's Office the next day. Dragnar was smiling but his eyes were ice cold. Even Rhald who is normally so nonchalant gulped unconsciously.

"So, I heard that you fine magicians of the Grand Magical Academy not only broke the rules of the A rank dungeon, Imp's Castle but also were the reason I had to do additional work." The group was now visibly freaking out in chibi form.

"Imagine my surprise when I had to fend calls from the Royal Guards, the Dungeon Administration Association, and the Magician's Guild on my weekend off." Dragnar continues as his smile becomes even more creepy.

The new party is in tears and huddled together. The principal is now facing a fearful and chibi Rhald. Dragnar whispers "After all the trouble I went through to get you enrolled in this school?"

"I'm so sorry, principal!" More tears stream from Rhald's face.

"As for you two…" Dragnar was now talking to Vane and Lest, who sought comfort in hugging each other. Vane who was a large man seemed to have shrunk to Lest's size right before every one's eyes. "…wait till I tell the Grand Duchess about this. I can only imagine she will have you return back to Strumm Manor."

A girlish squeak of what could possibly have been a "no" left Vane's throat.

"Please don't tell mommy!" Begged a fully sobbing Vane. Snot dripping substantially from her nose.

The principal's attention shifted. "As for you four…I have sent word to Wentlas." Althea was now on Dragnar's leg. "Please don't tell Papa!"

This was true. She did look up to Wentlas like a father.

"It can't be helped I guess." He massaged his temples. "We have been invited to the Royal Castle to receive an award."

"What?!" All seven said in unison.

"You heard me. Apparently, your little adventure in the dungeon broke some records. Once your levels were factored, it made the feat even more impressive. The Dungeon Administration Association had to report it to the Royal Guards. Of course, both the Royal Guards and the Magician's Guild cannot look away when they have discovered such promising new recruits. They will use this as a pretext to rope you into their agenda. After that, I may not be able to protect any further."

Dragnar turns around and looks at them. He has clearly upset but also seems almost remorseful. The air in the room shifted. There was much gravity in the realization that they had been careless. Wentlas had warned them that this could happen. Lest and Vane who were high nobles should have known better. And Rhald…poor Rhald who is unwillingly caught up in all of this.

"It's okay, principal. The knights have been trying to recruit me for a while now. It was only a matter of time, I suppose." Rhald says in a tone that could only be of defeat.

It dawned on Althea that this was the reason Rhald had always been running away from the knights. The night he almost got caught outside the restaurant, the time he ran into them in the courtyard, and even the time he tripped on Althea's shoe in the market. He was a commoner caught up in the political machinations of these powerful groups.

"I have pushed the awarding ceremony off for as long as I could. It will be in two months when we do the end of term ceremony. At that time, you will be presented to the Royal family along with the other magicians who will receive their title as Grand Magician. After such a public event attended by the whose who of the kingdom, I may no longer be able to protect any of you."

Dragnar looked at them but his sorrowful look fell on Rhald the longest. "Try to finish up your classes. You are so close to graduating anyway. You could still receive the title of Grand magician before you leave. I'm sorry, Rhald." Dragnar said this with a tone that implied so much more.

Rhald's hands were closed in a tight fist shaking uncontrollably. "It seems like no matter how hard I try, I can't free myself from this." Althea tried to comfort him but he left the room. They didn't see him for a week after that.

Vane and Lest still visited the house. They have also been shook by the principal's warning. Like Rhald, they too were not far from graduating. But even if they mastered their current classes within two months, they still needed a handful of classes to graduate.

Powerful magicians from noble families are not free. For the firstborn, the responsibility of running the house is ultimate. Therefore, their responsibility is always to be mentored by fellow nobles until such time as they are ready to take the mantle of being the matriarch or patriarch of their noble line. Sadly, Lest and Vane were second born and as such may be called upon to serve in other capacities that the kingdom may require. This is even more likely now that they have proven themselves to be such capable magicians. They hoped to be adventurers and was glad to be part of a party. Just yesterday, it seemed like that life was within arm's reach. They would be Lunar Light and travel together until they were too old to hold a weapon. Everything changed so quickly.

Meanwhile, an Arachne and her minions arrive in a scene of fiery ruin. She is livid that the Imp city that she was been feeding strengthening potions has been decimated. As the dungeon begins to rearrange and prepares to respawn, she funnels massive amounts of mana from the air into a small dark vessel. Huge amounts of mana are concentrated to liquid form.

"We will not be deterred, my children. Our timeline remains the same." She smirked as she stares at the now glowing vial in her hands. The dungeon tries to regenerate but the magic vial continues to siphon more ambient mana to prevent the dungeon from reforming.