46
“Quiet!” Mistress Vizzingbelle’s voice cut through the gaggle of students blustering about being woken in the middle of the night and getting dragged into the Dungeon Hall without warning.
Standing on a platform, hands behind his back and looking very pleased with himself, Headmaster Miles Kendrickburn nodded as silence filled the hall.
“Welcome, students,” he called in a lilting voice. “To this year’s Surprise Midnight Event! We have at least one every year as I’m sure some of you are aware. This year, we have a real doozy for you all. Are you excited?”
Milo stared up at the man.
He was most likely one of the only students who wasn’t surprised.
Clack had been scurrying through the ducts and overheard a conversation between Masters Garmstooth and Haddrow about the event. And, while Miles was unsure what the event would be, he was aware of when they would be dragged from their beds.
So he was able to ensure himself and his golems were in their rooms.
It would’ve been too troublesome to explain if they weren’t.
Beside him, Tania and Selma did their best to look as confused and tired as the other students. They’d even gone so far as to muss their hair.
Like everyone else, they were wearing their sleeping clothes.
Milo was only in a pair of shorts.
Selma had a pink tshirt with a little white rabbit bouncing cutely across her chest. She had a pair of very short pink shorts on.
Tania, however, was wearing only her white underwear.
Nothing else.
She’d crossed her arms across her bare breasts.
Most other female students were wearing more conservative night gowns or pajamas.
Which meant Milo’s team was still a focus of attention.
Trying not to roll his eyes at their shenanigans, he did his best to appear dazed, too.
“Well,” the headmaster said as no one answered his rallying cry.
“I suspect you’re all just too eager to see what a delight we’ve planned for you.
We call this dungeon the Night of the Long Wands!
Isn’t that delicious? It has been created using actual historical records of the night when the Mage Court was split and rebellion filled the halls of this very Academy. ”
Milo’s interest piqued at that.
Details on the rebellion were sparse in the library. Much of what was there was vague and clearly written long after the rebellion was crushed and the Mage Court reformed.
“The goal is to defend the keep from the rebels,” Headmaster Kendrickson said, rubbing his hands together.
“Those pesky little ants have decided tonight to kill all of you and take the Academy for themselves. You must stop them. This is a test, not of planned tactics and strategy, but of how well you can apply those theories when given no warning. As such, you will enter the dungeon with nothing other than what you are wearing right now. Which is unfortunate for some…”
He aimed a look at Tania, who just grinned back at him.
Which made him throw a grin right back at her.
“I look forward to seeing who survives,” he said. There was a nasty note to his voice. “Master Garmstooth? If you will.”
As the headmaster waddled off the platform, Master Garmstooth stepped up and cleared his throat.
“While this is a test of your ability to adapt and react, it is not intended to be a slaughterhouse.” He gave the headmaster a withering look.
“You will be fighting other mages. They are of varying levels and abilities, with their leaders obviously being more powerful. There are, of course, five leaders. Each a specialist in their own magical field. To finish the scenario, you need to defeat at least one of them to break through to the courtyard where reinforcements are waiting. I advise you take this scenario seriously. And slowly.”
He shot a look at Tania, who grinned back at him.
He didn’t grin back.
“Mages in the scenario will need to reload their mana in the same way you do. So, consider this a scenario where you can make use of Master Haddrow’s lessons on duelling other mages.
Those of you who missed those classes must be feeling a little nervous about now.
” Again he shot a look at Tania. This time he smirked at her.
“Good. Maybe you’ll attend more classes in future. If you survive.”
“I doubt it,” Tania called back flippantly.
“Alright. First up. Dina Darrow.”
Dina and her team scuttled through the crowd of students.
And then it was just a long wait for their turn.
When they were called, Milo and his team slipped through the remnants and up to the platform. Where Master Garmstooth eyed them with glittering gaze.
“Good luck, Mooney,” he said, almost cheerfully.
“Thanks.”
Then Milo walked through the curtain.
And into chaos.
They were in the Mess Hall. Bodies were strewn everywhere and a crazed mage was shooting fireballs while panting loudly as another scar-faced student threw a tray at him.
“Stupid move, Harry,” the pyromancer cackled as he blew a hole right through the other student’s chest.
Then he whirled, seeing Milo.
Who froze.
“What have we here?” The pyromancer swirled his hand, his wand glowing brightly as the core on it flared. “Another little ant. Show me what tricks you have!”
Milo threw himself down behind one of the tables as fire blasted them to shrapnel.
“No use hiding!” the pyromancer screamed. “I’ll-”
Whatever he was going to do was cut off as a blade punched through the back of his neck and exploded out the front.
He dropped with a sickening wet thud as Tania’s camouflage flickered and turned off to reveal her standing over him. Blood spattered across her face and breasts.
“Milo,” she purred, giving him a winsome wave. “Was I late?”
“No,” he said. He dusted himself off as he climbed to his feet. “Where’s Selma?”
They heard a loud blast from the hallway.
Tania pointed at the doors. “Out there, I expect.”
As if to prove her point, the doors crashed open to reveal Selma covered in blood and gore, someone’s limb in her hand. She tossed it over her shoulder and strode into the Mess, looking at the bodies. “Did you do this?”
“It was like that when I got here,” Milo said.
Selma smiled prettily as she held up four fingers. “Then I’ve got more kills than you, Tania.”
“Hmph.” The other golem crossed her arms. “Don’t look so settled, sister. We only just got this party started. We’ll see what’s what soon enough.”
Milo squatted down to pick up the fallen pyromancer’s wand.
Most likely it was meant to give students something to get started with. A tool to help them survive whatever was next. But for Milo it was useless. Neither of his golems could use it for magical purposes.
But it was an opportunity in another way.
He took hold of the long shaft and pressed his thumbs tight, snapping it in two.
“Huh.” He raised his eyebrows as two lengths of copper wire were exposed. Two holes had been drilled down the shaft to allow the wires to thread through, separated from each other.
At the head, he twisted and the glass gem came off to expose the actual core protected beneath. A thin wafer of silicon with a small ruby embedded in the middle. About the size of his smallest fingernail.
It was slotted into a slot which connected to the copper wire.
At the base of the wand, the wires connected to a sphere which felt like lead. They’d been soldered to two small copper pins sticking out of the lead inside the wand.
Another two pins connected two more wires to the copper handle.
He guessed this formed some kind of circuit.
Meaning the mage would have their hand connecting directly to the core.
He tugged at his ear as he thought it through. If the core could hold a large amount of mana, then touching it was what allowed the mage to use that additional well. But why would it multiply instead of just add to?
He pulled out the core and looked at it, ignoring the shocked gasps of his golems.
“Milo!” Tania cried. “At least wear some gloves! Ain’t right to touch a gal’s core like that…”
“It’s not real,” he reminded her, waving his hand at the world around them. “It’s a dungeon scenario.”
“Still…”
“Can you find me a bag, please?”
“What for?”
“I want to take it with us.”
“But we can’t take it out of the dungeon.” She frowned. “Can we?”
“I don’t think so. But I want to try something. I just can’t do it here.”
Selma leaned down and tugged a small satchel from the body of one of the dead students. Wiping it, she held it out to him. “Here.”
“Thanks.” He tugged it open and spilled out the contents. A few pens, some scraps of paper. Nothing interesting.
Tucking the core away, he stood and looked around.
“Now we need to find some weapons,” he said. “I need a rifle.”