Chapter 302: The Harper Complex
Sector 4 was a massive, magically enclosed dome designed to perfectly replicate a ruined, war-torn metropolis.
The air inside the staging room smelled strongly of ozone and sterilized steel. Holographic maps hovered in the center of the room, casting a pale blue glow over the squad.
"Are you even paying attention, Freshman?"
The voice was sharp, cold, and dripping with absolute condescension.
Arthur slowly pulled his gaze away from the holographic map.
Standing across the tactical table was Amara Harper, the Third-Year Student Council Vice President.
She looked exactly like her reputation suggested. Impeccable. Her silver hair was cut into a razor-sharp bob. Her academy uniform was meticulously tailored, perfectly clinging to her lithe, athletic figure. A pair of wire-rimmed glasses rested on the bridge of her nose, magnifying the disdain in her sharp, storm-grey eyes.
"I heard every word, Vice President," Arthur replied lazily, crossing his arms.
"Then repeat the objective," Amara snapped, tapping her riding crop against the metal table.
"Enter the urban ruins. Secure the simulated civilian payload in Grid 7. Extract without taking more than twenty percent squad casualties," Arthur recited effortlessly.
Amara’s eyes narrowed. She hated his tone. She hated his relaxed posture.
"You think you’re special because you survived the Devil’s Forest, Ludwig," Amara said, taking a step closer. The air around her dropped several degrees. "But out here, raw power is useless without a brain to direct it. I am the commander. You do not swing until I point you at a target. Understood?"
Before Arthur could answer, a hand slammed flat onto the metal table.
"My brother is fully capable of following a tactical plan, Vice President Harper."
Emily Ludwig stepped forward, placing herself squarely between Arthur and Amara.
Arthur’s sister wore the white-and-gold armband of the Student Council Secretary. Her dark hair was tied back in a practical braid, but her golden eyes were blazing with fierce, protective hostility.
"I am the tactical oversight for this operation, Amara," Emily said, her voice tight. "Your job is to direct the squad, not to talk down to my Vanguard leader like he’s a dog."
Amara scoffed, adjusting her glasses. "Tell your dog to stop acting like he owns the room, Emily, and I won’t have to."
Arthur smirked, placing a heavy hand on Emily’s shoulder. He gently pulled his sister back.
"It’s fine, Emily," Arthur murmured, his voice a low, calming rumble. "The Vice President is right. I’m just a first-year. I’m eager to learn from her flawless example."
Amara shot him a suspicious glare. She was looking for the sarcasm, but Arthur’s face was a mask of polite obedience.
A loud, mechanical siren blared through the staging room.
The massive steel blast doors groaned open, revealing the dark, ruined cityscape of Sector 4. The sky above the simulation was artificially darkened, choked with thick, simulated ash.
"Squad Two, move out," Amara commanded, drawing a sleek, silver rapier. "Diamond formation. Alicia, take the rear guard. Arthur, take the point. Do exactly as I say."
The first twenty minutes of the simulation were an absolute joke.
A pack of low-tier Shadow Hounds ambushed them in the ruins of a collapsed cathedral. Amara barked orders with military precision, directing Alicia’s ice spells and Nadia’s curses with flawless timing.
She didn’t let Arthur draw his sword.
"Hold your position, Ludwig!" Amara yelled, freezing three hounds to the ground with a wave of her hand. "Don’t break formation!"
Arthur simply stood there, his hands tucked casually into his pockets, watching her work.
She was good. Incredibly efficient. But she was bleeding mana. She was over-managing the entire squad, desperately trying to maintain absolute, dictatorial control over every single variable on the battlefield.
Arthur watched her chest heave beneath her uniform. He already knew exactly what was wrong with her.
He knew about the massive, suffocating shadow her genius younger sister, Luna, cast over her life. Amara wasn’t fighting the simulation right now. She was fighting a ghost. She was terrified of making even a single mistake and proving the rumors right—that she was just the inferior Harper sister.
[She’s trying way too hard,] Sol observed lazily from Arthur’s shoulder. [She’s going to crack.]
I know, Arthur thought, his golden eyes narrowing. Let’s see how much pressure it takes.
Suddenly, the ground beneath their boots violently shuddered.
The simulated sky flared a harsh, warning red.
Up in the observation deck, Emily slammed her hands onto the control console.
"Vice President!" Emily’s voice crackled through the squad’s earpieces, laced with sudden panic. "The instructors just overrode the simulation parameters! They bypassed the safety limits! You have a massive swarm of B-rank Obsidian Crawlers converging on your position! It’s a wipeout scenario!"
Amara froze, her silver rapier dropping a fraction of an inch.
"A swarm?" Amara whispered, her perfectly maintained posture faltering.
A deafening, metallic screech echoed through the ruined streets.
From the shadows of the collapsed buildings, massive, heavily armored arachnids began to pour out. They were the size of small carriages, their black shells completely immune to standard magic. There weren’t just a few. There were dozens of them.
"Defensive positions!" Amara yelled, but her voice cracked. The sharp edge of command was gone. "Alicia! Ice Wall, maximum output!"
Alicia slammed her staff into the ground, erecting a massive, glittering barricade of ice.
But it wasn’t enough.
The Obsidian Crawlers slammed into the ice, their heavy, razor-sharp legs instantly chipping away at the barrier.
"Vice President, we can’t hold this!" Nadia shouted, her dark curses bouncing uselessly off the monsters’ magic-resistant shells. "Order a retreat!"
"No! We don’t retreat!" Amara screamed, her eyes wide with panic.
Arthur smirked. There it was. Her inferiority complex taking the wheel. If I run, I fail. Luna wouldn’t run.
"Amara!" Emily yelled through the comms. "Pull them back to Grid 6! The structural integrity of that cathedral is failing!"
Amara didn’t listen. She stepped forward, her rapier glowing with frantic, desperate mana.
"I said hold the line!" Amara shrieked, firing a massive volley of ice spears directly into the swarm.
The attack shattered harmlessly against their armor.
One of the largest Crawlers lunged, completely breaking through Alicia’s weakened wall. It raised a massive, scythe-like leg, aiming directly for Amara’s chest.
Amara’s breath caught in her throat. She tried to raise her blade to block, but her arms felt like lead. She was paralyzed.
CLANG!
Sparks exploded in the dark ruins.
Amara blinked, her heart hammering wildly against her ribs.
She wasn’t dead.
Arthur stood directly in front of her. He held the massive, razor-sharp scythe of the B-rank monster back with a single, black-gloved hand. The sheer physical force of his block cracked the concrete beneath his boots.
He hadn’t even drawn his sword.
Arthur slowly turned his head, looking over his shoulder at the trembling Vice President. The simulated red emergency lights cast long, demonic shadows across his face.
"You’re shaking, Commander," Arthur noted, his voice a low, terrifying purr that easily cut through the screeching of the monsters. "Thought you had this under control."
Before Amara could respond, the massive stone pillars of the ruined cathedral finally gave way.
The ceiling violently groaned, and thousands of tons of concrete and steel collapsed directly on top of them.
