His lady went out to the test thirty minutes before him. He had to hurry.

Ronan formed the only other one-student group in the exam. If he couldn't go with his angel, he would go alone. His purpose was clear: to find her, follow her, help her, and support her. That's why he had been running through the dungeon the whole time, slowing down to catch his breath and running again. Those weeks at the academy, with light and food, had given his body some of the flesh he hadn't had since his earliest childhood. It seemed strange to him that his bones weren't showing through his skin, and he was certainly delighted that walking more than ten steps in a row was no longer a brutal effort.

In the dungeon, he hadn't encountered any creatures, only remains of spiders. Several of the passages were submerged or ended in pools of water. He had memorized his lady's chart when the professor read it. He would have liked to read it directly from the stone slab too, but at the distance he was, he could only make out the letters written in black ink. Bianca's only spell was earth control. It made no sense for someone as wise as her—wisdom was one of her best stats—to have decided to swim, so he avoided those paths. Time passed, more than an hour already, and he couldn't find her. He had long since stopped running sporadically and, therefore, was advancing more slowly. He was also getting increasingly worried because he might not know much about the world outside his basement, but those spider bodies he was finding didn't seem typical of a novice dungeon controlled by the professors for an exam. He had been investigating and, like many others, tried to get information from the second-year students. A girl told him she was going to tell him just so he would leave and let her be, that there was only a zombie at the end of the maze. Ronan looked at her badly. Who was she to think herself worthy of his attention? Because he only pursued his angel. The girl let out a frightened squeal and ran away. He still wasn't very good at socializing, but he was trying. He imagined it was due to being so thin.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

In the end, he heard screams, a male voice pronouncing Bianca's name. He ran with all his might and turned a corner. He saw his lady's back, with her beautiful brown hair matted with blood, as well as her back. Someone he didn't distinguish, blinded by adrenaline and anger, was holding and hurting her. He would attack him with his magic, but he could harm his lady. So he ran, positioned himself beside her, and leaped onto him, wrapping his legs around his target's waist. He clung to him and began pummeling the sides of his head with punches. The enemy was strong, as he didn't fall stunned. Too bad Ronan had so little strength. The enemy grabbed him and threw him to the ground. The lady was no longer between him and his enemy. The dark magic became denser, making his aura feel much stronger. He parted his lips to pronounce the definitive spell.

"Ronan, what are you doing? Stop!" his lady ordered.

And he, although he disagreed and it could mean losing both his life and his angel's, stopped.

A soldier must always obey his lord's orders.

A punch to the face broke his nose and turned everything black.

"Darius! It's Ronan. Leave him alone, you brute." That was the last thing he heard.