The Royal Military Academy's Impostor Owns a Dungeon [BL]

”What the—?!”

It was an entirely understandable reaction.

After all, what in tarnation was that and who in their right mind would’ve expected a massive explosion in the middle of a special licensure examination?

For one horrifying moment, quite a few people genuinely thought the arena had come under a terrorist attack.

Cassian Veyra certainly did.

His eyes widened as he shot to his feet, his first instinct being to determine whether someone had acted without orders.

It certainly hadn’t been him.

Nor had it been his father.

If there was anyone who wanted this examination to proceed without interruption, it was the Federation. They needed to witness every step of Oliver Mylor’s manufacturing process, which was precisely why they’d assembled an entire department of scientists and engineers to study it in real time.

So what was this?

Had one of those idiots really dared interfere with the Federation’s objectives?

Unbeknownst to the increasingly frustrated heir, the leaders of the other foreign powers were having much the same thoughts.

It couldn’t have been them.

Not this time at least.

Not when everyone had far more to gain from watching than from stopping the examination.

Then who was stupid enough to do something like this?

Back in the arena, the testing grounds disappeared behind a dense cloud of smoke, freezing tens of thousands of spectators where they stood. Countless people instinctively rose from their seats, the scene destined to become one of the most iconic images associated with this particular examination.

Inside the control room, Curtis immediately reached for his terminal.

”Send a team in—”

”No.”

Marshal Julian’s voice cut him off before the order could be completed.

”Hold your position.”

”What?” Curtis blurted out.

Even Eden looked toward the Marshal in disbelief.

”But Marshal!”

She’d grown genuinely fond of the DG cadets after everything they’d done to help search for her brother, and any claim that she could remain impartial had long since gone out the window. There was simply no way she was going to calmly stand by if one of them had just been caught in an explosion.

Forget military interests.

Forget politics.

Those kids came first.

She was pretty sure everyone inside that temporary facility felt the same way. The others might not know the cadets to the extent that she did, but they were more than aware of just how important they were to the Empire’s future, which only made the Marshal’s calm response all the more confusing.

Why was the person even closer to them stopping everyone else from responding immediately?

Well, simple.

Because unlike everyone else, he actually knew this part was coming. Looking at it now, he was immensely grateful for the warning. Otherwise, seeing it unfold without any prior knowledge would’ve had him leaping off the observation platform himself.

But perhaps he really should’ve asked for a little clarification when those crazed cadets had cheerfully informed him, ”Oh! And Marshal, there may be a little boom here and there during the test! But don’t worry! It’s all part of the process!”

Little boom, my ass.

Even knowing to expect it, the explosion had still made his pulse lurch. With that in mind, he decided the increasingly uneasy people behind him could use a bit of reassurance.

”Look,” the Marshal said, gesturing toward the seating area reserved for Ollie’s family and friends.

Everyone instinctively followed his hand.

Luca wasn’t panicking.

If anything, the golden-eyed youngster looked so excited that he seemed only moments away from leaping out of his seat.

”Does that,” Julian asked evenly, ”look like the face of someone watching his sworn brother blow himself up?”

The officers who had already begun turning toward the exit quietly stopped.

Now that they looked more carefully...

It really was an odd sight.

The people closest to Ollie appeared completely unconcerned. Some of them, particularly the apron-wearing second son of House Nox, even looked mildly exasperated, one eye continuing to twitch as though he’d already resigned himself to whatever insanity was about to unfold.

That strange sense of confidence became even harder to ignore when Master Quinn, from the judges’ seats, loudly warned the equally stunned master mechanics not to keel over before witnessing the next step. He even specifically instructed them not to rush onto the testing grounds carrying fire extinguishers.

Firstly, by the time they got there, the entire arena would’ve already been engulfed with their speed. Secondly, they didn’t even have any with them.

Gasp!

Several of them were just about to demand an explanation, even setting aside the audacity of someone who wouldn’t have been able to outrun them by much anyway, when the smoke finally began to clear.

This time even more collective gasps echoed throughout the arena as they started seeing a silhouette.

Standing at the center of the testing grounds was a rather intimidating-looking, or perhaps more accurately, crazed-looking Oliver Mylor, his blonde hair coated in a layer of ash that made him look as though he’d just crawled straight out of a battlefield.

Even so, he appeared completely unharmed.

The audience had only just begun breathing sighs of relief after noticing the extensive protective equipment covering his body when another deafening explosion erupted across the testing grounds.

BOOM!

The arena shook once again.

”Oh my goodness!”

”What is even happening?!”

”Quinn, explain yourself!”

”What kind of manufacturing process is this?!”

”Is the cadet even safe in there?!”

Master Quinn almost wanted to scream.

If Ollie wasn’t safe inside that workstation, then none of them would’ve survived being close to it.

And knowing their Young Lord Luca, Oliver Mylor was probably occupying the single safest spot on the entirety of Planet Nova.

That wasn’t even an exaggeration.

More importantly...

Everyone’s outlook and expressions would probably change the moment they realized that beneath all the soot, the violent explosions, and the terrifying spectacle unfolding before them, one blonde was actually wearing the widest grin imaginable.

But how come?

Well, see, out of every step in the entire manufacturing process, this one was his absolute favorite!