[The Abyssal Academy - The Grand Foyer]
The final stone was slotted into place. The first floor of the Abyssal Academy had been officially transformed from a crumbling ruin into a highly optimized, capital-extracting labyrinth.
Victor Thorne stood behind a one-way enchanted glass window in the newly constructed "Security Control Room," overlooking the entrance. Seraphina stood to his left, her violet eyes tracking the magical surveillance monitors. To his right, Ignis and Elara watched in tense silence.
"The infrastructure is complete, Principal Thorne," Seraphina reported. "However, launching a product of this scale without a Quality Assurance test is a violation of corporate protocol."
"Agreed," Victor checked his gold Rolex. "We need a Beta Tester."
As if on cue, the heavy, ancient iron doors of the academy entrance groaned and shattered inward.
Four figures stepped out of the freezing rain and into the dimly lit foyer. They were the "Silver Griffins," a mid-tier local adventuring party consisting of a Knight, a Rogue, a Mage, and a Cleric.
"Keep your weapons drawn," the Knight whispered, his sword glowing with a faint blue light. "The Abyssal Academy has been quiet for weeks. The Principal is dead, and the dark mages are fighting for control. We sweep the first floor, grab the loose gold, and get out before the heavy hitters notice us."
Behind the one-way glass, Victor simply raised an eyebrow.
"They are trespassing on private property," Ignis growled, her hand resting on the hilt of her broadsword. "Let me go down there and burn them."
"Patience, Princess," Victor said smoothly, pressing a glowing rune on the control desk. "Let the automated systems handle the onboarding process."
Down in the foyer, the Silver Griffins took three steps forward.
Suddenly, heavy iron grates slammed down over the entrance, locking them inside. The torches along the walls flared to life, not with eerie red flames, but with bright, obnoxious magical neon light.
A massive, enchanted sign illuminated above an armored booth in the center of the room: WELCOME TO THE ABYSSAL ACADEMY. ADMISSION TICKET: 500 GOLD.
Sitting behind a sheet of thick, blast-proof glass was a goblin wearing a high-vis yellow vest and a headset.
"Welcome, valued guests!" the goblin chirped in a monotone, pre-recorded sounding voice. "To proceed to the torture chambers, please insert five hundred Gold per person. We accept raw ore, blessed steel, or valid bloodline collateral."
The adventurers froze, completely bewildered.
"What is this?" the Mage stammered. "Where are the skeletons? Where are the blood traps?"
"It's a trick!" the Knight yelled. "Smash the glass!"
The Knight lunged forward, swinging his glowing broadsword with all his might against the goblin's booth.
CLANG.
The blast-proof glass didn't even scratch. The Knight's sword vibrated so violently he nearly dropped it.
"Notice," the goblin droned into his microphone, tapping a keypad. "Attempting to bypass the paywall without a valid subscription constitutes Theft of Services. Deploying Asset Recovery."
The floor beneath the adventurers suddenly shifted. A hidden trapdoor snapped open, dropping them not into a spike pit, but into a smooth, frictionless chute.
They slid screaming into a steel-reinforced holding cell directly beneath the foyer. As they scrambled to their feet, the massive, steel-plated Class-A Chimera stepped out of the shadows. It wasn't growling aggressively; it was holding a massive, empty canvas sack in its jaws.
Five elite Vampire students dropped from the ceiling, their eyes glowing red.
"You are currently insolvent," the lead Vampire hissed, producing a glowing ledger page. "Please remove all armor, weapons, and magical artifacts. Or the Lunch Lady will remove your limbs."
Ten minutes later, the front gates of the Academy opened.
The four Silver Griffins were violently thrown out into the freezing mud. They were completely naked, shivering, and stripped of every single piece of gear they owned.
The Knight looked down at his hand. Clutched in his trembling fingers was a perfectly printed piece of golden parchment.
RECEIPT: 1x Iron Sword, 1x Leather Armor, 2x Minor Healing Potions. Total Value Appraised: 1,200 Gold. Thank you for visiting the Abyssal Academy.
Up in the control room, Victor watched them run crying into the woods.
"The extraction rate is one hundred percent," Victor smiled a ruthless, predatory smile, snapping his pocket watch shut. "The Beta Test is a success. Seraphina, approve the final build. Let the Crusaders come."