episode_0073

My eyes snapped open, feeling like I hadn’t slept much. Ashel ran a hand through his messy hair and sat up.

My condition is… not bad. The magic consumed in the spar has all returned, and my body is perfectly fine. There seemed to be no obstacle to escaping the labyrinth. That was enough.

“Oh, you’re awake?”

Turning his head at the sudden voice, Saya came into Ashel’s sight, sitting on the sofa and combing her tail. Ashel walked towards her and replied.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Yes. I just closed my eyes and fell asleep right away, and just woke up now. Did you sleep well?”

“So-so.”

Ashel snapped his fingers, creating a small campfire in front of the sofa. It ignited through a basic fire spell. He flowed electricity inside it, forming a flame that would burn on its own without needing attention. Feeling the ambient temperature rise, Ashel plopped down onto the empty seat next to Saya.

The sofa was quite soft. Not as good as the one in the dormitory, but it seemed sufficient for spending a night. The sofa at the Witch’s Assembly had a similar material to this.

“But Ashel. To call the current situation… a club initiation, isn’t it a bit excessive?”

Suddenly, Saya asked him that. Ashel rolled only his eyes to meet her gaze and listened to her words.

“Usually, when you think of initiation, you just think of hazing. But this is…”

“Too dangerous?”

“…Yes.”

Saya timidly nodded her head. Ashel gave a wry smile and leaned back against the sofa.

In fact, even up to the 4th floor of the Provisional Labyrinth, it wasn’t that dangerous. To exaggerate a bit, if they wanted to, they could slaughter the native life forms and advance whenever they wished. But now that they had passed the 5th floor and were forcibly transferred to the 15th floor, the situation was a little different.

Paschal Terron. A powerful fire mage who would later reach the realm of Archmage and claim the position of Magic Tower Master.

He had said the 16th floor of the labyrinth was dangerous. Saya, who had been half in doubt until then, must have realized through the spar with Ashel that he was no pushover. Perhaps from there, she started putting trust in Paschal’s words.

When someone powerful says something is dangerous, there is always a reason for it. From the 16th floor of the labyrinth onwards, it was a land of death where even high-ranking fire mages had to fight for their lives. For Saya, who lacked combat ability, that place would feel so dangerous that it wouldn’t be strange to lose her life just by breathing.

“But don’t worry.”

However, Ashel still didn’t view the current situation as that serious. If this were a real labyrinth, his head would also be complicated, but this was a Provisional Labyrinth. It was a virtual stage set up by the academy, merely a fake environment created to resemble a real labyrinth.

Could death truly occur in such a place? If so, why did the Dean open the Provisional Labyrinth to students? They wouldn’t want to see the academy completely turned upside down.

Freed did not possess such a self-destructive tendency. The fact that she opened the Provisional Labyrinth meant that it was, in effect, not that dangerous.

The problem was that every sensation felt was strongly asserting the fact that ‘this space is dangerous’.

There is something called the placebo effect. It’s a word meaning that if you believe something, your body actually reacts that way. The anxiety Saya was feeling was probably the result of her senses sending signals and her brain mixing them together.

There is an easily mistaken fact. While thought is greatly influenced by the mind, it is even more influenced by the physical body. In that respect, Ashel’s direction of thought was far more extraordinary than that of ordinary people.

The transcendent reason and mind of a mage, unburdened by the physical body. With that alone, he could perceive the current situation more accurately and certainly than anyone else, and could calm his mind down at any time.

It meant that cognitive ability and the brain were influenced more by the mind than by the body. How important this talent was for a mage was something everyone could understand without explanation.

His thinking, which was like that, concluded that the current situation was not that dangerous. It was a conclusion reached through rational deduction and thought.

“Ashel…”

Looking at Celine, who was stumbling out of the bedroom, Ashel organized his thoughts.

The burn he sustained during the spar.

Then and now, he felt no pain. Even though the burn mark remained clear, there was no pain at all.

Like a dream.

***

“Here’s the plan.”

Paschal said, looking at the group sitting in a circle.

“As soon as we descend to the 16th floor, we run with all our might towards the stairs back. Ignore anything that rushes at us midway and just run.”

“I have a question. How do you know the location of the stairs back? You can’t go back up to a floor you’ve already stepped on, can you?”

“The labyrinth changes its characteristics starting from the 15th floor. From this rest area, it’s possible to go down to the floors below and come back up again.”

Paschal answered Celine’s question. He drew out a flame in a long line like a thread and laid it on the floor, sketching out a rough map of the 16th floor.

“Until I give the signal, go straight. When I signal, immediately turn right. If you run like that, you’ll see a staircase. Once you reach there, returning won’t be a problem.”

“Can’t the demonic beasts come up beyond the stairs?”

“Of course they can. So keep running. At a certain point, they’ll give up and go back, so until then, run like crazy. If you want to live.”

The meeting ended simply like that. After devising a plan that was embarrassing to even call a plan, the group immediately stood before the stairs leading down to the 16th floor.

“…”

The aura emanating from below was unusual. Just standing still felt like his breath was being squeezed shut by a tight pressure. It was stifling and bothersome, like breathing in foreign matter. All the fine hairs on his body stood on end, as if facing a murderer head-on. A highly concentrated magic power pressed down on his body as if trying to crush him.

The more sensitive a mage was to magic power, the stronger such pressure felt. Paschal loosened his body as if used to it, but Celine swallowed hard, her teeth chattering.

Although she had spent her childhood in the slums, death was still frightening to her. Since becoming a mage, she had only focused on research in the Magic Tower, so while not completely ignorant of combat, she didn’t have much experience. Entering a place where she could lose her life of her own accord was still a terrifying and scary thing.

“It’s okay.”

At that moment, Ashel muttered, taking Celine’s trembling hand. He chuckled, meeting eyes with Celine who had whipped her head around towards him.

“If necessary, I’ll just carry you.”

“…Forget it?”

Celine replied curtly for no reason, gripping Ashel’s hand tightly.

“…Still, I feel relieved.”

“Is that so?”

Ashel kindly let her hold his hand until she calmed down. Paschal, who had a final cigarette in his mouth before descending the labyrinth, watched the scene and wore a slightly sour smile.

“What is it? Dating?”

“It’s not like that!”

“It’s been said since ancient times that a strong denial is a strong affirmation. I can clearly see your future, that’s what I mean.”

“Wh-what?”

“If you don’t want to die during sex later, build up your stamina, kid. The child born from you two would be something to see. Make sure to send them to the Ignis Magic Tower later!”

Ashel ignored Paschal’s shouting and tightly held onto Celine, who was about to leap forward. Celine struggled in his embrace, then took a ragged breath and looked up at Ashel.

“I’m an expensive woman. I’m not an easy woman who’d fall head over heels just for a noble title!”

“Who’s saying anything about that? Who among us is even a noble in the first place?”

“…? You’re not a noble? You totally look like a noble.”

Celine blinked her eyes and muttered. Ashel let go of her and replied.

“I’m from the slums. You could pretty much say I grew up there. You can tell just by the fact that I don’t have a family name, can’t you?”

“Sl-slums? You too?”

“…You too?”

“Me too!”

Celine’s expression brightened considerably. She hadn’t expected to meet a fellow street-born mage at the academy. Feeling her favorability and closeness towards Ashel surge, Celine patted his chest with her fist.

“Did you have parents?”

“My parents were demon worshipers, so I ran away.”

“Mine are all dead! But my mom was a good person.”

“What the hell kind of conversation from the afterlife is this? Did a conversation topic about asking about each other’s parents become a trend without me knowing?”

Paschal, who couldn’t stand listening to them any longer, interrupted. He threw the cigarette he was smoking onto the floor, sighed deeply, and began descending the stairs.

“Shut up and let’s go now. It’s good to loosen up the atmosphere, but we should avoid getting too relaxed. Keep a moderate amount of tension.”

He was right. Ashel roughly ruffled Celine’s hair, who was grumbling, then followed right behind Paschal. Behind him, Celine and Saya stuck close together as they went down the stairs. Ashel cast physical reinforcement magic repeatedly on the two of them and raised his magic power, ready to react at any moment.

Magic favorable for speed combat was fire magic and ice magic. Lightning magic, while overwhelmingly superior in attack speed compared to the other two, inevitably reduced the mobility of the mage themselves.

If he could turn his body into lightning, that might be different, but Ashel’s level hadn’t reached that point yet. He would only dare to attempt it after at least realizing his Uniqueness.

“Get ready.”

At a point where they had descended the stairs to some extent, Paschal muttered, shaking his leg. Ashel discerned the presence of life forms felt beyond the end of the stairs and his face grew cold. Paschal didn’t bother turning back, but raised his magic power, formed hand seals, and continued.

“Here we go.”

The moment he spoke.

[Prominence]

Hwa-reureureuk!!!! (Roaring flames!!!!)

A huge sphere of flame was summoned in front of Paschal. It shot forward like a projectile. That alone brightly illuminated the dark labyrinth corridor, revealing the native life forms engulfed in flames.

Their form was similar to humans. But they had six heads. A heart with teeth pumped within their wide-open chests, and lungs chewed on their ribs, spitting out bone fragments.

Their shattered shoulder blades had pierced through their skin and transformed into real wings. Each of the six heads had one set of eyes and mouth, and as their large eyes turned to ash, their mouths, ripped open in an X shape, let out a shriek.

-Kkieeeeeeek!!! (Screeeeeeek!!!)

A loud cry that seemed to make one’s brain vibrate. As if resonating, similar sounds erupted from all directions.

Now. Even without speaking, everyone instantly started sprinting through the labyrinth with all their might.

[Flame Walk]

Paschal killed the friction on his shoes and shot forward as if gliding. Ashel unfurled wings of flame behind his back, and Celine summoned a large planet and rode on top of it. Saya transformed her appearance into a fox using demonic energy and sprinted like crazy on all fours. Her unleashed tails overlapped as if one, radiating demonic energy.

Everyone’s speed was roughly similar. But Saya and Celine were concentrating all their focus just on maintaining speed. They had no time to deal with the approaching demonic beasts.

Whenever that happened, Ashel and Paschal busied their hands. The two sprinting figures perfectly understood what to do for each other without needing to converse.

[Flare]

Flames surged up from Paschal’s stepping foot. That alone cleanly blew off the upper bodies of the demonic beasts that were rushing towards them. Ashel used the recoil from Paschal’s magic to move to the very back of the group. He then chanted a lightning spell.

[Apex Thunder Annihilation (첨뢰멸휘)]

Fine currents sparked from his fingertips. As soon as they collided with one demonic beast, a massive storm of thunder tore through the space. The grotesque demonic beasts that were chasing them were immediately disassembled and scattered across the floor.

However, they did not die. The severed arms became single life forms, splitting from the main body. Mouths formed on the severed ends, and bones that popped out with grinding sounds formed legs. They immediately lunged towards the group, letting out sharp screams.

The remaining body fragments were similar. Splintered entities that didn’t die but constantly harbored life. Torn-off lungs and hearts, intestines, and even brain matter condensed to form a single life.

It felt like common sense was being thoroughly denied. Ashel let out a hollow laugh and activated a fire spell in reverse direction behind Saya and Celine. With the magic as propulsion, the two shot forward quickly. Ashel grabbed the heart that had leaped to bite his leg with magic threads, tore it apart, and increased the output of his wings.

Kwaaaaaaaa!!! (Roaring!!!)

Intensely rotating wings of flame. That alone released overwhelming heat into the surroundings. It was a magic with terrible magic efficiency, so it couldn’t be maintained for long, but its output was top-notch.

Just by having them spread, they wouldn’t dare to attack rashly. Ashel finished by slamming one more lightning spell into them, then flew towards Paschal. He looked up at him, stemming the blood flowing from his blood-soaked fingers.

He didn’t bother asking how he got injured. A question with an obvious answer was useless anyway.

“How much is left?!”

“Not much left!”

Paschal replied, pouring out spheres of flame. Ashel’s face twisted, and he quickly formed hand seals.

[Crimson Flame Line Rotation (염홍선회)]

Long lines of burning flame bloomed at the tips of Ashel’s ten fingers. He extended them in all directions as if manipulating a doll, then instantly pulled them back. Then, the fine lines of flame spun wildly, releasing heat and fire into the surroundings. The moment demonic beasts touched the high-temperature threads, they were smoothly sliced apart.

“Aah, damn it!”

Celine wasn’t standing still either. Whenever a moment of respite appeared, she conjured a meteor shower to pierce the heads of the demonic beasts. Saya also momentarily halted the demonic beasts’ movements through hypnosis.

That was enough. A gap created instantaneously. Paschal forcibly tore through that gap and created a massive storm of flame.

“Turn!”

He shouted and changed direction to the right. Ashel rotated his flight direction accordingly and adjusted Saya’s inertia to prevent her from hitting the wall. Saya looked up at him with her vertically slit pupils, then raised her demonic energy further and increased her size.

“Ku-rururuk…!” (Growling…!)

She let out an eerie resonance and grabbed and crushed the intestines flying towards Ashel. Even while doing so, her speed didn’t decrease. It was proof that she was properly controlling her body, which had transformed into a beast.

A level of control that made his worry about her lagging behind feel unnecessary. Ashel gently stroked Saya’s soft fur once, then looked back and snapped his fingers. Simultaneously, lightning bolts shot out in a fan shape, burning the demonic beasts as they advanced.

The space behind them opened up instantaneously. They could buy a little time until the sliced-apart ones split and gained life again. Ashel moved past the sprinting Saya and looked straight ahead.

Then, a staircase appeared in his sight. A staircase carved not downwards, but upwards. Confirming it, Paschal looked back at the group.

There was no conversation. They simply spurred themselves on.

And at that moment.

-Guwoooooo!!! (Roaaaaaar!!!)

A massive pile of corpses fell down right in front of the stairs. No, to be precise, it was a phenomenon like a golem created by corpses clumped together. Even at a glance, the presence felt unusual. Ignoring it seemed impossible.

But continuing the fight wasn’t an option either. They had bought a little time, but it was clear that demonic beasts would pour out from behind again while they were fighting.

If so, the best method was for one person to face the golem while the others first—

“Shut up, you son of a bitch!”

The moment Ashel thought. Paschal shouted roughly and formed hand seals. Simultaneously, a single red droplet fell from between his grasped hands onto the floor.

Kwaaaaaaaa!!! (Roaring!!!)

Flames that incinerated the entire space spread to everything except the group. Instantly, the golem melted to the point where its form was barely recognizable. As the bright red blood touched the floor, it evaporated, and the flesh scattered as ash without even leaving a shape.

He could tell at a glance. It was clearly a high-level magic that boasted extreme firepower even within fire magic. Ashel stared at the flames that covered everything with burning eyes and ran after Paschal.

He folded his wings of flame. It was obvious that if he used them any further, his magic power would be depleted, resulting in a loss of combat ability. He ran on his own two feet, watching Paschal’s back as he gasped for breath.

“Hoek… Hoek…” (Gasp… Gasp…)

His breath quickly became ragged. His body wasn’t obeying because he had constantly maintained a magic with broken efficiency and used other magic consecutively. It wasn’t to the point where his legs would give out, but he could clearly tell that his speed had slowed down compared to before.

If he continued like this, he would collapse from exhaustion before reaching the stairs. Ashel gritted his teeth, clenched his back molars, and moved his legs, screaming internally. At that moment, Saya grabbed his clothes with her mouth, stepped on the regenerating remains of the golem, and accelerated.

“Saya!”

“Kang!” (Bark!)

Saya responded not by speaking but by barking once, snatching Celine onto her back, and then batting Paschal, who was waving his hand as if asking to be carried as well, with her front paw.

“Keu-heuk?!” (Cough?!)

He flew towards the stairs with a bewildered expression. Saya winced at her slightly burnt paw and threw herself towards the stairs. The giant fox zipped inside the stairs, and as her body returned to its original form, the two people who had been clinging on rolled onto the floor.

“Keu-heuk… Kang kang…!” (Cough… Bark bark…!)

Saya lay face down on the stairs, whimpering pitifully. Ashel snapped back to attention, fixed Saya and Celine with magic threads, and began running up the stairs. Paschal also cursed and followed alongside him.

“Damn it, why the hell did you only hit me?!”

He grumbled, burning the blood flowing from his fingers. Ashel didn’t bother replying to his words, but ran until the presence of demonic beasts could no longer be felt.

Thanks to Celine intercepting the demonic beasts with magic, their presence cleanly disappeared after a short while.