episode_0078

It was a short moment.

Just the blink of an eye.

First, the mechanism of the trap came to mind.

Given its age, it’s unlikely to have physical devices embedded within it.

Things like pressure plates or wires are easy to break and prone to malfunction.

To maintain its function over a long period, it must operate using magic spells contained within magic stones.

The trap probably activates by detecting the mana of intruders.

If that’s true, the device not detecting me also makes perfect sense.

My body naturally lacks mana.

So naturally, Eve, with her elemental mana, triggered the trap.

The magic arrow, without exception, flew toward her.

All of that flashed through my mind in an instant, and I quickly turned towards Eve, shouting.

“Eve, magic arrow—”

But.

*Pabababat—*

The arrows flew towards Eve faster than my words.

Even faster, her arm described a circular arc.

A moment later.

In her quietly outstretched hand, she held the magic arrows.

“Did you mean this?”

*Passut—*

Once fired, the magic arrows were destined to either hit their target, break, or both.

The arrows, held in her grasp, still trying to move forward, resembled freshly caught fish.

How did you do that, you goddamn bitch…

To cleanly catch something that moved at a speed that was slightly difficult even for my eyes…

I got the feeling that I might lose if we just fought with fists and no magic.

“We… should probably destroy those.”

“I was just about to.”

Leaving them wriggling like that, who knows what else might happen.

*Kwaduk—*

Eve used her strength to cleanly crush the magic arrows.

The next moment.

“Are you okay?~”

I had specifically told them that the next arrows would come from behind.

Whether they knew or not, Yuri and Nyx walked over with bright smiles.

*Peeng—*

There were no exceptions.

From the ceiling on the opposite side of the corridor where they had walked, the unmistakable sound of incoming magic arrows was felt.

“Watch out behind—”

“-Huh?”

Once again, the magic arrows quickly cut through the air toward Nyx.

*Puwuk— Puwuk—*

Naturally, lacking the reaction time and strength to catch them, she had no time to defend herself.

She took them all in the back.

But… the reaction is strange.

“…Are you alright?”

“What? Ah—”

Smiling brightly, she slowly turned, revealing her back where the arrows had struck.

However, there wasn’t a single drop of blood, not even a scratch, on her snow-white skin.

It looked like she had some kind of bubble-wrap toy arrows stuck on her.

“Intermediate magic, [Magical Arrow].”

“No, I’m asking if your back is okay…”

“Yup! No problem.”

I distinctly remember her complaining so much about the pain and making a huge fuss when I tore them to shreds last time.

It didn’t seem like she was holding back this time.

Without so much as a twitch of an eyebrow, she maintained her usual sly smile and gently traced her hand across her back.

The magic arrows turned into black powder and scattered on the wind.

“Magic I’ve known about or properly analyzed doesn’t work on me. Khihih—”

…So that’s how it was.

Well, I thought that for someone of her level, it was about time she showed this much.

I hadn’t exactly anticipated this, but apparently, my having fed her a lot at the scroll shop last time had helped.

Then, I’ll show them what I can do.

They said that the third volley of arrows would be big.

No matter how fast and flawless the trap is, seeing it twice allows you to read the timing.

But, an even easier method came to mind.

[Mana Barrier]!

Quietly gathering the mana from the air, I exhaled with the sensation of expanding all my senses.

*Paat—*

Unintentionally spreading the mana, it exhibited the nature of a liquid or gas, changing shape depending on the container.

The wind attribute mana spread throughout the corridor of the ruins. First, it filled the surroundings in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped. Then, with a *tak—* of my finger snapping, I rigidly fixed its form according to my will.

Even Eve instantly understood what it was. She probably thought of it as my original magic – which it is, to a degree – that I often showed her.

“…To think it could be done on such a wide scale.”

“If I really tried, I might be able to swallow up the whole academy!”

She gently stroked the wall where my mana barrier was touching, and quietly marveled.

Essentially, with this in place, not a single magic arrow or blade could get through.

*Kadeuk— Kadeuk—* *Peet— Peeng—*

A white noise like raindrops on an umbrella filled the corridor in place of the blade barrage. We walked on, through the perfectly dry path.

… … …

After leaving the trap zone, I looked at the others.

“Yuri, are you injured?”

“No, but…”

A hint of her true feelings seeped through her embarrassed smile. It was exactly what I was thinking.

‘It’s… too easy?’

I wasn’t letting my guard down.

However, the deeper we went into the ruins, the more I felt that our party’s power was a little overpowered.

It was that easy.

Eve simply held up the falling ceiling trap with her hand, and it stopped.

Nyx inflated a black mist, rendering the magic laser traps useless.

My [Mana Barrier] completely stopped the large rolling rock trap from moving.

At this point, I wondered if Terrance had exaggerated the power of the traps to frighten us.

Even in Akastos, the Artemis ruins were not fully documented, so it was my first time there.

And so, I had no choice but to believe his words.

That’s why… I couldn’t help but feel even more disheartened .

The fourth or fifth gate, the huge canyon that Joy described in her particularly loud voice…

The fact that it was so deep that its end wasn’t visible was terrifying.

But what struck me was how incredibly simple the solution was.

‘Shouldn’t we just… jump over it…?’

Instead of speaking, I sent a slight glance toward Eve.

She sat down for a moment, stretched her legs, and jumped after a few paces.

*Taat—!*

Eve, leaping up in a parabolic arc, lightly landed on the other side of the canyon a moment later.

“Wow—”

Yuri’s eyes widened as she applauded for Eve on the other side.

This time, I gingerly offered her one hand, suggesting an escort.

“Shall we cross together, Miss?”

“Yes—!”

And, as always, we stepped into the air as if we were walking to school, trampling on the gloomy wind of the canyon.

While I could have hugged her and jumped across the canyon just like Eve did, I thought it might make me seem like a burden on the party.

She should be allowed to do what she can.

Nxx, dissatisfied with the other two holding hands, dematerialized, dispersed a black mist and came hurrying after them.

“Come on—!!”

It couldn’t be helped.

I carefully extended my opposite hand to her.

The three of us passed through the gate side-by-side.

… … …

“Day four!”

Nyx answered the gatekeeper’s question without hesitation.

-Wise ad…venturer… Go forth…

Ignoring the statue’s condescending tone questioning the identity of the correct answerer, we passed through the upper levels and reached a safe zone.

*Kuuung—*

Complete darkness enveloped us as the door closed.

The darkness reminded me that this was a closed underground area, and I quietly held out my finger.

[Light].

A magic spell that emits a bright light by appropriately regulating fire-attribute mana.

With a light source, I walked confidently through the short corridor.

Soon, a light that wasn’t ours came into view.

*Tabak—*

This… was the safe zone. A huge cavern between the upper and middle floors, the place adventurers used as a base camp.

The traces of campfires all around conveyed the presence of human habitation.

Shortly thereafter, I sensed something strange near the floor.

“…Don’t hide, come out.”

A woman’s head then popped out from under a level rock, emerging from the shadows.

“Hee- I’ve been spotted. I was trying to surprise you.”

“You should completely conceal your presence if you intend to ambush someone.”

Soon, Riff pushed herself up, completely emerging from the shadows.

“Everyone inside has finished preparing to rest. This way—”

Following her guidance, I entered the cavern’s interior.

Given the situation, the base camp only had the remaining traces of human habitation. There were no other adventurers besides us.

The many torches that were clearly lit somehow didn’t produce a smoky smell. Gazing at the smoke, I noticed it was drifting away to a particular place due to a steady breeze.

Tracing the smoke with my eyes, I found the members of the Four Saints.

So… it was a safe zone after all, equipped with a rather habitable environment indeed.

There was natural ventilation, and torches were installed according to the large airflow within the cavern. The design channeled the smoke from the campfires in a large circle around the round inner wall.

They were supposedly eating, sleeping, and doing other things in there. Terrance, who was sitting near the central bonfire, approached and greeted us.

“You’re here.”

“Whew… I’m already hungry after all that activity.”

My gaze went to Yuri, who was carrying a backpack almost as big as herself.

It is dinner time.