Traps set without a single breath to spare.
But they didn’t seem made with the intent to kill every intruder.
They were trials.
The complex magic circles were too intricate for Fernan and Aria to fully understand.
Even so, within the runes were notes indicating the direction to take.
They had to detect the non-functional circles to make their way through a never-ending corridor of traps.
“So here is where…”
“Kyaaaah!”
“I told you it was to the side.”
Aria crashed into the ceiling from a gust of wind and returned with tears in her eyes.
“If you look closely, the runes here are different. This part…”
“I think I dislocated my shoulder… Let me take a potion first…”
“Give me some gold coins.”
“Ah, seriously, you’re doing this now?!”
The place felt like a classroom designed to train visiting priests.
The problem was, here, learning meant risking your life.
Fwoosh—
Fernan emerged from the flames, tossing aside a ruined defensive artifact.
“…The pattern changed again. We have to analyze it from scratch. How many have we passed?”
“Thirty-two.”
“And how far have we traveled?”
“About 3.2 kilometers.”
“Damn it.”
Traps appeared every hundred meters.
And each one had to be studied individually, which took a lot of time.
“If the priests of the Dragon God Cult discovered this place, they’d go insane.”
It was a paradise of magical knowledge.
Formations and theories never seen before were everywhere.
If you wanted to survive, if you wanted to escape, you had to learn them by force.
The ground turned swampy and trapped Fernan up to his waist.
Rumble—
Rock rose up, merged in an instant, and took the form of a dragon that fell upon him.
Fernan raised his staff. A wall burst forth to collide with the dragon.
But before the impact, the creature dissolved into sand and surrounded him.
“Senior!”
“Kh…!”
The sand bypassed the wall and became a rain of steel.
Boom— a thunderous noise, dust everywhere!
When it cleared, a metallic sphere remained, dented but intact.
“Are you okay?”
“No.”
Fernan emerged, a trickle of blood at his lips.
“Damn it, using earth magic like that? What kind of formula was that?”
It wasn’t pre-designed but changed mid-execution. Just imagining it gave him a headache.
“So that’s what the dragon meant… I thought it wouldn’t work because incompatible elements were mixed with the earth magic…”
“Let’s analyze it again.”
“According to the circle, the mana rises and twists like a spiral and that makes the air…”
And so they continued.
Sometimes they managed to decipher the circle and pass; other times, there was no choice but to endure it physically.
Each time, they were more impressed. Who could create such spells?
Surely an Archmage, or someone even greater.
‘Maybe the same one who made the magic lamps—the first Pope?’
‘Good thing Aria came with me.’
Without her, they wouldn’t have made it halfway.
In the end, they passed the hundredth trap.
Two weeks had passed, camping in the tunnel, eating and sleeping there.
“…Feels refreshing.”
Fernan stood up. The accumulated fatigue from so many battles was no longer healed by potions, but his mind was clear.
New knowledge filled his head.
“Senior, are you awake?”
“Yes.”
“They must be worried outside.”
“Of course.”
They ate some bread and light soup.
“Can we leave now?”
“If we beat what comes next.”
They exchanged a solemn glance.
They had reached the end of the tunnel.
But there stood a guardian, in front of a door engraved with a dragon.
A chimera, frozen in ice.
Fernan had seen one before.
Only by defeating it could they enter and exit.
“Then I’ll awaken it.”
“Yes.”
Fernan poured holy water into the dragon’s mouth.
Wooong—
Unlike at the entrance, here one bottle was enough.
The ice quickly melted and Fernan stepped back.
Grrrk—
The chimera opened its yellow eyes and raised its staff.
────!
A torrent of fire blasted out.
“I’ll block it!”
Fwoooosh—
A giant bird flapped its wings, dispersing the flames until they vanished against the ceiling.
“The high spirit you mentioned…”
“Yes. It was hellish weeks, but thanks to that, I formed a contract.”
The traps had forced them to learn.
And Aria had formed a pact with a high spirit—Silion, of the wind.
“Go, Silion.”
The air filled with blades of wind that struck the chimera.
At the same time, a sphere of steel encased it.
Boom, boom—the impacts shook the cavern, but the sphere held firm.
Then, the creature counterattacked.
The ground became moist out of nowhere. The water turned into a massive wave that swept through the area.
“Fire, earth, and now water in a dry place! That thing is a complete monster.”
“What did you expect? It’s the guardian of this place.”
It likely mastered all the elements.
Fernan took a deep breath and stirred his mana.
Woooosh— sand and water mixed, became mud, then steel, which flew at the chimera.
The creature raised a magical wall.
“Die.”
The steel dissolved into sand and pierced through the defense like a storm of spears.
“Did we do it?”
“Don’t say that.”
“Who said it?”
“Gismond. Every time someone—”
Rumble—
Amid the dust, the chimera’s yellow eyes gleamed. It was nearly unscathed.
“It rises again.”
“It’s a myth. This time it has to fall.”
“Maybe, but it doesn’t look very hurt.”
The chimera stood once more.
A circle covered the ceiling. Dozens of lightning bolts fell at once.
Fernan raised a stone umbrella. Aria slipped under its protection.
“I’ll draw its attention from below. You attack from the air.”
“Got it!”
The lightning stopped. The stone umbrella crumbled.
Fernan faced the beast.
Kyaaaaa—
The roar, charged with mana, deafened them. A gale tore through the corridor.
“It really controls all five elements!”
Fernan used his own sand in the storm and hurled it back at the creature.
Aria, mounted on Silion, ascended.
The beast roared and fired hundreds of fireballs like rain.
Fernan launched a fist of earth, breaking through the flames and striking the chimera, which staggered back with its barrier still active.
Then, Silion exhaled wind like a dragon’s breath.
Crash, crash—
The wind tore through the defense. Fernan filled it with sand and mud, blinding the monster.
A huge shadow fell upon it.
“……!”
The chimera hastily raised another magical barrier.
“You thought they’d be priests from the Dragon God Cult, didn’t you? That’s why you expected a magic duel.”
Slash—
A colossal blade cut it in two.
“But I don’t play by their rules.”
— Kyuu!
Wooden, victorious, let out a playful laugh.
***
“So you’re saying he went looking for adamantite? For two weeks?”
“…Uh… yes.”
Gismond nodded carefully.
Hyde, who had returned after fulfilling Fernan’s order, placed a hand on his forehead.
It had already been the second week since Fernan disappeared. What the hell was he doing to take so long?
“Did he say exactly where he was going?”
“No, he didn’t.”
“Are you sure there’s really adamantite?”
“That’s for sure…”
Gismond had also seen the prophecy book, so he could confirm it.
Hyde, knowing that Gismond was aware of the book along with Fernan, held back from saying more.
“Then for now, let’s wait.”
“You think he’s okay? It’s been two weeks—even for Fernan, that’s…”
Luina let her concern show.
She felt the same as Hyde, but if what Gismond said was true, Fernan would definitely hate being searched for.
‘If he gets help, he’ll think he has to share what he finds.’
That’s why he wanted to go alone.
“He’ll be fine. If he’s late, it’s because he has his reasons. Maybe he even found a gold mine.”
To be honest, they weren’t too worried. Maybe at first, but now Fernan had Wooden with him—a reliable golem.
And though she was overshadowed beside Luina or Aint, Aria was an excellent spiritist and mage.
“But what if he had an accident and can’t communicate?”
“We mustn’t move recklessly. Don’t forget we’re hiding, and this is Esrin.”
“Then let’s wait just one more week. If he’s not back by then, I’ll go look for him myself.”
“I’ll go with you. If it’s related to the corrupt, I’ll be able to detect it immediately.”
At Luina’s proposal, everyone nodded. Even if it was Fernan, if three weeks passed, something had definitely happened.
At that moment, Verian, who had been keeping watch on the third prince, returned clicking his tongue.
“The third prince looks like he’s about to wake up.”
“Why all of a sudden…?”
“Seems like the sedative’s effect wore off. Don’t we have more?”
“Fernan has the sedative…”
“Ah.”
“Let’s knock him out again.”
Aint stepped into the tent with firm steps.
____
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