Episode 102
by CristaeEpisode 102
When the water spirit fled, Ihan halted his spell and shouted.
“Stop right there!”
When it came down to it, all of this was the fault of those water spirits in the lake.
If they hadn’t come first like this, he could have leisurely put the White Tiger Tower guys onto the beach and checked everything out!
“Wardanas, fighting a spirit while you’re injured is a bit dangero—!”
Duke Ma, who tried to stop him, changed his tune upon seeing the spirit run away.
“No! It’s not dangerous at all! Let’s chase it! Angrago!”
“W-wait a moment!”
Angrago hurriedly wrapped the food in leather. It was too much of a waste to leave it behind.
“Chase that thing! That must definitely be an underling of the principal!”
Ihan commanded in a voice colder than the chill of nightfall.
The two White Tiger Tower students dashed off feeling as if they themselves were the villains.
…They weren’t actually doing anything wrong, yet for some reason, it felt like they were.
Angrago turned to the left. A bead of water flew at him sharply, but he narrowly dodged it.
Duke Ma turned right. A watery spike flew at him, but with his head low, he dodged it as well.
‘The attacks of the water spirits are really simple.’
Thinking this, Ihan approached from the center. The water spirit also launched an attack at Ihan. Rather than dodging, Ihan summoned a water orb and deflected it directly.
Undead summons like Jorban II from the beach were large and powerful, but such a low-ranking water spirit could by no means defeat Ihan head-on.
As the fierce magical power radiated from Ihan and he got closer, the water spirit trembled violently and fell into a panic.
“Don’t run. Water spirit. I have no intention to harm you.”
“…?”
Angrago, aiming his wooden sword at the water spirit, thought to himself.
‘Wouldn’t anyone in this situation believe nothing you say?’
If Angrago were the spirit, he surely wouldn’t trust them…
“You’re the Skull Principal’s minion, aren’t you?”
The water spirit quickly shook its head.
Though they had no particular way to communicate with spirits, the White Tiger Tower students somehow sensed what the water spirit was trying to say.
‘It means absolutely not.’
Water spirits, by nature, tended to arouse sympathy from those who saw them.
As a round lump of water radiating a gentle aura, it naturally softened people’s hostility.
But Ihan wasn’t swayed.
“Don’t try to fool me. The Skull Principal must have ordered you to do this.”
“…!”
Duke Ma was surprised.
So that was it?
But the water spirit desperately shook its head again. Ihan pointed out coldly.
“Then why, after attacking us as we crossed the lake, did you attack us again while we were resting?”
“That’s true…!”
The two students had no choice but to accept Ihan’s logical criticism.
It certainly was strange for a water spirit to persistently chase after and attack them like that.
The water spirit wiggled its body this way and that and pointed at Ihan.
“?”
“What’s this about?”
The two couldn’t tell what the water spirit meant.
Of course, Ihan could.
‘It’s saying it thought I was coming to attack them…’
Ihan couldn’t refute that.
He had been the one to threaten the spirits with fierce magic on the lake before.
“Wardanas, what is that spirit saying?”
“It says it thought you were attacking because you stabbed at it with the oar.”
“Ugh.”
Angrago had nothing to say to the water spirit.
“It was a mistake. If I had known there was a water spirit, I would have rowed much more carefully. I hope you can believe that much at least…”
At Angrago’s excuse, the water spirit seemed baffled as if to say, what are you talking about?
He was supposed to be scary, but what was this supposed to mean?
Ihan nodded in his stead.
“It says it understands, since mistakes can happen.”
“Thank goodness…!”
“But leaving aside what happened on the lake, you still can’t excuse attacking us while we were resting.”
There was no point in talking further about the incident on the lake, so Ihan moved right on to the next topic.
The water spirit fell for Ihan’s malicious game.
Forgetting about what happened on the lake, it pointed right to the campfire.
“Because we lit a fire at night?”
“What the…!”
The White Tiger Tower students grew angry.
Of course, from the spirit’s perspective, it might be unpleasant that intruders were making a fire and cooking, spreading their smells.
But still, instead of giving a friendly warning, to attack right away?
No matter what, isn’t that a bit excessive!
The water spirit shook all over in panic. It meant it was a misunderstanding.
Now the spirit pointed to the campfire, then to the scorched marks, then to Ihan’s staff.
The two still didn’t understand, but Ihan did.
‘Hmm. So it was angry because I burned up the surroundings.’
While dealing with the undead summon, he ended up setting the area on fire, which muddied the nearby water.
For a water spirit resting there, of course it would be angry.
“What’s that spirit saying, Wardanas?”
“It’s saying it sincerely apologizes for its petty behavior.”
“Hmph. …Maybe I’ll forgive it.”
“Well, it is a spirit.”
The two White Tiger Tower students generously decided to let it go.
Unlike undead, it was hard to be harsh with spirits—especially water spirits.
The spirit now stared holes into Ihan, suspecting the conversation was going oddly.
Ihan pretended not to notice.
The water spirit wasn’t the Skull Principal’s minion, but it had witnessed the principal from afar when he came to the island.
Following the spirit’s guidance, Ihan asked,
“What spells did the principal use, exactly?”
Ihan didn’t know all the Skull Principal’s magic, but if he could at least figure out what kind of magic was around, it would make things easier.
Though the water spirit couldn’t speak, it tried hard to explain by puffing up and changing shape.
‘Tomb? Seal? Lock?’
It shaped a small tomb, made several bands to indicate a seal, and something resembling a lock.
Ihan got a vague sense of what the spirit was trying to say.
‘The principal locked it up.’
There was only one thing to lock up.
The permission slip.
‘It wouldn’t be strange for something to happen when we approach.’
Ihan closed his eyes, trying to picture the principal’s mindset.
If I were the principal, what would I do?
‘Built a trial dungeon under the beach, and at its end is the location with the permission slip. That’s the kind of thing the principal would do.’
And it would be even more like the principal to lock that place.
Imagine barely surviving all the trials in the dungeon under the beach by working together, only to find at the end that the permission slip is locked away. How despairing would that be?
Exactly the kind of situation the principal would enjoy.
“Wardanas, over there!”
Angrago whispered in surprise.
Beyond where the spirit had stopped, there really was a place the principal had built.
A small, yet classically styled stone-built area.
Ihan felt, for some reason, as if it resembled a shrine.
A stone staircase leading underground (seemingly connected to the beach dungeon). Large, hollow stone pillars geometrically arranged all around. And at the center, an altar.
Of course, what lay within the altar wasn’t a sacrifice, but the permission slip.
‘How do I get those two to go first?’
Ihan pondered how to send Angrago and Duke Ma in ahead.
To discover the principal’s traps, he needed a sacrifice—no, a scout.
“Wardanas. I will go first.”
“Angrago. Are you insulting me? I’ll go first.”
“Duke Ma. This whole situation happened because of me. It’s my fault the water spirit got angry.”
“Angrago. You built the boat and steered it, so you’ve already fulfilled your duty. Compared to you, I’ve done nothing. If I don’t step up now, my honor as a knight…”
Ihan yawned. Then flipped a coin.
Clink—
“Heads. Angrago Alpha. You go.”
“…Uh, okay.”
Angrago, looking dazed, walked forward.
Originally, he had planned to go in first for injured Wardanas—so why did he feel so conflicted?
‘Come at me, whatever may!’
Swallowing his grim resolve, Angrago looked around.
Even those from knight families were taught some basics about magical traps.
Angrago was prepared to endure whatever trap might be triggered.
But no trap was triggered.
Even as he stepped onto the carefully fitted stone floor,
Even as he passed between the pillars to the altar,
Ihan was slightly surprised.
‘Could the Skull Principal… have set it to trigger only when two go up?’
If there were no traps, that was unsettling in itself.
Ihan was currently concentrating all his power to detect any magic or force in the area.
But he felt absolutely nothing.
Either there really was nothing, or the Skull Principal’s skills were so great that Ihan couldn’t sense them.
‘Probably the latter.’
In at least this sort of sensory area, Ihan had confidence. Not even the professors—or the Skull Principal—had been able to fool him before.
But Ihan wasn’t convinced.
No way!
The Skull Principal must’ve rigged something!
“Wardanas. Over here… there’s something written by the principal.”
“What’s it say? Does it say the traps start now?”
“No. Nothing like that.”
-Congratulations for making it here, dear freshmen. You might have been confused by the sudden trial, but all of this is part of raising you as young magicians.
‘Creepily friendly.’
Ihan thought to himself. When Skull Principal was excessively kind, it was even scarier.
-As you came here, you must have learned how to cooperate with friends from other towers. Now, put that new skill to final use. If you put another person inside a pillar, the seal on the altar containing the permission slip will be lifted!
The three turned and looked beside them. The large stone pillars were hollow and big enough to easily hold a person inside.
If someone was put inside and locked in there…
Even if the altar opened, wouldn’t that person be farther from the permission slip?
“This is ridiculous! There must be another way!”
Duke Ma shouted in anger.
As someone from a knight’s family, a trap that separated students who had worked together to overcome hardship was unacceptable.
There had to be another way!
‘Doesn’t seem like it.’
Ihan, on the other hand, was calm.
It was exactly the sort of thing the Skull Principal would love, so he wasn’t surprised at all.
Even if you worked together, only one person could get what they wanted! If you thought that was unfair, you had to improve your own skills…
‘Something along those lines, I bet.’
Ihan pondered.
Should he subdue Duke Ma first, or Angrago?
Thanks to all three of them arriving at the altar, instead of the original two, Ihan was put at a disadvantage.
On top of that, Ihan had injured one arm now.
To win, he would have to act before the White Tiger Tower boys could attack.
“Wardanas!”
Duke Ma shouted. Ihan paused.
‘Did he catch on?’
“Stop Angrago!”
“!”
Looking up, Ihan saw Angrago running toward a pillar.
For a moment, he wasn’t sure whether to stop him or just pretend he couldn’t help it and leave him be.