Episode 222

“Wardanaz really is amazing.”

Even the Blue Dragon Tower students, who were used to Lee Han’s remarkable feats, whispered in surprise.

Unlocking the lock was one thing, but how did he do it so instantly?

“Your Highness? Your Highness?”

When Neblen of the Kirak Family called again, Adenart finally came to her senses.

The princess apologized, looking sorry.

“No, I was just wondering how he opened it. I’ll ask him later.”

While Neblen said that, Gainando shook the lock.

There was a rattling sound from inside, as if something had broken.

“Huh? Isn’t this broken?”

“Gainando. High-level magical locks always make that kind of sound.”

“Really? But it sounds just like the toys I broke before…”

Gainando tilted his head and moved on.

At that, Yoner asked,

“He really opened it, right?”

“No. He broke it. Just don’t tell anyone.”

“……”

He really did break it?!

• * *

The students carefully stepped down the stairs leading underground.

The stairs were so long and dark that they couldn’t see the bottom, which made everyone tense as they descended.

“Oh, Light.”

Lee Han conjured a globe of light at the front.

To be honest, if he had his way, he’d rather cast a dark vision spell than summon a globe of light.

If he could see clearly, that meant the enemy could see Lee Han’s group just as well.

Casting such a light in a situation where they didn’t know what was below was quite a gamble.

‘But with this many people, walking through the darkness would be even more dangerous…’

Tap-

Fortunately, there wasn’t a Rock Drake waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

Instead, a familiar sight of stacks and hallways came into view.

It was a familiar scene like what you’d see near the entrance if you entered the library before.

“Phew!”

“Whew…!”

The students also sighed in relief, feeling it.

“Here! There are chairs next to the stacks! And a table!!”

“There are lanterns hanging on the walls!! Do you see them?!”

‘Anyone seeing this would think the students are crazy.’

The way the students shouted as if they’d made some great discovery over something so obvious was somehow touching.

In fact, this was how the library was supposed to be.

Walls and corridors lined with tightly packed stacks, tables and chairs scattered everywhere, cozy and warm lighting…

No one called a wasteland with Rock Drakes a normal library.

“Wardanaz?”

A familiar voice called out from a distance.

Nililia was standing with the Phoenix Tower priests on the opposite side of the hallway. The dark elf from the Shadow Patrol called to Lee Han with a happy face.

“What took you so long? I’ve been waiting for you. Did you see the mark I left?”

“?”

Lee Han felt a sense of incongruity.

Neither Nililia nor the priests seemed that exhausted.

‘What is this?’

“Nililia. How did you get past the Rock Drakes?”

“What Rock Drakes? Why would there be Rock Drakes?”

“……”

For a moment, Lee Han felt fear.

The other students behind him seemed to feel the same.

No way…

No way…?

“…Did you guys come straight here as soon as you entered?”

“Yeah. Huh?? What, did you guys drop somewhere else?”

“……”

The faces of the Blue Dragon Tower and White Tiger Tower students twisted all at once.

Such an unfair thing…

• * *

When the Blue Dragon Tower and White Tiger Tower students fell into the Rock Drake’s wasteland, the Black Turtle Tower and Phoenix Tower students dropped straight into the stack labyrinth section.

The stack labyrinth section was a place packed tightly with all sorts of books.

Thanks to that, the students of those two towers were able to find books relatively quickly.

“It was really close.”

Other Black Turtle Tower students who showed up late joined the conversation.

“Do you guys know what comes out in the stack labyrinth section?”

“What comes out?”

A White Tiger Tower student asked in a cold voice. He definitely wasn’t asking because he was curious.

“The Shade Wraith comes out.”

Shade Wraith.

A monster among the wraith types that had a relatively strong dark attribute, and would possess anyone who carelessly made contact.

The stack labyrinth section wasn’t completely unlit, but it was so complicated and dim in places because of the stacks and books that monsters like the Shade Wraith were inevitably tricky.

If you were unlucky, you’d get caught before you could even avoid it.

Of course, even so, it was nowhere near as tricky as a Rock Drake.

“Yeah. Lucky you. We just dealt with Rock Drakes.”

“What nonsense… Wait, are you serious?”

The Black Turtle Tower students, who were about to scoff at the White Tiger Tower students for bragging, paused and looked at Lee Han.

Lee Han nodded.

“There were Rock Drakes.”

“…Wow, so we both had a tough time!”

“What do you mean, both had a tough time!”

The White Tiger Tower students snapped, but the Black Turtle Tower students ignored them.

It wasn’t the Black Turtle Tower students’ fault they picked wrong and suffered!

At least Nililia looked at Lee Han with a bit of sympathy.

“Well… that’s too bad. What are you going to do?”

“It’s fine. It’s all over anyway. If you have any notes on book locations, I’d appreciate if you could share them.”

“I can do that, but right now, it’s probably better to get ready to camp.”

“Camp? We’re tired, but everyone should be able to keep moving for a few more hours.”

Nililia pointed at the ceiling.

The lights hanging from the ceiling and walls were getting dimmer and dimmer.

“It’s been getting darker for a while now. And the number of Shade Wraiths is increasing. If you wander around for no reason…”

“Gainando was possessed by a Shade Wraith!!”

“Don’t let it possess him!”

“Too late! It’s possessed him!”

“Hit him! Until the possession breaks!”

“Priest! Please, priest, hit him!”

“…That could happen.”

“I see.”

Lee Han nodded as he watched Gainando get slapped on the cheek while being held by both arms by his friends.

He looked weak after meeting the Rock Drakes, but the Shade Wraith was definitely an annoying monster.

Especially in this terrain, the more people there were, the stronger it got.

A friend behind you would suddenly get possessed and go wild, and while the formation was breaking, the friend next to you would get possessed, and even if you barely broke the possession, other Shade Wraiths who heard the commotion would come rushing in…

If there were other monsters in the area, it wouldn’t be strange for a party to be wiped out.

‘If the number of Shade Wraiths increases periodically, then there must be a time when their numbers decrease. Is that why they gave us more than a day for this?’

“Nililia. I’d like some advice on getting ready to camp.”

“…Of course!”

Nililia answered with the most excited face Lee Han had seen all day. Deorgyu beside her seemed a bit overwhelmed by her enthusiasm.

“You don’t need to think of the stack labyrinth section as especially difficult. The important thing is the basics. Remember what I said before?”

‘She might be out of breath.’

Lee Han nodded.

“First, find a clearing where several people can fit. The narrower the passage leading in, the better. That way monsters won’t come. You know Shade Wraiths are drawn to light, right?”

“I see…”

‘He understood all that?’

Deorgyu was surprised again.

Honestly, he couldn’t really understand what the Black Turtle Tower student was saying.

Is he just that smart?

• * *

“Is everything ready?”

“More or less.”

Taking Nililia’s advice, the Blue Dragon Tower students found a good place to camp.

They unpacked their things in a clearing and hung up cloth to block light from leaking out through the narrow passage.

They could see flickering lights from far down the corridor.

“Where’s that?”

“Probably the Black Turtle Tower guys? Looks like they’re getting ready too.”

Even though they were a bit apart, all four tower’s students were camping nearby.

The stack labyrinth section was so complicated that the further you got from the center, the easier it was to get lost.

Besides, there were several advantages to being near the center.

From the fountains providing water to various convenient facilities, everything was here.

“Alright. Everyone draw lots. We’ll take turns standing guard in pairs as decided.”

Gainando reached out and drew a lot. It was about the middle of the order.

“I’m in the middle. Is that good?”

“If you think so, then sure, anything’s good.”

Lee Han dodged the question.

Actually, in camping like this, it was better to have the first or last shift; the middle was the most tiring because you had to get up awkwardly.

“I should go get some water.”

“No need. Spring forth.”

The student who was about to fetch water from the fountain looked at Lee Han with an emotional expression.

Unlike the Rock Drake wasteland earlier, water creation magic was possible here, but no one with little mana would waste it like that.

But Lee Han was different.

He had so much mana, he didn’t care about wasting it!

“Wardanaz… If I ever get asked by other adventurers to recommend a great wizard for their party, I’ll definitely recommend you.”

‘What a horrible thing to say?’

Lee Han was appalled at his friend cursing him after making water for him.

“Wardanaz. The lights are really dim now.”

“Better turn ours off too.”

He could feel the library lights were much dimmer than before.

All the more, the wandering Shade Wraiths would come looking for students’ lights.

The Blue Dragon Tower students finished their meal simply with sliced bread, ham, a few candies, and water, and then lay down in their spots.

They were basically laying their blankets on the hard library floor, but no one complained.

Whoosh—

“Lee Han. Are you asleep?”

“No.”

“Wanna play a game of cards?”

“No.”

“Shade Wraiths won’t come here, right? I hope they go to the White Tiger Tower guys instead.”

“……”

“What if the guys on guard fall asleep? What if a Shade Wraith comes in while we’re sleeping?”

Someone from the other side threw an empty candy box. Gainando got hit.

“Who was that?!”

“Just sleep already.”

“Yeah. Shut up and sleep, Gainando.”

Scoldings came from all over. Gainando grumbled and shut his mouth.

‘It’ll be fine.’

To prevent monsters from coming in, they set up two-person guards outside the passage leading to the clearing.

Of course, Lee Han didn’t rely only on his friends. He had also summoned Sharkan to stand by his side.

It was a waste of mana, but still…

‘Should I have just told them to rest since Sharkan can stand guard… No. Better to be thorough. I don’t have to do everything myself.’

Lee Han thought something that would have made his friends yell, ‘Hey!’ if they heard.

The truth was, with Sharkan, they didn’t even need to stand guard.

• * *

“!”

Lee Han’s eyes opened on their own. He checked his pocket watch in the dim ceiling light; it was dawn.

-Grrr!

Sharkan tugged at his sleeve with its mouth. Lee Han sensed something had happened.

‘What…’

“Guys!! Wake up!! Wake up!!!”

The friends who were on guard outside the passage came running in a panic.

“The wraiths are swarming around!”

“Y-you woke us up for that?”

A Blue Dragon Tower student, barely awake, rubbed his sleepy eyes and asked.

“Of course they might swarm, why…”

“It’s not just that! Look!”

Some students staggered toward the passage.

Then, with their sleep instantly gone, they backed away in shock.

“…!!!!”

“Th-the Shade Wraiths are…?”

The passage outside was barely visible.

That’s how many wraiths there were.

It was no exaggeration to call it a sea of wraiths.

“They’re coming this way!”

From the end of the narrow passage, wraiths began to surge in, like crashing waves.

Lee Han gripped his staff and prepared magic.

“Bur…”

“Lee Han!”

“What?”

“Can you use fire magic in the library?!”

“…If something happens, let’s just say it’s the headmaster’s fault. Burn!”

“!?”