Ruins Exploration
With a short sigh, I rose from my seat. Without hesitation, I strode briskly toward the classroom’s back door. The destination was obvious—the owner of that stinging gaze that had been blatantly tracking my every movement.
“Senior, what are you doing here?”
“Eek?!”
Startled by the sudden direct confrontation, Xenia’s shoulders jolted upward as she stood by the back door. The embarrassment of being caught secretly tailing me shook her eyes fiercely. However, true to her proud nature, she cleared her throat and stiffened her expression.
“Ahem! W-who said I followed you? I just happened to take an interest in the liberal arts course on ancient mythology and stopped by.”
“You, interested in Ancient Mythology as a liberal arts elective?”
“That’s right! A-and!”
Struck at her weak point, Xenia’s cheeks flushed red. She began pointing at me, frantically spouting one forced excuse after another.
“And also, I couldn’t possibly just overlook my junior’s horribly sloppy posture!”
“Yeah, as your senior, I’ll specially correct it for you. Head to the training grounds right now and get ready for a spar!”
It was childish stubbornness with not a trace of senior dignity left. To that bold nonsense, I replied without a second of hesitation.
“No thanks.”
“…What?”
“I’m busy. Take care.”
I cut her off sharply, leaving no room for argument. Then, without any lingering attachment, I turned away, leaving behind Xenia who stood frozen with her mouth hanging open in utter bewilderment.
Once out of the classroom, I immediately maximized my Sixth Sense. My vision flickered between black and white as the mana flows of students moving through the hallway appeared like solid lines. I selected the route with the fewest people and the most visual blind spots and dashed along it.
This should be enough to lose her.
It was when I had slipped into the back path of the main building, hugging the shadows of the outer wall.
“Stop right there, Leon!”
Xenia suddenly burst out from beyond the wall. The timing was eerily perfect. I reflexively changed direction and ran toward the library. I completely concealed my mana and wrapped it around the soles of my shoes to erase even the sound of my footsteps. Logically, there was no basis for her to find me.
But.
“Found you!”
The moment I emerged from the narrow alley behind the library, Xenia blocked my path as if she had been waiting all along. Though panting heavily, her eyes burned with manic obsession.
Is it tracking magic? No, there’s no trace of mana.
Suppressing my confusion, I hid myself in another gap between buildings. This time it was near the ventilation ducts of the student cafeteria—the optimal spot to disrupt senses with a chaotic mix of smells and noises.
Yet before even a minute passed, footsteps approached.
“Are you seriously going to keep dodging your senior?!”
With a loud bang, Xenia kicked open the cafeteria’s back door and appeared.
This wasn’t magic or tracking techniques. It was simply a terrifying animalistic instinct, pure obsession, and unyielding persistence to catch me at all costs.
Eventually, I stopped in my tracks and let out a deep sigh. Continuing to run would be a waste of both mana and time.
“Haa… Let’s stop this. My legs are too sore to keep running.”
“Huk, huk… Got you… You’re really fast…”
Xenia braced her hands on her knees, breathing raggedly. Even so, she gripped my sleeve tightly and refused to let go. It seemed she felt an instinctive terror that if she released me, she would never catch me again.
“Senior, do you want to spar that much?”
“Of course! If I leave your groundless swordsmanship as is, it might end up tarnishing the academy’s reputation someday!”
Her excuse was as elaborate as ever. I pressed a hand to my forehead. If I entertained her until she was satisfied, it was clear my personal training time—not to mention sleep—would be completely ruined. And if I refused? I could already picture her showing up in front of my dorm tomorrow, pestering me.
I made up my mind.
“Very well. I’ll do as you wish, senior.”
“Oh! Really? Right now…!”
“However.” I raised a finger to interrupt her. “There are conditions. Exactly once per week. Nothing more.”
“And in exchange for the sparring, you’ll have to grant me one request.”
Xenia’s eyes widened into perfect circles.
“A request? Wait, I’m the one offering to teach you swordsmanship—why should I grant your request?”
“Normally, doesn’t the one receiving instruction pay some kind of price?”
“Then I won’t do it. I’m more comfortable learning in my own way.”
As I made to turn away again, Xenia cried out desperately.
“Fine! I understand! I’ll do it!”
Though she bit her lip in frustration, she eventually nodded. Apparently, her desire to spar with me outweighed her pride.
“Excellent. The contract is sealed.”
I smiled inwardly. By setting the limit at once a week, I had reduced the annoyance, and as a bonus, I had gained the chance to legitimately make use of her—one of the empire’s most promising talents.
Terms accepted. Xenia will spar with Leon once per week.
In exchange, Xenia must grant Leon one request of his choosing.
Returning to my dorm room, I tore several pages from my notebook and spread them across the desk. It was to devise a plan for ‘that place’ I intended to visit over the weekend.
An underground ruin hidden near the boundary of the treacherous Forest of Demonic Beasts on the academy’s outskirts.
According to the original story, it was a hidden dungeon that Aurelia would accidentally stumble into during the middle of the second semester. Among its rewards was a subspace magic artifact—a precious item that would grant the ability to use the so-called ‘inventory.’
The issue was the difficulty level.
No matter how quickly I grew, it was a place I’d only be able to tackle alone starting from the second semester.
Since Aurelia had cleared it solo in the second semester in the original work, I needed to reach at least that level of strength. Surpassing the protagonist’s specs in such a short time would be difficult, so I had originally planned to visit safely during the second semester.
But circumstances had changed. Thanks to Sixth Sense, even if incomplete, I could now demonstrate combat prowess beyond mere stats. Furthermore, by briefly unleashing the Authority of Pride, I could exert overwhelming might capable of crushing even Aurelia.
Above all, I had obtained a powerful trump card that hadn’t even been imaginable in the original story.
Aurelia, Seirin, and Xenia. With those three, I could utilize them as the core combat forces for the dungeon raid. If it came to it, I could simply thrust the ‘favor’ I had obtained today at senior Xenia and force her into the party.
However, one major problem remained.
A commoner freshman with no background somehow precisely knew the location of an undiscovered dungeon that even the academy’s professors weren’t aware of and was forming a party to go there? It would look supremely suspicious to anyone. One slip-up and I might face interrogation before even setting foot inside the dungeon.
I needed a justifiable reason. A perfect alibi that they could accept without the slightest suspicion.
In the original, Aurelia also sensed the distorted mana while hunting demonic beasts in the area and discovered the ruins.
Senior Xenia already knew from experience that my senses were exceptional. In other words, if I could create a natural pretext to lead the three into the Forest of Demonic Beasts, then afterward I could simply claim that discovering the ruins was due to ‘coincidentally sensing the mana distortion.’
So I needed a natural excuse to head into the forest…
Ah, the request bulletin board.
Like an adventurers’ guild, the academy had a request bulletin board for students. For someone in my position as a commoner, the scholarship alone was woefully insufficient to cover weapon maintenance fees and the cost of expensive magic materials. Practical requests like demonic beast extermination also counted as bonus points toward grades, making it the perfect justification.
Perfect.
A poor commoner freshman accepts a demonic beast subjugation request for money and academic credit. However, the destination—the Forest of Demonic Beasts—is, as the name suggests, a dangerous area swarming with demonic beasts. It would be perfectly natural and logical for someone like me, without any backing, to ask skilled acquaintances for assistance.
I grinned as I looked at the plan I was jotting down on the paper. Form a legitimate party under the pretext of a request, then naturally discover the ruins within the demonic beast forest. Every piece fit together flawlessly.
The next day, I put the plan into action immediately. The first target was Xenia.
“Senior, I have a favor to ask.”
Xenia, who had been wiping sweat in the training grounds, perked her ears.
“I accepted a subjugation request for the Forest of Demonic Beasts, but it’s too scary to go alone. Could I possibly ask you, the empire’s foremost promising talent, to accompany me?”
Taking Xenia senior’s personality into account, I humbled myself while elevating her.
“T-the Forest of Demonic Beasts? That’s a rather harsh place for a first-year!”
Though Xenia pretended to be surprised, the corners of her mouth were already twitching at the compliment ‘empire’s foremost promising talent.’
“Hmm! Well, if my junior is asking so earnestly, I suppose I have no choice. As your senior, I’ll specially protect you!”
Recruitment difficulty: minimal. As expected, she was the first to confirm her participation in the party.
The second was Seirin.
I approached her as she lounged lazily against a bench, shirking her duties, and brought up the subjugation. Her eyes sparkled with mischief.
“Forest of Demonic Beasts? That sounds like a ton of fun!”
“But isn’t it way too dangerous for a freshman? Mess up and you might not even have bones left to collect~?”
Seirin grinned wickedly and poked my side. I let out a light sigh and played along.
“That’s why I need you. Senior Xenia has agreed to take on the solid tank role in the vanguard. Wouldn’t my life only be safe with a magician like you in the rear?”
“Hmm~ Even senior Xenia? This is turning into quite the large-scale operation.”
Seirin rested her chin on her hand, looking intrigued.
“Alright, since it looks interesting, I’ll join you!”
She accepted my proposal and added, “Instead, if we find anything interesting in the forest, I get to inspect it first. Deal?”
The last was Aurelia.
I approached her as she sat alone in the classroom.
“Aurelia. Are you free this weekend by any chance?”
The original work’s protagonist seemed slightly flustered by my abrupt approach.
“I’m heading out on a demonic beast forest subjugation request this weekend. Senior Xenia and Seirin are coming along too. However, we’re short on an all-rounder who can flexibly support both the vanguard and rear. With your skills, I think you’d be a tremendous help.”
Aurelia’s eyes widened at the unexpected invitation. A party formed by skilled individuals would have been quite appealing to her, as she still needed more real combat experience.
“…Alright, I’ll go. I was thinking of attempting a subjugation request myself anyway.”
With that, a party of four was perfectly formed under a flawless pretext.
The following days flew by in a blur. I absorbed the flood of basic lectures, identified useful classes, and under the guise of posture correction from senior Xenia, endured bone-rattling beatings as I raced toward the weekend.
And at last, the day of the subjugation arrived.
The four of us stood at the entrance to the Forest of Demonic Beasts on the academy outskirts, where massive trees twisted together in grotesque patterns.
“Everyone ready? Senior Xenia and I will handle the vanguard. Seirin, you’re on rear support. Aurelia, I’ll need you to provide flexible assistance.”
At my command, the party advanced into the forest.
The initial phase of the subjugation proceeded smoothly as anticipated. Thanks to senior Xenia’s overwhelming might and Seirin’s precise magical support, all I had to do was use my Sixth Sense to locate the demonic beasts and guide the way.
As we trod upon blood-drenched leaves, pressing deeper into the forest, Xenia—who had been smashing demonic beast heads at the front—shook the blood from her sword and glanced back.
“By the way, Leon. Didn’t you say this was your first time in the Forest of Demonic Beasts?”
“Why does it seem like you know the paths so well? You’re even dodging the beasts’ lairs with ease.”
It was a question born of pure, harmless curiosity. But that single casual remark caused Seirin and Aurelia’s footsteps to halt abruptly behind us. All three gazes locked onto me simultaneously. A tension colder than the forest’s chill air swirled through the party.
Suppressing the cold sweat trickling down my spine, I responded nonchalantly.
“You already know how exceptional my senses are, right senior? It only looks that way because I’ve been avoiding areas where the murky mana emitted by the demonic beasts is concentrated.”
Xenia seemed to have her curiosity satisfied and quickly lost interest, but the two pairs of eyes—one blue and one golden—did not fade away.
“Speaking of which, I’ve been sensing a very strangely distorted mana from that direction for a while now. It’s a wave unlike anything from the demonic beasts… Shall we go check it out?”
I swiftly changed the subject and guided the three toward the ruins’ entrance. Before long, a massive stone gate hidden behind thick underbrush came into view.
The undiscovered underground ruins. We had finally reached our destination.
We cautiously channeled mana into the door to open it and stepped inside. According to the original story, we would need to clear out the demonic beasts within the ruins and even defeat a boss-level monster that would be difficult to handle alone. Opening the back door beyond that should reveal a shabby, dust-covered ordinary treasure vault. After collecting the subspace ring and a few artifacts there, it would be over—a simple affair.
But the moment we set foot in the ruins’ central hall—
※ WARNING: The legacy of Beelzebub resonates with your soul.
※ CAUTION: The Mark of the Seven Sins dwelling within you forcibly activates a hidden gimmick.
The ruins reveal their true form. The difficulty level rises dramatically!
This is not a simple subspace ruin.
It is the interior of a giant stomach left behind by a servant of the demon Beelzebub, who governs the Seven Sins' 'Gluttony'.
The target artifact 'Ring of the Devourer' is a medium connected to the infinitely expanding demonic beast's stomach.
The ground began to shake violently as if gone mad. The old stone walls crumbled, and red, sticky intestinal walls like those of a living monster flowed down, covering all directions.
“W-what is this…!”
Seirin screamed and staggered backward while even Xenia raised her sword in alarm. My mind went blank. There had been no such development in the original story. But the moment I read the following lines of the status window, I could only feel pure horror.
The interior of the ruins, now revealed in its true form, was grotesque. The walls on all sides writhed and pulsed like the intestines of a living beast, and the sticky liquid rising from the floor had already begun to soak the soles of our shoes.
The warning in the status window… Does that mean the sticky liquid rising from the floor right now is the demonic beast’s gastric acid?
A terrible stench stung my nose. It was the digestive fluid of an irregular demonic beast connected to the Seven Sins, specifically ‘Gluttony.’ Touching it recklessly—even if I wrapped my entire body in mana—would make it impossible to predict how long I could endure. No, it was obvious that even my bones would melt away without a trace.
There’s no time to hesitate.
I bit my lip hard. To survive this place, the only option was to break through as quickly as possible before that horrifying gastric acid completely swallowed us. The entire ruin began to tighten around us with a disgusting pulsating sound as if it were breathing, as though it intended to devour us whole.