The Ancient Mage's Lair (1)
The wooden sword absorbed the mage's core in the blink of an eye and fell silent once more.
“...”
Leon stared blankly at the wooden sword. To think it could absorb a mage's core, going far beyond mere mana. Only then did Leon truly realize that this wooden sword was a demonic blade.
Wait a minute...
Had it absorbed the red-haired man's core as well? The core should have vanished naturally upon death, yet it was possible Leon had simply failed to notice. He sank into brief contemplation, but the conclusion was already decided.
I can't seal this demonic blade just because of that.
In a world where deadly threats could appear at any moment, deliberately refusing to use a powerful weapon? That was unthinkable.
I'll have to wield it with caution.
Still, his wariness toward the wooden sword had risen sharply. There could be other abilities he didn't know about, and he couldn't assume they would all work in his favor.
Leon remained inside his lodging for the rest of the exchange event. He abandoned any thought of selling the items he'd acquired. Leaving traces of battle in the heart of the magic city and strolling around boldly was impossible. Even if he could hide his presence with the mana signature of an ordinary person, Leon chose caution.
Fortunately, the mana stones he'd originally planned to secure could be replaced by those the red-haired man had carried.
While he stayed shut inside his room for the remaining days, the ordinary disciples sharing the space began giving him fed-up looks.
“Wow… that guy is seriously relentless.”
“How can he spend all day like that even after coming all the way here…”
There were twelve ordinary disciples in total. Excluding the newly arrived Leon and Aaron, ten remained. They were already balancing their duties with continued training. The strongest among them was an Apprentice Class 2. He had long passed the usual age for academy enrollment, yet he still possessed the drive to train and would return to the training hall after his shifts. Even he could only shake his head at the sight of Leon.
With the exchange event concluded, the day came to board the sky vessel back to Widia.
Arpina had chosen not to board, stating she would visit another city with her disciple. As a result, Berford was the only Mystery High-rank mage present.
The sky vessel sailed smoothly for two days.
Berford, standing on the forward deck, turned at the approaching presence.
“Lord Berford!”
“What is it?”
The mage who reached him held a red orb in his hand.
“News just arrived from the tower. An ancient mage’s lair has been discovered.”
“Hmm…”
Berford let out a regretful sigh before asking, “Give me the exact details. Were we the first to find it?”
“It appears so. The location is closest to Widia, but to be precise, it wasn’t discovered so much as revealed when someone accidentally triggered a magic circle…”
“The mage who triggered it?”
“The others searched for their missing comrade for seven days, discovered the magic circle blocking the entrance, and sent word. They also determined it was an ancient mage’s lair from the circle itself. It seems he was swallowed by the lair. With the tower master in seclusion, the tower is asking for guidance. As you know, the priority right for ruin exploration…”
“Wait.”
Berford raised a hand to silence the mage and fell into thought. After a long moment with a grave expression, he spoke again.
“Seven days, you said?”
Seven days ago would have been during the sparring matches before the conference—before the owner of the exploration priority right had been decided.
“Turn the ship.”
“…Pardon?”
“We head there immediately.”
“But… what about the ‘agreement’? This could lead to a serious clash.”
Berford knew the risks. Yet his response was resolute, as though some deeper thought guided him. Perhaps it was simply because this was an ancient mage’s ruin.
“A tower mage disappeared seven days ago. How can we stand by? We must attempt a rescue.”
“…Understood. I will relay the message.”
The vessel’s bow turned. They flew five more days toward the coordinates provided by the tower.
The ship floated above a dense forest.
Berford gathered the mages and declared, “We received word that one of our own has been trapped inside an ancient mage’s lair, so we had no choice but to rush here.”
The assembled mages knew it was merely an excuse. No one openly challenged it.
“All Mystery and Esoteric-rank mages will explore the ruins with me. Our top priority is rescuing our affiliated mage—do not forget it. Those remaining will replace the mana stones here and return to Widia. Gail will oversee them.”
“Understood.”
Mixed among the crowd, Leon quietly exhaled. He had wondered why the ship suddenly changed course, but fortunately the matter didn’t involve him. Though their time aboard had lengthened, he was relieved he wouldn’t be dragged into the unexpected ancient mage’s lair.
After watching the Mystery-rank mages, several others, and all the Esoteric-rank mages except Gail disembark, Leon returned to his cabin and immersed himself in breathing exercises.
Those left on deck were the ordinary disciples, the personal disciples of high-ranking mages who had not yet reached Esoteric rank, and the academy students still at the Apprentice level. With hundreds of apprentice mages from the academy alone, the number was far from small.
Gail, an Esoteric High-rank mage, stood before the remaining group and announced, “We must replace the sky vessel’s mana stone, so please wait briefly before departure.”
The ship hovered above the forest; there was simply no space large enough for it to land. Still, it possessed autonomous functions during mana stone replacement, so there was no major issue.
While a few moved busily at Gail’s command, the rest whispered among themselves—some voices excited about the ancient mage’s lair, others laced with worry from those who understood the priority rights situation.
As the restless atmosphere continued, a massive magic circle on the forest floor began to glow.
Only Gail sensed the anomaly. It wasn’t through any flow of mana. Floating in the air with levitation magic and keeping watch until the replacement finished, he happened to spot the glowing circle beneath the ship and thrust out his hand.
“Push forward!”
A physical force far stronger than basic telekinesis drove the vessel ahead, but its speed was too slow to escape the circle’s full range. Light erupted from the magic formation and swallowed half the ship.
In an instant, half the sky vessel vanished.
“Ha…”
Gail, outside the affected area, halted the half-destroyed ship’s fall and let out a hollow breath. He approached to check on the survivors and clutched his head.
Of all places, the swallowed section had contained the personal disciples, ordinary disciples, and several academy students who had been inside the cabins.
“Felix…”
The fact that disciples cherished by high-ranking mages had been taken by an ancient mage’s lair was shocking enough, but the inclusion of his own disciple made Gail’s heart sink even deeper.
A violent tremor shook the cabin. Leon staggered, unable to keep his balance.
He stabilized himself with levitation magic and pulled out the orb and teleport scroll, but after a while with no further disturbance he put them away again.
The cabin had tilted ninety degrees, making normal standing impossible. Since Leon was currently disguised as an ordinary person, he had no choice but to climb onto what had become the floor, force the door open, and stand on the doorframe.
Other academy students emerged from their rooms just as belatedly. One of them, floating with levitation magic, noticed Leon struggling on the doorframe and approached. The short rod in his hand was a levitation-assist artifact. An invisible barrier formed around him; when Leon stepped inside, his body floated as well.
“You don’t seem hurt?”
“No, I just grabbed onto whatever I could. But what on earth happened?”
When Leon—who couldn’t use detection magic—asked, the other shook his head.
“I don’t know either. We’ll have to go outside and see.”
Leon followed him out. The dark scene beyond revealed a cleanly severed half of the sky vessel lying collapsed.
Don’t tell me… we’ve been pulled inside the ruins?
Light magic had been cast nearby, making the area noticeably brighter. Seeing people gathered there, Leon and the man naturally headed over.
They were engaged in a grave discussion. Rowen was among them. Spotting Leon approaching in his awkward floating posture, she breathed a sigh of relief and moved to meet him.
“You actually survived?”
“Yeah. What is all this?”
“…I don’t know. It looks like we’ve been dragged into the ruins…”
Leon glanced at the man speaking loudest among the personal disciples and students in serious discussion.
“Staying here is the same as quietly waiting to die. Haven’t we all learned how dangerous ruins can be?”
“But with our level of skill, moving recklessly could mean walking straight into even greater danger.”
The woman who countered him glanced toward the cluster of personal disciples.
“Lord Gail will probably come looking for us. It would be best to wait quietly…”
“Do you really think he’ll know where this is and find us?”
As their opinions clashed, Rowen raised her hand.
“If that’s the issue, I have a solution.”
She showed them the red necklace around her neck.
“If I send a signal, my master can locate me.”
“If it’s Lord Meln…”
“Oh, thank goodness…”
Leon roughly grasped the situation and scanned the surroundings. With no immediate major threat, his expression remained relatively calm.
The cave-like space was dim, yet soft lights embedded in the ceiling gave off a gentle glow.
So this is the ancient mage’s lair…?
It was so vast it seemed impossible for human hands to have created it. Even more astonishing, lighting fixtures had been meticulously placed throughout the enormous chamber.
While surveying the area, Leon noticed two passages branching ahead like a fork in the road.
It seemed the group had finally settled on staying put. The woman spoke with clear relief.
“First, we should check if anyone is still trapped inside the ship…”
Unfortunately, her words were cut short.
Clack—
The sound of something hard striking rang clearly through the cave.
Scritch— Scraaape—
Only then did everyone realize the faint scraping noise had been leaking out continuously. The sound of something scraping across the cave surface sent an eerie chill down their spines.
“Scorpions?”
By the time they noticed, dozens of scorpions were already swarming toward them from the darkness. Their ivory carapaces covered bodies far taller than a grown man—despite moving on the ground.
“K-kill them!”
At someone’s shout the mages regained their senses and began casting. Countless spells flew toward the creatures, but the scorpions’ advance didn’t slow in the slightest. Apprentice-level magic seemed incapable of piercing their armor.
Leon had retreated with the ordinary disciples, yet he quickly realized they needed to flee. They should start running now while distance remained. But would the others listen? Frustration crossed his face.
Just then, someone who seemed to share his thought shouted loudly.
“We have to run! Everyone, fall back!”
Only then did the mages stop casting and begin retreating. Their pace quickened until they were sprinting with their backs fully turned to the scorpions.
“That passage!”
Even as they ran with everything they had, the distance to the scorpions barely widened. In fact, it was shrinking.
“Use levitation magic—”
“But those who can’t fly…”
Levitation magic consumed enormous mana, but with their lives on the line there was no room for hesitation. The problem was that some could not use it at all. No one could bring themselves to suggest abandoning them.
At that moment, Leon stepped forward. Looking at the two branching passages, he actually saw an opportunity. He had been frustrated at being unable to use magic openly.
“Everyone, escape through the right passage.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“I’ll head left and draw their attention. Go!”
“Have you lost your mind?”
Rowen cried out sharply in alarm.
Leon shook his head and retrieved the wooden sword from his subspace.
It’s better to move alone and use magic freely. If it gets dangerous, I can escape with teleportation.
Buying time would also increase the chance that Rowen’s master would arrive through the necklace signal. There was no better option.
“Right passage! Hurry!”
With that shout, Leon sprinted into the left tunnel while striking the ground with the wooden sword. The oncoming scorpions flinched, halted, then turned as one to stare at him. Leon kept pounding without pause. The creatures changed direction and charged toward him.
To the others it looked like a desperate attempt to draw attention. No high-ranking mage capable of sensing the mana waves spreading from the wooden sword was present.
“Hey, you idiot!”
Rowen tried to grab him, but someone caught her shoulder. It was the man who had spoken most forcefully from the start. He shook his head.
“It’s already too late. Don’t make his sacrifice meaningless.”
“What the hell are you saying?”
“Can’t you see what he’s thinking? He realized we’d all die if we stayed together!”
In the urgency of the moment, polite speech vanished.
“If we hesitate now it’ll all be for nothing! Are you going to ruin everything he’s doing for us?”
He pulled the small-statured Rowen—lip bitten in distress—along and hurried into the right passage.
“Let’s go! Conserve your levitation magic! We can’t let his death be in vain!”