An Unexpectedly Strong Foe
The Exhausted Man's Cave (5)
The enemy was far stronger than anticipated. Dorothy analyzed the creature’s mana and at first refused to believe the results. But she trusted her own judgment, so she accepted the data as accurate and immediately sprang into action.
The opponent was at minimum an Aura Beginner. Even for a 6-Circle mage like her, it was no easy foe. A demonic monster from the Otherworld wearing knight’s armor and swinging a rusted sword. The aura clearly coating that rusted blade was unmistakable. A monster that could wield mana? The memory of her homeland being destroyed flashed through her mind, but she clenched her teeth and focused on the enemy before her.
Fortunately, the monster’s armor had no resistance to magic. Dorothy’s spells tore through it with ease. The problem was its actual body—its resistance to magic was so high that not even a scratch remained.
An aura user’s speed was overwhelming. Dorothy wrapped her body in wind and fought desperately, but the creature was adapting to this world faster and faster. At this rate, a fatal blow would land soon.
Three more exchanges at most.
Trading spells and sword strikes, Dorothy realized she wouldn’t be able to block the next one. Everything had happened so suddenly. She prayed that Cain could land a decisive hit and raised her staff, preparing to deflect the monster’s final strike.
Right before the creature roared and turned toward Cain.
“Ha. Hahaha. Holy shit, it actually worked. You pathetic piece of garbage.”
When I saw the relieved look on Dorothy’s face, I readjusted my stance and launched my attack. I had no idea why these things were so weak to natural mana, but honestly, that wasn’t my problem.
“Gnome! Lock down its movements!”
—Yeees~ After this, you have to take me to see that place called the commercial district, okay?
Gnome appeared in front of me and stretched both hands forward. Two massive stone hands erupted from the cave floor and clamped down on Umbra. The monster let out a furious roar, clearly panicked. Cracks were already forming across the stone fingers—it wouldn’t hold for long.
“Cain. That thing’s body is coated in aura. Even if it’s drawing power from natural mana, it won’t last much longer.”
“Aura… Aura, huh. So we’re really fighting something on the level of a knight right now.”
I grinned, then gave Sylph and Kasa their orders. They fired off the Flame Cutter they had copied before, but the only result was a few scratches on the monster’s armor.
“Senior, looks like my power doesn’t work on its armor at all?”
“Some of these creatures have intelligence. This one must be one of those. It even seems to have its own language system…”
The armor must have undergone special treatment. The spirits’ attacks only produced tiny biological reactions. I had first used spirit power back when dealing with those caterpillar-like monsters—had these things already figured that out?
Still puzzled, I looked at Dorothy and shouted.
“That armor seems vulnerable to your attacks, Senior! Can you hit it again?!”
“Got it~! Okay… then…”
Dorothy placed her hand on her staff and murmured something. The blue gem embedded in the tip glowed, forming a magic circle. I suddenly grew curious about the staff’s true identity, but now wasn’t the time. I promised myself I’d ask after the battle and waited for her attack.
“…Lira. Water Slash!”
Having finished her chant, Dorothy thrust her staff forward and cast a 4-Circle spell—Water Slash. The high-speed rotating blades of water struck the monster’s armor with a grinding screech and began slicing straight through it.
That was enough.
I shouted at Kasa.
“Kasa! Add fire to Senior’s spell—!”
—Okay!
Kasa sucked in air until her belly swelled, then exhaled a blazing torrent. Seeing her finally look like a proper spirit, I wiped my nose and muttered.
“Using that much fire power in a place with no flames… impressive.”
Kasa’s flames heated the Water Slash, turning the water into steam. I asked Sylph if she could compress air within a limited space.
—Yes. I’m a lower-tier spirit, so I can’t do it over a wide area… but in a small space, yes.
“Then compress the air around the area where Kasa’s fire is hitting.”
—Understood.
Sylph began compressing the air where the Water Slash was spinning. The steam was forced tighter and tighter under pressure. Finally, Umbra’s armor was completely severed, revealing its hideous flesh beneath.
Now was the moment.
“Kasa, maximum output! Explode the steam!”
—Got it! An explosion… is art!
Kasa spouted some line I swore I’d heard somewhere before and spewed flames hot enough to burn the eyes. The heavily compressed steam, subjected to extreme heat, erupted in a massive explosion.
“Senior! Get back!”
“You’re supposed to say that before you—!”
Dorothy couldn’t finish her sentence. She quickly deployed a shield to block the shockwave. The knight’s flesh burst outward from the center of the blast. Its wavering red eyes openly displayed its panic as it glared at me and screamed something incomprehensible.
“!%@%@$#&&$$%#”
“Dude, speak in a language I understand. Or at least use Korean.”
The monster’s entire upper body—including the right arm holding its sword—had been blown clean off. Even with only half a body left, it still moved. As if trying to prove it could fight even while dying, its red eyes flared brighter. In an instant, it closed the distance and swung a fist at me.
Of course, I was so ridiculously weak that I couldn’t even register the attack in time. The moment our eyes met, I felt death staring me in the face. Gnome instantly created a wall in front of me at incredible speed, but I doubted it could stop an aura-infused punch.
In that brief moment where I resigned myself to everything, the monster’s fist suddenly froze mid-air.
“…??”
“Cain! Are you okay?!”
Dorothy rushed over and pulled me into her arms. Her face remained expressionless as always, but I could feel her trembling body and racing heartbeat. I stared blankly past her shoulder at the Otherworld knight still frozen in place. Its hand was bound by something invisible, shaking violently in place, while the creature screamed incomprehensible words.
“That was way too close.”
Dorothy and I turned toward the voice. Floating in the air were countless magic circles restraining the knight. The one controlling them was a demon girl with glossy black horns on both sides of her head, pure silver hair, and blood-red eyes.
I knew exactly who she was.
“Shub.”
“Hmm? You know me? I haven’t participated in any public activities since the entrance ceremony.”
Her seductive voice tickled my ear. Demons were known for their beauty, much like elves. Combined with their captivating voices, many people mistakenly believed they were a race that specialized in bewitching others. Hearing her voice so close made me understand exactly why those rumors existed.
“Enchanting.”
“Pardon?”
“Ah, never mind. You’re Shub le Ruelle, right? First-year Magic Department top student.”
“Um… yes. I am Shub le Ruelle. The person hugging you while glaring at me is Dorothy Gale, whom I met once before. And…”
“Cain. I’m Cain from Class D.”
I stared at Shub with heavily guarded eyes. Why was she here? It wasn’t time for her to make a move yet. Had there been some hidden activity in the game that wasn’t shown? Her corruption was supposed to be revealed in detail with its own cutscene. I hid my confusion and waited for her next words.
“Nice to meet you, Cain. I… happened to be passing by this cave when I sensed a powerful surge of magic energy… What exactly is…”
“Uh… as you can see, it’s an Otherworld Gate.”
“You. Magic Department top student. You’re the one who stopped that thing, right?”
“Yes. I bound it using threads of magical power. It’s been a very long time since I last saw a creature from the Otherworld.”
Demons lived as long as elves. They were one of the races that didn’t care much about age when enrolling in the academy. Judging by Shub’s demeanor, she seemed far older than we had assumed.
“It’s not particularly long by demon standards, but I did encounter creatures from the Otherworld when I was young. Just like you, Dorothy Gale.”
“…So you were a survivor of the Demon King’s territory.”
Dorothy finally understood and let out a hollow expression. She released me from her arms. It hadn’t felt bad at all, so I felt a little disappointed, but the situation demanded focus. I turned my attention back to the knight.
“Let’s talk later. Shouldn’t we deal with this thing first?”
“You take care of it, Cain~ Aren’t you free now?”
The natural way she was slacking off told me this wasn’t her first time. I shot Dorothy a glare, then had Sylph and Kasa burn the creature to ash.
Because of its level, countless level-up messages flooded my status window. I ignored them and turned to Shub. She silently watched the knight disintegrate into black powder, then shifted her gaze to the Otherworld Gate.
Oh no. This doesn’t feel good.
“Sh-Shub, what brings you all the way out here? This area was supposed to be under the Student Council’s surprise patrol route…”
“…”
While ignoring Dorothy’s furious glare, I desperately tried to divert Shub’s attention. Thankfully, she turned her eyes to me, thought for a moment, and spoke.
“Since last night, I’ve been sensing an unknown… magical power and have been searching for its source.”
“Then you must have been the one caught in my surveillance net,” Dorothy said in a cold tone.
Shub quietly nodded in response.
“Of course, I had no intention of causing harm, nor did I plan to enter this cave. I was simply… well.”
Shub closed her mouth, clearly unwilling to say more. She doesn’t want to talk about it.
Suddenly remembering why we had come here, I ran toward the end of the cave.
“Cain?”
“Oh, right. We came here to eat this, didn’t we? It’d be a waste to leave without it.”
I picked up the ornate box sitting right beneath the gate and brought it back. Ignoring Dorothy’s unamused stare and Shub’s curious gaze, I opened the box and pulled out an extremely old-looking silver ring. I held it up to the light.
“This… engraving…”
Lies. I have no idea how to appraise rings!
◈ Increases the wearer’s Life Force by 20
“This is definitely Rhea’s Ring.”
“You can even verify the authenticity of artifacts? You’re more capable than I thought, Cain~”
I checked the ring through my status window, nodded, and looked at Dorothy. Her expressionless face letting out a sigh was unexpectedly cute. She glanced at the gate behind me—the one I was excitedly waving the ring in front of—and scratched the back of her head.
“The real problem is this gate. I don’t know why it suddenly appeared here, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to close on its own…”
Shub stared blankly at the gate as if trying to think of a solution to Dorothy’s words.
“I wonder what lies beyond that gate.”
“Students are forbidden from showing curiosity toward gates, Shub le Ruelle.”
Dorothy’s sharp words pierced Shub’s ears. Shub flinched, then looked at Dorothy with clear dissatisfaction.
“Then what should we do now? You said there’s no way to close it.”
“Just because there’s no way to close it doesn’t mean you’re allowed to be curious about it. And that applies to me too. Shub, Cain. By the authority of the Student Council, I’m ordering both of you to return to the academy.”
Dorothy raised her staff and lifted me and Shub using wind magic. She’s going to handle this alone? She had a stronger sense of responsibility than I expected. The moment I opened my mouth to protest, a familiar voice echoed from beyond the gate.
“That includes you, Dorothy Gale.”
What I saw in the darkness were golden eyes that seemed to pierce through everything. A moment later, the figure revealed himself—wearing a pure white robe embroidered with magnificent golden patterns. It was the academy’s headmaster, Urd Destin.
“Have you dealt with the monster that came out of the gate? Good work.”
“H-Headmaster?”
“We’ll talk about the details back at the academy. I’ll take care of the gate, so all of you should return.”
Urd said this while briefly looking at me. He scanned me from head to toe, nodded once, then snapped his fingers. Our bodies—mine, Dorothy’s, and Shub’s—distorted, and we were instantly teleported to the academy’s administrative district.