Episode 1280
Episode 1280
"Ugh...!"
Gainando, who had been suffering under his friend's surveillance that could see even a thousand miles away even inside the Punishment Room, finally nodded after a while.
"We have no choice. Let's move."
"????"
Ratford and Salko blinked in confusion.
Had Wardanaz cast some sort of remote Illusion Magic on this imperial prince even within the Punishment Room??
"What was that just now? What did you do?"
"What do you mean? I just said let's move."
"No... just a moment ago you were agonizing over whether Wardanaz's surveillance was present or not, so why are you suddenly coming to your senses now? It's creepy!"
"Well, it's not like worrying about it will change what we can do."
Gainando actually looked at Salko as if he were the strange one.
He'd already checked whether there was surveillance around or not, and now there was nothing more they could do.
They just had to accept their fate.
"......"
"...Are all the Blue Dragon Tower guys like this, Ratford?"
"I-I don't really know either."
They were even more shocked by Gainando's easy compliance.
Just what kind of tower was this...?!
"Hey. I can hear you, you know? And the reason I checked earlier is because Lee Han sometimes puts surveillance on me."
Gainando told them about an incident that had happened in the Blue Dragon Tower.
Whenever he and his friends secretly gathered to play Wizard Card or Magical Yunnori (a wizard's board game), Lee Han would strangely show up frequently.
When he asked about it later, Lee Han told him he'd placed invisible surveillance spirits in the lounge.
"That's why I checked earlier to see if there might be any here."
"...Ratford, does something like that exist? I've never heard of it."
"From what I know, Lord Wardanaz isn't close with spirits, so he shouldn't be able to do something like that?"
The two whispered quietly so he wouldn't hear.
No matter how they thought about it, that sounded like a lie from Wardanaz.
Rather, it seemed more like there was a spy among the members who played with Gainando?
'That Wardanaz bastard. He's really toying with the imperial prince!'
To be under surveillance yet not even realize the real surveillance was happening.
As a fellow tower leader, Salko couldn't help but be impressed. While Moradi of the White Tiger Tower skillfully manipulated his friends, Wardanaz was on a completely different level.
And here this Blue Dragon Tower imperial prince was just naturally accepting it all!
'I shouldn't be talking about others. I was following along naturally too.'
When his thoughts reached this point, Salko couldn't help but reflect.
Actually, Salko wasn't in a position to criticize the Blue Dragon Tower student either. He'd been moving as if controlled by Wardanaz, who wasn't even present.
Perhaps there might even be a spy by his own side...
'Gasp!'
Salko suddenly looked at Ratford.
Come to think of it, Ratford was also one of the wizards very close to Wardanaz.
Could it be...?
Ratford asked curiously:
"Is something wrong?"
"N-no, it's nothing."
Salko shook his head. A diligent and devoted friend like Ratford wouldn't do such a thing.
"Alright. Let's move as the imperial prince said."
As Salko walked ahead first, Ratford, who was behind him, smiled meaningfully.
Einrogard had several underground areas.
There was an underground mining zone, an underground lake, and even underground mountain ranges...
...but if one had to name the most complex and mind-boggling labyrinth among them, it would be the underground of Einrogard's Main Building.
Above all, the underground of Einrogard's Main Building seemed endless.
Students often whispered that even the Skeleton Principal himself probably didn't know what lay at the very bottom.
The deeper you went, the more things kept popping up. That was the underground of Einrogard.
Because of this, first-year students rarely went below the first basement level.
Only weirdos like Wardanaz would fearlessly descend to the 2nd or 3rd basement levels—ordinary students didn't go down unless absolutely necessary.
That's why Gainando's group immediately became wary when they spotted other students.
"It's people!"
"Are they really people? Not undead mimicking humans?"
"...Prince, did something happen to you?"
Salko was taken aback by the oddly specific suspicion. Had there been some undead in the Black Magic department that could imitate humans?
"Ah, no. Lee Han told me to be suspicious of things like this first..."
To be precise, it was 'don't trust anything right away and stay on guard first,' but Gainando had reinterpreted it to his own convenience. If Lee Han had heard this, he would've smacked Gainando's back.
"What? Who are you guys?"
The other party seemed to have noticed Gainando's group too. Looking at the swords at their waists and their attire, the group realized they were seniors from the White Tiger Tower.
"That senior... is Senior Palga of the Ukim family. The one next to him is Senior Ivanna of the Esta family."
Students of the Black Turtle Tower generally had the widest connections among the four towers. It was only natural, given that they were merchants who controlled the flow of goods in Einrogard, starting from the black market.
Excluding exceptional cases like Wardanaz, most of the big players in Einrogard's upper echelons were from the Black Turtle Tower. As such, Salko and Ratford immediately recognized the two seniors.
Gainando, tense, asked,
"If they're from the White Tiger Tower, aren't they just armed bandits?! Shouldn't we strike first?"
"Hmm. Not entirely wrong. But these seniors are relatively moderate."
Salko also thought of White Tiger Tower students as essentially armed bandits, but the situation was different now.
For one, the fact that there were two third-years in front of them was concerning. Their side had 2.5 second-years, while the opponents were two third-years. No matter how you looked at it, the odds were against them.
Besides, weren't they on the fourth underground floor? Somewhere, an unfamiliar monster's cry echoed—definitely not a situation they wanted to fight in.
Fortunately, the two seniors weren't unreasonable people.
Senior Palga, as a member of the Duel Club, valued honor and wasn't the type to pick unnecessary fights with juniors. Senior Ivanna, a renowned smuggler from the White Tiger Tower, had a mutually beneficial relationship with the Black Turtle Tower.
"I'm Tutanta, seniors! We have no intention of fighting!"
"Oh. Tutanta, huh? Why'd you come down here?"
"Probably the same reason as you, seniors!"
"The swamp area?"
Salko nodded at the question. The two White Tiger Tower seniors, still wary, checked their surroundings first.
In Einrogard, you could never underestimate anyone, even juniors. Especially when some juniors carried deadly poisons.
And even if they didn't, there were always those who sent juniors ahead while lying in ambush. Being cautious never hurt.
"...Doesn't seem like there are others. Did you guys come down here after hearing the rumor about the portrait too?"
"Yes."
"Quite the dedication, coming down during exam season."
Ratford, true to his Black Turtle Tower roots, quickly buttered them up.
"Seniors are amazing too. You've already finished your exams and came down here."
"......"
"......"
The two White Tiger Tower students stiffened. Ratford immediately realized his mistake.
Could it be... these seniors too?
Gainando whispered beside him,
"Why would you say that?! What if the seniors skipped their exams to come down here?!"
"Shut up, you damn prince..."
Salko gritted his teeth.
There was absolutely no benefit in provoking seniors from another tower.
Palga cleared his throat. As a senior, he had his dignity to maintain—dragging this topic out wouldn't do any good.
"Well, you could say that. So you guys are planning to go into the swamp area too?"
"Yes."
"You should give up."
The other senior, Ivanna, who had been silent until now, spoke up.
"We're actually on our way back after giving up."
"Huh? Really?"
"Really. You'll understand once you stand in front of the swamp."
Salko and his friends cautiously approached the swamp area together.
The murky swamp occupying the entire dark passage of the basement's fourth floor was so vast and deep that its end wasn't visible.
Naturally, since many of Einrogard's swamps were enchanted, the group had come prepared. Salko attempted to summon the makeshift raft he had brought by breaking apart a sturdy wooden statue.
"...?!"
However, the raft instantly sank into the swamp. It was as if buoyancy didn't exist—or worse, as if the opposite force was at work.
"See? It wasn't this bad before, but it's gotten worse since we last saw it. We'll have to find another way."
There was a reason the two White Tiger Tower seniors had decided to retreat.
The swamp here had become several times harder to cross now.
"Understood."
"Right. Then..."
The two seniors, about to turn back, paused.
Instead of giving up and retreating, the juniors had begun whispering among themselves in front of the swamp.
Ivanna clicked her tongue and shook her head at the sight.
"They won't give up until they try it themselves."
"Don't be too hard on them. We were like that in our second year too."
"Even if you tell them nicely, they won't listen... What's that?"
"?"
At his friend's remark, Palga turned his gaze.
The dwarf student from the Black Turtle Tower pulled out some kind of paper and began writing on it with a quill.
-What did that prince guy give you? He said to open it.
-We do have that pouch Lee Han gave us. Is this what he meant?
"What is that, some kind of artifact?"
"An artifact? No way... Probably just something for communicating with a friend. It's nothing special."
But then something happened that made them doubt their own eyes.
The juniors scattered something, and the swamp's surface suddenly hardened enough to walk on.
-It worked! Let's go!
"...???!!!"
"Thank you, Professor."
Lee Han expressed his gratitude to the next room.
If Professor Voladi hadn't given advice before Gainando left, they might have been stuck in the swamp.
"I didn't know that swamp periodically blocks people from crossing. How did you know?"
"I used to train there often during my school days."
"......"
Lee Han froze.
Huh?
'Ah, no. If it were truly dangerous, the professor would have stopped us.'
For a moment, he wondered if it was okay to send his friends to a place so dangerous that even the professor had trained there during his school days. But then he remembered that Professor Voladi wasn't that reckless.
If it had been truly dangerous, he would have stopped Gainando from going.
"Professor... You don't dislike Gainando or anything, do you?"
"Who's that?"
"?!!!"
Lee Han was horrified.
This was bad!
"You really don't know?! That blond guy who's always with me...!"
"Just kidding."
"......"
For a moment, Lee Han wanted to protest by refusing to share any more snacks, but he held back.
With his friends currently underground, he couldn't afford to be cheeky with the underground expert.
"Ha, haha. Professor, your jokes are really... hilarious! So funny I couldn't even respond right away!"
"Is that so?"
"...Professor, surely not... Never mind."
Lee Han grew uneasy, wondering if Professor Voladi intended to keep making jokes, but he couldn't bring himself to ask.
Surely...
Surely not, right?
-Wardanaz? Wardanaz? Is something wrong?
-Sorry. Professor Bagrak made a joke, so I was late replying.
-???
-??????
-I don't really understand what you're saying.
-I don't get it either, so don't ask me. No idea. Maybe the professor's in a good mood. End of the semester, maybe?
-Ah. Right. The professor gets released at the end of the semester.
-Not Wardanaz, though.
-......
-Why do you say things like that, Lord Alpha!
-Ah, no, I wasn't trying to tease...!
-Everyone, quiet. Salko, when you're steering the raft in the swamp, watch the ceiling. I heard monsters often drop from there.
"As expected."
Salko and the others checked above. Sure enough, bat-like monsters were lurking between the pillars and crevices.
"He got it right again...!"
"What the hell is that artifact?"
The two White Tiger Tower seniors stared at the juniors with eyes full of suspicion.
...Don't tell me that's the Portrait of Wisdom?