Chapter 68
Chapter 68
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: Shadow Looming Over Ark #4
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The city of Gracia, domain of the Church, is home to quite a few ruins.
And in any world, ruins typically hold significant academic value.
The same went for the old castle located north of the city outskirts, beyond Ark.
Mirna, Elga, and I arrived at the area commonly known as the "Old Castle Grounds."
"This is really the place for the assignment, right?"
Elga glanced around.
Her clear blue eyes reflected the towering stacks of bricks entwined with thorny vines.
"Creepy as hell."
Beyond the dim walls, even though evening hadn't arrived yet, clouds hung low, filling the garden and colonnades with gloom, along with cramped corridors and shattered statues.
"No one else here but us?"
At Elga's question, I scanned the surroundings too.
Around the old castle grounds, overgrown with mud and weeds, I could see various irregular footprints.
As I reached out to trace them with my finger, Mirna, who had been vigilantly watching all directions like me, spoke up.
"Judging by the mud not being dry yet, these footprints are recent. But I don't sense any presence at all."
She was right.
Normally, several other teams of nine groups or so should have come here for the survey by now, aside from us. But there was no sign of them anywhere.
Had they all gone deeper inside first?
Just then, Elga drew in a sharp breath.
"No one's here—!?"
A thunderous roar erupted from her mouth, more like the rumble of nature than a human voice. Standing right beside her, my ears rang as if I'd fired a gun without earplugs.
Elga, however, didn't seem to care at all and just clicked her tongue.
"No reaction. Looks like we're too late."
"Where did the people who arrived before us go?"
Rubbing my ringing ears, I asked Elga. But she merely spotted a fallen school robe on the ground and muttered, "Who knows," dismissively.
Then she summoned a massive axe from thin air and snorted.
"It's funny they've set such an obvious trap. But it's even funnier walking into such an obvious trap. We're not moths drawn to a spiderweb."
For someone self-mocking, she confidently trudged forward through the mud with loud splashes.
Mirna followed suit, so I had no choice but to trail behind them.
"Hey, Theo. If something jumps out, don't do anything—just stick right behind sis. Got it?"
Whether to reassure me or not, Elga, leading the way, said it half-jokingly.
"Sure thing," I replied casually, but now I had offensive capabilities too.
Knocking down foes with magic granted experience points and level-ups, so I was eager to fight aggressively.
"Alright, entering the fortress interior."
Elga soon stood before two enormous doors. Gates that looked untouched for decades.
There was a gap between them just wide enough for one person. Beyond lay pitch-black darkness.
She pinched her nose.
"Stinks of rot. Smell of death. Smell of decay. Something's in there. Hey, Mirna. What do you think?"
At Elga's question, Mirna, who had been uneasily eyeing the surroundings, flinched.
"It's the perfect spot for undead and ghosts to hide. They love places like this—worn down, crumbling, and quiet."
As she said it, Mirna's body began to tremble slightly.
Of course, it was subtle enough that only my sensitive half-fairy senses could detect it, but she seemed scared.
Well, her sister Narmi had mentioned it before.
Her older sister was born into a lineage of necromancers but feared ghosts and such.
Having to wander these old castle grounds must be hell for her.
"I'll go in first."
Elga tossed a torch into the darkness and squeezed her body through the narrow gap.
"Ugh. It's tight. Narrower than I thought."
Her chest got squished flat midway, looking quite troublesome, but since breasts are soft and squishy, she managed to wriggle through.
"Come on, one at a time."
At her signal, I decided to send Mirna next.
"You go first. I'll guard the rear."
"Got it."
Mirna struggled a bit with the narrow gap too, but not as much as Elga, slipping through and planting her feet inside the dark interior.
Now it was just me.
As I stepped toward the fortress interior—
Graaaah—!
Rustle, rustle.
Something burst from the ground.
They took the form of people clad in rusted, decayed armor.
Peering from between the armor were skeletal frames, their empty eye sockets eerily hollow and spine-chilling.
Grraaaah!
Five? Ten?
I didn't know. What mattered was they'd spotted me and were charging this way. Mirna shouted from inside the door.
"Skeletons! Hurry inside!"
Even without her shout, I knew entering the fortress was best.
But as I squeezed into the narrow gap, the approaching skeletal wraiths grabbed my legs and yanked outward.
Grraaah!!!
"Wha—!?"
My body couldn't enter; it was being pulled back outside.
Crunch.
How could these bony monsters without muscles have such strength?
"Help me!"
"We'll pull you!"
Mirna grabbed my hand.
Now I felt like my body was being torn apart, stretched thin between Mirna pulling inward and the skeletons outward.
"Eeek...!!!! It's ripping...!!!!"
At this rate, I'd become Theo or maybe Theoooo. Either way, my body was definitely stretching and tearing.
Is this what a tug-of-war rope feels like?
"What are you idiots doing? Hilarious."
Elga burst out laughing at the sight, then grabbed Mirna's waist.
With a quick pull, my body fully slipped through the gap. I sighed in relief, rubbing my legs and waist that had felt elongated.
"Whew, thanks. I lived."
Elga grinned at my thanks.
"Got yanked so hard. Didn't get taller? Legs must be longer now."
I'd nearly been torn apart, and she cracks jokes like that.
But damn, she had a point.
I'd measure my height later.
Creak. Slam.
The fortress door slammed shut behind me. Elga pushed and pulled at it hard.
"Not budging. Should I smash it?"
Mirna shook her head.
"No. Not a good idea. The deathly aura outside is thickening. Probably the old Gracia castle guards buried in the garden are reviving as wraiths one after another."
"So opening this door lets those bastards flood in?"
"Yeah."
As Mirna said, presences gathered outside—scratching at the door, endless unknown screams.
Imagining the weed-choked garden we crossed now filled with skeletons sent chills down my spine.
"Definitely a trap. Luring us into this fortress."
"Probably. Let's go. Find the professor. Get our points. Right?"
Elga raised her torch and marched forward briskly again. I felt glad to be with her.
Thinking of her as an ally made her feel really reliable.
Mirna, on the other hand, wasn't contributing much.
Ever since Professor Valan took her father—the lich Alestaire Draco—she seemed like any ordinary girl.
In this situation, Narmi would be way more helpful.
Narmi was probably deep in slumber somewhere within that body.
"Shh..."
Elga stopped abruptly.
Mirna and I halted too.
"Be quiet. Something's ahead in this corridor."
Walking the cold stone corridor, Elga pointed forward.
Curious as I was, it came toward us without us advancing.
"Groooar—."
It resembled a human.
Pale face, limp arms and legs—like a zombie. Probably no different from one.
Two or three shambled toward us in the narrow passage. Now I saw they wore Ark uniforms.
Students who entered before us?
"Not easy to swing an axe in a tight corridor like this."
Elga set her axe down and clenched her fists. Mirna behind her shouted.
"They're still alive! Seems controlled by spells, so try not to kill them!"
"Not killing is harder for me."
Crunch.
As Elga gripped her fists and braced—
Now was my chance to show my skills. I aimed my imp tail wand down the corridor and lightly chanted.
—Paimon.
Fwoosh—!
A compressed air bullet fired from the wand's tip like a gunshot.
Thud.
"Graack!"
The Ark students' bodies tumbled, convulsing. Unsatisfied, I hammered them with a few more spells.
Fwoosh, fwoosh—.
Thud, thud.
Bang, crash.
With three down and sorted, Elga relaxed her fists, opening her mouth in surprise. "Ooh—."
"Nice magic, huh? Theo, since when could you do this?"
Impressed, Elga checked the fallen students' consciousness. Good power and accuracy, apparently.
"Lethality's low, but perfect for non-lethal takedowns. Simple chant too. How many more can you fire?"
Peering inward at her question.
Magic consumed surprising stamina.
Even with the Marma imp tail wand regulating mana like a faucet, chanting and firing brought fatigue.
"Without rest, maybe ten more."
"Better than rumors. Could get hired by Varz's Golden Legion. Learned at Ark?"
Varz's Golden Legion was the elite private force of the Lioness family.
Selected top talent, equipped with the best gear—like an elite unit.
Getting hired there meant my skills were combat-viable. Spellcasters' rarity helped, sure.
But it made sense.
Paimon was Angmar Demon King's advanced destruction spell.
Superior to most mages' fireballs or wind blades. Low circle meant lower power, but...
"When'd you learn this? Mage talent's surprising. 2nd circle power?"
Elga's interest piqued, so I explained vaguely.
"Better to move first than explain now."
Dodging, I hurried forward. Lingering felt unwise.
Indeed, growls of unknown entities echoed from the path behind.