Sentinel
“…Got it.”
Luke said, half-accepting his fate.
He took one step back, yet the battle still looked utterly one-sided against the sentinel.
If he left right now, they wouldn’t pursue him.
In fact, removing even one unknown variable felt like a net positive.
His power was a waste, sure, but we were only three to begin with.
“Hey, what’s the deal?”
Ray whispered to Leaf from the opposite side so quietly Luke couldn’t hear.
Whispers from both sides made her ears tingle.
“What kind of ASMR is this?”
“I checked with Aerial.”
“Why?”
“Saw an elf using spirit magic.”
“An elf? Spirit magic?”
Ray’s gaze snapped toward Leaf.
That’s you, right?
But Leaf shook her head.
Outside of us, only one elf with the spirit mage trait was known.
“Oh… is it true?”
“Not confirmed, but we should verify.”
“She said she was alone. How did a Novice even get here?”
“The odds are good. The others might have been taken by sentinels, or she got separated, or she took a shortcut.”
“Handy people, these.”
“Whatever. It’s for the best. Let’s move out.”
Ray muttered “Why again?” under her breath but couldn’t hide her excitement.
She had always wanted to fight a sentinel.
Even though she’d been ready to step aside if something went wrong, the perfect excuse now gave her full confidence.
“So, it’s decided.”
“Um…”
The group meeting wrapped up, Luke finally chose a direction.
“We have no choice. I’ll follow.”
“We’re lucky.”
Luke wasn’t a mage.
He was a traditional hand-to-hand fighter.
Perfect for leading the vanguard.
In our team, Ray was listed as the main vanguard, but she was really a close-range damage dealer.
Rarely could mages serve as true vanguard.
Among our classmates, only Amaya could handle pure tanking.
She made up for the defensive shortfall with the beastman’s natural toughness, so everything had been fine so far.
But the new ability Ray had gained caused trouble.
Azurail.
The magic that maximized mobility now amplified her aggression.
The catch was that when she used Azurail, the very vanguard role she was supposed to hold would be empty.
That gap was exactly what Luke could fill.
“Moving out. Luke, you take the lead.”
“Got it.”
“We keep it simple. Ray, don’t worry about vanguard—just run free. Got it?”
“Aye.”
Ray’s words were getting shorter and shorter.
“Still can’t cast two elementals at once, right?”
“Yeah… possible, but output will drop.”
“Then let’s pull both for support first. When needed, focus on one.”
“Yes!”
Leaf’s energetic reply gave everyone renewed momentum.
They began to move.
§
The second floor was notorious for its complicated maze, where the pathfinder’s job was vital.
Yet on this occasion, they barely needed a guide.
The obstacles—clunky monsters—had been shredded apart by some violent force.
Clear trails of glittering dust remained on the walls, like guideposts.
Just as Hansel and Gretel would have left glowing white pebbles to mark their path, these trails showed exactly where they had passed.
They could simply follow the dust.
But there was one catch.
“We’re not going backward, are we?”
“Direction is clear from the prints. Reading wounds is basic instinct—you should learn it. A skilled pathfinder can figure everything out from even the shallowest footprints.”
Ray declared, imitating Luke.
“I can read them too! Hey, Roman! Look—there’s a big print here, so this must have been the entrance. That means the left-to-right motion, right? See?”
“No.”
She had no idea.
Ray had clearly lacked talent for explaining things.
She had explained body strengthening well enough, but maybe she wasn’t delivering the exact lesson content.
“Hold on.”
Luke raised a hand and stopped the group.
“Ahead.”
Leaf said.
She had been reading the changes carried by the wind with Aerial when she suddenly spotted something ahead.
“The space is wider. If we’re going to intervene, now’s the time.”
“Watch your step. There’s a drop ahead.”
A drop?
Luke’s explanation finally clicked when they reached the end of the corridor they had been walking.
The sight that unfolded before their eyes.
The path had ended.
Before them lay a vast square.
High ceiling and broad expanse.
Anyone who had walked blindly here would have fallen straight through into the depths below.
Explorers classified such spaces by size into three categories: rooms, halls, and squares.
The smallest—rooms—were simply wider than connected corridors.
Mid-size—halls—were larger than rooms and smaller than squares.
The largest—squares—often had cubic structures, giving the name a double meaning.
What lay before them was the largest of all: a square.
At its center towered an overwhelming presence even in this spacious hall.
“Sentinel…”
The watcher of the second floor.
The despair of the glowing maze.
Using the telescope, Roman studied the sentinel’s form.
Intuitively, the name “Ceramic Sentinel” made perfect sense.
It looked like a smooth, glossy porcelain statue rather than a living creature.
Its lower body was equine, its upper body human.
Yet unlike typical centaur statues shown nude, this one wore clothing.
And that clothing…
“A maid outfit?”
Maid uniform, but the centaur carried weapons in its hands.
A combat maid made of ceramic.
That was the sentinel.
“Halberd type. Harder than a lance. Rank… Upper?”
“Good news—neither Keeper nor Head.”
Luke muttered his analysis.
“Upper level, then?”
“Strong. The order is Sculler, Under, Upper, Head, Keeper. Position-wise, middle, but the numbers make it stronger.”
The analysis of the opponent was complete.
Next came the elf Leaf had mentioned…
“It’s her. That’s Elowen.”
People pointed and asked what it was.
But Ray’s words were correct.
The elf facing the sentinel head-on was none other than their classmate, Elowen Starweaver.
The dust-covered Elowen looked troubled, as if the battle against the sentinel had gone poorly.
From beneath her feet, elementals jumped in and out, laughing as if they found the situation hilarious.
“The spirit magic failed. Plain as day.”
“Yeah… Elowen’s one of the new-generation spirit mages…”
That made Leaf the odd one out among spirit mages.
But the point was that spirit mages were exactly what Leaf was.
Elementals were pranksters.
Even in serious moments, they could laugh at something irrelevant like mischievous children.
Elowen had tried to use spirit magic, only for it to backfire and fail.
“That’s why they’re ranked among the three commoner classes.”
“But Elowen knows more than just spirit magic.”
“It won’t work on the sentinel. Spirit magic is strong, so she was probably trying a one-hit comeback, but…”
The rest of the sentence was left unspoken, yet the silence alone conveyed the meaning.
“An acquaintance, then.”
“Surprising, but not impossible.”
“What now? Do we join them?”
“Um…”
Going down felt risky.
The sentinel still hadn’t noticed them, but the moment they stepped into the square, it would.
Stealthily approaching during the clash between Elowen and the sentinel was the best option…
“I’m going first!”
“Huh? Ray! Wait a second…”
No!
They hadn’t meant to throw her into free roll!
They rushed to stop her, but Ray had already leaped out of the corridor and entered the square.
Blue footprints left by Azurail as she dashed forward.
Her silhouette reached the sentinel’s head in the blink of an eye.
She fell.
Ray’s fist swung straight toward the sentinel’s crown.
“Gotcha!”
At the moment of impact, magic switched.
Argentooth tore through the sentinel’s magic barrier, sparks flying.
Ray’s fist struck the sentinel’s head.
Thud—!
A heavy sound echoed, as if a massive iron bell had been struck.
The impact felt impossible to ignore.
If anything, Ray’s fist might have hurt more.
“Oww—!”
She had meant it.