Chapter 28: It’s tough… Aaang… ㅠㅅㅠ

"......"

Trixie had been casting a subtle gaze in my direction for some time now. It seemed as if she was almost certain that I was a Scout. However, I had only one thing to say in that moment.

"First, let's focus on the exploration evaluation."

It was a principled idea to focus only on the evaluation during the assessment, but it seemed to have a different meaning to Trixie. It implied proving oneself through this exploration assessment.

"Okay."

Trixie nodded eagerly, and I decided not to add any further explanations. It didn't seem like a misunderstanding that would be resolved by simply stating that I wasn't a scout. Moreover, the more determined Trixie was, the smoother the evaluation would proceed.

“What are the two of you talking about? Are you planning to break through head-on without any detours? Is that correct?"

Martin shrugged his shoulders and asked.

Whether it was because Trixie was leaning toward me or not, Martin's gaze had become strangely sharp as he looked at me.

“Yes.”

Trixie answered briefly and coldly.

"Those guys, they don't have any resistance to fire,"

Trixie stated. She had no intention of taking any detours and exuded confidence in herself.

Trixie pointed her chin towards the other side where transparent ghosts were floating, waiting for us. They were known as "Lace."

Even in this world, ghosts were vulnerable to exorcism attributes and fire elements due to their similar nature. Trixie's self-confidence stemmed from that fact.

"Lace is not a problem. We just need to go in the right direction."

"Oh, if that's the case, don't worry."

Martin smirked and took out a scroll from his pocket.

"Don't worry about getting lost. This is a location scroll. I had a hard time finding it."

He swiftly tossed it to me.

"You'll handle the navigation. After all, you'll be carried away regardless.”

It was better this way. It would have been awkward for me if Martin had taken charge of guiding the way.

Martin looked at Trixie with an expectant expression, hoping for praise, but she only uttered one word.

“Go.”

“Huh?”

“Go.”

"Oh, okay."

Martin finally understood Trixie's intention, who had urged him to take the lead. He enveloped his body in wind elemental magic and dashed forward.

The Lace creatures that disturbed our peace energetically followed him.

However, Trixie's blue flames did not allow it.

-Thud.

When Trixie flicked her finger, it was over. The Lace creatures were engulfed in the blue flames and burned up, emitting a sound.

It was impressive, but the problem lay in the sheer number of Lace creatures.

“Wow!”

Suddenly, Martin turned around and was astonished by the enormous number of Lace creatures.

Trixie continued to engulf them in flames, but the number didn't seem to decrease at all.

Meanwhile, I quietly gathered mana.

There was no need for me to jump directly into action like Martin and act as bait, nor did I need to manifest elemental magic like Trixie.

Auxiliary was sufficient.

I adjusted the output of the flames Trixie manifested. It was natural for the performance of the augmented elemental magic to be enhanced with assistance.

The flames, which were initially clumped together, spread like wildfire, quickly annihilating the swarm of Lace creatures.

"......"

Trixie looked at me with a somewhat dazed expression.

Since she was the one who manifested the flames, she must have noticed.

She herself obviously only outputted the flames of mass firepower, but other magic intervened and amplified the output value.

"It would be more convenient to burn them all at once."

"Would that be a deduction?"

She simply asked like that. It seemed that the more the evaluation progressed, the greater the misunderstandings directed at me.

“Let’s talk after the evaluation.”

Explanations could be given slowly after the evaluation was over. There was no hurry.

While examining Martin's location scroll, which proved to be highly effective in guiding us, we continued moving forward.

Even after that, we encountered the swarm of Lace creatures a couple more times, but with Trixie's flames assisted by me, we easily cleaned them up.

"Phew~ all cleared! Flan, how much farther do we have to go?"

Martin wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked, despite being completely covered in soot from Trixie's flames. He seemed oblivious to his appearance.

“Just a little further.”

"If we return, our top score is guaranteed. There won't be anyone who has defeated more Lace than us. It's surprisingly easy, isn't it?"

As the soot-covered Martin happily examined the location scroll, I felt an ominous and restless energy stirring within me.

Instinctively, my gaze followed its source.

Trixie's feet area was the problem. No, the entire path we were trying to advance on was the problem.

It was collapsing. Definitely. The entire foundation would crumble.

The immediate solution that came to mind was psychokinesis.

Using psychokinesis, I pulled Trixie with all my strength.

“What, huh?”

Trixie, who was pulled, clung tightly to my embrace. There was no choice but to pull her because if I pushed her away, she would fall and die.

"You. Wh-What are you doing? What are you doing?"

A subtle expression spread across Trixie's face. It was an expression that seemed to indicate she couldn't understand my actions at all.

-Kukugugugu-!

Immediately afterward, the ground where Trixie had been standing collapsed entirely. The depth was impossible to gauge with the naked eye.

A profound silence enveloped us.

After a while, Martin was the first to break the silence.

"For a trap, this is too severe. If we had fallen...."

It would have been certain death.

Trixie, who was still in my arms, glanced at me for a moment, then cleared her throat and moved away from me.

"It's strange. It doesn't seem artificial."

Trixie voiced her observation, and I couldn't help but agree.

The real issue with the ground collapse was that it lacked any artificial elements or signs.

"Hey... Do you hear something? Am I the only one hearing it?"

Martin's voice trembled, unable to show off his usual bluffing. A strange sound emanating from the dark abyss grew louder and louder.

-Kiiiiiiiiiiing-!

We looked down at the bottom of the abyss. Something was soaring up madly.

Within a mere two seconds, we realized it was the upper half of an incredibly massive skeleton.

Since skeletons naturally have no vocal cords, they cannot make any sound. However, if they were to make a sound, it would be evidence that it was a superior entity.

"Hey, hey, hey. What... What is this? Is it coming towards us? Wh-What should we do about this?"

Martin staggered as if he had malfunctioned.

Despite the confusion, I tried to remain calm. It was crucial to deal with the creature before it fully ascended and engulfed the entire vicinity.

Trixie initiated a chain explosion on the surrounding walls using her blue flames.

The walls crumbled and covered the giant skeleton with countless amounts of soil and rocks, but that was it. It couldn't stop its ascent.

“Not through. It's too big."

"Take out all the scrolls."

Then Martin urgently handed me two scrolls. Trixie didn't have any scrolls with her, whether it was due to her confidence or not.

『Emergency Escape』, 『Petrifaction』—without hesitation, I seized the petrification scroll.

If I focused intently on efficiency, it should serve as an effective countermeasure.

I unfurled the scroll.

The giant skeleton's white surface took on a faint gray hue, but that was all. Its movements merely slowed down; complete petrification was beyond reach.

‘Modification.’

I drew the magic spell contained in the scroll in my head. All sorts of magical applications and geometric patterns flashed through my mind.

Rather than limiting the "range" of petrification, I pushed its performance to the extreme. It surpassed augmentation and approached modification.

-Kwaduk!

The giant arm of the skeleton stiffened into a gray color.

-Ke-eeeeeeek-!

Though its facial area remained unaffected, the creature with a rigid arm had no means to scale the cliff.

With a scream, it fell down.

"...Wow. The scroll's performance is incredible."

Martin murmured quietly before suddenly exclaiming.

"Come to think of it, it's strange! I've never heard of the ground collapsing inside a magic labyrinth, or such a large skeleton existing!"

Indeed, it was troubling my mind as well.

It couldn't be dismissed as a matter of "insufficient prior investigation." It went far beyond that.

From earlier, I couldn't sense any artificial energy around me, only an ominous aura filled the air.

Martin's anger suddenly turned towards me out of nowhere.

"Did you guide us in the right direction? Are we not on the wrong path?"

"This is the right way."

Despite giving a clear answer, Martin snatched the scroll and checked it himself.

However, as I had said, there was no issue with the guidance itself. Yet, his anger did not subside.

"This isn't helpful at all... Trixie is busy subduing while I was luring. I'm doing everything, but you comfortably ride along, is that good?"

"You!"

But Trixie glared coldly at Martin.

"Stay silent. Shut your mouth."

"No, this is too much! Just now, if I didn't have my scroll, we would have been in real trouble..."

- Swoosh!

Trixie's arm was engulfed in blue flames. Only then did Martin reluctantly close his mouth, as if there was no other choice.

“Go the other way.”

Upon Trixie's composed reaction, Martin muttered something under his breath and complied.

As we retraced our steps, Trixie quietly approached me again.

And she said one thing.

"I saw it clearly."

◈◈◈

Walking behind, Trixie observed the young man in front of her.

His back wasn't particularly broad, but at the moment, it seemed quite wide.

As they walked, she reflected on what had just happened.

He had provided excellent assistance with Trixie's blue flames. "Assisted" would be an understatement; he practically intervened with them at his own level.

If it were another student, she would have been rightfully angry... but...

‘He's not just any student.’

Yes, the moment she regarded Flan not merely as a student but as a Scout, all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

Being a commoner and concealing his abilities... All those pieces fit together to paint the picture of a Scout.

Above all, the augmentation of the petrification scroll he had demonstrated earlier was decisive.

Choosing magic that could be calmly used in a bewildering situation and pushing its effects to the limit.

...He could no longer be considered just a student.

'He must be suggesting I do something similar.'

Clearly, he was conserving his power.

Martin, oblivious as ever, didn't notice, but Trixie keenly perceived it. It was as if he was subtly hinting at her. It seemed to imply that she needed to exhibit this level of skill to join the guild she aspired to. That's how it sounded.

‘I am confident.’

The mysterious Abyssal Canyon, where she was now trying to establish herself as a member of the Magic Guild, was the guild she had dreamed of since she was a child, and it was the guild her mother had been a part of.

Despite being only a first-year student, she was well aware of her exceptional talent.

So, she would find a way to be recognized and definitely join.

"What are you doing? Stand still."

Suddenly, Martin spoke to Trixie.

She had unknowingly stopped in her tracks. Trixie shook her head in confusion.

"Don't say a word."

Trixie followed behind Flan, who was walking ahead.

Then, she suddenly remembered and unfolded her Trivia.

[▶ I'm being evaluated!]

[▶ It's tough... Ahaang.... ㅠㅅㅠ]

It appeared that this form of communication was gradually becoming a habit.

-Kukuguguguu!

However, right after she sent the message, the walls on both sides began to crumble.

As the walls gave way, the figures of students from other groups, who were traversing different passages, were gradually revealed.

There were two groups initially.

"Hey, Flan..."

In the left passage, there was Becky's Group 5.

“Hmm.”

And in the right passage, there was Hailey's Group 1.

Watching the two girls simultaneously fix their gaze on Flan, Trixie quietly pondered.

‘...Did these guys also notice?’

--- End of The Chapter --

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