Chapter 29: ...This is not how you should draw it.

"The direction itself is correct... Don't worry too much."

"Yes, we're doing well enough."

The members of Group 5, to which Becky belonged, encouraged one another. The atmosphere was warm and friendly, regardless of their performance, thanks to their excellent teamwork.

The progress they had made so far was also quite impressive.

『Observation』, 『Risk detection』, 『Leap』』... Group 5 had devised a strategy to avoid battles by any means necessary, equipped with scrolls. Despite their flawless execution and successful outcomes thus far, they showed no signs of exhaustion.

“There is a checkpoint in the labyrinth. Let us aim for that.”

One member agreed with Becky's suggestion, while another tilted their head in confusion.

"But... something seems strange. The display of the location scroll should be accurate this time."

"Yes, you're right."

However, if there was a problem, the markings on the scroll were significantly incorrect.

They had already visited three checkpoints, and all of them turned out to be empty. It could be a problem with the location scroll or with the labyrinth itself...

“Did you bring the wrong scroll?”

“Hey, absolutely not. I went through so much trouble to obtain it..."

While the group members were examining various aspects of the location scroll,

-Kugugugugu―!

Suddenly, a tremendous noise reverberated from beyond the right wall of the passage. Though they couldn't discern the exact nature of the situation, something was clearly happening.

Group 5 became startled and pressed their ears against the wall, focusing their attention.

-Kieeeeek―!

A creepy sound filled the air. Becky's head trembled.

"Ugh... Gives me goosebumps. Choosing not to go for a direct assault was a really good decision for us."

The other team members nodded in agreement. It had been a while since they had traversed this particular passage.

-Kugugugugu―!

This time, the right wall began to crumble and collapse entirely.

"What, what is this? Why is it happening like this?"

"I didn't sense any traps being activated. What's going on?"

Amidst the sudden phenomenon, they were bewildered, but at the same time, the sight of another team came into view.

The first person to catch Becky's eyes was Flan.

"Uh, hey, Flan..."

She tried to call him but stopped midway.

Firstly, the thought of the exploration assessment being a competition crossed her mind. Secondly, not only Flan's group but also the appearance of Group 1, which included Hailey, came into view as well.

Perhaps due to the peculiar phenomenon inside the labyrinth, no one had a bright expression.

The three groups silently observed each other without saying a word. A brief moment of awkward silence passed.

Judging by their appearances, it was evident that all three teams were taken aback by the collapsing walls.

"Hey, guys, hi there."

Among them, Hailey stepped forward with a friendly attitude.

She glanced around, observing various things. It seemed she had an interest in the other groups.

"Are you all doing well? But, isn't the state of the labyrinth a bit strange? It seems so different from the labyrinth we were originally guided through."

Hailey moved closer to Becky, who appeared to be the leader of Group 5. Becky had no choice but to respond.

"Well... It's more or less okay."

Casually skirting around the topic, Becky also observed Hailey's group.

Hailey's Group 12 consisted of Louis and the transfer students who had recently joined to fill Aria's vacancy.

Louis, being a member of the group, seemed to have smoothly overcome the crisis without significant difficulties. And that would likely be the case in reality as well.

More than that, Becky was concerned because the transfer student had an exceptionally beautiful face. She also seemed to be good friends with Flan.

'I can do anything for Sir Flan….' Becky recalled her saying something like that.

Becky guessed that maybe this transfer student was the one Flan contacted on Trivia.

“Ah~ Sir Flan! Are you here!”

The transfer student, as white as snow, ran toward Flan.

At first glance, it seemed that she was trying to hug Flan, but as Flan shrewdly avoided it, it looked like she was hugging the air.

Nevertheless, the transfer student remained undeterred and spoke.

"Are you doing well? Thanks to the excellent group members, I'm doing fine! And if this helps, would you like to use these?"

The transfer student held out three scrolls to Flan. Louis followed closely behind and let out a deep sigh.

"Yushia, those are the scrolls we should use for our team. What if we give them to another team?"

Yushia. That was the name of the transfer student. Becky made sure to remember those letters.

Meanwhile, despite reproaching others, Louis had a smile on his face and a gentlemanly attitude. He seemed to have no ill intentions toward others.

"Oh, should I not give it? I didn't know!"

But then, unexpectedly, Trixie intervened and said something to Yushia.

"Giving bribes is illegal. Go away."

"Bribes...? My sister likes that…."

"Be honest and go away."

Neither Yushia's nor Trixie’s attitudes were something Becky couldn't understand right away.

However, the sight of Flan being surrounded by two delicate girls, like works of art, appeared nonchalant to her.

For a guy, it would typically be a situation to be delighted about, but Flan showed no signs of happiness or tension.

No, it seemed like he didn't even realize that someone was clinging to him. He was still focused on examining the location scroll.

For some reason, Becky felt a tightening in her chest, so she forcefully pressed her bruised knees against the ground.

“Hey, Becky.”

Just then, Hailey's voice reached her ears. Becky shook her head vigorously to clear her thoughts and replied, "Yes. What is it?"

"Can we have a moment to talk alone?"

Becky agreed to Hailey's suggestion, and they distanced themselves from the other team members.

"What's the matter?"

"Don't you want to get high grades?"

"Well, doesn't everyone want it?"

"Then, how about we... try together?"

Hailey gestured with her eyes towards Group 11, led by Flan. Becky's face unconsciously twisted as she followed Hailey's gaze.

“What?”

“The labyrinth is in a very strange state right now. If Group 11 is unlucky, they might encounter various accidents, right?"

“Hey…. No.”

Becky shook her head.

Although Hailey was proposing cooperation to Becky in a roundabout way, Becky did not welcome this approach.

[ Everyone, can you hear me? ]

At that moment, Professor Violet's voice suddenly resonated inside the labyrinth.

The eyes of the students naturally wandered in the air.

[I'll continue assuming you can hear me. The situation inside the labyrinth is very strange right now.]

Most of them nodded their heads as they too were already aware that something was off inside the labyrinth.

[We can't observe the current situation inside, so evaluation is suspended. We will individually transport each of you out, so do nothing and wait.]

Violet's voice sounded more determined than usual.

[I warned you. You probably won't even have the protection spell right now. If anything happens, you'll die just like that. Absolutely don't do anything.]

The atmosphere instantly became heavy.

If they suffered such severe damage in this exploration evaluation, it was as good as dying, wasn't it?

"How long will the transportation take?"

"What if we get caught up in an accident while just waiting? Are we just going to die without being able to do anything?"

The gathered students began to feel confused. Louis was the first to step forward and tried to calm them down.

"Everyone, calm down. Nothing serious will happen."

However, trying to calm the students with those few words was futile.

The fear of death was greater than imagination, and not a single student here wanted to die.

In the end, what calmed the students was the transportation magic.

"What... What's happening?"

Martin was enveloped in a white light and became the first to disappear.

"Oh, thank goodness!"

“Me too!”

After that, the bodies of other students started to be wrapped in white light one by one. First were Becky's team members.

With each transport, a sense of relief appeared on the faces of the remaining students.

“Oh…. Sir Flan! It seems I will go first!”

Yushia was transported.

"Everyone will be safe. Let's watch from outside."

Louis was transported. And so, one by one, they disappeared until only Hailey, Flan, and Becky remained.

There was no conversation among the three.

Flan was too absorbed in his own thoughts to pay attention to them, and Becky found it difficult to speak when faced with Hailey's gaze directed at Flan, which held a subtle meaning.

[Now there are three left.]

[The condition of the labyrinth is getting stranger... Professor Leonard, can they hear my voice now?]

[They're gone...]

Violet's voice became faint and eventually completely dispersed.

"Something doesn't seem to be working well~"

Hailey brushed her hair back and spoke. Then she subtly glanced at Flan and Becky.

"I don't want to die stuck between lovers. Hm."

"Wh-who's a lover?"

Becky immediately refuted Hailey's words, but Hailey just shrugged her shoulders.

"What about Flan? Flan, what do you think of Becky?"

“What are you talking about?!”

While screaming, Becky rolled her eyes and glanced at Flan.

What does Flan think of her? If she said she wasn't curious, it would be a lie.

But at that moment.

“…… !”

Becky's eyes widened involuntarily. Unknowingly, she took a step back. The 『Danger Sensing』Scroll she had kept in her bosom began to vibrate.

-Kugugugugu!

Before she could recognize and react to it, the platform they were standing on collapsed completely.

There was no time to scream or react swiftly.

All the platforms in the labyrinth scattered like puzzle pieces, and the three of them were plunged into endless darkness.

ㅡㅡㅡ.

'I was wrong.'

The chain of accidents halted. Thoughts of death filled her mind.

Becky simply widened her eyes and stared at the receding light.

◈◈◈

'As expected.'

The mana flow inside the labyrinth was abnormal, especially the ground area was unstable, so it wasn't difficult to predict. However, there was a slight delay in Violet's teleportation, which caused the plan to deviate slightly.

There were two others falling besides me. I could see the figures of Becky and Hailey not far away. After a moment of consideration, I poured all the remaining mana into "Support."

The falling bodies moved through the darkness at a terrifying speed. The sound cutting through the air felt like it would tear my eardrums.

However, despite that, my body remained steady. The tightly woven mana membrane didn't allow any loss of grace in my movements.

Thanks to that, I could closely observe Becky and Hailey's appearances. Hailey seemed to have lost consciousness immediately, her head hanging limply, while Becky had vacant eyes, staring blankly.

Finally, when I had depleted all the mana.

“Impossible….”

Becky mumbled with unfocused eyes. As soon as I heard those words, I couldn't help but burst into laughter in disbelief.

"What a pitiful thinking."

I reached into my pocket and grasped the artifact. The mana contained in this crystal given by Violet was certainly not insignificant.

Finally, when the distance between Becky and me was within reach...

-Thud!

I clenched my fist and shattered the crystal.

◈◈◈

Becky caught a glimpse of Flan's figure. In fact, it didn't matter anymore. The worries had faded away. She was gradually accepting the fact that death was imminent.

In the next life, she wanted to be born as a magic prodigy. If that was too much to ask, at least she wanted to be born with a noble lineage.

If that was also too much to ask... she didn't want to be reborn at all.

Flan's figure still entered her eyes. The distance between them inexplicably narrowed. Another astonishing thing was that even in the midst of falling, Flan's grace and poise were flawless.

...Yes, a "magic prodigy" was right in front of her.

"I also... wish I could use magic like you,"

Becky muttered involuntarily. The girl's vacant eyes contained the image of a boy.

"It would be nice if I could use magic skillfully."

But still...

"Forever, it will be impossible...."

Even the sound of cutting through the air gradually became familiar, and Becky quietly closed her eyes. Facing death when opening one's eyes was indeed frightening. She closed her eyes and waited for this humble life to end.

"How pathetic."

- Zap.

- Crack!

A dazzling flash struck Becky's closed eyelids. Simultaneously, the sensation of falling disappeared instantly.

The deafening sound that seemed capable of tearing eardrums could no longer be heard.

'Am I finally dead?'

With a sense of confusion, Becky cautiously opened her eyes, and her thought process came to a halt.

"...Huh?"

She found herself floating.

The falling rocks, Hailey perched on a rock fragment, or rather everything around her... it all seemed suspended in the air as if time had frozen.

The falling rockA blue light scattered like stardust, illuminating the surroundings. Becky unintentionally opened her mouth in awe of the surreal scenery.

"What... why..."

She swallowed her saliva and scanned her surroundings.

Upon further examination, it remained the same. Everything appeared to be suspended mid-air, as if time had frozen at a specific moment.

And at that moment...

“Becky.”

That calm voice echoed from above. Flan, enveloped in blue light, stood there.

Even in this empty void filled only with darkness, he remained composed.

Becky's body floated as Flan pointed his finger at her.

Her body floated, and their eye levels naturally aligned. Until that moment, Becky couldn't comprehend the situation.

One of the rocks that had been suspended in the air hit Becky's head with a thud.

“Ouch!”

In pain, she instinctively rubbed her head, reaffirming her sense of being alive. Becky squinted one eye and observed Flan's figure.

He remained resolute and calm as usual.

"Where is the impossibility for a magician?"

“Ugh, yes… ?”

[Can you hear me? Are the three of you still there? Just wait for three more minutes.]

Violet's voice started to come through again.

“Three minutes….”

Flan murmured quietly, pursing his lips.

Then suddenly, he reached into Becky’s jacket. His hand casually brushed against her chest, and a moment later, Becky’s face flushed red.

"W-What?! Hey! What are you doing?!"

"Three minutes should be enough."

Flan swiftly pulled out the Trivia from Becky's pocket. Then, he nervously flipped through the pages of the Trivia.

“Look, Becky.”

He called her name once again.

His red eyes sparkled, and his sharp appearance, enveloped in a blue aura, was quite impressive.

As Becky blankly gazed at Flan's face, a Trivia with filled spell circles unfolded before her.

The page was covered in the spell for Magic Missiles, which Becky had roughly sketched based on observing Flan's mock battles.

“This spell.”

Everything remained frozen, as if stuck together, in a blue space resembling an art canvas.

In that peculiar moment, where even time seemed imprisoned, Flan quietly parted his lips.

"...This is not how you should draw it."

--- End of The Chapter --

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