Book 1 Chapter 711

711

Rustle, rustle-

The sound of stepping on grass echoed.

Karl and Eliza, wearing transparent cloaks, cautiously exited the clock tower dormitory and arrived at the common garden.

The season was already late spring.

Summer was slowly approaching, so it wasn't too chilly even at night.

Nevertheless, the empty common garden seemed to carry an inexplicable chill.

"Doesn't it feel a bit spooky?"

"What?"

"No, the atmosphere feels like something might come out."

"What would come out?"

"Like a ghost."

Eliza snorted at Karl's words.

"Where are ghosts in this world?"

Ghost.

It refers to a being that wanders the underworld, its soul remaining due to lingering attachments to the world.

Of course, there are things similar to ghosts in this world.

Undead, brought back to life using necromancy, borrowed from the power of the Lich King.

And spirits, summoned using spirit summoning, a branch of summoning magic.

However, both spirits and the dead are beings that manifest in the world through a contract.

Furthermore, they are personalities realized through traces left in mana, not souls.

Of course, the fact that the person in the memories left in mana is still themself remains unchanged.

However, the conclusion reached by the magic and summoning academic circles was that there are no beings that naturally occur and semi-permanently remain in this world, as commonly described as ghosts.

Karl shrugged his shoulders, watching Eliza snort.

"No, I'm just saying because the atmosphere genuinely feels like it."

It was like that inside the dormitory a little while ago.

And this garden, too.

Perhaps because the moonlight was obscured by clouds, the atmosphere was eerie.

It felt like peeking behind the scenes of a place usually passed without much thought.

Moreover…

"That bloodstained knight from before."

Karl shivered, recalling the bloodstained knight who had muttered about killing mages and summoners.

"Thinking about it now, wasn't that really strange?"

"Is it the first time there's a crazy person in Lumerne?"

Eliza seemed to have dismissed him as a knight-student playing a strange concept.

"He seemed dangerous…"

"The duty professors patrol every day. Would something dangerous be roaming the dorms? The only dangerous things at night are Leo Flobe's strange phantasms."

"…True."

Just as Karl assented to Eliza's words and was about to move.

*Grab!*

Eliza grabbed Karl by the nape of his neck.

"What?"

"Crouch."

At her words, Karl immediately crouched down.

Eliza also knelt down.

*Whoooosh-*

The wind blew.

A moment later.

A familiar face appeared in the garden.

'Avad.'

Karl held his breath.

'Were we caught?'

He had used the bracelet Dweno made to block his presence.

However, the presence-blocking function isn't foolproof.

The bracelet's presence-blocking function is merely one part of its overall capabilities.

It also has various other functions for a supporter.

Because of this, if a skilled mage seriously used detection magic, they would inevitably be caught.

While Karl was tense.

Avad opened his mouth.

"Why don't you come out?"

At his words, Karl subtly glanced back.

Eliza was curling the corners of her lips.

Seeing her belligerent expression, Karl let out a small sigh.

'Looks like a fight. I should stay neutral.'

As a magic student, he couldn't help Eliza.

But Eliza was also a partner for tackling the tree maze.

Thus, it was difficult to take sides.

'Avad holds a grudge subtly. He wouldn't complain about me not helping, would he?'

Karl clicked his tongue, recalling his persistent friend.

"Oh my?"

At the voice from behind, not only Karl but Eliza nearly screamed.

"How did you know?"

Chen Shia, who had appeared without a trace, walked past Karl and Eliza.

Even as she passed right by them, no presence could be felt from Chen Shia.

It felt like a ghost walking past.

"The wind felt ominous. You've been following me since the dorm entrance, haven't you?"

"Wow. You have good instincts, Avad-kun?"

Chen Shia smiled brightly and looked around.

"But to pretend not to know until here… that must mean I've fallen into a trap."

"Something like that."

Avad nodded.

Generally, in a 1:1 duel between a knight class and a mage class, the knight has an overwhelming advantage.

Moreover, the opponent was none other than Chen Shia, one of the three monsters of the Knight Department.

And it was night, which could be called Chen Shia's time.

In many ways, it was a disadvantageous situation for Avad.

However, there is a way for a mage to gain an advantage in a 1:1 battle against a knight.

That is, a fight within their own base.

In other words, a battle fought in a fortified area.

And today.

Avad had planted magic stones all over the garden.

The moment Avad drew his staff.

*Whoosh!*

A powerful wind began to swirl inside the garden.

Karl and Eliza barely managed to get out of Avad's base.

"This is troublesome."

"You don't look troubled at all?"

Avad shook his head repeatedly and swung his staff.

At the same time, the swirling wind around him rushed towards Chen Shia.

*Whoosh!*

Chen Shia twisted her body to evade the wind.

Avad's attack wasn't over.

*Whoosh whoosh whoosh!*

Blades of wind, like a giant guillotine, attacked Chen Shia.

Left, right, down, up.

Blades of wind attacking from all directions.

She could have lost her balance from the relentless onslaught, but Chen Shia evaded Avad's attacks like flowing water.

*Swoosh!*

Finally, Chen Shia spread her arms and legs wide, pressing herself against the ground, and narrowed her eyes.

"Hmm?"

*Pak!*

Chen Shia leaped into the air and spun once.

A blade of wind grazed the very tip of Chen Shia's head.

*Lightly-*

Chen Shia, having evaded all attacks, landed gently on the ground.

Despite her intense movements, not a single drop of sweat flowed.

"I roughly understand the pattern."

"Oh really?"

Avad smiled faintly and raised his staff.

"Want to test it out?"

Chen Shia smiled faintly and then vanished from the spot.

Along with that, within Avad's domain, the wind began to rage like a storm.

"Now's our chance. Let's make a break for it."

Hearing that, Eliza nodded and moved.

Karl, having moved away from where the two were fighting, clicked his tongue.

"It's brutal. So brutal."

He looked towards where the two were fighting.

Despite being a very fierce battle, no sound could be heard.

Literally silence itself.

This was possible because it was a battle between Avad, who perfectly controlled the wind within his domain, and Chen Shia, who was more stealthy than anyone else.

"You really scared me!"

Eliza irritably kicked a small pebble on the ground.

Her heart was still pounding from Chen Shia a moment ago.

"Shia is like a ghost or something!"

"…You said they weren't real, but you're scared of ghosts."

"Shut up!"

Eliza glared.

"Well, Chen Shia is scarier than a ghost, I guess."

She was usually gentle, but terrifying when angry.

*Rumble rumble! Crash crash-!*

"…!"

"…!"

Suddenly, a pillar of red flame erupted from where Chen Shia and Avad had been locked in fierce combat.

Seeing it, Karl's mouth opened and closed.

"No, who's causing such a noisy ruckus in the middle of the night!"

"Judging by the color of the flames, it's Phoenix's fire, isn't it?"

"Is it Piora? But Leo said his summons don't attack, didn't he?"

"It could be Celia Zerdinger."

"Celia isn't the type of student to cause trouble so thoughtlessly, is she?"

"Then, Leo Flobe's doing?"

"Nah. Leo wouldn't just attack any student at night…"

Karl, who had been speaking, fell silent.

If it were the old Leo, maybe not?

But the recent Leo made him wonder, 'Could it be?'

'If he used to go easy on first and second-year students, lately he's been quite intense.'

It felt like he was seriously training those around him.

Considering Leo's true identity, it was, in a way, natural.

'Does this mean he's not treating us like kids anymore?'

Karl made a mournful expression.

"I don't want to become an adult."

"What nonsense are you suddenly spouting?"

While Eliza frowned.

The two had already arrived in front of the maze.

Entering the maze, the two took off their transparent cloaks.

Eliza looked up at the sky.

Tall garden trees blocked her view.

"It would be reckless to try to break through here, wouldn't it?"

"A few kids tried, but the magic barrier activated."

"Hmm."

Eliza crossed her arms.

"It certainly is suspicious."

"Right?"

Karl grinned.

*Step-step-*

They walked inside.

Due to the tall garden trees, moonlight and starlight didn't penetrate well into the maze.

It wasn't pitch-black darkness where they couldn't see, but it gave off a strange sense of unease and fear.

Eliza, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped.

She couldn't summon a phantasm.

Using spirit energy might alert students passing nearby.

'Seriously. Why is it so unnecessarily dark!'

Eliza scrunched up her face fiercely.

Even though she denied it, she was actually scared of the dark.

It was, in a way, a primal fear.

If she could use a summon, it wouldn't be so scary, but the situation wasn't conducive right now.

Then.

"Heeheeheeheehee."

"Don't."

Eliza quietly told Karl, who was laughing in a high-pitched voice behind her.

*Grab-*

"Heeheeheeheehee."

"I said really don't…"

An exasperated Eliza turned her head to hit Karl.

And seeing Karl shining a magic stone lamp from below, she screamed, "Kyaaaah!"

Karl quickly covered Eliza's mouth with his hand again.

Eliza, having calmed her startled heart, kicked Karl wildly with a flushed face.

"Die! Just die!"

"N-no! I was just trying to ease the tension…"

Karl, who had gotten into trouble for playing a prank, crouched and defended against Eliza's attacks.

A moment later.

Eliza, having snatched the magic stone lamp from Karl, huffed and puffed as she walked forward.

"Ughhhhh."

"You really want to die!"

"N-not me!"

But at the ensuing, broken groan, Eliza glared at Karl behind her with murderous eyes.

Karl desperately waved his hands.

At that moment.

"Uhhhhh."

*Splash-splash-*

The sound of something crawling through a wet area came from beyond the darkness.

Eliza and Karl froze.

Seeing each other's faces, they stiffly turned their gazes forward.

*Splash-splash-*

The sound of something crawling through a damp place became clearer.

Eliza swallowed hard and shone the magic stone lamp a little further.

Then…

"My… my leg… my… leg…!"

The lower half of a Lumerne male student, desperately crawling, was empty.

It wasn't illusion magic.

Nor was there any trace of dark magic.

"Give… my leg… back…"

"Eliza."

"Yes."

"Let's run."

"Okay."

The two didn't hesitate to turn around.

"LEEEEEEEGS!"

Along with that, the crawling student screamed and began to crawl at a speed similar to them running.

"Aaaah!"

"Kyaaaah!"

Karl and Eliza's screams echoed.

The next morning.

"Ghoooost?"

Chelsea made an incredulous expression.

"Pathetic! Is that even an excuse? You two! You're just saying that to excuse getting caught by the professors and getting demerits, aren't you!"

The third-year magic students looked wronged, watching Chelsea snort with crossed arms.

Demerit stamps were branded on their faces like stigmata.

"No! We definitely saw it! A bloodstained knight was roaming around!"

"That's probably just knight-students playing a concept! Is it the first time there are weirdos among them?"

"The weird ones are us, even weirder…"

"Tsk!"

Chelsea glared.

At that, the magic students who had received demerit stamps last night cowered.

"He really swung his sword like he was going to kill us!"

"Then you should have shot magic like you were going to kill him."

"It didn't work, I tell you. All our magic passed right through him!"

At her words, Chelsea was about to furrow her brows.

*Rumble rumble-!*

The front door of the clock tower dormitory's central hall opened, and Hallinde entered.

The bustling central hall, which had been noisy since morning with the appearance of Hallinde, the 'Wailing Wall of Lumerne,' quieted down as if cold water had been poured over it.

But upon seeing the two people who followed Hallinde, their heads bowed low, it began to get noisy again.

"Huh? Why are they coming in from outside?"

"Why are their clothes disheveled?"

"No way…"

As the students murmured, Leo approached Hallinde.

"Professor, what happened?"

At his words, Hallinde turned around with her characteristic cold smile.

"They foolishly snuck out of the dormitory and spent the night out."

Even sneaking out of the dorm after curfew results in severe punishment, let alone spending the night out?

On top of that, they were caught by Hallinde.

It was clear what would happen.

"These two will be in the disciplinary room for two days. Follow me."

The two were dragged away by Hallinde.

After Hallinde, Karl, and Eliza disappeared down the hallway.

The students who remained there began to furiously gossip about Karl and Eliza.

"What! What! What's their relationship?"

"Spent the night out?"

"Awesome!"

Leo, too, was looking down the hallway where Hallinde had disappeared with a somewhat dumbfounded expression.

"Karl surprises me every time."

Chelsea approached Leo and shook her head in disbelief.

"How did he manage to get that haughty Eliza to fall for him?"

At her words, Leo flicked Chelsea's forehead.

"Ow! Why?"

Leo clicked his tongue, seeing Chelsea's tearful expression.

"You shouldn't say things like that carelessly."

At his words, Chelsea, who had been pouting, asked as if remembering something.

"Speaking of which, big brother Leo. Did you happen to set up any ghost-like traps?"

"What are you talking about?"

"The kids keep spouting nonsense about seeing ghosts."

Leo shook his head, looking at Chelsea, who was frowning.

"No. There's nothing like that."

"So it was nonsense after all."

Chelsea clicked her tongue.

Leo made a puzzled expression, watching her.

'Why ghosts all of a sudden?'

The magic students were claiming to have seen ghosts.

'Did the kids see things?'

He briefly thought that, but it was unlikely that all Lumerne students would collectively hallucinate.

Pondering, Leo suddenly recalled something that had happened last night.

Something he had tried repeatedly last night with Artian's help.

'Spirit summoning.'

Thinking that far, Leo began to move.

"Big brother Leo, where are you going so early?"

"I have something to ask Professor Artian."