Chapter 55 - Skybound Tomb (1)

"Is it okay to let them go like that?"

We watched Bong-sik and his people land on the ground riding the flying ray.

Their original group of five had been reduced to three.

Berk, who'd been mercilessly beaten by Rei, and the nameless one pierced by Leaf's Water Jet.

We could have saved Berk if we wanted.

Just needed to use a potion.

But why bother?

We had no reason to waste potions—among the most expensive Explorer supplies—on them.

Well, we might have had to if Sean had kept his mouth shut.

Anyway, Rei seemed quite uneasy about just letting them go and Leaf did so as well.

"They saw Roman's magic. Even if Bong-sik is branded, the other two..."

"Well. I doubt either will stay normal."

Bong-sik was a powerful mage.

Though Senior rank, he claimed to be eligible for an Expert promotion evaluation.

Guess that explains why Berk emphasized being eligible for Senior promotion.

"He'll either kill them or make them share his fate."

They learned too much about Bong-sik.

The humiliation of being subdued by three Novice Explorers.

His secret ruin research was hidden from his Gravediggers affiliation.

He had more than enough reason to silence them.

"He'll need some manpower anyway."

Finding Abyss Worshipers was no easy task.

Even the City Guard couldn't find them despite searching desperately.

Even beyond tracking Abyss Worshipers, having people to use made finding ruins faster too.

Come to think of it, I heard there was another major search and destroy operation in the city after the training center incident.

I was too focused on the license exam to know the results.

They must have handled those heathens who dared touch the Grand Duchess appropriately.

Anyway, let's leave those two's fate to Bong-sik.

Rei and Leaf weren't completely convinced but seemed willing to follow my decision.

As we wrapped up the Bong-sik situation.

Rei shared a different observation.

"But isn't that branding thing really broken? Everyone could just become Devil Sorcerers. Just brand someone weak and pass the price to them, right?"

You’re not thinking outside the box, Rei-Rei.

Perhaps I was starting to show proper Devil Sorcerer traits.

I explained the basic knowledge from Mea's "One Week Devil Sorcerer Crash Course”.

"The transfer efficiency isn't one-to-one. There's also the risk of master-servant reversal."

Just as nothing in the world was absolute, branding didn't eternally guarantee the master's position.

If a branded subordinate Devil Sorcerer formed a pact with a higher-ranking Devil than their master, the brand could reverse, switching their positions.

Of course, masters thoroughly suppressed their subordinates to prevent this, but there was always a chance for reversal.

Getting a high-ranking Devil's specific summoning circle was nearly impossible, so they'd have to rely on luck with non-specific summoning.

Even without that, skilled Disenchanters could sometimes remove brands.

In summary, branding wasn't perfect.

"Then isn't Bong-sik dangerous too?"

"Right. What if he returns to the city and gets it disenchanted?"

"Hmm..."

Theoretically possible.

Theoretically.

"Let him try if he can."

It’ll just be a waste of time.

"Enough about Bong-sik."

We should focus on our own task.

Leaving behind even the magnificent view of the First Floor from the Floating Island, we turned back to the ruin we'd emerged from.

§

"Maybe... if we knock around places like this, we'll find something else."

In the corridor where three light orbs scattered different sizes of light.

We were following Leaf's instructions, tapping the ceiling.

"Is it really this simple?"

A fitting question from Professor Rei, the icon of disbelief.

Don't trust. Disappointment comes from trust.

You’ll never be disappointed If you never trust anything from the start.

"...When did I ever say that?"

"Didn't you?"

I clearly remembered Rei saying that.

"I never did!"

"Ah, sorry. My mistake."

Must have been another professor's teaching.

While Rei and I bickered, Leaf answered, "It's not that simple though? The thickness means we need to hit it with quite a bit of mana."

A search method possible for our team, overflowing with mana.

"Still too simple even considering that."

"Maybe Bong-sik's team only focused on magical methods?"

Bong-sik's team probably didn't have as much mana as us, so rather than this brute force method, searching for magical mechanisms would have been more efficient.

"Could be. He did use people for trap removal."

"Would a candidate for Expert rank make such a mistake?"

"That might be exactly why. Often, experts get so focused on what they know that they miss the obvious."

"Makes sense."

After that, only the sound of hitting the ceiling and walls broke the silence.

A continuous series of monotonous tasks.

No wonder Rei had questioned if this was right earlier.

Honestly, even my earlier joke was just trying to lighten the mood during this tedious search of tapping ceiling, walls, and floor.

I was rather proud of the joke too.

Leaf tapped the floor with her staff.

Rei hit the walls with her bare hands.

And I struck the ceiling with Axis.

We each focused on our roles.

And finally.

Our efforts bore fruit.

The mana projection resistance transmitted through Axis changed for the first time.

"Leaf."

"Yes? Ah! Did you find something?"

"What? Found it?"

Unlike Leaf who approached while still carefully checking the floor, Rei rushed over immediately.

"As expected of Roman! You did it!!"

An ear-piercing shout.

Is this what they call a lion's roar?

Shows how tedious it had been.

Rei's cheer was so intense it was almost a scream.

"My ears hurt."

"Come here! Want a reward? Want to touch my tail?"

"...I'll pass. It's not even confirmed yet."

Though extremely tempted, I held back.

"Maybe just this onc—"

"I'll check! Roman, this way."

Though I tried to take back my words, Leaf interrupted.

Should have just touched it when I had the chance...

Carrying that belated regret, I carefully examined the area that made the strange sound with Leaf.

"Seems right, doesn't it?"

"Yeah. Mana penetrates further here."

There was resistance when injecting mana into objects.

That resistance level could inform someone whether there was empty space beyond the wall.

"Seems quite thick. I'll try cutting it if possible."

"Never mind. Step back. I'll just break it."

"...Rei, you know we're underground, right?"

Reckless destruction could collapse the entire underground.

Rei backed off with a "Tch."

As if retreating before a barrier.

"Undine cut along my finger."

Leaf very carefully carved out the rock plug blocking between the passages.

She even showed the sense to cut at an angle, making the bottom heavier for easier removal.

"Done!"

Rumble—

As designed, the rock wall came out cleanly cut.

The hidden passage revealed itself.

"Hmph, how's that?"

Though Undine did the actual work, Leaf's skill directed it.

As Leaf shrugged her shoulders beside the fallen rock plug like an artist showing off their masterpiece, Rei delivered a ruthless critique.

"Couldn't Roman have just moved it?"

"Eh...?"

Leaf turned to me like a rain-soaked puppy.

Facing those trembling eyes, I reluctantly said, "Well, you started working before I could stop you. And using Blink might trigger traps or something."

Though we confirmed no magical traps, there was no guarantee there weren't conventional arrow traps or such.

"Good work, Leaf. It's excellent."

"...I'm not happy at all."

Leaf puffed her cheeks in displeasure, expressing her complaints.

I poked her puffed cheeks to deflate them and gently pushed her back.

"Let's go up. I'm already excited."

It was a height easily scalable even with my or Leaf's physical enhancement.

All three of us simply jumped into the ascending passage.

The ascending passage was a simple straight structure like below.

At its end was a massive door.

"Nnnnngh! O-pen-up!"

And naturally, the door refused entry to illegal intruders.

The door, which wouldn't budge even as Rei used her maximum output with her physical enhancement, seemed to sternly declare we had no right to enter.

I quietly observed the door.

A door creating heavy pressure through its simple structure rather than elaborate decorations.

I acknowledge it.

We are intruders.

No different from grave robbers.

We don't have the means to open you.

However.

What can you do if we cross through space itself?

Thanks for your service.

Pop—

Thus, without opening, the door was forced to permit entry.

And beyond the door, it really was there.

The flying altar.