“The Tower was attacked?!” Rose repeated, her eyes widening.
The concept of this place being in danger just didn’t compute to her.
There was never a precedent for it.
However, the sounds of struggle beyond this room were undeniable.
“Don’t worry,” Myra carefully said.
“Maybe it’s not that bad.
This is the Tower, after all.”
It seemed like those words were meant for her more than any of them.
Her hands were clenched, her eyes wide open and alert.
Strangely, among the students present, it seemed the attack shook her the most.
Is it really that serious?
Cyril scanned her face for a moment, then approached the heavy metal door they came from.
He pulled on the bulky handle, opening it with a loud screech.
“…!”
He was not greeted by the hall they came from.
Within the doorframe, Cyril saw himself.
That Cyril was looking ahead, into another doorframe, where yet another Cyril stared into yet another doorframe.
This picture repeated infinitely, creating a tunnel.
Cyril looked behind him.
However, there was nothing weird there.
When he looked back, he noticed that the Cyrils within the tunnel all perfectly repeated his actions.
What is this?
The other students soon approached, noticing his actions.
Myra gazed at the infinitely repeating doorframe and her own weak back, silent.
Her head fell as she stared at the floor in thought.
“We can no longer hear anything…” Cedric mumbled with worry.
As he said, the moment the door opened, the commotion from before suddenly disappeared.
The laboratory was completely quiet.
Rose’s worry gradually settled down as she stared at the bizarre tunnel.
Although still pale, her face regained its curious spark.
“What spell is causing this?
How does it work?
I didn’t see that man casting anything…” she mumbled with wonder.
“A better question would be how we get out,” Cedric said with a frown.
“The mages there aren’t fighters.
We must help them.”
He looked into the door they came from with a frown.
Suddenly thinking of something, he picked up the nearest glass bottle and tossed it into the tunnel.
Rose reached out her hand to stop him, but it was too late.
Her eyes widening with fear, she ducked and held her head.
“Cedric, you idiot!”
With her voice, the bottle hit the border of the tunnel.
It simply bounced off, as if hitting a solid wall, before shattering on the ground.
“What?”
Cedric raised his hands in surrender as he stared at Rose on the ground in confusion.
In the crouching position, she peeked at the broken glass on the floor before standing up straight.
She awkwardly cleared her throat, ignoring everyone’s gazes.
“You should never be so careless with unknown spells!” Rose pointed at Cedric, full of righteous anger.
“What if that caused the portal to explode?
We could’ve died!”
“Sorry!
I didn’t think it was that dangerous.
I figured checking it with a bottle was safe enough.”
“You must start thinking then!
Your actions as a mage affect not just you but everyone around as well!”
“Won’t happen again, promise!” Cedric awkwardly replied.
“At least now we know this path is blocked.”
“As if it wasn’t obvious already!”
“Haha…”
Cedric looked around, trying to avoid Rose’s accusatory gaze.
Suddenly, he pointed at the other end of the room.
“There is another door!
Maybe we can get out that way?”
In the corner of the room, near the shelves, stood an inconspicuous door.
“It’s obviously a storage room.”
Ignoring Rose’s still angry voice, Cedric ran up there.
When the others got closer, he grabbed at the door’s handle and opened it.
It revealed another laboratory, with another door at the end.
“Huh.”
“Quick, let’s go.” Cedric took a step towards it.
“Stop!” Rose yelled out, freezing him.
Cedric awkwardly glanced at her.
“Now what?”
“That man must be someone powerful and experienced.
Why would he block one way but not the other?”
“…Maybe he didn’t know about this door?”
“He is leading us somewhere!
We shouldn’t go along with a terrorist’s plans!” Rose exclaimed.
“Our best course of action would be to stay put and await rescue.”
Cedric hesitated, contemplating her words for a moment.
“But the mages here-”
“They are still mages at the end of the day!
We are only first-year students.
We might even become a hindrance to them.
I thought you decided to start thinking now?”
Cedric bit his lip in frustration, but no words escaped his lips in response.
He looked at the ground, silent.
Rose nodded with satisfaction at the sight.
Then, she looked at Myra, as if trying to gauge her reaction.
However, Myra’s face was blank.
She stared into the distance, clearly in thought.
Not getting a response, Rose looked at Cyril.
The butterfly on his shoulder kept staring into the passage, her wings eagerly twitching.
Cyril already knew what he would do.
And unfortunately for Rose, her words did not change his mind.
“I will not cower in fear while ghouls roam free.” Cyril walked through the door, ignoring Rose’s shocked face.
“Are you kidding me?!
It’s an opportunity of a lifetime!”
Cedric’s face lit up with joy.
Without any hesitations, he followed after Cyril.
Myra, with her expression still blank, ran after them.
Rose’s eye twitched as she observed their backs.
“This is so foolish…”
…
In the end, they went together, including Rose.
There was no one else in this room.
The students carefully walked ahead while scanning their surroundings.
Some of the lab benches were just in the middle of being used, some had papers littered on top, and some still had half-eaten breakfast someone snuck in.
It’s as if the people here just vanished.
Rose curiously grabbed one stack of papers on the way and quickly scanned through it.
On a whim, Cyril grabbed one as well.
Inside was a detailed diagram of a ghoul’s body structure.
“They really are as primitive as they look.”
They are but tools after all.
He put it back, and the moment the papers touched the desk, someone yanked them.
Rose excitedly held the paper in her arm.
She briefly scanned through it before shoving it in her bag.
Like an unsupervised kid in a toy store, Rose began collecting every single piece of paper she could see, shoving them into her bag.
“Are we allowed to take this?” Cedric awkwardly asked.
“Since I am risking my life, might as well get something out of it,” Rose replied without any hesitation.
She was, truly, an exemplary mage of the Empire.
The threat of dying is nothing in front of the temptation of knowledge.
Cedric carried a slight frown, but he didn’t say anything more about it.
Myra observed Rose’s lively actions with an empty expression.
Slowly, her eyes regained their clarity, and she suddenly slapped herself on the cheeks.
“Okay!” she yelled, attracting everyone’s attention.
“Our situation is indeed fine.
Actually, it’s rather positive if you think about it.
We’ll get to explore the Tower at our leisure.
I always hated guided tours anyway.”
Cedric’s face twitched.
“That’s one way of looking at it…”
With her energy recovered, and once Rose collected all she could, Myra pointed to the next door.
“Let’s go!
We’ll deal with any pathetic ghoul in our way!”
Morpho, on Cyril’s shoulder, excitedly twitched her antennae, as if celebrating something.
Cyril gently patted her while giving Myra a nod.
“Indeed.”
In much higher spirits than before, their party continued into the next room.
The next door opened into a long hallway, where they immediately encountered a problem.
There in their way, a ghoul crawled on all fours.
The ghoul immediately snapped in their direction.
As swift as a dog with rabies, the demon lunged in their direction.
Cyril moved forward before others could.
As there wasn’t enough time, he didn’t cast a normal spell.
While carefully remembering how it felt, he moved mana into his hand.
Soon, fire covered his palm.
He thrust his arm forward, striking the ghoul in the chest before its claws reached him.
His fire-engulfed hand pierced straight through the ghoul’s body.
Amidst the sound of sizzling flesh, the demon stopped moving.
Cyril pulled back his hand, and the ghoul’s limp body fell to the floor.
He stood over it, marveling at the results.
He didn’t feel reluctant to kill it.
The realization brought him a sense of relief for some reason.
“It’s not hard to dispose of them,” Cyril said as he dissipated the fire on his hand.
They are slower than I thought and more fragile too.
I could’ve ended it without casting the spell.
It’s a waste of mana.
“Eh, first time is not always the best.
At least you didn’t get any blood on you this way.”
Morpho on his shoulder also twitched her antennae in support.
“Nice!” Myra gave a thumbs up, her expression brightening by the second.
“Just a few little ghouls escaped captivity.
Who cares?
That man is probably just some unknown unhinged mage, and the Knights will catch him quickly.
This incident will not even be mentioned in the newspapers!”
In the midst of her speech, a clattering sound of claws hitting the floor came from further down the corridor.
Two more ghouls arrived from behind a corner at the end of the hallway, crawling towards them with deadly intent.
Myra excitedly assumed a fighting stance.
Then, thinking of something, she glanced at Rose and Cedric to the side.
“Want to try?”
The two students looked at each other, similar helplessness in their eyes.
Soon, Rose took a breath and began casting a spell.
Cedric followed her example, hesitantly aiming his hand at the approaching ghouls.
In seven seconds, Rose hurled a fireball.
A moment later, Cedric hurled one as well.
Two fireballs flew right at the demons, hitting before they could come too close.
By luck or genuine skill, both of them managed to hit their intended targets.
Two demon bodies fell to the floor, and a smell of burnt flesh filled the room.
“I did it!” Rose excitedly clutched her fist.
“Just like the books say, ghouls are weak to fire!”
Her eyes took on an even stronger shine than before.
Not that Cyril couldn’t understand her.
This trip is indeed turning out to be one of a kind.
…
With this confidence booster, the group proceeded to explore the underground level of the Tower.
Under Rose’s insistence, they searched through every room on their way.
Inside, Rose would quickly sweep through everything she could, collecting anything she found interesting.
They encountered ghouls a few times during this, but all were swiftly dispatched by them.
Gradually, all of them grew more confident in dealing with the demons.
Choosing demonology was the correct decision after all.
While Cyril quietly marveled over the results of his choice, he opened the door into the next room in their path.
The moment he stepped inside, his attention was captured by the sight within.
A group of mages huddled in the corner.
They overturned a few tables, barricading themselves behind them.
A few ghoul boides lay on the floor in front of them.
The moment the mages saw Cyril, all of them began casting spells with fearful expressions.
Suddenly, numerous magic circles were aimed right at him.
“Are you blind?!
We are not demons!
Stop casting!” Myra waved her arms at them.
The mages interrupted the spells.
They carefully gazed at the group of students, then collectively gave a sigh of relief.
One of them bowed apologetically towards Cyril.
He was the first one to start casting.
“S-sorry.
The look in your eyes just really scared me.”
“…”
“The hell?
Maybe you should give him a reason to be scared…”
While Cyril ignored Rhamn’s malicious whispers, other members of his group walked towards the mages.
Myra approached them.
She crossed her arms and gave them a long gaze.
She soon found one of them had scratch marks, as if by a beast.
Her gaze eased up a little.
“Who are you people?” one of them asked.
“We are the student group from Ailanthus.
Currently…
we are seeking an exit,” Myra calmly explained.
“Ailanthus?!” another mage yelled out.
“That means you know how to fight, right?
You’ll help us, right?
Please, we don’t know anything about combat!
When I see a ghoul, my hands just start shaking, and I can’t do anything!”
The rest of the mages appeared to share this sentiment.
They stared at the students as if they were made from gold, expectation in their eyes.
With tears in their eyes, they begged the young students to give them protection.
“Do you have no shame?
Grown men asking teenagers for protection, I swear…” Rhamn looked at them with pure contempt.
It is somewhat pathetic indeed.
Cyril crossed his arms, staying silent in the face of their plea.
Rose also remained quiet, her mouth slightly open in shock at the mages’ reaction.
Still, one person among their group reacted very differently.
Cedric stepped forward before anyone else could respond.
He put a hand on his chest as a confident expression graced his face.
“Of course!
Just leave it to us!”
Us?
Cyril narrowed his eyes, giving Cedric a look.
It didn’t seem like he noticed it.
Cedric stepped closer to the mages, whose faces grew brighter by the second.
“Let’s join forces!
Together-”
“We are staying here!” A mage immediately interrupted Cedric’s words.
“It’s too dangerous to go out!
A few people tried, but we lost contact with them quickly.
I will not be joining them!”
“Yes!”
Cedric contemplated for a moment with a frown.
Finally, he showed them a friendly smile.
“Then, we’ll stay here and increase our defenses.
We should be able to hold on until the Knights resolve this situation.”
“Good thinking, young man!”
They surrounded him like he was their savior, and Cedric’s face also brightened in response.
Suddenly, he looked at Cyril and the rest, his gaze momentarily faltering as if he just remembered something.
“You guys will help, right?”
Cyril shook his head.
“You can stay here.
I’ll go on ahead.”
I will not be babysitting these people.
They are capable of surviving on their own.
“They are mages from the Tower.
If they can’t deal with this much, then what was the point of their lives?”
Myra shrugged and gave Cedric an apologetic look.
“I’ll go with Cyril, sorry.”
Rose also shook her head, clutching her bag tighter.
“Me too.
There is still much I can learn,” she said, carefully hiding the contents of her bulging bag.
Cedric scratched his hair, unsure of how to respond.
The mages surrounding him, however, quickly voiced their objection.
“No, no, no.
How could you split up?
That’s suicide!
Did you not hear what we said?”
“You can’t be so heartless that you would abandon even your own classmate?!”
Cyril’s frown became deeper.
Something about their words just rubbed him the wrong way.
Heartless?
He saw his own heart just recently, so that definitely wasn’t the case.
Me abandoning these cowards is not a moral failing.
By killing more ghouls, I would utilize my potential far more effectively.
“So true!
These fools know nothing!”
Just as a certain impulse brewed in him, Myra stepped forward.
She gathered everyone’s attention and motioned towards Cedric with a smile.
“Don’t worry, Cedric here is actually the second-ranked student in our grade.
He is strong enough to protect you by himself!”
“Oooh!”
“Is that so?”
Their demeanor quickly changed.
With reignited fervor, they looked at Cedric with stars in their eyes.
“While he protects you,” Myra continued, “the three of us can go and find help.
As fighters we have a higher chance of success.
That’s the best we can do, I think.”
The mages all nodded at her words, perfectly satisfied.
“That’s true.”
“But you have to be extra careful.
Fighting without your strongest teammate will be disorienting, I bet.”
Strongest?
Him?
The corner of Cyril’s eye twitched as he fought against a different kind of impulse.
“How could Myra insinuate such nonsense?!
Quick, tell them the truth!”
Before he could lose to that impulse, Cyril petted the butterfly on his shoulder and walked toward the door into the next room.
Myra waved to the mages and followed after him, with Rose not too far behind.
As he opened the door, Cyril sent one last glance behind.
The mages seemed to forget about them already.
They continued to stare at the black-haired young man like he was some hero from a story.
Cedric accepted their stares with his usual friendly smile.
“Hmph.” Cyril snapped forward and walked away.
He is just feeding his ego by staying.
He must enjoy being showered with praise.
“What you say is one hundred percent the truth!
I agree!”
Trying to put this matter out of his mind as fast as possible, Cyril continued his exploration of the Tower.