The Tower of Trials was completely cut off from the outside world.
The external control devices had been taken over.
The teleportation magic circle was out of order, preventing anyone from entering or leaving, and the emergency entrance and exit, which had been created as a backup, were completely sealed off by an unknown magic.
Not only was voice transmission impossible, but it was also impossible to assess the situation through the magic eyes.
The students inside also noticed the changes.
â...? Whatâs wrong with the bracelet?â
âWhat is this? Why am I eliminated?â
The first thing they noticed was the change in the bracelet.
The gemstone on the bracelet, which had been glowing green, turned gray.
It was a signal indicating elimination from the test. The students were momentarily bewildered but waited for the teleportation, thinking they had been affected by a magic they hadnât noticed.
However.
âThe teleportation... isnât working?â
âItâs just the color, right? Wait a bit. Iâll try a simple spell.â
The students tested the bracelets by casting simple spells on each other.
But the protective field did not activate.
The bracelet, which had served as a defensive mechanism, had become a mere piece of jewelry with a dull gemstone.
Such events were happening all over the Tower of Trials. Despite the unexpected situation, the students moved calmly towards the emergency exit.
At this point, there was no particular sense of crisis.
A mistake by the academy.
Thatâs all they thought.
It didnât take long for the students to realize something was wrong.
[Die in despair.]
A voice echoed through the voice transmission artifact.
It was eerie.
Not human.
The students shuddered at the death foretold by the voice, which sounded like that of a grim reaper.
A mistake by the academy? No, that couldnât be it. Though the voice was distorted, the madness it contained was not ordinary.
The second change came immediately after.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The sound of footsteps echoing throughout the Tower of Trials.
They were too heavy to be human.
The students held their breath at the sound, crouching and hiding in corners like prey animals seeking shelter from a predator.
No one had told them, but they felt it instinctively.
â...Itâs dangerous.â
âIâm going to die.â
If they encountered the owner of those footsteps, they would die as the voice had said.
Though the path was complex and maze-like, and they left no traces, why were the footsteps coming straight towards them?
By the time they had this thought.
The students began to encounter the owner of the footsteps one by one.
Squeakâ
â...â
The owner of the footsteps was a golem.
But something was different.
The core, which was originally blue, was now red, as if it contained blood, which was eerie.
Its movements were also different.
During the Tower of Trials, they had encountered golems at least once, but the movements of this golem were distinctly different from those they had seen before.
Faster.
More agile.
It was as if the golems they had faced before were crude puppets, and this was the true golem, moving on a completely different level.
âRun...!â
Someone who encountered the golem shouted.
The students scattered, running down the winding paths of the Tower of Trials.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Chases and pursuits were happening everywhere.
- 10 minutes after the occupation of the Tower of Trials
Deaths: 0
But it was only a matter of time.
* * *
âHuff, huff...!â
Chenbi ran down the uneven path.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
A rampaging golem was chasing him from behind.
Compared to the overwhelming pressure, it was quite slow, perhaps similar to a fast-walking human at best.
But its stamina far exceeded that of a human.
Upper, middle, lower.
The three cores located in these positions continuously absorbed natural mana and converted it into magical power, which powered its functions.
The largest energy consumer was the protective field, while the magical power used for movement was minimal.
In other words.
Unless the protective field was continuously attacked, the golem would not lose its ability to move.
But what about a human body?
âI... Iâm going to die.â
Chenbi panted, his breath nearly choking him.
His feet, which had been sore from the uneven ground, had long lost sensation, and his ankles were swollen, sending a burning sensation to his brain.
His calf muscles, weakened by repeated actions, were in a state of severe fatigue.
Chenbiâs body creaked like a poorly made jointed doll.
Even though he was a magician with superior physical abilities compared to a human, the sudden emergency had caused panic, which led to a rapid decline in stamina.
âJust for a moment... I want to rest.â
A strong temptation flashed through his mind.
But Chenbi bit his lip and shook off the weak thoughts.
âNo. If I die here, what about Father? Mother? Chensel?â
Their family was not well-off.
Though they had a relatively comfortable life compared to ordinary commoners, thanks to generations of administrative positions in noble families, it was still only at a general level.
And the cost of learning magic was beyond what a comfortable life could afford.
When he showed magical talent as a child, it was all he could think about.
- Iâm going to be a magician? Me?
Knights and magicians. For boys from ordinary families, these were dream words.
Impressive armor and elegant robes. Even without being nobles, they were respected, and depending on their skills, they could receive titles and improve their social status.
How excited he must have been as a child.
But that was only for a moment.
- This month, my salary has been reduced. The lord did give a little extra...
- It canât be helped. The lord is struggling to pay taxes to the central government. Weâll have to reduce our living expenses this month.
Around the time he was coming of age, he overheard his parentsâ conversation in the early morning.
That month, his younger sister, who was two years younger, dropped out of the commoner school.
It wasnât anything special.
For commoners, school was a place they could stop attending at any time depending on their financial situation.
If Chenbi hadnât overheard the conversation, he might have thought the same.
He would have thought his sister was making a fuss, complaining about the hard bread on the table.
But that month.
A new magic book appeared on Chenbiâs bookshelf.
It wasnât anything special.
A basic and fundamental book that the children of noble families wouldnât even glance at.
But the price of that one book was enough to pay for his sister to attend the school she so desperately wanted to and for the whole family to eat soft bread for a month.
After that, the familyâs life slowly changed.
The house, which they had thought was comfortable, became a place where even the hard bread crumbs were cherished, and his sister, who had cried about wanting to go to school, no longer went.
But more than that.
What hurt Chenbi the most was the familyâs attitude, treating all of this as a matter of course.
- Donât worry about anything, just focus on your studies.
They didnât ask for anything.
In a situation where no one was a sinner, he felt like the only sinner.
It was truly terrifying.
If only... If only... You must become a magician to repay us. You must repay our kindness. This is an investment for our whole family. Work harder. Think about all weâve done for you.
How much better it would have been if they had said such things.
At least his heart would have been at peace.
So...
âI donât want to die. I donât want to die.â
Chenbi kept running.
The academy might be a given for the children of noble families, or a badge of honor for those from wealthy families.
But for Chenbi, each day at the academy was a sacrifice of his parents and an opportunity stolen from his sister.
An opportunity he had taken away from the rights his family should have enjoyed.
âI have to give it back.â
A sense of guilt that no one had ever asked him to bear.
An unavoidable sense of debt.
He entered the academy to wash away this guilt. He indulged in one last desire. Just three years, if he could just endure for three years and graduate, he could do anything.
âI must...â
Thump.
â...Ah!â
Chenbi tripped over a rock and flew through the air.
His weak body rolled a few times on the uneven ground and crashed into the wall.
âUgh.â
He tried to get up quickly, but something must have been wrong when he fell.
He couldnât put any weight on his ankle.
Chenbi tried to get up several times and then looked up at the front.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The pursuer was running towards him, making a loud noise.
The red core. It seemed to foretell his future. But the red was just red, hinting at no particular future.
Chenbiâs future, objectively speaking, was not particularly special.
It was just a matter of a fragile body losing its shape and shattering against a solid rock.
Of course, it would be a terrifying experience for Chenbi, but the golem had no emotions. It was just functioning as intended by its designer, without any feelings.
That was all.
But, of course, Chenbi could not accept it.
âI wonât die. I wonât die. I wonât die... I will never die.â
What kind of person was Chenbi?
A coward who wanted to hate his family for his own peace of mind. A hypocrite who, despite his cowardice, ended up hating himself. A mediocre person, neither good nor bad, neither decisive nor broad-minded.
Just such a person.
But even so...
âNever.â
He never gave up.
âNever...â
The mediocre magician prepared the best spell he knew.
Once, a wandering magician who had awakened his magical talent. The only person he could call a teacher had left behind a single magic book.
Though they only knew each other for about a year, he had given Chenbi a lot.
He had shown him a glimpse of a new world and let him indulge in a brief dream. Even though the path of magic was now only a vague sense of debt...
Still, a benefactor.
The spell he had left behind.
<Earth Spike>
A spell that Chenbi, at his level, could never have cast.
But.
âPlease, please...â
Perhaps it was Chenbiâs desperate heart, his will, that infused the magic power.
Sssss...
The earth changed. The meager amount of magic power Chenbi emitted stimulated the natural mana. The amount was at a level that could be called a miracle.
Drip.
Though his nose bled profusely from the calculations that exceeded his limits, Chenbi did not stop.
And finally.
âPlease...!â
The spell was cast.
Boom...
A massive spike rose from the earth. Once, he had laughed at the wandering magicianâs spell, calling it grandiose, but seeing it now...
âAh.â
The name Earth Spike suited it well.
Chenbi was lost in admiration at its majestic appearance.
But.
Unlike Chenbiâs admiration, there was no miracle.
Squeak...
The golem, which had paused for a moment at the Earth Spike, started moving again.
Clearly, the spell was powerful, and the protective field had momentarily disappeared, but that was all.
If it had been a proper Earth Spike, it might have pierced through the golemâs body and destroyed it, but...
Chenbi was not a genius.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Just four steps.
The golem approached and raised its fist.
As the shadow fell over Chenbiâs face, his eyes blankly took in the rock that was about to fall on him.
In fact, it was a momentary event.
The golem had no emotions and, therefore, no sense of appreciation. It was not something that an entity with emotions would do, to pause before a captured target.
It just raised its hand and thenâ
Thud!
The golemâs fist hit the ground.
That was all.
...If not for the appearance of an obstacle.
âOubing.â
A familiar voice came from somewhere.
â...?â
Chenbi slowly opened his eyes.
What he saw was the back of a boy, not particularly broad. His hair was a dull, almost unlucky gray.
When he realized this.
Chenbiâs mouth opened in surprise.
â...A, Aster?â
âWhat the hell is this? Just wait a bit. Weâll greet each other after I deal with this.â
âNo, no. Aster, itâs dangerous...!â
Chenbi shouted in a hurry, but Asterâs actions were faster.
He crossed his arms to block the golemâs punch and then immediately dove inside.
And then...
Crack.
Aster shattered the core of the heart.
Chenbi watched the scene in a daze.
The golem, which had been a nightmare for him, had turned into a pile of rocks in an instant.