Invincible
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#157
🕑 Added 2024-12-04 16:29:20 +0000 UTCPrison Stairway (3)
The passageway resembled a train terminal.
"Why would they make it this wide just to hold prisoners?"
Dorosian's question sounded fairly reasonable.
"Exactly. They could’ve just crammed everyone into small rooms since they're just going to starve them to death anyway."
As I said that, the apparitions leading the way scowled.
"Well, that’s a way to talk."
"Easy for you to say since it’s not your problem."
It must have been a primitive era back then.
The fact that these guys had come all this way just to kill the students made it evident.
Proper treatment of prisoners was probably not a concept back then, so why did they put so much effort into crafting mere prison traps?
I asked the apparitions, "Is there someone else hiding here besides you?"
"Oh, how did you know? There is, actually. But it's not a human."
"Not a human?"
"I'll explain as we go."
The apparition, seemingly a captain, continued speaking calmly as he walked.
"Come to think of it, you asked about the location of the treasure earlier, right?"
"Yes, I did."
The captain halted and appeared to be lost in thought, resting his hand on his chin.
"Hmm, I'll be honest. I’m not certain if it actually exists."
"What?"
"Well, there’s a place we’ve never been to ourselves."
The captain pointed into the pitch-black path ahead. It was closer to the left.
"When you reach the end, there will be two branching paths. On the left, a giant monster blocks the door."
"Guess you never thought of entering it, even after dying."
"We only realized we were dead because you pointed it out, so, what..."
Their answers had been odd from the start.
It made sense, as there was no way there would be any food here.
If they hadn’t eaten in thousands of years, becoming aware of their death should have been normal.
But to think they hadn't realized it until now?
'That’s suspicious.'
'You're right, Hersel. There's something off about them,' said Donatan, who had lived longer than me, making it clear that I should be cautious.
"But one thing is certain: there’s a mysterious book filled with a sacred power on the right. You could just take it and leave. It’s better than the monster-guarded path, isn't it?"
Before long, we reached the end of the passage.
As the apparition had described, new paths appeared on the left and right.
When the apparitions subtly leaned toward the right path, I glanced at Dorosian, silently asking for her opinion.
She shook her head.
It seemed she had also sensed something was off about them.
"We're taking the left path."
As I said that, the apparitions flinched.
"Why?"
"Isn’t the right side safer than the dangerous left?"
"Indeed. Come this way. There’s even a clue about the exit."
It seemed the Book of Blackblood was necessary to escape, but using it was something we’d rather avoid.
It wouldn’t do us any good if it came out right now.
And who knows? There might be an escape route on the left path too.
"We're just too curious, that's all."
I gave a firm answer and headed toward the left.
Dorosian approached me and whispered quietly, "If there really were clues, they would've left by now. If they're going to deceive us, they should at least make it convincing."
"So, you knew all along?"
Startled by the voice coming from my chest, I flinched.
When I looked down, it was looking up at me, piercing through my chest with its neck.
Dorosian chuckled, finding it amusing.
But I found it incredibly unnerving.
"Cut the creepy stuff and get lost."
As I patted my chest with my palm, the apparition withdrew.
They burst into sly laughter.
"Ha ha, you’ve got sharp eyes."
"Exactly. We thought you’d fall for it easily."
I sighed deeply and asked, "Now that we’re exposed, why not just come clean?"
The captain quieted the commotion and responded.
"Did you ask where the treasure is? It’s on the left."
"So, you’ve actually checked everything out, huh."
"Of course. What’s there to fear when you're already dead? But know this: the only exit is through the right path. In the end, you'll have to come back here, unless you get killed by that monster, that is."
"Oh, really?"
Now, I seemed to understand why the prison was unnecessarily wide.
To hide something on the left path and station a monster to guard it, they had to widen the space.
Naturally, only someone who set foot here before these apparitions, like Felia, could have orchestrated such a thing.
"Judging by the placement of a gatekeeper, whatever’s hidden must be no ordinary item."
Compared to the grimoire supposedly on the right path, the left path seemed to have been designed with much more care.
Was something that absolutely had to be kept secret hidden there?
Well, I could verify that soon enough.
"Let’s proceed, then."
As I took a step toward the left path, Dorosian raised her staff toward the apparitions.
"These things are annoying. Should I just purify them?"
I nodded, curious to see their reaction.
Seeing the purifying light forming at the tip of her staff, the apparitions retreated into the walls.
Dorosian smirked mockingly.
"What? You don’t like it? Weren't you the ones begging for purification before?"
This confirmed it.
Their desire for purification was all an act.
I wasn’t sure what their true motives were, but clearly, something mattered more to them than gaining freedom.
"We'll figure them out slowly. Let’s go, Dorosian."
Just as I took another step toward the left path, the captain’s voice echoed.
"Even if you manage to open the door, do try to return alive."
Blinking in disbelief, I responded, "A door? So, there’s another obstacle besides the monster, huh."
"Seems that way. But hey, you."
Dorosian looked at me with an exasperated expression.
"You’ve been subtly dragging me around this whole time. Are you aware of that? I’m not interested in treasure, so why should I follow you?"
I chuckled lightly and kept walking.
"Well, then, do as they want."
She didn’t like that idea, I guess.
Dorosian silently followed behind me.
The path was shorter than expected.
As the light illuminated the darkened path ahead, a massive door came into view.
It was wide and tall enough for a cargo truck to pass through.
I examined the door with Dorosian.
I knocked on it just in case; it seemed to be extremely thick since there was no echo.
"It doesn’t look like it can be pushed open by force. Can’t you try magic?"
"Can't you see this?"
Dorosian rattled the chains of her magical restraint armor.
It seemed she wasn’t confident in her current mana level.
It’d be better to find a proper way to open it rather than waste mana.
"Hmm, usually there’s a hidden key nearby or something."
"But there’s no keyhole in sight."
"Dorosian, shine your light over there."
I pointed at the wall.
I caught a glimpse of something engraved there in the soft light of her staff.
When Dorosian focused her light on the spot, letters appeared.
Dorosian read them aloud.
"Runes?"
"Can you read them?"
"I didn’t learn enough, so I can’t say for sure. We might as well give up."
Dorosian turned her head, as if assuming I couldn’t read runes.
Despite my appearance, I actually topped the written exam in the magic department, but she probably never heard about that.
Not that Dorosian was the type to pay attention to such things, nor would there be anyone to relay that information to her.
"Leave if you are not invited. If you are, carve into the door the name of the one I most desire to kill. You know the name, of course. If you have truly been invited by me."
As I flawlessly translated the runes, Dorosian’s eyes widened.
"Did you just make that up?"
"…I don’t know how much of an idiot you think I am, but that’s in the past. Stop giving me that look."
Dorosian raised an eyebrow in surprise but shrugged lightly.
"Well, whether that’s real or not, there’s no way to solve this, is there? How could anyone guess the answer to such a personal riddle, especially when we don’t even know who wrote it?"
Ignoring her, I grabbed the staff and inscribed the letters with shaping magic.
Though the letters were a bit faint, as if written with a dried-out pen, they were still legible.
[Adrigal Sel Hyman]
As I carved the name, Dorosian squinted and read it.
"Adrigal Sel Hyman…? Wait, isn’t that the name of the Archmage? The founder of this academy."
"That's right."
"So, the Archmage's name is the answer?"
The moment Dorosian chuckled, the door opened.
Creeeak—
Dorosian’s eyes widened, then one of her eyebrows twitched.
I flashed a sly smile at her.
"Took a wild guess, but it worked. Lucky, huh?"
"Hmph. Your smug face is quite cute."
Dorosian dropped her guard and looked beyond the door.
Inside was a long corridor.
The 'monster' the apparitions mentioned was likely ahead.
"Dorosian, wait here for a moment."
"Huh?"
"We don’t know what’s ahead, so I'll scout first. I’ll be right back."
In truth, I needed to use inventory magic to retrieve a weapon.
If I even showed a glimpse of the spell, this woman would instantly master it.
This rare magic is something I wouldn’t share with anyone.
As soon as I crossed the threshold, I turned sideways.
Out of Dorosian’s sight, I activated my inventory and drew the demon sword 'Shadow of Weakening.'
Just in case, I also equipped Felia's staff, 'Whisper of Mist,' which had a stealth spell attached.
No, that wasn’t enough to feel secure.
When I pulled out a pocket full of daggers, Donatan spoke excitedly.
'It would be fun to use what you’ve been practicing in the forest before the finals in real combat.'
I hoped I wouldn’t need to use it, though.
With everything ready, I called out to Dorosian.
"It seems safe so far."
As Dorosian approached, she pointed at the sword in my hand.
"Where did you get that sword from?"
"Don’t ask about things like that."
I handed her the staff I’d been using and kept my eyes ahead.
"Let’s proceed cautiously, focusing all our senses."
I took one step at a time, savoring the tension.
This place was entirely new, one I had never set foot in before.
The novelty made my veteran heart race.
Tap.
The surroundings were filled with columns.
I steadied my stance, ready to swing my sword at any moment, and cautiously took a slow step forward.
Suddenly, the torches hanging on the walls flared up!
"Looks like I can put this out now."
Dorosian extinguished the orb of light at the end of her staff and took the lead.
"There doesn't seem to be anything here. Could the ghosts have just been bluffing?"
It was a plausible statement.
The ghosts had been oddly insistent that we take the left path.
But it turned out they weren’t bluffing.
"Dorosian! Above!!"
A massive skeleton, clinging to the ceiling like a spider, started to drop toward us.
Dorosian tried to move hastily, but her restraining armor, with its three layers, made her sluggish since she had always relied on magic for everything.
At this rate, she would be crushed.
I quickly lifted Dorosian by the waist onto my shoulder and wrapped hundreds of kilograms of mana around my legs.
With a significant amount of mana channeled into my legs, I leapt with Dorosian far away.
[Impact detected.]
[Special trait activated.]
[1-second invincibility cooldown: 59 seconds.]
Without the '1-second invincibility' trait, the explosive force would have ruptured my muscles.
I had used about a quarter of my mana just for that jump.
Shrrrk—
Barely maintaining my balance, the soles of my shoes scraped across the floor.
As I came to a stop, I set Dorosian down and stared at the skeleton.
"...What kind of creature did these bones belong to?"
Its skull looked human, but it was nearly a meter tall.
The body was equally enormous.
Fortunately, the giant skeleton moved on all fours instead of standing upright.
Rumble!
It kicked up dust as it charged toward us.
"Dorosian, can you levitate yourself with telekinesis?"
"I probably can, but not for long."
Knowing her mana reserves, that was clearly a lie.
Even under the restrictions of her armor, she could float for at least 30 minutes.
She probably just wanted to watch me struggle.
"Sigh."
I hurriedly pulled a dagger from my pocket and threw it at a pillar.
Despite my concerns about it being stone rather than wood, the dagger lodged securely.
"Then cast a weight-reduction spell and stand on that dagger."
Dorosian floated up into the air.
The giant skeleton continued to close in on me.
I drew more daggers from my pocket and threw them at various points on the pillars to create footholds.
Rumble!
The gap between us rapidly narrowed.
I clenched my fists and activated the lightening spell engraved on my 'Gloves of Mana's Blessing.'
Then, I wrapped my legs with hundreds of kilograms of mana.
'Donatan?'
'I am ready.'
I enhanced my strength, just shy of activating '1-second invincibility,' adjusting my weight through the lightening spell, and made a high jump.
The giant skeleton lunged toward me like a dump truck.
Thud.
But by then, my feet were already on the side of the dagger embedded high in the pillar.
The entire process felt seamless.
It was the result of countless training sessions in the forest, embedding daggers into trees and practicing evasive maneuvers.
'Hersel, your new tactic seems to be quite useful.'
My weakness lay in the cooldown period of '1-second invincibility.'
[1-second invincibility cooldown: 7 seconds.]
That's why I had to think of ways to buy time with magic, eventually discovering this tactic.
Of course, it had many limitations.
'It’s useless without suitable terrain, though.'
I infused the 'Shadow of Weakening' sword with dark energy.
Though it didn’t possess the destructive power of a mana blade, its effect—‘Sharpness amplifies when imbued with dark energy’—was significant.
When filled with dark energy, it could slice smoothly through even rocks.
[1-second invincibility: usable.]
I deactivated the lightening spell, put my full weight into a descending strike, and aimed at the skeleton’s right shoulder blade.
Ping!
As soon as the blade touched the shoulder, it began to split with a loud cracking sound.
I had used up half my mana and would have to endure the cooldown of '1-second invincibility' again, but it was worth it.
Thud!
With its right arm gone, the skeleton’s mobility was severely reduced.
I quickly recast the lightening spell and leapt to the next dagger-embedded point.
'The sword is effective, but I won't last until it’s dead.'
'Can’t you distribute your power more efficiently?'
'Donatan, my body’s endurance isn’t that good.'
I had less than half my mana left.
Even without activating '1-second invincibility,' the explosive power of mana-laden strikes accumulated fatigue.
I needed to be smarter about my strategy.
Let’s see... it’s a skeleton, meaning it's an undead type.
Weakness: purification magic.
In that case, I needed a powerful, well-aligned strike.
"Dorosian."
I called her name, though there was no need.
She was already preparing the 'Arrow of Purification,' a spell that took considerable casting time.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"Just hold out for 10 more seconds."
I hadn’t expected her to help…
Not sure why she had a sudden change of heart, but it was a pleasant surprise.
"Alright."
Now, let’s try cutting its left leg.
I should make it easier for Dorosian to hit it.
***
A lockdown order was issued on the stairs.
Yet, the hallways were crowded with people.
Professor Gomon sighed heavily as he tried to control the students.
"Stop standing around here and get back to what you’re supposed to be doing."
The students showed no intention of leaving.
In fact, they stood there confidently, as if staying behind the safety line was enough.
Then, someone pushed through the crowd and stuck their face out.
It was Ricks, Bellman, Leana, and a few others.
They were all people who used to hang out with Hersel.
Bellman adjusted his slipping glasses and asked, "Professor, are Hersel and Dorosian still not back?"
"Well, they’ll be out soon enough. Don’t worry. You know they’re not ordinary, right? Both Hersel and Dorosian."
Meanwhile, someone was watching the scene from the corner.
It was Ecok, the soon-to-be student council president.
Ecok glanced at the bag he had placed on the ground.
At that moment, a classmate approached and asked, "Ecok, what’s in that bag?"
"Oh, this..."
Ecok responded with a gentle smile.
"I couldn't just stand by while the professors are working so hard. So, I prepared some drinks for them to have when they get tired."
The classmate giggled and stared at the bag with a mischievous look.
"Wow, Ecok, you really are so generous. But, I’m feeling a bit thirsty too. Could I have just one?"
Ecok firmly refused.
"Actually, I only brought just the right amount, so I’m afraid I can’t."
"Huh? But there’s so much here."
"Well, there’s some of my personal belongings mixed in, that’s why."
"Aww, too bad. But I guess it can’t be helped."
"It pains me to turn down a lady’s request. How about this? I’ll treat you to a drink at a café next time."
The classmate jumped up and down with excitement.
Ecok watched her leave, then discreetly pushed the bag behind him.
