Chapter 55

“The Iris team is the strongest!”

As if to prove that, the Iris team stormed through the levels like a whirlwind.

Currently, the Iris team had reached the third floor of Magung: the Weeping Sky.

Two gigantic eyes above the dark clouds were tightly shut and shedding tears, which fell as rain to wet the ground below.

‘That’s a Demon, isn’t it.’

The True Demon of the Weeping Sky.

It would later be born when the Weeping Sky underwent a transformation.

‘I’ll need to take care of that later.’

But not now. Let’s just move on.

“The 3rd years are catching up almost.”

In the rain pouring from above.

The Magic Arts Deputy, Dorara, trailing behind, let out a chuckle.

Maybe it was because of his crumbled self-esteem after being bested by Sharine,

But he seemed to enjoy showing off like that.

However, his skills were solid.

It didn’t help that I had a bad matchup with him, and I had his bad habits and weaknesses all figured out.

That guy’s wind was as fierce as expected for a Magic Arts Deputy.

“Ugh, I’m going crazy being here for days already.”

At that moment, the curse mage, Valentina, who had been clinging to Joachim’s back, groaned.

Magung distorts space and time.

This becomes even more pronounced the lower you go.

The time on the first floor is not too different from the outside.

But from the second floor onwards, time changes completely.

Based on a day outside,

The second floor equals three days.

The third floor equals a week.

The fourth floor equals fifteen days.

So, time differences aren’t that significant even if you stay down in the lower floors for a long time.

Given that, we’ve already spent several days in Magung by its standards.

On the third floor, we had spent three days.

“It’s more interesting that a curse mage dislikes gloomy things.”

“Ugh, please don’t have any prejudices against curse mages.”

When Dorara chided her, Valentina groaned again.

Looking at those two, I glanced down at my hands.

Having made it to the third floor, I felt no physical burden at all.

A physical fool’s body belonging to Bickamon.

Throw in Aisha’s hellish training sessions, and it made perfect sense.

‘The real problem is.’

It was in a completely different area.

‘Pretending to be Hania is tougher than I thought.’

I just had to sprinkle around what I knew adequately.

After all, student conversations are limited, given we’re all from the same academy.

Above all, Hania is somewhat of a minor character.

I knew a lot about her.

So, acting like her wasn’t too much of a stretch for me.

What I found challenging was something else.

I quietly clicked my tongue while looking at the sword in my hand.

Hania possesses the skills of a Martial Arts Deputy.

Her abilities were obviously far beyond that of ordinary martial arts students.

She wields a long sword.

Her technique was so refined that even lazy geniuses would acknowledge it.

It was a result of her talent and relentless effort.

The problem here is I’ve never used a sword.

Can a guy who’s spent his life fighting with his fists suddenly swing a sword properly?

‘I’ve trained enough, though, so it won’t wobble.’

But since I’ve always fought with knife-hand strikes,

I couldn’t assess the reach.

The sword’s cutting power changes depending on the angle it’s swung.

So mistakes happened repeatedly because I couldn’t grasp that correctly.

So, from midway on, I gave up and just swung it like a blunt weapon.

‘Ugh, I should never touch a sword again.’

Hands are superior to tools, after all.

“Hania, are you feeling unwell lately?”

Just then, Valentina shot a question at me.

Thanks to the bandages of the veil, I looked just like Hania.

But they were comrades who’d fought alongside me by that time.

To them, I must have looked awkward.

“Hmm, I’d say movements are wilder and there’s an unrestrained feeling to you.”

I can’t see my eyes hidden by my bangs, so I wonder what’s visible.”

“Hmm, I do feel a bit different these past few days.”

Joachim nodded in agreement.

The gazes of my teammates naturally focused on me.

Iris also shot a glance at me.

From here on, Iris couldn’t help me.

Not wanting to arouse suspicion before Nikita attacked.

If Nikita decided to skip attacking just because Iris’s team didn’t feel right, it would complicate things later.

“Well…”

I had to find a way to navigate this.

Fortunately, right before coming to Magung, I’d experienced something that could ruin my condition terribly.

“…I got confessed to by Professor Barcob before entering Magung.”

“Ah.”

“Oh, dear God.”

Deep sighs escaped Valentina and Joachim’s lips.

Everyone knew how terrible Professor Barcob was.

“W-Well, just take a break and rest a bit.”

Even Dorara, whose personality is rough as can be, looked at me with pity.

Seeing them, I forced a smile.

Pity flickered across everyone’s eyes.

Looks like even the crappiest dude, Barcob, has his moments of usefulness.

Not that I’m thankful for it.

“Let’s keep going.”

After seeing me escape the crisis, Iris started walking again.

A smile creeping on her lips, but she didn’t comment on it.

“We’re almost done with the third floor.”

We took down three demons on the third floor in total.

The monsters? We’d already lost count.

It really drove home just how strong the Iris team is.

Joachim, the battle priest, held a book in his left hand and flattened enemies with just his right.

Even amidst all that, if any team member got injured, he’d immediately heal them.

Valentina, who specializes in debuffs, unleashed curses the moment enemies appeared.

She has around ten thousand curses at her disposal.

With a tornado of curses sweeping through, enemies were rendered powerless in an instant.

Needless to say, Iris and Dorara were the same.

‘What a monstrous group.’

If Hania were here, it would be absolutely perfect.

Yet, even so, the Iris team couldn’t overcome Nikita, the Disaster Dragon Maiden.

To defeat her, the fiery spirit of Lucas was essential.

‘Especially on the fourth floor.’

It was an environment designed solely for the Disaster Dragon Maiden.

“Let’s head down.”

With Iris leading the charge, the team started descending.

I wondered how it felt to have the 3rd Princess at the forefront.

If Iris was in danger, none of these folks could handle it.

In a pitch-black space, the only thing visible was the endless white staircase extending downwards.

The stairs were merely a platform.

It looked dizzying at first glance.

“Hehe, I feel like we might break a record this time.”

“Let’s go down quickly. We were so embarrassed in that team event.”

From behind, I could hear Joachim and Dorara chatting.

At this speed, it certainly felt fast.

‘If only Nikita wasn’t here, we would reach the sixth floor.’

In the next Magung instance, it seemed like we’d reach the seventh floor before any second years.

Of course, Iris had fundamental reasons for not being able to descend deep into Magung.

“Hania.”

Just then, Iris called out to me.

There were dark circles under her eyes.

Since entering Magung, she hadn’t had much sleep at all.

Although she already suffered from insomnia,

The influence of the Evil Zone that dwelled throughout Magung affected her.

The power of the Evil Zone was inscribed on her body.

This reacted with the power of the Evil Zone in Magung, making her nightmares even worse.

Consequently, Iris was particularly weak in Magung.

Unless we intended to maximize our clearing speed,

With time passing, Iris’s strength would diminish greatly.

‘But with Lucas, who possesses the fiery spirit…’

We could drive away the nightmares within Magung.

That’s why, during our first year,

Iris had hired Lucas as a teammate before entering Magung.

Of course, it was still a time when the fiery spirit hadn’t fully ignited,

So they didn’t achieve much and didn’t take Lucas on the next outing.

‘And Lucas died there.’

For Iris, it was a story filled with regrets.

‘Right now, I can’t solve Iris’s nightmare.’

So, day by day, Iris became more haggard.

“Yes, Iris.”

As I approached Iris, she gestured to me.

“Soon.”

Nikita was the first team to enter this Magung instance.

So she was waiting with complete preparations on the fourth floor.

‘Iris’s team won’t be able to receive support on the fourth floor the moment they step in.’

This was a preparation made with the expectation that the Iris team might even outpace the third years.

“We need to get ready.”

Iris nodded her head.

In a flash, Iris dispersed.

Seeing that, I followed right after.

Thud!

Shortly after, my peripheral vision began to shift.

A nauseating sensation brushed against my body.

This was proof we’d entered the fourth floor of Magung.

A cold chill washed over me.

Crunch—

With a sound of snow crunching underfoot, I slowly raised my head.

Above the pure white snow,

Ice frog bait and water lilies covered the ground.

This eerily dark place held countless ice sculptures scattered about.

Steam from my breath escaped, a testament to the temperature difference.

Magung, fourth floor.

An Ice Garden.

My body chilled intensely from the plummeting temperature.

But the real problem starts now.

“Everyone, get down!”

With a shout, I shielded Iris and jumped forward.

Rooooaar!

Immediately after, a sound erupted from behind as something fell from the ceiling.

Crash!

An enormous ice wall crashed down right behind us.

“Uwaaaaaa!”

“Kiiiiiyaaah!”

Joachim leaped high, carrying Valentina and Dorara with him.

Thanks to him, the three of us avoided being crushed by the ice wall.

“W-What’s going on?”

Dorara turned around with a flabbergasted look.

There, a thick ice wall covered the passage connecting the third and fourth floors of Magung.

Puzzlement flickered across everyone’s faces.

This was an utterly unforeseen issue.

Except for Iris and me, that is.

I slowly raised my head.

Beyond the passage of the Ice Garden,

A chilling aura was creeping towards us, its origin unknown.

‘It’s begun.’

To exact revenge for my real brother’s death,

The Disaster Dragon Maiden,

Nikita Cynthia had begun to move.