Hazel checked the map.
After examining it thoroughly, she lifted her head again.
She compared and contrasted the information on the map with the scenery in front of her.
‘It’s a match.’
The deepest part of the forest known as the border area.
In this sparsely populated spot, there stood a complex structure.
It was so large that looking up at it would make your neck hurt.
The area was said to rival that of a small city.
The simple reason why such a massive structure is hard to find lies in the cognitive distortion magic that renders it undetectable beyond a certain range.
Additionally, the trees surrounding this structure were also taller than elsewhere, cleverly concealing it.
The dangerous ecosystem around it also played a part.
‘The ruins said to be built in the mythological era.’
The inside is twisted like a maze.
With both physical and magical traps, exploring it is no easy task.
Yet, Hazel felt confident.
This was the reason she was able to easily approach the entrance to the ruins: she had a guide to the maze in her hands.
The map.
This one was different from the one Eliya had given her when she set off.
The map she received only showed a general range.
It didn’t pinpoint the exact location or obstacles of this place.
Hazel examined the map secretly delivered from the royal palace.
‘As expected, the power of the royal family. It’s incredibly accurate.’
It was something Hazel couldn’t fathom, that Eliya had cunningly leaked the map to the royal family.
‘At the end of these ruins lies the Sun Symbol…’
One problem, though, this map didn’t tell her everything.
The ruins were a maze.
The path to unravel that maze wasn’t on the map.
However, Hazel remained confident.
‘The tracker is responding.’
This was the second item she received from the royal family.
A divine power tracker.
This artifact, shaped like a bracelet, detects divine power when infused with mana to locate holy relics.
However, its detection range was limited.
It was unsuitable for finding items hidden without any indication of their location.
Moreover, it wouldn’t work if multiple holy relics were nearby.
But for now.
The tracker pointed precisely in one direction.
‘If I just follow this path, I will find it.’
Once she obtained the Sun Symbol and earned recognition for her contribution, she might end this reconnaissance mission and enter the royal guard.
Hazel confirmed the third tool hidden in her arms once again.
It was a summoning artifact to be used when she found the Sun Symbol.
‘Alright. The preparations are perfect.’
With her thoughts organized, Hazel couldn’t help but let out a smirk.
‘These stupid cadets won’t stand a chance.’
Without the solid backing of the royal family like herself, they could never find this place.
Even if they did, breaking through would be impossible.
Especially Judas.
Just thinking about him stirred up an inexplicable dissatisfaction.
How dare a commoner, rolling on the streets, follow closely behind a royal knight like her.
Moreover, he had quietly let Hazel win in every duel they had.
That fact didn’t sit well with her.
It felt like he was underestimating her.
In reality, Judas had never actually looked down on Hazel.
Hazel scoffed.
That irritating guy wouldn’t be around after today anyway.
‘Once I take the Sun Symbol, this world will be in the palm of His Majesty. At that point, I’ll enter the new paradise as an exceptional knight who retrieved the Sun Symbol.’
With a lightened heart, Hazel moved on.
As she stepped inside, her body tensed up.
‘…What’s this, these traces?’
There were multiple entrances to the ruins.
Among them, the one Hazel stood at led to a clear path.
The ground along that path was disturbed.
As if someone had entered.
‘These traces are relatively recent. The direction is….’
She turned her head to backtrack the traces.
Unlike the stone floors of the ruins, the soil bore clear marks.
Horse hooves were elongated and pointed, accompanied by human footprints.
Deer.
And one person.
Identifying them wasn’t difficult.
‘…Judas?!’
Hazel sprinted into the ruins.
‘How…?! Did he follow me?’
That couldn’t be.
She had been vigilant about being followed all this time.
‘No, that can’t be. It’s impossible for him to have followed me and entered first.’
Hazel followed the tracker, expertly navigating through the maze.
The traces continued.
Meaning Judas had safely and surely progressed through the maze.
‘I knew he was exceptional…’
But she thought he was still beneath her as a royal knight.
‘How is this possible?’
There was no point in dwelling on it.
‘It seems I have no choice but to fight.’
Can I win?
First place Hazel. Second place Judas.
However, the gap between them wasn’t insurmountable.
Their personal duel record showed 21 wins to 19 losses.
A razor-thin margin.
But Hazel knew.
She hated to admit it, but she had to accept it.
In all the duels, Judas had always let her win.
He didn’t underestimate her.
He simply wanted to win using only swordsmanship.
When their swords clashed, they inevitably grew closer.
It was an inefficient close-quarter combat scenario to wield a weapon.
From then on, fists would have to be used.
In that distance, Judas was stronger than anyone.
Frustrated, Hazel accepted the reality.
With all the techniques she could muster, she couldn’t defeat Judas.
‘If it comes to it, I’ll use the third artifact… wait.’
Hazel thought as she traversed the maze.
Judas had been famous for his quirky nature since entrance.
However, he wasn’t the type to cause trouble without provocation.
In fact, he was rather cheerful, lacking any sharp edges.
He readily fulfilled requests.
‘If I can provoke him, I might catch him off guard…’
In the maze’s pathways with sunlight streaming in overhead.
Continuing onward, Hazel suddenly stopped.
She found herself in a state of confusion.
“Where did he go…?”
She unconsciously voiced her question aloud.
The traces of Judas had vanished.
At the five-way junction, it ended abruptly, leading nowhere.
‘What happened…?’
No matter whether she checked the sky or the ground, the traces of Judas were nowhere to be found.
There were no clues to explain it.
‘Did he fall into a teleportation trap?’
Magical traps that send you to different locations.
There were a few in these ruins too.
‘But that doesn’t seem likely…’
A fleeting thought crossed her mind.
‘Did he realize he was being followed?’
He must have sensed someone trailing him and erased his tracks, then vanished down a safe route.
In other words, Judas likely knew exactly which paths were safe.
He could not have wiped his presence away so quickly at this junction without doing so.
‘Damn it…!’
Hazel hurriedly took off running.
She couldn’t afford to lose the Sun Symbol.
Even if she had to fight and risk death in the process.
Raising her mana, Hazel dashed with all her might.
Smashing through walls wasn’t the right approach.
These ruins, despite their ancient outward appearance, were remarkably sturdy.
She couldn’t afford to slow down to keep Judas from getting there first.
Luckily, the performance of the tracker was excellent.
Even at the junctions, it clearly indicated the safest path.
However, that clear path was not safe at all.
Traps were triggered, causing floors to collapse or arrows to spring out from walls.
Every time this happened, Hazel leaped in shock.
Though she wasn’t hurt, she was getting increasingly exhausted.
Still, she persisted, following the tracker deeper into the maze.
And finally.
“This is it….”
There was only one path left.
The intricately tangled maze.
A straight corridor leading to its center.
The ancient door was so massive she had to push with all her strength to open it.
‘No one seems to have opened this door. Thankfully, did I arrive first…’
Relieved, Hazel opened the door.
‘So, Judas must not know all the paths. He seemed to have taken a wrong turn midway.’
Creeeeak…
A tremor that seemed to shake the entire ruins.
She squeezed through the now-open door.
And Hazel was left awestruck by the scene unfolding right before her.
What had she endured all these traps for?
It felt hollow and empty.
“…”
The person inside turned to her, wide-eyed in shock.
Contrary to her own exhausting journey, he looked remarkably relaxed.
“Hazel? How did you get here?”
“…Judas.”
*
Eliya sat in her office.
Taking a break from the theoretical texts handed to her by the Magic Tower.
“Hmm…”
She fiddled with the cat doll placed beside her desk.
Raising and lowering its pink-pawed front legs, she sighed lightly with her chin resting in her hand.
‘I’m so tired….’
She had slept well and didn’t have particularly many tasks to handle.
Yet, her body felt fatigued.
There were still things to take care of, but nothing was catching her interest.
She just wanted to lie down on Judas’s bed all day.
Or cuddle up with the doll and roll around.
She felt like a limp seaweed, utterly listless.
‘When is he coming….’
Eliya laid her head down on her desk, using the cat doll as a pillow.
The endless wait felt close to torture.
‘Should I just go….’
If she wanted, she could teleport to find Judas right now.
She had given him the means to discern his coordinates.
‘What should I do….’
The urge to just bring Judas over and declare him her knight surged up within her.
‘…That seems like a good idea.’
Eliya suddenly raised her head.
‘After all, I’m the one picking my knight, so it shouldn’t matter, right?’
It was fine if the Sun Symbol didn’t come back.
Now that she knew the location, she could take care of it herself.
She had means in place to react when the bait was taken.
Eliya became quite serious.
‘This test is bait anyway. The candidates don’t need to bring the real Sun Symbol.’
Eliya’s true target was something else.
‘A pawn of the imperial family.’
The information she provided to the candidates and what she leaked to the royal family were different.
She had informed the royal family of the actual location.
They must have taken her bait without a doubt.
‘They would see this test as an opportunity and would have provided information that allowed the imperial pawn to excel.’
To ensnare them, Eliya had set up two arrangements.
The first was a signaling magic.
Placed on the Sun Symbol.
If anyone touched the relic, she would be notified.
And the second arrangement, prepared for none other than Judas…
‘…!’
Her eyes widened in surprise.
The very second arrangement had sent a signal to her.
‘No way!’
Eliya instantly used teleportation to the coordinates relayed by the signal.
To the precise location where Judas was.
Ria, beside Eliya, gasped in surprise.
Eliya had vanished without a word.
Her face turned pale as she called out.
“Eli…?!”
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