Enemies appeared around them, but Dalia’s domain had not yet been completely constructed.
“Are you okay?”
“The area of mystique is still small··· but, for now, it seems fine.”
As she said that, she began to draw something on the ground.
A drawing with gray and various lines tangled in a complicated way, the meaning unclear, but four red dots drawn atop it made me understand their purpose.
“Could it be these red dots?”
“Those are outsiders.”
If that’s the case, then these gray lines must be a spatial connection.
The dots move here and there, indicating the positions of the enemies.
And when a dot moves··· it stops midway and begins to spin in the same space.
An illusion that makes it impossible to approach the moment it has a clear intent to come here.
However, that illusion does not only affect sight, so simply closing one’s eyes won’t dispel it.
Unless someone has senses as developed as Grok’s that are sensitive enough to not be fooled by illusions, or the ability to burn everything in the entire area regardless of the range of the illusion.
The problem is, as Dalia herself mentioned, the area has not yet fully unfolded.
“How long will it take?”
“If it’s short, about four hours, if long, double that.”
The prohibition of access is indeed a powerful force, but since it has many limitations and weaknesses, I immediately went down to the basement to inform Charlotte.
“Al… already the enemies…?”
“Speaking of which, do you think we set up a barrier or something?”
“Ah… yes, we already established a protective barrier when we arrived here…”
As Charlotte spoke, she lightly tapped the end of her staff on the ground, and at that moment, a pile of hidden ink magic circles appeared on the floor.
“Oh…”
It was impressive how dozens of high-level barriers concealed the area, and also mixed in were supplementary debuff magic and illusion magic.
I was once again amazed that Skolla had managed to accomplish all this simultaneously.
“With this… there’s a chance to fight back.”
Dalia’s illusions and the illusion debuff curse that Charlotte had cast, furthermore, if we could disperse the enemies from each other…
“Is there any way we can identify their appearance or anything?”
“Ah, yes. Here.”
Dalia waved her hand and sketched four portraits.
They were faces I didn’t quite remember.
It’s hard to remember, even for my own class, so I definitely wouldn’t remember the others.
But as long as the opponent isn’t Yoon Si-woo…
There is certainly a possibility.
“Dalia.”
“Yes?”
“I’m heading out.”
***
Surely, their party was not weak.
No matter how mighty the enemies were from large clans, they too had entered the Central Academy through effort, so they believed they could compete somehow.
However, there was a reason for the interest surrounding those people.
Not only the backings of their clans but also the bloodlines and powers they possessed. They were finally realizing the gap.
Especially the members of Class 1 were all frighteningly strong.
It was supposed to be just two of them fighting, yet here, with four on this side, they were at a disadvantage.
However, that didn’t mean they had given up.
If they couldn’t even defeat two, they could just attack when they were alone.
It may be a bit petty, but this was a tournament.
As long as it wasn’t life-threatening, most joint attacks or ambushes were allowed.
That was how opponents fought.
Though they were being chased right now, the chances of being found just by hiding were low.
Thus, while catching their breath and recovering their stamina… that was the idea, but then…
“No! What the hell is this place!”
“How many times are we going to circle around the same place?”
I wasn’t even sure if this bridge was leading us forward.
Even if I thought I was going straight, closing my eyes and opening them revealed the same scenery I had seen earlier.
It felt as if it was saying we could not go any further.
Of course, there shouldn’t be a space where we absolutely couldn’t move forward, so it was likely a barrier set by another student.
The problem was, there was no way to break through that barrier.
It was a realm that didn’t manifest visibly or tangibly; such a barrier wouldn’t be broken unless the caster themselves was incapacitated.
So logically, turning back should be the right choice but…
“Turning back is not an option.”
“Those guys are right behind us.”
It just so happened that the ones chasing them were none other than the famous Yoon Si-woo’s party.
Even if only two of them were caught, it was obvious that their already depleted party would be wiped out instantly.
“Why did someone suggest touching those monsters…”
“You were the one who did!”
“…Did I? Anyway, fighting against those guys is definitely out of the question. I’d rather choose to break through here, however long it takes… wait a second.”
“?…What’s wrong?”
The male student, momentarily dazed, looked around.
“…Weren’t we four?”
Clearly, at the start, or rather… the party member they thought had just been there had disappeared.
“They weren’t caught… they were here just a moment ago.”
If that’s the case, they either parted ways here or…
“Ambush?”
“Could it be…?!”
At that moment, something suddenly pounced on the girl in front of him, dragging her into an alley.
“Wh… what!!!”
“What was that? It was so fast I couldn’t see it!”
“Most likely another participant! Let’s move fast!”
“I only saw a hint of white…”
They dashed toward the spot where the girl and an unidentified entity had vanished.
“…Damn it.”
They were still in an illusion, and where the two had disappeared was only a wall blocking their line of sight.
They were truly cornered.
Moreover, whether due to fainting or due to something silencing them, they couldn’t hear anything at all.
It was a truly eerie predator.
What space had they entered?
As the oppressive silence began to instill fear…
“First, let’s retreat. There are only two of us left, and we’ll be wiped out like this.”
Before facing off against Yoon Si-woo, they might first get taken out here in this bizarre place.
Thus, they aimed to retreat, but…
“Hail?”
Before they realized it, only one boy remained in that space.
“…Shit.”
Since when had this begun, since stepping into this place? Or when… when exactly?
As he pondered and guarded his surroundings, something flew toward him.
Scrape.
‘A bottle…?’
Before his gaze could be drawn to the swift blade that chopped it, he braced against the incoming kick.
“Ugh.”
“Hmph~ you can take a hit?”
And lifting his eyes, he looked at his opponent.
A girl with white hair that had a slight tint of red on her face.
Although not particularly imposing, he knew who she was.
“At the entrance ceremony… that crazy girl.”
Everyone knew the story of the girl who not only sparred at the extravagant entrance ceremony but also dared to drink and act out of control.
He never expected to meet her here.
Furthermore, her actual strength was confirmed to not be that powerful…
‘There must be something more to her.’
He thought that surely his comrades couldn’t have fallen to such a small girl.
“Seriously! Who gave you such a weird nickname!!”
“Where did you put the others?”
Seeing the girl getting angry about something strange, he pointed his sword as a warning.
She might not have done all this, but she must at least be connected to it.
If she resisted, he’d knock her out on the spot.
With that resolve, he prepared himself, but…
“Um~ all my friends are sound asleep!”
“…What? What do you mean?”
Before she could finish speaking.
Suddenly, the girl disappeared from his view.
And he felt something heavy against his stomach.
“Gah!!!”
“Do you want to fall asleep too?”
Even though he hurriedly put his hand out to soften the impact, an overwhelming shock pierced through his entire body.
No, more than that, had he missed the speed just a moment ago…
Or was it an illusion?
Yes, it was certainly true that the illusion was making him unable to gauge distances properly.
It was cowardly. To fight in such a way without proper engagement…
“This cowardly…”
“Cowardly, you say?”
“Yes, no matter how much it’s a tournament, having no conscience like this…”
“But.”
The girl only smiled and said.
“This is the way the weak fight.”
There was something similar in her mindset.
Feeling a sense of discomfort from that, the boy began searching for the girl who had once again vanished from his sight.
There was no point in chasing with his eyes.
He had to react and act only with his senses.
“Focus… focus…”
He could do it.
He could escape the malicious little girl’s scheme…
Crash!!!
“Gahhhhh!!!”
However, before he could finish that thought, something solid struck him on the head, and he found his face pressed against the ground.
Then, slowly fading consciousness left him with only the sight of the girl with a smirk on her face.
“Uhm… did I hit too hard~?”
In the girl’s hand was certainly a bottle of the same kind he had just sliced through.
“If I were to just lose to Yoon Si-woo, at least I’d have an excuse.”
He closed his eyes with such regret.
