Ch. 197
And in this situation, the Goblet of the Golden Star—which granted extra points in the crown prince’s exam—became even more important.
“……It’ll take a few days. Two or three.”
“Alright.”
“I’ll be back soon.”
It seemed Lox had finally decided which rules took priority.
Normally, you wouldn’t leave the weakest one to wander alone, but the imperial palace was one of the rare places where safety wasn’t a concern.
Besides, as far as I could guess, the palace was practically Lox’s front yard.
“Everyone, take care of Ash while I’m gone.”
“Of course.”
“Even without you, we won’t be lacking in strength. Don’t worry!”
“Yeah. Not even the tiniest bit.”
Lox was solemn about leaving the precious prince behind, but the trio—who knew nothing—didn’t take it seriously at all.
In fact, they suddenly remembered something and asked in a panic.
“But without Lox, who’s buying our tickets?”
“You’re getting them before you leave, right?”
“You don’t know anyone in Helikke?”
Lox seemed ready to explode at the barrage of questions.
“W-what do I look like to you people?!”
“Our guide?”
“The weakest office worker.”
“Someone I’ll kill someday.”
The last one was me.
After threatening to kill him a hundred times, the guys didn’t seem scared anymore.
We all cackled while Lox trembled with clenched fists.
Yeah, this kind of thing was fun.
Not as nice as traveling alone, but wandering around together, teasing each other, panicking together, and sometimes doing stupid, idiotic things—none of it was all that bad.
Sometimes, moments like this made me feel like we fit together… and that was genuinely fun…
RUMBLE.
“What the—!”
“Huh?”
A sudden chill slammed down my spine.
We’d found a treasure, confirmed a reliable appraiser, and were finally relaxing—and that’s exactly when it happened.
A heavy sound thudded from the ceiling above, and when we looked up in alarm, a long crack split across it like a Y.
“Gasp!”
The crack widened rapidly, shedding stone dust as large chunks of rock rained down.
Someone panicked.
“What’s happening?!”
“An earthquake?”
“No, no, no! We’re under a lake!”
“……Didn’t we… come way, way down here?”
“Rai!”
This space was made of magic.
It had a spirit mage’s touch mixed in, but its foundation was ancient mana following strict rules—magic.
The air, the light, the power holding this underground space together—all ancient enchantments.
[Uh, it feels like something just shut off the magic maintaining this space. It’s collapsing fast.]
The magnificent chandelier hanging from the ceiling flickered as the mana sustaining it failed. Then it went dark and crashed to the floor with a deafening boom.
KWOOM!
The impact shook the ground, cracks spreading across the walls.
The entire space split apart—above, below, left, right—as black gaps opened everywhere.
It all happened terrifyingly fast.
The sound of the collapsing structure crushed the group into stunned silence.
Disaster had fallen on us without warning.
“W-what is this?! We’re screwed!”
“Aaagh! I don’t wanna die!”
“I should’ve written a will!”
Darkness fell and chaos swallowed us.
Only small decorative lights remained, but without mana, they flickered weakly and looked ready to die out.
Just like the time we had left.
“This makes no sense! Why now?!”
“Maybe… because we took the treasure…?”
Obvious to anyone.
“Damn it! Who said there were no traps?!”
“You did!”
“Oh, right.”
“This is not the time! Run to the corridor!”
How many meters below the surface were we?
We’d gone deep underwater, then fallen even further underground.
And there was only one exit.
Only now did it hit me just how deep this artificial cavern was. If this place collapsed, it would be a disaster on the level of a dragon attack.
Actually, dragons might be—no, whatever.
In any case, surviving two disasters like this made my luck the worst disaster of all.
“Why is this happening to me!”
“Uwaaaah!”
“Somebody save us!”
We screamed and ran. But even reaching the corridor became difficult. Huge boulders the size of a person were falling from the ceiling.
Someone could easily be crushed, but the guys dodged with sharp instincts, and Ash had me by the wrist, basically dragging me.
I was the slowest one. At this rate, he might just throw me over his shoulder.
[Master!]
Rai was running right beside me, and we barely slipped into the corridor before the ceiling fully collapsed.
We had to get through the corridor to reach the hole leading up to the lake.
The one and only exit.
Honestly, even if the place didn’t collapse, this many people trying to get out through that hole was impossible. But for now, running was the only way to avoid being crushed.
At the start of the corridor, we were still screaming and cursing as we fought to live.
Death was coming for us, mercilessly, but not fast enough to stop us from struggling.
What truly terrified us was when the walls, not just the ceiling, began leaking water.
“Aaaagh!”
Water shot aggressively through every crack. Thick streams quickly flooded the floor until the water reached our knees.
“This can’t be happening!”
“Damn it, no no no!”
The rising pressure made running difficult, but none of us gave up. We kept moving.
We pushed forward, even a little, toward the door where the exit was.
The corridor was collapsing too, but stopping felt the same as dying.
“Haa… haa…!”
Why was my breathing so heavy?
I still hated tunnels.
Hated spaces like this.
And now it was dark, too.
My heart pounded painfully and my breath came quickly. Was it from running too much, or because old trauma I’d buried deep was clawing its way back?
“Sorry. Mom.”
-Where are you? Jina. Mom is coming! Jina?
“You know I… love you, right?”
-Dear! Dear! Jina… Jina!
I squeezed my eyes shut. When I opened them, the water had risen to my waist.
Water burst from the walls like waterfalls. We could only move forward by practically swimming.
We stared at the door—but then, to our horror, the door began to close.
We were still so far away.
“Damn it……”
“You gotta be kidding me…!”
The men cried out in despair when we were cornered.
The moment we froze, the chamber behind us fully collapsed. A violent blast of water swallowed the space, plunging everything into darkness.
There was nothing to do but stop. My strength drained away.
This corridor wouldn’t last much longer. I felt despair and sorrow pressing down on us.
It was too dark to see, but everyone sensed it. That sinking feeling—the knowledge of death creeping close—was nearly impossible to bear.
Nobody ever wanted to accept their own end.
A quick death like a flash of light would have been kinder.
I forced my ragged breath to steady and tried to think clearly.
‘We’re underwater. Underwater. We won’t burn to death.’
How long could I let them breathe underwater with my remaining mana?
Six of us… maybe a day. If I used Rai’s mana too? A lifetime.
But that wasn’t the problem.
Time was. My body wouldn’t last that long.
In this wrecked state, even with enough mana, two or three hours was my limit.
‘Even if I let everyone breathe… that’s just first aid. Even if Rai forms a shield to prevent us from being crushed, it won’t last. When I pass out, everyone dies.’
We had to escape this damned underground space. Immediately.
“It’s been a good run, hasn’t it?”
Chad muttered in the darkness.
Even through my headache, I thought he sounded surprisingly calm.
Splash, splash—rocks kept falling into the water, louder and more frequent.
“Then… we were brave.”
“Maybe next time… we can be born into a comfortable family. One where someone can get medical treatment when they’re sick.”
“Haa… if we die here, nobody will know. What if my mother keeps waiting for me?”
It was a situation that made you think this would be your grave.
Even with me here.
[Master! Look at this? Bubble bubble.]
I couldn’t see him, but I could hear the bubbling. Rai was already fully submerged.
“…Rai, how much time until it collapses?”
[It’s collapsing any second now.]
“How long exactly.”
[Hmm… ten seconds? Want me to make a shield?]
We spoke out loud, but there was no time to care.
The bubbling noise oddly helped me clear my head a little.
I wiped the water off my face and inhaled deeply.
[Actually—eight seconds!]
“Geenie.”
[Seven seconds.]
Someone swam up behind me and slowly wrapped their arms around me.
A touch that felt like someone on the verge of crying pulled me close, warming me.
It was easy to tell it was Ash.
He pressed his forehead to my shoulder and hugged me hard—soft yet desperate, as if he wanted to say something.
“Hey, let go.”
I headbutted backward, knocking him off.
It was a life-or-death moment, so sure, maybe he wanted to cry—but now was absolutely not the time.
I was going to save myself.
I raised my hand above the water, now up to my chest.
[Five seconds!]
“Stop counting! It’s distracting!”
[Four……]
Maybe my condition was messing with my judgment.
Using Rai to make a shield might be safer. But crouching and waiting wasn’t my style. I chose brute force.
“Everyone, get close. And hold your breath!”
[Two seconds!]
I braced my whole body.
We had fallen far below the lake. Breaking through that much solid bedrock was impossible for Undine, or Undaine. Ador and Pein too.
There was only one option. And fortunately, I had the strength to use it.
“From the end of the raging sea… come to me. Endairon.”
There was no time to recite the spell properly or compose myself.
Skipping everything and summoning like this was madness—it consumed lifespan.
Just as the ceiling fully collapsed and water crushed down on us, squeezing the air from our lungs—