Out of the blue, what are you trying to ask for?
I was puzzled, but after seeing the next message, I realized she had a slight misunderstanding.
====
Prinana: I didn’t perform well in the Magic Festival’s final match… Many of the pairs I went with got hurt.
Prinana: I feel ashamed to show my face like this.
Prinana: I was wondering if you might have any high-grade potions or holy spells from high-ranking magicians that could help.
Prinana: I’ll give you all my remaining points.
Prinana: And if that’s not enough… I’ll do anything you ask.
====
It’s no wonder you never visited me in the hospital.
She seemed to feel guilty about just standing by while I fought Shien.
It would have been even more dangerous if she had intervened, as Shien was an opponent immune to Curse Names.
I briefly hesitated over the new potential subordinate candidate who appeared out of nowhere, but there was no need to increase the Sub-Manager count at this time.
Moreover, with over 170,000 comments combined, would she really take an easy stance against the Administrator?
Since I already had a “Sub-Manager Unlock Ticket” from the draw, it was worth a shot to throw in a gamble.
There was no better way to remind her of the fact that I was playing with her from the top of her head in the midst of suffocating masters’ martial arts.
From my perspective, recovering only Prinana’s points would successfully conclude this Magic Festival betting event, too.
====
Administrator: Are you asking for your colleague who went with you to participate to get better?
Prinana: Yeah, he even accommodated someone like me well, and honestly, I feel a bit… concerned too.
Administrator: So be it.
Prinana: What…?
====
With that short exchange, the conversation ended.
Beyond the Witch Note, it seemed like Prina’s confusion was still palpable.
When I celebrated my solo victory, having successfully robbed all the users’ points, and grabbed the cake.
Suddenly, there was a loud thud echoing through the corridor.
“Oh, Senior.”
“Who did you just meet?”
“Me? I’ve been alone this whole time.”
“Are you okay!?”
“Yes, I suddenly got better.”
The person who opened the door, seemingly without any regard for the no-visiting sign, was Prina, with whom I had been conversing just a moment ago.
Her tousled hair suggested she had rushed here at quite a speed.
As she scanned the room with magic, her pale complexion, I reached out my hand to her.
“W-what is it! A friendship fee? I’m not giving you that. I don’t have money, and we’re not even friends to begin with…”
“No, I thought holding my hand might calm you down.”
Snap!
It was more like being seized than just caught.
Though she still had her fiery temperament, I was relieved she had learned how to relax after the Magic Festival.
Calmness was more critical than anything else for a magician.
As I enjoyed the slightly moist sensation beginning to seep into my palm along with the softness of her skin, something caught on my fingertips.
It was a cursed doll with a familiar silhouette made of straw.
“What’s this?”
“A, a gift. I put the spirit stone inside.”
“But we didn’t win the championship, did we?”
“We got third place, so it’s a lesser grade. I don’t need it, so you can have it all.”
It wasn’t just a simple doll but a kind of magical tool that could impose three curses on its owner, Prina explained.
At first glance, it might seem like a disadvantageous item, but both poison and medicine were in its usage.
“Since you don’t know how to curse, I put them in for you. Insensitivity and Photosensitivity. They’ll help you pass through the Great Labyrinth.”
“And the third one?”
“……”
“Senior?”
“Uh, anyway, now that you’re better, stop dawdling here and come up quickly! I’ll be waiting above!”
It was said to alleviate pain and make one sensitive to light.
I never heard about the third curse in the end, but since she wouldn’t harm me, I decided to accept it gratefully.
“Have you received the 10th-floor qualification test from the Living Department?”
“No, I’m doing it now before going up.”
There was no point in trying to persuade her anymore, and I had already managed the community, so it was time to return.
Taking the Witch Note and the spear, I left the hospital room with Prina and boarded the magical elevator.
She smiled awkwardly as she watched me press the button to go.
“Oh, how exciting. Are you already looking forward to partying with other people?”
“Wasn’t the Haeju School unpopular? That’s why I skipped the missions.”
“Are you stupid? That was when you didn’t win any awards at the Magic Festival.”
As a person with 5 years of experience, 1st rank, and Haeju School, it was generally impossible to recruit team members to enter the labyrinth.
However, conversely, it was the first time a Haeju School graduate had achieved third place in the Magic Festival since the school was founded.
Moreover, this was in a Magic Festival where all the magicians below the 40th floor participated.
“What if, just what if, I want to make friends, but having a lover is not allowed? It’s an unreasonable luxury for us, Haeju Magicians, to pay attention to anything other than magic.”
“But Senior, you’re a curse magician.”
“Is that important right now? This is an absolute school rule, do you understand?”
“Yes, well…”
Upon reaching the 9th floor, numerous people waiting for the evaluation caught my eye.
Prina insisted until the moment she let go of my hand, not to mingle with the insiders and be part of a party.
*
In the Magic Tower, there exists a floor every 10 floors called a “Trial”, which is a kind of test.
Unlike other floors used as research labs or resting areas by the schools, this place is only accessible while climbing.
Even the administration of the Magic Tower cannot close or open the floor arbitrarily, and its internal ecology is also veiled.
Therefore, the Living Department always meticulously checks whether those attempting to enter the trial are truly qualified.
“Hmm, you failed the subject ‘Principles and Understanding of Dimensional Glass’?”
“Well, because the professor kept changing the lecture rooms….”
“The request from the Starting Floor also has an overall low rating. At this rate, it will be difficult for you to enter the Labyrinth.”
“What should I do? If I drop out, it’ll be a hassle for the other team members….”
Magic proficiency and the credits for the courses that apprentices must take during their training period.
Evaluation is based on the completion of seven requests from the 3rd to the 9th floor to determine whether one can pass through the Labyrinth.
During the “Trial”, there were types where one could actually lose their life, so if an unqualified magician were sent in, there was a high chance of a disaster.
Among the many magicians standing in line to enter the Grand Labyrinth, I spotted a familiar face.
‘Is that Mariel?’
It seemed she had finished all the missions up to the 9th floor and had come to undergo evaluation.
Despite being swamped with work, she managed to climb up here. It was slightly unsettling how she prioritized tower climbing over tasks.
‘If two people enter the Labyrinth together, who will manage the forum during that time?’
As I pondered over a good plan to keep her on the 1st floor for about 5 years, my turn came.
The receptionist, with a tired expression, instead of handing me documents, extended a magic registration bronze plaque and asked with widened eyes,
“Entry ticket? No, 3rd place? Wait a moment. You mean you haven’t actually passed through the Grand Labyrinth yet?”
“Yes. Do you need anything else? Although it’s been a while, I still have my academic record.”
I had already completed all the mandatory subjects during my apprentice years, from year 0 to 1.
With decent grades, as long as the criteria hadn’t changed since then, there shouldn’t be any major issues with entry.
“No, no! That’s unnecessary. Um, let me see… Clark-nim.”
Entry into the Labyrinth is further subdivided based on ranks from A to D, each with its own conditions.
However, since this was the first case in 5 years since Shien, they even pulled out the manual and recited the clauses.
“You can either form a team or enter alone. You can spend all seven days when the Great Labyrinth is open inside the Labyrinth. If you have teammates, the same rules apply to them as well. This is a privilege not even granted to those in the A rank.”
In short, the receptionist’s endless explanation concluded that since there wasn’t a real danger of encountering danger in the Labyrinth, I could do as I pleased.
“Moreover, in case of conflicts arising due to the subjugation of monsters within the Labyrinth, all the loot obtained during the process belongs to Clark-nim.”
“Wait a moment, receptionist. Does such a condition make sense?”
“It’s incomprehensible. Just for someone from the Haeju School?”
I looked left and right as voices came from both sides.
A man and a woman standing in line beside me were challenging the receptionist’s explanation.
Judging from the badges on their robes, they were majoring in ice and fire magic, the two main fields of elemental magic in Glesia and Mittier, respectively.
As elemental magic was the most preferred in the Magic Tower, these two seemed to represent the magicians on the 9th floor.
“Sera-nim, Arthur-nim. This is the manual made by the Living Department.”
“No, the manual doesn’t mention anything about ranks above A. Isn’t anything above that just a simple exception?”
“Besides, it’s strange for the Living Department to intervene in conflicts within the Labyrinth. What if I just take it by force?”
“But didn’t the Mittier School already lose in the Magic Festival?”
“That, that was because those Haeju School b*stards hid their identity and played dirty tricks! It’s different now!”
Arthur, showing hostility, and Sera, observing the situation from a step back.
I quickly realized why these unknown individuals were interested in me.
Each school aims to send as many of its members as possible higher in the Great Labyrinth.
To achieve this, they might eliminate other competitors or form cooperative relationships.
If they had watched my performance in the Magic Festival, there was no need to challenge me unless they wanted to recruit me.
However, what bound them was the pride of being major schools.
Their pride would never bend to schools like Haeju.
“Hey, shall we have another showdown? If you win, you can climb the Labyrinth with us.”
“Oh! Nice to meet you, ‘Puppy Lover’, right?”
“What?”
So I decided to personally humble his pride.
Rather than threatening, I would approach with a humble negotiating attitude.
“Is the opening of the ‘Furry Paradise’ forum you mentioned last time going well? I heard you were also doing fundraising on the forum.”
“W-what are you talking about? I never did such a thing…!”
“What’s ‘Furry Paradise’?”
“On the forum? What kind of post did Arthur-nim make?”
In an instant, the magicians around us began murmuring, each bringing up stories about the forum.
Panicking, he hastily pulled out his Witch Note, denying it was him, but his ID had already changed to ‘Puppy Lover’.
His name was displayed as the representative on the forum, and the profile had a picture taken just moments ago.
Of course, I had changed everything to my Administrator account.
“Is it true?”
“Look at this, there are even sniper posts.”
“I can’t believe Arthur-nim had such tastes… Could it be…”
“Furries? Wh-what does ‘Puppy Lover’ mean?”
“And the ID matches, right? Unbelievable…”
“Oh my, even such dreadful pictures…!”
It took less than 10 minutes for him to collapse due to a simple manipulation of public opinion.
Sera, who had observed the situation, met my eyes, swallowed nervously, and suggested.
“Sh-shall we go to a quiet café and talk?”
