Since the appearance of demons at the Great Labyrinth, the forum had been buzzing for a while.
While most magicians managed to escape safely, there was no guarantee that the same would happen next time.
Contrary to the incompetence of the administration, the reason this rumor persisted for so long was that the damage was surprisingly minimal.
Interestingly, opinions varied greatly regarding the clear reason for this.
====
[The kids who survived this time will be grateful to the Administrator for the rest of their lives].
If it weren’t for him, you’d all be dancing the tango with the dead in the afterlife.
— Grandmaster
— Praise be
— As a gesture of gratitude, sending a spicy photo this morning
— Really? Weren’t they rescued by Mittier?
ㄴ They barely managed to survive themselves, what nonsense is this?
====
====
[Didn’t see his shadow but saw a spear-wielding magician fighting ghosts]
At first, I thought there was a bomb in the labyrinth, but it turned out to be someone throwing spears.
They said they were an adventurer hastily brought by Mittier, but there was something fishy about them.
— Actually, they’re the reason we survived, not the Administrator.
— Those who were in the labyrinth seem to know.
ㄴ Seriously, some even came back from the dead; there are so many fashionable labyrinth explorers, it’s a big deal.
ㄴ These labyrinth explorers act like they’ve been through some trial, what confidence is that? Lol
— So, are they not the Administrator?
ㄴ I am Administrator, and that’s correct.
ㄴ Administrator doesn’t use primitive weapons like spears…
— Who incinerated the remaining demons in the labyrinth with lightning?
ㄴ They say there was a hole in the ceiling, and something came down through it.
— The adventurer throwing spears? Isn’t that the one who ranked third at the Magic Festival?
ㄴ Oh, that Gonick?
ㄴ No, there are rumors he’s at the gold level.
ㄴ Gold, platinum, it doesn’t matter, if you can’t use magic, you can’t pass the level of training.
ㄴ That’s right lol, no need to feel inferior.
====
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[At the time of reconnection, two people who came out of the Great Labyrinth!]
(Tactical nuke)
— Ah!! Damn it!!!
— Sub-Manager!!!!!
— I can’t resist sharing this one lol
— This one seems a bit fishy, hmm……
ㄴ Stop teasing us
ㄴ Ah, damn it, don’t provoke me
— Why aren’t the Sub-Managers doing their job properly these days!!
====
====
[Am I the only one bothered that all the Sub-Managers disappeared simultaneously on the last day?]
I usually check the login times of the Sub-Managers for fun, and the three who were still in the forum before the Great Labyrinth closed were momentarily absent too, right?
I suspect there was some connection.
(Photo)
This is a time-based login list I recorded last year during the Holy Festival.
— Gasp
— Omg…!
— Isn’t it suspicious how they suddenly disappeared like this?
ㄴ Could it be they all went to meet in the Great Labyrinth?
ㄴ Maybe they’re having a secret meeting with the Sub-Managers… I kind of like this idea.
— Do you check this kind of thing regularly? Wow.
— You’re the scariest one here.
— More importantly, look at how the login rates drop on the Holy Spirit Day. Everyone’s just pretending to be busy.
ㄴ Yeah, Administrator was diligently browsing the forum even on that night.
ㄴ Don’t make up stories, they were browsing until morning.
ㄴ I’ve decided to support Administrator after seeing this.
ㄴ Administrator, you’re awesome!!!!
ㄴ It’s ridiculous for such a crazy person to meet people outside the forum.
====
Observing the clues in the corner of the 11th-floor staircase, I noticed that Mariel had been absent for a long time.
It was quite a long time for her to claim to be seeking mental stability after the ascent.
Considering that I find comfort in the forum when it comes to my mental state, it seemed there might be another reason.
Fortunately, unlike the three other Sub-Managers, she had a solution to go and fix things herself if there was any malfunction.
“No way!”
“What’s wrong?”
“If you go outside, the wicked Glesia and Mittier guys are targeting you, didn’t they say that!”
Agnes used her whole body to block me from going outside, preventing me from going out.
To me, it seemed like a desperate gesture to monopolize me from other Schools that had sent numerous meeting requests since coming out of the Great Labyrinth.
But I wasn’t the type to stop just because some disease like Glesia and Mittier was blocking my way, unless it was a modern ice dispenser developed by the research department, similar to that, even if there was a disease similar to it.
Moreover, since the start of the ascent, my movements were not easily swayed, even in front of the top floors where the Seven Sages were.
“Master, you said you would take good care of me, but you haven’t even looked at me since I joined the Haeju School.”
“Uh, didn’t you join without saying a word? Besides, we’re busy here too…”
“I learned all the magic from Senior Prina, and the support I received until the end of the Magic Festival was just the Spirit Stone I obtained with my own skills, right?”
“Hae, the Haeju School always lacks resources…”
“The Labyrinth came up with Glesia and Mittier. They pushed and pulled each other. There was no camaraderie at all.”
“Gah! Stop it!”
“But wouldn’t it be nice to hear what they’re talking about over there? They say they let their members use the facilities on the training floor for free, but our lounge is just tucked away in a corner like this…”
On the training floor, there were basic facilities such as libraries and training rooms for each faction.
Large Schools occupied one-third or several floors connected together.
However, Haeju School’s share was only the emergency exit staircase used by outsiders.
Even that wasn’t entirely ours, and we had to step aside when others came up and down.
“Uh, excuse me, could you please move aside for a moment? I need to clean.”
“Oh, sorry. Anyway, while I’m on the training floors, I can only use facilities from other schools, so give up.”
“Ah, I understand!! Well, then it’s magic! I’ll teach you magic, so don’t do anything like transfer! Pleaseeee!!”
Hanging onto my leg, Agnes, who had been dragged down four steps, surrendered unconditionally.
She straightened her robe, shook off the dust, and coughed to show her dignity.
“I told you before, if you come up to the 10th floor, I’ll teach you a lot. Seeing you follow the master’s words like the sky, it seems you’re ready to learn the vision of the Haeju School now.”
“Can I just get rid of this cursed name and switch to Glesia?”
“D-Don’t worry! By the time you master these things, the trials on the training floor won’t be anything to you!”
I wonder if my threat to throw away my stuff and leave was effective.
Agnes said she would teach me the seasonal traditions of the Haeju School, so I listened to her, while sitting in a corner of the stairs where the cleaners were busy, and we talked privately.
A thin voice whispering in my ear was ticklish.
“The interference you’re currently mastering has three types: Reverse Transformation, Dispel, and Revision.”
Reverse Transformation reverses the opponent’s magic.
Dispel eliminates the magic itself.
And Revision converts the formula, turning it into a new spell.
Both seemed tricky to master.
At the moment, I could only interfere with the First Level at best, or the Second Level for the Ice Level, without using Mystery.
“It still seems difficult for my level.”
Upon hearing my words, she shook her head and extended three soft fingers.
Folding two of them, she explained that it wasn’t as difficult as I thought.
“At the core, it’s all about understanding everything as one. What you need is to find three collaborators to master these three techniques.”
“Collaborators?”
“Any school will do. It would be ideal if they were mid-level or higher, with a reputation as mages, but it’s not necessary. Gather three people who are willing to share their magic with you willingly.”
She said that the more we extract the secrets of Reverse Transformation, Dispel, and Revision from their magic, the more powerful the interference device would become.
Listening to Agnes’ words, two concerns came to mind.
“If the magic is dispelled, won’t it affect the caster?”
“It depends on the nature of your interference. But I’m sure there won’t be any problem. You’re not a bad person, and most importantly, you haven’t used any curses so far.”
As she sniffed at my neck and smelled, Agnes made an impressed expression.
It seemed that the fog created from the reality of enjoying the forum or the core of the Labyrinth didn’t count in her sense of smell.
Indeed, it was unimaginable for a person as kind as me to curse someone.
But I had a separate issue that troubled me more.
“But, Master.”
“Yes?”
“What if I can’t find friends willing to share their magic?”
Upon hearing my words, Agnes avoided my gaze slightly.
“Well, that’s why curses are the foundation of Haeju.”
It seemed I couldn’t learn.
I realized why Prina had so much hatred towards the insiders.
*
“Sharing magic” is a highly sensitive issue regardless of school.
Because even one ingredient or method associated with magic is essential to all mages’ lives.
It’s not an exaggeration; the magic families known as ‘pure-blood’ or ‘white families’ in the Tower have passed down the accumulated magic through generations, establishing their families.
So, instead of simply dispelling magic once with the interference device, receiving all the elements was very difficult.
I couldn’t choose Sera or Arthur, who revered and feared me, as collaborators.
Because they wouldn’t be able to freely share the magic of their affiliated schools.
So, my first choice was Mariel.
Unlike other mages, she already had independent Mystery.
Although she might not be able to establish her own magic skills yet, she would be able to produce at least one during her time on the training floor.
“Mariel, are you inside?”
“…”
“I’m coming in.”
She had been missing since coming out of the Labyrinth and was found quietly lying in the dormitory bed.
She ignored all the alarms ringing from the Witch Note placed beside her, even with the blanket covering her head.
“Even if you keep getting calls, can you just ignore them?”
“It’s not about the Supervisor who lied to me for so long….”
Most of them were sent by me.
I sent a few messages, but there was no reply, so she excitedly aggroed as usual with the ‘SuperconductorSilverHairedGirl’.
Even while impersonating someone else, topping the popularity vote within the forum and securing a solo concert schedule in the Great Labyrinth, she didn’t show her face. It seemed she was deeply hurt.
The reason was simply because I hadn’t told her that I was the one behind it.
“I’m disappointed. Supervisor didn’t say anything to me until now.”
“Is it about the Dark Forest? I just glanced at the job posting board.”
“No! Surely, I secretly laughed at you, feeling superior to you over the years because you couldn’t climb past the starting floor for five years! It’s unbearably humiliating!!!”
“…”
You must have thought that was the case if it were you.
Do you think of someone else as a narrow-minded and despicable human being?
Whether I wasted five years or ten, if you had focused more on your own growth, you wouldn’t have been a burden in the Great Labyrinth.
Of course, I had laughed heartily at her regression ability, which was more useless than imagined.
“Doesn’t everyone have at least one secret?”
“Not everyone’s as dark and sinister as Supervisor. Especially, I’m clean and transparent.”
Whether she wanted emotional communion with me or genuine comfort, I didn’t know.
Perhaps it was both, but the more I watched, the more I wanted to torment her.
I lifted the top corner of the blanket that she was spinning around and grabbed the Witch Note on the desk.
“SuperGeniusBlondeGirl? Were you a Sub-Manager of the forum by any chance?”
“Eeek!? D-don’t look at that! Forget it, right now!!”
In less than a second, Mariel, wearing only underwear, jumped out from under the blanket.
Who doesn’t have secrets?
