Stepping out of the carriage, I walked outside with Instructor Esta for a stroll—
“Are you ready?”
“Yes. We need to go check.”
That wasn’t exactly the reason we came out.
Though I felt a little sorry for those still in the carriage, we were the ‘advance team’, scouting out the location we would need to clear tomorrow morning.
“Can you sense the mana?”
“Yes. I can feel it. Both the location and the entrance.”
As we walked casually, waiting for the right moment to slip away from Ludmila’s awareness inside the carriage—
“Come out.”
Instructor Esta summoned a unicorn, then reached her hand toward me.
“Get on.”
“Am I allowed to?”
“You’ve already shown your face. Unless—are you not a virgin?”
“What kind of crude joke is that?”
Without hesitation, I climbed onto the unicorn behind Instructor Esta.
Normally, when a man and a woman ride together, the man would take the reins. However, since this unicorn was Esta’s summoned beast, I didn’t take the reins but instead held onto Instructor Esta’s waist while pointing forward.
“I’ll guide us with mana. It should only take about five minutes.”
“That’s quick.”
The unicorn galloped forward.
If someone saw a pure white horse dashing through the darkness, they might be startled. But the Barony of Balzac was such a remote countryside that there was barely anyone around.
“Phoenix.”
“Yes, Instructor.”
“Earlier, you looked troubled. That wasn’t an act, was it?”
I wondered what she was getting at.
“Weren’t you about to bring up the story of the Ant Nest? The trials left behind by the Four Founders for their descendants?”
“That would be an interesting discussion, but right now, my disciple’s concerns take priority.”
“Is that so?”
“It’s good to share your worries with people your age, but given your… rather unique position, it might not be so easy for you.”
“I apologize if I disappoint you, but I have something akin to a Giga Phoenix growing inside me.”
“Giga Phoenix?”
“Yes. If I even start to waver, there’s a being that immediately straightens out my resolve. You could call it a deity of magic—a Demon King of sorts.”
That would be Changyeom.
Not some burly, bearded old man, but a woman with an abundant mana pool and a beautiful smile.
“Is that so? That’s a bit… unfortunate. As your teacher, as an adult, I wanted to help in some way.”
“You’re already doing enough as an adult, Instructor Esta. The fact that you’re here with me during the most dangerous times is why I can confidently do what I need to.”
Even when an S-rank enemy appeared, I could step forward without hesitation, knowing I had Instructor Esta beside me.
“If Instructor Esta weren’t here—”
“Would you have stepped up yourself?”
“…”
The unicorn came to a brief stop.
“What do you think?”
“Come on now. If someone heard this, they’d think I have S-rank combat power like you or Marchioness Ludvecia.”
“You’re not S-rank.”
Instructor Esta lifted one finger from the reins and pointed toward the sky.
“Or am I wrong?”
“Instructor.”
“Let me make a little guess. Just a wild fantasy.”
“What is it?”
“The Headmaster of Esdinas Academy is currently missing. And…”
“I’m not the Headmaster.”
“I see. Just a joke. No way you’d be the Headmaster.”
The unicorn started walking again at a relaxed pace.
“It’s more believable that Marchioness Ludvecia’s ‘ten-year abduction to the Demon World’ theory is true.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. The world dismisses it as ‘Marchioness Ludvecia making up some ridiculous excuse to adopt a promising Academy graduate as her son,’ but who cares?”
“Right, who cares?”
Whether I was Regif Habsderk or Phoenix Ludvecia, my duty remained the same.
“The future.”
“…”
“The future you’re preparing for… is it even worse than what I can imagine? Worse than those past memories recorded in fairy tales?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t experienced it firsthand, so I can’t say for sure.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes, I am.”
How difficult will the worst-case Apocalypse be?
It was something I had never experienced, neither as a gamer nor as Phoenix.
The closest approximation would be when I relived battles similar to when those from the surface were banished to the Demon World.
“An S-rank monster. Rattatosk and Gerrquan Wiperus. How does it compare to them?”
“Hard to say. It might be more difficult than all the trials left behind by the Four Founders combined.”
“…Is there still a lot of time left before such an Apocalypse arrives?”
Instructor Esta flinched.
Having cleared three floors of the Four Founders’ trials herself, she probably had a rough idea of how challenging it would be if all of them were combined.
And seeing me, seemingly relaxed despite the looming disaster, likely made her uneasy.
“It’s fine. No matter when the Apocalypse comes, I’m preparing thoroughly.”
“Is that so.”
“Making bread, baking cookies, giving you occasional massages—if I told you all of these were part of my Apocalypse preparations, would you believe me?”
“You.”
Instructor Esta turned her head back to look at me.
“You can handle it alone, can’t you?”
“…Who knows?”
“You could stop the Apocalypse alone, but considering your personality and past actions, wouldn’t the collateral damage be enormous?”
“…”
“For example, even if you prevent the Apocalypse, half the continent might be wiped out. You could technically say you ‘stopped the Apocalypse,’ but at what cost?”
“Hmm.”
Half, huh?
“Think of it in a positive way.”
“Positive, you say… So the real issue is the aftermath?”
“Well, something like that.”
I buried my face against Instructor Esta’s shoulder.
“The truth about the Four Founders, the reality of the world—once the things I know come to light, this world will be shaken beyond control. The very foundation of humanity as we know it will crumble.”
“…”
“That’s why it’s better like this for now. I’ll deal with my own worries and complaints on my own, so Instructor, please take care of the girls.”
“I don’t mind lending you a shoulder.”
Instructor Esta patted my head with her hand.
“I know you’re doing your best. But if things get truly difficult, if the weight becomes unbearable, talk to me. People—especially men—need a space where they can let out their emotions.”
“As much as I need to. Ah, looks like we’re almost there.”
I pulled away from Instructor Esta, dismounted the unicorn, and gestured around us.
A wide clearing in the forest.
The kind of place where, if one were to camp, they would light a bonfire in the middle. There were even traces of charcoal and remains of past travelers and slash-and-burn farmers who had camped here.
“Does it look familiar?”
“…It does.”
Instructor Esta dismissed the unicorn and examined the clearing before pointing downward.
“The area where trees haven’t grown is similar… No, it’s identical. If someone set fire to this place hundreds of years ago, that might explain why only grass grows here instead of trees, but…”
“That’s possible. But there’s one odd thing.”
I lightly tapped the ground with my foot.
“A place this lush with grass—and yet, not a single insect. Does that make sense?”
“…Interesting. So that’s the peculiar feature?”
Instructor Esta snapped her fingers.
“If one of the Four Founders sealed this place with magic, the [Sage] is the most likely suspect. And since it’s a seal left by the Four Founders, the probability of living creatures passing over it is remarkably low.”
“Yes. These weeds don’t care about such things and will put down roots regardless, but even they haven’t grown very tall. Their only source of nutrients is the soil.”
If insects were to come and die here, they could at least become fertilizer. But no insects could approach this place.
“They sense it by instinct. That beneath this place, there lies an S-rank dungeon.”
“…”
“Is something wrong?”
“No, I was just thinking.”
Instructor Esta tilted her head.
“Why didn’t I realize this until you pointed it out?”
“…”
“From your expression, I take it this isn’t just a simple case of me overlooking something. Is there a reason?”
“There is.”
I pointed at the sky.
“What if—though we don’t know who did it—there’s magic cast upon this land itself?”
“…”
“A magic that forces even S-rank individuals to perceive it as something perfectly natural and not suspicious at all.”
“…How did you break through that and recognize it?”
“Who knows? Maybe that kind of magic doesn’t work on me, or maybe there’s someone who wants even a fraction of the truth to be revealed through me.”
The truth.
Both.
“But more importantly, let’s confirm it. Shall we go in right now?”
“The seal?”
“It’s a teleportation formation. The moment we step on it, we’ll be transported downward.”
“That’s… just like the trial.”
Instructor Esta drew her sword.
“Let’s see how much it has aged over 500 years. How different the current trials are from the ones the Four Founders once faced. As an instructor, I have to conduct a preliminary investigation.”
“Understood. Then… let’s go.”
I lightly stepped on the ground and let my mana flow.
Flash.
The moment blue mana flickered, a magic circle appeared and swallowed both me and Instructor Esta.
In the blink of an eye, we were teleported underground.
And down there—
“…This is—”
“Wow.”
A sight that left us both speechless.
“If Yurha saw this, wouldn’t she have a heart attack?”
“She probably would.”
The Ant Nest, 500 years later.
Deep underground.
‘Underground.’
Closer to the Demon World than the surface.
Crack… Crackle.
The creatures that had been mere giant ants 500 years ago now emerged one by one, their bodies covered in jewel-like magic stones, forming an exoskeleton tougher than ever.
Radiant with all colors of the spectrum, these subterranean beings contained even more mana than the beasts found on the surface.
The truth.
The Four Founders could never have anticipated this, but this place was, in essence, a dungeon designed by the game developers.
‘Dungeon for farming.’
S-rank exclusive.
“Be careful, Instructor Esta.”
As I gathered my mana, illuminating the surroundings, the ants’ bodies shimmered in the light.
“Their exoskeletons… they’re at least as tough as diamonds.”
The name of these monstrous ants—
‘Diamond Ants’.
