Proof (1)
Looks like it won't be an easy one today either.
Woojin looked downward.
A steep slope like a cliff.
Because of it, Woojin and his companions were sliding endlessly underground as if riding a giant water slide.
They were accelerating more and more.
"Waaaahhh!!"
"Kyaaaah!!"
As their speed increased, so did their screams.
It was complete chaos.
Apparently none of them were used to falling like this. Woojin, on the other hand, remained calm. He had experienced situations like this several times recently.
First, I should secure Claire.
Grab!
He reached out and seized Claire's wrist.
Pulled toward him, Claire wrapped her arms tightly around Woojin. Her grip was even more intense than usual.
It was pure survival instinct.
Like someone drowning clutching onto a life ring.
This way I won't lose her.
If things went wrong, they might get separated. Woojin continued descending while holding Claire firmly.
He glanced around.
"Waa—woaaah!!"
Duran came into view, flailing his arms and legs while screaming wildly.
Helping him would be difficult; he was too far away.
…He'll manage on his own.
A great Tower Master like him probably didn't need help.
While Woojin watched the situation—
The end soon came into sight.
The slide led to a large pool of water.
Splash!!
They all plunged into the water.
Woojin kicked upward with Claire and resurfaced. After taking a couple of breaths, he checked on the others.
"Is everyone alright?"
"I'm fine."
"We're okay as well."
No one seemed injured or missing.
They all swam forward together.
The paladin Theodore muttered in surprise.
"This water… strangely enough, the body floats very well."
"You're right."
Even though Theodore wore heavy armor, he floated easily on the surface.
It seemed the buoyancy of the water had been adjusted so visitors wouldn't drown.
Thanks to that, Woojin's group safely climbed onto dry ground.
Quite a considerate environment, all things considered.
"For a trial, it's rather kind. They fed us well before entering, and nothing dangerous has happened yet."
When Woojin said that, Duran—who was wringing water from his clothes—snorted.
"Kind? Nonsense… it's in poor taste. Playing with people like this."
"Still better than traps."
Just look at that slide.
If a blade had popped out midway, someone unlucky might have been cut clean in half—like a fish jumping onto a knife stuck in a chopping board.
When Woojin said that, Duran shuddered as if imagining the scene.
"Damn it, that makes my stomach churn. I hope the person who designed this place didn't have an imagination as vivid as yours."
Theodore spoke up.
"We should form a proper formation. What we need now is preparation, not prayer."
"Not very paladin-like of you."
"We can't always rely on the Goddess."
A reasonable statement.
The group immediately agreed and formed up.
Theodore, with his sturdy shields, took the lead.
Behind him walked Fabian, Duran, and Claire, while Woojin guarded the rear.
The front and rear were the most dangerous positions, so the two warriors protected the group from both sides.
No need for torches.
Despite being deep underground, the surroundings were clearly visible.
White crystals embedded throughout the walls emitted light.
Thanks to that, the group moved forward without hesitation.
As they followed the path—
Before long, they encountered a door.
A curtain of blue light.
The same kind of barrier they had passed through earlier.
Scratch, scratch—
Golden letters appeared on the surface.
—First Trial.
Duran clicked his tongue.
"It seems they have no intention of ending this quickly."
"Looks that way."
Since it was called the first trial, there would likely be a second and third—perhaps even more.
That was probably why they had been given such a hearty meal beforehand.
For Woojin, that was good news.
Looks like we'll get to have fun for a while.
Thinking that, he advanced with the others.
When he placed his hand on the barrier and pushed, his body passed through it easily.
What awaited them on the other side was—
A wide open space like a training arena.
And dozens of suits of knight armor standing in rows along the walls.
An armor display?
He had seen similar things in Cindy's mansion.
In noble estates or wealthy households, decorative suits of armor were often displayed along the corridors.
They looked magnificent.
Full plate armor that completely covered the body.
Such suits were expensive masterpieces and difficult to obtain.
Maybe I should take one as a souvenir.
Just as Woojin was eyeing them—
Scratch, scratch—
Golden letters appeared in the air.
—Achieve victory.
Short and simple.
At the same time, the suits of armor all raised their heads.
Blue light flickered eerily inside the eye slits of their helmets.
Living Armor.
Animated suits of armor—guardians often found in ancient ruins.
Shrrring!
They drew their swords.
Clanking as they advanced, the steel-armored figures approached.
Seeing them, Duran snorted dismissively.
"So this is the trial? How trivial."
Snap!
The Tower Master snapped his fingers.
The Living Armors at the front suddenly froze in place—
Then they slowly lifted into the air, as if grabbed by invisible hands.
Crash!
Duran swung his hand downward.
Following the motion, the armors suspended in the air slammed into the ground and shattered.
Over a dozen Living Armors were defeated in an instant.
But those standing behind stepped forward and quickly filled the gap.
There were many enemies.
They keep increasing.
The floor opened up, and more Living Armors continued rising from an underground chamber.
They were being endlessly reinforced.
It felt like a defense game.
There was no way to determine the exact number of enemies.
Fabian spoke cautiously.
"It would be best to conserve your mana. We'll handle the minor enemies."
"Understood."
They decided to save the Tower Master's mana for later. They had brought a few mana recovery potions, but their efficiency wasn't particularly great.
Claire and Fabian opened their books.
The two mages began rapidly chanting spells.
"Fulmen, findit, scinditur…"
Shhh—
The grimoires glowed with a deep blue light.
The pages flipped rapidly, and the diagrams and rune letters written on them seemed to leap out of the book itself.
High-level magic?
It was Woojin's first time seeing it in person.
Apparently the two mages were cooperating to cast the spell together.
A blue current swirled violently, and Claire's long hair writhed like a snake.
Since the mages needed protection while casting, Woojin and Theodore stepped forward.
Clang! Clang!
Theodore struck the two shields he held in his hands together.
The sound resembled striking flint.
As he did, silvery divine energy condensed like dew along the edges of the shields.
He's strong too.
The sound of the shields colliding was thunderous.
While Woojin rubbed his ears, Theodore charged forward with both shields overlapping.
Boom! Crash!
He slammed into the enemies at the front, knocking them over.
Then he swung the shields in a wide sweep.
The nearby enemies flew away like bowling pins.
It was a fierce fighting style, like an enraged bull.
Watching him, Woojin inwardly admired him.
"He's quite a powerful fighter."
Paladins who believed in Asella, the Goddess of Devotion, never neglected their training.
The stronger they became, the more devotion they could offer.
Devotion, in their belief, was a sacrifice made by the strong for the sake of the weak.
That was the creed of Asella's paladins.
At this rate, I might just watch the whole fight.
Theodore was rampaging so fiercely that all the Living Armors' attention was focused on him.
Because of that, Woojin had little to do.
Like cleaning up leftovers, he dealt with the enemies Theodore missed.
Boom!
When Woojin slammed his fist down, a Living Armor's head crumpled and collapsed into its chest cavity.
Then Woojin kicked the armor away.
BOOOOM!
The armor shot away like a cannonball, smashing into several other enemies along its path.
After providing support like that a few times—
…The spell is nearly complete.
Claire glanced toward him.
The two mages had almost finished casting.
Duran gave an order.
"Theodore! Fall back!"
Following the command, Theodore immediately withdrew from the enemy line.
Seeing that, Claire and Fabian shouted the spell's activation words.
"Fulgar, resonate!"
Resonant lightning.
Brilliant blue lightning erupted.
A thick bolt struck the leading Living Armor and then split into several branches, jumping to other enemies.
As the lightning split, its thickness visibly decreased.
But its speed seemed to increase.
The bolts raced back and forth, spreading through the battlefield and tearing through the enemies.
It looked as if dozens of blue threads were sewing the enemies together like stitches.
Crackle! Zzzzt!
The armors trembled violently under the lightning—
Then collapsed one by one.
They waited to see if more enemies would appear, but nothing happened.
It seemed the lightning had spread all the way into the underground chamber and wiped out the remaining Living Armors.
Scratch, scratch—
Golden letters once again appeared in the air.
—Trial cleared.
With the sound of old gears grinding together, a wall opened to reveal a new path.
Woojin spoke in admiration.
"That was incredible… wiping them all out in a single spell."
"It's not that impressive. Resonant Lightning isn't very practical in real combat."
"Really?"
Wasn't that being too humble?
Seeing Woojin's reaction, Claire smiled and added an explanation.
"You may have noticed already, but Living Armors aren't actually living creatures."
"I'll show you."
Saying that, Claire bent down and grabbed a Living Armor's helmet.
Crack!
She twisted it off with her bare hands.
Like crushing a tin can, she crumpled the steel helmet effortlessly.
Thanks to receiving karma from Woojin, her physical strength had become far beyond normal.
It was like watching a strongman performance.
Soon, Claire pulled something out from inside the helmet.
It was an amethyst engraved with strange diagrams and symbols—almost like the inner components of an electronic device.
Claire continued explaining.
"See? Something strange is inside. Living Armors are artifacts created by ancient mages."
Resonant Lightning looked flashy, but its raw destructive power was somewhat weak.
However, it had an extremely wide range and delivered rapid, precise electrical shocks.
That made it perfect for destroying the mana circuits of Living Armors.
Hearing that, Woojin nodded.
"That's fascinating. So the spell was originally created specifically to defeat enemies like this?"
"Exactly."
Magic was always created according to necessity.
To research ancient ruins, mages had developed their own methods for hunting such constructs.
…I wonder if I could imitate that with a firestorm.
Woojin decided he might need to research it later.
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