After Elise left to get Uls’s food, Karan demanded an explanation from Ilaria.
“I’ll explain tomorrow after we rest, Karan.”
Karan pulled back the tent curtain and looked inside. There was a bed, a table, and it was possible to wash up briefly.
This was good enough to stay for a few days without much discomfort.
Karan sat on the edge of the table. Tired, he grabbed his right shoulder with his left hand and stretched his neck.
“I don’t see the magicians.”
“You’ve already noticed that? Your observation skills are impressive.”
“Where did they go? Did they leave to enjoy a party by themselves?”
“They entered the gate.”
“Looks like they’re trying to earn their keep.”
Karan chuckled. The magicians he saw at Gate 2 were lazy and stupid, but it seems these mages are different.
“Sigh, I hope they’re actually earning their keep…”
Ilaria’s face suddenly darkened.
“Why? Is there something to worry about?”
“It’s funny to worry about magicians, but it’s been quite a while since they went in.”
“The path wasn’t cleared at all.”
Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Karan straightened up. He stroked his chin.
“That’s why I’m worried. It feels like the gate swallowed the magicians.”
“You mean they’re all dead?”
“Let’s hope not.”
Although it was Iris’s unilateral operation, if all the magicians die in Magnus’s gate, they won’t be able to avoid criticism from the Ivory Tower.
“Have you sent in your soldiers?”
“We’ve pushed in, but we keep getting pushed back. We couldn’t find any trace of the magicians. But it seems they went quite deep.”
“So that’s why the atmosphere was gloomy.”
Karan nodded in understanding, recalling the defeated look of the Magnus soldiers.
“We’ll wait until sunrise and then think about our next move. You should rest too. Starting tomorrow, it’s going to be hectic…”
“Aaaaaargh!”
A sharp scream interrupted Ilaria’s farewell. Then, a long wolf howl spread.
“Elise!”
Karan rushed out of the tent. The curtain fluttered wildly. In the distance, he could see Elise’s robe as she chased after Uls.
“Your Highness! Uls suddenly ran off. Miss Elise immediately followed.”
Haltbin reported the situation.
“I’ll follow them. You wait here.”
There was no need to figure out where Uls was going. Screams erupted everywhere Uls passed.
Elise’s desperate voice crying out, ‘Don’t kill them!’ could also be faintly heard.
“I’m coming with you.”
Ilaria gripped her sword tightly.
****
“Uls! Where are you going? Uls, please stop!”
Elise shouted earnestly, but Uls, excited by something, kept running straight ahead.
“Aah! Wh-what is that?”
“Is it a monster?”
“No! It’s a wolf! It’s from Tetris! Oh, I’m sorry!”
Elise kept bowing to the soldiers who were picking up weapons at the sight of Uls.
The soldiers looked strangely at the wolf causing a commotion out of nowhere and at Elise, but they didn’t readily harm them.
Elise continued to shout and bow without rest. Even as her breath reached her chin and her heart felt like it would burst, she chased after Uls.
But despite Elise’s efforts, the distance between her and Uls kept growing.
What if she loses it? What if it encounters a monster?
Though it had been a short time, she had grown quite attached to Uls while taking care of its food and watching it care for its cubs.
If something happened to Uls…
‘Don’t think like that.’
She absolutely can’t lose it.
Elise pushed her increasingly weakening legs even harder.
Fortunately, she didn’t lose sight of Uls. He stopped in front of Gate 3.
“Huff… huff… Uls… why here…?”
Grrrrrr.
Uls bristled, staring into the gate. It showed even stronger hostility than during the hunting festival.
“Uls, be good. Wait just a moment.”
Elise lowered her posture, not approaching carelessly.
But Uls didn’t wait for her. After glancing at Elise, he kicked off the ground once more. Uls leapt into the gate as if flying.
“Uls!”
Elise followed him into the gate.
****
Deep in the cave, a lump twitched and moved. Soon, an arm shot out from the lump. After a moment, the lump heaved and vomited something out.
What the lump spat out was a person, Iris. She was on her hands and knees, panting, looking like a drenched rat.
“Huff… gasp.”
Water dripped from all her orifices. Her lungs, shrunken from not breathing for so long, expanded suddenly with the incoming air, causing excruciating pain.
Iris clutched her ribs and turned to sit on the ground.
She couldn’t tell where she was or what had happened to the magicians who came with her.
With darkness all around, Iris gathered her strength and cast a spell.
“…Light.”
A round sphere formed at the tip of the wand she was holding. Then, bright light spread from the sphere.
Iris squinted, then opened her eyes wide once they got used to the light.
“Is there… no one?”
The only thing around her was the strange liquid monster she had just killed. Should it be called a balloon monster?
The monster, which had only been a maw, had spewed out everything inside after Iris tore its belly, leaving only a shell.
While it wasn’t a monster with lethal offensive power, it couldn’t be considered weak since one couldn’t breathe the moment they were swallowed.
And that liquid inside its belly…
Iris sighed, looking at her clothes full of holes.
If she had stayed inside just a little longer, she would have dissolved without a trace.
‘What kind of monster is that?’
It looked just like a water bag, but it was a tricky monster. She shouldn’t have underestimated it.
As her shock subsided, her strength recovered. Iris quickly drank several potions from her waist.
As energy reached her fingertips and toes, Iris immediately cast a cleansing spell on herself.
The monster’s fluids that had been on her body disappeared completely.
Only then did Iris have the leisure to review her situation.
Where she was, how she ended up here.
Iris had jumped into the gate as soon as she heard from Ilaria about Elise’s expected arrival.
In her haste, she poured powerful magic from the start. With the magicians supporting her well from behind, she entered the gate’s core faster than usual.
But there was no support from Magnus. They failed to keep up again.
“Incompetent fools.”
There were more incompetent ones. The magicians who followed her. Their whereabouts were unknown.
Either dead or fled.
It was one or the other.
Iris was alone in the gate. She had to decide whether to move forward or wait for reinforcements.
Leaving wasn’t an option… because monsters would have filled the path she came through while she struggled.
The monsters in Gate 3 had weak offensive power but incredible regeneration.
‘One might think they’re resetting.’
That’s impossible. There’s no magic that can turn back time.
‘I must be really exhausted.’
She needed to conserve even the energy used for such futile thoughts.
So, move forward or wait?
Iris didn’t ponder long before standing up, dusting herself off. The empty potion bottles near her rolled away, making noise.
‘That was my last potion.’
Realizing this, fear washed over her. Iris’s body trembled like an aspen leaf.
She had to survive, achieve merit, advance to that high position, she didn’t want to die.
All sorts of negative thoughts rushed in. Iris, now pale, leaned against the damp wall.
It felt like fear was choking her throat. Iris gasped for breath. Suddenly even the air felt insufficient.
I must live.
I want to live.
An intense desire surged, but her trembling body wouldn’t calm easily.
“Is anyone there?”
Iris searched for people, knowing it was futile.
“Bora! Dori! Dubi! Nana! Bo!”
She called out the names of the magicians who came with her one by one. But no answer came.
‘What should I do.’
Though called a future sage, Iris was just a child who wasn’t even married. She was a naive person who had only been pampered at home and never experienced hardship.
She was smart and cunning enough to look after her own interests, but she lacked the strength to overcome when backed into a corner.
Tears soon welled up in Iris’s large eyes. She cried like a child, tears falling steadily.
‘Someone, anyone, please save me. I’ll do anything. Just get me out of here. Please…’
Iris prayed desperately. Then she heard someone approaching.
‘As expected, God is on my side!’
Iris’s face quickly filled with arrogance. But her smile didn’t last long.
Grrrr.
What appeared before her was a silver wolf. The wolf rushed at her as soon as it spotted Iris.
“Wh-what, Shield!”
Faced with the tremendous force, Iris barely managed to cast a shield to protect herself.
Paws as big as Iris’s face pounded on the shield.
Is it normal for a beast to appear in the gate?
Iris prepared a counterattack spell without time to judge.
Whether beast or monster, it attacked her, so there was no need to spare it.
Iris muttered, casting a spell. A huge spear appeared in midair. When she spoke the activation word, that spear would pierce the wolf’s belly.
‘This should be interesting.’
Iris was about to speak the activation word with a cruel smile when-
“Uls, stop!”
Elise appeared.
