Chapter 33…………………………………………..
“Ross!”
“What is it, Mas?”
Sapheiros, who had been inspecting the collapsed passage, hurried over at Adamas’s call.
Adamas sighed as he kicked at the remains of the golem before him.
“The stone scorpions are completely pulverized… I can’t tell anything.”
“Ah… sorry about that.”
“It’s fine! It couldn’t be helped. They were trying to protect me. How about you? Can you see an exit?”
“It’s completely blocked with rocks. I don’t think we can get out that way. There has to be another exit, right?”
Sapheiros frowned.
“Let’s hope so. Tina said these giant stone scorpions fell from the sky. And the passage we came through is too narrow for a giant stone scorpion to pass.”
“What if they were pushed aside by some protective magic, like ants or scorpions?”
“If magic could move something this big, the stone ants or scorpions wouldn’t have been that small. At the very least, there should be a separate path for this huge golem to get out.”
“True. If they could freely control golems this size, opening a salt mine would’ve been easy.”
“Exactly. My guess is, the bigger it is, the harder it is to control. It becomes violent, like the golems in the marquisate.”
“That makes sense.”
Sapheiros nodded, recalling that the rampage of the stone scorpions resembled the behavior of the marquisate’s earth golems.
“Ah, right. Tina should be fine, right?”
“If it’s those three, they can make it out of here and reach the marquisate. The problem is us.”
“What do you mean?”
“Other than this collapsed area, there might be hidden exits, right?”
“Probably.”
“If there’s hidden magic, like when the ants ran along the walls, we won’t find the exit easily.”
Adamas nodded, agreeing with Sapheiros.
It was a grim situation. Still, they couldn’t wait forever for the ants or scorpions to reappear.
Privetina and the rest, too—they couldn’t afford to be away from the marquisate for long.
“Haah…”
Adamas sighed, staring at his hands. He wondered if any of his gems could help, but none seemed quite right.
If they tried a reckless attack to clear a path and the tunnel collapsed… that would be disastrous.
“Should we keep searching here? Or check Kanil’s room a bit more…”
His stomach growled mid-sentence.
“Ahem. So, the important thing is…”
His face flushed red as he struggled to continue speaking, and Sapheiros quietly pulled some jerky from his bag.
“Let’s sit down and think.”
“Sorry… I was a bit exhausted.”
Adamas slumped against the stone wall. Sapheiros quietly smiled at him.
Amid the wide chamber, with the shattered remains of the stone scorpions, they chewed jerky and shared water.
“Just rest a moment, Mas.”
“Huh? No, I’m fine.”
Relieved from the immediate danger, Adamas felt his body sag. As he tried to lift himself, Sapheiros gently pressed on his shoulder.
“It’s okay. Take a break.”
Adamas felt as if Sapheiros’s words were magical. His eyes slowly closed.
I have to find the exit quickly… I need to join Privetina’s group…
Through the fading vision, he saw Sapheiros quietly smiling.
—Here. Here.
Adamas’s eyes opened at some voice calling him.
Rubbing his heavy eyelids, he looked around.
The first thing in his unclear vision was Sapheiros’s back.
Sapheiros was inspecting the collapsed passage through which Privetina’s group had gone.
That’s strange. I definitely heard someone whisper… but Sapheiros couldn’t have spoken to me, right?
Adamas scratched his head and closed his eyes again.
Count to ten. Then open them immediately and help Sapheiros.
—Wake up. Why are you sleeping again, lazybones!
“W-what?!”
Cold sweat broke out on Adamas’s back.
In the deserted chamber, a voice not belonging to Sapheiros spoke.
No… no! This can’t be!
A ghost? I can’t accept that, even in this cursed marquisate!
Adamas bolted upright.
“Ugh! No! I said NO!”
“Mas! Calm down! What’s wrong?”
Sapheiros came running from afar.
“Ross! A ghost! A ghost!”
“What?”
“It spoke to me! This desert… it’s haunted!”
“…Haah, Adamas.”
Sapheiros gently held Adamas’s shoulder and spoke firmly.
“It’s just the two of us here.”
“R-right… yeah.”
Adamas frantically scanned the surroundings.
In the roughly 100-meter-wide chamber, the shattered stone scorpions were in the center, and the entrance they came through was already blocked with rocks.
“Right… it’s just the two of us.”
“Must have been a dream.”
“Hmm… I guess I was tired.”
—Don’t treat me like a ghost.
“Haha. Sounds like I’m still hearing nonsense.”
“Lean back and rest a little.”
“No, I’ll help too. I was checking if we could move the rocks at the entrance, right?”
—Don’t ignore me.
“…Shut up! We’re talking! Don’t interrupt!”
Adamas shouted.
—I can’t believe he yelled at me.
“Well, he deserves it. Waking me up so noisily! Interrupting my conversation! Ghosts are way too chatty!”
—I am no mere ghost!
“Don’t lie! You’re not even visible!”
Adamas’s voice echoed throughout the chamber.
“…Excuse me, Mas.”
Sapheiros frowned and approached, placing his hand against Adamas’s forehead.
“Strange… no fever. What’s going on?”
“Uh?”
“Why do you keep talking to yourself, Mas?”
Adamas groaned, holding his head.
“Ah… you can’t hear it, can you? This voice? Of course, no human could make a voice like this.”
It was a dual voice: childlike and clear, but interspersed with bursts of an adult’s sharp tone.
—I-it’s rude to call me a strange voice! I am a high-ranking earth spirit!
“Wow. The ghost’s pretending to be a spirit.”
—I am a real spirit.
Adamas spun around and thrust his fist toward the source of the voice.
“Listen, ghost! My mana fits in this fist! You think a spirit’s voice can reach me? That scam only works on fools.”
Spirit? Ridiculous.
This ghost was clearly observing him from a distance.
“Think I haven’t tried spirit contracts before? Oh heavens! After nineteen years on this earth, I’ve seen ghosts pretend to be spirits too.”
—I… I… make a contract with me. I’ll show you clearly.
“Ridiculous. Why would I make a contract with a ghost?”
—Hmph. Don’t you know how to make one?
“Hah, are you mocking me? I graduated from the National Francisco Academy. An earth spirit? Try not coming when I call and you’ll see death.”
“Mas… are you really okay?”
“Just wait. I’ll teach that ghost a lesson today.”
Adamas quickly drew a silver sword from his waist and began drawing a magic circle on the ground.
Sapheiros watched, fascinated.
Circle, triangle, square—Adamas drew increasingly complex patterns.
“Do mages usually memorize all this?” Sapheiros asked.
“No. I just took an interest and remembered it. I’ve had a lot of concerns. My mana is small.”
Adamas continued, wielding the silver sword without pause.
“Now I’m fine, but I used to worry a lot. That’s why I got interested in spirit arts. Mana is good, but what matters more is the bond with spirits and affinity with nature.”
Fire, wind, water, and earth each have a governing spirit: salamanders, undines, sylphs, and gnomes.
“Paracelsus, author of Introduction to Spiritology, considered the four spirits as follows.”
“What did he say?”
“Salamanders are overly possessive, undines too passive, sylphs self-centered, and gnomes… unbelievably talkative.”
“Really?”
“No idea. I’m not a spirit mage. I just copied it.”
Adamas smiled, satisfied, observing the completed magic circle.
“Perfect! Look at this overflowing talent. Should’ve been an artist.”
He roughly brushed off the silver sword and sheathed it.
Sapheiros frowned at Adamas’s careless handling of the sword. He thought to teach him sword maintenance later, leaning against the stone wall to watch him.
Adamas closed his eyes slowly.
He recited the summoning spell from Introduction to Spiritology.
The magic circle at his feet emitted a brilliant light.
Something was happening… but hopefully not dangerous.
Sapheiros kept a ready stance, eyes never leaving Adamas.
A few minutes later…
The light faded. Only Adamas and Sapheiros stood, staring blankly at each other.
