“…Sion, I hope he’s safe?”
After safely escaping from the dungeon, Estroja murmured.
Sion, who was left behind, kept haunting her mind.
No matter how many recall scrolls they had, they couldn’t confirm whether he had used one or not.
What if the recall scroll didn’t activate…
“I told you I have a scroll! He’ll probably be greeting us just fine when we get back to the Adventurer Guild. So there’s no need to worry.”
Patrick forced a smile.
Sion had been able to handle things that seemed impossible until now.
He was not the kind of guy who would die in a mere E-rank dungeon.
‘It must be Sion, so he would have survived somehow.’
Patrick believed in Sion this time again.
The remarkable achievements Sion had shown until now, and the various interests he had drawn from professors.
If it were Sion, he would definitely be alive and would be smiling nonchalantly.
“Right…! Oh! Maybe it’s a good idea to contact him using the student ID.”
“Good idea! Let’s try it right away.”
Geivolg proudly held up the student ID and made contact.
Sending a direct message to Sion’s student ID.
The phone magic of the student ID worked from afar, which made this possible.
“……”
One minute, three minutes, five minutes passed.
Sion’s reply did not come.
In the uneasy silence, Geivolg cautiously opened his mouth.
“What’s going on? It’s taking a long time! Maybe he has it on silent mode.”
“…Is Sion not accepting messages?”
“Come on, don’t worry. If it’s Sion, then surely—”
“Excuse me.”
It was Boryan who interrupted Patrick.
“…I’m just asking, has anyone here ever seen a recall scroll?”
“…A recall scroll?”
“I’m asking if anyone has actually seen one. If not a recall scroll, any other magic scroll is fine too.”
Boryan bit her nails as she asked.
The rolled-up paper Sion had brought out, which he had called a ‘recall scroll,’ wouldn’t leave her mind.
The discomfort that arose in her mind grew larger.
Geivolg raised his index finger and spoke.
“Hmm, I know about that!”
“…You know? What material is it, and what color is it?”
“To talk about the material first, most scrolls are made of parchment… I mean, sheep leather!”
Magic scrolls have a magic circle drawn on them and activate the moment they are torn.
This was common knowledge that everyone knew.
Even civilians who didn’t know scrolls were aware that ‘it activates when torn.’
“…As far as I know, to use magic scrolls, the parchment has to be dyed with a special liquid, is that right?”
But Boryan was focusing not on the material, but on the ‘color.’
“Hmm, Boryan, you know well! So, the color of the scroll can be described as blue. Does that answer your question?”
While parchment is needed to make a scroll, it requires a special treatment process.
To capture a certain amount of mana into the magic circle, it has to be soaked in a special liquid.
Thus, the color changes differently from regular parchment.
“What about the color of the scroll Sion had?”
“Hah hah hah! That’s obviously… huh?”
“……”
Everyone’s expressions turned serious.
Despite the dimness where sunlight didn’t come in properly, they all remembered the same thing.
The magic scroll Sion had pulled out.
The color was not blue like a magic scroll, but a faded yellow.
Like it was an ordinary parchment.
“…I passed that to Sion.”
Boryan recalled the moment just before they discovered the dungeon.
– Okay! If the map is right, this is the Skeleton Dungeon!– Let me see… It really is.– Don’t you believe me?– It’s not that I don’t… I’ll hold onto the map for now.
Sion had hidden the map in his pocket.
Because Boryan had repeatedly looked at the map, she sensed something strange.
What should come out of Sion’s pocket…
“No… This is strange.”
Estroja’s pupils trembled.
She couldn’t understand.
What reason would there be to lie?
“Sion isn’t the kind of person to be foolish, and why would he—”
“There’s only one reason for that.”
Boryan looked around.
The four new students of the academy all had expressions of disbelief.
The only reason Sion would have to lie.
Realizing the truth, Estroja weakly collapsed to the ground.
“Could it be that he lied to save at least us…?”
“Estroja!”
Estroja clutched her head.
‘I’m… I’m useless… I can’t be of any help…’
Since she was young, she had been afraid of the undead.
Having spent most of her time solely studying magic, she had no immunity against the undead.
That was why, whenever she encountered the undead, her breath would hitch.
At that time, it was Sion who protected her.
– Then I will stay last with Estroja. Geivolg and Patrick, take the middle, and Boryan, take the front.– Wh-where are you touching me right now!!– …Can’t you see? It’s the wrist. Just stay next to me.– Ugh… Okay.
Estroja, who was afraid of the undead, was grateful for Sion being there beside her.
She even felt a certain relief in the fact that she was scared of the undead.
A desire to be next to him longer, to be protected… that kind of impure feeling.
However, the result was nothing but Sion’s sacrifice and her own uselessness.
The cruel reality made the light disappear from Estroja’s eyes.
…If she had been of any help, if she could have used magic without being cowed by the undead….
“…Damn it.”
Thud!
Boryan struck the tree with her fist.
The leaves shook and rustled.
Despite the sharp pain she felt in her fist, Boryan repeatedly slammed her fist into the thick tree.
‘It’s because of me that Sion… it’s because I couldn’t perform my role as the frontliner.’
Boryan felt it deeply while adventuring with Sion.
In the Goblin Dungeon, she had gotten caught in a trap, and in the Slime Dungeon, she had been ensnared by tentacles.
It was always Sion who looked out for her.
This time, she wanted to show a cool side of herself….
“Hey, hey! Everyone, don’t be so down!”
Patrick forced a smile and stopped the two.
“If it’s the Sion we know, he could handle that skeleton in no time!”
“……”
“Maybe… he successfully cleared the dungeon and is gathering the core right now! Right?”
“……”
“Hey, hey guys?”
Despite Patrick’s words, Estroja continued to stare blankly into the air.
Even Boryan, whose knuckles began to bleed on the tree, remained silent.
Patrick, in front of the two who had fallen apart, didn’t know what to do.
“…We need to go back.”
Step.
The one who moved there was Geivolg.
“If Sion’s sacrifice is not to be in vain, we have a duty to report the anomalies we experienced to the Adventurer Guild. Boryan, you would understand what I’m talking about.”
“……”
“Sion said that no structures above the third floor can appear in a dungeon of that shape. That means that dungeon is at least D-rank or higher.”
Geivolg’s voice was quiet.
The usual lively and energetic vibe was completely absent, making his words feel heavy.
Watching Estroja and Boryan, who were unresponsive to his words,
Geivolg shifted his gaze to Patrick.
“I will go to the Adventurer Guild and call for reinforcements.”
“W-What? Alone?”
“If I leave the two of them here, that’s even more dangerous… Patrick, I leave it to you.”
“It’s dangerous! It’s better to call someone using the phone magic of the student ID…”
At that moment, when Geivolg and Patrick, who were at least managing to remain sane, shared opinions,
Boom—!!!
“…What?”
“The dungeon… exploded?”
The very top of the castle abruptly exploded.
“What the hell?”
“…Sion?”
The other two, who had been dazed, turned their gaze.
Fortunately, they were far enough away, and the trees covered them, so debris did not reach them.
Crumble.
The dungeon continued to collapse after the explosion.
The accumulated debris began to scatter like dust.
It was possible because it was not an ordinary castle but a dungeon that had been created suddenly.
“C-Could it be…?”
Boryan’s eyes sparkled once more.
The exploding dungeon, the remnants of the vanishing dungeon, and… the overwhelming power Sion possessed.
That created a sense of expectation.
“Look over there!!!”
Patrick shouted, pointing.
At the tip of his index finger, something far too large to be the remnants of the dungeon was falling through the air.
A gigantic shape falling towards them.
It was Sion, along with someone else embracing him.
“Hurry, chant the spell!”
“If we keep this up, we’re going to fall!”
“Wait a moment. I’ll chant Wind…”
After a series of events, the first-circle elemental magic ‘Wind’ was cast.
Whooooosh—!!
With a strong wind swirling around, Sion was suspended in the air.
He seemed to have lost consciousness and had his eyes closed.
What surrounded him was an B-rank monster, the Death Knight.
“……!!!”
Despair filled the faces of the four as they looked at it.
