Pain is the harshest teacher.
The one who had announced the end was gone. Kiruet, lost in her grief, rose to her feet and headed for the dungeon.
She needed to see for herself what had beco of Margaret.
Lu Li followed the remnants of the Holy Light Squad, descending into the dark, interdiate layer between the Lower Academy and the Swamps, penetrating a network of caves as winding as an anthill until, nearly lost, they finally reached the entrance to the newly discovered dungeon.
The stone sealing the narrow fissure had been pushed aside, and an empty potion vial, discarded by Margaret, was wedged in the gap.
Nasi picked up the vial and sniffed it. From the faint, lingering scent, he identified its origin: Soothing Forest.
Margaret had taken a potion before entering the dungeon.
Crunch—
Fragnts of rock crumbled away. Kiruet drew closer to the narrow stone fissure, an opening so tight one would have to squeeze through sideways, peering in as if looking into a house from the outside.
This dungeon was rather unusual.
It was like a fallen leaf, severed from the great tree and its branches, existing independently within a sealed cave.
A puddle with no source will eventually dry up—and luckily, the Holy Light Squad had begun their exploration right after discovering it.
Anomalies inhabited this cave-dungeon, having built a village that mimicked a human settlent. They were strangely peaceful and indifferent, but when an intruder appeared, they would viciously tear them apart.
Only the mindless, clay-like alchemical golems could survive inside; their presence was completely ignored by the anomaly-residents.
That was why the Holy Light Squad hadn't sold the information on this dungeon. Instead, they had devised a way to infiltrate it themselves... and paid a terrible price.
Through the narrow fissure, Lu Li saw the grotesque village lurking in the darkness on the other side—a distorted shape, irregular and repulsive.
The houses were warped and sharp-gabled, like the huts of witches, while in the misshapen fields, repulsive carnivorous plants writhed and swayed.
Anomalies that looked like villagers scurried through the settlent inside the cave.
Lu Li saw Margaret.
Soon, Kiruet, Yeger, and Nasi saw her too.
— She's not dead yet...
Kiruet's grip on the rock tightened, the stone grating under the pressure. Her fingernails were torn and bloody.
Margaret was as lifeless as a wax figure, still dressed in the everyday clothes she had worn when she left the day before. She wandered aimlessly among the anomaly-residents, drifting between the houses and the fields.
She had beco indistinguishable from them.
— We have to get her out... — Kiruet muttered.
— She's already dead... That's just an empty shell now, controlled by an anomaly. — Yeger averted his gaze, his voice heavy with sorrow, ready to stop Kiruet if she tried to rush into the dungeon.
But the people of the Dark Era were better at accepting facts—no matter how cruel.
Grief-stricken, Kiruet suppressed the impulse and began piling the loose stones back into the fissure.
Once sealed, the opening blended with the rock face, looking for all the world like a simple tombstone.
Nasi sprayed a potion to erase any trace of their presence, and they retreated toward the lift platform.
Perhaps one day, when the Holy Light Squad was strong enough, they would return to destroy the dungeon and retrieve the remains of their fallen comrade.
The news of Margaret's death cast a pall of silence over the common room.
The team mbers dropped the pretenses they had been maintaining for Lu Li's sake, no longer hiding their true feelings.
Margaret's na vanished from the rosters of the Academy of Giant Trees and the Holy Light Squad. All that remained to mark her existence were the mories held within the Academy's walls, her empty bed, and the belongings she had left behind in the common room.
— Her family was killed in the wilds, all because the Academy of Giant Trees took notice of her alchemical talent when she was just a student. Margaret's dream used to be just to survive... but later, she told
she hoped to create a top-100 sequence potion...
Before the crackling fireplace, Kiruet kept her head bowed, whispering Margaret's story into the shadows.
Gradually, her voice grew quieter until it trailed off into silence.
— She's fallen asleep.
Yeger said quietly:
— I'm heading to the dining hall for a bite. Are you coming?
— Let's go together. Lu Li, are you?
They both looked over at Lu Li, who was sitting by the fire.
— Mm.
Lu Li rose from his seat. As he passed Kiruet, he heard her mournful whisper, like soone muttering in a dream.
— Margaret...
Kiruet's body slowly curled into a ball.
Lu Li took a blanket from the arm of the sofa, draped it over Kiruet, and followed Yeger and Nasi out of the common room.
— She and Margaret started the Holy Light Squad together... They were best friends.
Yeger remarked in the corridor on the way to the dining hall, his expression complicated.
He and Nasi had joined the Holy Light Squad at the sa ti. Kiruet and Margaret were already inseparable back then.
— The captain is going to need so ti to recover. This will give you a chance to get settled in, Lu Li.
They entered the dim and quiet dining hall. Only a dozen or so students were scattered about, picking out food or eating their als.
A figure blocked their path, placing a hand over his chest and bowing to Lu Li:
— Lu Li, we heard you've advanced to the middle courses. We would be honored to have you join our team.
Gazes from around the dining hall gradually converged on them, and whispers about Lu Li started to ripple through the room.
— I already have a team, — Lu Li replied.
The cold man in a long, flowing robe that seed to drift like a veil glanced at Yeger and Nasi:
— Team "Naless"?
— The Holy Light Squad, — Yeger said coldly.
— Who cares? They're not even in the rankings. A team like that could fall apart or vanish at any mont.
Yeger's face instantly darkened:
— If you haven't learned any manners, I'd be happy to teach you.
The man had no intention of tangling with Yeger. With a slick, reptilian smile, he turned back to Lu Li:
— Please, reconsider, Lu Li. We will help you beco great once more within the Academy of Giant Trees.
He didn't linger. After saying his piece, he slipped away as silently as a snake.
— He has the right to be arrogant. He's the deputy captain of the third-ranked team, — Nasi said, his expression complicated. — Did you sll the mix of anomalies on him? He keeps several demon-mantises.
Feeling the stares of the other students, he shifted his neck awkwardly.
The incident had ruined their appetite for eating in the dining hall. They gathered food for everyone, including Kiruet, and headed back to the common room.
As they reached the door, they saw a letter had been slipped underneath it, addressed: "For Lu Li."
— We await your arrival. Tomorrow night at midnight, the Bloodline Squad common room.
— A Friend from the Library
After scanning the letter, Lu Li glanced down the empty corridor in both directions before heading back into the common room.
Kiruet was awake, sitting lifelessly on the sofa before the crackling fire. Lu Li's return seed to slowly bring her back to herself.
— I have an announcent to make, — she said, her eyes on Lu Li:
— I've decided to make you the deputy captain of the Holy Light Squad.
At the round table, Yeger and Nasi froze for a mont, exchanged a look, then went back to setting out the food.
— I only advanced to the middle courses two days ago.
— Ti isn't the only asure of ability, — Kiruet said seriously, her voice still weak with grief:
— And... we need your help.
Lu Li gave a slight nod, accepting the position of deputy captain.
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