“Ack… I can’t get used to this.”

  Gwen looked away as the Red Hobgoblin Knight bent backward with its jaw hanging loose. The crimson fury burning in its eyes flickered and then faded as if someone had snuffed out a fire. It wobbled on unsteady legs, and the poleaxe slipped from its fingers. The weapon clanged against the stone floor and rolled away.

  Rusty stepped forward without hesitation and grabbed the fallen poleaxe. He examined it for a moment and realized it was not inferior to his halberd. Without speaking, he swung it in a clean arc to decapitate the monster, but stopped himself just before the blade touched the creature’s neck.

  “Ah… I almost forgot again.”

  His three companions stared in confusion as Rusty abruptly stepped back, seized the monster with both hands, and held it in place.

  “What is he doing, Gwen?”

  Asked Astrella, while Gwen just shrugged.

  “I don’t know.”

  The one remaining puppet armor removed Rusty’s helmet and set it on the Hobgoblin Knight’s head. Rusty waited for the prompt to appear and, to his surprise, it finally did.

  He had not used his skill absorption ability much lately, since each use lengthened its cooldown. There had also been a few worthwhile options. This time, he had two choices, and one of them was promising.

  The choice was obvious. The shield skill was tempting, but greater durability was not something he urgently needed. Parrying, however, would let him deflect blows with his weapon and create openings for counterattacks. It was also a skill he could use no matter what weapon he held.

  After selecting the skill, the same thing happened as before. The person he was absorbing the skill from began to twitch. The monster tried to thrash around, and the sudden movement nearly sent Gwen falling onto her posterior when the Hobgoblin jerked violently. Rusty held it down with all his strength and only released it once the process ended. When he finished, he picked up his helmet and continued with the execution.

  “What were you doing, Rusty?”

  Gwen asked him just as he raised the poleaxe up high.

  “Oh, I just absorbed one of its skills.”

  “You can do that?”

  She was clearly surprised by that revelation, but had no time to dwell on it as he brought the weapon down to lop off the monster’s head. Gwen flinched at the sight, though she seemed to be growing accustomed to the carnage, at least to some extent.

  ‘I wish I could get experience here too…’

  He muttered under his breath as the monster’s head fell and its body slumped forward. Like the other Hobgoblins, it dissolved into thousands of tiny motes of mana, leaving its armor and weapon behind. This time, however, something else remained. A red gemstone rested among the remnants, and the three summoners were already eyeing it with interest.

  “It is a big one…”

  Astrella remarked as she, Gwen, and even Syber stared at the gleaming gem. It clearly radiated a great amount of mana, though its purpose was unknown to Rusty. This time, there was no need to ask since he could simply use his identification skill.

  Rusty finished reading the description just as Gwen knelt beside the glowing crystal. Its red light reflected against her eyes, and for a moment, she completely forgot her fear.

  “It’s warm…”

  “Don’t touch it too long.”

  Astrella warned, tapping Gwen’s hand away gently.

  “Remember, this is a red void crystal. It will corrupt your mana if you hold it for too long. It needs to be processed first… So let’s put it away for now and get out of here.”

  While the girls inspected the spoils of battle, Syber was the only one who turned away to focus on something moving. The large gate behind the Hobgoblin Knight’s throne began to shift, and a deep crimson glow appeared from within.

  “That must be the exit.”

  Rusty said as he noticed the mana flowing out of the next area. It seemed everything was finally over, and all that remained was to gather their things and leave. He was not ready to go just yet, since there were still a few valuables worth taking. One was the poleaxe he held, and the other was the set of armor parts left behind by the hobgoblin.

  “Careful now.”

  Gwen said as she placed the glowing gem into her spatial bag. Neither of the other two summoners objected. To them, Rusty had contributed the most in this void gate, so his summoner was the rightful one to claim the spoils. Even so, Gwen had no intention of keeping everything for herself.

  “How about we turn in this void gem for academy credit and divide them equally?”

  Astrella lit up and hugged her friend.

  “I knew you were the best, Gwen.”

  Syber only shrugged.

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  “It is yours. Do what you want with it.”

  “You do not need to be shy, Syber. I know you are happy too.”

  Astrella said with a smile. Syber turned his head away. His form had already begun to shrink as his mana ran dry, and it looked as if the two girls were seeing him differently now.

  “Wait, are you blushing?”

  Syber shook his head at the accusation and turned his whole body away so Astrella could not see his face.

  “I am not.”

  “Sure you are. You are not as bad as you pretend to be. You just need to relax a little.”

  “Leave me alone.”

  While Astrella continued teasing Syber, Rusty got to work. He picked out the pieces of armor that could be salvaged, but he faced a problem. Normally, he would use his own storage system, yet here his Soul Forge abilities were limited.

  “Gwen, could you take these armor pieces with you?”

  “These? Why?”

  “So I can use them to summon more helpers. The same way as before.”

  Gwen understood immediately. She had already seen him use his puppet armor skill to create living armor servants, so she knew exactly what he intended. Although they were done with this place, the competition with the other B class was coming up soon. Rusty was almost certain that it would be the main mission, so it was best to prepare as much as possible.

  “Astrella, I do not think he likes that. Also, could you help me?”

  Gwen asked as she watched her friend chase Syber around the boss chamber, trying to catch a glimpse of his face.

  “Help you with what?”

  Astrella glanced over just as Gwen stuffed a heavy pauldron into her spatial bag.

  “With this. Rusty says he can use it to make more helpers next time, but my bag is almost full.”

  “Oh, sure. My bag is large and spacious. And you can help as well.”

  She said as she grabbed Syber’s arm and pulled him closer. The young man could have resisted, but he let himself be dragged along. Soon, the group was packing up the armor pieces together, and Syber agreed to lend them his spatial bag so they could store everything until they returned to the dorm storage.

  “There, that is all the usable pieces. Now how about we get out of here?”

  Gwen said as she looked toward the open gate and the glow coming from it.

  “Yes, I have had enough of this place. I just want to go back and have a bath”

  Astrella replied. She glanced at Syber and added another comment.

  “You cannot join, though.”

  “…”

  The young man was clearly puzzled by the way Astrella treated him, but he could do nothing except roll his eyes and move forward first. Gwen shook her head and followed after Syber.

  “No treasure… disappointing.”

  What greeted them was another red portal in an empty room. Rusty was disappointed, but at least they were not leaving empty-handed. He waited for the three summoners to step through the gate, then followed right after. The sensation of passing through the gate was the same as before, and soon he and the rest of his group were back in Mystwood Academy, much to the surprise of many.

  “The students have returned!?”

  A voice echoed from nearby. It belonged to a familiar face, the teacher with the monocle who had sent them off on this test. He was not alone. A rather rotund individual stood beside him, his staff still crackling with traces of fading mana. Both men were clearly stunned by the sudden appearance of the three students who had gone missing. They were not the only ones present, as many other teachers surrounded the entire gate while preparing some kind of ritual.

  ‘They seem kind of on edge…’

  Rusty noticed at once that something was wrong. Instead of rushing forward to check on Gwen and the others, the mages kept their distance. The chamber around them had also changed. The gate they had emerged from was now encircled by a ring of metal covered in strange symbols. The gate stood at the center of this structure, and it clearly served some purpose.

  “We cannot be sure. What if they are Voidlings? Bring out the measuring devices at once.”

  The rotund mage shouted the order, and several assistants hurried into place. They dragged metallic frames and crystalline rods etched with detection glyphs.

  “What is a Voidling?”

  Rusty asked as he watched the devices being pointed at Gwen and the two other youths. None of the three looked panicked. In fact, they seemed to expect this treatment.

  “People who spend too much time inside a corrupt void gate sometimes return possessed by strange creatures. We call them Voidlings.”

  “Possessed? Where do these creatures come from, and what do they want?”

  He grew even more curious, but before Gwen could continue her explanation, the teachers spoke up.

  “There is no sign of possession or corruption. They appear perfectly fine. They must have cleared the gate on their own.”

  The chubby professor said this, but there was a strange look in his eyes, as though he was not pleased by the conclusion.

  “Step aside, Harold. These are my students, not yours.”

  Their own teacher finally moved forward and pushed the others away. His suit was immaculate as always, and the monocle over his eye glimmered as he performed his inspection.

  “Gwendolin Rainstar, explain what happened inside that gate.”

  “Well…”

  Gwendolin stepped ahead of the others. She swallowed hard and began to recount everything that had happened. She described the gate closing behind them and continued all the way to their encounter with the Hobgoblin Knight, at which point their teacher interrupted.

  “You managed to defeat such a monster?”

  “Y-yes, we did it together.”

  The man was clearly surprised by their achievement but quickly recovered and nodded.

  “Well done, you’ve managed to achieve something extraordinary. Go to the infirmary first before returning to your dorms.”

  It seemed that the people around them were finally beginning to relax, although some tension still remained. Quinten’s gaze lingered on the crimson gate, which began to shift in color after Rusty’s group passed through it. Moments later, it appeared to be an ordinary blue gate, as if the entire predicament had never occurred.

  Their group was escorted out by several faculty members and guided to the infirmary, where the academy’s healers worked. There, they would be thoroughly examined for any traces of corruption and released once everything was confirmed to be safe.

  "Ho. Ho. I suppose there is no use for me here any longer."

  Once the students had departed, a new figure appeared. It was an old man with a long white beard, someone to whom everyone in the chamber bowed with respect.

  "Senior Ramaradmus, it seems the students managed to clear the gate, and we will not need to break through after all."

  Said Quinten, the teacher of class B-1, before the older man could ask. Ramaradmus nodded, and for a moment his eyes followed the three departing students. His attention lingered on the smallest among them, Gwendolin, and the little living armor creature perched on her shoulder.

  "Her again. Very interesting…"

  He spoke quietly to himself, which prompted Quinten to ask.

  "What was that, senior?"

  "Oh, nothing. Just an old man mumbling. Think nothing of it. Now then, if I am no longer needed, I shall take my leave."

  The old man didn’t stay for too long and quickly vanished as if he had never been there in the first place. One moment, Senior Ramaradmus stood among them; the next, only a faint ripple of mana remained where his figure had been.

  “Disperse the formation.”

  Quinten let out a slow breath.

  “We will not need the ritual. Record this incident, file the report, and ensure the gate is monitored until it gets thoroughly examined.”

  The mages scrambled to obey, though many still glanced nervously at the now-pacified void gate. Quinten himself stared at it for a long moment, his lips tightening ever so slightly.

  “A corrupted gate within the Academy… Something clearly isn’t right. Do we have a spy?”

  The man contemplated for a moment before turning around. For the time being, there was nothing more that he could do but wait.

  Meanwhile, Gwen and the others followed a healer through a long corridor that smelled faintly of herbs and mana-infused liquids. They had spent nearly five hours inside the void gate, and a dull ache was settling into their limbs. They were not injured, but once the tension and adrenaline faded, exhaustion began to take over.

  “Uh… do you think they will keep us long? I feel so tired.”

  Astrella’s eyelids drooped as Airy fanned her face with her fairy wings in an attempt to keep her awake.

  “I hope not… I am getting hungry.”

  Gwen’s stomach rumbled, and Syber’s did as well, just as they reached a junction.

  “The boy follows me. You girls go that way.”

  The faculty member pointed toward a branching corridor. The group split, and Syber gave Gwen and Astrella a weary look as he headed to the right.

  “Do not let them poke you too many times.”

  Astrella called after him with a grin. Syber raised a hand in tired acknowledgment before disappearing around the corner. Their adventure in the void gate had finally come to an end as the girls continued toward another section of the infirmary. Rusty’s mission, however, was far from finished. The competition between the classes still lay ahead, and he intended to earn the best score possible.

  Thank you for reading!

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