Volume 16 - CH 2

「W-What......!」

I headed over to the examiner and found Melissa, the cheeky girl from earlier.

She looked pale when she saw me. The way her silver-haired, twin-tailed drills with bangs sway in astonishment is quite nice.

「Hou, you're on my team?」

「I want to change team now!」

Melissa points at me and suddenly shouts. How rude.

「Ahem, I can't accept that. If you don't want to cooperate, I'm going to have to you fail here and call someone else, okay? Melissa-san.

The examiner clears his throat and says seriously.

「N-no way, because this person's ability is――」

「Good for you, Melissa, if you're with me, I'm sure you'll pass」

I said with a moist, grinning smile.

「Kkuhh, would you mind not calling my name casually when you're a commoner, or even a haggard-looking adventurer, for that matter. I'm the third daughter of the Marquess Jackal family, the most prestigious family in the Kingdom of Austin!」

「Hmm?」

Speaking of Jackals, where have I heard it――

Ah, I remember now, Ariel, an employee of the magic guild, must have been a member of the Jackal family.

I see, they are sisters, though they have a similar body type, face shape, and haircut with bangs.

「A sister bowl or threesome would be nice.」

I said, putting my hand on my chin as I stared at Melissa's still young body.

「Huh?」

「No, I'm talking to myself.」

「Well then, after we introduce yourself to each other, please start. Also, PKs against the other team are not allowed, so please pay attention to that as well.」

The examiner said, but it seems that the final exam has already started.

「Okay, you guys, let's walk around and introduce ourselves. It's a waste of time.」

I said, and started walking towards the tower that was visible at the edge of the training area. The time it takes to conquer the tower is probably one of the criteria for passing.

「Hey! Would you mind not diviting us up? I don't recognize you as a leader, you know」

「You don't have to decide who the leader is every time. I'm Alec.」

「Hmph, I'm Melissa Von Jackal.」

「Ah, I-I'm Nicole. Nice to meet you!」

The third person on the team, a shadowy-looking young man with brown hair, bowed nervously.

「Sigh, how did I get to be such a member ...... It's the worst!

Melissa was grumbling with a face like she was about to cry, but I was already convinced that she would pass.

I did [Appraisal] , and us three are among the best in the exam.

「Out of the way! Out of the waaay!」

A group of three male Magicians dashed past us from behind as fast as they could.

「Don't you think we should hurry up too?」

Melissa said, looking around.

「No, we won't be able to cast magic if we're out of breath when we reach the tower. Besides――look.」

The team that was leading the way to the tower suddenly exploded and blew up.

「Wha!? That was mine magic! So the test has already started before we even enter the tower, right?」

「That's right. We'll run the route of the lead team first.」

「I told you, you're not in charge. But that's fine. I'm sure they'll be fine up to the point where they're trapped in a mine」

「Hmmm, I wonder if it's safe? If the trap triggers or flashes every hour, you can follow the person in front of you. ......」

Nicole says he's not sure, but there's no chance of that.

「Does anyone have any trap detection magic?」

I ask them.

「No, I'm afraid I'm not very good at that magic.」

「I can use it, but the range is too small and I'm the type to take my time, so it's hard to find the time」

「If that's the case, I've got a few trap detection skills. Go use your levitation magic behind me」

The【Sixth Sense Lv5】I took before will come in handy.

In addition, I'll take the【Magic Detection】skill now as well.

【Magic Detection Lv5】 New!

This is good.

In addition, I also gained 【Magic Knowledge Lv4】. It's a copy skill. Well, there were a thousand of them here. Someone's 【Floor Masturbation】 has also been copied, but I don't need it, so I'll delete it and give it back to the points. It's only less than 10 points, but when the dust settles, it's worth it.

Melissa and Nicole all seem to be able to use levitation magic, as if they were the Magicians who made it to the final exam.

But mine is a skill.

Boom! The team that was running diagonally in front of me was caught by a mine magic.

「Uwahhh!」

「Damn it!」

「This is not good! Retire! It hurts, Mama!」

They didn't seem to be hurt too badly, but the loud explosion must have scared them.

Only one of them was hit, but if even one of them dropped out, all three of them would fail.

「Alec-san, please don't retire immediately after the explosion.」

Melissa seems to be afraid of that too, and nails me.

「Yeah, don't worry, I'm tough as nails. I won't be beaten up for a second」

「I hope so.」

The rest of the team is looking for traps with magic, or completely dependent on others to get behind them.

「――I will not seek in the old pact. Efreet, demon god of rage, destroy your enemies with your sharp, eternal fire! Flamespear!!!!」

The short blue-haired magician ahead of me chanted the same spell as the flame spear Letty often used, and slammed it into the ground one after another.

It seems to be a strategy to neutralize mine magic by making it detonate.

「That spell is intermediate level. ...... But I can't believe they can do that many hits in a row!」

「Wow, that's fancy. I'm jealous they can use spells like that.」

Melissa and Nicole shouted in admiration, but well, they're students of the Royal Academy. I guess they feel that even intermediate magic is amazing.

As for me, I've seen Letty's magic up close and personal, so I can only hmph.

「Okay, we'll follow him.」

I chose a reliable course and the three of us arrived at the tower safely.

「So this is the "Tower of Trials" ......」

We looked up at the vermilion tower.

It was seven stories tall, judging by the number of windows.

The diameter of the width is about 20 meters at most, which is a piece of cake compared to the Labyrinth of No Return.

It won't take more than thirty minutes.

「What are you doing? Let's get going!」

「Oh, wait, Melissa.」

Melissa is probably an amateur who's never been on an adventure before. It's important to predict the route from the appearance, but she doesn't seem to know anything about it.

If she was to be failed by a trap or an enemy, my plan to break into the girls' dormitory would be ruined.

It's better to sneak in as a classmate, but it's no fun to just trespass.

I quickly followed her into the tower.

Both doors are open, and there seems to be magical light inside the tower, so visibility is not a problem.

The first floor was an empty cobblestone hall with a staircase visible beyond, and the rest of the team was running straight up the stairs.

「Phew, good, looks like there's nothing on the first floor.」

Nicole says with a smile, I wonder if the first team has already taken care of the traps or monsters that were set.

If so, that's still good.

If nothing was set from the beginning, then this is a psychological trick.

「Both of you, brace yourselves and go. You never know what you're going to find here」

「Hmph, I don't need to be told what to do!」

「I told you not to go before me.」

「No, Alec-san, if you get blown up or something, I'll fail the test. This is where it all starts, so I'll take the lead.」

I'm more qualified for the job based on my HP and level, but it won't matter if they don't believe me when I explain that.

We are an temporary team with no trust relationship, so it would be foolish if we were distracted by fighting for the lead.

「I understand. But take it easy.」

「Yeah, it's not your concern.」

The second floor of the tower was still the same circular hall as the first floor, but Melissa didn't go straight to the center, instead she ran around to the left.

She had good intuition, and she's quick-witted.

「Okay, I'm out!」

From behind us, a team of idiots ran straight down the middle and passed us, but then the floor disappeared.

「What the hell!? The floor is!

「Eekkk, I'm falling!」

「Gyaa―!」

The three of them fell down, struggling in the air.

「Uwahh, I knew something was wrong, but ...... A pit?」

Nicole seemed to have his suspicions, too.

「Hmph, I doubt your human intelligence to not be able to see something like that. Well, one of them seemed to be dog-eared.」

「Melissa, some people are smarter than others, even with dog eared」

As I know Meena and Nene, I would like to say something.

「Oh my, it's funny to see a smart dog caugh in a trap」

「I wasn't talking about them, but whatever.」

It's not my place to lecture, and now is not the time for a fight.

I ran up the stairs to the third floor and found myself in a hall with the same structure as before.