The Overpowered Cult Leader at the Academy Chapter 64

Chapter 64

Giant’s Tomb (2)

“There is one condition instead.”

“A condition?”

Rama added to his words. At the ntion of a condition, his eyes glead.

“Guest. Take a guest along on your journey. That is the condition.”

My gaze naturally turned toward the robe. It seed that if sothing was ntioned often enough to be forgotten and then brought up again, there truly was sothing to it.

I tried to think if there had ever been such a person, but nothing ca to mind. Calling it a condition, yet having to take soone along, was sowhat burdenso.

“You know as well. There is nothing more dangerous than traveling with soone you cannot trust.”

“……I didn’t expect to hear that from you.”

Rama revealed his bewildernt. It seed absurd to him that I—one of the least trustworthy figures within the Academy—was saying such a thing.

“Our guest is interested in the Giant’s Tomb. Hmm. Very well. I shall assign you an escort mission.”

Only after finishing the discussion about the reward did I nod. When he went that far, it was difficult to refuse.

“We will rest for a day. And the day after, by nine o’clock. I will co to escort you then.”

I rose from my seat and approached the robe. Until then, the figure rely tapped their armored foot.

I bowed politely as I continued speaking. She simply nodded in response.

“Let’s go.”

I glanced at her face, but perhaps due to an artifact, there was nothing but pitch-black darkness inside the robe.

I quickly gave up my curiosity and spoke to Canis.

“This is~ a gift~”

Canis waved her hand at Rama and left first. At her cheerful behavior, Rama rely let out a faint chuckle.

“Do your best.”

“I hope you return alive.”

Leaving those farewells behind, we returned straight to the lodging. Canis, who spotted Winter first, ran over imdiately.

“Winter~ I missed you~”

“Ah. Please get off.”

At Canis’s whining, Winter showed her displeasure and pushed her away. We were all gathered in the dining area on the first floor of the inn we had taken as our lodging.

“Did you buy everything?”

“Yes. I bought everything you wrote down.”

We had spent roughly an hour at the estate. Within that ti, Winter had already purchased everything we needed.

“Well done. Did you eat?”

“Of course not.”

At my praise, Winter smiled brightly. I ordered full-course als according to our number and woke Worden, who had been sleeping.

“We’ll rest tomorrow. And the day after, we head out properly. Whether you sightsee or whatever, just rest.”

“What about you, sunbae-nim?”

“I have a few things to investigate.”

I answered Winter’s question vaguely. Since we had co to the desert, I planned to look around to see if there was anything worth buying.

***

“Before we go.”

Unfortunately, there was nothing worth purchasing. I had hoped for so rare items, but nothing particularly caught my eye.

I reached the entrance of the city and examined the faces of my party mbers.

“This is a potion. Worden made it. Each of you carry one.”

I distributed the stamina recovery potions that Worden had made to everyone. I hesitated for a mont over whether I should give one to the robe as well, but in the end, I handed it to her.

She accepted the potion without a word. The hand that was revealed was likewise covered in armor.

“It must be hot. Are you all right?”

Judging by the shape, it was full plate armor. The so-called plate armor was as heavy and imposing as it looked.

At my concern, the robe simply nodded. I did not press further.

“All right, let’s go.”

We secured the bird mounts that the desert tribe used. They were expensive as substitutes for horses, but I confidently put the expense on the Kargula Family.

Riding the desert ostriches, we sped straight ahead. The dungeon known as the Giant’s Tomb lay at the very center of the desert.

From the city entrance, we headed straight south. If we rode for about four hours, we would arrive.

“Rest.”

The white robes we wore to block the sunlight were of good quality. They were enchanted, making them comfortable. Even so, traveling for long periods drained a great deal of stamina.

Whenever we saw the shadow of a large rock, we rested there whenever possible.

“I can feel vibrations~ periodically~”

Winter, whose stamina was the weakest, sprawled out flat every ti we rested. Even so, it was admirable that she did not let out a single groan.

When I placed a cold canteen against Winter’s face, Canis voiced her curiosity.

“There’s nothing to eat in the desert, yet strangely enough, there are a lot of huge ones.”

“Large monsters, huh~”

“If those kinds of creatures move underground, of course it won’t stay quiet.”

As I answered, I looked at Worden. He, who had always worn thick outer clothing, had changed into much lighter attire upon entering the desert.

Since he suffered from a rare illness that caused his body temperature to drop naturally even while standing still, he looked the most comfortable out of all of us.

“How about you?”

“? I’m fine. It’s cool, actually.”

The gazes of the party turned cold. Winter and I had no particular ans to shield ourselves and had to endure the sunlight fully.

Canis had magic, and the robe seed to have an artifact, but even they were gradually growing fatigued.

“Why? Why are you looking at like that?”

“……Never mind. Let’s move.”

Worden tilted his head in confusion. I let out a sigh at his lack of awareness and stood up. Thinking about it, it was not really sothing worth getting irritated over.

“We’re almost there.”

At my words, the party gathered their strength and moved. Just before the desert ostriches were about to collapse, we discovered a small oasis.

“Winter. Ring the bell.”

“Pardon? Ah, yes. Just a mont.”

Before approaching the oasis, I asked Winter for the favor. After briefly asking for understanding, she imdiately took out the Silent Bell and shook it.

—Ding.

A clear, resonant sound rang out, instantly clearing my mind.

“Why the Silent Bell?”

“Because of mirages.”

[Difficult Dungeon] was an open world. From volcanoes to seas, deserts, and snowy mountains, all kinds of natural environnts appeared.

Among them, the desert was the least popular because of the status ailnt known as mirage. Other natural environnts could be endured with potions, but not mirages.

“Mirages~ It’s been a while since I heard that.”

“Are they dangerous?”

“They are~ It’s one of the magical disasters created by the desert’s magic~ Because of that, countless people lose their way and die~”

“…….”

At Canis’s words, Winter shook the Silent Bell even more diligently. The sound of the Silent Bell cleared the mind and defended against ntal status ailnts.

The troubleso thing called mirage was resolved with this single Silent Bell.

“Prepare yourselves. We’re entering the tomb now.”

“?”

While the desert ostriches drank from the oasis, I took five coins out of my bag. Every mber of the party tilted their heads in confusion.

“Where? I an, where is the tomb?”

Winter asked first. Instead of answering, I threw the coins into the oasis. The coins sank without any particular resistance.

“Just now? What are you do…….”

Before Worden could finish speaking, a fierce surge of magic erupted from the oasis.

It carried the scorching heat of the desert and swallowed the entire party in an instant.

“……ing.”

By the ti Worden finished his sentence, we were standing in a different place. The stifling heat had vanished.

It was a cavern that appeared to be underground. An artificially constructed space. The first to react was Canis.

“My, oh my~ Could this be a wormhole?”

“Well, sothing similar.”

A wormhole was a hypothetical passage connecting two spaces. In that sense, this could also be considered a kind of wormhole.

“So the coins were the entrance fee~”

“Mirages only act upon the mind. But there are exceptions in this world.”

Still flustered, Winter carefully sat down beside as I took a seat.

I continued my explanation while taking out so dried rations.

“Let’s eat. We’ll have to move soon.”

Worden and the robe rested at my words. Canis looked around the cavern, letting out exclamations of admiration.

“This is incredible~ The magic is absolutely dense. The desert’s magic is highly volatile, so it’s not easy for it to gather in one place~”

As she said that, Canis ford a crystal dagger and began scraping at the stone floor. After collecting a large amount of bluish stone powder, she carefully stored it away.

“Sunbae-nim? So this mirage thing?”

Winter, who had been wearing a displeased expression at Canis’s eccentric behavior, looked around and asked.

“A mirage is an illusion. Occasionally, there are points where that illusion connects to reality.”

In the ga, this mirage had been used quite cleverly. Players morized the mirages that appeared in specific locations and used them as a kind of portal.

“Hmm, this is difficult.”

“Ask Canis.”

“……She doesn’t even look interested.”

Canis would likely know more than I did, who only knew the ga settings. But Winter did not ask her.

That was because she had spotted Canis tasting the stone powder.

“It’ll get cooler. Put your clothes on.”

“Mm? Ah. Yes.”

At my words, Worden put on the outer garnt he had brought. After fastening his clothes properly, he suddenly looked at .

“In the desert? A place this cool?”

“Yeah. This is a pyramid.”

“Oh. I’ve heard of pyramids.”

Perhaps the sudden change in temperature intrigued him, because Worden began to show interest as well. When a word she recognized ca up, Winter reacted brightly.

“You know about pyramids?”

“Of course. Aren’t they the tombs of ancient desert kings? There’s one in the northern city too. Lots of people went in because of the treasure, but the ones who ca out…… didn’t…… Huh?”

Winter, who had been speaking proudly, began to stamr partway through.

A king’s tomb. And if it was a king of the ancient desert, then it would be a king of the Golden Kingdom. There were bound to be treasures befitting that title—and things guarding them.

“A pyramid……. So this is it.”

Winter wore a dazed expression. A land of death where countless grave robbers had entered and not a single one had returned. And now we were inside it.

“It’s nothing much. We just need to gather at the center.”

“The center…….”

Winter muttered my words as if chewing on them. After roughly finishing our al, I stood up.

“They say the dead of the desert are wrapped in bandages. I heard it’s a funeral rite that binds the soul with bandages made of magic. If it’s fire attribute, the effect should be……”

I was explaining the weaknesses of the monsters that appeared in the Giant’s Tomb. But before I could even finish speaking, the tomb reacted.

“Oh.”

Half of the rectangular cavern split apart, and the space separated. The area I was standing in gradually rose upward, while the space across from it remained still.

“…….”

It was a chanism so swift that we could not even react. I clearly rembered that such chanisms began from the next room onward.

I glanced behind . For so reason, only the robe remained in place.

“We’ve been separated.”

Below, I saw Winter’s face flushed red as she scread. Worden was holding her back, and even Canis had hardened her expression.

Considering I could not hear anything despite her shouting, it seed the space itself had been separated.

“Canis…… no.”

If I called Canis, she might be able to co. But if even Canis left, that would leave only Winter and Worden.

That could be difficult. In the end, I refrained from calling her and unfolded my military shovel. With Worden over there, they would proceed without much trouble.

“I wonder if lightning will work. Ah, shall we get going as well?”

Only when the height had grown so distant that I could barely make them out did I speak to the robe.

She simply nodded. We had suddenly been left alone together, but I was not particularly worried.

“Don’t you have a weapon? Once we move on, we’ll be eting them in full force. I’ll do my best, but I’m still lacking.”

A gap opened in one side of the wall, forming an opening wide enough for two people to pass. I asked the robe whether she had a weapon.

“Mm?”

She seed to ponder for a mont before extending her right hand clad in a gauntlet. A small cluster of light gathered, and a longsword with refined ornantation materialized.

At a glance, it was clearly a masterpiece, and my eyes lit up. I wanted to use a weapon like that too, but Anaye was incredibly particular.

“Wait.”

As I admired the sword, it struck as oddly familiar. On the circular poml was an engraving of the Imperial crest.

“So you’re from the Imperial Family.”

It was a sword used exclusively by the Imperial Knight Order. I had thought they were sending her off obediently, but to think they had sent soone to act as a watchdog.

Only then did I realize why the Kargula Family had treated her with such utmost hospitality. This companion was far more troubleso than I had imagined.