Chapter 109

I open the door and look for a place to hide in the bright room.

The blindfolded woman remains in a silent posture of prayer.

The room is small. If I’m going to hide…

After a moment, the door opens again.

I’m positioned on the brightly lit ceiling lamp, waiting.

No one would look directly at such a bright light on purpose.

As a result, the person who entered doesn’t notice me either.

I manage to glimpse a woman in a mage’s attire.

The person lingers briefly and then leaves.

Once I hear the door close and the footsteps recede, I climb down from the light.

I believe I hid thoroughly enough to avoid detection, even from any magical senses.

I let out a small sigh.

Since being sent to this tower as a trial, there hasn’t been a moment of peace.

Is this what an adventurer’s life is like?

If so, then the adventure with Ahavain was a luxurious one in comparison.

I turn and look at the woman who was praying, and I’m speechless.

She’s been turned to stone.

There is magic that can turn a person to stone, but it’s highly difficult.

To do that in such a short time… The skill is terrifying.

I could do something similar, but it would take more time.

This magic is more of a curse, and if I attempt to break it, the other party would be alerted.

I promise to return later as agreed and leave the room.

I walk back down the hallway to find three paths in front of me again.

This time, I choose the hallway straight ahead.

Magic detection works poorly over large areas, though it’s somewhat effective nearby.

It’s probably due to the materials used in this building.

Likewise, it should be hard for others to detect me.

I use wind magic to silence my footsteps.

As I walk straight down, I come across an iron door.

It has a lever mechanism, so I pull it with my right hand.

It doesn’t budge.

I try putting my full weight into it with both hands, but it shows no sign of moving.

(Hmm.)

Upon closer inspection, there seems to be a mechanism preventing the lever from moving.

In front of the door is a series of numbers, currently displaying “0000.”

I consider using magic to break it, but it’s a thick iron door.

Breaking it would require high-level magic.

The noise would likely reverberate throughout the area.

This tower probably still has many monsters roaming around.

Considering they might all swarm here, I have no choice but to give up.

If this were Mastema, she would probably break through with just a “how annoying” and say that calling in all the monsters to wipe them out would be quicker.

Since she’s practically the most powerful monster in this world, it’s not surprising.

I turn back to the crossroads and head down the final hallway.

At the end of the hall is a wooden door, which isn’t locked.

Opening it reveals a pitch-dark room, so I use magic to illuminate it.

It appears to be a guest room.

I light a few partially used candles with magic, and the whole room comes into view.

“What… is this?”

As expected, it’s a guest room.

Or maybe, I should say it was.

On a luxurious chair, there’s a dark, human-shaped stain.

On the table, a half-eaten pastry and a cup of tea are left behind.

Heavy curtains hang over the window, which explains the darkness in the room.

Even if I open the curtains, I’d only see an eerie red glow from outside.

I scan the surroundings.

There doesn’t seem to be anything here.

I step into the room.

Dust has accumulated thickly on the floor.

“…?”

If there’s this much dust, the room must have been unused for a long time.

Then why are the tea and pastry on the table so clean?

I resign myself to dirty shoes and step forward, leaving clear footprints in the dust.

After examining the room, including the furniture, I find nothing of note.

If anything stands out, it’s the cluster of chairs and a table in the center of the room.

A deep feeling of dread rises within me.

This room is eerie enough, but the area around the table is on another level.

My entire body feels on edge.

I approach the chair.

The dark stain has seeped into it and doesn’t seem to be removable.

When I look at the table, I notice four coins submerged in the teacup.

This is beyond unnatural.

But I have no other leads, so I reach out despite my hesitation.

What I thought was tea clings to my skin with a sticky texture.

The unpleasantness is overwhelming, and goosebumps run up my arms.

Even through my gloves, it’s disgusting.

I immediately regret not using magic to retrieve the coins and potentially breaking the cup.

The moment I touch the coins, my magical senses pick up something.

The human-shaped stain on the chair peels off, rises, and looks in my direction.

There are four of them.

Shadows, dark and thin like silhouettes.

“Wha—?!”

I can’t even scream.

The shadows are made entirely of magical energy.

They’re close to something called magical creatures.

They slowly extend something like hands toward me.

The moment the glove on my left hand is slightly touched, I see it start to corrode and bolt out of the room.

I hurriedly shut the door and seal it tightly with magic to prevent it from opening.

I hear repeated attempts to open the door from the other side.

“I can’t take this…”

I’m on the verge of tears.