Echo Labyrinth.
Watching Arthur rack his brains over the minotaur's axe, Shulim spoke up: “Rather than fussing over that, you'd earn far more by quickly recovering your mana and hunting down the next target.”
Arthur thought it over and nodded. “That's true...”
In the end, he chose to abandon the minotaur's axe.
He walked back to his bag, pulled out a bottle of mana potion, and downed it in one gulp.
Shulim watched him drink the mana potion, a look of confusion crossing her face. What Arthur drank was a low-quality mana potion with a somewhat murky color.
“Why are you drinking that kind of potion?”
“Huh? You mean this?” Arthur paused, holding the empty bottle, before explaining, “This kind is cheaper. But don't worry, the effect is the same as a normal mana potion—it just tastes ten times worse.”
“...”
Ten times... Shulim could barely tolerate the taste of a regular mana potion as it was. Ten times worse? She felt like her tongue would commit suicide on the spot!
“Haha, it really made me question my life choices when I first drank it. But I've gained some experience now! As long as you tilt it straight down your throat without letting it touch your tongue like I just did, it's much better!”
Arthur mimicked the potion-chugging motion with a grin.
Then, displaying his frugal nature, he stowed the empty bottle back into his bag. Usually, worthless and useless items like this were simply tossed onto the ground, where the dungeon would eventually absorb them.
“...Is her condition really that bad?” Shulim asked out of the blue.
Arthur, who was pulling harvesting tools from his bag, paused. He then answered in a subdued tone, “I suppose so...”
“Do you mind talking about it?”
After spending time together, Shulim had realized that it wasn't difficult for Arthur to earn money. Yet his financial situation remained extremely tight. He was still using the most basic equipment, even resorting to drinking low-quality potions to save a few coins.
The only explanation was that the person Arthur was protecting back home was in a truly dire state...
“...Her name is Alice. She's my... little sister...”
Arthur walked back to the minotaur with his tools and spoke as he harvested the materials.
“We both grew up in an orphanage. From the day we first opened our eyes, we never knew what our parents looked like.”
“I don't know how much you know about orphanages in the slums, but in short... it was indescribably horrible...”
“For as long as I can remember, Alice and I relied on each other to survive. To fill our stomachs, we fought magic rats in the sewers for food, pinched items from street thugs, and even snuck into gang hideouts... In short, we did everything we could just to stay alive.”
“We had no one else in this world to rely on, and we never experienced what a father or mother was. The only person we could count on was each other. You could say we're each other's only family in this world.”
“...So I swore a secret oath to protect her, to make sure she could live in a warm house without drafts, sleep in a cozy bed, and eat whatever she wanted.”
“I always believed I had the ability to fulfill that dream...”
“But... I was being far too naive.”
“I don't know why Alice fell ill with such a strange disease... Aunt Claire said it was something she was born with, but back then, it was just a bit of weakness and occasional dizziness! Why did it turn out like this later on...?”
“...I consulted so many physicians and bought all kinds of medicine, but none of it helped.”
“When the people from Manacos came looking for me, I was so happy.”
“I knew about this academy—it's the pride of Langard. I thought as long as I could get in, fulfilling my past dream wouldn't be a problem at all. I foolishly believed that after entering Manacos, Alice's illness could be cured as well...”
“After that, I really was able to earn much more money—far more than before, amounts I couldn't even have imagined back then. I was also able to find better physicians and afford better medicine, but—”
“None of it worked! Not a single physician in Langard can cure Alice's illness! Her condition keeps getting worse. She can't even walk on her own legs anymore and is confined to a wheelchair...”
“Why...”
Bang—!
Arthur slammed his fist hard against the ground.
“Why Alice?! Why does she have to go through this kind of suffering? What did she ever do wrong?!”
“...”
Shulim didn't know how to answer the young man before her. Although she knew how to brew potions, she wasn't a physician knowledgeable in pathology. Even though she wished to help, there was nothing she could do.
“Sorry... for making you listen to all my rambling. Just pretend you heard a story.”
“...”
...
“...And that concludes the styles of magic circles popular during the ancient Mogalia civilization. Regarding these magic circles, the rules governing their incantation scripts have largely been deciphered in recent years. The only remaining mystery is the exact materials used to construct them. If we can figure that out, our society will undoubtedly make a major leap forward!”
In the Magic Formations class, the professor was patiently lecturing the students.
“...Beyond what I just explained, there are many other incantation scripts from ancient Mogalia, all recorded in detail in the books at the Great Library. You may look into them further after class. Well, that will be all for Mogalia's magic circles today. Regarding the assignment I gave last time, was anyone able to complete it? Whoever succeeded may come up and demonstrate.”
“Professor Dez, I can give it a try.”
“Oh, Student Shulim? Excellent, come on up!”
Shulim rose from her seat and walked to the magic circle stage in the center of the classroom.
Dez Swan produced a pile of materials.
“I have prepared the construction materials. Student Shulim, please begin!”
“Alright, Professor.”
Shulim picked up a rune pen and began drawing a magic circle on the stage in the exact sequence from her memory.
After a short while, a brand-new magic circle took shape.
“Very good!”
Dez nodded in satisfaction and pulled out a mana crystal.
“Now, let us test its effect! Everyone else, please watch closely.”
Saying this, Dez placed the mana crystal into the center of the magic circle.
Hum—!
The magic circle instantly lit up, and a barrier slowly expanded, soon enveloping the entire classroom and isolating it from the outside world.
“Splendid, a complete success!”
Dez removed the mana crystal, and the light from the magic circle faded away.
“As promised in our last class, Student Shulim Hayeral, I shall reward you with one course credit!”
“Thank you, Professor.”
“Very well, that is all for today's class. Dismissed...”
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