Mage academy 4 a litrpg.., p.26
Mage Academy 4: A LitRPG Magic Academy Light Novel, page 26
The whole thing crumbled into dust, and Danny let out a sigh of relief as the wind died down.
"Wow." Danny shook his head. "That was something else."
"You'd think you'd never fought a mummy before," Tess snorted as she walked over to the side of the room.
There, a handful of pictures had been carved into the walls, depicting a number of different animals types.
She grabbed one and twisted it, with the distinct noise of stone rumbling on stone filling the room as she did so.
"I've fought mummies, just never one that could paralyze you," Danny scowled. "You could have warned me."
"Sorry, I just thought that you might actually know a thing or two about monsters." Tess flashed a grin at him then pushed on one of the animals.
It slid down into the stone, a secret button, and with another rumble, a secret doorway slid down into the stone.
Torches flickered to life, and Tess walked through into a room full of treasure.
Danny walked in after her, and his jaw dropped.
"Don't worry, most of it's just for decoration…" Tess picked up a few coins from the ground, and they dissolved into sparks long before she was able to tuck them into her inventory. "That said, there's some good stuff here, too."
Danny nodded and looked around.
There were a few decorative piles of coins and jewels, some treasure chests, and a small set of shelves.
On the shelves were jars, which he did remember from the previous years' Dungeon Tactics class as containing the organs of the mummy he had just fought.
All encounters with a mummy usually took place within a room or two of such a room.
The organs held absolutely no value whatsoever, but they could technically be collected.
Danny had absolutely zero interest in doing so.
"And here we go!" Tess beamed as she opened up the chest. "Some emeralds, a few rubies… That'll sell for a fair price… Some mana crystals…"
She tossed a few of the mana crystals to Danny. "Here, you'll use these more than I will."
"At the moment, the only thing I'm interested in getting out of this is an achievement." Danny shrugged. "I know that sounds cynical, but I don't really think you'll find much in there that I'll actually be able to put to good use."
"How about a necklace?" Tess turned around, equipping a necklace she had found in the chest.
It was golden, and was made of long, thin bars of metal that formed more of a collar than a standard necklace.
It was huge and gaudy, and made her look rather like a queen or princess.
Or, at the least, someone dressing up as a queen or princess in a stage play or something.
It was huge and gaudy, and Danny laughed, despite himself.
Tess laughed as well, and climbed back to her feet.
Danny sighed and wiped his eyes as Tess unequipped the necklace, then stuck it into her inventory.
They spent a few more moments looking around the room, but were unable to find anything else of even a remote amount of value.
With that, they struck out, and slowly began to descend down to the next level of the dungeon.
It was nothing more than a distraction, and they both knew it, but it was a distraction that they needed.
There were a lot of things swirling around at that moment, and Danny was going to go crazy if it wasn't resolved soon.
At least for a few hours, he would content himself with beating up zombies.
After that… Well, he'd just have to cross that bridge when he came to it.
Auto save - [Savefile: Information]
Health: 74%
Mana: 92%
Quest: Complete the Dungeon!
Location: Lazy Barstool Dungeon
Inventory: Essential Supplies, Basic Armor, Iron Sword, Sword of the Wasp, Aquamarine Sword, Frostbite Sword
Skills: Monster Summoner (Lv. 37), Flame Combat (Lv. 2), Wind Combat (Lv. 5)
Relationships: Friendly with Tess, Friendly with Radiance
Time of Day: 6:19 p.m.
Narrow Cracks
Danny and Tess spent the next three hours in the dungeon.
They defeated the boss and cleared out the last of the undead in just two hours, but the Completionist Achievement didn't activate.
Tess consulted her maps and realized there was still one secret room they hadn't found.
Unfortunately, the map was difficult to decipher, leading them to spend an entire hour searching every nook and cranny in the lower two levels for the hidden switch.
In the end, it turned out to be quite simple—they only had to turn a stalagmite counterclockwise.
Danny had tried several times to turn the stalagmite clockwise, which had achieved nothing.
When they finally discovered the secret room, they received a notification that the Achievement was complete.
Satisfied, they headed back to the surface.
That marked the last bit of excitement for Danny until the following weekend.
The week was mostly spent waiting and wondering if any further developments would occur.
After a day or two, he managed to refocus on his classes and was less distracted in his personal interactions, but the issue lingered in the back of his mind.
Finally, on Saturday, as he dressed and walked out into the hallway, he found Margot leaning against the wall outside her room.
"Hey, Danny," she said. "What's up?"
"Not much," he replied. "I was thinking about going to go watch the mageball tournament today."
"Really?" She raised an eyebrow. "That'll be the first one you've been to in… How long?"
"I don't know." Danny shrugged. "Over a year, almost two."
He sighed. "Might be time to move on."
Margot grimaced. "I've been thinking the same thing. About… You know."
Danny flushed red. "I didn't mean to imply that-"
"I know you didn't!" Margot raised her hand and shook her head. "I didn't think for a moment that you were. I just… I think I've been holding out hope that my dad was still alive. I think I've been holding out hope that we could somehow still bring him back if he really is the Crawler thing, and I've been holding out hope that all the stuff you've been involved with would somehow be leading to that conclusion. I know that hasn't been fair to put on you, you're just always involved in stuff that helps people, so… I don't know."
She shook her head. "But it's been months now, and no one has even seen the Crawler in ages. I need to move on. I'm on my own now, and that's just the reality."
Danny nodded slowly. "Do you have other family?"
"Some uncles and cousins," she said. "No one I was all that close to, though. I'll connect with them when I get out of the Academy, if I can manage to secure a position down south again. That's my hope."
She folded her hands. "I just want to honor his legacy now, you know?"
"Yeah…" Danny paused. "Look, is there-"
His voice trailed off as a distant shout echoed through the halls.
Almost immediately, more shouts joined the first, and he heard the sound of steel on steel.
Margot's eyes shot wide open, and the two of them turned and bolted through the halls.
They raced down the stairs as fast as they could go, and soon raced out into the Grand Hall.
There, quite a commotion was taking place, and Danny gulped.
A group of mages surrounded the door where several soldiers had been blasted up against the great wooden planks.
Magical ropes had lashed their limbs tightly to their bodies, and they flailed about as best they could trying to break free.
There were more magical forces holding the door closed, even as Danny could hear banging on the other side.
Suddenly, Zechariah appeared with a burst of teleporter light, and he strode forward with strength and purpose.
He raised a hand, and the magic holding the two soldiers in place dissolved.
They dropped back to the floor, but kept their swords drawn.
A moment later, the door opened up, and half a dozen more soldiers came running inside.
A great deal of arguing broke out, and one of the soldiers shoved a mage who got too close.
In an instant, magic was blossoming in the hands of the mages once more, and Zechariah waved his hands wildly.
A few other professors came running down as well, but the majority of them simply stood back and crossed their arms.
That, more than anything else, told Danny just how high tensions were rising.
If the professors weren't even willing to step in, then… It was only a matter of time before order broke down completely.
"Hey!" Janna appeared on the stairs, pushing through several mages. "Cut it out!"
"Traitor!" a mage called out. "Traitor! We don't want you here!"
A blast of fire streaked toward Janna, which she caught and dispelled with a flick of her wrist.
Her jaw set, she glanced around, her eyes locking with Danny's.
With another flick of her wrist, her voice sprang to life in Danny's ear. "I need to talk with you."
She turned and walked back out into the cold.
Danny frowned, then glanced at Margot. "Come on."
He wasn't entirely sure why he brought Margot along, perhaps for the sake of having someone else with him.
Quickly, he made his way to one of the side entrances, slipping out into the city proper.
There, he circled around to the front of the building, where the Corp was engaged in what seemed to be a strategic retreat.
They weren't giving up—their shields were still locked and swords raised—but they were backing down, to the cheers of onlookers.
Janna stood nearby, hand on her sword, her fiery eyes glaring up at the Academy.
As soon as Danny and Margot walked up, she turned and marched away.
Danny and Margot hurried to catch up with her, sensing the urgency in her stride.
"Come on. We have work to do."
Danny nodded and followed, and the three of them were soon mounted on horseback and sweeping out toward the western side of town.
Janna didn't say a word until they'd exited the western gate and were riding deep into the forest there, keeping to the main roads but not taking any particular route.
They went past little farmsteads, nestled amidst the cold, barren trees, waiting out the winter.
Finally, Janna started talking.
"Sorry if I'm a little tense. Things are getting worse, as you can clearly see."
"Yeah, I picked up on that," Danny muttered. "What happened?"
"I sent an aide up to give you a message," Janna said. "That was it. A single aide, and the moment he walked through the door, he was ambushed. He started calling for help, some nearby guards came to assist him, and things spiraled from there. I don't know what's going on anymore, I really don't."
"It's a mess." Danny gritted his teeth. "Did he happen to see the instigator?"
"Once more, no." Janna balled her hands into fists. "It makes me wonder if we're being manipulated. The problem is that it won't matter before too much longer, anyway."
"What do you mean?" Margot asked.
"Well, in a classic case of mixed messages, word on the street now says that the Corp was directly responsible for the disappearance and probable death of Obadiah Flamekeeper."
"What?" Danny's jaw dropped. "How?"
"Simple, really," Janna continued. "The Corp was seen questioning ex-mages. Word got around that the Corp and the mages have both been looking into Obadiah's vanishing, and that it probably wasn't just a combat death. Suddenly, the pieces click together. Ta-da! The Corp must be running some sort of an underground ring where they capture and torture mages, killing them in the process."
"That's ridiculous," Danny snorted.
"You're telling me," Janna agreed. "The worst part is that the tensions are starting to spill over into the rank and file, outside of the city. I've received multiple reports of clashes between the mages and the Corp on standard dungeon patrols."
"What does that mean?" Danny asked. "The two sides need each other in the field."
"Trust me, I'm well aware of that fact," Janna confirmed. "There are quite a few rumors floating around, but I'd rather not mention those right now. The point is that things are bad, and it's not looking like they're going to get much better anytime soon. Thankfully, we might have a lead that will help us get to the bottom of something."
"Really?" Margot asked. "What is it?"
"Just wait. Oh, and get ready for a fight," Janna ordered. "Right up… Here."
They turned off onto a narrow trail, so thin that Danny could barely see it.
The path ran along the bank of a shallow river, then up to a small waterfall.
There, the trail turned sharply and led behind the waterfall.
Janna dismounted and drew her sword, and Danny followed suit as he jumped to the ground.
Margot formed a ball of fire in each hand, and they charged forward, slipping into a small, narrow cave that plunged into the earth.
Light flickered ahead, and a few seconds later, they emerged into what looked like a collapsed cavern.
The ceiling was open to the forest above, with a canopy that hid about half the sky.
In the back, a dark tunnel continued deeper into the cave, though it was so narrow Danny doubted a person could get through it.
The area was set up as a campsite, with an ash-filled pit in the middle and several logs arranged as benches around the fire.
At that moment, however, the benches were occupied by bodies, not living people.
"No!" Janna shouted. "No!"
Danny sighed as he slowly walked around the area.
There were six of them.
Four of the bodies he recognized as the ex-mages that they had confronted down in the Red Fang hideout.
Three still had smiles upon their faces, and one even had a sausage on a stick that he was holding over the ashen fire.
His body, of course, was covered in frost, as were all the others.
They were frozen in time, frozen forever.
The other three were in various stages of combat.
The woman had a dagger half-drawn, and had risen partway up from her chair.
The fifth and sixth members of the party were both racing toward the tunnel, swords in their hands.
Danny frowned as he walked around them, looking for any impact wounds.
There was nothing.
They were just frozen… That was it.
"No, no, no." Janna threw her sword against the wall then kicked the ashes of the fire up into the air.
After a moment, she bent down and grabbed one of the logs, rolling it across the ground in her fury.
Finally, she closed her eyes, and launched a flurry of wind arrows around the clearing, blasting stone from the wall in a shower of rubble and debris.
When she finished, she stood there, breathing heavily, and Danny raised an eyebrow.
"Feel better?"
"No," she muttered. "I don't."
"So…" Margot walked up and looked into the eyes of one of the men charging at the exit. "Who exactly were these guys?"
"The Red Fangs," Janna said. "The guys who killed your father, and the only ones who might have been able to give us a clue about what to do about him."
Margot frowned. "I didn't know you'd been pushing that line of inquiry."
"We didn't want to get your hopes up," Janna said. "Looks like we were right."
"I'm just sorry my dad got to them first." Margot sighed. "I have to imagine that in his current state, he thought he was doing the right thing."
"He didn't kill them." Janna shook her head without turning around. "All the bodies we've found that the Crawler has killed have had puncture wounds where he injected them with the venom. Look at these three here. They were frozen so quickly they didn't even realize that something was happening. No, someone walked through, right here, and let them have it."
Janna gritted her teeth. "Someone who didn't want these guys to talk."
"But who would do that?" Margot almost wailed. "I just… Please, you have to tell me."
"I have to tell you…" Janna's voice trailed off, and she turned toward the little crack in the wall that led onward. "Danny? Can you open this up?"
"Happy to." Danny snapped his fingers, and a stone golem appeared.
It walked over and punched the stone, cracking it from top to bottom.
Rubble slid and crashed, and the beast quickly tore the opening larger and larger until the golem stepped back and nodded. "There you go."
"What is it?" Margot asked.
"I think I saw something." Janna waved her hand, generating a blast of wind that cleared away much of the dust. "Come on."
Danny and Margot ran forward as Janna slipped through the slightly larger entrance.
Inside, they found the tunnel to be well-maintained, even fitted with torch sconces.
He frowned as they started downward once more.
"How'd anyone get through that little crack?" he asked.
"They didn't." Janna muttered. "This hiding place has to be ancient, surely someone over the years would have broken it open. My guess is that one of the mages sealed, or nearly sealed, the exit after they were attacked. Or, possibly, right before they were attacked."
She paused, and lifted a finger. "And… Here we are."
They came out the far end of the cave tunnel into a larger cavern that wasn't caved in.
It was quite beautiful, covered in rocks that flowed into shapes like waterfalls and fountains and other such forms.
At the far side, a ladder led up through a narrow crack in the ceiling.
That, though, wasn't the interesting part.
No, the interesting bit was a piece of parchment that was tucked underneath one of the legs of the ladder.
Janna walked up, then bent down and pulled it out, only to turn around.
"I sense trouble. Getting out now. Sorry fellas, hope some of you make it. If anyone finds this, look in the Green Eyes."
"Green eyes?" Danny asked. "What does that mean?"
"I haven't a clue." Janna muttered. "So… One of them sensed that an ambush was on the way, and they abandoned their companions rather than alert them to the threat."
