章 20: Latham Ruins
Early in the morning, everyone gathered at the academy gates to begin their first mission. Even Gazel, who did not have a good attitude, arrived on time, probably because he also wanted to graduate well from the special class. They waited for Quirin while being silent to each other. Among them, the only one in a good mood was probably Damian, who did not stop bothering Elijah, who was standing next to him.
"Thank you for coming on time, everyone."
Everyone's attention was drawn to Quirin as the man came the latest among everyone. His friendly smile, as usual, made Gazel cluck in annoyance. "You certainly dare to keep me waiting just because you're a senior," he said annoyedly.
Quirin looked at Gazel, then gave the man an apologetic smile.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness. I have a lot to prepare for this journey. Because, as you know, my job at the Latham Ruins is to identify what kind of ruins the place we are going to is."
Quirin showed the large bag he was carrying, leaving Gazel unable to protest anymore. The others were not interested in saying anything either. Quirin looked at his team members, then clapped his hands excitedly.
"Alright! You can come closer to me as I'm about to activate the teleportation magic."
This time, everyone obeyed Quirin's words obediently. They approached while Quirin began to chant teleportation magic, which made a large magic circle appear under their feet. The large magic circle glowed and brought them instantly to another place. For Elijah who had experienced what it was like to be transported by the system when he first moved, the sensation of using teleportation magic was almost no different from the bodily sensation when he was transported by the system.
"Here we are. Does anyone feel any side effects from this teleportation magic?"
Elijah was fine. But for those who used teleportation magic to move for the first time, the sensation of the body being pulled away and appearing in another place seemed to make some people lose their balance for a few seconds.
Henrik was one of those who couldn't help but prop himself up against a nearby tree once they finally arrived near the Latham Ruins. The werebeast ignored the scornful look Gazel gave him. Unlike Gazel and Damian, who frequently used teleportation magic as royalty, or Elijah, who had experienced it once thanks to the system, Henrik was just an ordinary werebeast who had no chance to use teleportation magic in the past.
"Are you okay? Do we need to take a short break until you feel better?"
Quirin tried to convey his concerns to Henrik, but the werebeast quickly shook his head. Henrik hated being a burden to others the most. Especially under Gazel's condescending gaze, the werebeast felt he should not show his weakness in front of the man.
"I'm fine. We can continue the journey now."
After a few seconds, Henrik managed to regain his balance. The werebeast stood up straight again, allowing Quirin to no longer force Henrik to rest along with the others.
"Alright. We can continue our journey, right?"
"Of course. I want this mission to be over soon so I can return to the academy."
Gazel replied, while the others only gave short nods. The Latham ruins they had to investigate had been underground for thousands of years. After the academy discovered it by accident, the mages who owned earth magic were mobilized to find the entrance to the ruins.
Once the path was visible, Elijah and the others could see the intricately carved door that separated the outside world from the inside of the Latham Ruins. The door was made of stone that was too heavy to move alone. So, to enter the place, several people were needed just to open the heavy door.
"Let me do it."
Henrik stopped Quirin, who was about to open the door, then opened the heavy door by himself. It was now clear why Henrik could enter the warriors' special class with his powers. The door opened quickly, and everyone entered before the heavy door closed again.
"Do we have to do the same thing to get out of this place?"
Gazel stared at the heavy door, starting to worry as he obviously wouldn't be able to open the door by himself.
"We can't know for sure about that yet. As previously explained, our mission is to explore the Latham Ruins and check whether this place can be researched further or not. There may be other doors ahead of us that can lead us to the outside world. Or that door might be the only access in and out. Nothing is certain in this place yet."
Gazel once again chuckled, apparently not accepting being sent by the academy on such a dangerous mission even though he was still part of the human royal family. However, there was no turning back once he had agreed to enter the special class. The academy did not recognize the royal family or other important people once they had been accepted into the academy. Even Princess Sofia, who was a direct niece of the king, was sent on a dangerous mission before Gazel and the others.
"Please stay close to me while we are here. So far, the teams previously sent before us haven't found any dangers as they explored this place. However, there is nothing certain in the ruins that have not been thoroughly explored. Everyone should be careful and always be prepared to engage in battle with any enemies that may appear suddenly."
Quirin led the way as the team leader while the others lined up behind him warily. There was no light whatsoever inside the ruins. Quirin turned to look at Gazel, who immediately frowned when he saw the smile on his team leader's face.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked curtly. Quirin smiled as usual. The man pointed at the pitch-black street, then spoke again to Gazel.
"Your Highness, could you use Light magic to illuminate our path?"
Quirin had asked nicely. However, Gazel was basically ignorant and grumbled when asked to use his magic to light their way.
"Why should I? Don't you know how valuable Light magic is to the royal family?"
Elijah and Damian almost rolled their eyes after hearing Gazel answer. Meanwhile, Henrik's expression was already getting worse as Gazel had shown no intention of cooperating since the beginning of their meeting. The only one who was still patient when dealing with Gazel was Quirin. Perhaps because she was part of a human noble family, Quirin seemed to be quite skilled in dealing with annoying people like Gazel.
"But, Your Highness, are you okay with not being able to see anything in this place? I mean, you also need light to know where enemies or traps are, right?"
Gazel chuckled, then cast light magic that formed small balls that illuminated the vast ruins. Quirin smiled with satisfaction that Gazel was willing to obey her orders. "Thank you for your understanding, Your Highness," he said politely.
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