“Prominent offspring of the Royal Family.”
The call of the Death Knight was not over yet.
Gainando, dragged outside the door, tilted his head in confusion and asked, "Me?"
"It's the Blue Dragon Tower's second-highest performer. Follow me."
It was obviously referring to the princess.
Gainando grumbled and turned his head, muttering, "This magic academy discriminates based on gender!"
"I hope I'm not being taken to the punishment room for doing well in the test."
"That's unlikely," the Death Knight replied calmly.
"I hope it's not as bad as the punishment room," Gainando added, but the Death Knight did not respond to this.
Yi-Han felt a sense of foreboding.
Walking towards the door, the princess, realizing something, looked at the queue in front of the desserts with a look of realization. Then, she whispered something to the Death Knight.
“That can’t be done. You need to move right away.”
“...”
The princess glared coldly at the Death Knight, but it, true to its undead nature, remained indifferent.
Clang!
"Yi-Han! Are you there? Are you beside me?"
Gainando, in the front carriage, struggled to peer out, gripping the iron bars of the window.
"Yes."
"Can you defeat the Death Knight and save us?"
"That's unlikely."
"Ugh...!"
Gainando and the other trapped students let out a despair-filled groan.
'Are they seriously thinking I can defeat the Death Knight and save them?' Yi-Han was incredulous.
"Quiet. We're moving to the next dormitory."
The two carriages, carrying the failing and excellent students, rattled across the academy grounds.
Tuk-tuk.
"?!"
The princess whispered something to Yi-Han in a hushed tone, her serious expression making him tense up.
'What? What did she realize?'
"...When is the next time...?"
"Are you talking about the dessert?"
The princess nodded.
'I had no plans for that.'
He found it bothersome and had already used up all the luxurious ingredients bought from outside.
"How can there be a next time if I don't know when we'll leave? I've used up all the ingredients."
The princess, shocked, glared even more coldly at the Death Knight outside the carriage.
"Compensate for the snack! Give back the snack!"
Meanwhile, Gainando, having similar thoughts, banged on the iron bars and yelled loudly.
The Death Knight, with a look of utter annoyance, closed the carriage window.
"Why is it so noisy up front?"
"Who knows? I'm clueless."
The top student of the Black Tortoise (a member of the Tutanta family) and the second-highest performer (a student who had never spoken to Yi-Han) were puzzled as they entered the carriage.
Is the noise from the front carriage because they don't want to be taken away?
Noticing the princess's expression, the second-highest performer of the Black Tortoise asked Yi-Han in a low voice, audible only to him, "Is there something troubling Her Highness? She seems more cold than usual today."
"Hmph. Probably her pride," Salko commented disdainfully.
From Salko's perspective, who didn't like the students of the Blue Dragon, the princess, who had gathered followers from various towers since her admission, did not appear favorable.
It seemed like she was enjoying undue privileges because of her lineage.
"Tutanta, your voice is too loud."
"If she hears, so be it. She's probably upset about being outperformed by Wardanaz."
"People can feel that way."
"It's one thing to feel it, but to show it so openly in front of Wardanaz. These highborn kids are so self-centered..."
‘I, too, am from the Wardanaz family.’
Yi-Han momentarily thought Salko had considered him a member of the same tower.
"It's a misunderstanding, Salko."
"A misunderstanding?"
"Yes. It's just annoyance from being dragged away while eating snacks. Wouldn't anyone feel the same?"
"Wardanaz, I thought you were good at everything, but you lack humor."
"Wardanaz, your jokes are too cold."
"Anyway, it doesn't seem like you want to insult your friend, so let's stop there. But think about it, Wardanaz. Friends are beings who walk alongside each other, not one standing unilaterally above the other..."
“...”
Yi-Han felt a surge of frustration.
'These guys, even if they tell the truth...'
Meanwhile, the top students and second-highest performers of other towers boarded the carriage.
"We have arrived. Excellent students, disembark."
"Where are we?"
“The room for excellent students.”
'A hidden tower?'
Near the main building, a dark and foreboding tower, previously unseen and likely magically concealed, came into view.
From the outside, it looked...
'Just like another punishment room.'
“There's no need to be nervous, excellent students.”
The familiar voice of the skull principal tickled their ears.
Above the dark tower, the floating form of the skull principal appeared.
"Failing students go to the punishment room, but excellent students receive rewards. This place is designed to reward excellent students."
"Is that true!?"
Anglago spoke in a voice filled with joy.
Yi-Han and Jijel looked at him with disdain.
'Do you believe that?'
“Of course! Surely, no student would doubt that?”
"That's unlikely, isn't it?"
“Indeed. Unlike the failing students, those gathered here are the best students of the tower.”
With these words, a round sign hanging at the tower's door started spinning.
"Go in and take your reward!"
"...Excuse me, but could you specify what reward we are to take?"
“It's not difficult.”
The skull principal, in a surprisingly generous mood, explained.
"This tower is created to celebrate the excellent students who did well in the test. Enter, overcome the trials on each floor, and take your rewards! If you're capable, you can keep climbing and collecting rewards—it's essentially a tower of bountiful rewards."
Yi-Han and Jijel's faces grew serious.
Just listening to the explanation sent shivers down their spines.
'It sounds like a tower of trials and pain.'
Considering the nature of the skull principal, it wouldn't be surprising if the first floor was hellish.
What good are rewards if they can't be attained?
"Thank you, Principal!"
“Your happiness is my happiness.”
Anglago, still oblivious, continued to be overjoyed.
"Now, let's start with the White Tiger Tower. Enter!"
"Why are we entering first?"
“If you feel wronged, do better on the next test.”
"Isn't going in first a good thing?"
Anglago was puzzled. Jijel closed her eyes as if bracing herself.
The spinning sign slowly stopped, revealing a sword emblem.
"The challenge of the sword!"
The tower's door opened, swallowing the two students from the White Tiger Tower.
It was a brief moment, but thanks to the harsh training from Arlong, Yi-Han caught a glimpse inside.
There were dozens of golems armed with swords.
Yi-Han seriously contemplated whether the punishment room might have been better.
The challenge chosen by Yi-Han and the princess was the potion emblem's challenge.
‘I'm not sure if this is good luck or bad luck.’
Yi-Han swallowed his anxiety and moved forward.
What was the wisest choice in the current situation?
'Forget about the second and third floors, just overcome the first floor and leave.'
Only a madman would think, 'I've conquered the first floor, what's the reward for the second?' and go up.
Realistically, even overcoming the first floor was no easy feat.
The most important thing now was to escape the tower with as little injury as possible.
Yi-Han was even considering surrendering if it was an option.
<The Challenge of Wisdom>
-The challenge begins when one person consumes the poison. Create an antidote and revive your friend.-
"Declare forfeit? Surrender? Give up?"
The tower offered no response. Yi-Han sighed.
Looking ahead, he saw a cake on the table. It was obvious to anyone that it was poisoned.
Beside it were a cauldron, alchemical equipment, and ingredients.
The princess, holding her staff, aimed at the cake.
"Poison, reveal yourself."
Suddenly, multicolored smoke billowed from the cake. The princess's eyes filled with surprise and dismay.
"Surely, not all of that is poison... right?"
The princess nodded. Yi-Han's face turned pale.
Even with her magic, she couldn't identify all the poisons inside, yet there were already so many kinds.
At this rate, wasn't it less a poisoned cake and more a cake-shaped poison?
The princess indicated that the cake needed to be cut. Before opening it, there was a limit to identifying the poison.
However, the cake would not cut.
"...So it won't open until eaten."
Yi-Han muttered with loathing.
The skull principal was indeed meticulous in such aspects.
'No choice then.'
Yi-Han steeled himself.
From his past experiences, his mana provided significant resistance against various poisons.
Of course, even he couldn't remain unscathed after eating such a deadly poison cake, but he was sure to fare better than the princess.
"I will eat it. Start making the antidote immediately."
"!"
The princess's cold eyes wavered. She was shocked and tried to dissuade him, shaking her head.
Of course, Yi-Han was not the type to highly regard the wishes of Gainando or any royal.
He immediately took a bite of the cake.
"!"
'No, this is absurdly delicious.'
For something laced with poison, it was surprisingly sweet and tasty.
Rumble!
Upon taking a bite, the door in front opened and the writing changed.
<The Challenge of Wisdom>
-The challenge has begun, pass through the door without being poisoned.-
"Quickly!"
Yi-Han urged. There was no telling how much time they had left.
The princess hurried to the ingredients. In her haste, she almost stumbled and fell.
Proving why she was called a genius of the empire, the princess moved with efficient, wasteless motions.
She placed a piece of the cake on a board, broke down its components, and started throwing ingredients containing antidotal properties into the cauldron from the poisons she had identified first.
The cauldron bubbled as it brewed the potion. Several ingredients were added and the staff was waved, rapidly changing the potion's color.
'I must concentrate...!'
An unprecedented pressure overwhelmed her.
When had the princess ever experienced alchemy with a friend's life at stake? She bit her lip.
Crack!
The princess's continuous potion-making halted abruptly.
It was an ominous sign.
Sure enough, her eyes began to waver. A previously unknown poison had appeared.
The princess, feeling desperate, randomly tried antidotal ingredients against the cake crumbs. None of them worked.
She turned to Yi-Han with a look of dismay.
"Mmm...!"
Yi-Han sat upright, his expression grave.
Wondering why the poisoning hadn't started, Yi-Han took another bite of the cake and then, feeling the princess's gaze, looked up.
"...Hmm. It seems I'm not getting poisoned."
The princess glared at Yi-Han with a stern expression.
Despite the princess's reproachful look, Yi-Han remained confident.
'I didn't know I wouldn't get poisoned even if I ate it.'
Yi-Han had not been merely watching the princess's futile efforts for fun.
He had thought the poison would take some time to act.
He tried passing through, just in case, and to his surprise, the challenge was immediately completed.
<The Challenge of Wisdom>
-You have passed the challenge admirably, now receive your reward.-
-A noble mage would move forward, but fleeing backward like a cowardly coward is also your choice.-
"Let's get the reward and leave right away."
The princess nodded in agreement.
After a short wait, a reward appeared in front of the students amidst smoke.
Poof!
It was a silver spoon. Yi-Han and the princess each held a silver spoon, looking perplexed.
'What's this?'
The princess, as if understanding, lightly scraped the remaining cake with the spoon. Yi-Han, startled, slapped her hand away.
"Don't eat it!"
The princess was too flabbergasted to respond properly.
