Of course, that thought hadn't changed, but the white-tattooed man had said there were passers.
And at a rate of 10%, which was shockingly high compared to the difficulty he had felt.
Unconsciously, Shirone smiled, the corner of his mouth trembling slightly. It was an eerie feeling.
Shirone: "Amy."
Amy: "Huh?"
Shirone: "The headmaster is really a mischievous person."
Amy: "What do you mean?"
Shirone wasn't in the mood to answer. Alpheas's words echoed in his head like an auditory hallucination.
-You should be able to get a rough idea of what kind of world the Labyrinth lives in.
He still didn't know.
How much power was needed to achieve a passing score.
Why such brutal rules were set to select those who could enter the Kergo Autonomous District.
The only thing he realized was that this was the limit of what students could approach.
'I'm sorry, Headmaster.'
Shirone had no intention of stopping. He had discovered a possibility.
In fact, he was determined to enter the Kergo Autonomous District within the travel period.
Seeing Shirone's expression, Amy smiled.
'He hasn't given up, Shirone.'
If that was the case, she also had no intention of stopping here.
At first, she had found meaning in traveling with Shirone, but now she genuinely wanted to learn about the woman named Labyrinth.
'The Kergo Autonomous District. I will definitely go there.'
While Shirone's group was deep in thought, the leader knocked on the iron door.
Leader: "Let's just get out of here! No complaints, right? Hey, open this door!"
His pride was thoroughly bruised, and he couldn't bear the cold stares of his comrades anymore.
The white-tattooed man asked.
White-Tattooed Man: "Does everyone agree?"
No translation was needed, and the mercenaries nodded silently, heading for the door.
Their feelings as they left were miserable.
They had come to make a quick profit but ended up wasting money and losing their camaraderie.
The archer looked at Shirone's group and spoke.
Archer: "Hey, let's get out of here."
His attitude was distinctly different from before.
Though he was also feeling hollow, he couldn't help but be cautious after confirming that Shirone's group was anything but ordinary.
Shirone's group didn't move.
Archer: "What's wrong? Aren't you leaving?"
The mage asked with an uneasy expression.
Since ominous premonitions were never wrong, Amy spoke up.
Amy: "We have no intention of leaving."
The mercenaries all turned around.
Anger, confusion, and fear crossed their faces.
The mage, who was quick to assess the situation, swallowed his anger and asked in a placating tone.
Mage: "Why don't you want to leave? It's already over, isn't it? We're too tired to continue."
Amy: "That's your problem. Since we've entered this place, we're all one. Don't you know? If you try to leave on your own without considering our opinions, it'll be troublesome for us."
The mage was hurt, but he had no choice but to humor Amy for now.
Mage: "Alright. I didn't think that far ahead. So, let's just leave."
Amy: "That won't do. We're going to pass through here and get to Kergo."
Mage: "But how… Oh."
The mage's face turned pale.
This was the Room of Achievement and Sacrifice. Proving achievement wasn't the only way.
The white-tattooed man spoke.
White-Tattooed Man: "Will you leave, or will you stay? If you want to prove your strength, pass through the Labyrinth's Space-Time. If you want to prove sacrifice, sacrifice four to send four."
Rian: "What's he saying?"
Before Rian could finish asking, the archer translated. Of course, the language was completely distorted.
Archer: "Ah, he's saying to leave quickly if you're done."
Amy raised the corner of her mouth.
Amy: "Huh, that's strange? I'm sure I heard this: 'Sacrifice four to send four.'"
Shock filled the archer's eyes.
Archer: "You… Did you know the native language?"
Amy: "What are you talking about? The words he used were all mentioned when we first arrived. Do you think we're idiots? We can't remember words we've heard once?"
The archer was dumbfounded.
Ah, is that so? No, isn't it strange to remember words you've only heard once?
Amy pointed at the mercenaries.
Amy: "Anyway, four sacrifices. One, two, three, four. Exactly four are filled."
The mercenaries' faces turned pale.
Amy's gaze was serious, and even her friends Rian and Tess couldn't tell if she was joking or not.
Tess: "Shirone, are you really going to do this? Hiiing, Amy is so scary."
Shirone: "It's fine. She's doing it on purpose."
Tess: "On purpose? Why?"
Shirone: "There's still one more thing we need from them."
The mercenaries stepped back, dragging their feet.
The demonstration earlier had proven that fighting would be a guaranteed loss.
Amy flicked her fingers.
Amy: "Come at us. You look like you won't sacrifice yourselves willingly. Anyway, you'll have to struggle."
The archer asked.
Archer: "…Why are you doing this? Is it because of what we did at the tavern?"
Amy tilted her head.
Amy: "Hmm?"
Her feigned ignorance made the archer realize that half-hearted responses wouldn't work.
He walked to a visible spot and bowed respectfully.
Archer: "I'm sorry. We underestimated you and made a mistake. Please forgive us just this once. Hey, you guys apologize too."
Since their lives were on the line, the remaining three reluctantly walked over to the archer.
Mercenary 1: "I'm sorry. I was too arrogant. Please forgive me."
Mercenary 2: "I won't do it again. I've learned a lot from this. So, can you forget the mistakes we made?"
Amy furrowed her brow.
Amy: "Hmm, I really don't understand. What mistakes did you make to us? Wait, the tavern? Were you at that tavern? That's strange. Why didn't I see you?"
Amy had never turned her head at the tavern.
'She's ruthless.'
The mercenaries' faces turned red.
Their pride had not only hit the ground but was being trampled on.
Shirone smiled bitterly.
'This is what happens when you make Amy angry.'
Of course, it wasn't out of emotional spite.
In any situation, maximizing gains was the essence of being a mage.
That's why some viewed mages as cold, heartless, or eccentric, but it was an undeniable truth.
Perhaps it was this obsession with efficiency that allowed magic to develop to this point.
'What do you want us to do? Damn it.'
As the mercenaries stood there, unsure of what to do, Amy finally brought up the main point.
Amy: "Let me make a proposal. If you accept it, we can leave together."
Archer: "What… is it?"
Amy: "You said you need a password to get this far, right? What's the password?"
The archer realized that Shirone's group intended to challenge it again.
Of course, it would only be after thorough investigation and analysis to verify the possibility.
'Damn it! This is worth a fortune.'
They had spent money solely for this password, so their spirits were crushed, but there was no other choice.
Archer: "Kertia, ro hoima. Akrasia, widmia benzen. That's the password."
Amy: "What does it mean?"
Archer: "Knock on my door, and it shall open."
Amy turned to the white-tattooed man and repeated the ancient language the archer had provided without a single mistake.
Amy: "Kertia, ro hoima. Akrasia, widmia benzen?"
The natives guarding the exit nodded, understanding her intent.
The archer grimaced.
Archer: "Damn it! Trust me a little. Do you really think I'd lie in this situation?"
Amy: "Who said anything? It's better to be sure. Anyway, thanks."
Amy relaxed her expression as if nothing had happened and turned to her friends.
Tess stuck out her tongue.
Tess: "So, you were after the password? I was so nervous thinking we were really going to fight!"
Amy: "Hehe, we'll need it if we're coming back. Anyway, let's get out of here."
As Shirone's group and the mercenaries headed for the door, the white-tattooed man activated the mechanism.
The door vibrated violently, revealing a corridor.
Just like when they had entered, the mercenaries went up the stairs first, but the atmosphere was completely different. They all hung their heads like defeated soldiers, and no one spoke.
In the silence, Shirone was lost in thought.
'The Labyrinth's Space-Time. Why did the Labyrinth create such a device? The Kergo priest said there were passers. So, it's not just evaluating teamwork. It's either someone incredibly strong or a battle team bound by perfect trust. But… what's the purpose of selecting such people?'
While Shirone was thinking, Amy was also pondering the future.
'There's more than one way to investigate the ruins. Let's consider all possible strategies. Shirone seems to have his own thoughts, but we can't rule out using the Spirit Zone to explore underground. Above all, even if we go to the Autonomous District, there's the issue of translation. We'll need to find someone who can translate outside. We'll have to scout locals.'
Tess was also impressed. Quantifying combat power was a significant achievement.
'My sword is stronger than a blunt weapon. But it still can't match the power of magic. Does that mean a swordsman can't pass alone? If possible, to what extent? Shirone's magic was close to 5,000, which is roughly ten times my strike. If the passing standard is about twice that, would someone like my dad be enough? If we know the cutoff, we can set a goal. Shirone said he'd come back, so we'll investigate more then.'
Rian was also silent. His brow was furrowed in deep thought.
'What should we eat when we get out?'
After climbing the stairs for about 30 minutes, Shirone's group arrived at the altar on the surface.
Knocking on the door from the inside, the stone door opened, and sunlight poured in.
"Huu."
Shirone exhaled, clearing the stale air from his lungs.
Even though it had only been a few hours of travel, the sun hanging in the sky felt like it didn't belong to today.
Shirone's group and the mercenaries silently dispersed in opposite directions.
When Amy looked back, the distance between them had grown wider than before. It seemed unlikely they would remain a team after today.
Shirone: "What should we do now? We had better results than expected, but should we call it a day?"
Amy: "Let's do that. I'm tired after using so much energy. It's better to head back early and plan our next move."
Rian: "How about we grab some noodles before that? The place we passed earlier looked good."
Tess: "Are you seriously thinking about noodles again? At least suggest something like makguksu (buckwheat noodles). That's why people say you're so simple-minded."
Rian: "What? Simple? Do you know how much thought I put into this?"
As Rian and Tess bickered over the menu, the mercenaries approached.
Shirone's group stopped talking and turned their heads.
Shirone: "Huh?"
The warrior, mage, and archer were there, but their leader was nowhere to be seen.
The mercenaries hesitated, glancing at each other, until finally, the mage spoke up.
Mage: "Hey… would you like to join our mercenary group?"
Shirone: "Your mercenary group?"
Mage: "Yeah. I know you're students, but being a mercenary has its perks. You can earn honor and money, and with your skills, you'd become stars in no time. As you can see, our leader just quit. Oh, and you could be the new leader if you want. We'd follow your orders without question, and we'd treat you well. What do you think?"
Shirone took a moment to respond politely but firmly.
Shirone: "No, thank you."
With that, he turned away, and his friends followed without hesitation.
Rian: "Let's just go eat noodles. Honestly, they were good."
Tess: "No. You just want to fill your stomach first. If you wait a little, we can have something much better."
The mercenaries watched the group walk away, feeling dejected.
The mage's face fell, and he let out a heavy sigh.
Mage: "Ah, my miserable life."