Rugged gray cobblestones and walls of the same material greeted the group. A fingertip trailed along the stone left a gritty, damp sensation.
Though the sight was familiar to Ren from the game, its physical reality made him feel as though he had wandered into an entirely different world. Perhaps because it had been built as a fortress, the windows were narrow slits; even during the day, the interior remained dim, illuminated only by torches spaced at regular intervals.
Their footsteps echoed through the heavy, stone corridors.
What is going on?
The sheer shock of the situation had momentarily shaken Ren’s composure, but fortunately, the urgency of the moment meant that formal introductions were pushed aside.
"I’m Maydas. I’m the adventurer overseeing the others—excluding the Clausel Knights—for the duration of this rescue mission."
Maydas introduced himself briefly as he walked beside Fiona, who led them deeper into the fortress. In that moment, Fiona misunderstood. Taking Maydas’s words at face value, she assumed that Ren, who lacked a knight's uniform, was simply another adventurer. Ren did have an adventurer registration, so she wasn't technically wrong, but it wasn't the whole truth either.
"Why are teenagers like you in the Baldur Mountains?" Maydas asked.
Fiona continued walking without breaking her stride. "We are applicants. We’ve been taking refuge in this fortress for several days."
"A-applicants...?"
"Yes. This location is the final exam site for the Special Merit Class of the Imperial Academy."
Maydas goggled at the explanation. Ren and the Knights shared his look of stunned disbelief. Ren and the others remained silent, however; though they had plenty of questions, they focused on listening to the conversation.
"I had my suspicions, but to think you’re from the Academy's prestigious Special Merit Class..."
"Haha! Hey, Maydas! Better mind your manners!" another adventurer jeered.
"I—I know that! But give me a break! I never learned how to talk to nobles... anyway, the rest of you should introduce yourselves too!"
Maydas barked at the other adventurers. Given their company, he was trying his best to be polite, but the others looked less than enthusiastic.
"Count me out," one woman said. "Last time I guarded a noble, they nitpicked my etiquette and made my life hell."
"I’ll pass too," a man added. "To a backwater adventurer, those Academy kids are a bit too high-profile for us."
"Exactly. We could probably squeeze a decent reward out of their parents, but when guys like us get tangled up with Great Nobles, it usually ends in a headache. I don't want them claiming we were somehow responsible for them getting stranded."
The adventurers had their own practical reasons for avoiding introductions.
"We’ll get the applicants down the mountain," another adventurer said. "They don't interfere with us, and we get them out in one piece. That's enough, right?"
"Let's stick to non-interference. If you agree to that, we can guarantee your safety."
"Consider the lack of trouble our payment."
As the man said, they likely could have demanded a steep reward from the parents. However, these veterans knew how dangerous those in power could be. If a noble decided to hold a grudge or find a scapegoat, they were finished. Simply put, they were hiding their identities for self-preservation. Fiona Ignat’s presence, in particular, seemed to have driven that point home.
"I understand," Fiona replied. She seemed familiar with the whims of the nobility and simply nodded. Maydas apologized as they walked, but she gave a brave, small smile. "Please, don't apologize. We are the ones being saved."
To break the heavy tension, Maydas changed the subject. "Still, if you're all aiming for the Special Merit Class, I assume there are many among you who excel in magic, not just the sword?"
He was hinting at the obvious: the Imperial Academy was the most elite institution in Leomel, and its Special Merit Class was a gateway reserved for a tiny fraction of the most talented youth. Applicants of that caliber should have been more capable than common country adventurers. He was essentially asking why they hadn't been able to handle the storm themselves.
"We can't compete with adults when it comes to raw physical stamina," Fiona explained. "If this abnormal weather had only lasted a few days, we might have managed. But by the time we decided to take shelter, we had already been marching through the mountains for over a week."
For teenagers whose bodies weren't yet fully developed, that march had been grueling. They might have outclassed the local adventurers for a few days, but in a long-term survival situation, their lack of experience and physical maturity became a fatal disadvantage.
"Furthermore, an inexplicably high number of monsters appeared. We were forced to exhaust ourselves just to survive."
Maydas’s eyebrows twitched for a fraction of a second at that. He quickly masked it, nodding. "You’re teenagers; you probably looked like easy prey."
"And with that abnormal cold, it's no wonder things went south."
As Maydas accepted the explanation, Ren sank into thought.
The Special Merit Class exam is definitely brutal. This final exam is the peak of that... but still.
The exam was supposed to take place in a designated area along a specific route to test stamina, endurance, resourcefulness, and group coordination. There should have been examiners watching from the shadows.
This is just an entrance exam. They shouldn't have been pushed this far.
The weather was so severe that seasoned adventurers were calling for rescue. No matter how prestigious the school, it was unthinkable for examiners to simply abandon the students. Many of these applicants were connected to powerful families; pushing them to the point of death would be a political nightmare.
So, where were the examiners?
"You noticed, didn't you?"
The adventurer walking beside Ren whispered to him.
"This isn't normal. If we’re not careful, we might find out there’s someone at the top who could blink and have us all killed. There are noble kids from every faction here; someone messing with all of them at once is a terrifying thought."
"...So that’s why everyone suddenly got so guarded."
"Exactly. It might be rude, but we’ve got to look out for number one. I’m not worried about a breach of etiquette when my neck is on the line."
Ahead of them, Fiona came to a halt. She stood before the doors to the Great Hall at the rear of the fortress.
"When we first reached this fortress, we were relieved to find others already here."
Her expression, however, remained troubled. As the doors opened, the reason became clear.
The hall was filled with simple bedding. Kai and the other stranded adventurers, along with the merchants they had been escorting, were lying there. Every single one of them was gasping for air, their breathing labored and painful.
"What—Ka! Kai!"
Maydas rushed to his partner’s side. The other rescuers followed close behind.
"...As you can see," Fiona said softly. "Every person who was already in this fortress is currently unable to even walk."
The sense of dread Ren had been feeling intensified. The Knights clearly felt it too, but they maintained their professional demeanor as they addressed her.
"Lady Ignat. If there is anything else you can tell us, please do. We came from Clausel after seeing the signal fire, but we still don't fully understand the situation."
Fiona nodded. "One of the other applicants has some medical training. According to their diagnosis, the mana levels within these people's bodies have increased to an abnormal degree."
A shadow crossed her face, and Ren thought he saw her lips tremble. She quickly composed herself, leaving him to wonder if he had imagined it.
"From the examination, the symptoms appear similar to Vessel Cracking."
The Knights gasped.
"The condition where mana becomes a poison and erodes the body? I thought that only affected children born with excessive innate mana... why would it strike veteran adventurers?"
"...Unfortunately, we don't know the reason." Fiona paused. "However, Vessel Cracking is usually fatal depending on how high the mana levels are. In their case, their lives don't appear to be in immediate danger."
It was a condition similar to the one Licia had suffered from, yet fundamentally different. Ren wasn't a doctor, but he understood the gist: it wasn't immediately lethal. Furthermore, Vessel Cracking usually manifested at birth.
The applicant who had checked them believed the mana levels were slowly stabilizing, and that the victims would recover given enough time. But why it happened remained a mystery.
"That’s why the recent signal fires were being sent by us," Fiona added with a self-deprecating tilt of her head.
A Knight crossed his arms, deep in thought. He eventually bowed to Fiona before heading toward the fallen adventurers. "We have much to consider, but first, I must check on our people. Afterward, we will discuss your descent from the mountain."
Fiona watched the Knight walk away, murmuring softly to herself, "So I am to be aided by House Clausel once again." She then followed him into the hall.
At that moment, a sudden incident shattered the lingering tension.
"Ugh, how pathetic. If they don't give us a massive bonus for this, it won't even be worth the trouble."
One of the female adventurers who had been walking with Ren sighed loudly. She exchanged a look with her companion and then turned her gaze toward him.
"We’re staying the night here anyway. Let's hurry up and pick a room."
"Good idea. We can leave the heavy lifting to the men."
Both women suddenly leaned against Ren, their bodies pressing close.
"How about sharing a room with us?"
Ren froze in surprise for a second before his voice sharpened with irritation. What are they doing in the middle of an emergency? Far from being charmed, he found the distraction maddening.
"Excuse me—please don't do things like this right now."
He pushed them away firmly. The two women just laughed at his coldness and sauntered off. Ren let out a heavy, annoyed sigh, only to realize that Fiona was standing by the doorway, a strained, wry smile on her face.
"U-um..."
"Just to be clear, I wasn't exactly 'entertaining' those two, all right?"
"I-it's fine! I saw what happened...!" Fiona replied quickly.
The timing was atrocious. While it was a relief that she didn't seem to have the wrong idea, the air between them was now incredibly awkward.
This is bad. It’s going to be so hard to introduce myself now.
To Fiona, Ren was her savior, but how was he supposed to introduce himself properly after that? He didn't need a grand welcome, but the circumstances of their meeting were just too absurd. He didn't want to add to her confusion during a crisis.
I’ll put it off for now. I’ll talk to the Knights and find a better time later.
Fiona already mistook him for a common adventurer, and the adventurers had just agreed on a policy of non-interference anyway. He decided to hold his tongue.
But as he stood there in the awkward silence...
"Lady Ignat! I need to talk to you about something...!"
An unexpected rescue arrived in the form of a female student. She hurried over and took Fiona’s hand. The matter seemed private, as the girl kept darting glances at Ren.
"I'll excuse myself, then," Ren said, turning away.
"Wait—Mr. Adventurer!" Fiona called out to his retreating back. He paused as she bowed deeply. "Thank you, truly, for all your help!" she said, her voice filled with genuine gratitude.