309 – Selbier and the Mad Wizard’s Great Labyrinth

I want to kill the mad wizard.

It was a sentence that any student who had taken his class would have thought of at least once. Every week, he provided new levels of shittiness that they had never imagined in their entire lives, so it was inevitable that their blood would boil.

Now, if this was just a level of difficulty that only inflicted pain on people, they could just cleanly give up and lie down. But for any ordeal, it seemed like they could succeed if they just tried a little harder.

“You look like you could totally break this, are you seriously just gonna sit there? Really?” They’d taunt you like that, soft and needling, and of course your motivation would ignite. That sly, manipulative way they adjusted the difficulty just pissed you off.

And what pissed you off even more was that, after all that writhing and struggling, you actually ended up getting better.

“S-swinging a sword at a person…it’s so terrifying. The thought of me hurting someone, I just can’t make my hands move…”

Even the student who was paralyzed by the very idea of committing violence against another.

“Get the hell outta my way, you b*stards! I’m going first!”

They became the kind of student who wouldn’t hesitate to slam a blunt object into the unguarded back of another student’s head.

But, aside from the difficulty of the lessons… this mad wizard person themselves seemed oddly clumsy, even a little dim-witted. Based on their behavior during class, you’d think they were the final boss of the academy.

But then you’d talk to them personally after class and it’d be, like.

“Professor, what are you doing lying down there?”

“Ah, student…a coin rolled under the sofa and I’m trying to get it, but my arms are a little short. I can almost reach it.”

“……Can’t you just use your magic?”

“That would feel like I’m losing to a coin. Just watch, I think I can do it…if only my fingers were just a little longer, I could just…haaa….”

Instead of a great demon who grew stronger from the suffering of students, they seemed like a young adult with a screw or two loose.

And yet, you’d see how they effortlessly swept through the academy’s black mages as if it were harvest time, or hear stories about what they did in the outside world, and you’d look up to them again. It was 50/50.

So one day, someone directly asked them.

“Professor, why are your classes so… uh, batshit insane?”

“Ah, that? I consulted an expert on the academy once. I asked them, ‘If you need to give students an experience, what kind of experience do they need?'”

“Oh, and then…?”

“Trials, grand trials worthy of legends, constantly crossing the border between life and death, overcoming trials and tribulations that can only be resolved by pushing their own limits. That’s what they told me, and I suddenly realized. Ah, the students of the academy, they were all prepared for this.”

“………..”

The mad mage’s blather didn’t stop there.

“Originally, I was going to mix in a little entertainment, you know? Like how they mix in recreation time at training camps. Something like, learning to break free from sweet fantasies…”

“Ah, aah.”

“But this is much better, I think. Instead of chatting with your ideal dream lover and building resistance to temptation, pushing yourselves through this and conquering it makes your skills grow by leaps and bounds. Right?”

He described the gentle, wholesome lesson plan he had originally considered, and the student’s expression grew increasingly stiff.

After the talk, the student murmured to himself, his pupils empty.

“What a b*stard.”

From that point on, rumors of a ‘Martial Arts Public Enemy X’ quietly spread amongst the academy students. Some lunatic who wagged his three-inch tongue, robbing them of the sweet time they were supposed to have.

And in its place came a TentacleSpikeConfusionInversionReversedSensesTSMutationDungeon. How could they ever forgive that?

Of course, of course, if the difficulty was lower, the skill increase would have been less. I know. I know that to play an active role as a combat agent in the future, it’s better to learn rigorously at the academy in the long run… I know!

I know that this academy class is being called the golden generation thanks to this…

But, but!

But…!!

“Give me back my fantasy ideal lover…!!”

It was impossible to suppress the rising fury!

Therefore, after the existence of ‘Martial Arts Public Enemy X’ was revealed, approximately 50% of the curses produced by the academy students were directed towards X. Whoever he is, may he be plagued by misfortune, trials, and pain!

Perhaps their earnest desires reached the heavens.

“……..”

Selvier ended up being captured and brought to the mad mage’s Great Labyrinth.

A lobby finished with modern, white walls. And a door leading to Stage 1. No exit, but there’s a time limit timer. A structure where you have to spend 24 hours inside, come hell or high water, to get out.

It feels like they’re asking, will you waste a day doing nothing and slack off before leaving, or will you at least try some difficult challenge before going back?

This was the entrance to a crazy wizard’s Great Labyrinth.

Selvier thought.

He didn’t know how the scores for the team events were determined. However, the fact that 『Crazy Wizard’s Great Labyrinth』 had the highest point value meant that it was given an equivalent level of difficulty.

Because the one who created it was a crazy wizard.

The cause and effect were reversed. It wasn’t that it was difficult so the points were high, but that the moment the points were set high, the crazy wizard had probably applied a balance patch.

The point value of 『Alexson & Alejandro’s Glory of Battle』 was 113 points.

The point value assigned to 『Crazy Wizard’s Great Labyrinth』 was 179 points.

That’s an increase in difficulty of 66 points—it was better to be prepared. Selvier finished steeling his mind and opened the door.

“If we complete this… we can win even if we beat Baekseol!”

*Screech*–

And what unfolds is a forest of tentacles.

-Come here, little one, come here, let’s play in our arms.

-Here, there are luscious and very sweet fruits growing.

Accompanied by complex mental attacks with numerous whispers.

*Swish.* *Swish-swish.* *Swish.*

And thin, venomous needles that are sporadically ejected, almost silently.

“Damn it, what the hell is this hellhole, why is there a facility like this in the academy–!!”

“Poison needles are flying! My body, my body is hot…”

“Mom, Mom, you’re here. Mom!”

Almost all the terrorists, ensnared by Envers’ scheme and abducted into the『Great Labyrinth』, were teetering on the brink of death in this stage. This kind of space, they’d never experienced or even heard of.

“……..”

Selvier, observing the scene, crossed his arms and offered a nonchalant comment.

“Well… maybe because it’s the beginning, it’s not that hard.”

The tentacles are easy enough to dodge, and mental attacks are simple to block. Anyone who had consistently attended classes could do it even half-asleep.

Avoiding the occasional tentacle attack, three academy students who were passing time playing tic-tac-toe on the bare ground waved at Selvier.

“Hey, Selvier’s here too.”

“Yo, we were short a wide-area attack and waiting, wanna join us? We’re ready to go once you’re in.”

“Cool. We’ve got all our positions covered, right? By the way, I didn’t see you guys at the mansion, what were you doing?”

“Well… outside, there’s a stage called『Which One’s the Poisonous Mushroom』with a 7-point score. We figured there’s no way they’d mix in real poisonous mushrooms, so we ate it. Turns out, it wasn’t poisonous, but it teleported us into the『Great Labyrinth』.”

The student, who had ended up in the Great Labyrinth due to a momentary bad choice, shook his head, looking like he was rolling a cigarette. The other course’s attractions were just as messed up, it seemed.

The impromptu party, now four including Selvier, rose from their spots and formed ranks. A stable party comprised of one scout, one tank, one wide-area attacker, and one single-target attacker.

First, the scout weaves through the tentacles to find a path. Since there’s no such thing as a perfectly uniform defense line, there are dense and sparse sections even in a forest of tentacles.

Carefully watching the movement and speed, they set the route.

“This way is right. Advance.”

“That side’s density is pretty thin, what about there?”

“Saw a terrorist get eaten there a little while ago. Huge tentacle down below.”

Moving forward along the path, keeping their health as the first priority, they eliminated tentacles that were unavoidable or in difficult positions. The tank steps up to block attacks targeting the damage dealers.

“Watch your flanks. I think a giant tentacle is coming…?”

“That’s a hallucination.”

“Yeah, a hallucination. Hey, how long have you been doing this, getting caught by something like that?”

“Come on, a person can missee something…”

Mental attacks are prevented by cross-referencing information, and incoming poison darts are blocked by Selvier generating heat waves timed precisely.

The hastily formed four-person party moved through the tentacle forest, meshing like a sophisticated cogwheel. They looked so at ease doing it that even the terrorist dangling from a tentacle felt a reality check.

A dungeon excavation specialist adventurer watching via an external screen widened his eyes, asking the student next to him,

“That team seems to specialize in dungeon exploration. With skills like that, they’re far better than our 5-year vets… Could you get me their names?”

“As far as I know, there’s a separate dungeon exploration club. Those two are aspiring knights, and that female student is a pre-graduate student, I believe…”

“Dungeon exploration isn’t their future aspiration? But they’re so good at it?”

“Well…”

They train in situations that feel like they could kill you, but don’t actually carry the risk of death. They experience a diversity greater than a national tour without moving far.

The mad wizard’s classes, whether the students wanted it or not, broadened their perspective. Now, they can even throw a punch first at a tentacle that suddenly appears from a corner.

And the result—a rise in the low point.

“Isn’t that the norm for everyone?”

It was a frightening leveling-up, indeed.

–

“Looks like it’s individual from Stage 3 onwards. Good job, Selvier.”

“Didn’t expect the ground to vanish like that. I’d have been eliminated without you… But couldn’t you lower the heat of that heat wave? It gets too hot with you.”

“Then go with Snow White!”

“She doesn’t do team battles…”

After parting ways with the hastily-formed team, Selvier entered the next stage. So far, she’d been able to progress smoothly without any real difficulty.

There were moments where the floor would suddenly give way beneath her, like in some cat-Mario game, which was a bit startling, but most top students at the Academy knew how to double-jump.

Selvier, in her case, had passed those by triggering an explosion below, lifting her entire team over the gap.

“Hmm… Easier than I thought.”

She even briefly entertained the idea that maybe the crazy wizard had dialed down the difficulty for the kids’ festival, as a way of making himself approachable for the spectators.

Or maybe her older brother was taking it easy on her, for her sake. For a moment, she wondered.

*Click*—

And that thought was shattered the instant she entered.

“………”

Let’s think this through calmly. Every challenge has the creator’s intent behind it. Selvier tried to soothe herself, and began to systematically analyze the situation.

First, there were the fully-armed soldiers surrounding her on all sides, with their rifles. Thanks to a recent outing to the modern world with Aisha, she was aware of the destructive power of firearms.

Considering the casting of Flame Sky, three shots would probably be enough to take her down.

The soldiers were hidden behind thick cover. She needed to instantly either incinerate all of them with their cover, or a shield of heat powerful enough to melt the hail of bullets.

Next.

There was a glint of light from the rooftop of a building some distance away. A sniper. He was too far away to deal with first. She needed to counter the high-caliber, pinpoint-accurate sniper rounds.

Concentrating the heat to melt them in mid-air would prevent damage. Next.

Outside of a certain radius, there were heat-sensitive magical mines. They detonated when the temperature rose, and their power was probably… close to instant death.

But the moment she casts Flame Sky, the temperature of the surrounding area would skyrocket. If she used Feather Fall, they’d go off for sure. But without Feather Fall, she wouldn’t be able to generate enough heat to melt the bullets.

So…

“Use Flame Sky, but control the wasted heat, contain it within a certain radius, deploy an even shield, simultaneously counter the intermittent sniper fire, and in that state, melt the enemy forces.”

Grind that control to the absolute limit. Overcome the flaws of the “soft flesh” fable with your physical prowess.

In short, it was telling her to achieve a control-defense capability on par with “Love-Seeking Fire Serpent.”

*Beep.*

The number 000 appeared on the electronic display. Selvier knew without further explanation that it counted her attempt trials. It would probably increase by 1 with each retry.

Selvier slapped her forehead.

“…Why don’t you just tell me to ‘ascend’ or something?!”

Every problem has the intention of its creator.

Selvier grumbled, but even so, she could feel the crazy magician’s intention of “don’t die” from this problem. So she decided to try it out.

“Fine, let’s do this…”

It was on her 71st try that she realized there was no quit button.

–

If she could go back to the past.

-Trials, you see.

If she could leap through time and correct her mistakes.

-She needs trials, massive trials that can reach the fable! If there’s anything lacking in the Academy students, it’s only that!

If only that were possible…

-She needs to cross the border between life and death countless times, trials and tribulations that she can only overcome by pushing her limits!

She would have shot “Glittering Gleam” at her past self’s mouth.

“Selvier, you crazy b*tch…”

219th try, Fire Celestial Arts Application “Flame Wings” acquired.

And the 219th clear failure.