Chapter 88

The mage we’d been eagerly awaiting finally showed up—only after I’d floated all sorts of objects around in the breezy spots to test the winds.

Unaware that we’d made every preparation, the mage began wandering around the tower, scrutinizing every nook and cranny nearby.

So Yeri the hunter’s clone, hidden in the bushes, was live-streaming the scene straight to us.

“Oh, so he’s starting with a spell to bind internal vitality?”

Disrupting the flow of vitality… So Yeri muttered something like that before she actually started taking notes.

It was the kind of note-taking I hadn’t seen since graduating a decade ago.

Her research instinct had clearly kicked into overdrive.

“You’re really going to give it a try?”

It’s really okay, right?

Of course, I understood it was fine, given all the RP Dungeon knowledge I’d accumulated so far.

Whatever happened in an RP Dungeon followed its internal rules.

If the dungeon’s setting involved being reborn even after death, then you’d genuinely wake up in a new location even if you died for real.

So a rule like “killing the caster lifts the spell” would naturally apply perfectly.

“This is magic anyway, so it’ll wear off once that guy’s dead,”

So Yeri said lightly, clearly thinking the same thing. Her eyes were already sparkling with excitement.

“What about RP Dungeon corrections?”

That’s when Shin Jae-heon, who’d been spacing out until now, piped up.

Did this guy sleep through everything because he was tired?

Even for an S-rank, considering his itinerary—returning to the imperial capital from the eastern empire’s mountains and then rushing straight here—he had to be exhausted.

He probably hadn’t gotten much sleep.

As I was thinking that, So Yeri shrugged.

“I think we’ve already gotten the correction. Look—we slipped in without getting caught.”

She pointed to the Backrow Front Row skill screen.

We could see the puny rank of the bold mage who’d barged in to slap a sealing spell on So Yeri the hunter.

“Fair enough…”

How else could a B-rank punk breach the barriers around the magic tower?

He’d surely escape unscathed too.

Just like the guy who poisoned Joo Yian with an A-rank toxin that acted like L-rank, this B-rank was probably slinging L-rank magic.

“Yeah, makes sense. But…”

Shin Jae-heon narrowed his eyes at the screen.

“A skill seal array is being drawn around the tower.”

I was staring at the screen, thinking the same thing.

Of course, I hadn’t expected him to climb all the way to the 20th floor to cast it.

Was he sealing the entire tower?

“Won’t that catch you and Shin Jae-heon Hunter too?”

So Yeri’s expression turned serious at that.

“Hmm.”

She shook her head slightly.

“It’ll only seal things called ‘magic’ in this world…, so it shouldn’t affect you two hunters much. Still.”

She gestured.

“It’d be safer to head out.”

I nodded. The guy seemed almost done with his work(?) anyway.

“We have to deal with him regardless. I’ll head out.”

Shin Jae-heon stood up at my words, pulling his hood low over his face.

“Let’s go.”

He silently opened the window and peered down, clearly planning to jump.

I almost leaped out on instinct but hesitated.

Wait, is jumping from the 20th floor okay with B-rank specs?

As I pondered, So Yeri seemed to read my mind.

“Want a lift down~?”

That might be easier, but if the sealing started mid-flight spell, it could end in disaster.

Plummeting from the sky with nowhere to land.

That’s when Shin Jae-heon cut in.

“No, I’ll just jump. With you.”

He pointed at me.

An S-rank wouldn’t have trouble carrying one more person down 20 floors.

“Sounds good. Just make sure the magic circle’s flawless!”

So Yeri nodded emphatically.

“Process him once the circle’s complete and the spell activates! Got it?”

Her golden eyes were practically shining now.

That thirst for knowledge!

“Let’s hurry.”

We couldn’t afford to let the mage slip away.

Thud! That’s when I grabbed Shin Jae-heon’s hand.

“?”

I saw him freeze.

I glanced at the feed of Backrow Front Row diligently drawing the circle.

“You wanna get sealed in a package or something?”

Shin Jae-heon immediately shook his head.

“No. Pardon me then.”

Pardon for what?

Before I could respond, he scooped me up princess-style.

“Whoa.”

First time being carried so delicately by an S-rank—

Ah.

A belated realization hit me as we jumped.

“This must be how Joo Yian felt the first time I carried her.”

No wonder she looked so awkward.

I had to fight back a laugh.

—Slip.

Shin Jae-heon faltered slightly as he landed on the 20th-floor window ledge.

“Whoa.”

I nearly bit my tongue. The S-rank bus ride was bumpier than expected.

“You—”

Are you really out of shape? As I started to ask,

Shin Jae-heon blurted out,

“When did you carry Joo Hunter Yian?”

Carry? Is that how you describe it?

More importantly, didn’t he see me doing it?

“The day we met. Don’t you remember?”

He let out a short “Ah.”

Then,

“After that?”

After that what? Did I tote her around? I blinked at him awkwardly.

“Am I Joo Yian’s personal carriage or something?”

Shin Jae-heon had no comeback.

Well, well, look at this guy?

—Whoosh.

We were rapidly approaching the ground.

The moment we ducked into the bushes,

—Flash!

A greenish light flared around So Yeri’s position at the magic tower.

“Oh.”

That the sealing spell?

As Shin Jae-heon set me down, my gaze snapped to the status window.

Whoa, I figured it’d get L-rank dungeon correction, but he actually landed an L-rank skill?

As I gaped in shock, a chat message popped up.

Shin Jae-heon replied immediately.

After a brief pause, Joo Yian’s question followed.

He’d snuck in without saying a word in chat, so of course she wouldn’t know.

Ugh, ack! The S-rank healer’s nagging! I slyly shoved the chat to the corner of my vision.

Shin Jae-heon, however, looked cornered and replied to avoid worse scolding.

He’d clearly planned to keep it secret from Joo Yian.

Even while chatting, Shin Jae-heon had already blocked the mage’s escape routes.

Slipping silently through the bushes to bring the mage into striking range—that was all the prep needed.

“Heh heh… This is the end for the Magic Tower Master!”

The oblivious B-rank mage was blithely raising death flags like a third-rate villain.

Meanwhile, So Yeri was reveling in her sealing magic research.

—Dash!

I caught the guy the instant he glanced around and tried to bolt.

“Wh-who goes there!”

The startled mage spun toward me, his face turning ghost-white.

“Y-you’re… the Guardian Knight Captain, Countess Edelweiss?”

Even this terminally ill commoner had fans now.

I’ve grown so much, Senia!

I gave him a warm smile.

“Correct.”

The mage looked utterly blindsided.

“H-how is the Guardian Knight Captain at the magic tower!”

Third-raters prepare excuses in advance. Second-raters improvise on the spot.

But first-raters?

“How do you think?”

I shrugged.

Lazy to think up details, but once caught, tossing out a line like that usually made them…

“Did the plan leak…!”

…fill in the blanks with their own novel in their heads.

“You should’ve been more discreet then.”

I tossed out a vague reply. The mage clapped a hand over his mouth and shouted,

“I only told Father and my brother’s family…!”

I stared at him blankly for a second.

Wasn’t this assassin blabbing way too much?

The Eastern Empire’s crown prince sent this clown?

Between the Western Empire with no emperor in the capital and the Eastern Empire with this sorry heir, I wondered which would collapse first.

“L-let go!”

I smacked him around as he struggled, waiting for chat.

Soon, So Yeri chimed in.

Her excitement was practically audible.

Sigh, what to do with that experimental spirit.

What if this guy’s the only key to solving it?

I eyed the mage, who didn’t seem capable of that.

“Let go! Eee-yah!”

Of course, he was flailing, trying to cast spells as a self-proclaimed mage.

But B-rank against my stats, which were already beyond B?

Ever seen a tankier B-rank?

Even if this mage were A-rank without evasion skills, escaping my grip was impossible.

Not that it’d matter—Shin Jae-heon would flatten him anyway.

What even is curiosity to a support hunter?

Come to think of it, researchers and professors often awakened as supports—maybe curiosity is a prerequisite for support awakening?

Musing idly, I looked down at the now-useless mage.

“Sadly, no plans to let you go.”

As I spoke, Shin Jae-heon sauntered around the tower, checking for others.

He could sense presences without looking, though.

Wasn’t he even here to beat this guy? What was his deal?

Feeling lonely or something?

Honestly, shouldn’t the one who needed that notebook with Shin Jae-heon’s drawings from the dungeon have been him, not Joo Yian?

“Let go!”

The mage interrupted my thoughts.

Thwack!

I smacked his head again and asked politely,

“Who sent you?”

He clamped his mouth shut, resolve etched on his face.

I told his reflection the answer.

“The Eastern Empire’s crown prince, right?”

As expected, the mage paled.

No matter how you sliced it, aside from L-rank magic correction, he was ill-suited for infiltration.

Would the Eastern Empire crumble before the West?

From what I knew, the crown prince’s antics stemmed from the emperor being bedridden—so once the emperor kicked the bucket, the East would follow.

But first, clear this dungeon.

“Is that so?”

As I plotted specifics, I continued,

“His Majesty said if you keep quiet, we’ll expose the crown prince first.”

Uncharacteristic what now?

As I raised an eyebrow, I spotted Shin Jae-heon flashing his palm beyond the flustered mage.

His Majesty never said that—he looked baffled regardless—I kept my eyes on the mage.

And hurled a fastball.