When Leon first decided to separate from the group, his plan was as follows:

He would provoke the scorpions with the wooden sword to draw their attention and then run away.

Once he was far enough from the others, he would try using magic to confront them. Although he had witnessed firsthand that Apprentice-level magic was ineffective against the scorpions, Leon now had magic powerful enough to surpass the limits of an Apprentice.

The fact that such spells consumed an excessive amount of mana wasn't a significant issue, considering the Space-Time Orb.

If his magic didn’t work even after giving it his all, he would use the emergency teleportation scroll.

This was the essence of Leon's plan.

An ancient magician’s lair? When he first heard about it, it was merely unfamiliar to him. He thought it might interfere with his training if he got involved.

But upon entering, he became interested in the abilities of the magician who could construct such a vast lair.

"I expected power inflation... but could a single magician really create this massive cave?"

Naturally, he was curious about the secrets the magician had hidden in this lair, even as his caution increased.

Leon clutched the teleportation scroll tightly in his hand.

After entering the left passage and completely disappearing from the others' sight, Leon immediately used Levitation Magic.

The scorpions that had chased him to this point threatened him by twitching their tails, but the ends of those tails couldn't reach him.

The passage seemed endless.

Leon infused more mana into the Levitation Magic to widen the gap between him and the scorpions. Then, he took out a green flute from the subspace.

When Leon played the flute, a white golem with green stripes was summoned in front of him. It stood about 3.5 meters tall.

It wasn't very large, but Leon climbed onto the golem’s shoulder and sat down.

He then used basic telekinesis to lift the wooden sword into the air.

He didn’t intend to use the golem in battle. The golem was of D+ grade, only comparable to a low-level martial arts practitioner. It couldn’t possibly handle dozens of giant scorpions against whom Apprentice-level magic was entirely ineffective.

"But it's perfect as a means of transportation."

Since he couldn’t use Levitation Magic, basic telekinesis, and the "Moonlight Scattering Sword" all at once, this was the best choice.

The golem started running to distance itself from the scorpions.

Although slower than Levitation Magic, its large strides were almost as fast as the scorpions.

"Duration: 1 hour."

Leon moved to the back of the golem and used a memorized spell.

"Pierce."

To test the waters, he injected a moderate amount of mana into the spell and cast it.

The wooden sword surged forward and struck the head of the scorpion crawling at the front.

Thud—

With a dull sound, the wooden sword was deflected.

"With this amount of mana, I can’t pierce it..."

"Huh?"

The giant scorpion collapsed to the ground.

Even though it hadn’t even scratched the tough exoskeleton, the scorpion had trembled when the wooden sword touched it and then suddenly dropped to the ground.

No, it seemed as if it had completely shut down, like a machine whose power had been cut off.

"Could the Apprentice magicians' spells have had an effect after all?"

Since it was the lead scorpion, it likely took the brunt of the Apprentice magicians' attacks. Even with its hard armor, it might not have been entirely unscathed.

Leon retrieved the wooden sword and chanted.

"Force imbued with will, pierce through. Pierce."

This time, he infused it with slightly less mana.

Thud—

The result was the same. Even though the wooden sword bounced off even more pathetically than before, the scorpion it hit stopped moving.

"...What is this?"

Leon went ahead and controlled the wooden sword with only basic telekinesis, using it to touch the scorpion.

When the sword nudged it, the scorpion’s movement ceased once more.

With growing confidence, Leon went around touching the heads of the dozens of scorpions with the wooden sword one by one.

Thud— flop— thud— flop— thud— flop—

"Hmm..."

A strange sense of emptiness swept over Leon’s chest.

The golem Leon had summoned had already stopped walking.

In front of Leon lay dozens of scorpions, all collapsed with their bellies flat on the ground.

The red eyes of the scorpions had long since turned dull.

Leon carefully approached the closest scorpion.

The giant scorpion lay there with lifeless eyes.

Leon circled around it, meticulously examining its body.

Up close, he could see it clearly.

"It’s not a real scorpion..."

The ivory exoskeleton was more akin to intricately crafted armor.

Was it artificially created like a golem?

It made sense if the scorpion’s artificial mana flow was disrupted by the magic sword, causing it to malfunction.

Leon glanced at the golem he had summoned with green stripes.

Then he raised the wooden sword and cautiously lowered it again.

It seemed like it would really break.

That would be equivalent to throwing away a D+-grade artifact on the ground.

"Come to think of it, golems also have cores."

Unlike a magician's core, a golem’s core was a physical object, created through magical engineering.

And of course, a core made with advanced magical engineering was incredibly valuable.

"If it’s a golem made by an ancient magician..."

However, that wasn’t the main reason Leon paid attention.

He was curious about the magical engineering “technology” itself that the ancient magician used.

"Maybe I could use it someday, not immediately, but later?"

When training, nothing would be more reassuring than having a guard golem standing watch.

Leon climbed onto the back of the scorpion to search for its core.

He carefully inspected the joints between the exoskeleton, but he couldn’t find anything that looked like a core.

"I’ll have to flip it over to check its belly or cut it open."

The problem was how to flip this giant scorpion...

Its weight was far too heavy for basic telekinesis alone.

Leon used Earth Magic to raise a wall of soil around the scorpion.

"Swell."

When Leon spoke the incantation, the wooden sword instantly grew larger. Leon injected as much mana as possible to extend the wooden sword.

Using the raised earthen wall as a fulcrum, he used the enlarged wooden sword as a lever to flip the scorpion over.

"Oh..."

There, in the center of its abdomen, was a round, red core embedded in the body.

However, the core flickered as if it were about to go out.

Leon hesitated, thinking it might be dangerous to touch it carelessly.

He backed away and used the wooden sword to cautiously poke around the area near the core.

The part where the core was embedded was relatively weak, and the wooden sword easily pressed into it.

Leon also confirmed that, despite being touched by the sword, the core did not lose its light.

"It seems the magic sword doesn’t absorb the core of a golem."

After confirming that, Leon used the wooden sword to pry out the core.

Crackle—

The core fell to the ground and flickered a few more times before losing its light completely.

Leon used basic telekinesis to bring the core in front of him.

The surface of the sphere, about the size of an adult's palm, was engraved with intricate patterns.

The patterns seemed far more detailed and complex than those on the green flute.

"Although I can’t figure it out right now."

Leon considered collecting all the cores from the scorpion golems but soon realized it would take too much time.

"Should I store them in the orb and have Kito handle it?"

However, he quickly dismissed that thought. Even though the golems had stopped functioning, he didn’t know what might happen if they were placed inside the orb.

This meant he would have to manually extract each core and then collect the remaining materials. The remains of the scorpion golems could be used as resources later, so it was necessary.

"And since I’ll have to move everything individually, it’ll take even more time."

At that moment, Leon heard a sound in the distance.

Rustle— rustle—

More scorpions were approaching from the opposite end of the passage he had entered.

"Sigh..."

Leon couldn’t help but feel a slight sense of annoyance.

He would have to touch each scorpion’s head with the wooden sword, extract the core from the scorpion once it stopped functioning, and then individually transport the remains into the orb.

It was nothing more than tedious, repetitive work.

At that time:

“They’re not following us anymore!” “Let’s stop here!”

The Apprentice magicians who had headed down the right passage noticed that the tunnel seemed endless and decided to stop midway for a break.

“Huff...” “Ha...”

Everyone began gasping for breath as the tension drained from their bodies, exhausted from running at full speed.

The man who had been the loudest among them, Mabel, forced himself to calm his breathing before speaking.

“Rowen, have you received any news from Meln?”

His tone had returned to a respectful manner. Rowen, who had been standing there dazed, grasped the necklace in her hand.

“...I’ve sent the signal, so he should be on his way.”

Mabel thought of the boy who had caught the attention of dozens of scorpions with just a wooden sword and vanished.

Although the magicians had hesitated at first, they had ultimately abandoned the ordinary disciples and fled. The delay in their decision was only because they were inexperienced Apprentice magicians; it was the obvious course of action.

And even if they had made that decision, it didn’t guarantee their safety afterward.

It was that boy who had stepped up in that critical moment.

The boy with black hair, who, despite looking young, had left an impression with his composed demeanor.

Mabel cautiously asked, “Did you know him well?”

Rowen shook her head.

“Not really.”

“Then why do you seem so upset...?”

Rowen shot a sharp glance at Mabel.

“So, you’re saying we shouldn’t be concerned about someone who entered that danger on our behalf?”

Mabel wasn’t a heartless person. He, too, was grateful to the boy. He was merely puzzled by Rowen’s behavior, which is why he asked.

Rowen was a well-known name in the magic city of Widia.

For one, her last name was Mardelia.

A family that had produced countless outstanding magicians.

And a family that was notorious for its strong belief in the superiority of magic.

“He’s just... an ordinary person, isn’t he?”

“Hey!” “I don’t think that’s a good thing to say...”

A young boy with blue hair, Felix, interrupted.

He fiddled with his fingers as he spoke.

“The courage to sacrifice oneself for others... is not something easily found... not even among magicians...”

“I spoke out of turn.”

Mabel readily admitted his mistake.

Indeed, it wasn’t easy to muster that kind of courage.

The fact that the boy was an ordinary person made that gap all the more significant.

“If I survive and return, I’ll propose that we do something to commemorate him and make his actions known.”

“I’ll support that. We could create a memorial day or erect a statue in his honor...” “I’ll speak to my master and ask for their cooperation as well!” “Me too.” “We must ensure his name is remembered...”

Perhaps they felt more confident about their chances of survival, as voices echoed from all around.

“It’s Leon.”

Rowen spoke firmly, and Mabel smiled wryly.

“We were talking about memorials and whatnot without even knowing his name.”

Rowen spoke again.

“And it’s too early to assume he’s dead.”

“Do you really think he can survive until the entire exploration is complete?”

“He’s alive.”

Rowen knew she had no answer if someone asked her "how" he would survive.

She secretly clenched her fists.

“If only I were a little stronger...”

At that moment, they began hearing a chilling noise from the direction of the passage they had entered.

Rustle— rustle—

None of those gathered there failed to recognize the sound.

“It’s... it’s the scorpions!” “Damn, so they were on this side too...”

Just as they had narrowly escaped one danger, they found themselves once again on the brink of disaster, plunging into confusion.

They quickly gathered their strength and prepared for battle.

At that moment...

Small embers began to fall from the ceiling of the cave like raindrops.

Mabel’s face brightened.

“It’s Meln!”

Each of those embers seemed to carry the power to melt anything they touched.

The firestorm grew in intensity like a downpour, quickly turning the area where the scorpions were gathering into a sea of flames.

Waves surged, and a typhoon raged within the sea of fire.

Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, the sea of fire vanished without a trace.

The scorpions that had been within it were gone as well.

“Rowen!”

A man descended rapidly from the sky. After carefully inspecting Rowen’s appearance, he spoke in a gruff tone, despite his evident concern.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“...No.”

“That’s good. I don’t know how you ended up in the lair, but it’s fortunate that you’re only on the first floor...”

The man, who had briefly shown relief on his face, cleared his throat with a cough and returned to his stern expression.

“Let’s hurry and get out of here.”