What should you say when you’re forced into a group project with two unfamiliar women?

‘Answer: I have no idea.’

Unlike the morning’s academic training, the afternoon’s session was team-based functional training. The three of us gathered together but, as if we had silently agreed, no one said a word. Yesterday, we had shared the warmth of victory, but now... something felt off. It wasn't just me. The air around us was thick with awkwardness, as if each of us was lost in our own thoughts.

‘Sigh... it’s up to me.’

It was clear that I was the only one who could break the silence. The first hooded girl, Riff, was shy, and the second hooded girl, Ray, clearly had no intention of speaking. If I left it to them, we’d be stuck lugging this metaphorical log without even getting it off the ground.

‘Guess I’m experiencing team projects for the first time, even without attending college.’

“Well, since we’re a team, maybe we should start by briefly talking about what we can do and what kind of magic we specialize in. Honestly, it’s hard to get a full sense of things just from yesterday’s duel.”

“That’s a good idea!”

Riff, ever the enthusiastic one, was quick to respond. Though shy, she also had the courage to step up when it counted.

“I-I’ll go first!”

She raised her hand high and took a deep breath in and out before continuing.

“I’m a spirit summoner, and I’ve made a contract with a water spirit.”

“Oh, a water spirit.”

Encouraged by my reaction, Riff’s voice grew more confident.

“I can do pretty much anything with water!”

“That’s great. Looks like we won’t have to worry about water supply.”

Water procurement was no small issue. After all, even Ma Su lost his battle due to poor logistics. When it comes to survival, supplies are paramount, and water is the most crucial of all. There’s a reason why elemental mages who can control water are considered top-tier.

“Hehe.”

Riff beamed with pride at my praise. However, the pleasant atmosphere was quickly disrupted by an unwelcome voice.

“But... can you actually control it?”

“Huh?”

“You said it’s a contract, right?”

“Uh... yes, but...”

The reason spirit summoners are looked down upon as low-class is simple: their control is often unreliable. It’s similar to being a demon summoner. While demon summoners may lose control due to the cost of their magic, spirit summoners lose control when their spirits themselves become uncooperative. Contracts with spirits are more like partnerships or friendships, not master-servant relationships.

It’s not uncommon for spirits to refuse commands if they’re in a bad mood. Imagine relying on a spirit to land a critical blow, only for it to sulk and refuse—your entire party could be wiped out because of one temperamental spirit. This unreliability is why both demon summoners and spirit summoners are considered low-class.

“I-I’ve been getting along well with my spirit... so, I think it’s okay.”

Riff’s earlier excitement faded, and she visibly shrank.

No, this won’t do! She’s the only one in our team who brings some levity. I have to change the subject quickly.

“So, what about you, Ray? What’s your style?”

“Me?”

“You’re a battle mage, right? You must have some sort of specialty.”

“You saw yesterday. I fight hand-to-hand.”

Hand-to-hand?

“That’s it?”

Yesterday, I had assumed she didn’t go all out, but was hand-to-hand combat really her main style?

“You fight unarmed?”

“Weapons are for weaklings.”

Weapons are for... weaklings? Isn’t that something a lunatic would say? Sure, you can enhance your body with magic and protect yourself with magical barriers, but that’s something everyone does. Combat strategies are always designed to bypass such protections. Even Asher, another battle mage, carried a sword at his waist. He was from a prestigious guild, after all.

“Now, what about you?”

“Me?”

“You’re a demon summoner, right? What kind of demon did you make a contract with? You don’t have to tell us the demon’s name or the cost of the contract, but you could at least explain your abilities.”

Ray seemed to know a fair bit about demon summoners. She carefully avoided mentioning any forbidden topics, only asking for general information.

But the problem was with me.

‘What should I say?’

Right now, my combat strategy revolved around using Matan for long-range attacks. My mobility was low, so I could be considered a stationary artillery unit. As I struggled to organize my thoughts, Ray pushed again.

“What’s wrong? Are you going to refuse to answer?”

“No, that’s not it. I’m primarily focused on long-range magic projection, just like what you saw yesterday.”

Ray gave a minimal explanation of her own combat style, so I kept my response similarly simple.

“You don’t know any real magic, do you?”

Ahem.

Rather than responding, I steered the conversation in a different direction.

“Actually, our team’s balance is better than I thought.”

“Really?”

“Ray will take the front line as a hand-to-hand fighter, Riff can handle the rear with her water-based versatility, and I’ll stay in the middle, focusing on firepower.”

It’s a pretty solid formation, right? Ray’s unarmed fighting was a little concerning, but if she was confident enough to fight without weapons, then she must have some serious defense. She handled herself well enough yesterday. Maybe it’s not so bad to have a chimp-like fighter as our tank?

And as for Riff, despite the drawbacks of spirit summoners, her elemental versatility in handling everything from ranged attacks to surprise ambushes makes her a perfect rear-guard. That leaves me, with my limited mobility and decent attack power, as a central artillery unit.

‘This could actually work!’

It didn’t.

Everything was meaningless. All is vanity, vanity of vanities.

As we trudged through the darkness, I felt the weight of my misplaced optimism.

The Tanyun (Abyss Exploration) training was meant to be a practice run for real-world abyss exploration. The goal was to get used to the environment of the abyss so that we wouldn’t flounder when the time came. We were supposed to navigate a simulated abyss-like environment in a training facility, finding our way to a designated exit.

And yet, we were stuck, completely blinded by the darkness and facing the biggest weakness of our team in real-time.

“How is it that none of us can use Beom-yong Mado (Universal Magic)?”

Beom-yong Mado refers to basic magic that any mage can use, regardless of their class. Things like light spells, purification, detoxification, and detection fall under this category.

But, astonishingly, not a single member of our team had learned any.

We were now stumbling through pitch-black darkness, relying on our other senses just to keep moving forward.

“You don’t know it either, do you?”

Ray, leading the group, shot back in her usual emotionless and sharp tone. This time, though, I detected a hint of embarrassment.

‘We’re moving so slowly because we can’t see.’

Without any enhanced physical abilities or light to guide us, we were crawling along, wasting stamina on sheer concentration.

“Eep!”

A strange yelp came from behind me as Riff, walking just behind, stumbled.

Did she trip on something?

I instinctively turned to catch her before she fell.

“Th-thank you…”

“Be careful.”

“Y-yes…”

Riff steadied herself and continued walking. If this was how bad it was during our initial movements, our future seemed bleak.

“We’ll be able to get out of here, right?”

“If enough time passes, I’m sure the instructors will pull us out.”

Ray’s casual remark did little to ease Riff’s nerves.

‘In theory, our formation seemed fine.’

But the absence of Beom-yong Mado was proving to be a major handicap.

‘And Ray… What’s her deal?’

While Riff and I were struggling, Ray, leading the way, was walking confidently as if she could see everything clearly.

Even at the forked paths, she never hesitated.

“Ray.”

“What?”

“You’re sure we’re going the right way, right?”

“Just keep up.”

With a jab at our slow pace, Ray scolded us.

I couldn’t argue. Riff and I were lagging behind, after all.

“Does body enhancement magic improve your senses, too?”

“I’d think so.”

“And you, Riff? Can’t you use it?”

“Well, I know how it works, but I’m not very good at it…”

Riff answered, sounding embarrassed.

That’s nothing to be ashamed of. I don’t even know how to use it at all.

“By the way, is this underground space really this big? We’ve been moving slowly, but we’ve covered a lot of ground.”

“Oh, that’s because the space is distorted.”

“Distorted?”

“Yes, I’m not sure of the details, but I think it’s the result of an artifact excavated from the Abyss.”

True, as far as I knew, current magic systems couldn’t handle time and space manipulation. You’d need the power of the Abyss to warp space like this.

The mysteries of the Abyss, able to manipulate space at will, only solidified my belief that the answers I sought lay within it. That comforting thought eased some of my physical fatigue, enough that I finally noticed something strange.

‘It’s getting harder to breathe.’

At first, I thought it was just exhaustion, but something was different. Then Riff muttered to herself.

“The magic… it feels thicker…”

Her words were slow, her steps matching the heavy breaths she took.

‘That dense pressure…’

Asher’s warning echoed in my head. The place where the magical pressure was particularly intense… Could this be it?

‘A sound?’

Tap.

The ground beneath my foot felt strange. Unlike the uneven terrain of the cave, it was smooth, solid stone. The moment I realized the difference, I instinctively shouted.

“Ray!”

Boom!!

A loud crash reverberated through the tunnel, accompanied by the crackle of magical energy. In that brief flash of light, I saw it clearly. A massive lizard-like creature struck Ray with full force.

“What the heck are they doing?”

Lindsey, an alchemist and assistant instructor for the Abyss Exploration training, frowned as she watched Roman’s team through her scrying spell. They had wandered into a special room on the underground level, home to the Basilisk, a boss-level creature in the simulation.

“How did they get there… I thought I set up a perception-blocking field.”

Lindsey had stepped away for a bit, only to return to this mess. Were they unlucky, or just clueless? Maybe they had incredibly good instincts?

“Hmm… what do I do now…”

Lindsey lightly tapped her foot as she continued to observe the scrying spell. She had already made her decision. Now she just needed to think of a convincing excuse and plan for the aftermath.

“Sigh, guess I’ll have to get some help.”

With that, she stood up and left the control room.

As she walked out, the scrying spell continued to display Roman’s team facing off against the Basilisk.