"It looks like this is the last one."

After finishing the gruesome task of skinning the Chromatic Fiend alive, we went around collecting the remains of the deceased. This ruin, though undiscovered and promising a sweet reward, didn’t excite anyone. Priscilla was still not herself, so it was just me, Mea, and Theresia doing all the work.

Of course, Theresia chose to handle the bodies first, and I agreed with her. Mea respected our decision.

Gathering the six corpses, not including Priscilla and Theresia, took longer than the battle with the Chromatic Fiend itself. The bodies weren’t gathered in one place, and some were so torn apart it was difficult to even recognize them.

"…I suppose we should be thankful it didn’t eat them," I muttered.

"Still, we were too merciful," Theresia said coldly.

The Chromatic Fiend wasn’t just skinned alive; its useful organs were also extracted before it finally died. It had a monster’s tenacity, but I bet for the first time, it cursed its durable body. Even monsters feel pain.

Theresia stored its organs carefully, saying she'd make sure to put them to good use. After all, it belonged to an enemy.

"So, what’s the plan after this? Do we have a way to transport the bodies?"

"No. It’s not impossible, but the bulk is too much," Theresia replied.

Theresia’s body reinforcement was nearly on par with Ray's, but only at night. However, it wasn’t just the weight. With rigor mortis setting in, carrying six bodies would be quite the task. I briefly considered if we could each carry two, but the condition of those corpses... They weren’t exactly in good shape.

"We’ll cremate them," Theresia said.

"Hmm."

"Don’t make that face. In the Abyss, just receiving a burial is considered a good death. Everyone who enters the Abyss knows that. Those who aren’t prepared for that kind of end... well, they die without ceremony."

Theresia delivered an unexpected lecture, something out of character for her.

It was clear she was trying to console me.

I must have looked particularly gloomy for Theresia to go out of her way to say something like that.

"You know… back in the underground, we couldn’t even hold a funeral."

"…Right."

Aside from the 16 surviving trainees and one instructor, the rest had to remain buried in the underground of the training facility. Fiona mentioned that they’d begin the excavation, but who knew if they’d ever recover all the bodies.

Thinking about that, Theresia’s words about a "good death" started to make more sense.

Theresia placed a flower on each body. She had found them among the supplies we recovered from their gear. The gesture felt like laying down a wreath.

"Gladiolus. A flower from the wreaths of the gods of the underworld. Fitting for honoring the dead. Its meaning is 'funeral,' guiding them to the afterlife, right?"

"Yes. No one expected we’d be using them here," Theresia said bitterly, her lips moving softly as if reciting an incantation.

When her lips closed, a white flame rose from the flowers and began to engulf the bodies.

The white flames escorted the dead to their rest.

May they rest in peace. May those flames lead them out of this dark, suffocating world.

‘This is the Abyss.’

A place where you could die at any moment.

They didn’t know it either. They had no idea they’d die on a simple exploration and training mission on the first floor. No one could have predicted this.

But the moment you step into the Abyss, you invite an uninvited companion.

A shadow with a scythe that follows, waiting to claim your life.

As I reflected on the lesson that death had taught me, I felt like I understood the Abyss just a little better.

Their deaths, and my faint realization, brought about a change. Not just within me, but I didn’t notice it at first.

The magic tome hanging from my belt had begun to fill its once blank pages with words.

§

Now, it’s time for the real reward.

The hide of the Chromatic Fiend was so large that it would’ve gotten in the way, so we stashed it in a safe spot. Theresia cast an alert spell from the Blostrima School over it, so even if someone stumbled upon it, they wouldn’t be able to touch it.

For now, the four of us—including Priscilla—moved deeper inside, searching the area. It was dark inside, being an indoor ruin. Even the glowing dust beetles didn’t follow us here.

But with three mages (excluding Priscilla), darkness wasn’t much of an issue.

We each summoned a light orb and began knocking on suspicious-looking areas as we proceeded.

After a while, the excitement we’d been feeling quickly faded.

“There’s nothing here, is there?”

Yeah.

Nothing.

“Was it just a trap?”

“Starting with that shadow-hand impersonator, this whole place felt off.”

The Chromatic Fiend was a reward in itself, of course. Its hide, which could change color according to its environment and hide its mana, was incredibly valuable. The ability to evade even mana sight made it a top-tier monster, even for the first layer of the Abyss. High-level explorers would kill for it.

Then there was its mana stone. It was among the most powerful stones you could find on the first layer, and crafting equipment with it would result in high-tier gear even for regular-level explorers, not to mention trainees like me.

The outcome of this training was overwhelming.

People would be shocked at what we accomplished during a simple training session. Titles would likely follow—something like “the trainees who defeated a Chromatic Fiend.” Like catching a bear at ten years old.

But if this was really the end, it felt... underwhelming.

"Theresia, anything?"

"Nothing."

Among us, Theresia definitely had the sharpest eyes. Especially at night, there was no competition.

If even she couldn’t find anything, maybe it really was just a trap.

"Shall we head back then…"

"Here."

Mea’s voice cut through my words.

"There’s a path."

There it is.

"As expected of you, Mea. Demon magic?"

"…No."

Mea’s expression was strange as she looked closely at the path she had discovered. Instead of excitement, her face had paled slightly.

"Mea?"

"Let’s go."

With that, Mea touched the wall, revealing the hidden passage.

Despite the uneasy feeling, Theresia and I followed Mea in silence.

"Is this a workshop?" Theresia asked as soon as we entered the room connected to the passage.

It was a workshop—where mages research and craft magical tools. A workshop, more fitting than a research lab, especially here.

"It seems like an alchemist’s workshop," Theresia said, inspecting empty glass vials that had evaporated away over time.

"An alchemist… But there’s not much in terms of books."

I would’ve expected at least some lab notes.

"Someone must have already looted the place."

"Probably that shadow-hand impersonator who spread the rumors about this place."

"Most likely."

Even so, we thoroughly searched the place, hoping to find something they had missed.

The room was quite large, and stairs led down to the lower floor, so the area to cover was substantial.

I quickly gave up on the upper floor and headed downstairs.

Honestly, if there was anything left, it would be down here. The upper floor looked thoroughly looted.

On the lower floor, I found a large magic circle.

"Ah, so this is it."

The source of the mana absorption.

This was definitely the place. I could feel the remnants of the mana Seir and Lerazie had been absorbing.

The moment I recognized the mana of my contracted demons in that circle, I realized something.

This magic circle was designed to respond to my control.

This was the real treasure.

What the owner of this workshop had been trying to protect.

I activated my mana.

The magic circle, which had been dormant, began to glow once again.

Wooom—

The sound of mana resonating filled the room as the floor began to rumble.

Hearing the sudden noise, Mea and Theresia rushed downstairs.

"Roman?"

"Did you find something?"

Standing at the center of the magic circle, I responded to their questions.

"Looks like it."

From the floor, a stone pillar rose.

Inside the pillar was a book and a potion, untouched by time, unlike the evaporated vials upstairs.

I carefully opened the first page of the book.

To my beloved and hated sister.

Even though I didn’t know much about calligraphy, the old-fashioned style was evident. Fortunately, the language was one I could understand.

The paper, perhaps protected by preservation magic, was still in perfect condition.

However, when I turned to the next page, I could no longer read it. The text was encrypted, written in a code.

Neither Theresia nor Mea could decipher it either.

"We’ll need someone to appraise this."

This was the extent of our findings.

Though we continued searching for a bit longer, nothing else turned up.

"Let’s head back."

No one objected.

Theresia supported Priscilla, while Mea and I took the lead and rear, and we made our way to the surface.

Outside, we encountered a few exploration teams preparing to enter. Latecomers.

Unfortunately for them, they were too late.

Realizing that, they stared at us in stunned silence.

It didn’t help that we were openly carrying the Chromatic Fiend’s hide, making their gazes even more meaningful.

Even those who didn’t recognize the Fiend knew from instinct that it was valuable.

Some of them eyed us with glinting eyes, slowly moving toward us.

If they were planning to rob us, they picked the wrong group.

Just as the tension was about to snap, a voice interrupted, stopping me from summoning Lerazie’s power.

"Oh, hey! Roman and Theresia. You two were here too?"

A voice light as air, arrogant just by the sound of it.

There’s no way this person could exist in multiples.

"Dustin?"

"Looks like we were a bit late. Hey, you guys. Unless you want to make enemies of Blostrima and Kelsus, I suggest you back off."

The situation resolved in an instant.

We accompanied Dustin and the other members of his Kelsus School on the return trip.

Despite Kelsus’s reputation for producing individuals with upright characters, Dustin’s personality was nothing short of baffling in contrast.

Unlike the way down, the journey back took much longer. Climbing back up was naturally harder.

After a week-long journey, we finally returned.

My training had come to an end.