Shawn’s scheme had an inherent flaw that was unavoidable.

If he had structured the magic circle to drain only from us without contributing any of his own mana, we would have immediately noticed something was wrong and refused. To maintain control over the familiar and regulate the amount of mana we spent, some linkage of mana expenditure between us was essential.

The fact that they specifically sought out novices like us was likely not just because we would be easier to overpower if necessary, but also to prevent any risk of us having more mana than him.

From what Burke said, it seemed that they had pulled this off a few times before, but picking our team had marked the end of their luck.

When Shawn completely lost consciousness, Burke finally understood what had happened.

“Damn it!”

Still, as expected from a senior candidate, Burke’s attempt to escape was swift.

But we were already in the sky. The only way out was to jump off.

And, as expected, Burke stood at the far edge of the stingray’s broad back.

“What’s wrong? Not going to jump?” “Tsk...!”

It seemed like Burke had more to say, but he only gritted his teeth.

Not exactly the kind of line a man should be saying.

“So, it’s come to this…”

Burke shifted his strategy.

He switched from escape to fighting head-on.

But that seemed like an even worse move.

“I’ll take care of it. I didn’t get a proper go last time.” “No need to hold back. We already got one.” “Roger.”

I ordered the stingray to stop flying and remain still. The stingray, capable of hovering effortlessly, performed this maneuver with ease.

Indeed, a flying stingray. It was definitely worth the mana it consumed.

“You think a novice like you can take me on? A senior candidate like me?”

As the ground stabilized beneath him, Burke’s voice grew stronger. The panic had passed, leaving only the shame and anger of having attempted to flee from three novices.

Escape was impossible now. His only remaining option was to defeat us all and force us to comply.

“The effort was good, though.”

Ray dusted her hands off, having just kicked Burke’s head across the stingray’s back like a soccer ball.

“You need to learn to assess your opponent better.”

Her hands, wrapped in Argentos’ magic gauntlets, weren’t stained with a single drop of blood. It seemed like she was just shaking off the lingering sensation of the impact.

“How was it? I got him properly this time, right?”

We didn’t need to keep him alive, but having a spare could prove useful.

“Yeah, you did well.” “Hmph.”

At my short praise, Ray puffed out her chest and raised her head in pride. With her hands on her hips, her pose was oddly provoking, making me want to tease her.

What was it called again? Douya-gao? Something like that.

I couldn’t really scold Ray, but letting it pass didn’t feel right either. A subtle annoyance started creeping in.

I couldn’t take it out on Ray, who had fought hard and secured the victory. I was a rational and fair team leader, after all. Unjust punishment had no place here.

But that was fine.

There was someone else here who could deal with my irritation.

“Hey, you’re awake, right?”

Oh, so you’re pretending to be dead now?

I’d stopped channeling mana into the stingray, and I had already confirmed that his mana was recovering.

“Answer me.”

My words, laced with killing intent, jolted Shawn into sitting up hastily.

“Y-yes.” “Yes?” “…Yes, sir.”

He clasped his hands together in a respectful posture, clearly trying to appease me.

“There are more accomplices, aren’t there?” “Huh?” “There’s more than just you two. They’re at the floating island, aren’t they?” “Well…”

Oh, look at that. He was still trying to weasel out of this.

But getting angry and demanding answers would only backfire. I opted for a more refined approach.

“If you don’t want to talk, that’s fine.” “W-what?” “My friend here does excellent work. We’ve got one more mouth, after all. We don’t need two.”

If you don’t speak, I’ll just kill you and interrogate Burke instead.

Shawn’s pupils trembled violently.

Burke had tried to save his own skin the moment Shawn became incapacitated. If Shawn had any loyalty left for Burke, he was practically a saint. If he decided to die protecting Burke, I’d even consider giving him a respectful death myself.

But that wasn’t necessary.

“Y-you’re right.”

Shawn finally began talking.

“There’s a ruin on the floating island.” “A ruin?”

An undiscovered ruin? How could that be so easy to find? I thought most of the first layer had been thoroughly explored.

“It was underground, beneath the floating island.” “Ah, that explains it.”

Normally, just reaching a floating island was difficult enough. Not many people would go the extra mile of digging into the ground once they got there.

In fact, even if they thought about it, they wouldn’t have the resources to pull it off.

Just reaching the floating island required significant effort. Carrying excavation equipment up there as well? If it turned out to be a dead end, the losses would be tremendous.

Even the Enigma Guild, one of the top five, had tried exploring floating islands several times before ultimately giving up, saying it wasn’t worth the cost. Enigma was a guild made up of veteran players who enjoyed all kinds of wild experiments, and even they found it too much.

Even with their resources and manpower, they came up empty. If the top guilds couldn’t make it work, no one else was even bothering to look at the floating islands anymore.

The fact that some explorers were still trying to excavate floating islands, despite the history of failure, was telling.

These people had specific information that led them to believe there was something here.

Information solid enough for them to take the risk.

“Explain more.” “Well…” “Cough—Sh-Shawn…shut your mouth…”

“Leif.” “Yes.”

Splash!

Leif immediately poured water over Burke’s face, silencing him. With his head already crushed by Ray, there was no way he could free himself from Undine’s water prison.

“Continue.” “Yes, yes… But, we haven’t been able to finish yet.” “Why?” “I don’t know the exact reason…”

Shawn didn’t seem to know much more.

He and Burke were essentially providers. Shawn, with his ability to fly, was essential, and Burke, being near the senior rank in combat, acted as his bodyguard.

They were responsible for bringing in supplies, as well as external manpower for the ruin excavation.

However, they weren’t directly involved in the internal exploration of the ruin itself.

They didn’t even know the specific classes or affiliations of the people inside.

“So, what do you even know?”

Ray’s voice dripped with sarcasm, and Shawn stammered as he answered.

“...Headcount?” “Well, as the supplier, you’d know that much at least.”

Hiding that information would have prevented him from fulfilling his role.

“You sure pulled off these missions despite sharing so little information.”

Ray clicked her tongue, as if annoyed by how simple-minded Shawn seemed.

“Hmm… It’s possible they have a strong leader who controls the rest through loyalty.”

“Oh?” “If it’s structured like a cell organization, where the higher-ups tightly control the lower ranks, then it makes sense that they wouldn’t know much about each other.”

Leif’s sharp analysis caught Ray off guard, her eyes widening. Even I had to hide my surprise.

Leif had that level of insight? She’d kept that hidden all this time?

It seemed to be spot on, judging by the dumbfounded look on Shawn’s face as he stared at her.

Yet, despite everyone’s reactions, Leif seemed more flustered than anyone.

“Huh? Didn’t everyone else think of that?” “Um…” “Roman, didn’t you? We’re the same, right?!”

“Are we…?”

Ray, catching my confused look, shook her head as if she had no idea either.

Seemingly frustrated, Leif tapped her chest with her fist.

“I mean, the other trainees! Without Roman, they probably wouldn’t gather around, right? But when Roman’s there, everyone flocks to him.”

Ah, the trainees.

“That’s what you meant? Why didn’t you just say trainees from the start?”

Leif, without missing a beat, punched Ray in the chest with her small elf fist. It didn’t even register to Ray, a mage-turned-brawler who had just pulverized Burke.

“Well, I think I’ve got a good idea of your organization’s level.”

I turned to Shawn with one last question.

“Tell me everything you know about your leader.”

This time, Shawn hesitated.

Fear, guilt, doubt—all these emotions flashed across his face, slowing his response.

But in the end, the fear of death overrode everything else.

Shawn spoke.

“Our boss… his name is Bong-sik.”

…Wait, what?

Bong-sik?

The leader of the floating island excavation team, though not a member of the top five guilds, was still from a well-known group called the Gravediggers.

Jan Wasik, otherwise known as Bong-sik, muttered to himself while waiting for the overdue supply team.

“The suppliers are late.” “Think they messed with the wrong people and got caught?” “Hmm…”

Bong-sik didn’t think it was impossible.

Burke and Shawn.

"They're strong, especially for the first layer of the Abyss, but any proper senior rank would crush them. Even if they tried to run, escaping from a seasoned senior would be difficult."

Bong-sik considered the possibility seriously. While he would miss Burke, losing Shawn and his flying summon would be an even greater inconvenience. However, it didn’t affect his plans enough to upset him now.

After all, they were almost finished.

"It doesn't matter now. We're nearly there."

Though he couldn’t see it with his eyes just yet, Bong-sik could feel it. His skin prickled with the sensation that what he desired was right in front of him.

"The altar is within reach. Let's move."