“Are you sure it's okay to just let them go like that?”

We were watching from the Flying Ray as Bong-sik and his remaining team members descended to the ground. Originally a group of five, they were now down to three.

Burke, who had taken a beating from Ray, and the nameless guy who had been pierced by Leif’s water jet—both were gone.

Burke could have been saved, of course. A potion could have done the job.

But why bother? Potions are among the most expensive resources for exploration teams, and Burke wasn’t worth the cost. If Sean had kept his mouth shut, things might have been different.

Ray seemed uneasy about letting them go, and Leif shared the sentiment.

“They’ve seen your magic, Roman. I get why you let Bong-sik go—he’s marked—but the other two... isn’t that dangerous?”

“I don’t think they’re going to be fine, to be honest.”

Bong-sik was a powerful mage.

He might have only been a Senior-ranked adventurer, but he had mentioned that he was being evaluated for Expert rank. No wonder Burke had kept emphasizing his own Senior rank.

“Bong-sik will either kill them or make them share the same fate as him.”

The remaining two knew too much about Bong-sik.

They had witnessed the humiliation of being taken down by a trio of Novice adventurers. They knew about the secret research Bong-sik had been conducting, hidden from the Gravediggers guild.

There were plenty of reasons for Bong-sik to silence them.

“Besides, Bong-sik could use some extra hands.”

Tracking down Abyss Cultists is no easy task. Even the city’s intelligence agencies have a hard time uncovering their movements, as they hide so well.

And even if Bong-sik doesn’t focus on hunting them, it would still be faster for him to discover ruins with more people working for him.

I had heard that after the recent incident at the training center, another large-scale search-and-destroy mission had been carried out in the city, targeting Abyss Cultists.

I hadn’t followed up on the results, too focused on preparing for my license exam. But I was sure they had dealt with the fanatics who dared to target the Grand Duchess.

In any case, we left the fate of the two remaining members in Bong-sik’s hands.

Ray and Leif didn’t seem entirely convinced, but they trusted my judgment.

With that, Bong-sik’s situation was settled, and Ray brought up a different topic.

“That mark... it’s really broken, isn’t it? Why doesn’t everyone just become a demon summoner? You could mark some weakling and pass on the burden, right?”

Ah, what a simple thought, Ray.

You’re starting to sound more like a demon summoner. I shared with her the basic knowledge I had learned from Meah’s "Demon Summoning 101."

“It’s not a one-to-one transfer of responsibility. There’s also the risk of reversal.”

Just like nothing in the world is absolute, the mark isn’t a permanent guarantee of control.

If a demon summoner with a subordinate mark forms a contract with a demon more powerful than the one bound to the master summoner, the mark can reverse, making the subordinate the master.

Of course, to prevent that, the master usually suppresses their subordinates harshly, but there’s always a slim chance of a sudden reversal. Finding a designated summoning circle for a high-ranking demon is nearly impossible, so most rely on random summoning circles and hope for luck.

Additionally, a skilled disenchanter could break the mark altogether.

In summary, the mark isn’t perfect.

“So, isn’t Bong-sik in danger then?”

“Yeah, what if he goes back to the city and gets the mark removed?”

“Hmm…”

Theoretically, it’s possible.

Theoretically.

“Let him try, if he dares.”

It would be a wild goose chase.

“Enough about Bong-sik.”

It was time for us to focus on our next task.

Leaving behind the magnificent view of the first layer of the Abyss from the floating island, we returned to explore the ruin we had just discovered.

“If we keep tapping along places like this, we might find another hidden area.”

Inside the dimly lit passage, the three spheres of light we had conjured scattered their glow unevenly as we followed Leif’s directions, knocking on the ceiling.

“Can it really be this simple?”

Ray, the eternal skeptic, voiced her doubts.

“Come on, you don’t believe in anything. Isn’t that what you always say? If you don’t believe, you won’t be disappointed.”

“I never said that.”

“Didn’t you?”

I was pretty sure she had said something like that before.

“I didn’t!”

“Oh, my bad. Must have been someone else.”

Leif continued to guide us as Ray and I bickered.

“It’s not exactly simple. You need to channel enough mana into the surface to break through its thickness.”

This method only worked because we had enough mana to spare.

“I guess that explains why Bong-sik’s team missed it. They didn’t have as much mana to burn as we do.”

It would have made more sense for Bong-sik’s group to search for magical traps rather than brute force their way through like us.

“That makes sense. They did bring people to disarm traps.”

“And that guy’s about to become an Expert?”

“Yeah, that’s probably why. The more knowledgeable people are, the more they tend to focus only on what they know.”

“That checks out.”

The conversation faded into silence, replaced by the repetitive sound of tapping on walls and ceilings.

It was a monotonous task.

Ray’s earlier frustration about the search method suddenly made more sense.

Honestly, I had only teased her earlier because the mind-numbing task of tapping on walls for hours on end had gotten to me. I needed a laugh.

Leif tapped the floor with her staff, Ray hit the walls with her bare hands, and I struck the ceiling with Axis.

We each did our part.

Finally, our efforts paid off.

For the first time, I felt a difference in the resistance of the mana as I channeled it through Axis into the ceiling.

“Leif.”

“Huh? Oh! Did you find something?”

“You found something?”

Leif walked over, carefully checking the floor as she approached, while Ray practically flew toward me.

“Knew you could do it, Roman! You did it!”

Her voice was so loud it made my ears ring.

That shout was more like a roar.

She must have been really bored. Her scream of joy was filled with such intense relief it was closer to a victory cry.

“My ears hurt.”

“C’mon! Want a reward? How about touching my tail?”

“…I’ll pass. Let’s confirm this first.”

As tempting as that was, I had to resist.

“Oh, come on, just once—”

“I’ll check it out!” Leif cut in before I could change my mind, and I was glad for it.

‘Should have just gone for it when I had the chance…’

I pushed the regret aside and focused on investigating the section where the strange sound had come from.

“It seems like it’s right,” Leif said, looking at the spot closely.

“Yeah. The mana is traveling further into this area.”

When you channel mana into an object, you can feel resistance. The level of resistance tells you whether there’s an empty space beyond the surface.

“It’s pretty thick. I’ll try cutting through it.”

“Step aside. I’ll just break through.”

“Ray, you remember we’re underground, right?”

If she smashed through recklessly, she could cause the entire underground area to collapse.

With a tsk, Ray backed off like she was retreating from a magic barrier.

“Undine, follow my fingers and cut through.”

Leif carefully used Undine to slice through the rock, angling the cut so that the lower part would be heavier and easier to remove.

“Done!”

With a low rumble, the neatly cut rock fell away, revealing the hidden passage beyond.

“How’s that?” Leif asked with pride.

Technically, Undine had done the work, but Leif had directed it, so the credit was hers.

As if she were a sculptor showing off her masterpiece, Leif beamed with satisfaction.

Ray, however, wasn’t so impressed.

“Couldn’t Roman have just teleported us through?”

“Huh…?”

Leif turned to me, looking like a puppy caught in the rain, her wide eyes trembling with disappointment.

“Well, I mean… I didn’t want to interrupt you once you got started. And I could have teleported us, but there might have been traps.”

I had checked for magical traps, but there was no guarantee that there weren’t any conventional ones, like a simple arrow trap.

“You did great, Leif. Seriously impressive work.”

“…I don’t feel happy at all.”

Leif puffed her cheeks in frustration, clearly not satisfied with my attempt at consolation.

I poked her inflated cheeks, letting the air out, and gently nudged her forward.

“Let’s go. I’m excited to see what’s inside.”

The height of the opening was manageable with our physical enhancements, so all three of us easily leaped up and entered the passage.

It was another straight, simple corridor, just like the one below. At the end of it stood a massive door.

“Nnngh! Open up already!”

Predictably, the door wasn’t welcoming to intruders.

No matter how much Ray pushed with all her might, using her full strength, the door didn’t budge an inch. It was as if the door itself was declaring that we were unworthy to enter.

I stood there for a moment, gazing at the door.

It wasn’t decorated with any intricate patterns, but the simplicity of the design made it seem even more imposing.

I admitted it.

We were intruders. Nothing more than grave robbers.

We had no way of opening this door.

But...

‘What can you even do to stop me?’

I could just teleport beyond it.

‘Nice try, though.’

With a simple flash of light, I teleported past the door.

And there it was, waiting for us.

The flying altar.