Fallen King's Mausoleum

"Knock knock."

A bird-like familiar knocked on the window of Frieren's room.

After Fern opened the window, the familiar dropped a letter and left.

"It's a notification about the second round of exams."

"It includes the time, location, and the examiner's name."

Lawine moved closer and sighed helplessly when he saw the examiner's name.

"The examiner is Sense, what bad luck."

Kanne frowned and echoed, "They barely managed to pass the first round of exams..."

"What's wrong with her?" Fern looked at Lawine beside him, puzzled.

Lawine explained with a serious expression:

"Sense has served as the chief examiner four times so far, and no one has ever passed an exam under her supervision."

Meanwhile, those who passed the first round of exams gradually received notifications for the second round.

On a mountaintop.

Looking at the exam notice in his hand, Genau muttered, "These are really excessive exam questions."

Sense, who was sitting at the table, glanced at Genau.

He said calmly, "Is that so? Unlike Genau, I'm a pacifist."

The next day.

Entrance to the Declining Royal Tombs.

The examiner for the second round of exams, Sense, slowly swept his gaze across the crowd.

He said softly:

Congratulations on successfully passing the first round of exams.

"The second round of testing involves conquering this dilapidated royal tomb behind me."

"There is only one condition for passing the exam: successfully reaching the deepest part of the fallen royal tomb."

I am a pacifist.

"Therefore, everyone who reaches the deepest part of the royal tomb is considered to have passed the test."

In the crowd, a bald man raised a question.

"Wait a minute, this royal tomb has been the last place many adventurers have ever returned from; no one has been able to conquer it to this day. Are you planning to prevent anyone from qualifying again?"

"What are you talking about?" Sense looked at the bald man who had raised the question with disdain.

He said calmly, "Your goal is the pinnacle of magic. Only those who can turn the impossible into the possible are qualified to become First-Class Mage."

"How do we prove we've reached the deepest part of the royal tomb? Are we going to bring back the gold and silver treasures inside?" asked Mettty from Squad One.

"?" Rienta's previously nonchalant expression froze.

That makes sense.

It is quite reasonable that a large amount of gold and silver treasures would be found in a fallen royal tomb that has never been conquered.

Sense looked at Metti and explained, "There's no need for proof; I will go with you into the Decaying Royal Tomb."

"Of course, I won't help you."

After saying that, Sense manipulated her long hair to hand a bottle to each of them.

"This is an 'escape golem' developed by the First-Class Mage, Lylene."

"After breaking the bottle, a golem will lead the user to escape from the royal tomb."

"Although it's still in the experimental stage, it's safe enough. Even though it will be deemed unsuitable after use, if you are unable to continue exploring due to injury, you must use it decisively."

"And the bottle will automatically break at sunset tomorrow; that will be the deadline for the second round of exams."

"Now that the exam content has been introduced, the second round of exams will officially begin."

That concludes the explanation of the exam rules.

However, none of them immediately entered the royal tomb; instead, they discussed the matter outside.

Dunkel, the most senior member, examined several entrances to the dilapidated royal tomb.

"It looks like a tomb from a unified dynasty. Tombs from that period often had multiple entrances, but each entrance led to the deepest part."

"Investigating each entrance should provide some understanding of the internal structure."

"Everyone, let's divide the work..."

Before Dunkel could finish speaking, Dong from Team One stepped forward.

"When did I ever say I wanted to cooperate with you?"

Although Dunkel was somewhat surprised, he still explained earnestly:

"There's no need for us to fight in this exam; it's better if everyone works together."

The two started arguing.

In the end, neither of them convinced the other.

Winter ventured alone into the desolate royal tombs to begin her exploration.

The others chose to work with their teammates from the first round of testing.

For a time, the only people at the entrance to the royal tomb were the examiner Sense.

Only half of the test takers remain.

Seeing that Rienta and the others had no intention of cooperating.

Dunkel sat somewhat dejectedly at the entrance.

He didn't understand.

Why can't people even understand the importance of cooperation?

Seeing this, Rienta also moved closer to Fern.

He said softly, "Fern, let's go too."

"Even if I can't pass the First-Class Mage exam, I'll still be happy to empty the royal tomb of its treasures."

Fern looked at Rienta speechlessly and said, "... I understand..."

Just as the three were preparing to enter the decadent royal tomb.

After explaining the rules, Sense, who had been silent, spoke up:

"I'll go with you."

Having said that, he followed behind the three of them on his own.

"Don't get in our way."

"Don't worry, I won't cause any trouble, and of course I won't help either."

The four explored while creating a map.

Along the way.

Frieren was in charge of orienting the animals.

He would occasionally remind Rienta and the others to watch out for the traps under their feet.

Fern remarked with some emotion, "Lady Frieren still understands the labyrinth as well as ever."

"I wasn't this skilled before," Frieren explained softly.

"It's because Himmel loves dungeons; we've explored quite a few dungeons to complete our monster-slaying missions."

"What do you mean by liking mazes?" Rienta, somewhat puzzled.

"It means exactly what it says. He said he'd be very excited. It's really strange, right?"

Rienta: "..."

In comparison, Frieren's being Mimic and captured by the mimic seems more inexplicable.

During their journey, Rienta and her companions received a mission related to the dungeon.

Frieren always explores every fork in the road.

They even said things like, "There will be a rare magic book at the end of the fork in the road."

And the most outrageous thing is that it's a treasure chest that's clearly a trap.

Frieren still couldn't resist rushing forward.

In his memory, the Mimic had never failed.

They managed to capture Frieren every time.

"This is really inexplicable."

A slight smile curved at the corners of Frieren's lips.

I don't know if it was because I was exploring the maze, or because I was reminded of Himmel.

But Rienta and the others behind them didn't see it.

Just as I was wondering why Frieren would repeat herself.

The group arrived at a room.

A treasure chest was prominently displayed in the room.

Fern used 'treasure chest identification magic' to investigate.

She said, "Lady Frieren, this is Mimic."

Frieren simply squatted down in front of the treasure chest.

He said with a serious expression:

"Judging from this level of magic, the probability of it containing a grimoire is quite high."

Entrance to the Declining Royal Tombs.

Only five people remained who did not enter the royal tomb to explore.

Dunkel's team consisted of three members, while Team One was missing one member.

After some discussion, the group decided to explore the dilapidated royal tomb together.