It was just as you'd expect from the ruins of an ancient royal tomb. As they ventured deeper into the passage, damp, chilly air thick with a thousand years of dust and the distinctive stench of decay from rocks and other unspeakable things washed over them. The cold light of dim magical lamps cast swaying shadows across the uneven stone walls, making the four figures stretch and shrink by turns. It was downright creepy.
But fortunately!
Annie, Frieren, Fern, and Ilena weren't bothered. They weren't ordinary people—or second-rate ones, either—so they strode openly through the vast, labyrinthine passages, paying no mind to such trivial, psychological fears.
By now, nearly half an hour had passed since the long-haired examiner, who looked like a young girl, had announced the start of the second round of the exam.
Perhaps because the four hadn't yet ventured deep into the maze's central area, they hadn't encountered any monsters or ancient undead along the way. But the endless variety of ancient traps had still kept them on their toes.
There were, for instance, jets of scorching flame, poisoned arrows shooting from holes in the walls, enormous stones dropping from above, and deadly poison gas spreading without a sound—along with pit traps, venomous insects, and all the rest... The mechanisms that would have killed an ordinary adventurer on the spot never let up. They were a constant nuisance, and the four couldn't imagine how they'd survived a thousand years intact.
Suddenly!
The tiny figure at the front stood out in the wide passage. Annie, still carrying that bear, stepped on a loose flagstone, and a pillar of blazing fire suddenly burst out ahead.
"Whoa! Again?!"
!?('')
She was surprised, but didn't retreat or dodge. Instead, she stood there calmly and let the flames of a terrifying magical