A blue-green lizard lunged out of a dark, deep hole beside the passage.
Its crocodilian head was as large as a land dragon's, and not only did it clearly resemble a great dragon, but its icy breath froze Huan solid the moment it appeared.
Half his body was trapped in a block of ice. For a moment, Huan thought he was done for.
He hadn't expected Downs to act even faster than the Ranger.
Christine had only just drawn her bow when a shot from the Electromagnetic Gun, charged with terrifying lightning, struck first and tore straight through the head of the oversized Frost Lizard.
"Th... thanks..." Huan felt as if he'd lost the ability to speak.
It was ridiculous.
He was clearly a Mage, yet not only did he have Intelligence and Wisdom that surpassed the other four, his Agility and Constitution were no worse than theirs. Huan might have had a slight edge over Downs, but when a Warrior had to compete with a Mage in Strength and Constitution, the Warrior was already miles behind!
Downs was like a mobile magical artillery tower, positioned in the middle of the party and ready to support them at any moment, sweeping through the entire Mage Tower.
Through Laifu, Lein watched the "miniature" version of himself, the one he'd pulled by mistake, and felt as if he were playing a game where he mowed down hordes of enemies.
If even his master felt that way, the others had no chance.
At that moment, his "friends" finally realized they were nothing but accessories, and they were utterly stunned.
Christine muttered, "Downs shouldn't have come to a High-Level Mage's tower. He should've gone to clear out a Master Level Mage's tower instead."
Were ancient Mages just too powerful? Or did modern people simply have no idea what it meant to be a Mage?
Either way, Downs had turned their Worldviews upside down again and again.
They had no idea how they would write the secret report for His Majesty the King when they returned.
If they blindly sang his praises, would the king have them executed for it?
The point was that this young Mage really was ridiculously powerful!
Then praise him!
Praise him to the skies!
He had such a good master, after all. Whatever happened, his master could cover for him!
Downs was genuinely happy as he felt his companions' envious, astonished gazes.
There was nothing better than sweeping aside a crowd of enemies alone and clearing the whole place in one go!
Though he'd kept reminding himself not to get carried away, their resistance had gradually crumbled. By now, the party had reached the top floor of the Mage Tower, where they found themselves in a "cramped" space.
The hall was ten meters long and ten meters wide. It was large enough as a living space, but far too cramped for a battlefield.
For a Ranger, an agile class who needed room to maneuver, the place instinctively felt oppressive.
What made everyone feel so stifled was that they'd found the Master Level seniors who had once entered this place. Every one of them was on one of the two side walls... as a corpse. The worst part was that they'd gone from 3D to 2D.
Though ages had passed, they could still clearly see the armor and bones, completely flattened and deeply embedded in the walls. There was no way to pry them out.
Judging by their poses and their gaping jaws, it was easy to imagine how much pain they'd suffered in their final moments.
They had tried everything, but couldn't fight back—or even delay the... death!
A master watching through the screen couldn't help commenting, "What the hell, is this a portal to the 2D world?"
Everyone was starting to break out in a cold sweat.
Suddenly, a huge face "came alive" on the wall opposite the entrance.
Through his vision, Lein saw a crude stone face resembling one of the statues at Stonehenge on Earth. The biggest difference was that it had been made of a metal resembling black iron.
Its square upper and lower jaws began to move, and it introduced itself in a loud, emotionless voice. "Good day, visitors! I am Iron Face, the Tower Spirit guarding this Mage Tower."
"I am Downs Quijote, High-Level Mage." Following Downs, the other four introduced themselves in turn.
"Good day, gentlemen and lady." The Tower Spirit clearly possessed considerable intelligence.
Downs began with a statement of fact. "Mr. Tower Spirit, you know... the owner of this Mage Tower has already..."
"I know that Master Madela has perished."
The group immediately sensed trouble. That meant they couldn't get around this easily.
"My master said that if he perished, the Mage Tower could be gifted to any Child of Fate qualified to inherit it."
"Are there any conditions?" Downs asked calmly.
"There are. You need only answer one question."
Pat, the oldest of them and a Cleric, interjected, "And what's the price of failure?"
The Tower Spirit answered solemnly, "To answer the question, you must place your life and knowledge on the scales of fate."
Failure meant death.
It was fair, and very much in keeping with a Mage's style.
To gain arcane knowledge and wealth, you had to pay the corresponding price.
Downs was briefly lost in thought. It was more that his master's nearly selfless teaching was absurdly generous.
In every era, knowledge was never supposed to be free.
It was the norm throughout Earth's history for children of the poor to have no access to education.
Free, compulsory education—that was the exception.
Downs had no idea how open-minded his master, raised on nine years of compulsory education, was about such things. All he felt was overwhelming gratitude.
Downs took a deep breath. "Can anyone answer it?"
The Tower Spirit's enormous eyeballs, each the size of a basketball and resembling graphite spheres, rolled in their sockets. It seemed to see through something. "Yes. Any being."
Downs looked around at his companions, who all nodded. Gritting his teeth, he said, "All right. Ask your question."
Iron Face immediately showed his merciless side. Its eyes seemed to tremble, and Downs instantly noticed that a terrifying portcullis had dropped behind them, blocking their way back.
"Boom!"
It wasn't just an ordinary metal gate. The glowing, arcane magical runes on it clearly showed that it was protected by a powerful defense as well.
The question came.
"Question: What is the shortest distance between two points?"
Almost as soon as the question was asked, the mechanisms behind the walls on either side of the hall began to move. The hall was visibly narrowing. At this rate, they would be crushed into meat paste by the moving walls in three minutes at most, just like the seniors who had come here before them.
This was a test of courage!
A demonstration of wisdom!
A trial of the soul!
Every one of them was a formidable test for a promising young Mage of just seventeen.
The other four were all sweating.
They'd assumed that this Mage, who looked so absurdly powerful, would answer in a flash and lead them straight through.
They were disappointed.
An identical bead of sweat trickled down from Downs's temple.
Only Downs knew that he might have gotten in over his head.
For an ordinary Mage, knowledge was power!
Only by mastering enough magical knowledge could one wield Spells and turn them into one dazzling spell after another.
Downs was ultimately an SSR card from a Crash Course gone wrong.
He might have had ridiculously powerful combat abilities far beyond those of others at his level. He might even have been able to wield magic without incantations, but did he... really understand magic?
Did he understand it in the full sense, from its principles to its practical application?
The Tower Spirit before him was like the most incisive teacher, making Downs, a student good at answering questions but not at solving problems, feel stumped for the first time since he began studying magic.
"Clatter!"
The terrible grind of turning gears sounded like the death knell.
The walls kept closing in without pause.
The steadily shrinking space was enough to send anyone into a panic.
Pat was the more seasoned one. He suddenly shouted, "Will there be a penalty if the answer is wrong?"
"No additional penalty," the Tower Spirit replied calmly.
There was no additional penalty because the one before them was already enough.
If they couldn't answer, they were dead either way.
Pat's question was as good as encouragement. Downs gathered his courage and shouted, "Between two points—a straight line is the shortest!"
For a moment, the other four thought it was all over. After all, the answer had come from a promising High-Level Mage.
Their stunned expressions froze in place.
The walls hadn't stopped.
"A correct answer that is wrong!"
The Tower Spirit's words were baffling.
Was it right? It said he was wrong.
Was it wrong? Then it said he was right in principle.
What was that supposed to mean?
Downs began to panic, and the other four lost their heads completely.
Huan charged forward and braced his great shield against the right-hand wall, trying to slow it down.
It had no effect!
A force like a collapsing mountain came from the other side, easily crushing his resistance. He was forced back again and again.
Christine screamed, "Can you think of another answer? Just try anything!"
John the Rogue lunged at the Tower Spirit's relief, trying to break through the damned guardian by force.
The four of them struggled in every way they could, but all their efforts were futile. Their screams and angry shouts made Downs, standing in the middle of the narrowing passage, break into a cold sweat.
Narrow!
It was getting narrower!
There was less than two meters of space left to stand in.
Downs's mind went blank.
But at that critical moment, a quiet voice suddenly came from his shoulder.
"Between two points... folding is the shortest."
Abruptly, the breathtakingly narrow space stopped shrinking.
Before you continue