SWNOVELXO chapter 235
Chapter 235 – Side Story: Midterm Exam Replacement Test – 2
“I wonder who the person who said he would put it on was… … .”
“Yeah. I was wondering if there was someone who was going with me… … .”
An awkward smile returned. The identity of the person who was supposed to participate in the Gate subjugation was none other than Karna.
We exchanged awkward greetings. It had been quite some time since we last met, so it was not without its awkwardness.
“How’s the Royal Guard? Are they very busy?”
“As usual. Busy and tired. I wasn’t always this busy, but recently a new gate appeared and I’ve been running around closing it.”
The Royal Guard is a knight who directly reports to the Emperor, and their first priority is to protect the Imperial Palace. However, recently, there have been many cases where they have to go outside.
When the undead arose due to the Elder Lich, I was deployed to the front lines to stop it, and I had to split up my hard-earned rest to search for the Sword Master, and now the Gate incident broke out.
Even the Royal Guard, who are full of loyalty, honor, and skill, are starting to feel mentally tired.
“Actually, the gate you were assigned was something we were supposed to handle originally. I feel a bit sorry.”
“Nothing special? You guys are people too, so you should get some rest. If you’re going to use it as a substitute for a test, it shouldn’t be that hard anyway.”
“You’re the only one who can call a gate entrusted to the Royal Guard that.”
I know that too. Since losing the Demon King as their focal point, the Demon Tribe has entered into a civil war to determine who is stronger as usual, and since they have formed an alliance with the Succubus, the front lines are almost completely stable.
In other words, it means that the troops that were supposed to be deployed to fight against the Demons can be diverted to subjugating the gate. However, if it goes up to the Royal Guard, it is not an ordinary gate.
‘It also means that the professors have that much confidence in my abilities.’
Right now, most of the professors at Bellium Academy have connections to the Magic Tower or the Magic Association. Those people are dying to me, so naturally, their skill evaluations will have to be adjusted upwards.
“We’re okay. Loyalty is an honorable and glorious thing in itself. We all prepared ourselves to that extent and became Royal Guards.”
If that’s what you think, then I have nothing to say. I stood in front of the dimensional gate and entered the coordinates. Karna came up next to me.
“But I’m a little surprised. I didn’t think you’d say you’d leave as soon as you received the map. You said you were waiting for someone to come with you even though you were already ready to take a day off?”
“It would be better if we could finish it quickly. What’s the point of wasting time by dragging it out?”
Since the concept of a gate itself came from Earth, it was only natural that dungeon breaks existed in the gates of this world.
I had already selected the gates where I wanted to go with at least a month left, but just like on Earth, the calculations are all wrong for some unknown reason, so maybe this place is the same.
“Where are you going from? Looking at the coordinates, it looks like it’s going to be southeast.”
“I’m going to go from the seaside gate.”
I finished entering the coordinates. The dimensional gate rotated clockwise, creating a circular hole with a hollow center. I crossed over to the other side.
“Ugh.”
The bright sunlight was the first thing that greeted me. It was so strong that I unconsciously frowned and put my hand to my forehead. I squinted my eyes and observed my surroundings.
The emerald sea stretched out far into the distance, and the golden sand was laid out beneath my feet. The grains were so fine that my shoes sank in. I could already feel the sand creeping in.
The sea was incredibly clear. Maybe it was because my eyesight was good, but I could see the fish swimming leisurely far below. The size and strength of the waves were also just right.
Palm trees lined the forest a little way from the beach. They were even laden with fruit, some of which were rolling around on the ground, so they seemed to be very ripe.
As expected from one of the candidate sites for a math trip, the beach had a resort-like feel to it. It was enough to make me excited about what the other candidate sites would be like.
“Wow… … .”
Karna must have felt the same way as me, as he quietly exclaimed in admiration as soon as he crossed the dimensional gate.
“Is this your first time in a place like this?”
“Yeah. The Royal Guard doesn’t have any connections to places like this. We do get vacations here and there, but… … You know what I’ve been doing? I’ve given up most of my vacations. I’ve been resting for so long, so I can’t rest any more.”
A bitter smile appeared on his face. No one would think that way.
“By the way… … Can’t you see the gate? I heard it was in the middle of the ocean.”
Karna looked around exaggeratedly, as if trying to change the subject.
“Didn’t you hear the explanation?”
“I only received a written report of the location. He said it wouldn’t be necessary since I could just look around anyway. He said if I really had to hear it, I should ask you.”
Actually, Karna’s role is to accompany and confirm. It’s a safe role where he doesn’t go in together to fight, but waits outside and only checks whether the level has been cleared, so there was no need to hear an explanation.
Judging from the fact that he said that, it seems that he had made him go along to this test because he wanted to give him a vacation.
“It’s over there. It’s only about 250 meters away.”
Karna’s expression hardened as he saw where my finger was pointing.
“… … Are you talking about the bottom of the sea?”
“Of course. It’s an underwater gate. Do you want to follow me?”
“Hey, follow me? Into the sea?”
“If you don’t like it, you can stay here. I’ll wait while I take a sand bath or something.”
“Oh, no. I’ll go with you. I didn’t bring my swimsuit.”
“I was thinking of bringing it?”
He walked towards the sea with a smirk. Karna followed him timidly. He turned around when his shoes started getting wet from the waves that were coming in.
“You can breathe, but you can’t avoid getting wet. Even if it’s uncomfortable, just bear with it for a little while. You can dry yourself once you get on land.”
“You can breathe? Underwater?”
Karna’s eyes widened. This was Earth’s magic, so it was understandable. When the underwater gate that spat out Leviathan appeared, the magician hunters from all over the world racked their brains to complete it.
While the magic of the first world was close to omnipotent, and this world’s magic was focused on the destructive aspect, Earth’s magic has made great progress on the utility side.
It wasn’t intentional, but the power of the destruction magic was just mediocre due to the low mana concentration.
“Okay, here.”
I put the magic tool I brought separately on Karna’s wrist. When I casted magic by linking it with the magic tool, a sky blue gauge filled up on the display.
“That blue color is the remaining amount. I will also check the time, and most of the time, the subjugation will end within the duration, but just in case, if it drops below half, ask them to call again right away. The duration is 2 hours and a half, so you can set half of it to 1 hour to be generous.”
“Okay, I got it. Thanks.”
I cast a water breathing spell on myself, linked it with my magic tool, and walked further into the sea. A cold sensation began to creep up from the tips of my feet.
Finally, when I was completely submerged in water up to my head, a completely different view from the land unfolded. The sea seen from above the water and the sea seen directly from inside the water were on different levels.
The sunlight coming down from the sky reflected and scattered on the surface of the water, making the vast coral reefs shine even more beautifully, and fish swam around everywhere.
It goes without saying that the water was so clear and clean that you could see for several kilometers, even if you exaggerated it a little. Karna’s eyes sparkled as he looked around.
-If this place is chosen as a travel destination, you can enter like this.
Karna’s eyes sparkled even brighter as he transmitted his voice through magic. How many times in life do you get to experience something like this?
Other wizards were no exception. As soon as I taught the Magic Association about underwater breathing magic, the magic tower owners collectively went on vacation, and the people below them even grabbed the back of their necks.
But that feeling didn’t last long. As I walked further inside, the sparkling emerald color disappeared and a dark blue sea began to spread out.
Thanks to the lighting magic, I was able to walk without any problems, but the atmosphere had changed 180 degrees. Karna trembled and clung to me.
-It’s over there.
Just before the pouring sunlight almost disappeared, a blue-glowing gate appeared in the distance. The gate, shining blue alone in the dark blue sea, had a rather eerie appearance.
Karna was even more so than me. His fingers were holding onto my clothes as if they were a lifeline.
-Are you going in together?
Nodding, nodding, Karna nodded at the speed of light.
-I wish there was air inside the gate… … ?
The tail of the horse was blurred. It was because he had discovered something crawling from the other side of the gate. Karna let out a scream when he saw it.
“Uh, Kraken?!”
‘… …Isn’t that an octopus?’
Karna jumped up, saying that a Kraken had appeared, but to me, no matter how I looked at it, it was just a very large octopus. I looked at it carefully, wondering if I had missed something.
Still, it was the same. There were no monster features, such as grotesquely deformed body parts or body parts that had been combined with other creatures like a chimera. It really seemed like a normal octopus.
‘Octopus… … .’
Whether that thing is a real octopus the size of a 25-ton dump truck or a monster hiding its true form, I can’t let my guard down. But if that’s the octopus I know, there’s something I really want to do.
‘Let’s just tear off one leg.’