SRS 84

“Are we really trapped? Just like this?”

Suhyeok muttered after crashing into the wall and letting out a pained groan. Yohan regretted his own carelessness.

“…Before applying for the guard squad, we should have first remembered what kind of place this was, but we were reckless.”

After rolling on the floor, Suhyeok stood up, dusted off his dirty clothes and muttered bitterly.

“No…. We haven’t even applied yet. We just came to take a look.”

“Do you still not understand the Phantom Sword Master’s personality? From the moment that professor spotted us, he already categorized us as applicants.”

“Ah….”

Suhyeok shook his dust covered head in frustration, his movements reminiscent of a furry animal shaking off rainwater.

“I’ve seen this place a few times while training, but this is my first time actually coming here. They call it a closed door training ground, right?”

“I know what that is. Isn’t it usually a place where you’re locked in to train for at least 3 months, and sometimes for decades?”

Suhyeok knocked his fist against the uneven, rough wall. The sound was dull and solid, which meant there was no space beyond it.

“Breaking through here wouldn’t get us outside.”

After that, he wandered all over the closed training hall, knocking on every wall he could find. He avoided going into the inner passage, but after circling the entire accessible area, he flopped down to the floor.

“No good. It’s blocked everywhere. Getting out directly from here won’t be easy.”

“What about opening the door and leaving?”

“That won’t work. I heard the main entrance here is built so it can’t be opened from the inside.”

“Then how did everyone who got trapped here get out?”

“Well….”

Kylus trailed off and looked at toward the inner passage. From where Yohan stood, it was a long walk to reach it, and it was also the only path leading deeper inside.

It meant that if they wanted to move forward, they had no choice but to use that passage.

Compared to their current location, which wasn’t very dark thanks to the glowing orbs embedded throughout the area, the path leading deeper into the cave looked pitch black and dangerous. They hesitated and exchanged glances. They all knew they’d end up going that way eventually, but none of them looked eager to move just yet.

“Mikael. Have you ever been inside here?”

Searching for an escape from reality, Suhyeok called out to Mikael. The white haired student shook his head.

“No. I’ve heard of the Closed Training Hall, but this is my first time here too.”

“Then tell us whatever you’ve heard. Even a small hint could matter if we want to get out.”

“Well… I’m not sure it’ll be helpful. I heard that even though it’s a cave with the main entrance sealed, there’s no shortage of air, so being trapped inside for about 3 years isn’t a problem. People supposedly survived by cooking beasts that wandered out of the cave, and by relying on spring water and medicinal herbs. If you go deeper inside, there’s even a deep lake where you can wash.”

“Really? That’s not terrible, at least for surviving.”

Unlike Yohan, whose face paled upon hearing this, Suhyeok nd Kylus were relaxed. Their experience as mercenaries had likely fostered this composure, and Yohan felt a twinge of envy, yet also a sense of shame.

Everyone else was handling it calmly, yet he was the only one complaining about the environment. It made him feel childish.

At this rate, I can’t even call myself a priest.

It wasn’t as if Yohan had never suffered before. He even embarked on a short journey, voluntarily asceticizing his path to becoming a priest, and that pilgrimage provided him with many experiences.

But after formally becoming a priest, he had lived in a luxurious temple, far removed from hardship. That was true up until the moment he had been thrown into an underground prison.

Yohan frowned as his thoughts suddenly wandered off, and he soon sighed.

When he recalled what happened in the prison, everything magically became manageable. He wondered if life here could ever be as difficult as it was back then.

“Have you ever heard anything about how to get out?”

“No. Apparently, once someone leaves the closed training hall, there’s a rule that they’re not allowed to mention anything about the exit. That’s why most information about this place is limited and repetitive.”

“So we’re supposed to find the way ourselves instead of relying on luck or information. Well…“

Suhyeok looked back at the passage with reluctant eyes. Now that they knew there were no hints, they couldn’t put it off any longer.

“Then there’s no other way, I guess… I guess we’ll have to go?”

He looked around at the other 3 students, seeking agreement. Yohan nodded along with the others, took a deep breath, and stepped deeper into the cave of the closed training hall.

“I figured it’d be dark, but this is pitch black.”

Without the glowing orbs, the passage was swallowed by darkness the farther they went, until eventually there wasn’t a single speck of light. With nothing to see, they slowed their pace. Then they heard the sound of fingers snapping, and a small, bright sphere of light floated up, illuminating their surroundings.

“Oh, nice.”

“Thanks, Mikael.”

“Thanks.”

They didn’t need to ask who had helped. After voicing their gratitude, they continued forward at a more comfortable pace while taking in the passage. Now that they could see, it was wider and longer than expected. They had already walked quite a distance, yet the end was still nowhere in sight.

Shaa.

A shallow sound of water rippled beneath their feet. Looking down, they saw small puddles here and there.

“Judging by how many puddles there are, there must be a spring a bit further in.”

“Just in case, let’s check the water quality when we get there and drink some.”

“Yes. We don’t know when we’ll find another one, so that’s a good idea.”

Yohan nodded and walked along at the words of the two who seemed quite accustomed to this kind of scouting and observation.

“Argh!”

Suhyeok suddenly screamed and staggered forward. Kylus grabbed him and pulled him upright before he could fall.

“What happened?”

“Something grabbed my foot.”

“Your foot?”

Yohan and the others immediately checked Suhyeok’s ankle. A small, translucent hand had emerged from a puddle and was clutching his leg.

“Aaah!”

Startled out of his wits, Suyeok frantically shook his foot, flinging the water formed hand away, then hurriedly stepped back.

“Wh-what was that?”

Yohan lowered himself in front of the puddle in place of his shaken friend and examined the presence lingering there.

“Oh.”

The energy was pure and clear. The air, which made breathing easier, gently resonated with the divine power within his body.

A power with properties similar to divine power.

This was a trace of a spirit.

The sensation reminded him of what he had felt in the Spirit Realm, and Yohan smiled in spite of himself as he spoke.

“It looks like a water spirit used its power.”

“A spirit? Spirits look like that?”

“No. That wasn’t its true form. It was just playing a prank. The real one is probably hiding somewhere around here, watching us.”

Yohan, standing up straight, looked around the cave.

“Should we try to find it?”

Mikael asked.

“Can you find it?”

“How many Spirit Studies classes do you think I’ve taken? Finding a hiding spirit isn’t that hard.”

“Then can you help us? If we can find it and ask about the exit, getting out will be much easier.”

“Give me a moment.”

Mikael slowly closed his eyes, then opened them and pulled a staff from his clothes.

“Track.”

A pale gray light extended from the tip of the staff, leaving behind a thin, delicate trail as it moved.

“Let’s follow it.”

“Wait. That’s faster than I expected.”

“Looks like the spirit is running.”

“Then this isn’t the time to hesitate. Run.”

At Suhyeok’s command, everyone in unison chased the fleeing spirit. Mikael’s tracking magic relentlessly followed the spirit, so they didn’t lose sight of it. They simply had to sprint at full speed, almost out of breath.

“Left!”

At a fork in the path, the spirit turned left, and all of them veered into the left passage together. How long had they been running like that? Yohan, feeling a sharp pain in his ribs, clutched his side and was about to declare he couldn’t run any further.

The tracking magic stopped in place.

“…A lake.”

There was a fairly large lake there, and beyond the lake was a dead end, blocked by a stone wall.

Only then did Yohan and the others finally slow to a stop and catch their breath.

Did it flee to the place that felt safest?

Yohan gasped, his breath almost metallic, forcing his body upright when it tried to fold over. The spirit’s presence Mikael had been chasing was clear to him now as well. Though it hid its form, the fluctuations told him something was floating restlessly at the center of the lake, circling in place.

Why come here?

Did it run here because there was so much water, or was this its original home?

Suhyeok and Kylus looked at Yohan. Since Yohan had been the first to sense the spirit, and the chase was over, they were leaving the next move to him.

Yohan nodded, took a deep breath, then stepped toward the spirit.

“You don’t need to worry. We’re not here to hurt you.”

The spirit’s presence continued to spin in place.

“I mean it. If you don’t trust us, we’ll wait until you feel safe.”

Sensing its strong wariness, Yohan took a step back.

The presence continued circling over the lake. Faster than before, and far more violently.

“…Huh?”

Violent?

Only then did Yohan realize something was wrong, and his expression changed.

“Get back!”

He shouted and tried to push his friends away, but he was already too late.

Chwaaaash!

A whirlpool surged up from the lake, taking the same rotating shape as the spirit’s presence, and rushed toward them as if it had a will of its own.

This is bad.

Feeling cornered, Yohan spread a protective barrier.