Magic Academy Bans Harem

Chapter 191 Old World Stele

"Besides the game-related content, does the 'World Tree Labyrinth' still have a meaning? Let me think about it. Maybe you might be interested in the documents about the 'Old World'. Nowadays, games always break up and scatter the important background stories into the descriptions of some props and collectibles. Then, once someone complains that the game can't even tell the story clearly, those people who have an inexplicable sense of superiority will jump out and say, 'The content is clearly written in the game, you didn't play it seriously.' Who has the leisure to study and explore the documents in the game one by one! Really. Uh, the topic has gone a little off. Overall, the story of 'Star Mark' is quite clear, and it feels like the more you dig, the more you get. However, only the part related to the 'World Tree Labyrinth' is fragmented. Since this is originally a hidden labyrinth, few people care about the plot."

In the outer part of the "World Tree Labyrinth", Merci, who had slowly woken up, vaguely heard the voice of the Bathing Goddess not far away.

"To put it simply, the entire text of 'World Tree Labyrinth' attempts to depict a world before the 'Star Pattern' world. What happened in that world and how it was destroyed are still controversial. However, all signs indicate that such an 'old world' must have existed. Therefore, the city related to the old world is called the 'Ancient Capital'. And those people who are keen on studying the background of the 'World Tree Labyrinth' and the 'Old World' were called 'Arborists' at the time. They were really a scary group of people who could put their faces on the screen and carefully cut out patterns and words from the blurred background. What do you think? Xiao Li, your perspective is generally much freer, so you can also try to figure out 'Arborism'. Although, I'm fine with these things, but it feels good to be able to show off in front of arborists, hehe~"

"I am indeed interested in ancient things. But given the situation we are facing, we may not have the time to wander around."

After the voice of the Bathing Goddess, the voice of Ritas also sounded.

Although she couldn't remember the specific content, she probably had a nightmare when she lost consciousness. Her palpitations, which had not stopped until she woke up, subsided instantly after she saw Ritas' figure not far away.

"Well, there's probably no need to wander around, at least not in the outer areas. The ancient capital has the most documents and they are the most scattered, and there is only one special stone tablet on each floor of the outer area, which can be regarded as a collection element. And most of those stone tablets are on the only way to the exit."

"In that case, it's worth investigating."

Every time Merci heard Ritas talking to the goddess of baths, she would have very complicated emotions.

At this point, Merci was completely certain that there was indeed a goddess living in that white disc.

Occasionally, when the Goddess of Baths said something that she couldn't understand at all, Ritas could always follow the content of the Goddess of Baths very easily.

Moreover, it is often not just the conversation that keeps up. When the Goddess of Baths and Ritas talk, the tone and atmosphere that both sides unconsciously exude can also make Merci feel that even to the goddess, "Xiao Li" is equal. In other words, a special existence.

But, being "equal" to the gods or something?
Professor Ritas's status as a class teacher has already made Merci deeply feel the distance between them. What if the professor is further upgraded to become a "god".
Mercy would be troubled.

Very troubling.
"Oh? You're awake, Cadet Mercy."

"Waaaaa! Uh, I'm sorry!"

Merci, who was thinking about something, was startled by Ritas's words and apologized subconsciously.

"."

Seeing Ritas fall silent and apologize, Merci, who covered her mouth immediately, felt a little disappointed.

In the past, Ritas would have probably corrected her behavior and told her that she "didn't have to apologize all the time." But not this time.

Perhaps, no matter how much she was corrected, she would still make the same mistake, so the professor lost his patience.
"It seems that the moment when others wake up is indeed not easy to witness."

Ritas, not knowing what he was thinking of, spoke without any context.

Mercy breathed a sigh of relief when she found that the professor had not lost his patience. At the same time, she suddenly remembered that at the end of the first semester, she had been guarding the sleeping professor for many days in a row, but when she went to attend the student ceremony, Ritas happened to wake up.

So, did the professor also think of this?
Regardless of whether it was true or not, Merci nodded repeatedly.

Perhaps because she and Ritas had the same feelings, the thing that had saddened Merci for a long time had now become a "funny thing".

"To put it simply, I came to the space below the tree house today to look for Ms. An. Due to some reasons, Ms. An's whereabouts are unknown. Also for some reasons that are difficult to explain, I am probably the only one in the academy who is most suitable to complete this task."

At the outskirts of the maze, after waiting for Mercy to finish her repairs and confirming that there was no problem with her condition, Ritas began his exploration.

It is naturally not appropriate to tell Merci about Her Highness An Angelica's affairs.

However, now that Merci has been involved, it would be somewhat inappropriate not to give her the minimum explanation and clarify what they are going to do in the labyrinth.

Fortunately, Merci just said "Oh" blankly and had no intention of delving into the details.

In fact, Merci was not completely in a daze. She felt something strange from Ritas.

Now, Ritas handed the white disc to Mels, and walked slightly ahead with a lantern.

There was nothing strange about Ritas's behavior, but compared with the past, it was a little strange. Apart from anything else, the professor, who usually thought that rubbing the ball with his hands was more efficient, would not turn on a light without a special reason.

Then, Merci, who was definitely not peeking at Ritas but just observing, suddenly felt her feet sink.

"Although, I'm still not entirely sure why we were sucked in here. 'Crack'?"

Hearing this clear, mechanical sound, Ritas turned his head and found two sharp arrows shooting straight at him.

Ritas immediately lowered his body and sat down against the wall, looking at the ancient arrow that was almost touching his cheek and deeply pierced into the crack of the wall with horror.

"Professor! Are you okay? I..."

Merci hurried to Ritas' side and asked worriedly.

"Better than my problem. Watch your step. This maze is full of traps!"

click
Before Ritas could finish his words, Merci subconsciously reached out to hold onto the maze wall, and her hand "pressed" a small square-shaped dent into it.

Chi!
Suddenly, a sharp spear stretched out from under the floor and almost pierced through the body of the quick-eyed and quick-handed Ritas who was fleeing.

"Be careful with your hands too! Stop, stop, no! Don't, don't step down, the ground under your feet is obviously a little different from the surrounding ground."

After dodging two traps with great difficulty, Ritas, who was still in shock, immediately felt overwhelmed when he saw the direction where Merci was going.

"But Professor, my feet are already up."

Although she followed Ritas' instructions almost reflexively, Merci still appeared helpless and stood on one leg.

"Take it slow, and be sure to stay calm. When you land, step on the left side, yes, step on the left hand side."

"Which side is left?"

When Ritas heard Merci's question, he already anticipated what would happen next.

As expected, Merci, who still couldn't find the "left side", fell down in panic.

When Mercy fell, her arm pressed down a large piece of floor tile in front of her.

After a while
"I-I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

"We can talk about apologies later. I'm counting on you, Student Mercy. I can climb up by myself, so please don't make any more movements."

The floor beneath his feet was suddenly pulled away. He grabbed the edge of the floor with both hands, turned his head to look at the large number of spikes on Ritas below, and said with a sigh.

After several dangerous situations, Ritas finally escaped from danger and began to test some things on Merci.

"Cadet Mercy, could you please move about ten steps to the right?"

"Yes, yes! Professor Ritas!"

Mercy lowered her head and walked attentively. She took a few steps to the right, a few steps to the left, and finally turned around, facing Ritas from her back. "."

"sky"

"Although this scene does look outrageous, don't misunderstand me, Bathing Goddess. You may not be able to feel it, but in fact, our senses have become a little strange since we came to this 'World Tree Labyrinth'."

"Even if it's for Merce's kiss, you're being ridiculous. Xiao Li, you're so gentle."

"I am telling the truth!"

As soon as he arrived at the World Tree Labyrinth, Ritas noticed that his sense of smell was not right. Before, he was still wondering if something went wrong when he fell when he came to this space.

But now it seems that this maze itself has a special power operating.

But why is this happening?

Could it be that in a world where magic particles don't exist, wizards will have problems with their senses and direction?

"Bath goddess, can you send me some instructions"

After a brief moment of confusion, Ritas suggested.

Under the command of the goddess of bathing, Ritas, who had walked dozens of steps, was like a headless fly, circling in the same place for a long time.

Afterwards, the goddess of bathing first said something like "You are even willing to act", pretending to be touched and teasing Ritas. After Ritas repeatedly emphasized that they were currently in a dangerous environment, the goddess of bathing became serious.

"This place looks the same everywhere, and with the sensory distortion, this is only the first floor. Are we going to be stuck? Can you walk by feeling the wall? If I remember correctly, as long as you keep your left hand touching the wall, you can easily break through many mazes."

In response to the Bathing Goddess's suggestion, Ritas silently pointed to the arrows that had penetrated the cracks in the wall, the spear holes in the ground, and the dark holes covered with spikes not far away.

"Tsk, aren't they just some little traps? Just wade through them. By the way, Xiao Li, I have good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?"

"bad news."

"Bad news, the little red window has appeared again on my side, which means we are in emergency status again."

"What? What about the good news?"

Ritas's face darkened. If other members of the Bathing Goddess Church encountered difficulties outside the maze, it would be a double whammy.
"Good news, the ones in red are us. To be more precise, the ones in that small window are you two."

"."

Is this really good news?
"However, after the window turned red, I discovered a new small function of the 'Church System'. It may not be useful now, but there is one thing you can use. Xiao Li, wait a moment. Today, I will show you what the power of the goddess of the goddess is!"

After the Bathing Goddess temporarily went offline, Ritas lit a bonfire and had a brief chat with Merci about college life.

Merci didn't know much about the male students, but she could say something about the female students.

According to Merci, the newly transferred tanned elf girl often appeared and disappeared even in class. Therefore, she has not yet been well integrated into the class. Iris tried to find Boudica several times to go shopping, have lunch, etc., but she could not find Boudica.

Speaking of Iris, she recently moved into the enhanced dormitory. Since Magic Ball is a traditional project of the college exchange meeting, but the Magic Ball seminar has been disbanded, the new Magic Ball seminar plans to send some students to participate in the competition. By the way, Iris also found Xia Lu to join.

Xia Lu originally just wanted to be a "youthful, beautiful and dignified" supporter of the Magic Ball Seminar. But her brother somehow offended her. So, after she beat up her stupid brother with the Elinger Ball, she was officially discovered as a contestant.
As for Sylvie, she seems to be absent-minded a lot recently.

Listening to Mercie recounting all the trivialities of the new semester, even though Ritas had no intention of doing so and Mercie had no ill will, the content of the conversation somehow gave off the vibe of a class mentor placing a "spy" among the students.

After chatting for a long time, almost forgetting the time, the Bathing Goddess came "online" again.

“Hehehe~ Next, listen to my voice with the feeling of hugging a thigh! I dug out the map of the ‘World Tree Labyrinth’! I bought this for my collection, not because I got lost and broke down, so I spent a lot of money!”

"." "."

Ritas and Merci looked at each other for a moment, exchanged opinions with their eyes, and finally decided to follow this "sacred" voice.

“It’s incredible”

After what felt like half a day had passed, Ritas looked at the stone tablet standing in front of him and uttered a heartfelt sigh.

The goddess of bathing actually came in handy or something,

"When we get out, we won't find that the world has been destroyed."

"What do you mean, Professor Satada?"

Because she was in a good mood, the Bathing Goddess didn't care about the offense from Ritas.

"But you, do you have magnets or something on your body?"

"Although I know there isn't, I'm not really sure."

Ritas said as he calmly pulled out two arrows from his knee protector.

Not far behind was Merci, who kept hunching her back and shouting "I'm sorry".

It can only be said that it is impossible to prevent Mercie from triggering those traps. After all, if she can control her carelessness, she will not be Mercie.

However, what Ritas, or rather everyone, did not quite understand was why no matter what traps Merci triggered, such as flooding, fire, arrow shooting, rolling stones, falling holes, etc., Ritas was always the victim.

If he wasn't a senior tutor now, Ritas would have wanted to give Merci a title like "innocent perpetrator".

"Let's not talk about that. So, this is the first collectible stone tablet outside the 'World Tree Labyrinth'?"

Ritas turned his head and looked at the stone obelisk which was also surrounded by yellow sand and filled with a sense of desolation.

"Yeah! But the stone tablets on the periphery are really only for collection. No one can understand what is written on them. Dendrologists have studied it for a long time and still can't decipher it. Maybe they don't even have any meaning. They are just randomly painted by the production team."

While the Goddess of Bath was speaking, Ritas walked around to the front of the stone tablet, took a quick look at the contents, and was stunned.

"I can understand."

"Huh? Hey, hey, hey, Xiao Li, even if you have a good brain, you can't do that."

"I really can."

Ritas spoke again, looking at the words on the stone tablet, which were round and looked like musical notes, and continued like a dream,
“Someone taught me”

The figure of his only good friend emerged in his mind.

(End of this chapter)