There is a spell called the Sheltered Maze.

It’s a type of intermediate-level barrier technique, and ever since it first appeared in the second installment of the series, it’s been a dreadful technique that has drawn a lot of complaints from players.

「𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙈𝙖𝙯𝙚 𝘽𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙧.」

Despite being a barrier technique, this spell doesn’t really have any effects that help in battle, such as trapping people within a certain area or inflicting damage.

However, it does have one special effect that seems to be overflowing with the developers’ malice.

「𝙄𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙢𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙙 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙩.」

It’s an optical illusion phenomenon that affects a certain area.

Sometimes it tricks the eyes, sometimes it confuses the mind, and ultimately, it causes great interference in reaching one’s destination.

In short, it means that finding a path, finding an object, or finding a person within this barrier becomes more than twice as difficult as usual.

“Even though it’s a place we just passed, it doesn’t seem like the path I remember.”

“. . . This is really confusing.”

『It looks the same to me, who’s outside the barrier. Is it the kind of effect that’s applied to the terrain itself?』

Yoon I-hwa’s guess was correct.

If it was something that directly affected the target, like a mental or illusionary spell, it would have been possible to nullify its effects depending on one’s specs, but this Sheltered Maze is a truly malicious spell that affects the terrain.

Because of that, there’s no choice but to be affected by the spell’s effects no matter what, unless you destroy the entire barrier.

「𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙤 𝙤𝙗𝙫𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙡𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚.」

The Sheltered Maze gained its popularity in the game as a stage gimmick that appeared frequently and tired out players due to its ability.

「𝙄𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙙, 𝙞𝙩 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 4𝙩𝙝 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙣𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣 . . . . . .」

Right now, its effect of pointlessly wasting time is exactly what we need.

Although its difficulty level is comparable to that of a high-level spell, it was still classified as intermediate, so I was barely able to use it at my current level.

After setting up the barrier technique in the center of the cave, I took out all the Phantom Nightmares I had and had them wander around the passageways, spewing out a mist of curses.

With this much, anyone would have a hard time getting here.

『Okay, let’s summarize the plan. Han Kang-yoon will hold onto the nameplate with the points, and we’ll try our best to block the enemy. If it doesn’t work, we’ll scatter and run away』

“Got it. We just need to keep the person with the nameplate alive, even if it means drawing attention.”

“In the first place, no team should be able to get here this quickly. We had a hard enough time finding it even though there were no obstacles.”

Before we knew it, there were 3 hours left until the end of the exam.

The team’s atmosphere wasn’t bad, since it seemed like we would be able to hold out if we did well.

And in fact, several teams had already entered the cave, but they were having a hard time advancing into the deeper parts.

「𝙎𝙤 𝙛𝙖𝙧, 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜’𝙨 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙨 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙.」

The problem is the top-ranking teams who have the strength to break through that and reach this place.

And just as expected, a team finally appeared that had broken through the path leading to the deepest part as the exam’s end drew near.

There’s exactly one hour left until the time we need to hold out.

The final battle of the exam was about to unfold.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

̇ȧ̇ᴡ𝘦𝘣s𝐭𝔬𝚛𝕚𝘦𝐬.𝕔𝐨𝔪

“Isn’t it unexpected that this team got their hands on the treasure?”

When Yoon I-hwa’s team, which Han Kang-yoon is a part of, acquired the cave’s treasure, the teachers who had gathered in one place to watch let out gasps of curiosity.

“It’s true that Han Kang-yoon, who’s skilled in shikigami techniques, is contributing a lot in this kind of exam.”

“I definitely thought that a team with students ranked in the top 5 of the grade would acquire it . . . . . .”

“Hoo, well, it’ll be a pretty interesting situation.”

The significance of the thousand points attached to the treasure is great.

At this point, when most of the missions have been cleared, it’s the last chance to change the rankings.

Naturally, there will be a lot of competition for it.

“Then, shall we make some predictions?”

It was the newly inaugurated dean, Yoo Hye-jin, who spoke.

“Predictions?”

“Yes. We’ll place a bet on who will end up at the top of the final grades.”

At Yoo Hye-jin’s words, a moment of tension flowed among the teachers.

That’s because the bonuses Yoo Hye-jin usually talked about weren’t just a few cents or dollars.

“What if there are multiple correct answers?”

“I’ll divide it equally.”

“Then Sophia.”

“I also think she’ll take 1st place in the end!”

The opinions were mostly unified.

In the first place, her team’s current score was considerable, and the teachers had personally witnessed her immense talent on a regular basis.

“Isn’t Sophia an outstanding talent, even in the long history of the academy?”

“Other than the current special-grade exorcist, Cheong So-ha, to be honest, I’ve never seen a talent like hers.”

“And her talent is only continuing to blossom. She was amazing even as a 1st year, but hasn’t she grown even more unrecognizably now?”

The majority of exorcists who have seen her say it. That she will definitely be the next-generation leader.

In a word, Sophia was a top-class talent, even on a global scale.

In such an atmosphere, there were four teachers who expressed different opinions.

They were Class A’s homeroom teacher, Baek Ji-eun, Forbidden Arts teacher, Go Daehye, the dean, Yoo Hye-jin, and lastly, one of the homeroom teachers for the graduating class, Hwang Man-soo.

First, Hwang Man-soo chose Hwang Ji-hak instead of Sophia.

“Charlotte’s talent is certainly great, but the runner-up, Hwang Ji-hak, is also an outstanding student. Perhaps there’s a high chance that he’ll exploit her weaknesses.”

And the remaining three all chose Han Kang-yoon. The other teachers gave them doubtful looks.

“It’s true that he’s been showing an unusual growth rate recently . . . . . . But it’s not to that extent, is it?”

“I’ve seen him a few times in class, but I remember that he wasn’t at Charlotte’s level yet.”

“Of course, it’s possible since he’s the one currently in possession of the treasure.”

However, the three of them didn’t change their opinions despite those looks.

Baek Ji-eun, who could be said to have watched over Han Kang-yoon the longest, nodded and said,

“If it was a head-on fight, it would be difficult for him to win against Sophia. But . . . . . . Those who know will understand, but Han Kang-yoon’s specialty isn’t that.”

Then, Go Daehye also began to agree with her.

“Honestly, his other spells aren’t anything special, but the power of his curse-type spells is no joke. Even Charlotte would take considerable damage from those.”

At those evaluations, everyone looked at the last remaining Yoo Hye-jin with interest.

And she opened her mouth with a meaningful smile.

“I didn’t really think of a reason. It’s just fun.”

“Ah. W-Well, I see . . . . . .”

However, it was clear that a total of three teachers had chosen Han Kang-yoon, regardless of the process.

Feeling intrigued by that fact, the teachers focused their attention even more on the screen.