The Academy Regressor is Obsessed

His eyes snapped open even though it didn’t feel like he had slept much. Asel ruffled his messy hair with his hand as he got up.

His condition… wasn’t bad. All the magical power consumed during the sparring had returned, and his body was in good shape. It seemed there would be no obstacles in escaping the labyrinth. That was enough.

“Ah, are you awake?”

He turned his head at the sudden voice. Saya, sitting on the sofa and combing her tail, came into Asel’s view. Asel walked towards her and answered:

“Did you sleep well?”
“Yes. I just closed my eyes and fell asleep right away, and I’ve just woken up. Did you sleep well?”
“More or less.”

Asel snapped his fingers and created a small campfire in front of the sofa. He ignited it through basic flame formulas. By running a current through it, he formed flames that would burn on their own without needing constant attention. Feeling the surrounding temperature rise, Asel plopped down in the empty spot next to Saya.

The sofa was quite soft. Not as much as the ones in the dormitory, but it seemed sufficient for spending a night. The sofa in the Witch Association had been similar in material.

“But Asel. Isn’t the current situation… a bit excessive for a club initiation?”

Suddenly, Saya asked that. Asel met her gaze by rolling his eyes and listened attentively to her words.

“Usually, when you think of an initiation, you imagine just bullying, right? But this…”
“Is it too dangerous?”
“…Yes.”

Saya nodded timidly. Asel smiled bitterly and leaned back against the backrest.

Actually, up to the 4th floor of the simplified labyrinth, it hadn’t been that dangerous. With a bit of exaggeration, they could have slaughtered the native creatures and advanced whenever they wanted. But now that they had passed the 5th floor and been forcibly transferred to the 15th floor, the situation had changed a bit.

Pascal Theron. A powerful flame magician who would later reach the realm of archmage and take the position of magic tower head.

Such a person had said that the 16th floor of the labyrinth was dangerous. Even Saya, who had been half-doubting until then, must have realized through the sparring with Asel that he was no ordinary person. Probably from that point, she started to trust Pascal’s words.

When someone with power says something is dangerous, there’s always a good reason for it. From the 16th floor of the labyrinth, it’s a land of death where even high-level flame magicians fight for their lives. For Saya, who lacks combat ability, it would be a place so dangerous that it wouldn’t be strange to lose one’s life just by breathing.

“But don’t worry.”

However, Asel still didn’t view the current situation that seriously. If this were the real labyrinth, he would have been worried too, but this is the simplified labyrinth. It’s a virtual stage set up by the Academy, a fake with an environment similar to the real labyrinth.

Is it even possible to really die in such a place? If so, why did the Chancellor open the simplified labyrinth to students? She wouldn’t want to see the whole Academy turned upside down.

Friede didn’t have such a self-destructive tendency. The fact that she opened the simplified labyrinth meant that this place wasn’t actually that dangerous.

The problem was that all the senses felt strongly insisted that ‘this space is dangerous’.

There’s something called the placebo effect. It means that if you believe something, your body actually reacts that way. The anxiety Saya was feeling was probably all a result of the signals sent by her senses and her brain mixed together.

There’s something people often misunderstand. Although thoughts greatly influence the mind, they are even more influenced by the physical body. In this regard, Asel’s thought patterns were far more extraordinary than those of ordinary people.

The reason and mind of a transcendent magician not bound by the physical body. With that alone, he could perceive the current situation more accurately and clearly than anyone else, and could always calmly cool his head.

It meant that cognitive abilities and the brain were more influenced by the mind than the body. How important this talent was for a magician was a fact anyone could understand without explanation.

His thinking led to the conclusion that the current situation wasn’t that dangerous. It was a conclusion reached through rational reasoning and thought.

“Asel…”

As he saw Selene stumbling out of the bedroom, Asel organized his thoughts.

The burns suffered during the sparring.

Both then and now, he felt no pain at all. Although the burn marks remained clearly visible, there was no pain.

As if in a dream.

“The plan is this.”

Pascal said, looking at the group seated in a circle.

“As soon as we go down to the 16th floor, we run with all our might towards the return stairs. Even if something rushes at us in the middle, ignore it as much as possible and keep running.”
“I have a question. How do you know the location of the return stairs? It’s impossible to go back up to floors you’ve already stepped on, right?”
“The labyrinth changes its characteristics at the 15th floor. Based on this resting place, it’s possible to go back up even after going down to lower floors.”

Pascal answered Selene’s question. He drew out flames in a long shape and placed them on the floor like threads to draw a rough map of the 16th floor.

“Go straight until I give the signal. When I signal, immediately turn right. If you keep running like that, you’ll see a staircase. Once we reach there, returning won’t be a problem.”
“Can’t the monsters come up beyond the stairs?”
“Of course they can. That’s why we keep running. At some point, they’ll give up and turn back, so run like mad until then. If you want to live.”

The meeting ended that briefly. After establishing a plan that was embarrassing to even call a plan, the group immediately stood in front of the stairs leading down to the 16th floor.

“……”

The aura coming from below was ominous. There was a pressure that felt like it was tightening around the throat just by standing still. It was stuffy and irritating, as if something foreign was mixed in the breath. The body hair stood on end as if facing a murderous spirit head-on. High-density magical power pressed down on the body as if trying to crush it entirely.

The more sensitive a magician was to magical power, the more severe this pressure was. Pascal seemed used to it and loosened up, but Selene swallowed hard while her teeth chattered.

Although she had spent her childhood in the slums, she was still afraid of death. Even after becoming a magician, she had mostly stayed in the magic tower continuing her research, so while she wasn’t completely ignorant of combat, she didn’t have much experience. Entering a place where she could lose her life of her own volition was still a frightening and scary thing.

“It’s okay.”

At that moment, Asel muttered as he held Selene’s trembling hand. He met Selene’s eyes as she suddenly turned her head towards him and burst into a slight smile.

“If worse comes to worst, I’ll carry you and run.”
“…I’m fine, you know?”

Selene answered gruffly but gripped Asel’s hand tightly.

“…Still, it’s reassuring.”
“Is that so.”

Asel personally offered his hand until she calmed down. Pascal, who was putting his last cigarette in his mouth before descending into the labyrinth, saw this and smiled sarcastically.

“What’s this? Are you dating?”
“It’s not like that!”
“It’s been said since ancient times that a strong denial is a strong affirmation. I can clearly see your future, that’s what I’m saying.”
“W-What, what.”
“If you don’t want to die from overexertion while biting and sucking later, at least build up your stamina, star-fucker. With you two, the child born would be interesting to see. Make sure to send them to the Ignis Magic Tower later!”

Asel ignored Pascal’s shout and firmly held back Selene, who was about to lunge forward. Selene struggled in his arms for a moment, then looked up at Asel sharply while exhaling rough breaths.

“I’m an expensive woman. I’m not an easy woman who falls for just a noble status!”
“Who said anything? There’s no noble here in the first place.”
“…? Aren’t you a noble? You look exactly like one.”

Selene blinked and muttered. Asel let her go and answered:

“I’m from the slums. It’s fair to say I basically grew up there. You can tell from the fact that I don’t have a surname.”
“S-Slums? You too?”
“…You too?”
“Me too!”

Selene’s expression brightened considerably. She hadn’t expected to meet a magician from the same back alley background at the Academy. Suddenly feeling her liking and closeness to Asel surge, Selene tapped his chest lightly with her fist.

“Did you have parents?”
“They were demon worshippers, so I ran away.”
“Mine were already all dead! But my mom was a good person.”
“What the hell kind of otherworldly conversation is this? Did talking about each other’s parents’ well-being become a trendy conversation topic while I wasn’t aware?”

Pascal cut in, unable to bear listening to the two’s conversation any longer. He threw the cigarette he was smoking on the ground and sighed deeply as he began to descend the stairs.

“Shut up and let’s go now. It’s good that the atmosphere has lightened up, but we should avoid getting too relaxed. Maintain some tension.”

His words were right. Asel roughly ruffled Selene’s hair, who was grumbling, and then stuck close behind Pascal. Selene and Saya followed right behind, descending the stairs. Asel cast overlapping physical enhancement magic on the two and drew up his magical power to be able to react at any time.

Flame formulas and ice formulas are advantageous for speed battles. Although lightning formulas far surpass the two magics in attack speed, the magician’s inherent mobility itself was bound to be lower.

If he could turn his body into lightning, it might be different, but Asel’s level hadn’t reached that point yet. He would only dare to attempt it after realizing his uniqueness, at the very least.

“Get ready.”

After descending the stairs to some extent, Pascal muttered while shaking his legs. Asel sensed the presence of creatures beyond the end of the stairs and hardened his face coldly. Instead of turning back, Pascal drew up his magical power and formed hand seals as he continued speaking.

“Let’s go.”

The moment he uttered that.

[Prominence]

Whoosh!!!!

A huge sphere of flame was summoned in front of Pascal. It was fired forward like a shell. Just from that, the dark labyrinth corridor brightened up, revealing burning native creatures.

Their shape was similar to humans. But they had six heads. Through their wide-open chests, toothed hearts pumped, and lungs chewed on ribs and spat out bone fragments.

The shattered shoulder blades had pierced through the skin and transformed into real wings. Each of the six heads had one facial feature, and as their large eyeballs turned to ashes, their X-shaped torn mouths opened wide and spewed out eerie screams.

-Kyeeeeeek!!!

A loud cry that made the brain vibrate. As if resonating, similar sounds burst out from all directions.

Now’s the time. Without needing to say anything, everyone simultaneously began to sprint through the labyrinth with all their might.

[Flame Walk]

Pascal shot forward as if sliding by killing the friction of his shoes. Asel spread wings of flame on his back, and Selene summoned a large planet and climbed on top of it. Saya transformed her appearance into a fox using youki and ran madly on all fours. Her released tail overlapped as if it had become one, spewing out youki.

Everyone’s speed was similar. But Saya and Selene were concentrating all their mental energy just on maintaining their speed. They had no余裕 to deal with approaching monsters.

Whenever that happened, Asel and Pascal busily moved their hands. The two running didn’t need to exchange words to perfectly understand what each other needed to do.

[Flare]

Flames spurted up with each of Pascal’s footsteps. Just from that, the upper bodies of the charging monsters were cleanly blown away. Asel used the repulsive force of Pascal’s magic to move to the very back of the group. Then he chanted a lightning formula.

[Sharp Lightning Destruction Swing]

Minute electric currents sparked from his fingertips. Soon, the moment it collided with one monster, a storm of massive thunder slashed through the space. The monsters chasing with grotesque appearances were dismembered and rolled on the floor.

However, they didn’t die. Severed arms became individual life forms and split off from the main body. Mouths formed on the cut surfaces, and bones that popped out with cracking sounds formed legs. It immediately lunged towards the group while letting out a sharp scream.

The other body fragments were similar. Dividing entities that continued to embrace life without dying. Torn lungs, hearts, internal organs, and even brain matter condensed to form individual lives.

It felt like common sense was being thoroughly denied. Asel let out a hollow laugh and manifested flame formulas in reverse behind Saya and Selene’s backs. This propelled the two forward rapidly using the magic as thrust. Asel grabbed a heart that had leaped to bite his leg with a magic thread, tore it to pieces, then increased the output of his wings.

Whoosh!!!!

Fiercely rotating wings of flame. Just that alone released overwhelming heat to the surroundings. Although it couldn’t be maintained for long due to its extremely poor magical efficiency, its output was top-class.

Just having them spread should prevent reckless approaches. Asel planted one more lightning magic before flying towards Pascal. He looked up at Asel while stopping the bleeding of his blood-soaked fingers.

He didn’t bother asking how he got injured. Questions with obvious answers aren’t helpful anyway.

“How much further?!”
“Not much further!”

Pascal answered while spewing out spheres of flame. Asel grimaced and quickly formed hand seals.

[Flame Red Line Rotation]

Long lines of burning flame bloomed from the tips of Asel’s ten fingers. He extended them in all directions as if manipulating a puppet, then suddenly pulled them in. The lines of flame rotated violently, releasing heat and fire all around. The moment they touched the high-temperature threads, the monsters were smoothly sliced apart.

“Ah, shit!”

Selene wasn’t idle either. Whenever she had a moment’s余裕, she caused meteor showers to pierce the monsters’ heads. Saya also momentarily stopped the monsters’ movements through hypnosis.

That alone was enough. A gap created for an instant. Pascal forcibly tore through that gap and caused a massive storm of flames.

“Turn!”

He shouted as he changed direction to the right. Asel rotated his flight direction accordingly and adjusted Saya’s inertia to prevent her from colliding with the wall. Saya looked up at him with vertically slit pupils, then increased her youki and enlarged her body size.

“Grrrr…!”

She let out an eerie growl as she crushed the internal organs flying towards Asel. Even while doing this, her speed didn’t decrease. It was evidence that she was properly controlling her beast-transformed body.

A high-level operation that made worries about falling behind seem foolish. Asel stroked Saya’s soft fur once, then looked back and snapped his fingers. Simultaneously, lightning was fired in a fan shape, burning and advancing through the monsters.

For a moment, the space behind them opened up. They should be able to buy some time until the sliced creatures divide and gain life again. Asel turned his gaze forward, leaving Saya running behind him.

At that moment, a staircase came into his view. Stairs dug upwards, not downwards. As soon as he confirmed this, Pascal turned to look at the group.

There was no conversation. They simply accelerated.

And at that moment.

-Grooooar!!

A huge pile of corpses fell right in front of the stairs. No, more precisely, it was a phenomenon like a golem created by corpses clumped together. Even at a glance, the presence it gave off was not ordinary. It seemed impossible to ignore.

But they couldn’t continue fighting either. They had gained some time, but it was clear that monsters would pour out from behind again in the midst of battle.

Then the best option would be for one person to face the golem while the others go ahead first-

“Shut up, you son of a bitch!”

The moment Asel thought this, Pascal shouted roughly and formed hand seals. At the same time, a red droplet fell to the floor from between his hands.

Whoosh!!!!

Flames that burned the entire space spread to everything except the group. In an instant, the golem melted to the point where its form was hard to recognize. The bright red blood evaporated the moment it touched the floor, and the flesh became ashes and scattered without even leaving its shape.

Even at a rough glance, it was clear. It was definitely a high-level magic boasting extreme firepower even among flame formulas. Asel ran after Pascal while staring at the flames engulfing everything around with blazing eyes.

He folded his wings of flame. It was clear that using them any further would deplete his magical power and cause a loss in combat ability. He ran on his own two feet, watching Pascal’s back as he exhaled rough breaths.

“Huff… huff…”

He quickly became out of breath. Due to constantly maintaining magic with destroyed efficiency and using other magic in succession, his body wouldn’t listen to him. It wasn’t to the point where his legs lost strength, but he could clearly realize that his speed had slowed compared to before.

At this rate, he would collapse from exhaustion before reaching the stairs. Asel gritted his teeth and moved his legs while clenching his jaw so hard his molars might break. At that moment, Saya caught his clothes in her mouth and accelerated while stepping on the regenerating remnants of the golem.

“Saya!”
“Yap!”

Instead of answering, Saya barked once, snatched up Selene and placed her on her back, then swatted away Pascal’s body with her front paw as he waved his hand as if asking to be carried too.

“Ugh?!”

He flew towards the stairs with a surprised expression. Saya winced at her slightly burned front paw and lunged her body towards the stairs. The huge fox slipped inside the stairway, and as her body returned to its original form, the two people clinging to her rolled on the floor.

“Cough… yap yap…!”

Saya barked pitifully while lying face down on the stairs. Asel snapped back to his senses, fixed Saya and Selene in place with magic threads, then began to run up the stairs. Pascal also followed right beside him, cursing.

“Shit, why did she only hit me and make a fuss!”

He grumbled while burning the blood flowing from his fingers. Instead of bothering to answer him, Asel ran until he could no longer sense the presence of the monsters.

Thanks to Selene intercepting the monsters with magic, their presence disappeared cleanly before long.