Chapter 69: Grave-Bloom Ganache

Even after the attacker died, the smoke still clung to the same spot. They had no way of knowing what was happening outside the fog or how many enemies were still there. The Academy Guard moved toward Max, staring at the dead attacker with a shocked expression before glancing at him.

Having used [Basic Healing Magic Reversal], Max had lost almost half of his Life Force. He quickly drank a mana potion, a stamina potion, and all nutritional potion. Although these potions could not restore his Life Force as quickly as the pond water had, he had no other choice.

"Let's get out of here. I will give a signal once I check the situation outside this fog," the Academy Guard said before quickly moving out to scout the surroundings. Since the first attack had come from a distance and one enemy was already lying dead at their feet, there were definitely other attackers lurking nearby.

Staying inside the fog, Max quickly activated [Eagle Vision] as he tried to recover some of his lost Life Force. Since Mana Sense had not detected anyone, he decided to use a skill that would allow him to see through the fog. He was still very new to Mana Techniques, and he suspected that anyone sent by the Royal Officials would be an expert in Mana Techniques who knew how to conceal their mana signatures.

As soon as he activated the skill, his enhanced vision allowed him to see through the fog and observe the surroundings outside. The Academy Guard stood just beyond the fog, holding his shield and monitoring the surroundings. Max quickly looked around to see whether any of the other enemies had approached.

However, to his surprise, he could see no one. Even so, he did not rush away; instead, he waited for the Academy Guard to guide him. Since Syrrece Academy was considered the number one academy, the guards chosen to escort its students would be highly capable of handling any situation. Therefore, Max needed to do nothing more than defend himself if necessary and follow the Academy Guard's instructions.

"We were surrounded?" Marlak suddenly whispered.

Hearing this, Max snapped his head toward his shoulder. "How do you know that?" Max whispered back. Although the information was useful, he could not help questioning the frog. It had detected the previous attack, which had seemed suspicious at the time, though its proximity to them might have explained it. However, this time, Max could see no one, yet the frog still claimed there were enemies nearby.

"I don't. It's just this weird instinct I got as soon as I arrived in your world," Marlak whispered.

Max quickly glanced back at the Academy Guard, who was still standing cautiously nearby.

"Okay, we will talk about this instinct later. Now tell me, how many?" Max was not ready to argue about it, at least not yet. He would get the answer out of the frog later, but right now, he needed to escape and survive.

"At least ten," Marlak said.

"Ten!" Max whispered hoarsely, completely caught off guard by the overwhelming number. That was a serious number of people to send after a mere fifteen-year-old student. Even if he used his otherworldly artifact, he would not be able to kill ten people; he would be exhausted before dealing with even two or three.

At that moment, while Max was considering Marlak's warning beneath the fog that still surrounded them, the Academy Guard returned.

"I see no enemies in our surroundings!" the guard said.

Hearing this, Max realized that the attackers were skilled enough to evade the Academy Guard's search. He was about to explain what was happening, but the guard continued.

"That makes the situation odd. I guess they are still hiding around us." The guard then pulled the assassin out of the hole and examined him. "Nothing useful on this guy, but I guess he was an expert assassin. More assassins must be hiding nearby, waiting for us to leave the fog."

The assassin appeared to be in his thirties, with sharp facial features and a shaved head. He wore a tight black jacket and trousers but carried no weapons, making him an unusual assassin. One side of his head had caved in; [Basic Healing Magic Reversal] had inflicted severe damage, even eating away at his skull.

Could this also be the reason why the academy does not teach this reversal skill to students? Max wondered as he examined the damage caused by [Basic Healing Magic Reversal]. As far as he could guess, the assassin must have completed his fourth evolution, which meant he was above Level 100. Despite the enormous level gap, Max had killed him within seconds while he was only at Level 5. That is some kind of forbidden skill.

"What is this fog, and why aren't they attacking us yet?" Max asked doubtfully. If the attackers intended to strike once they left the fog, he could not understand why they would not attack them while they were still inside. It made no sense to wait.

Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

"I don't know. Maybe they were startled by how quickly their man died," the guard guessed, admitting that he did not know the reason either. "As for what this fog is, I have no idea, but it seems they used some high-level artifact."

"What should we do now?" Max asked, seeing that the guard had few answers.

"Don't worry. I have already sent a distress call to the academy. Backup will arrive quickly. We have to survive until then," the guard said.

As Max had guessed, there were protocols for handling these kinds of situations. However, the question was how they were going to survive until backup arrived. The most disturbing part was the enemies' failure to attack, which made the situation even more dangerous. What were they waiting for?

"Let's use the underground path this guy dug!" Marlak whispered.

"Can we use the underground path to hide until backup arrives?" Max quickly asked the guard, who was still examining the assassin.

"We could do that, but what if more enemies come out of it? Wouldn't we get trapped? Furthermore, I don't think I could travel through such a small hole," the guard said. "However, you should enter the hole and wait inside in case an attack is directed at our location. I will stay here and keep watch in case someone reveals themselves."

That was a solid plan. Max could definitely stay underground, and he did not think any enemy would use the same path. If the enemies were going to use it, Marlak would not have suggested traveling underground in the first place.

"Yeah, that's a good plan. I'll hide inside, and if the attacks become deadly, we all squeeze farther down the hole. All we need to do is survive, right?" Max suggested. However, before he could enter the hole, Marlak whispered again.

"Let's just create our own underground path and travel through it. We don't need to use the existing one."

"What do you mean? We don't have the means to dig an underground tunnel," Max said.

"I will dig a tunnel; that's not a problem. But there is one condition," Marlak whispered, baring its jagged teeth.

"What condition?" Max asked, surprised by this new revelation. Although the frog had sharp teeth, he had never imagined they could be used for digging. Regardless, if it could dig a tunnel, that was definitely good news.

"Tell me your condition," Max whispered.

"I want to eat 10 kg of Grave-Bloom Ganache Cake," Marlak said, stating its demand in exchange for helping them escape.

Max grabbed the frog and squeezed it slightly, causing its eyes to bulge.

"You aren't really interested in freedom. You just want to eat a bunch of junk food, am I right?" Max asked.

"Hey, careful! You're going to squeeze me to death!" Marlak cried out loudly.

Both the Academy Guard and the Dungeon Security Guard stared at them in a daze. They had noticed Max whispering and suspected the frog was talking to him. Now they had confirmed that it was capable of speaking.

"Well, of course I need freedom to eat what I want and roam wherever I want. What's the point of freedom if I can't do what I want and eat what I want?" Marlak said urgently, sounding like a mature person.

Hearing this philosophical argument once more, Max stared at the frog for a while before loosening his grip. Once released, Marlak breathed heavily.

"Okay, if that's what you want, then no problem. Now let's get out of here," Max said.

After its demand was accepted, Marlak jumped from Max's palm, turned into a medium-sized frog, and began digging into the ground with its teeth, quickly creating a tunnel.

"What kind of pet is that?" the Dungeon Security Guard asked after seeing the frog create a tunnel using its mouth.

"That's a regular pet I use for mundane labor," Max said nonchalantly as he entered the tunnel.

The tunnel was a few feet deeper than the one the assassin had used and wide enough to crawl through without getting stuck. Even the large Academy Guard could travel through it easily.

Thanks to Marlak's impressive digging speed, they traveled more than fifty meters away from their original position within a few minutes. Max's only hope was that the attackers would not discover them underground. If they did, the group could be trapped like rats in a cage. However, since Marlak seemed able to detect the enemies' locations, Max believed it would carefully lead them away from danger.

After crawling for about five hundred meters in total, they exited the tunnel.

"Have we put enough distance between us and those people?" Max asked.

"Yeah, we have moved away. No one is around us. We can walk on the surface from here," Marlak said with a tired expression.

"Good job. Okay, let's quickly put some distance between us and the Dungeon location. Then we will reach the city perimeter," Max said.

They ran away from the Dungeon location. The city was ten minutes away by medium-speed vehicle, while running there would ordinarily take half an hour. From there, finding transportation would be easy.

Max and the two guards used Mana to run, while Marlak sat on him. They covered the distance quickly and reached the eastern city gate in only twenty minutes.

Breathing a sigh of relief, the Dungeon Security Guard said, "Somehow, we escaped a serious predicament. If we had stayed there, we would definitely have been finished. Okay, let's quickly find a carriage and report to the Adventurer's Guild. Then they will take care of the situation."

"No, let's report to the academy first. I don't want to take any chances while traveling to the Adventurer's Guild," the Academy Guard suggested.

"No. Reporting to the Adventurer's Guild takes precedence since the Dungeon has closed. If I don't report it, I'll get into serious trouble," the Dungeon Security Guard insisted.

"Hey, what are you talking about? This is a matter involving a Syrrece Academy student who was attacked during a Dungeon raid. Don't blabber some bullshit," the Academy Guard said firmly.

"Look, I'm grateful that you helped me escape alive, but the kid has to come with me. He needs to be investigated regarding the Dungeon's closure and his claim that the frog is his pet," the Dungeon Security Guard said, looking at Max and Marlak.

"What are you talking about? Having a pet is common. Are you dumb or what? It seems you have a part in whatever happened here. I will report this to the academy officials, and they will investigate whether you had any part in this ambush," the Academy Guard accused the security guard, noticing his persistent insistence.

"What? How can you accuse me of being involved in this ambush? I will file a complaint with the Adventurer's Guild and drag you through the streets for this!" the Dungeon Security Guard exclaimed in a panic.

"Yeah, we will see who drags whom. Let's go, kid," the Academy Guard said as he walked away. Max gave the Dungeon Security Guard one last glance before following the Academy Guard.