The Trap Got Set Off!

After a short break, the heroes and the knights continued exploring the twentieth floor. Each of the labyrinth's floors spanned a few kilometers in every direction, and new floors usually took a team of dozens anywhere from half a month to a month to fully search and map out.

However, at present, all the floors until the forty-seventh had been mapped out, so they were in no danger of getting lost, nor should they have been in any danger of falling into a trap.

The deepest room on the twentieth floor was like a limestone cave but made of ice. Icicles protruded from the walls, and some of them melted, creating a complex topography.

The stairs leading to the twenty-first floor were just past the icicles. After the class made it that far, their training for the day would be over.

The students had already begun to relax when a protrusion in the wall had prevented them from advancing in formation, forcing them to continue in single file. Eventually, the two people at the head of their procession, Kouki and Meld, came to a halt.

Puzzled, the students prepared for battle as they looked around. Rob too prepared himself, though for a different reason.

"It's camouflaging itself! Keep a close eye on your surroundings!" Meld yelled out a warning to everyone.

An instant later, the thing everyone had mistaken for a protrusion suddenly changed color and began to move. The creature that had assumed the shape of a wall was actually a dark brown color, and it stood there on two legs.

It began beating its chest. The monster was a gorilla that could camouflage itself like a chameleon.

"A Rockmount! Watch out for its arms, they pack quite a punch!" Meld's voice resounded throughout the cavern as Kouki's group prepared to engage the enemy.

Ryutarou repelled the Rockmount's enormous arms with his fists. Meanwhile, Kouki and Shizuku shuffled to either side to flank it, but were unable to properly surround it because of the rough terrain.

Realizing it couldn't get past the human wall that was Ryutarou, the Rockmount fell back and sucked in a deep breath. Seconds later, it looked back and roared so ferociously that the entire room shook.

"Graaaaaaaaaaah!!!"

"Guh!?"

"Uwaaah!?"

"Kyaaah!?"

Though the shockwave of sound that hit the heroes did no harm, it made everyone stiffen in fear. It was the magic Rockmounts were capable of using, 'Intimidating Roar.'

That magic, or rather a skill, was a mana-infused roar that could temporarily paralyze all who heard it. Kouki and the others, who took it head on, found themselves unable to move an inch.

They expected to be attacked while stunned, but the Rockmount sidestepped past them, picked up a nearby boulder, and hurled it at Kaori's group. And what a spectacular throw it was!

The rock flew cleanly over the heads of the immobile front line and headed straight toward its intended target. There was no space to dodge, so Kaori and the other rearguards pointed their magic circle-amplified staves at the boulder and prepared to intercept.

However, they stopped their chant midway. The sight of what was coming toward them shocked them into inaction. The boulder the Rockmount had thrown was another Rockmount!

The second Rockmount somersaulted in the air and spread its arms wide, heading straight for Kaori. The way it spread its arms out resembled the Lupin Dive.

The resemblance was so uncanny that everyone who saw it almost expected it to scream "Kaori-chuaaaaan!" as it hit her like in some comedy anime. It even had the bloodshot eyes and heavy breathing down pat.

Kaori, Eri, and Suzu all screamed in terror and forgot to keep chanting.

"Oy, what do you think you're doing in the middle of a fight!?"

Meld swiftly cut down the Rockmount that was diving toward the girls as he said that. They girls quickly apologized. However, that must've been quite the disgusting sight to see, as their faces were still pale.

A certain someone completely snapped when he saw how rattled the girls were. It was no other than Kouki, the resident self-styled ally of justice.

"Bastard... How dare you hurt Kaori and the others... I won't forgive you!"

Rob cringed so hard at Kouki's shout.

The idiot had mistakenly thought their paleness came from their close brush with death... and not how disgustingly creepy the Rockmount had looked.

Kouki flew into a rage over that rather cliched reason. Pure white mana began leaking from his body, and almost as if in response, his holy sword began to glow.

"Soar unto heaven, O divine wings - Celestial Flash!"

"No! Stop, you idiot!"

Blinded by his rage, Kouki ignored Meld's warning, raised his sword up high, and swung down with all his might. He finished chanting his spell the same instant, and his holy sword unleashed a dazzling blade of light.

There was no escaping it. The curved light passed through the Rockmount with only the slightest hint of resistance, cutting it cleanly in two, and stopped only after crashing into the wall.

There was a loud rumbling sound. Pieces of the wall began to rain down.

Kouki breathed a deep sigh, then turned to the girls, a lady killer smile on his face. He had defeated the big bad monster for them! Yay!

Just as Kouki was about to say "It's okay now!" to the rearguards of his group, Meld walked up to him while smiling angrily with veins popping out of his forehead. Meld then delivered a punch at Kouki's face, generating a loud fist meeting flesh sound.

"Hobwah!?"

Rob almost burst out in laughter when he saw that and heard Kouki's squeal. It was so satisfying seeing Kouki get punched on the face like that.

"You damn fool! I understand why you got angry, but you can't use skills like that in a narrow passage! You could've brought the whole cave down on us!"

Kouki's complaints died in his throat at Meld's chastising words, and he apologized awkwardly. The girls all smiled wryly and tried to comfort him.

Then suddenly, Kaori turned to look at the crumbled section of the wall. "...What is that? It's all sparkly..."

At her words, everyone turned to look in the direction she was pointing. There was a strange mineral emitting a pale blue glow, protruding from the wall like a flower in bloom.

It looked like a crystal with Indigolite buried in its center. All of the girls, including Kaori, were entranced by the beauty of the gem.

"Oh, that's a Glanz Crystal. And a pretty big one to boot. How rare," Meld said.

Glanz crystals were basically a type of raw gemstone. Though they held no special properties, their luster and radiance made them popular among the noble ladies and their daughters. They were often processed into rings, earrings, pendants, and such other jewelry to be given as gifts. Apparently, most girls were overjoyed to receive Glanz Jewelry as gifts, and it was among the top three jewels used in proposal rings.

"That sounds so lovely..." Kaori blushed when she heard Meld's explanation and was further entranced by the stone. She then stole a glance at Hajime.

It was so quick that it almost went unnoticed. However, Shizuku, Daisuke, and Rob did take note.

"In that case, I'll go grab it for us!"

Daisuke suddenly ran forward after saying that. He swiftly climbed up the debris of the crumbled wall, heading toward the glanz crystal as fast as possible.

Meld hurriedly tried to stop Daisuke. "Hey! Don't just run off on your own! We're not even sure it's safe yet!"

However, Daisuke pretended not to hear, and he was standing in front of the crystal before long. Meld chased after Daisuke in an attempt to stop him.

At the same time, one of the knights pulled out his Fair Scope and scanned the area around the crystal. A moment later, his face went pale.

"Captain! It's a trap!"

"What!? Stop!"

However, both the knight and Meld's warning arrived a moment too late. The second Daisuke touched it, a magic circle appeared in the center of the crystal.

The trap had been set for anyone foolish enough to touch the Glanz Crystal. The magic circle glowed bright and then grew large enough to encompass the entire room like the day the students had been summoned.

"Crap, retreat! Everyone get out, now!"

Meld's words spurred everyone into action, and the students all scrambled for the exit... but they didn't make it in time.

Light filled the room, and before long white was the only thing anyone could see. Everyone was assailed by a momentary sensation of weightlessness.

They could feel the atmosphere shift. A moment later, they all fell to the ground with a *thud!*.

Fortunately, Rob landed on his feet while crouching low. When he looked around, he found that most of the students were still on the ground.

However, Meld and his knights, along with Kouki and the other vanguard of his group, were already on their feet, examining their surroundings.

The magic circle from earlier contained a teleportation spell. Magic from The Age of the Gods was remarkable because it could easily do things that no modern-day mage could.

It appeared that everyone had been teleported onto a massive stone bridge, around one hundred meters in length. The ceiling towered a full twenty meters above them.

Below the bridge was not a river, but instead a dark abyss with no visible end. The gaping chasm resembled the pits of hell.

Though the bridge was ten meters wide, it had no railing. If someone slipped, there would be nothing to catch their fall. They all had been sent to the middle of the bridge.

One side of the bridge was a passage heading further in. On the other hand, stairs leading upward were at the other end.