Became the Unjust Contract Slave of the Archamage's Book-Chapter 25

Fortunately, they were all together in this new space.

They spread out, searching for any passages or connected corridors.

"Nothing here."

"This side is blocked."

"Same here."

There were no apparent paths leading out of the domed space.

"Do we have to go up there?" Binaeril looked at the ceiling.

"Through those holes?"

The ceiling had several small openings letting in sunlight, but they were too narrow for a person to pass through.

"I could use magic to get up there, though."

Binaeril tried casting a simple spell.

"It works."

Unlike the maze, there was no restriction on magic here.

"Wait! There's something in the center!" Sylvia grabbed Binaeril before he could explore further.

She was right. In the center of the rectangular floor was something different from the marble—something dark.

"How did I miss that? It was right next to the beam of light."

"What is this? A statue?"

Upon closer inspection, it was a head.

A bull's head, the kind that might be offered on an altar to the gods.

"This thing is embedded pretty solidly."

Sylvia tried to lift it but failed. The head seemed to be carved from the floor itself, not just placed on it.

"This feels ominous," Binaeril said, pulling Rike back.

Statues and mounted heads were often the source of traps or animated attacks in many tales.

"Doesn't it look like it could come to life at any moment?" Rike agreed.

"My thoughts exactly."

"If it's a bull statue, what does it represent?"

"There's one legendary creature it could be," Binaeril said, thinking of the powerful mythic beast.

In a place like this, such a beast was a fitting challenge.

"A Minotaur in the labyrinth."

As he spoke, the statue's eyes glowed.

Meanwhile, Dean Yulio was in the Tower Master's chamber.

The Scholar Exam marked the near end of a term at Elfenbine. The Tower Master usually relayed her opinions through a proxy instead of attending faculty meetings.

Today, Dean Yulio was here for that very reason.

"Then we'll proceed as usual with the rest."

The Tower Master's veil fluttered slightly. From experience, Dean Yulio knew she had nodded.

"The Scholar Exam must be tiring, so I'm sorry to keep you."

"It's fine. Finish your tea before you leave."

The Scholar Exam didn't take place within Elfenbine itself. The virtual enemies, spaces, and trials the candidates faced were all the work of the Tower Master, Elfenbine.

Dean Yulio, a high-ranking mage, couldn't fathom the complex imagination and power needed to create such a vast and intricate space.

"Besides, it's quite entertaining."

The Tower Master chuckled.

"You have quite an interest in Binaeril and his friends?"

"How could I not? A girl with healing powers and magic eyes, a warrior unmatched in close combat, and a mage with inexhaustible magical reserves. They make a perfect team, don't they?"

Dean Yulio felt a surge of pride at her praise of his students.

"Heh. But the Scholar Exam is taken individually. I'm a bit worried one of them might give up."

"No, they're taking it together."

"What? Together?"

"I said they'd share responsibility. They must work together."

Dean Yulio had misunderstood her earlier statement about a joint exam.

"So, they're not just sharing the outcome but actually cooperating in the exam?"

The Tower Master nodded.

Dean Yulio had one concern. The second exam involved a medium-level monster. If they cooperated, it might be too easy.

"The second exam involves fighting a medium-sized monster, right? Wouldn't that be too easy for them as a team?"

Binaeril had already hunted a dire wolf on his own.

"So I raised the difficulty."

"What kind of monster did you use?"

"A Minotaur."

"A Mino—what?"

Dean Yulio doubted his ears and stood up abruptly.

The Minotaur in the labyrinth was a large monster, requiring several veteran mages to subdue.

"This is madness!"

The Tower Master replied calmly.

"Don't worry. It's a gargoyle replica, not a real monster. Their lives aren't at risk."

"But still."

Such a powerful foe was too much for students who weren’t even fully certified mages.

But before Dean Yulio could argue further, the Tower Master cut him off.

"Trust your students. They can handle it together. I have great expectations for them."

Her confidence left Dean Yulio speechless.

There was no support he could realistically provide to the students in the exam.

The Tower Master whispered softly to herself, so quiet Dean Yulio couldn't hear, her hopes for the boy.

"Especially that boy."

Back in the labyrinth, the atmosphere grew tense as the Minotaur statue began to move.

As it awakened, the ground trembled.

"Get back!" Binaeril shouted, but Sylvia had already leapt into action.

She anticipated the challenge when she saw the bull head.

Binaeril crouched, preparing himself as the Minotaur's massive form emerged from the ground.

It twisted its neck, freed its shoulders, then one arm, then the other, slowly revealing more of its massive body.

"How long is this thing?"

Seeing it in real life was far more daunting than learning about it in class. The Minotaur's body seemed to take minutes to fully emerge.

"Should we attack first?"

"I'm not sure. We should wait and see."

"If we don't take it down, what else are we supposed to do?"

"Maybe it will give us a riddle or something..."

"Sylvia, does that make sense?"

Rike was right. Attacking first made more sense.

This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.

Binaeril sharpened his imagination with Veritas's magic.

He could cast spells without chanting, but chanting offered more power and stability.

"A sharp blade to cleave through steel, manifest at my fingertips."

It was a slashing spell. Binaeril directed it at the Minotaur's shoulder.

Clang!

The feedback was so strong that Binaeril stumbled back a few steps.

"It's unharmed?"

The Minotaur's body was intact, like it was made of solid rock.

It didn't even turn to acknowledge Binaeril. It continued pulling itself from the ground.

"Let me try. Wind upon my feet, strength in my arms."

Sylvia cast two reinforcement spells she favored.

Binaeril watched, curious about her plan.

Sylvia's approach was simple.

She sprang off a slanted marble pillar, launching herself high into the air.

Then, she drove her heel down onto the Minotaur's head with all her weight.

"Die!"

The impact sounded like a hammer striking an anvil.

Sylvia landed gracefully from a somersault.

"It looks fine?"

"But it turned to look at me."

The Minotaur turned its head to glare at Sylvia, then placed its hands on the ground again.

Its knees were now visible; it was almost fully emerged.

"Blindly attacking won't work. We need a strategy."

"It's ridiculously tough. How is this a student exam? What should we do?"

"Maybe we should trap it back in the ground?"

Sylvia and Binaeril turned to Rike.

She had previously trapped them in the Elfenbine square, immobilizing them similarly to the Minotaur.

If they couldn't harm it, immobilizing it might be the next best thing.

"Good idea, Rike."

"But it takes a lot of magic and time."

"I'll distract it."

"I'll support Sylvia."

They quickly divided their roles.

"Eden."

Binaeril summoned the spirit from the ring.

"Can you hold that thing down from below?"

Eden nodded with a serious expression and dived into the ground.

"Hiya! Ha! Take this!"

Sylvia continued her aerial assaults on the Minotaur's head.

Meanwhile, Binaeril pondered the best spell to use.

'If wounding or killing it isn't the goal, then perhaps...'

"Let the spreading frost freeze all things."

"Huh?"

Binaeril first made the ground slippery with ice where the Minotaur stood.

Eden, beneath the surface, began pulling at the earth to restrain the beast.

Then Binaeril continued with his incantation.

"Stupid bullhead, bow down."

He struggled to find a fitting incantation, so he improvised.

It was a spell to press down on the Minotaur's head, though the wide area diminished its effectiveness.

Binaeril adjusted the spell to focus on the Minotaur's head.

"Roar!"

Success.

The Minotaur's head began to lower as if pressed by an invisible force.

While they bought time, Rike concentrated on her task.

'Not as wide as last time, just deep enough to trap its body...'

She limited her imagination’s scope and began chanting.