Chapter 18: Breaking Point (2/2)

The turtle had temporarily blocked the hole in the wall, but it was only a stopgap measure.

I ordered the maze-repairing puppets to rise and began sealing the broken walls.

The area in front of the turtle was already filling with corpses.

If I was even a little late, the monsters would break free again.

I used the roots of the sapling inside me to forcefully seal up my severe injuries.

Healing could come later.

Carefully manipulating the puppets and magic, I began to rebuild the maze’s flow.

All of this had to be done urgently, and the structure was unstable.

But somehow, I managed to restore the existing framework.

The maze was now functional again.

However, there was no time to celebrate.

I could hear the sound of someone arriving.

Something shocking had occurred during this time.

Finally, one of them had fallen.

The stronghold of Sigyeo had been broken.

The first to realize this was Aileen and Hong Ryeong.

The massive hawk—Hong Ryeong—had referred to it as a thorny flower hawk.

They had attacked the Hourglass of Sand.

Thankfully, they had been able to stop them easily with the magic they had prepared, but the fact that the defenses had been breached was undeniable.

At that moment, Hong Ryeong stepped forward.

Using his magic, Hong Ryeong sealed off Sigyeo’s territory completely and sent out messages to gather everyone in front of the Hourglass of Sand.

I had fainted, so I only responded to the gathering late.

Since I was in no condition to stand, I borrowed the sight of a puppet in front of the Hourglass.

Aileen and Hong Ryeong, as well as the Shaking rope, were already waiting.

Sigyeo was simply smirking from one side.

I moved the puppet’s body and stood before them.

I bowed deeply in apology.

“Sorry, there was a bit of a crisis, and I couldn’t respond to the messages because I was dealing with it.”

“It’s fine. As long as the defenses didn’t fully collapse, it’s okay.”

Hong Ryeong smiled as he spoke.

Then, he shared the information about Sigyeo’s stronghold being broken.

I bitterly smiled.

It was to be expected.

After all, I had almost been breached myself.

“Heh, luckily you’re still alive. I thought the puppeteer friend of mine was a goner.”

Aileen laughed as she spoke.

Under her, a pool of blood swirled ominously.

It had become so thick and black, almost like a shadow, as if it had absorbed the blood of countless monsters.

“Thanks to your concern, I barely survived.”

“Yeah, the Blade Wolf is a monster that catches you off guard if you don’t know about it. It’s a type of monster not easily seen by wanderers.”

It had been a long time since my guess was wrong.

Aileen smiled slightly.

From behind that smile, I felt a sharp killing intent.

Cold sweat ran down my back in an instant.

The blood-like shadow, I remembered hearing of it somewhere.

“What’s wrong? Did you see something scary?”

I couldn’t manage my expression for a moment.

Aileen noticed it and mischievously asked.

“Haha, no, I was just reminded of the difficulties I’ve had these past few days.”

I quickly made up an excuse and tried to recall my memories.

Eventually, I found an old one.

There was a well-known rumor among the wandering magicians.

It was said that for about a hundred years, there had been a magician who had been hunting down other magicians.

Around the corpses, a strong, blood-scented shadow was always left behind.

That seems to be the magician from the rumor… ‘So, is Aileen the magician hunter from that story? And why did she apply for the university exam? I couldn’t figure it out.’

I forced myself to stop thinking about it.

Whoever she was, whatever her purpose, it was none of my concern.

All I needed to do was pass this exam.

I smiled naturally and continued the conversation.

As the atmosphere slowly settled, Hong Ryeong spoke up.

“Sigyeo’s stronghold has fallen. We need someone to take over that area.”

The room went silent.

Aileen and the Shaking rope didn’t seem interested at all.

I, on the other hand, had just dealt with a crisis in my own area and had no energy left.

After waiting for a response for a while, Hong Ryeong nodded when no one answered.

“Then, I’ll take charge of that area. Evron?”

He turned to look at me.

I bowed slightly in response.

“Could you explain to me how Sigyeo divided his territory between you and him? I would like to restructure the area similarly.”

“Yes, of course. I will explain it in detail after the meeting.”

“Thank you.”

Sigyeo gave a bitter smile.

“I realized painfully how inexperienced I am after this incident. I was capable of dealing with ground monsters, but I was completely unprepared for those that fly. In the end, the monsters infiltrated all the way to the center.”

Sigyeo lowered his head toward us.

“Where I came from, there weren’t many of those types of monsters, so I just stuck to what I knew, and this happened. I have no face to show you all.”

“Ay, as long as the Hourglass is intact, that’s all that matters. You can still step up your defenses from now on. The exam isn’t over yet, right?”

I quickly reassured Sigyeo, trying to lift his mood.

I felt a sense of camaraderie, as I was in a similar situation.

In fact, Sigyeo and I had built our strongholds in much the same way.

I had created a maze, and he had built walls, but in the end, both of us had relied on one great force to defend our fortresses.

If anyone ignored this force, our defenses would have collapsed.

Had I not cooperated with Hong Ryeong in advance, I would have ended up like Sigyeo.

Sigyeo shook his head.

“I don’t think I’m ready to pass just yet. I still need to improve myself. For the remainder of the exam, I’ll be fully cooperative.”

His words caused a brief silence.

It was effectively a declaration of surrender.

With this, Hong Ryeong would clearly take over Sigyeo’s area.

At this moment, the majority of the votes had already been cast.

A sense of tension lingered on everyone’s faces as they realized this.

Aileen, however, seemed completely uninterested, yawning widely with a bored expression.

“So, is this meeting over? Can I leave now?”

Hong Ryeong nodded lightly.

Aileen stood up but paused for a moment, glancing at me.

After a brief moment of thought, she sat back down slowly.

“Puppeteer, do you think stronger ones will appear?”

She asked, her chin resting on her hand as she smiled faintly.

“Yes, the further into the exam we get, the more difficult the tasks will become.”

I briefly explained the structure of the exam to her.

“Normally, these types of exams consist of a series of easier tasks, and only toward the end do more difficult challenges appear. Since the focus of this kind of task exam is on the process rather than the results, it’s extremely important not to lose points along the way.”

Aileen nodded, her eyes sparkling.

“Oh, you know quite a bit.”

I gave a wry smile.

“Haha, as much as I may seem inexperienced, this is actually my 11th exam.”

“Really? You don’t look like it.”

“Without my professor, I wouldn’t have even made it this far.”

“Professor?”

“Yes, thankfully, a professor from the university has been teaching me for the past year.”

At that moment, everyone’s gaze sharpened toward me.

I could feel their eyes on me.

The position of university professor carried great weight.

It meant not only authority but also recognized skill.

There was a reason I revealed this at this moment.

The exam was nearing its end, and I had already shown a weakness during the previous wave.

Others would have subtly observed my maze being breached.

So, I needed to assert myself more to them.

Otherwise, Hong Ryeong might have discarded me without hesitation.

By revealing that I had the backing of a professor, I would likely remain useful to him after the exam.

With the majority of the votes now in Hong Ryeong’s hands, all that mattered was his choice.

The structure of the exam had changed.

Sensing my transparent appeal, Hong Ryeong gave a deep smile.

“Heh, I see. You’ve been using some interesting magic.”

I politely responded.

“You’re too kind.”

I then summoned my puppets and did my best to serve them refreshments.

At this moment, monsters were still flooding into each area, and everyone was dealing with them using their own abilities.

The meeting continued without further discussion, and only after I had finished explaining the structure of the areas to Sigyeo and Hong Ryeong did the meeting come to an end.