427: Chapter 413 The Fork in the Road in the Basement

The basement had been unvisited for a long time, and the stone door was covered in dust.

As Ryan exerted force, the stone door slowly opened inward, shaking off dust that began to permeate the air.

The scene behind the door gradually came into view; it was pitch black, making it impossible to see the surroundings and causing a faint sense of unease.

The four people standing behind Ryan had varying expressions.

Leon and Klaisi were somewhat hesitant, wondering if joining the rescue plan out of anticipation for the reward after "completing the mission" was too reckless.

Information about the enemy was unknown. Their identities, numbers, and strength were all a mystery; under such premises, calling their action "suicidal" would be more fitting than a rescue.

Misha subconsciously took a step back, the panic in her eyes intensifying, reaching a peak the moment the darkness behind the door was fully revealed.

She was indeed a genius by common standards, having skipped grades several times to enter prestigious schools for further study. Her social skills were also not lacking, making her seem as seasoned as an adult who had long been tempered in the workplace.

But even a mature adult would find it hard to remain composed in the face of a death threat, let alone a young girl barely in her early teens.

Perhaps novelty had clouded her reason, causing her to overlook the inevitable life-threatening dangers of the rescue. She had egged Ryan and the others on to agree with her idea, but now, facing death directly, her reason finally returned.

Fear quietly spread in her heart.

Wino's thoughts mirrored the other three, considering whether to abort the plan. It wasn't cowardice, but rather a judgment based on an analysis of the clues that their group's chance of success was extremely low.

Yet Ryan, who had initially been the one to object, showed no hesitation now. He was the first to step through the door, and after a few steps without hearing following footsteps, he turned back in confusion.

"What's wrong with you all?"

"Coming." Wino was the first to snap out of it, walking over quickly while sizing him up.

The flashlight in Ryan's hand was pointed at the ground, leaving their faces shrouded in darkness, so Wino didn't hide the strange look in his eyes.

This guy... was he really not afraid of falling into the enemy's hands, or did he just completely ignore the fact that he might die?

Inferring from their past interactions, Wino felt that Ryan was not the type to be thick-headed, basically concluding it was the former.

Having reached an answer, he couldn't bring himself to be happy.

Was there really such a fool? Risking his life for a so-called school-founding philosophy?

The five hadn't explicitly discussed who the leader of the team was, but after nearly a year of working together, Wino and Ryan's authority had been established. In situations requiring a decision, the other three would subconsciously follow them.

Even Misha, who disliked Wino, didn't deny this. She understood well that while Wino was full of habits or ways of doing things that she detested, these only proved he was a "bad person," not a fool.

Being bad is not the same as being stupid.

When the two entered the door one after another, the other three no longer hesitated and followed suit.

Ryan swept his flashlight around. The corridor was straight, with no magic lamps installed on the brick walls to the left and right, and no chandeliers on the ceiling.

Having seen the environment, he didn't delay any further and led the four forward, the crisp sound of leather soles on stone slabs echoing continuously.

Fortunately, they didn't encounter a Three-headed Dog or any similar magical creature. Only Misha felt a slight pang of regret that her wish to see a magical creature up close had been unfulfilled.

After walking for about half an hour, Wino frowned. "Strange, it's been so long without a single turn. Is the staircase of the storage building really this long?"

Ryan didn't find it unusual. "The basement area might be larger than the building above."

"True."

The five continued walking, and after ten more minutes, they finally reached a corner, but trouble came with it.

Wino looked at the T-junction in front of them and turned to the four. "Decision time. Do we split up, or pick a path at random?"

Ryan lowered his head in thought for a moment. "Let's split up."

"Not a very wise decision," Wino expressed his opposition tactfully.

In his view, even if there was only one enemy, they were at a disadvantage. Splitting up to explore two directions would undoubtedly further weaken the team's strength.

Ryan shook his head. "From the beginning, I never thought we could defeat the enemy on our own."

Wino thought for a bit and said in realization, "So you deliberately left the basement door wide open?"

"Yeah."

"I have no more objections."

The five began to split into teams.

After some discussion, Ryan, Klaisi, and Leon would take the left path, while Wino and Misha would take the right.

This distribution was not random.

After the five began learning magic, Misha was initially the strongest. However, she became obsessed with strange anecdotes of the magic world and spent most of her time in the library. Meanwhile, Ryan practiced diligently day after day. These two factors combined allowed him to overtake her, firmly securing the top spot in magical strength among the five.

Second was Wino, who was equally diligent in his magic practice, followed by Misha, Klaisi, and Leon.

Pairing the second with the third, and the first leading the fourth and fifth, was a perfect split under the limited conditions. Teaming up this way kept the strength of both sides roughly equal, preventing a situation where someone would drag down their teammates.

"Our goal is to rescue Madam Louisa, but we can't neglect our own lives. Stay safe," Ryan instructed the two. He then led Klaisi and Leon down the left corridor, the beam of his flashlight fading into the darkness.

Wino watched for a while, then looked down at Misha, whose head only reached his waist. "Let's head out too."

Misha gave him a look of disdain and started walking first.

Wino, of course, didn't mind the young girl's tantrum and followed behind her with a smile.

The two walked along the corridor. After an unknown amount of time, Misha rolled up her sleeve and checked her glowing digital watch. "How big is this basement? We've been walking for over twenty minutes, and it's all been straight."

Wino stopped, his flashlight beam scanning the surroundings. "Spatial magic or something similar?"

"I don't recall Hogwarts having that kind of magic."

"Didn't the Headmaster use it at the Kingdom Sea... hmm?"

When the flashlight beam swept over a certain spot, the trajectory of the dust particles floating through the beam seemed a bit off.

Wino narrowed his eyes. He shouldn't have been mistaken; those dust particles just now looked like they had been disturbed by wind, so...

He walked to the wall, curled his index and middle fingers, and began tapping on the bricks.

Misha turned back. "A hidden compartment?"

"I believe it's impossible for there to be wind inside a sealed corridor."

After saying that, Wino temporarily ignored Misha and focused on his tapping.

He used plenty of force, his knuckles moving across the wall, and before long, a stinging pain set in.

"Did you see it wrong?" Misha asked, getting a bit bored while waiting.

"No, I—"

"Click—"

When his knuckles hit a certain stone brick, unlike the ones before, it didn't remain still but slowly receded inward.

The process lasted about three seconds. Once it reached its limit, a rectangular area on the wall began to glow, then became illusory and slowly disappeared.

Wino smiled, and Misha stepped forward, peeking inside.

Behind the wall was a hall. A stone path led straight into the depths, with pools on either side. Magic crystals seemed to be placed at the bottom of the water, their light passing through the pools and casting eerie reflections on the walls and ceiling.

"What is this place?" Misha asked, stopping outside the door, not daring to enter recklessly.

"We'll know once we go in." Wino showed no fear as he turned off his flashlight and stepped inside.

Although there were light sources at the bottom of the hall's pools, the light was dim. He could only vaguely see the path, while the end of the road remained obscured by shadows.

"I remember you being quite cowardly," Misha observed curiously, following him and looking at the water on both sides.

Wino kept walking and asked without turning his head, "When did I ever give you that impression?"

"Every single moment," the little girl replied sharply.

"Haha—" He laughed briefly, let the topic drop, and continued forward in silence.

Misha, getting no response, pouted and fell silent as well.

The stone path wasn't very long; the two reached the end in just over a minute. Using the shimmering light around him, Wino strained his eyes to see.

There was a stone platform with a dark shadow crouching on it. There seemed to be a relief carved into the wall behind it, but because of the gloom, the specific shape couldn't be discerned.

"Do you need the flashlight?" Misha asked, seeing him leaning forward with all his might, and held up her switched-off flashlight.

"No, wait a moment," Wino waved her off.

He wasn't sure of the situation nearby yet. If there was an enemy lying in ambush, turning on the flashlight recklessly would be asking for death.

Wino watched for a while longer and listened intently. Finding no sign of any living person hiding, he emboldened himself to approach.

However, after just a few steps, he suddenly froze.

Misha, watching from her spot, couldn't help but get nervous, her hands tightening around the flashlight. "What hap—"

Wino raised his arm level at his side and then waved his hand. Misha instantly grasped the silent hint—don't make a sound, back away.

As mentioned before, although Misha didn't much like Wino as a person, she gave him enough trust in important decisions. Without hesitation or asking why, she mimicked Wino's steps and retreated silently.

Only... it clearly didn't intend to forgive the two little guys who had trespassed into its territory.

“Roar—”

A boastful roar shook the hall. Braziers connected by chains on the ceiling ignited from back to front, the firelight dispelling the darkness, and Misha saw the source of Wino's abnormal behavior.

On the stone platform, a three-headed hound used its limbs to push its body up. The collar around its necks pulled on iron chains, and the clanking sound broke the silence.

Misha's breath suddenly hitched. Her trembling gaze fell on the end of the iron chain connected to the collar, then followed it to the other end.

When she saw that the ring at the end was firmly pinned to the stone slab by an iron spike, she suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, patting her chest with her small hand. "You... you scared me to death."

Wino, who was a few steps closer to the three-headed hound, also noticed the spike, but the cold sweat on his forehead didn't decrease; instead, it poured out even more profusely.

The three-headed hound was like an enraged lion, its limbs tensed straight. Its three identical-looking heads swayed and danced wildly in the air, the collars on its necks cutting deep into its flesh.

With its violent struggling, the seemingly incredibly secure iron spike gradually loosened, being pulled out bit by bit, revealing its brand-new lower half that hadn't been corroded by rust.

"Run!"

Wino shouted at Misha as he turned, straining to move his legs while pulling his teaching rod staff from his sleeve, preparing to cast a magic spell to increase his physical speed.

Misha didn't understand why he was so panicked when the hound was clearly locked up, but out of trust for her teammate, she decisively fled toward the door. Wino's staff was also raised, his mouth open, about to chant the incantation.

But the three-headed hound was faster.

“Bang—”

The iron spike, along with the surrounding stones, was ripped out. As if to celebrate its escape, the three-headed hound roared at the sky to show its might before lunging like lightning toward Wino, who was trailing behind.

Misha was hit on the head by a flying pebble and instinctively turned around.

In her field of vision, the three-headed hound leaped into the air, its hideous maws stretched to their limit, aiming to bite Wino's head.

The strong wind kicked up by the monster's sudden attack slammed into his back. The image of sharp fangs flashed in his mind; without even needing to look back, he realized that death was already close at hand.

This wasn't the first time Wino had been close to death.

In his childhood, he had fought with wild dogs in the slums for kitchen scraps in the gutters. In his youth, he had barely survived under the rule of gangs. As an adult, he had spent years fighting ruthless enemies.

Bullets that could easily take a life had whizzed past his ears countless times, piercing his shoulders or arms. Theoretically, he should have been long accustomed to it, even enough to face it with equanimity.

Yet, when his mind clearly realized that the hound's fangs were about to pierce his skin and its heads would sway to tear his body apart, Wino was still unwilling to give up his life just like that. Driven by survival instinct, he turned his body around to launch a counterattack against the monster.

He raised the teaching rod staff high, and the speed magic incantation at the tip of his tongue changed into an attack spell.

"Fireball Explosion!" Wino shouted.

It was strange. In the moment that decided life or death, his brain didn't think of the enemy before him. Perhaps it was a pre-death revolving lantern; his thoughts gradually drifted away.

It would take the Three-headed Dog at least a minute to devour my body. That's enough time for Misha to escape.

Tsk, I hope it's not too brutal. Let it bite me until I'm completely unconscious before eating me. Otherwise, uh, it'll probably hurt a lot.

Come to think of it, Ryan and Misha are the ones who believe in sacrificing their lives for the school-founding philosophy and all that. Why am I, the one who firmly opposed it, the one putting it into practice?

Really... what a hell of a world!

A blazing fireball coalesced in the void before him, its bright flames illuminating the hound's ferocious face.

Soon, that face displaying cruelty smashed through the fireball.

Well, I did my best.

The distance between the two sides closed infinitely, no longer allowing Wino to make any further effort. The stench from the Three-headed Dog's mouth rushed into his nostrils, and he closed his eyes, waiting for death to descend.

"Stone Spike Shot!" Misha's youthful voice rang out somewhat unexpectedly in Wino's ear.

He didn't understand why Misha, who should have escaped the hall by now, would be behind him chanting a magic spell. Instinctively opening his eyes, Wino saw a stone spike, likely fired from diagonally behind him, accurately hit the eyeball of one of the Three-headed Dog's heads.

Suddenly attacked, the Three-headed Dog instinctively shifted sideways to dodge the subsequent stone spikes.

"Don't just stand there!" Misha ran back to stand in front of Wino, her small face tensed as she warned him.

Wino didn't respond by chanting a spell; he just lowered his head, staring blankly at the small, slightly trembling back in front of him.

After a few seconds of silence, Misha urged anxiously, "Hurry! With this good chance, we might be able to—"

"Run, you idiot!" Wino finally snapped out of it. Glancing at the Three-headed Dog that had landed in the pool, he suddenly tucked Misha under his arm and sprinted toward the entrance.