Chapter 1345: 103. Treasure

"Don't...... don't hit me anymore."

Habakaya trembled all over. There was no trace left of his previous arrogance on his face, which had already been beaten into a swollen mess.

The several subordinates behind him were in an even more miserable state, like a nest of frightened little rabbits desperately trying to escape from the girl who, in their eyes, was no different from a demon.

Terrifying. Far too terrifying.

After living for so many years, they had never seen such a bloody and violent scene.

The defensive magic they had painstakingly constructed was like paper in front of this girl. Such tiny fists possessed such terrifying power that even the slightest touch from them resulted in comminuted fractures.

More importantly, who the hell used their bare body to withstand explosive magic jointly cast by several Ascension-Rank mages, only to come out of it without even losing a single strand of hair!

Explosive magic was famous for its tremendous destructive power, wide area of effect, and convenient casting conditions. It was said that in the hands of a Truth-Rank Grand Mage, it could even erase an entire city...... Was it really something this weak?

This wasn't scientific at all!

Was the girl in front of them really human?

Could she perhaps be some demonic beast that had taken human form?

It was said that certain powerful demonic beasts from ancient times possessed the ability to transform into human form. Could it be that this girl merely looked adorable, but in reality......

"Oh my, am I really that scary?"

Ariel tilted her little head, and the bow in her hair swayed along with the movement, making her look exceedingly adorable.

"No no no!"

The group first nodded violently, then shook their heads just as violently.

No matter how they looked at her, the person before them was merely a sweet and lovely beautiful girl acting cute.

But on the handkerchief the girl was using to wipe her little hands, even its equally sweet pink color could not overwhelm the vivid crimson staining it. Like the sinister grin of a demon, it reminded Habakaya that what had just happened was absolutely not an illusion.

"That's good."

Ariel tossed away the handkerchief, turned around, and said while fishing for praise:

"Teacher, I did pretty well, didn't I?"

"Mm, passable. Keep working hard."

"Then do I get a reward?"

"That...... cough, cough. We'll talk about it later."

"I'll be looking forward to it."

Ariel licked her lips and skipped back behind Muen.

What greeted her there was another shocked gaze.

"So...... so amazing."

Old Ide clapped vigorously, looking as though even his madness had faded somewhat: "M-Miss Alice is actually this powerful? W-Was what you just used really Enhancement Magic?"

"Of course."

Ariel smiled faintly: "It was just ordinary Enhancement Magic...... plus the muscles from a tiny little bit of daily training."

......

......

"A warrior......"

At this moment, Habakaya finally seemed to pull himself out of his fear and pain. Suddenly realizing something, he exclaimed:

"That demon...... no, that adorable girl, she's not a pure mage at all! She's a warrior! She trains in both martial arts and magic! The reason she could defeat us so easily wasn't because of any Enhancement Magic, but because she herself is already......"

CLACK!

The mithril staff struck the ground, and the crisp impact cut off Habakaya's exclamation.

Muen stood there with imposing dignity, half his face hidden in shadow and a faint, ambiguous smile on his lips.

"Scarlet Flash Habakaya, was it? Do you really still have the leisure to worry about whether someone is a pure mage?"

"Despicable......"

Habakaya's face twitched. Although it was so swollen that he barely looked human anymore, a hint of humiliation could still somehow be seen on it:

"If we'd known from the beginning that you actually had a warrior with you, we never would've let the distance between us get so short. And there would've been absolutely no way you could've defeated us this easily......"

"Alice, it seems someone still isn't satisfied with this result......"

"W-Wait!"

"Oh? Do you still have something to say?"

"D-Damn it...... Fine, you win. We'll admit defeat this time, but don't get smug. This was just an accident!"

Habakaya abruptly turned his head away. That humiliated expression, that posture of being forced to admit defeat, and those eyes that showed not the slightest trace of submission no matter how miserable and battered he looked...... If the gender hadn't been wrong and his appearance hadn't been so ugly, Muen would almost have thought there was a female knight trapped deep inside a goblin cave standing in front of him.

"All right, don't make the atmosphere so strange. Whether it was an accident or not can wait. Since you're already here, I happen to have a few questions for you. That should be fine, right?"

Muen crouched down and met Habakaya's gaze.

"Ask...... ask away." Habakaya gritted his teeth.

"First, what was your objective?"

"Our objective...... was the treasure hidden by the Enhancement School."

"Treasure?"

Muen raised an eyebrow and instinctively turned his head......

The place was overgrown with weeds and vegetation. Even though they were clearly indoors, everywhere was filled with the breath of nature.

This scene...... unless this was some kind of specially cultivated landscaping, could only mean one thing.

This place was already so dilapidated that even thieves would probably feel too sorry for it to bother.

"Does this place look like somewhere that has treasure? Why can't I see it?"

"Anything good that used to be here was looted clean by the various schools long ago, so of course it doesn't look like there's treasure."

Habakaya paused, then said: "But that's only on the surface. In reality, although the Enhancement School has fallen this far, there has always been a rumor that they're still hiding an extremely powerful treasure. That's exactly why we came here."

"I see. So this time, you wanted to use the excuse of an 'interrogation' to take everyone away so you could slowly search the place yourselves?" Muen raised an eyebrow.

"......Mm."

After several seconds of silence, Habakaya still nodded:

"That would make searching easier, and we also thought we might be able to get something out of this old bastard. He's always acting crazy and senile, but what if? Who knows whether he's merely pretending to be mad in order to protect the treasure."

"You've gone this far for that so-called treasure. You've certainly put a lot of thought into it."

Muen rubbed his chin.

Just as he'd guessed, "colluding with an Evil God" was merely a baseless accusation. In fact, it couldn't even really be called an accusation, because these guys had absolutely no authority over matters like that.

They had merely borrowed the name as an excuse to make their treasure hunt more convenient.

"So as for the information about someone colluding with an Evil God......"

"We're only ordinary students. We might have a little reputation, but how could we possibly know such confidential information?"

Habakaya curled his lips: "My teacher merely mentioned it to me once."

"You really are bold." Muen sighed in admiration.

They didn't even have a chicken feather, yet they dared wave it around like an imperial command.

That certainly required some courage.

Of course, when all was said and done, the real reason was still the Enhancement School's utterly miserable current state. If he and Ariel hadn't arrived this time, then even if these people really had taken Old Ide away, probably no one would have bothered pursuing the matter.

At most, they would've come back later and "apologized."

That was precisely why they dared act so unscrupulously.

"I've already been relatively gentle. Back when the Enhancement School still had things worth taking, the others wouldn't have been nearly as 'reasonable' as me."

Habakaya snorted and gestured toward the enormous hole in the wall with his chin.

Obviously, that hole had not been made for lighting, nor was it some sort of artistic statement.

For a very long period before this, the entire area belonging to the Enhancement School had probably been like a public bus. Anyone could come whenever they wanted and leave whenever they wanted.

Muen glanced at Old Ide not far away...... Perhaps the madness of this sole remaining member of the Enhancement School had something to do with that as well.

"I thought the Origin Tower would be a civilized organization."

"Hm? Thought?"

"Cough...... I mean, it's been so long since I've returned that I thought this place might've become a little more civilized. How is it still exactly the same as before?"

Muen shook his head and sighed with emotion:

"Sigh, you youngsters haven't improved at all."

"Heh, improved? There are so many schools and so many classrooms, but resources are limited, and mages need enormous amounts of resources. Of course everyone can only compete desperately for them."

Habakaya sneered: "Unless you're one of those exceptionally talented people favored by the Masters, behaving civilly isn't going to get you anywhere."

"But you can't keep shearing the Enhancement School every single time. Look at what this place has become. Doesn't your conscience hurt?" Muen carefully propped up a blade of grass that had been crushed during the battle, his expression filled with grief.

"Hurt? Of course, a little. Bullying a crazy old man isn't exactly something worth bragging about. But who told the Enhancement School to have such a glorious past? As the 'Fifth Great School' that once stood alongside the Elemental School and the others, isn't it perfectly normal for outsiders to cling to the hope that this place might still be hiding some valuable treasure?"

Habakaya licked his lips, a trace of fanaticism flashing through his eyes:

"What's more, that treasure is supposedly the former supreme treasure of the Enhancement School. It was left behind by the Enhancement School's first leader, one of the founders of the Origin Tower, who mysteriously disappeared without warning!"