Standing up, I ripped the shirt off my back and dragged Rurika back into the cavern carefully as to not drop any blood. I limped to the second collapsed tunnel while dragging Rurika. Once I did that I retraced my steps while erasing the evidence that led to the tunnel we were going to truly travel down. It was really hard to do all of this with one arm, but I somehow managed. For good measure, I even flicked drops of my blood all over the cave in hopes of masking our scent. Geez, this girl can be a real slave driver.

Now to add the finishing touches. Hey! Mr. Book! You there?

HAHA OF COURSE I AM! THAT WAS SOME FIGHT KID. I TOTALLY THOUGHT YOU WERE GONNA BITE THE DUST. HAHAHA.

Thanks for the vote of confidence. Listen I need you to rapidly restore my mana. It has to be even faster than normal.

HOHO, I THINK I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE UP TO. FINE, BUT LET ME WARN YOU ME DOING THIS MIGHT DAMAGE YOUR VEINS. WELL YOU’RE YOUNG SO IT SHOULD BE FINE.

Mr. Book sure did know how to deliver. In ten seconds I was brimming with mana. The only downside was I could feel a pain similar to when I first became a magician.

“Drunkards Breath.”

I used up most of the mana I had just regained to cast a giant Drunkards Breath. The point was not to poison the room, but to add another layer of cover to the scent of our body’s and blood. While I’m not sure about a greater goblin’s sense of smell it was better safe than sorry.

HAHA SMART MOVE KID. AS A REWARD FOR SURVIVING THAT FIGHT LET ME TEACH YOU A SPELL.

You can teach me spells?

HOLD YOUR HORSES, I’M NOT SOME MENTOR. THIS IS AN EXCEPTION. WELL ANYWAYS THE SPELL IS CALLED ‘MASK,’ AND IT WORKS TO MASK YOUR COMINGS AND GOINGS. I ALREADY ETCHED THE RUNE INTO YOUR MIND. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS ACTIVATE IT.

So it was a stealth spell?

OH, ONE MORE THING. USE THE MOSS GROWING ON THE WALLS INSTEAD OF THAT RAG OF A SHIRT. IT IS SAFE FOR HUMAN SKIN TO TOUCH. WOULDN’T WANT TO RUB YOUR SCENT ALL OVER THE GROUND. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY.

Following Mr. Book’s advice, I grabbed a large clump of moss and reswiped the tunnel floor. As for my tattered shirt, I stuffed it in my pocket to use as a towel. With Rurika unconscious, I knew that I was in for a tough time.

-----------------

Progress down the tunnel was slow. I had to drag Rurika further down the tunnel before going back and erasing any faint footstep markingings. Plus I was recasting Mask over and over, so my mana was quickly hitting a dangerously low level again.

Luckily we ran into zero monsters so far. I had only hoped that Iftra lacked the skills to figure out which tunnel we went down. After all, he was just too powerful. With Rurika out cold and my crippled body, I don't think we would last a second.

Waves of pain passed through every inch of my body with each step. Most of the minor scrapes and cuts had already begun to clot, but my arm was a different story. To put it as elegantly as possible, if I were to rest my arm perfectly straight down the side of my body, it was shaped an awful lot like a boomerang.

Yet there was nothing that I could do. Rurika was still unconscious, and I needed to make sure I got both of us to a safe place before resting. I guess the only fortunate thing was that there were no forks in the path. I would be totally screwed if it came to deciding which one to take. The thought of making it this far only to realize I dragged us into a dead end would be too much to handle psychologically.

As if responding to my inner fears, after clearing the next bend, there was a path that branched off from the one that I was currently on.

SHIT!

I want to quit, I’m sick of this already. My knees were shaking violently from having to lift Rurika. It was a darn shame really, because I arms were snuggled under two fluffy pillows. Under normal circumstances, blood would be flowing out of my nose instead of the corner of my mouth. I guess my internal injuries were still healing.

Gently laying her down against a wall, I sat cross-legged at the center of the intersection. The faint light made the two tunnels look like giant maws ready to swallow me whole. It was strange. I had already spent days down in this place, but for some reason the darkness was stifling. Looking back, I could barely make out Rurika's form.

"Which way should I go?"

This was the million dollar question. All of my being was hoping that Rurika would suddenly wake up and provide directions. But a single glance at her current condition turned those hopes into ash.

“Screw it, I’m going to wing it.” I said to myself through gritted teeth.

As scary as it was to randomly decide my path, it was better than staying put for too long. For all I know, Iftra could be not to far behind. I couldn't afford to waste even a precious second to throw off our pursuers

“Mask.”

I quietly cast the spell Mr. Book taught me one more time. It was an interesting spell that would create a faint illusion over any traces I left behind. The illusion would last a little more than twenty-four hours. The only downside to the spell was that the range was not very large. So I had to constantly recast it. I was lacking in experience with how the spell worked, which made it impossible to best utilize it with my current understanding of the spells mana flow.

In the end I decided to take the path to the right. There was no particular reason as to why I did so. No, that was a lie. The reason why I chose the right was because I once heard that if a person followed the right wall of a labyrinth they would eventually reach the exit. Taking those words to heart, I chose to go down the rightmost path, to keep to the rightmost wall. Stupid I know, but hey, I am desperate.

As I progressed forward step by step, I began to wish that I had heard some mysterious voice that guided me towards the right direction. I’d also accept any sudden burst in heightened instinct that confirmed I was headed the right way. Heck, beggars can’t be choosers, I would be happy if I was remotely confident in my decision.

GO LEFT YOUNG ONE

Shut up.

My vision began to blur from a mixture of exhaustion and a low amount of mana. To top it all off my mind was gradually going blank. Kind of like when a light slowly flickers before it goes out for good. I dropped the clump of moss I had been using to scrub over our tracks. At this point, if I have not lost them, it was hopeless. The time limit for Mask was becoming less important.

Hoisting Rurika onto my back and holding her in place with my one good arm, I robotically hobbled onward. I was so tired that I leaned against the right tunnel wall, even though it pressed against my broken arm. The pain actually helped me stay awake. By focusing on the burning sensation, I managed to keep my consciousness from slipping away.

I am not sure how long I had been walking for, but the only thing that mattered was that I was still underground. It was like I had programmed my brain to go on autopilot until I reached the surface. I remained in this stupor until I felt a dip in the wall. Since I was resting most of my weight on the cold hard rock, my body naturally fell through the small, well hidden, crevice that was just big enough for me to slip through.

When I say well hidden, I mean that it I completely failed to notice it. Any random bystander would believe my exhaustion was to blame, but I knew for a fact that the wall looked to be solid stone. It was only when I placed majority of my body weight on it, that it caved.

Rurika’s body fell off my back as we tumbled in one after the other. There was little light in the place we entered. As my body lost balance, I twisted around to see the crevice that we happened upon become rock once more.

My fall was by no means smooth. I landed on some lumpy sack that was caked in dust, and the sleeping Rurika landed on top of me. Tears welled up in my eyes as pain from my arm almost made me black out.

“COUGH, COUGH!” I heaved violently as I tried to clear the dust and dirt from my lungs.

At least I was wide awake now. After laying Rurika onto the ground, I scanned the cramped space I had fallen into. Cobwebs densely littered the walls and ceiling, much like the decorations to a haunted house. Looking down on what a I had fallen on, I came face to face with a skull.

With lightning speed I crawled away from the pile of bones. Fear gripped my heart as I had to cover my mouth to prevent a yelp of surprise from escaping my throat. I was not the only one who stumbled upon this place. However unlike me, this poor chap seemed to have had a sadder ending.

From a general glance, the pile of bones used to belong to a human. There was always the chance that it could have been a greater goblin, but I lacked any real interest in unearthing this guy’s identity. What did catch my eye was the cloth sack that the skeleton was holding onto.

The sack was completely ragged from age, small tears even began to reveal the contents of the bag. My eyes narrowed, as I squinted to get a better look. I could feel my heartbeat accelerate at what I saw. It was a spell book, like the ones that Mr. Suzuki had given to me. Only this particular book was a light grey color. I wondered which element the color grey represented?

An insatiable itch caused my fingers to twitch. I wanted to open the bag to see what else was inside. Whoever this person was, they guarded this bag with until they passed. Even the body decayed, the tight grip never loosened.

There was a possibility that the bag was booby trapped. Within fantasy anime, there are plenty of episodes or even whole series dedicated to dungeon exploration. It was not uncommon for the characters to run into traps. Based on my observations, there were no trick wires or anything other possible red flags. The only way that there was a trap was if it was done with magic.

Hey Mr. Book, can you possess me and see if there is anything fishy about this bag?

NO NEED, THERE ARE SIGNS OF A MAGIC EXPLOSIVE TRAP. IT SEEMED IT WAS RIGGED TO BLOW WHEN THE ARMS WERE MOVED. NO WORRIES, THE RUNES USED TO MAKE THE TRAP HAVE LONG SINCE DECAYED ALONG WITH THE CORPSE.

Gulp. You sure it's safe?

JUST GRAB THE GOODS BRAT. STOP BEING SUCH A WUSS.

Alright. Sheesh, no need to be so impatient.

Now that I was certain that it was safe to proceed, I offered a quick prayer to the deceased before freeing the old sack from the bony arms. It might seem cruel to take the possessions of a dead person. Especially when they did their best to keep it safe. I would be lying if I acted in clear conscience. Yet, greed won out in the end. Who knows, there might be a god like item that could turn my situation around.

Upon opening the sack, I saw three noteworthy items. The first was the book I saw earlier. It had an air of mystery to it, and even gave off an archaic aura. The second item was a bit more peculiar, it was a sealed ivory box. On the box were many paper talismans that had magic runes imprinted on them in blood. In terms of size, the box was no bigger than a small jewelry box. The third item was a bangle made from some type of bone. There were numerous magic runes etched onto its surface. I felt a weird sense of ferociousness coming from the bangle. It was sort of unsettling so I wrapped it in some rags that I found in the bag and put it in my pants pocket. As for the other items, they had either broke or decayed to a point that they were indistinguishable or unusable.

Sorry to bother you again Mr. Book. I was wondering, what element does grey signify?

OH, YOUR LUCK IS NOT BAD KID. GREY IS THE COLOR FOR SPIRIT. THERE ARE NOT MANY SPIRIT RELATED MAGIC SPELLS LEFT IN THE WORLD. YOU COULD SAY THAT YOU MADE A RARE FIND.

Mr. Book’s words echoed in my head. I remembered how he told me that opportunity and danger go hand in hand. I guess that this is what he meant. Since I survived a deadly encounter with the wanted Iftra, my wish gave me something in return. What a troublesome wish. Why couldn’t I had wished to become a professional soccer player or something?

Do you know if I am able to learn spirit magic?

YES, ALTHOUGH IT WON’T BE AS EASY AS ILLUSION MAGIC. NOW STOP BOTHERING ME. I NEED TO REGATHER MY STRENGTH.

And with that, Mr. Book went silent. My request for him to rush the mana recovery process must have put a lot of burden on him. I felt a little bit bad for a moment, but than I remembered why I was in this mess in the first place.

If a certain person had kept a watchful eye on a certain book, I would have still been a normal high school student. Looking down at my messed up arm, I let out a self deprecating smile. Truth be told, I was really regretting my wish. I was fully prepared to face some danger when I accepted Mr. Book’s offer. Yet this was truly too much for my to handle. It was a mystery how I even managed to stay alive to this point. Still, a small part of me was restless. It craved for the next hurdle for me to cross.

Maybe I'm secretly a masochist?

In an attempt to distract my thoughts from the depressing turn my life had taken, I opened the grey book. From appearances, it was definitely thicker than the ones that I previously received from the old man. Hopefully there was a useful spell.

As I looked down at the first page, a strange darkness fell over my eyes. Before I knew it, I was completely blind. When I tried to move, I realized that my body was frozen in place. Had I been ambushed by some hidden enemy? Countless questions swam around in my head as panic began to set in.

“Hello young one.” resounsed an ancient voice, it strongly resembled an old women. “Congratulations on passing my little test. I apologize for any troubles I may have caused. It’s just that I wished to find a suitable inheritor to my legacy.”