Chapter 31: So This Guys Actually Pretty Reliable, Huh
Chapter 31: So This Guy’s Actually Pretty Reliable, Huh
“On it!”
In the dim corridor, Iresha stood frozen, her face taut with strain.
Her magic, battered by the suffocating aura of the evil god, felt as though it were slipping from her grasp—wavering, unsteady, threatening to unravel entirely.
It wasn’t until Lin Wei’s urgent reminder echoed down the passage that she finally gritted her teeth, forced herself through the pain, and managed to lift her staff once more.
Her unstable magic barely coiled downward, enveloping the adventurers below. With no resistance from them, she just managed to drag them upward toward the corridor.
“Hm... This woman’s magic quality really isn’t up to par.”
Glancing at Iresha—her face ghostly pale as she struggled through the final step of their plan—Lin Wei casually cut down a few goblins blocking his way. In that moment, he quickly pieced together the situation.
The evil god’s energy, now seeping into every corner, would certainly affect any orthodox transcendents who worshipped Alicia.
If you were a mage with a solid foundation and refined magic, this kind of interference would be little more than an itch beneath the skin. But this woman—her fundamentals were clearly lacking. The moment she was struck by the evil god’s influence, she’d all but collapsed.
“Sigh. Guess I’ll have to speed things up.”
The darkness behind them was spreading, swallowing up the corridor at a pace visible to the naked eye. If they kept dawdling, it would soon overtake the adventurers still floating unsteadily in midair.
Lin Wei let out a resigned sigh. As he darted forward, he finally decided to step in.
The very next moment—
Iresha, who had been straining under the weight of over a dozen people, suddenly felt her burden vanish.
Startled, she looked down—only to see a surge of magic utterly different from her own envelop the adventurers, sweeping them swiftly toward the corridor.
Pure, solid, refined—though their magic levels were nearly equal, the sheer quality of his was on an entirely different plane.
The levitation spell that had been supporting the adventurers was ripped apart in an instant, as if brute force had simply shredded it without a care.
By the time Iresha snapped out of her daze, Lin Wei—along with the dozen or so unconscious adventurers—had already made it safely into the corridor.
“Oh? So the city girl’s finally come to her senses.”
Seeing the stunned mage staring blankly in disbelief, Lin Wei snapped his fingers impatiently in front of her face.
“You… You just rescued them like it was nothing?”
The sharp snap jolted Iresha back to reality.
She glanced anxiously at the adventurers lying beside her, then looked up at Lin Wei, crouched in front of her with a helpless expression.
For the first time, the confidence she always carried faltered. Her usual proud, composed tone wavered, a hint of vulnerability creeping in.
“What else was I supposed to do?” Lin Wei shot back, genuinely puzzled.
“There were so many people—how did you cast Levitation so effortlessly? Didn’t the evil god’s energy affect you?”
“Of course it did. But moving a dozen people isn’t exactly hard, you know?”
Lin Wei looked at her as if she’d grown a second head, equally baffled by her weakness.
“I’m more curious what you were doing back there. I get that your magic quality isn’t high enough to resist the evil god’s influence, but couldn’t you just stack your magic temporarily and cast a dual-layered Levitation spell?”
“If I hadn’t stepped in, those adventurers would’ve ended up as food for the evil god.”
“I… I just… Wait, what’s a dual-layered spell? And what do you mean by stacking magic?”
For a moment, Iresha’s proud expression froze. She frowned, as if hearing those terms for the very first time.
Lin Wei, caught off guard by her question, could only stare at her in disbelief—like he was looking at a complete fool.
“It’s exactly what it sounds like. Stacking your magic raises its quality, and dual-layered casting makes your spells more effective… You really don’t know these basic tricks?”
Her clenched jaw and silence said it all.
Lin Wei’s shock was written all over his face. “This is basic magical theory! Just how much did you fake your way through training?”
“City girl, are you really the mage for the Hero’s Party? You’re not just a substitute or someone’s backup, right? Did you get in through connections or something?”
“If you don’t even know this stuff, how did you ever have the nerve to call me a country bumpkin? Honestly, for a city mage, you’re unbelievably useless!”
His barrage of criticism left Iresha’s face burning scarlet.
This wasn’t the blush of a flustered maiden.
It was pure, unfiltered fury—her cheeks red with shame and anger.
In that moment, she truly felt like a rookie, a complete greenhorn. Lin Wei’s mockery stung—she was furious, but had no way to fight back.
This was humiliation! Bullying! The most thorough, merciless bullying imaginable.
“How is any of that supposed to be basic knowledge?!”
Grinding her teeth, Iresha balled her fists. Faced with this relentless ridicule, she finally squeezed her eyes shut and glared at the ground, abandoning all pretense of resistance.
“So… what do we do next, then?”
Lin Wei looked at her in surprise, caught off guard by her sudden, subdued tone.
After being utterly broken down, the once-proud mage didn’t even try to argue anymore. She just slumped, letting herself go slack and giving in completely.
Her eyes dropped, a rare vulnerability softening her features—so much so that it was almost impossible to reconcile this dejected girl with the proud woman she’d been before.
Did I really hit her so hard she doesn’t even dare talk back anymore?
The truth was, chewing her out like that had been oddly satisfying. But if he pushed her too far and she quit the Hero’s Party, he’d lose a rival he could tease whenever he liked.
“Ahem… Well, all that’s just theory, really. It’s not complicated once you get the hang of it—you’ll pick it up easily enough.”
Lin Wei finally waved off his own barrage, deciding to let up and offer a half-hearted reassurance.
“As for what’s next, it’s simple. I’ll use some scouting-type concealment magic to set up a barrier, so goblins from other parts of the labyrinth don’t find us.”
“By my calculations, it’ll take a few hours for the Evil God’s power to fully dissipate. By then, most of the goblins in the maze will have been wiped out.”
“In the meantime, help me move these adventurers closer together. The concealment spell doesn’t cover a huge area, so stay sharp and don’t get spotted.”
He’d already knocked out all the adventurers with magic, just in case any of them woke up suddenly and caused trouble.
Lin Wei motioned for Iresha to help, then set to work, deftly weaving his concealment spell.
Magic streamed from his fingertips, seeping into the surroundings. From within, it looked as if a translucent cube of water was slowly forming around them, the very air shimmering with faint distortions.
Once that was done, Lin Wei conjured an earthen wall, sealing off the corridor physically as well.
Only after making sure everything was secure did he finally release the [Demonic Intimidation] skill he’d been maintaining since the beginning.
“Stay alert. I think some goblins are heading our way.”
No sooner had he spoken than a cacophony of footsteps and shrill cries erupted from the other side of the earthen wall, echoing through the maze.
Only a single wall separated them from the goblins—a terrifyingly thin barrier, considering how clearly their cries could be heard.
The sheer number of them surged like a tidal wave, making even the nearby corridors tremble with each pounding footstep.
“Ugh…”
Barely had Lin Wei finished warning her before the goblins arrived. Startled, Iresha instinctively shrank back, pressing herself closer to Lin Wei.
The already cramped space grew even tighter. With that horde of goblins just on the other side of the wall, her nerves were stretched so thin she barely dared to breathe.
Is his concealment spell really that reliable? We’re so close—what if they notice us? What if the goblins break through any second?
But then, glancing up, she caught sight of Lin Wei’s face—calm, composed, utterly at ease, as if nothing in this world could rattle him.
Somehow, that steadiness was infectious. The panic that had twisted Iresha’s expression slowly ebbed away, and she let out a shaky breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. A strange thought even flickered through her mind.
This country boy had butted heads with her from the moment they met, never pulling his punches when it came to mocking her.
But still… he actually seemed pretty reliable.
“Why was I even arguing with him earlier…?” Iresha mumbled under her breath, her tousled red hair trembling as she did. A subtle sense of safety seemed to settle around her, warm and quiet.