Around the time Jaesang Lee stepped into the dimensional portal, Liz and Hana were climbing a mountain. Their only source of light was a small flashlight, and the reason they found themselves in this predicament was entirely because of Liz.

“This is strange. I’m sure it’s this way…”

Liz couldn’t sleep, no matter how hard she tried. She couldn’t shake the feeling that leaving the mysterious black figure unattended was a bad idea.

“L-Liz, are you sure this is okay?” Hana asked, her voice tinged with worry.

“Of course! I got permission from the teacher! He said it’s fine as long as I bring an adult.”

Hana wasn’t convinced. She couldn’t imagine Jaesang Lee actually saying that. But she couldn’t let Liz go alone either; as an assistant, she couldn’t ignore a student heading into danger by themselves. Even if she wasn’t entirely sure she qualified as an “adult.”

“Hmm, that’s odd. I’m sure it was around here. Right, Gerard?”

[Kyuu…]

Gerard, the small creature accompanying them, drooped its wings in defeat. All attempts to dissuade Liz had failed miserably.

“…Oh.”

After wandering the forest for a while, Liz let out a small exclamation.

“Look, look. Isn’t that the portal?”

Neither of them really understood the concept of a dimensional portal, assuming it was just a regular one.

– Sniff, sniff.

The air was thick with the scent of dark mana, and Liz guessed that the source of the black figure was there.

“Shouldn’t we go back…?” Hana suggested, clinging tightly to Liz, her voice trembling with anxiety. Her instincts, honed from years of being a test subject for dark wizards, screamed at her to avoid dark mana.

“Come on! I’m here, aren’t I? I’m super strong!” Liz declared confidently.

“That’s true, but… wouldn’t it be better to come with the teacher?”

“If that were possible, we wouldn’t be going through all this trouble… Ah.”

“…?”

Hana felt a pang of suspicion. Maybe Liz had brought her along because the teacher refused to come.

“Did you really get permission…?”

“Of course!!! Why would I lie!!!”

“…They say strong denial is a strong affirmation.”

“Uh… maybe?”

Hana was certain now. Liz hadn’t gotten permission; she hadn’t even mentioned it to Jaesang Lee.

“…Ugh…”

Hana whimpered. She wanted to turn back, but she knew Liz would just go through the portal without her.

“So… if it gets dangerous, we run away immediately, right?”

“Yep! That’s why I brought you along, assistant.”

‘…I’m not a tool, you know.’

Hana sighed, but she had no choice. If Liz got hurt because she let her go alone, she’d never be able to face Jaesang Lee.

“Alright, I’m going first!”

“Wait…! Not like that…!”

Hana reached out, but Liz had already disappeared into the portal.

“Ugh… I hate this…”

With a face twisted as if she were about to catch a cockroach with her bare hands, Hana reluctantly followed Liz into the portal.

***

After entering the dimensional portal, they walked for quite some time, but nothing seemed to appear. There were traces of mana stones being mined here and there, but no sign of the black figure. On the bright side, Liz managed to recharge a good amount of mana she had used earlier.

‘This place is peculiar.’

Dimensional portals always felt strange due to the different mana concentrations, but this ‘dungeon’ was on another level. The cave walls, stained black, looked ominous, and the air was thick with the unpleasant scent of blood.

‘They said it’s been two days since it turned into a dungeon?’

If it had only been two days, there might still be survivors. The thought crossed her mind, but she shook her head. The black figure was fast. Without using her speed magic, she would have wasted a lot of mana dealing with it.

“Synthia.”

As soon as Synthia materialized, she wrinkled her nose in distaste. The dark mana and miasma in the air were clearly not to her liking.

“Ugh… what a horrible place.”

“Is this your first time in a dungeon?”

“Dungeons form when humans forcibly keep a dimensional portal open. My first contractor in my past life was a human.”

Synthia scanned the area, her senses attuned to the mana around them. Although her detection abilities weren’t at their peak in a dungeon dominated by dark mana, she was still far better at it than Liz.

“What should we look for?”

“The place with the densest dark mana. If there’s miasma concentrated there too, even better.”

“…So we need to find the most unpleasant place. Got it.”

Despite her displeasure, Synthia didn’t refuse the request.

“This way, I think.”

Following Synthia’s lead, they ventured deeper into the dungeon. After a while, they began to see a few black figures in the distance. The shadowy forms exuded a sinister aura as they loitered about.

Honestly, Liz didn’t feel comfortable destroying them. Knowing they were once human made it difficult, and there was no mana to be gained from defeating them.

‘Let’s deal with this quickly.’

She considered using her speed magic again but decided to conserve her mana for now. There were only two black figures in sight, and she wanted to minimize mana waste.

“Light, come forth.”

There was no need to draw her draconic weapon; she simply chanted a spell. The mana arrows flew swiftly, piercing the chests of the two black figures.

[Groooan…]

They vanished as if evaporating.

“They’re not very strong.”

“That’s because you haven’t faced them properly yet.”

“Is that so?”

Liz nodded. She had encountered black figures three times, and each time, she had used magic to deal with them before they could react.

“Complacency is dangerous.”

“Got it. I’ll be careful.”

As they ventured deeper, the number of black figures increased. For now, Liz could still take them out with preemptive magic, but if their numbers grew, it would become challenging.

‘This seems to be the right direction.’

The miasma and dark mana were becoming more concentrated.

“Hmm?”

Synthia suddenly looked around.

“What is it?”

“Uh… why is there a different type of mana here?”

“A different type?”

Synthia explained that she sensed blue mana.

“Could it be a magical artifact?”

“It feels more like a living being.”

“A human?”

“I’m not sure.”

Even for a water spirit adept at sensing mana flows, the dense dark mana here seemed to limit her abilities.

“…Hold on.”

Synthia seemed to realize something and quickly moved forward, placing her hand on a wall.

“Contractor, can you check this out? The blue mana is coming from inside.”

Following her lead, Liz examined the wall. It bore traces of earth-themed magic, indicating it was artificially created.

“I’ll dispel it.”

It was a simple spell, so it didn’t take long to undo.

– Ssshh.

The wall crumbled like dirt, revealing another passageway. A long staircase descended into the depths.

A wave of dark mana, sharp enough to prick the skin, rushed out.

“Didn’t you say there was blue mana?”

“I can still feel it inside…”

Liz hesitated. It was her first time in a dungeon, and she couldn’t move recklessly just because a new path appeared.

‘The dark mana is thick, but it’s less than the legendary Dantalion. There’s no miasma either.’

With her draconic weapon and a stash of mana stones, she was confident she could handle it.

‘Even if things go south, I can always escape.’

Her decision was made. Whatever lay below, it wasn’t something she couldn’t handle.

“Let’s go.”

“You’ll go even if I try to stop you, right?”

“Yep.”

“…Sigh. Fine. I’ll follow behind.”

With that, Synthia took the lead, descending the stairs. Liz followed closely behind.

The cave was narrow, barely wide enough for two people to walk side by side. The presence of stairs suggested that someone or something had constructed this place.

“It’s been a while since I went exploring with a contractor.”

“Exploring?”

“Yeah, you know. In my past life, we used to explore dimensional portals together.”

Indeed, there had been many such explorations in her past life. She hadn’t had the chance in this life due to her busy schedule.

“You didn’t like it, though.”

“Of course not! How awful is it to be stuck with an ugly guy all the time!”

“Out of nowhere?”

Liz felt a bit hurt. Was her past life’s face really that bad?

“No, you’re mistaken. It was truly dreadful! When we first contracted, I thought you were a demon.”

“That’s a pretty unpleasant misunderstanding.”

“Though, after a while, I realized even demons were better looking.”

“…”

Liz chuckled in disbelief. Why was Synthia bringing this up now? Even though her face had changed in this life, it still stung to have her past life’s insecurities poked at.

“Ugly, obsessed with magic, and completely oblivious. Did you know you were really clueless?”

Synthia continued, her smile growing as she recounted tales of Liz’s past life.

“What’s your point?”

“Well, I don’t know. Exploring together just reminded me. My past life contractor was definitely ugly, self-centered, and unnecessarily narcissistic, but…”

Synthia glanced back, her eyes meeting Liz’s.

“I still enjoyed being with you.”

She was smiling.

“So, once things settle down a bit, let’s go exploring more often. Whether it’s exploring or whatever.”

“Do we really need to say that? Between us?”

“Some things need to be said to be understood, right?”

“True enough.”

Synthia led the way down, her spirits high. They said a spirit’s contract was etched into the soul. Liz realized just how long Synthia had been waiting for her. Come to think of it, they hadn’t really talked since their sudden reunion.

“Synthia.”

“Yeah?”

She paused for a moment and glanced back.

“Thank you.”

“…Why so suddenly?”

“Sometimes you have to say things to make them known.”

“Well, that’s true.”

She giggled softly.

Spirits live lives that stretch toward infinity.

Someday, she will have to face my death again.

Perhaps the reason she worries so much when I’m in danger is because she knows our time together is limited.

That thought crossed my mind.

‘We should go on a trip someday.’

With Cynthia and Gemut.

And after meeting the other spirits again.

…I wonder how the others are doing.

‘Once the school trip is over, let’s start looking for the rest.’

Now, I have enough mana to handle four top-tier spirits at once.

“Contractor. We’re here.”

As we descended the stairs, a wide chamber came into view.

‘The smell of blood?’

A sharp, metallic scent hit my nose, making me wince involuntarily.

Was it because many people had been sacrificed?

No, the smell was too overpowering for that.

‘Could it be?’

I walked further in, keeping pace with Cynthia.

The closer we got to the heart of the unease, the stronger the scent of blood became.

Finally, as the dead-end wall came into view, both Cynthia and I had to cover our mouths.

“Damn it.”

Humans, unconscious and bound to the wall.

Their bodies were covered in wounds, bleeding as if they’d been tortured.

“…They’re dead.”

Cynthia’s voice confirmed what I feared, and I bit my lip.

“Who could have…?”

“You know who.”

I approached the lifeless bodies.

Next to the pale corpses, drained of blood, were traces of dark magic.

“Dark sorcerers.”

They really had their hands in everything.

Nausea rose in my throat.

“Dark sorcerers… Contractor!”

Suddenly, a barrier of water enveloped me.

The barrier absorbed the black arrows that had been aimed at me.

[Impressive reflexes, human.]

A human with red eyes spoke in a voice that was not of this world.

I knew all too well what kind of being could produce such a voice.

Hadn’t I encountered one recently?

“A demon’s avatar.”

The aura wasn’t as overwhelming as Dantalion’s illusion.

It must be a lesser demon’s avatar.

[Perfect timing, human. I was lamenting the loss of all my sacrifices.]

I glanced at the bodies behind me.

Sacrifices?

I glared at the repulsive creature.

[It’s rare to see a human commanding top-tier spirits. But, in the end, you’re still just a human.]

Shadows flickered around the creature.

A dozen black figures.

And five dark sorcerers, likely from the cult.

There were no bishops, but with that many senior sorcerers, they could be troublesome.

[Surrender now, and I’ll make it painless.]

“Do you think I would, you idiot?”

I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity.

One lesser demon’s avatar.

Five dark sorcerers.

A dozen black figures.

The creature’s confidence surely came from those numbers.

“What are you going to do, Contractor?”

I met her eyes.

In them, I saw the hope that I would flee, but also the understanding that I wouldn’t.

“What else?”

I smiled as I spoke.

“I’ll do what I came here to do.”

As I chanted a spell for speed, crackling mana enveloped my body.

“With your dark mana, killing you was already a given.”

With my vision now tinged blue, I glared at the creature.

“I’ll give you a fitting end, you fools.”