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Tafel pursed her lips as her horns dimmed, the clockface underneath Vur’s body disappearing. Tafel took in a deep breath as she rummaged through the pouch by her waist. She took out a potion and raised the glass flask to her pale lips. The mana potion flowed into her mouth, and she swallowed, the color returning to her face almost immediately after ingesting the minty liquid.

Tafel wiped her mouth with the back of her sleeve, under Lindyss’ judging gaze. The demon’s horns glowed silver, and the clockface reemerged underneath Vur’s body. Tafel took in a deep breath and narrowed her eyes as she stared at the space ahead. The group didn’t have much time left before they’d be expelled from the exam region, three minutes at most. If they didn’t find it soon, their collection of skills would be incomplete, and there was no way she was going to allow that to happen!

A minute passed as the scenery down below shifted from green to blue. Another minute passed as different islands came into view before disappearing as Vur rushed past, his wings pumping the clouds away when he came near.

“There! I see it!” Stella said, pointing down below. A blue smudge was positioned on an island that looked like a yellowish-orange smudge within the ocean-blue sea below them.

Vur angled himself downwards, and another twenty seconds passed before he crashed onto the island with a thump, sending a ring of sand and dirt shooting into the air. Some of it splashed against the temple’s walls, but the sand and dirt bounced off, leaving the glossy material spotless. Vur released the people he held in his claws, placing them on the ground behind himself before rearing up and stomping over to the temple’s doors. With a grunt, he smashed down with a scaled paw, shaking the whole structure. Despite that, the door didn’t budge.

“We only have thirty seconds left,” Tafel said, looking down at her root bracelet. “Can you open it?”

Vur furrowed his brow, staring at the door for a bit. It was made of a tough substance, and although he could break it down, it’d take longer than thirty seconds to do that. Vur’s eyes narrowed, and he snorted, two jets of steam exhaling out of his massive nostrils. The brown rune on Vur’s front leg lit up as he dug his claws into the ground. His scaly body tensed as he grunted and heaved as if he were lifting a large boulder. The ground shook as cracks formed around the temple, the grains of sand nearby filling in the gaps as they formed.

Miranda twitched as her body bounced up and down from the trembling earth. She pressed her palms against the ground, pushing herself up. She exhaled as she sat back on her knees, staring at the jumping grains of sand with a pale expression. A large shadow appeared over her, blocking out the sun, and the bald monk raised her head. Her eyes widened upon seeing the Temple of the Water Lord. It wasn’t right side up, the whole structure tilted at an angle and hoisted over Vur’s head.

Vur’s golden eyes shifted towards Tafel, and the demon stared up at him with a blank expression. A lightbulb seemed to appear over her head as her eyes lit up, but a furrow appeared on her brow soon after. “I can’t transport that through a portal; the cache I dug out is too small,” Tafel said and bit her lower lip.

Vur blinked.

Tafel blinked in return.

Then, both of the demon and the dragon turned their heads towards Lindyss. The cursed elf’s expression darkened. “Yes, I have enough space to fit that temple, but—”

Tafel grabbed Lindyss’ dress and pulled, stretching the pocket open by a few inches. Vur squinted, and with pinpoint accuracy—accompanied by the screams of his companions as the building grew larger in their visions—he shoved the temple inside the small shadow, corner first. The cursed elf’s pocket expanded to an unbelievable size, swallowing the structure whole. Lindyss’ eyes twitched, and lightning gathered around her hand. She clenched her fingers and brandished her crackling fist Vur and Tafel. “Listen to what I have to say before doing things!”

Before Lindyss could teach Vur and Tafel the consequences of interrupting her, an amber glow shone out of everyone’s root bracelet at the same time. The glow expanded, encompassing the whole group, filling their vision with nothing but amber light. When the light faded, the scenery changed, the tropical island replaced by brown tunnel walls large enough to accommodate a dragon.

“Sorry!” Tafel said and bowed her head towards Lindyss, using the great technique of asking for forgiveness instead of permission. “Was storing the temple inside your pocket a bad idea?”

“It was a stupid idea,” Lindyss said, her eyes narrowed and fist still charged with lightning. “Living creatures can’t survive for long in my shadows, so if there’s someone inside the temple, they’re probably suffering a lot right now.”

Tafel’s eyes widened. “Then what are you waiting for? Shouldn’t you let them out?”

Lindyss gestured around herself. “There’s no space to take out the temple.” Her gaze landed on the tablet where a person made of flames was standing. “Let’s return to the residence first; there’s no hurry. If anyone in the temple is still alive, they’ll survive fine in there for a few more minutes.”

“Excuse me,” the flaming person said. “My name is Bunno, and I’m from the Extreme Heat Clan. Are you the new members? Gaegukja Yeol told me to wait here for you to deliver a message.”

“Yeo—, Gaegukja Yeol did?” Kim Hajun asked. “What did she say?”

“You aren’t even a part of the clan,” Stella said, flying out of Vur’s body, which was in the middle of polymorphing back into human form. “Why are you the first to speak up?”

“Ah, he’s not a part of the clan?” Bunno asked, his red eyes flickering open wider. “Then I can’t say, at least, not to you.” The flaming man turned towards Vur. “You’re the incredible youngster Deowi was talking about, right? I can tell by all the markings on your skin.”

Lindyss snorted as the lightning around her fist disappeared. “I’ll wait for you inside the residence,” she said and walked up to the wooden tablet, activating it with her root bracelet. An amber glow shone over her body, and she turned her head towards Vur. “Have fun listening to messages.”

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