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Gaegukja Yeol hovered in the air a foot above the ground, her crystalline armor glinting in the sunlight. In front of her, there was an ordinary guard stuck in an unordinary situation. The fire spirit race woman blinked at the man trapped within a mound of earth shaped like a hand, and the man blinked back at her. Gaegukja Yeol reached forward and grabbed the bit of earth covering the man’s mouth. She pulled, but instead of crumbling like she had expected it to, the earth bent backwards like a piece of clay.
“Are you alright?” Gaegukja Yeol asked. “What happened?”
“Some troublemakers didn’t want to pay the entry fee,” the guard said, “so they left me here like this. Speaking of which, if you wish to enter the field, it’ll cost you a thousand geums per hour.” The bound man cleared his throat. “While you’re here, can you help me get free? I missed my usual bathroom break, and I really have to go.”
Gaegukja Yeol raised an eyebrow. “What did the troublemakers look like?”
“Well, there was one beautiful elf and a girl with horns on her head,” the guard said. “They also had a spider that a man was entombed inside of for some reason.”
“Huh,” Gaegukja Yeol said. “Those were the people I was looking for. Did you happen to see which way they went?”
“That way,” the guard said, gesturing with his head towards the unnatural tower made of earth occupying a portion of the field.
“Thanks,” Gaegukja Yeol said and nodded. She grabbed the earth surrounding the man and grunted as she peeled. Bits and pieces bent backwards until the man’s arms were finally free. Gaegukja Yeol nodded. “Alright, I think you can do the rest yourself.”
“Thank you,” the guard said, nodding as Gaegukja Yeol floated past him. A second later, he raised his head. “Wait! About the entry fee….” The man sighed as he leaned over and grabbed at the earth surrounding his waist. “Ah, forget it.” The man grunted, and a furrow appeared on his brow. The fire spirit race woman had made the earth seem so easy to peel away, but when he tried it, it was like trying to bend steel. A dark expression appeared on his face. It seemed like he’d be stuck until that woman came back.
Gaegukja Yeol floated over to the earthen tower. She stopped in front of it before flying up and over, peering down past the wall. Tafel was talking to a mummy while Lindyss was … doing something involving corpses, bones, and flesh. Gaegukja Yeol drifted downwards, causing Tafel to raise her head. “Oh, Yeol!” Tafel said. “Hi. What are you doing here?”
“Didn’t you get my message?” Gaegukja Yeol asked and smiled at Tafel. She glanced to the side where a grassy spider was lying down. Vur must’ve been sleeping inside. “I’m sure Bunno must’ve delivered it to you.”
“Right…,” Tafel said, nodding her head slowly. “There was something like that, huh? I got distracted by Melody’s appearance and completely forgot to ask Vur what your message was.”
“It wasn’t important,” Gaegukja Yeol said, a bitter expression appearing on her face. “I just had to step away to finish up my duties with the admission exam. Your group passed the first-floor’s exam a little slower than I had expected. Did you take your time?”
“Yeah,” Tafel said. “We went around to each of the temples and found their hidden pieces.”
“Hidden pieces inside the temples?” Gaegukja Yeol asked and tilted her head. Those existed? Well, she supposed they were called hidden for a reason; if they were common knowledge, they’d just be pieces. The flaming woman’s eyes drifted towards the ground where weapons lay littered about. “By the looks of it, you got some advanced equipment.”
“Huh?” Tafel followed Gaegukja Yeol’s gaze. “Oh,” the demon said before shaking her head at the flaming woman. “No, Auntie saved someone’s life here, and they fetched these weapons from the thirtieth floor for us to use.”
“Saved someone’s life, and they went out of their way to purchase equipment for you?” Gaegukja Yeol asked, raising an eyebrow. “Are you sure you aren’t being scammed somehow? It sounds too good to be true.”
“Some people greatly value their lives,” the zombie dressed as a mummy said. “If someone else saves it for them, why wouldn’t they do everything they can to repay the favor?”
“And who’s this dashing fellow?” Gaegukja Yeol asked, blinking at the bandaged zombie.
“A dead guy that Auntie found,” Tafel said. “She’s making him a better body than the one that failed him, and he’s upset about that, so she tied him up and left him with me.” She glanced at the bound zombie. “Even though he’s dead, he’s still pretty knowledgeable about these weapons.”
“Found. Right,” Gaegukja Yeol said. Images of the beautiful elf cackling as she strangled a poort innocent victim came to the fire spirit race woman’s mind, but she shook those thoughts away. Her gaze shifted onto the grassy spider. “And what’s Vur doing? The guard at the entrance said there was someone inside that spider.”
“He’s sleeping,” Tafel said. “He flew us from temple to temple, and at the end, he pumped his wings extra hard for several hours to make it to the last one. All that flying must’ve worn him out, so he’s getting his rest.”
Gaegukja Yeol exhaled, her body sinking towards the ground as the hot air was expelled from her mouth. “If only there were a way to retake each floor’s advancement exams. It sounds like it’d be fun following you guys around.” She floated over to Tafel and bent down, inspecting the weapons. “With the strength of your flames, you’re still interested in magic?”
“I’m a mage,” Tafel said, staring at Gaegukja Yeol. “Why wouldn’t I be interested in magic?”
Gaegukja Yeol frowned. “I might be mistaken about something. Can you summon your flames for me to see?”
“Sure?” An imprint appeared on Tafel’s forehead, and blood-red flames appeared around her. “You mean this?”
Gaegukja Yeol reached forward and touched one of the floating fireballs. Not even a second later, she withdrew her hand as if she had been burnt. “Yes, I thought I saw you try to cook the ant pupa with these flames. They’re already so powerful, stronger than Deowi’s I would say. You don’t need magic when you have flames like these.”
Tafel blinked. “You think so?”
“I know so,” Gaegukja Yeol said. “Could it be you’re unfamiliar with flaming martial arts?”
“Yeah,” Tafel said and scratched her head. “I’ve never even heard of the term.”