Chương 287: Chapter 285 – Culprit At Large.

"This feels like cheating." Rusty thought to himself as he looked down at the hedges below. His group stood on a floating platform of ice, carried back to safety by their teacher, whose face was set in a deep frown. With an ability like this, the entire maze could be bypassed. The monsters wandering beneath them did not even seem to notice their presence, as though they only cared about those who ventured inside the maze itself.

The cold air whistled past Rusty's metal frame as the ice platform glided smoothly over the winding green walls of the maze. From this height, the labyrinth looked far less threatening, resembling little more than a sprawling garden filled with roses and thorns. The smoke and fire they had caused rose in the opposite direction from where they were flying, confirming that they had gone the wrong way. Syber flexed his healed arm, testing the movement of his fingers while keeping his eyes fixed on the ground below.

Knight Captain Geraldus and Knight Major Philibert were not with them, having stayed behind. Their combat strength far surpassed that of the C-rank monsters roaming the maze, and they had remained to deal with the fire their group had started. Kaelen was also with them, his eyes as wide as saucers as he knelt on the icy platform. It seemed the knight cadet had a fear of heights, as he continued to squirm and nearly foam at the mouth whenever he glanced over the edge.

Below them, several squads of armored men rushed through the hedges, all heading toward the source of the smoke. They were probably the rescue unit sent to find them, so if Quinten had not arrived when he did, they might not have been saved in time.

"We really owe a lot to this Quinten of yours. He is a good teacher. I think we can even trust him with what happened to Gwen. He might be able to help and protect her." Rusty commented, having removed the man from his list of potential suspects. Even so, he still had no one he could truly blame. He had been unable to trace the firebird spell back to its caster. Unless the perpetrator made some kind of mistake, they would probably remain unidentified.

"Do you think so? He doesn't look too happy about any of this..." Gwen said as she glanced at their teacher's expression.

"Oh, we're all going to get punished, aren't we?" Astrella said with her shoulders slumped. Her two fairies patted her on the head as if trying to comfort her.

"Do not get too comfortable." Quinten finally spoke while the group communicated through their bond bands. He had clearly been aware of their conversation, but only now did he choose to speak.

"All of you have a lot of explaining to do. Now start." It did not seem he intended to wait until they returned to the knight academy. He wanted an explanation, and he wanted it now. The others exchanged uncertain glances, unsure where to begin or who should speak first. Fortunately, Aranea, the highest-ranking person present and someone the teacher could not easily punish, decided to take the lead.

"Then I shall, if you permit it." She raised her fan to cover her face, and Quinten simply nodded.

"Go ahead."

"It started when…" As she spoke, the platform beneath them gradually slowed. She recounted everything from her perspective, and this time she also revealed the first attack on Gwen, now that she knew about it. Throughout the explanation, Rusty tried to read Quinten's expression for any hint of what he was thinking, but the man remained as stoic as stone.

Aranea continued by describing the firebird that had caused the initial chaos and how they had been forced to separate from the rest of their group during the commotion that followed. She also mentioned the lingering mark on Gwen that had made hiding impossible and how it had ultimately been the reason the fires kept breaking out.

"And then, thou arrived." Aranea finished her explanation with a slight bow before folding her fan back into her palm. Quinten remained silent for a long moment. The icy platform continued to slow as the stronghold surrounding the rift exit came into view. A heavy silence settled over the group while they waited for his response. Finally, he spoke.

"If this is true, then I will have to bring it up with the Headmaster. After all these incidents, it is not something I can simply ignore." Rusty said nothing, but he was relieved to hear that response. If Quinten believed Gwen and understood the danger, he would probably be much more vigilant. Even after they arrived and stepped off the platform into the rift fortress, there was no sign of the perpetrator. Instead, they found the other students from B2 Class, who appeared to have just returned.

"Hey, look, it's B2 Class. Bartholomew looks annoyed." Astrella commented as the platform came to a stop and began descending straight down.

"The rest of our class is there too. Look." Gwen pointed toward the students of B1 Class. Everyone appeared to be unharmed, although several of them still looked shaken by the ordeal.

"The only ones missing are A-Class, but they probably returned to the Academy by now." Syber was the last to comment after noticing that the group who had entered the rift first was nowhere to be seen.

"Go to the healers and get examined. If what you have told me is true, they will have to remove that curse." Quinten spoke in his usual monotone while pointing toward a nearby tent where several priests were waiting. Around them, the rift fortress bustled with activity. The priests approached as soon as they noticed the group descending, and the guards were visibly on edge. After Quinten explained the situation, Gwen was immediately escorted into the tent for an examination.

Just as he had suspected, she was afflicted by a curse that could only be dispelled by a priest or by specialized anti-curse elixirs, which they did not have.

'Once I'm back, maybe I should do some research on curses...' This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Rusty watched everything unfold while the thought crossed his mind. The others waited outside until Gwen emerged from the tent. Only then did they return to the rest of their class. Without any further explanation, they were instructed to leave the rift.

"Does this mean we are done here?" Astrella said as she stretched on the other side of the rift. The knights guarding the entrance chamber let them pass after a few priests cast several verification spells. That appeared to be the end of the inspection.

"I hope so… I just want to get back to the Academy." Gwen replied, clearly exhausted after everything they had just been through, but it remained to be seen how quickly they would actually be finished. The incident was far from simple. Students had been endangered by a third party that might have infiltrated the area. Even if no one believed Gwen had been at the center of it, other students had seen the flaming bird. There was no way to keep the event hidden anymore.

Before any of that could be addressed, another surprise awaited them. As they stepped out of the rift chamber, a familiar loud voice echoed through the courtyard.

"What do you mean B-Class had the most points? How is that even possible? Didn't they fail their assignment?" It was Katherine Grandwell, shouting at what appeared to be an attending knight. She stood in front of a scoreboard similar to the one used at Mystwood Academy. It displayed only three groups, with B1 Class at the top with over five thousand points and A-Class in second place with just under two thousand.

"How did they even get so many points? They must be cheating!"

"Please calm yourself, Lady Grandwell. The measuring devices were linked to the badges you received. It is impossible to alter the numbers manually. The embedded magic automatically records every kill and support action…"

'Oh right, I forgot this was also a test of sorts…' Rusty had paid little attention to that aspect of the event, focusing instead on protecting his summoner. Even so, this was still a school exercise, and the students were being graded. Their group had accumulated far more points than should have been possible, and he had a good idea why.

"Those badges must have counted all those monsters we burned, and probably that tree monster too." He said as Gwen and the others exchanged glances. Their bewildered expressions quickly turned into smiles as they realized they had beaten A-Class by an enormous margin.

"Haha, serves those rats right! Look at her face, Gwen. Just look at it!" Astrella nearly burst into laughter but managed to hold it back.

"She looks like she swallowed an entire bag of sour lemons!" Katherine's face was indeed twisted into a deep frown. A faint flush colored her cheeks as she glared at the sweating knight desperately trying to explain the situation. Her usual composure had completely vanished, replaced by pure, unrestrained outrage as she stared at the glowing numbers on the board.

"It is mathematically impossible!" Katherine snapped, her voice carrying across the entire courtyard. She did not even notice Gwen and the rest of B1 Class watching her.

'Does this mean I completed my mission?' His original objective had been to help his summoner gather achievements, but survival had quickly become the greater priority. Their victory was an unexpected bonus born from the chaos inside the rift. With the assassination attempt they claimed had taken place, the rift had been closed off, and the ordeal finally seemed to be over.

'So now I just need to find the perpetrator, and my mission should…' Congratulations! You have completed your mission. Before he could continue that thought, the world system presented him with the familiar prompt, just as it had so many times before.

"Was that noble lady always like that..." Kaelen whispered as he glanced toward Astrella.

"She is usually worse." She answered with a grin, and the whole group burst into laughter. The joke, however, went completely unnoticed by Rusty. There were still things he had not been able to resolve, such as discovering the perpetrator's identity. Still, his mission was now complete, which probably meant the danger had passed and there would be no further attempts on Gwen's life. Every time he left, her life seemed to continue without much melodrama.

"Gwen, and the rest of you as well, please do not forget the bonds you have forged." Rusty spoke in a far more solemn tone than usual. The laughter of the four people wearing the bond bands faded as they turned their attention to him.

"Keep your guard up, even if the immediate danger has passed. Practice your magic, trust your companions, and never underestimate your own strength." Gwen blinked, confusion washing over her face as she looked at his miniature form after he jumped down to the ground.

"Rusty? Why are you talking like... Wait, are you leaving again?"

"My time here is done." Rusty replied calmly as his body began turning blue before breaking apart into tiny particles of mana that slowly drifted away.

"But... but why now? I..." Gwen hurried toward him and reached out to touch him, but her hand only caused his body to fade more quickly. Even as she poured her mana into his dissolving form, the process would not stop. It was clear she had grown deeply attached to him, which was not a good thing. She needed to be able to stand on her own, so he decided to leave her with a few final words of encouragement.

"Do not worry, Gwen. You are not alone anymore. Look behind you. The companions you have gained will stand beside you. You do not have to rely only on me anymore. Trust in yourself and in those who walk with you. Do not worry, I will be back, so keep practicing." His final words drifted through the air as the last blue particles swirled gently in the breeze before vanishing into nothingness. Gwen stood frozen, her outstretched hand lingering in the empty space where Rusty had been only moments before.

A tight knot formed in her throat, making it difficult to breathe, but before a tear could fall, she felt a warm hand rest on her shoulder.

"He is right, you know. You are not alone, Gwen, so do not be afraid to ask your friends for help." It was Astrella. The two fairies perched on her shoulders smiled warmly at Gwen as well. Behind her, Aranea gave a quiet nod while hiding her flushed face behind a fan. Syber nodded in agreement. It was true. She was not alone anymore. She had found companions she could truly rely on.

"Astrella..." Gwen turned toward the three people watching her. All of them had endured the same struggle, and none of them had abandoned her even though they could have. Even when she had been cursed, no one blamed her or suggested leaving her behind. They had stayed. They had fought beside her, and together they had earned this strange, chaotic victory. A soft, genuine smile spread across her face. At last, the tears rolled down her cheeks.

"M... Milady, is everything alright!?" Kaelen, the only knight without a bond band, stood off to the side, completely confused by what was happening. One moment Gwen had been staring intently at the tiny Rusty, and the next she had broken down in tears.

"Don't worry about it. It's a friendship thing!" Astrella patted the young knight on the back before taking out a handkerchief and gently wiping Gwen's tears away. While this adventure had come to an end, they all knew many more awaited them. Congratulations on your return. Calculating rewards… please wait…

"I'm back! That felt like forever this time around..." Rusty reappeared in the familiar summoning chamber, standing in his usual spot in his original, larger body. Although the mission was over and he had successfully completed it, many questions remained unanswered, especially the identity of the perpetrator. Because of that, he ignored the talismans he had received and headed straight for the console to check something far more important.

"How many coins did I have before I left...? I'd better have earned enough." Everything came down to summoning coins. This time, he knew Gwen needed a much greater boost to her strength if someone was willing to go to such lengths to take her life.

"Now this is what I'm talking about!" Without realizing it, he performed a very human gesture by rubbing his hands together. The number of coins he had earned was far greater than before, more than he had ever received from a single mission. With this amount, he would be able to leave Gwen with several critical upgrades and would probably still have enough left over to fix a few of his own shortcomings.