*GHHHRRRMMMFFFHHH—!!!*
Amid muffled cries of agony, the humanoid treant, its body severed, collapsed onto the ground.
"Uuu... Uuu..."
Meanwhile, the girl formed from branches let out another sob, the kind that could make one's heart involuntarily soften.
Evidently, this was also a common trick of the humanoid treant—when on the verge of being slain, it imitated the cries of living beings to stir pity in its enemy, hoping to be spared.
Unfortunately, its mindless nature meant it could not understand that once its true identity had been exposed, if its foe still faltered at such a trick, then that person was either insane or truly insane.
Naturally, Riezel was a sane man.
As a result, he chose to cremate the humanoid treant.
"Maximize Magic - Vermilion Nova."
As Riezel unleashed the highest single-target fire magic spell without mercy, a crimson magic circle appeared beneath the humanoid treant's remains—it glowed as though ignited, light bursting forth.
*BOOM!*
In the next moment, a pillar of fire erupted skyward from the magic circle, engulfing the humanoid treant entirely.
It writhed in struggle, branches and roots lashing violently, striking and pounding with such force that the ground quaked, the walls cracked, and the commotion was anything but small.
"What the hell—still not dead?"
Riezel found the treant increasingly suspicious.
Even Vermilion Nova, the fire magic with the highest single-target damage, had surprisingly failed to kill it outright.
Was this truly just a weak, wood monster?
"Triplet Maximize Magic - Vermilion Nova."
Riezel unleashed three successive Vermilion Novas, pillars of fire rising again and again from flaming circles, relentlessly scorching the humanoid treant.
Gradually, the already suffocating air grew even hotter, leaving Lizbeth so parched she felt an urge to strip away every layer of clothing.
Under the continuous bombardment of 9th-Tier Magic, the humanoid treant finally could not hold on. Its frantic thrashing weakened, its noise diminished, until at last all aura and movement ceased as its body burned away in the flames.
Soon enough, the branches and roots littering the ground were consumed as well, leaving not even a splinter behind.
At the very end, only a crimson object remained within the fire, persisting until the last flame went out before dropping to the ground.
In the now-ruined corridor of the labyrinth, the sounds of battle gradually faded into silence.
"Phew... Seriously..."
Riezel exhaled softly, finally relieved.
"Huff... Mas—What's that…?"
Lizbeth also relaxed, just about to speak with Riezel, when she noticed the crimson object that had endured until the very end and now lay upon the ground.
At once, she hurried over and picked it up.
"What's this?" Riezel, walking over as well, fixed his eyes on the crimson object and asked aloud. "Do you know it?"
"Well, this should be the humanoid treant's tree core..." Lizbeth explained softly. "On its trunk, there's usually one of these. It's the primary ingredient in several high-grade magic potions, and it's also used in forging certain magic weapons. It's worth a lot."
What she told Riezel was not something Marilyn had told her, but knowledge she had found in books. As a princess confined to the palace, unable to appear in public freely, her daily life, aside from sword practice, mostly consisted of reading.
As a result, though the little princess seemed timid and delicate, her store of knowledge was actually vast.
In theory, she scored full marks, though in practice she had none.
"Worth a lot?" Riezel's interest was piqued. "How much exactly?"
"Uhh…" Lizbeth hesitated, thinking for a moment before answering. "I recall reading that twelve years ago, in the southern Kingdom of Volcarion, there was an auction where a treant's tree core was the final highlight item."
Volcarion, like Jinas and Reiburg, was one of the great countries.
It was the oldest of the four, the only one with a history stretching back a thousand years, earning it the title of the Ancient Southern Kingdom.
It possessed the most Strategic-Class Magicians of any country on the Akasha Continent—three in total.
Because of this, Emberlain Academy, Volcarion's own magic academy and peer to Jinas's Spriller Academy, became one of the Akasha Continent's most prestigious institutions. Every year, countless magical prodigies were sent there, even from Jinas, with nobles sending their heirs across great distances to study.
Emberlain Academy never turned away applicants.
As long as one could pass the entrance exam, one was accepted regardless of nationality—an unmatched model of open education.
It was also worth noting that Volcarion was widely considered the most peaceful country on the continent, for it had not participated in any war for centuries—unlike Jinas and Reiburg, which shared a border and were always in constant conflict.
Meanwhile, the last of the four great countries, known as the Queendom of Theresis, suffered both civil unrest and pressure from surrounding small countries, caught in endless wars and often in far worse straits than Jinas or Reiburg.
Besides great countries like Jinas, Reiburg, and Theresis, many smaller countries on the Akasha Continent also warred ceaselessly, each dreaming of becoming the fifth great country, desperate to expand their borders.
Only Volcarion, at the southern edge of the Akasha Continent, surrounded on three sides by sea, enjoyed natural advantages.
Of course, it was mainly thanks to the sole land route—controlled by three small states that had already submitted as vassals—that Volcarion was shielded from hostile forces.
For that reason, any invader first had to defeat the combined armies of these three buffer states, or else attempt a naval assault.
Fortunately, Volcarion excelled at naval warfare.
Its fleet was heavily developed through magic, and one of its Strategic-Class Magicians was even a specialist in Water Transformation Magic. Known as the Overlord of the Seas, he could unleash man-made tsunamis upon enemies, annihilating them.
Such a hard target—impossible to chew, impossible to crush—who would dare provoke it?
As a result, Volcarion became the most peaceful country of Akasha, and faintly even seemed to overshadow the other three, with momentum toward becoming the continent's supreme country.
To many, Volcarion was already the strongest country—undisputedly the first country of the Akasha Continent.
Lizbeth spoke of this country, then continued.
"I remember that the tree core at that auction was about the size of a palm. It was sold for one hundred seventeen thousand gold coins."
"And this one..."
Lizbeth looked at the core in her hands, making Riezel's gaze follow.
In Lizbeth's hand, the core filled her palms entirely—two hands barely containing it.
In other words, it was twice the size of that one which had sold for one hundred seventeen thousand gold coins.
In that case, how much could this one fetch?
Twice the price, at the very least?
"H-Hurry up and put this away, Master!"
Realizing she held such a priceless treasure, Lizbeth's hands trembled as she hastily offered it to Riezel, flustered as though fearing a thief might appear at any moment.
"Alright."
Riezel accepted without hesitation, storing the crimson core within the storage space of the Dimensional Magic Cube.
Now their finances were secure.
Selling this core meant he would not need to worry about money in this world for a long time.
He had planned to hunt monsters for their meat to earn money, but who would have thought his fortune would be solved here instead?
Fate truly worked in strange ways.
===
Done dealing with the humanoid treant, Riezel and Lizbeth set off again.
As they ventured deeper, the labyrinth's temperature rose steadily.
Lizbeth, unable to bear it any longer, shed her outer garments, her damp appearance stirring Riezel's senses.
Riezel, on the other hand, was fine.
Because of the Pioneer of the Sun, Riezel naturally resisted heat—though he felt the warmth, he did not sweat.
Eventually, when Lizbeth truly could not endure it and seemed ready to remove even more, Riezel refused to let the girl disgrace herself.
In the end, Riezel cast a fire-resistance magic spell on Lizbeth, cooling her at last.
Along the way, they encountered several more monsters.
Like the treant, they were familiar types, yet disturbingly abnormal.
Not only were they stronger than their kind outside, but without exception, they had evolved, having resistance to fire.
Because of that, fire magic barely harmed them, unable to inflict fatal wounds.
Each monster, alone, could have forced an expert Sword Master into a desperate battle, and an ordinary Sword Master might not even have stood a chance.
"Are all the monsters in this ruin this strong?"
Riezel began to understand why Sigmund had entered this ancient ruin twice, only to retreat in disgrace, and why the exploration groups from Jinas and Reiburg had been annihilated.
It was because the monsters here were no mere beasts—even a Sword Saint might not come out unscathed.
Fortunately, Riezel was no ordinary Sword Saint.
He managed to slay them one by one without suffering grave danger, carving from their bodies rare materials that would fetch high prices outside.
Fighting as they advanced, Riezel and Lizbeth at last reached the end of the labyrinth.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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