VOL 2 Chapter 69: The perfect spell.

Erik's gentle whisper caused a mischievous smile to form on Sigrún's lips. She quickly tilted her head a bit to look directly at her sworn sister on the other side of her beloved disciple, then asked in a playful, teasing tone.

"How much should I charge for helping out, Eli?"

"Fufu, that's a great question. Maybe I should think about the same thing."

Amused, Eleonora returned the look to her sworn sister and joined in with an equally roguish smile. But their little act was cut short by Erik, who smiled arrogantly and puffed out his chest almost theatrically, then declared with amusement.

"Hehe, there's no need to think about it because your help won't be necessary. I just so happened to develop the perfect spell for this situation."

As he spoke, Erik conjured a beautiful and complex geometric magic circle beneath the group's feet. It quickly created a circular barrier of pale yellow light that enclosed them all. Shortly afterward, the group of five began to descend rapidly into the earth, as though it had suddenly turned into some kind of liquid.

Although the descent was incredibly smooth and steady, Sofía couldn't help but wobble slightly as she watched in shock the extraordinary sight of sinking into the ground. Meanwhile, Sigrún, Eleonora, and Seraphina observed the barrier and the magic circle beneath their feet with equal parts curiosity and interest.

"This really is an interesting spell…" Eleonora remarked with a smile as she studied the magic circle beneath her feet, to which Erik responded with a cheerful chuckle.

"Hehe, it's really just a somewhat curious application of a trick I saw one of the monsters use in the tournament. It seemed so interesting that I copied it out of curiosity, and luckily, it turned out to be useful."

"You mean the one you used to test your modification of the sword technique, right?" Sigrún added with a proud smile as she looked at her beloved disciple, who nodded happily.

"Yes, that monster controlled the earth in a very peculiar way."

"You know, you should write up a small academic paper on this spell and license it. It would be very useful for low-level mining exploration, and for rescuing miners and machinery. Until now, the only way to do it is by using spells that move the earth elsewhere, which costs a lot of mana, so only relatively powerful mages or specialized machinery can manage it—and that's quite expensive. You could make good money offering a much more efficient alternative."

After nodding in satisfaction at how well-made the magic circle was—though she could see several points for improvement, it was still quite good for being made in the brief free time Erik had after the tournament—Eleonora added with a somewhat proud expression at her beloved disciple's ever-present ingenuity.

"Hmm, yes, maybe I should do it…"

Wearing a thoughtful look, Erik brought a hand to his chin as he mentally rearranged his schedule to develop a new version of the spell. He then reached for his notebook to jot it down, but just before he managed to do so, Sigrún took the pen from his hand and commented with a small smile.

"But that will be after our vacation is over, understood?"

"Of course—that's exactly what I was thinking, hehe."

Erik smiled nervously as Sigrún returned his pen. He quickly wrote down the pending task in his agenda, not daring to look much at his beautiful golden-haired master, who smiled at him mysteriously.

Amid a lively conversation between Sigrún, Eleonora, and Erik, the group continued their descent underground, enclosed by the light barrier. Because the only source of illumination was the barrier itself and the descent was so stable as to be almost unnoticeable despite its speed, Sofía couldn't help clenching her teeth and her fists in impatience and fear. It was as if she were steeling herself to demand her brother be saved—an attitude that inevitably brought a faint smile to the lips of the perfect, beautiful maid, who watched the young woman discreetly.

Just when Sofía reached her limit and was about to speak, she realized they had suddenly arrived in open terrain resembling a tunnel. She could only make this out thanks to the barrier's faint glow, as the place was almost completely dark. That changed when Erik raised his hand surrounded by several runes, where a white sphere quickly formed, bright enough to illuminate everything.

The powerful light that suddenly flooded the area dazzled several men who were present, causing them to shield their faces with their arms and let out pained groans. Around fifteen people stood in the tunnel, gathered before a large rocky blockage. From the various stones scattered around, it was clear they had been trying to clear the debris.

Panicked and with her heart pounding, Sofía quickly took in the tunnel's surroundings. Not far from the group around the collapsed area, she noticed several people on the ground with different kinds of injuries.

She scanned the faces of those present, looking for her brother, and soon spotted him among the injured, covering his face from the intense light. A flood of indescribable emotions filled her—ranging from relief to fear—making it impossible for her to restrain herself.

"MARTÍN!!!" With tears brimming in her beautiful blue eyes, Sofía shouted, running with all her strength toward her beloved younger brother.

Martin was a young boy of about fourteen, with a slim yet agile build and defined muscles—visible because he wasn't wearing a shirt. His hair was a light brown, and his eyes shared the same bright blue shade as his sister's, along with similarly defined and symmetrical facial features.

Upon hearing his older sister's unmistakable voice, the young man turned his head and squinted, which allowed him to see the dirty and battered figure running toward him with all her might—something that brought an expression of disbelief to his face. At the same time, he exclaimed loudly.

"SOFÍA!!!"

Sofía quickly reached his side, and her heart clenched painfully at seeing his condition. He was bloody and clearly bruised in multiple places. He had used his shirt to tie off one of his legs, which was in terribly bad shape—so much so that it was difficult to look at.

Overcome by her emotions, Sofía could only hug him tightly, tears streaming down her face in torrents. But she knew it wasn't the right time to give in, so she bit down hard on her lip in an attempt to calm herself and focus on getting him out of there as quickly as possible.

"How did you get here? Is Clara okay? How are things outside?"

As he returned his sister's embrace, Martin asked in a rush. At that point, Sofía let go and began to gently wipe his face with her shirt, speaking as calmly and collectedly as she could manage.

"Calm down, calm down. One question at a time."

"…How did you manage to get here?" 

After taking a couple of deep breaths, Martin asked, puzzled and curious. Sofía could only respond with a slightly somber look, aware that this might be the last time she'd ever see her siblings.

"That was thanks to my new Lord."

"Your Lord?" Martin asked, even more confused, but Sofía simply shook her head firmly.

"I'll explain everything later. For now, let's get out of here."

"Alright."

Martin nodded seriously, casting discreet glances at the group of four people standing under the sphere of light, who seemed like gods on earth—especially the young man with green eyes and curious starry hair.

With some effort, Sofía helped her brother stand and tried to walk over to Erik again, but at that moment, she noticed the weight of her brother on her shoulder vanish. Panicking, she looked at him only to find him hovering slightly in midair, also in a panic.

"What's going on?"

Martin asked in alarm, but Sofía quickly interrupted him, speaking hurriedly with a hint of apprehension as she gave a sidelong glance at the blond-haired wife of her new Lord.

"Don't shout. Wait until we get outside and I'll tell you everything."

Noticing his sister's anxious expression, Martin simply nodded and pressed his lips shut tightly, realizing she was warning him about something and that it was best to obey.

Because her brother began moving through the air toward her lord's group, Sofía quickly trotted after him. Soon, they arrived in front of Erik, and Sofía fell to her knees and thanked him in a voice laden with countless conflicting emotions. Tears continued streaming down her cheeks.

"Thank you very much for your help, my Lord. I assure you I will work day and night to repay this great favor. Truly, thank you so, so much."

"Ah, there's no need for that. Please, stand up. Besides, you'll have an actual work schedule and everything, but let's talk about that later. Let's get out of here first."

Feeling somewhat helpless in the face of the young woman's dramatic behavior, Erik responded with a wry smile. Sigrún, Eleonora, and Seraphina couldn't help but throw him teasing smiles, to which he could only sigh as he conjured yet another beautiful geometric magic circle beneath the group. But at that moment, a nervous male voice came from behind them.

"Excuse me, great lord. I know it's a sin to waste the time of such an important figure as yourself, but we'd really like to appeal to your mercy so we can get out of here. Rest assured we'll do whatever it takes to repay this great favor."

The one who spoke was a robust man who appeared around forty, bowing respectfully and looking incredibly nervous, as did all the other miners. Erik chuckled and, without a word, moved his hand slightly. Two magic circles appeared: one beneath the man and another beneath the injured in one corner, surrounding them with a barrier before sending them swiftly to the surface.

Once the rest of the people in the tunnel had disappeared, Erik paused for a moment; creating two such large magic circles had cost him quite a bit of mana. After all, he had needed to supply enough power for them to traverse the earth all the way to the surface and warp the rock in such a wide area, which briefly strained his mana circuits.

"You shouldn't push yourself so hard…"

Noticing her beloved disciple clench his teeth in a bit of pain, Sigrún spoke softly, concern evident in her eyes. Eleonora and Seraphina also nodded, prompting Erik to reply in a calm tone.

"It's alright, it wasn't that much."

After resting for a few moments, Erik returned to normal. He quickly conjured a new magic circle to take his group to the surface, as the first one had faded due to the lack of mana. Meanwhile, Sofía and Martín watched him with complex expressions. Even though they didn't fully understand what had happened, it was somewhat evident that transporting so many people at once had been painful for him.

"That was exhausting…"

Once on the surface, Erik created a platform of Myst and rose into the air, murmuring quietly to himself. The group of miners, who had narrowly escaped certain death, began to cheer and offer praises to the young man, who seemed almost divine to them.

After giving them a casual wave, Erik guided the Myst platform away, then turned to look at Sofía's brother's practically destroyed leg. He took out a blister pack of healing pills, handing it to Sofía with a smile.

"Here, a small advance. Give them to your brother; they should heal his leg and his other injuries."

***

You can support me on patreon.com/lordanl and get up to 10 advanced chapters.