11 Secrets Unveiled: Allies in a Hidden Quest

"I know it, Phyllis—you've been hiding your true strength. That tier-3 Lightning Bolt you threw at me just now was silently cast, wasn't it?" Huarui declared confidently.

Hachi gasped in disbelief. "Silent casting of a tier-3 spell? I thought that was a scroll! And you call yourself a non-combat mage?"

"What are you implying!" Phyllis snapped, glaring at Huarui.

"I'm asking for your help!" Huarui said earnestly. "You're the top scorer in Spatial Theory and Computational Exams, not to mention Laharl's only student—he's a genius in inscription diagrams! We need you!"

"So, if I refuse, you'll expose my hidden strength?" Phyllis asked sharply, though she felt a wave of relief that Huarui, despite knowing a lot, hadn't suspected her real secret.

Huarui shook his hands vigorously. "I swear I won't! Hachi, if you even whisper a word of today's events, don't bother speaking to me again!"

Hachi rubbed his head, silently cursing Huarui for being so captivated by Phyllis.

"Fine, I'm curious about who's capable of such feats. I'll join your investigation," Phyllis relented, tying up her still-damp hair. "Alpha, prepare our gear, and wear that outfit Laharl gave you."

Alpha quietly complied.

"Your assistant is... fascinating," Huarui remarked, watching Alpha leave.

"Huh?" Phyllis frowned. "What's so interesting about someone so rigid and obedient?"

"He's completely loyal and doesn't talk back. Now I understand why he's your assistant and not mine—there's no way I could manage that!"

Phyllis rolled her eyes, while Hachi laughed. "Our prince finally admits he's impossible to manage himself."

Huarui glared at him. "You don't get to say that!"

Amid their bickering, Alpha returned with Phyllis's equipment. Phyllis handed him the confiscated magic monocle and retreated to the changing room.

Seeing Alpha standing dutifully by the door, Huarui sighed in relief. "At least you don't have to help her change."

Alpha stared blankly at Huarui, unaware of the implications. He simply followed Phyllis's orders to avoid being disliked—his sole concern.

"Is that an apprentice's robe? Are you a magic apprentice?" Huarui asked curiously.

Alpha shook his head; magic was beyond his capabilities.

"How can someone like you even qualify as her assistant?" Huarui wondered aloud.

Alpha remained silent. As a familiar, his true identity was a secret he couldn't reveal.

Unbothered by the lack of response, Huarui appraised Alpha. "With your build, I bet she'll have to protect you in a fight... sigh."

"He's still a better assistant than you," Hachi teased. "At least he's trustworthy enough to wait outside. If it were you, you'd either barge in or use the magic monocle. Phyllis wouldn't tolerate you for a second."

"You didn't have to say it so bluntly..." Huarui lamented. "How can someone so plain inspire such confidence from her?"

Phyllis emerged, dressed in a standard academy robe with red trim—a symbol of a tier-3 mage. Although certified during her enrollment, both Huarui and Hachi knew tier-3 mages couldn't silently cast tier-3 spells. The robe was merely a façade. For the mission, she carried a staff embedded with a red-grade magic crystal, a fitting weapon for her abilities.

"See, Hachi? I told you she was hiding her strength. Look at that real weapon she's been keeping hidden!" Huarui smirked triumphantly.

"Is that your low-grade, mid-grade, or high-grade staff?" Hachi teased, glancing at Huarui's level-6 wand.

"Enough already!" Huarui protested as Phyllis laughed.

She opened a box containing a set of tier-3 teleportation scrolls. Huarui's eyes widened. "I knew it—my goddess is extraordinary!"

"These are expired scrolls from Laharl. While their magic isn't entirely stable, they're still useful for emergencies. They're preset to the central fountain in the dormitory area with a 10% failure rate. Even if they misfire, we'll still land somewhere within the academy. Take a few each for safety—our target is dangerous, and survival is key."

Grateful, Huarui eagerly took the scrolls, while Hachi stuffed them into his pocket. Phyllis handed a few to Alpha, reminding him to use them only in extreme situations. She also instructed him to carry his dagger and bow for self-defense, ignoring Huarui's envious look.

"Now, where do we start?" she asked.

Huarui smirked, tilting his head arrogantly. "If it were me, I'd hide the scapegoat magic circle underground in the dormitory area. I'd add displacement arrays to prevent spatial distortions from appearing directly above. So, we'll search the sewer system's four quadrants within a 100-meter radius."

Phyllis raised an eyebrow, while Hachi laughed. "Prince, are you sure you didn't set up that magic circle yourself?"

"Don't accuse me of nonsense!" Huarui retorted, jumping out the window in frustration.

Phyllis stared at the swaying window frame. "Doesn't he know how to use a door?"

Hachi chuckled, holding the door open like a gentleman. "After you, Miss Phyllis."

Night had fallen, and the main paths of the academy were now mostly deserted. Under the cover of darkness, the group avoided crowds and navigated through the winding paths to a corner of the northwest section of the academy. They stopped by a wall where an iron gate marked one of the entrances to the sewers. The unpleasant odor nearby ensured that few ventured close to this area.

Ordinarily, sewer access would be through manholes in the roads, but at Flanders Academy, every manhole was engraved with unique security seals that would trigger fire alarms if tampered with. According to Huarui, these so-called "fire alarms" were part of a broader security system, designed to thwart assassins who often used sewers or ventilation ducts for their deeds.

The sewer entrance was secured with a locked iron door leading to a mechanical room housing watergate controls and valves. The key to this door was under strict management, but such mundane barriers posed no challenge to spatial mages. As long as the interior of the door was visible, teleportation was possible. Naturally, drawing the complex array for this task fell to Phyllis.

Phyllis pulled out two pieces of plain parchment and began sketching a teleportation array using cheap magical ink made from enchanted grass. Once she completed the designs, she replicated it onto a second parchment. Sliding one parchment through the door gap, she used a wind spell to spread it on the ground inside. She laid the other parchment flat on the ground outside, instructing everyone to step onto it. Then, infusing her magic into the array, a faint blue light flickered. In an instant, the group found themselves inside, standing atop the parchment now on the floor beyond the gate.

"Impressive as expected from the theoretical department. If it were me, drawing such an array would take three or four days!" Huarui exclaimed.

Phyllis ignored his exaggerated praise. She knew Huarui's spatial magic skills were not far behind hers—his exam scores in array calculations were only ten points below hers, ranking fifth in their year. Without acknowledging his excitement, Phyllis retrieved the parchment from outside, combined it with the one inside, and incinerated both with a simple fire spell.

"Why not keep them for the return trip?" Huarui asked.

"Do you think we'll return this way?" Phyllis replied without even lifting her head.

"Good point. If it were me, I'd just use a scroll to teleport back. Finally, we're inside!" Huarui pulled out his wand, while Hachi unsheathed his magical sword from his waist.

"Be honest—have you been here before?" Phyllis asked. Their cautious demeanor suggested prior experience.

Huarui gave an embarrassed chuckle. "You caught us. This isn't our first time. The last time, we got hopelessly lost. That's why we insisted on bringing a spatial magic expert this time."

Phyllis sighed. It seemed they had faced trouble here before. She wasn't surprised—this area wasn't ordinary. After all, it was where she had previously placed her scapegoat array. She had explored these sewers multiple times and hoped joining Huarui's group might yield new findings.

The Flanders sewer system was more than just drainage—it was an expansive underground world, a labyrinth interwoven with spatial portals. The academy itself was built to honor the legendary astral summoner Flanders, who personally designed the sewer system. Completed at the founding of the Sacred Kingdom, some even speculated that the academy's construction served to conceal this grand underground maze.

Phyllis's knowledge of this labyrinth was limited until a year ago, when she learned of a possible connection between the academy and a monumental planar summoning secret. Given the academy's architecture, her instincts told her this secret was tied to the mysterious sewers. This was the primary reason she enrolled at Flanders Academy—she would not pass up any opportunity related to planar summoning.

Unfortunately, her clandestine explorations had yielded nothing so far. The first level of the sewer was mundane, with grimy pipes and drainage gates everywhere. At least there were walkways along the walls—beneath them lay sludge-covered steps, reeking of decay. The only peculiar feature was the vibrant, multicolored wastewater, likely a byproduct of discarded alchemical solutions from the academy's laboratories.

"I've heard the wastewater from the labs is processed to reclaim valuable materials before being detoxified. Do you think that's true?" Hachi asked.

"Of course it is. Don't you know about garbage espionage? If enemy nations got hold of the academy's wastewater, they could analyze ongoing research. If they obtained wastewater from the national alchemy lab, no secrets would remain! The massive funds allocated to the academy aren't just for buying materials—it's also for safeguarding secrets," Huarui explained matter-of-factly.

Phyllis eyed the kaleidoscopic wastewater with disdain. Even if it held the deepest secrets of Flanders Academy, she would never stoop to meddling with such disgusting substances.