Chapter 224: The Test (3)

A man with a ponytail swiftly crossed the long corridor.

“Hello, Professor.”

“Hello.”

William ignored the students’ greetings as he hurried along his path. The students tilted their heads at his unnaturally stiff expression.

”…Did we do something wrong?”

“W-Well? Why is he so angry?”

The students quickly vacated the area.

Contrary to their assumptions, William wasn’t angry at all. He was merely forcing a rigid expression to conceal his extreme agitation. Yet no amount of facial control could suppress his wildly racing heart or the tremors coursing through his hands.

William’s rapid footsteps gradually slowed as he continued down the corridor.

After glancing around to ensure no one was watching, he pulled something from his pocket.

Rustle.

It was a yellowed piece of paper, so old it looked like it might disintegrate at any moment. Dozens of lines were haphazardly scribbled across its surface.

William’s eyes burned with intense focus as he stared at the map.

The origins of this map’s acquisition stretched back several months.

One day, William had entered the professor’s private library to search for research materials. As he pulled out the desired book, another volume beside it tumbled to the floor.

Thud.

Hmm?

William bent down to retrieve the book, his brow furrowing in confusion. The thick, hardcover volume bore no title, author, or any other markings. Its aged appearance suggested it might be quite old.

Data on artificial joints.

Artificial joints remained a field of constant research even now. Given the book’s age, the information contained within held little value. Any modern text in the vicinity would contain far more advanced research materials.

Yet William couldn’t tear his eyes away from the ancient tome. To be precise, he was captivated by the traces left behind by someone throughout its pages.

This… is remarkable.

The book was peppered with marginalia - notes left by someone who clearly possessed a deep understanding of artificial joints. Though the book itself appeared to be decades old, the annotations displayed a level of insight that wouldn’t be out of place in contemporary literature.

Who could this be?

Judging by the book left in the professor’s private study, it was clear this had belonged to one of the professors who had passed through Transcendence Academy.

Curious about the previous owner, William picked up the old book.

He brought it back to his office and spent hours examining the ancient tome, but found no clues about its former owner.

There was only one thing:

The owner of this book… was no ordinary person.

The more he studied the book, the more he read the annotations, the more he marveled at the owner’s understanding of the research.

At minimum… they must have been a Master at the time.

But such astonishment proved fleeting.

When he failed to discover anything about the book’s owner, his interest quickly waned.

As time passed, the old book ended up abandoned among other research materials in his office.

Today, when William was returning to the library to return his materials, he grabbed the old book along with his other items.

As he placed the book back in its original spot and turned to leave…

Thud.

The book suddenly fell out, and the impact caused the already aged cover and inner pages to separate completely.

Oh no…

William frowned slightly as he picked up the separated book.

His eyes widened when he spotted a single sheet of paper lying near the book.

Huh?

The drawing showed lines tangled in chaotic patterns.

But it wasn’t the peculiar illustration that truly caught William’s attention—it was the line of text written beneath it:

Memorize this, you dog-head – Douglas

The moment William saw the name “Douglas,” his heart began pounding wildly.

Douglas?!

How could he not know that name?

If the person who left this message was indeed Douglas, there could only be one person he would call “dog-head.”

The Grand Master… Victor!

The legendary Master said to be a werewolf.

And the owner of the legacy William had been searching for.

Stay calm…

Despite his heart racing like a madman, William’s mind remained clear.

What… is this?

He began pondering the meaning behind the mysterious drawing in his hand.

After several sleepless days spent obsessing over the image, William reached a single conclusion.

‘T-This… This is a map! These lines represent secret passages!’

When William examined the overall outline of the lines, it was unmistakably Transcendence Academy. But there was no such complex network of passages anywhere in the academy.

‘Ha… There must be secret passages beneath Transcendence Academy!’

There were several symbols, numbers, and tiny writing marks on the map. The moment he realized this was a map indicating specific locations, the fatigue that had accumulated over days vanished completely.

That had been just ten minutes ago.

Thump-thump.

William quickened his pace again, heading straight for the Bell Tower. The automated tower chimed at fixed intervals, its bell tolls serving as the source of the sounds signaling class periods and breaks for students.

This place was rarely visited, except for the maintenance crew who came once or twice a year.

Just then, the bell’s tolling echoed through the air.

Dong!

William looked up at the tall bell tower.

If this map is real, there must be an entrance somewhere in this tower.

The map showed four entrances to the underground passages:

Men’s public bath.

Women’s public bath.

Research building’s underground restroom.

And the central bell tower.

The research building’s restroom was too risky due to constant surveillance, while the men’s and women’s baths were… well, let’s just say they presented different challenges.

That’s why William chose the bell tower.

Please…

William entered the tower, clutching the map and praying it was genuine.

Creeeeak!

The ancient hinges screeched as if they might fall apart at any moment.

William glanced around before beginning to move stealthily.

I need to find the star pattern.

The star symbol on the map was likely related to the entrance. After rummaging through the dusty Bell Tower for quite some time, he finally discovered a star-shaped pattern behind the staircase on the first floor.

It was a location that would be difficult to find unless one was deliberately searching for it.

William pressed his finger against the star-drawn brick.

Then…

Click!

The brick sank inward.

Creeeeak…

The stone floor split apart horizontally, revealing a dark space leading underground.

Through the haze of swirling dust, William’s eyes glinted with a light of extreme joy.

It’s real… It’s actually real!

An old map discovered by chance.

At first, there was a slight sense of suspicion, but now such thoughts had completely vanished.

Who could have created such a secret mechanism within the Bell Tower that has stood alongside Transcendence Academy’s history?

A mechanism of this scale would have needed to be incorporated from the very beginning of the tower’s design.

Here… Here lies what I seek!

With this conviction, William stepped into the dark space.

Whirr.

The secret passage closed the moment William disappeared, leaving the Bell Tower enveloped in silence as if nothing had occurred.

And at that precise moment…

Whoosh.

Louis materialized out of thin air. He gazed at the spot where William had been standing, a sly smile playing on his lips.

A small pin head poked out from his jacket pocket.

“Will this work?”

Though the question came out of nowhere, Louis understood immediately.

“It has to. After all this effort to feed you, if you can’t eat it, my head would just be a decoration.”

“True…” Fin nodded.

They had moved so quickly to prepare for this.

Louis personally scouted the underground labyrinth’s entrance and conducted a preliminary survey. He even kindly created a map to prevent them from getting lost.

Fin had thoroughly researched to ensure William would discover the old book containing the map, strategically placing it next to the book he intended to find. When William still couldn’t locate the hidden map, she deliberately dropped the book to reveal it.

Everything William had attributed to luck was in fact meticulously planned.

Whew, that must’ve been exhausting…

Fin snorted loudly, releasing a puff of air through her nostrils as she thought about all the hardships she’d endured.

If she’d gone overboard, William might’ve noticed something amiss. But if she gave him too little guidance, his dim wits might’ve failed to grasp it. Maintaining this delicate balance while orchestrating events had been no easy feat.

Aware of Fin’s efforts, Louis gently stroked her head.

“You’ve worked hard. Just a bit more, please.”

“Yes! Leave it to me!”

For a fairy, nothing could be more empowering than praise from the dragon she served as her master.

Fin smiled brightly at Louis’s encouragement.

Louis returned the smile, his eyes sparkling with amusement.

“Keep pushing that dimwit William!”

“Hold on!”

The two figures briefly cheered William before vanishing once more.

Thus, bearing the expectations of Louis and Fin, William navigated the underground labyrinth with ease.

The labyrinth was so complex that a single misstep could trap him forever.

But William had a map.

The map marked symbols of a lily, hammer, wings, and wolf.

Moreover, the path to each symbol was clearly indicated on the map.

Convinced his map was genuine, William followed its directions. As if rewarding his faith, an Iron Door bearing the wolf symbol materialized before him.

Upon confirming the Iron Door’s existence, William’s face lit up with joy.

“Finally!”

The legacy of Victor he’d sought so desperately.

All the Technology he’d researched in his lifetime!

That was exactly what lay behind the iron door.

William stood before it, his face slightly stiffening as he had been filled with high expectations.

“This is…”

The iron door was covered in cramped writing. The original text had vanished, replaced by new words.

It was a single problem.

The previous message had been known only to four Grand Masters, so Louis had changed it to a new problem that William could solve.

William roughly skimmed the writing before running his hand along the bottom of the iron door.

“A mana sensing device.”

He immediately understood the purpose of the mana sensing device and what the writing on the iron door meant.

“It’s telling me to solve the problem and write the answer here. So I can’t open the door easily?”

Since this was like a safe for storing legacies, it made sense to have this level of security.

“Yes, this is about right. It’s the legacy of the Grand Master, after all!”

William gazed at the tightly shut Iron Door with unwavering confidence. Who was he, after all? He was one of the Masters of the Tower of Wishes. Even if this problem had been prepared by the Grand Master himself, William was certain his skills would be sufficient to solve the Iron Door’s challenge.

He carefully read the problem inscribed on the door. The first thing that caught his eye was a bizarre ritual formula he’d never seen before. Below it, the text read:

This formula calculates the total amount of attribute power transferred to Mind Conversion Material when a one-dimensional space contains a single unit of energy. If the dimension expands to four dimensions, derive the formula to calculate the total amount of expanded attribute power.

William gazed at the problem with confidence. He kept reading it over and over.

Once, twice.

The count surpassed ten times.

Ten minutes, twenty minutes, thirty minutes.

Time flowed endlessly.

After approximately two hours, a frustrated sound erupted from William’s face, now etched with a grave expression.

“What the hell is this…?”

Louis had chosen a problem of moderate difficulty to engrave on the Iron Door, fearing William might notice something amiss if it were too easy, yet knowing it couldn’t be excessively difficult either. He’d selected this particular question under the assumption that as a Master, William should be able to solve it…

”…What’s that noise?”

It seemed Louis had overestimated William’s capabilities.