Chapter 71: The Giant Guardian

A suffocating sense of oppression surged through her chest.

Vellandelle looked around warily.

Darkness and silence pressed in from all directions, bringing an inexplicable malice—as if some evil from the depths was watching.

Her instincts told her this was not a place to make noise.

Not even to call out for others.

“Let’s try moving for now.”

Unconsciously, Vellandelle took off her Ring.

The Power of the Banshee surged uncontrollably once more.

The most primordial Mystic Power, and the Authority Power that made her feel invincible, returned to her body.

In an instant, the Feathered Crown formed above her head, swirling.

Even in the darkness, its black feathers gleamed brilliantly.

“I feel…like I’m not missing anything now!”

Having sealed her Power for so long, regaining it all at once filled her with energy—a feeling of omnipotence.

Maybe it was just her imagination, but Vellandelle sensed her Power had become even purer and stronger after breaking her restraints.

She decided it was probably due to her recent level-up.

After learning so much Magic from Teacher Vivilian, her magic surged, instantly raising her two Star levels.

Don’t underestimate the jump of two Stars; in this world, rising a single rank is extremely difficult.

Mages must continuously refine and solidify their magic, repeatedly tempering it during casting, study, or training.

This expands their total magic, and with each higher level, the required magic increases exponentially.

Teacher Vivilian was already thirty years old and still only a nine-star Great Magician.

That shows how hard it is for ordinary people to grow stronger—especially Mages.

Of course, this doesn’t apply to those cheat-mode heroines in games.

Aside from her dear sister Rosasys, those monstrous heroines were all more abnormal than the next—every one of them possessed some broken bloodline, and when they leveled up, it was always a five-Star jump.

“Sigh…”

Vellandelle sighed, then shook her head.

No use thinking about that now.

The urgent matter was to deal with this dungeon.

With the main group, she’d felt safe, but now that she was separated, what was there to play around for?

She had to be careful—handle everything from the heart.

She explored the dungeon step by step, cautious.

As she moved, a troubling realization surfaced.

There was nothing visible, no dangers—just the weight of oppression on her chest.

But she realized this place was a Maze!

Arched stone doors connected iron-barred cells, repeating again and again.

It felt like she was trapped in a loop, returning to the same crossroads time after time.

The darkness and oppressive atmosphere only made her more irritable.

She pulled out her Communication Crystal and tried to activate it.

Unfortunately, the result was disappointing.

It was as if something nearby was jamming the signal, blocking all Communication Crystals.

Just as Vellandelle was sinking into frustration, a shout from nearby caught her attention.

“Someone’s here!”

She immediately ran toward the source, but her school uniform and Banshee Horn were too conspicuous.

To be safe, she put on her Ring to hide her identity.

“Boom!”

A figure flew like a cannonball, crashing through a broken iron grate and smashing into the stone wall.

Dust exploded everywhere.

“Thump…thump…”

The next moment, a tremendous heartbeat echoed, and a wave of terrifying pressure swept over.

“Gi…Giant?”

Vellandelle frowned.

This was going to be trouble.

She knew that under a Great Mage, a Giant was an invincible existence—like a tank on the battlefield, unstoppable against someone of her level.

The armored figure ahead was massive—more ogre than Giant, clad in armor reminiscent of an ancient Roman warrior.

Thick, giant legs braced the floor.

It panted, chest heaving, and its blood-red eyes chilled her to the bone.

A strange, unsettling aura radiated from it.

From the cloud of dust, another figure slowly appeared.

She wore Knight armor, gripping a sword in one hand as she struggled to stand.

Vellandelle instantly realized—this was a member of Kaylina’s Knight Team.

She activated her Magic at once.

Runes spread along her right arm, forming pattern after pattern.

She was only a three-Star high Mage—not yet a Great Mage—but thanks to the Authority of the Moon, any spell she cast unintentionally carried some added power.

Her high-level spells weren’t devastating, but they should help.

A spark of fire appeared.

At her gesture, flames erupted, engulfing the Giant.

Seizing the moment, Vellandelle rushed forward and pulled the Knight up.

“Miss Knight, I’m a student from Aurora Academy. Let’s go.”

The Knight hesitated, but after hearing Vellandelle’s words and seeing her uniform, she relaxed and followed.

Vellandelle sensed the Knight’s Power—a four or five Star Great Knight.

Clearly, she’d already fought the Giant, and the outcome was obvious.

Realizing she herself wouldn’t make a difference, Vellandelle chose to retreat and avoid the Giant’s wrath.

The Giant was slow and clumsy, but as Vellandelle and the Knight fled, it made no sound.

It simply followed, step by step.

“Huff…huff.”

After running for a long time, Vellandelle finally stopped, panting.

“Looks like we shook that Giant off.”

“Probably.”

The Knight spoke softly, then looked at Vellandelle.

“Are you…Miss Vellandelle?”

“Yes. How did you know?”

Vellandelle tilted her head in surprise, then thought and realized.

“You mentioned it before, in front of Big Sister Kaylina…and…”

She paused.

“You’re cute, so I remembered.”

Vellandelle thought she detected a hint of shyness.

Stunned, she wondered—had her charm really become that overpowering?

Even random Knight girls developed feelings for her?

Though, come to think of it, even Veronie blushed around her…

That already went against her ‘cold beauty’ character setting.

“I’m Karansa, a member of Big Sister Kaylina’s Knight Team.”

“Mm, nice to meet you, Sister Karansa. Please take care of me.”

Vellandelle smiled and extended her hand.

Karansa gripped it firmly.

“Those Giants…aren’t normal Giants.”

After a pause, Karansa spoke.

Vellandelle was puzzled.

What did she mean by not normal Giants?

Karansa explained.

“It’s like this. You may have noticed—these Giants are much shorter and fatter than ordinary Giants.

We usually call purebred Giants Golden Giants.

But these here are common in many Kingdom armies—they’re hybrids of humans and Giants.

We call them Silver Giants.”

As she explained, Vellandelle’s thoughts drifted—not to the Giants’ names, but to how humans and Giants could even…hybridize.

Giant vs anthill? Abyss vs toothpick?

Her mind went blank.

If a Giant ever liked her…

That would be terrifying!

But Karansa continued.

“That’s not the main point. The key is that Silver Giants usually belong to Kingdom armies.

Meaning, the Giants we just encountered are likely ancient Falen-era Guards!”

At that moment, a huge club crashed down in front of Vellandelle, shattering the ground and making her hair stand on end.

It was the same Giant.

It approached with heavy, slow steps.

Its mouth shut tight, eyes vacant, as if its only goal was to kill intruders like Vellandelle.

“Don’t run. He dropped his weapon—let’s kill him while we have the chance.

Otherwise, he’ll just keep following us.”

“I see.”

Vellandelle nodded.

High-level Magic might have limited effect on Giants, but that didn’t mean she had no other means of counterattack besides reverting to a Banshee.

“I still have this.”

She slowly drew a long, narrow box from her bag.

A smile curved her lips.