Wisteria walked with a small purple flame hovering by his side. Lupin and Admon followed a few steps behind, both in high alert.

Wisteria came to a sudden stop and turned around, "On second thought, we should return to campus."

"Are you serious!?" Lupin protested.

"I'm not leaving." Admon said, his voice threatened, "If you decide to send me back, I'll take that scumbag's Mana gem to get back here for as many times as I need."

"..." Wisteria sighed frustratedly. "Fine... But once we find the Necromancer's domain---"

"Shh----!" Lupin lowered his voice, "Over there!"

Wisteria and Admon followed his gaze towards the figure of a 'person'. The blue armored individual walked confidently towards the correct direction of Sylvan's domain. It was Jawsmine!

"Let's follow them." Admon suggested.

"Wait---" Wisteria protested.

Whether on purpose or not, the two male leads ignored him as they advanced.

It was true that he was younger than them, and he was not a professor per se, but weren't they being a little too impolite? Sure, if the events follow as the original novel, they will all come out of the Dark Forest safe and sound along with Fleur. The original Wisteria Lilac would have also gone to rescue Fleur without a care for the safety of the other two male leads. But the current Wisteria knew of the events that would follow this first encounter, and wanted to avoid his involvement the most!

Should Wisteria go back and let Lupin and Admon deal with it on their own? As he had witnessed recently, even when he made some changes to events, the results were still the same.

But... what if his absence in this case leads to a drastic change which results on a grave injury, or even death of one of the characters...

"...."

Wisteria let out a defeated sigh. He watched as Jawsmine walked over the face-shaped rock which he saw the first time, and disappeared into the background.

"That should be the entrance," Admon said, scanning the area, "Do you think you can get us through?"

"I..." Wisteria hesitated, "I don't want to be too hasty and undo the spell. I could accidentally trigger a trap."

"I recognize this! It's a looping spell" Lupin said to Wisteria's surprise, "I've encountered this spell often when I was training. All we have to do is destroy the objects that are marked."

They glanced at Wisteria with expectant eyes. Of course, Wisteria knew of this, but he didn't want to mention it!

Wisteria forced a smile and nodded, "S-since it's a looping spell, I have another way of getting through. Just follow me."

Since he had received a pass from Sylvan's rune on his wrist, he could go through the spell whenever he wanted. He grabbed hold onto Lupin's and Admon's arms with each hand, and crossed over. And as their feet stepped over the boundary, the male lead's eyes grew at the sight of the physical gates to Sylvan's domain.

"T-t-there are human skulls on it----!" Lupin squirmed.

"Get a hold of yourself." Admon responded, "That's not important right now."

"Tsk." Lupin clicked his tongue, "I know that, *sshole."

"Okay, excuse me, you two." Wisteria interrupted, pretending to study the runes inscribed at the gate, "This seems to be a defense inscription."

"It's a warning," Admon added, "It says: 'Those who use Mana to tamper with the air around the gates will be sealed away.'"

"It does!?" Wisteria blurted, "Where?"

"...?" Admon side-eyed him, "Right there. The inscriptions are rearranged to form an obvious written message"

"That's amazing, Admon!" Wisteria praised genuinely, "I didn't notice at all!"

Admon cringed, looking way.

"Then, what do we do?" Lupin asked, "I doubt my sword can cut through without Mana."

"I can try a counter rune," Admon suggested.

"How well do you understand the inscriptions at the gates?" Wisteria asked, his tone serious.

"Most of it."

"No." Wisteria said sternly, "If you're not one hundred percent sure, it's still too risky."

"Then, what do you suggest?" Admon asked irritated.

"..." Wisteria paused, "I have a way in... But I will need the two of you to wait here."

"Again with this---"

"Sure." Admon interrupted Lupin, "go ahead."

"Alright." Wisteria nodded, feeling nervous at his compliancy, "And I'm serious. Don't follow me in."

"..."

"..."

Wisteria sighed. He approached the gates and placed his right hand at the doors. Although concealed under his sleeve, Sylvan's rune resurfaced and glowed, opening the gates.

As the gates opened, the portal was activated at the same time. Wisteria turned over his shoulder to see Admon and Lupin one more time before heading in.

----WHOOSH----

Wisteria froze for a brief moment. He did not want to believe it. But if his eyes didn't play tricks, Admon and Lupin had just run ahead of him towards the portal--- Leaving him behind!

"These two----!" Wisteria chased after them, a vein popping on the side of his forehead.

He remembered the first time he went in as a guest, Jawsmine and Footunia warned him to follow them closely to prevent from getting lost---- So, it meant that there were other dimensions within Sylvan's domain!

As they reached the end of the portal, Wisteria managed to catch up after exerting every muscle in his body. He grabbed each by their shoulders, now an additional vein popping on the side of his jaw, "You---! I said I'd go alone! You two keep doing whatever you want!"

"Then, would you care to explain why you've been acting so strange!?" Admon shouted back, "Normally, you flaunt your magic wherever you go, resolving everything as if it's nothing to you. But today, all you do is hesitate even though Fleur's in danger!"

"That's---" Wisteria exhaled loudly, "It's not that I'm not worried---"

"Hey..." Lupin interrupted, "Look around."

Wisteria did as told and his eyes widened. What stood in front of him wasn't a beautiful mansion, but an ominous bricked tower erected in the middle of a barren field. Even the sky wasn't the usual one, purple and black clouds spiraling with the wind.

"Fleur must be in there..." Lupin added.

"Let's go----" Admon nodded.

"What do you think you're doing in someone else's territory?"

Every hair in Wisteria's body stood the moment he heard the familiar voice. He lowered his head as to conceal his face, raising only his eyes to look up. From the entrance of the tower, Sylvan strolled nonchalantly towards the three male leads, his expression concealed behind the mask. The closer he got, Wisteria gradually lowered his head to the point where it looked very unnatural. Realizing it would instigate the curiosity from both parties, he straightened his back and lifted his head.

The moment he noticed Sylvan looking at his direction, Wisteria forced a smile.

---Piiiiiii---

Wisteria initiated to send a message to Sylvan through his Mana. However, to his surprise, Sylvan blocked his attempt as his concealed expression seemed to darkened.

"So, that's what it was all about..." Sylvan's voice growled. He lifted the sleeve of his snow-white shirt with one hand, revealing the runes imbedded into his skin. He stretched out his arm forward, commanding the runes towards the intruders.