Became the Unjust Contract Slave of the Archamage’s Book

Angelo Yulio. A great mage who reached the fifth tier at the age of 55. Known as the Saint of the Streets, he spent his entire life as a wandering mercenary mage, hunting demons without seeking any compensation. He was a warrior so formidable that even the most combative fighters were humbled by his presence—a giant among men, a living legend among mages.

Yet now, he was sweating and hanging his head in shame. The position of Dean of Elfenbine was no less significant than that of a king of a minor kingdom. Moreover, Yulio was one of the continent’s top figures in personal combat prowess. Who could make such a man tremble?

“What exactly is going on, Dean?” Sitting comfortably on a plush cushion and controlling Elfenbine’s Dean with a mere finger was Ryoz Elfenbine, the Tower Master.

“Well, um… it’s just that…”

“There was a disturbance on campus.”

“The culprits were the tournament’s winner and runner-up, correct?”

“And both were students personally guided by you, were they not?”

“Yes…”

This was the terror of the Tower Master. She was a serene, almost spirit-like figure in all matters. At the tower, she was a revered symbol, only fitting for someone of her status. She rarely intervened in the tower’s affairs, leading some professors to wonder if she even existed. But those who spoke with her knew she had eyes and ears everywhere in the tower. At least here, there was nothing she didn’t know.

“And the Dean was present at the scene of the disturbance.”

“That is true.”

“Is it?”

“I was too caught up in the situation to intervene. I apologize.”

Her pink veil fluttered slightly. ‘Did she just laugh?’

“You were caught up in the situation. So, has the issue involving your cherished princess been resolved satisfactorily?”

Dean Yulio swallowed hard. He was always taken aback by her way of asking questions while knowing everything. “I thought it would be a good opportunity for her. I apologize.”

“Since when has the rule prohibiting fights between students on campus been subject to the Dean’s personal judgment?”

“…I have no excuse.”

“So, in the end, all three troublemakers were your students.”

Dean Yulio had no response. She was not one to interfere easily in the tower’s affairs, but she was not a master who let every incident slide. The truth was, Dean Yulio had overreached this time. His haste in adding Rike to the selection list due to news from the Empire was a mistake. A more thoughtful approach could have led to a better solution.

Dean Yulio couldn’t predict how she would react. Would the Tower Lord punish him? Just as the dean was prepared to accept a pay cut, the Tower Lord spoke.

“We must punish the students who caused trouble on campus.”

“Pardon? No, not the students. The fault lies with me for not preventing this in advance. Elfenbine, please punish me instead.”

“Why? The students caused the trouble, so they should be punished. Are you confessing that this incident happened under your orders, Dean?”

Dean Yulio had given no such orders. Even if he claimed otherwise, the Tower Lord wouldn’t believe him.

“The punishment I am imposing is this: Friederike Albrecht, Binaeril Dalheim, and Sylvia. These three students will face the Scala exam together.”

“Together? What do you mean by ‘together’?”

“If any one of the three fails the Scala exam, all three will be deemed to have failed. Since the two acted for the sake of the princess, it is only right that the princess shares the responsibility.”

The unexpected punishment left Dean Yulio momentarily stunned. The Tower Lord asked him, seeing his dumbfounded expression.

“What’s wrong, is the punishment insufficient?”

“No, not at all. I will relay this to the involved parties.”

Dean Yulio bowed deeply. Considering the rule violation, it was an incredibly lenient punishment. 

‘Why is Elfenbine being so lenient?’ 

Though he couldn’t understand the reasoning, he was grateful. 

“Thank you, Elfenbine.”

“Why thank me? I’ve handed down a punishment. Now, you may leave.”

Her expression was hard to read through the veil, but from his long experience, Dean Yulio could sense that she wasn’t in a bad mood.

Until the Scala exam, Binaeril and her friends had little to do. They focused solely on their weekly special classes and individual training because the details of the Scala exam were never disclosed. 

It made sense, considering Scala was the final gateway of Elfenbine. Passing through this gate determined whether one became a full-fledged mage or remained an aspirant. Exam participants took a binding oath not to divulge any information about Scala, even if they failed.

A mage’s oath was far more binding than a mere promise. Mages exerted power through language, and an oath sealed with mana carried absolute binding force.

‘Wait, then how did Professor Freud inform the students about Scala’s content?’

As Binaeril gathered with the other exam participants to take the oath, this sudden question arose.

-An oath is absolute, but it strictly adheres to its conditions. Professor Freud twisted the terms with ambiguous words to make it work.

Veritas answered Binaeril’s question.

‘Ah, I see.’

– If you ever need to make an oath, be careful. An ambiguous oath is worse than no oath at all. Never take an oath lightly.

The stories of mages who made mistaken oaths were well-known not only among those who knew even a little about magic but also in Elfenbine.

There were mages who suffered eternal torment without dying, mages who became living corpses, and mages who lost all their mana for absurd reasons.

Oaths of mages frequently appeared in popular romance novels, but wise mages rarely made them in reality.

‘I don’t think I’ll ever have to worry about that.’

– You never know.

“Students selected for the Scala exam, please read the contents and make your oath.”

The students recited in unison.

“As the master of infinite imagination…”

The oath was very long.

It included numerous clauses to cover all potential loopholes and to ensure that it would not become a constraint in unexpected situations.

Reading the oath, which took about three minutes, made Binaeril realize how remarkable it was for Professor Freud to twist the oath and alleviate its restrictions.

“…I swear this oath engraved in my soul.”

After the long recitation, the Scala participants were each positioned in front of a small door that only one person could pass through.

“When you open the door and enter, the exam will begin. The Scala exam consists of three stages. Let your imagination guide you. Good luck.”

With those final words, the supervisors left. Binaeril looked around at the other participants in the same room before entering.

There were about twenty people. Rike and Sylvia also turned their heads, looking for each other as if their thoughts were aligned.

“See you inside.”

Binaeril gave the two a bright smile.

They had all heard about the punishment from Dean Yulio.

Pass together, fail together. Binaeril, Rike, and Sylvia were truly bound by fate.

As Binaeril opened the door and stepped into the beam of light pouring in, he thought,

Honestly, it would be harder to fail.

On the other side of the door was a completely different space.

Dull gray bricks, air heavy with unpleasant humidity.

“What is this place? A dungeon?”

Even the small window in the room was barred.

Looking back, there was no way out.

Upon stepping out of the room, an endless corridor with the ambiance of a dimly lit prison stretched out.

“Am I supposed to escape?”

The Scala exam was indeed quite unfriendly.

He had entered thinking he just needed to defeat any enemies or solve any problems that came her way.

But now he found himself abandoned in a bare underground dungeon, expected to figure out her way out.

“Are the other students trapped in the same space?”

He shouted loudly, hoping to find someone, but no one responded.

Only an eerie echo answered him, making him feel even worse.

He started walking aimlessly at first. As he continued along the path, he realized one thing. Earlier, he couldn’t see in the darkness, but the corridor wasn’t just a straight line. It twisted, branched into forks, and sometimes ended in dead ends.

“It’s a maze. It’s a maze.”

The first stage of the Scala exam was none other than escaping the maze.

“Light, arise.”

He decided to tackle the darkness first. He chanted a spell, but the magic didn’t manifest. Thinking he had made a mistake, he tried again, but the result was the same.

“Can’t use magic?”

Without magic, Binaeril was just an athletic teenage boy. Panic began to set in, followed by fear. At that moment, Veritas spoke up.

– There are restrictions on imagination.

– This space is no ordinary place. It’s not a real location but a created one.

“What do you mean, ‘created’?”

– This entire maze is inside someone’s magic. The caster has placed restrictions to prevent those within from using their mana.

“So I just have to keep walking around aimlessly to find the exit?”

– Aimlessly wandering? Do you hear yourself? Do you hear that noise?

“What noise?”

Before Binaeril could finish speaking, he detected an ominous sound. From the other side of the corridor, an unnatural noise, not made by any human, started to emanate from the darkness.

“Grooooooooar—.”

Suddenly, the end of the corridor lit up as if a light bulb had been turned on. Though his senses were confused, Binaeril instinctively realized that it wasn’t a light bulb but the eyes of a monster.

“Stitch.”

A bat-shaped monster, Stitch.

The most notable feature of the Stitch that Binaeril remembered was:

– They live in groups and attack intruders in their territory.

“Damn it…”

The Stitches that spotted Binaeril began to fly toward him, using their abnormally large ears as wings.

“Keeyaaaak!”

The ultrasonic waves they emitted reverberated through the narrow space, making his ears ring.

“What am I supposed to do with monsters here if I can’t even use magic?!”

Veritas chuckled as if enjoying Binaeril’s plight. The overlapping sounds of the Stitches’ screeches and Veritas’s laughter made him feel like he was losing his mind. Desperately, Binaeril turned and started running for his life.