Chapter 85
Chapter 85
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 85
Chapter Title: Witch's Garden (3)
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"Flexis's Pendant?"
"Yes. It's a pendant I shared with a former comrade."
"If it's reacting, that means... that comrade is here in this place too."
"That's right."
Reggin nodded at the archer's words.
"So you came here originally to find that comrade?"
"That's one of the goals. Find my comrade... and if I can, the Saint's Sword as well."
"Your comrade would be thrilled to hear that. To think someone came all the way to a place like this to find them."
The archer continued, pointing at the pendant.
"Isn't it better to tell them you're on your way to rescue them right now?"
"Pardon?"
"From the sound just now... it seemed like they were in a dire situation."
"Hmm. I'll try saying something, just in case."
Reggin grabbed the pendant, wondering if it might work.
He told them reinforcements were coming, so hang in there.
But he couldn't be sure the words had gotten through.
'The signal is weak.'
Even hearing Manannan's voice in the first place had been a miracle.
With so many people around, this item's communication performance dropped.
The pendant only performed at peak efficiency when mana wasn't tangled up, but both sides were crowded with people.
'...And yet it came through, which means they're not far away.'
Reggin scanned the front while staying alert.
"It's not a great distance, but the path there won't be easy."
The witch's clone was probably 1 to 2 kilometers away.
If Manannan's party was struggling that much... it meant the witch was definitely nearby.
In the Witch's Garden, monsters near her received buffs.
Splash!!
At that moment, hands shot up from below.
"No time to let our guard down... Battle stations!"
The yellow mist had obscured his view, but there was a small graveyard nearby.
Skeletons burst out from it, charging at Reggin's group.
Clang!!
"...!!"
El Silva, at the front line, blocked a skeleton's sword and let out a groan.
"This is..."
Grrr—
"Isn't this a Skeleton Knight?!"
Reggin shook his head at El Silva's shout.
"Similar, but probably not."
It was on the same level as Phillek Primo, the skeleton general he'd fought first.
Likely the same skill in life.
"It's proof the witch is nearby. Skeletons and monsters around her get a boost in combat power."
"This is going to be tricky."
Pew!
The archer gritted his teeth and loosed an arrow at the skeleton general.
Reggin didn't hesitate either, firing an Ice Ball in support.
Clang!!
Splash!!
The fight was a bit different from the one against Phillek Primo.
For starters, the rushing minions around them were stronger.
Unlike the ones that shattered under a single hit from Greg or El Silva, these held on stubbornly and wouldn't fall.
"Ugh!!"
If mere skeleton soldiers were this reinforced, what about the skeleton general?
"Ice Ball!"
Reggin tore another scroll and unleashed magic.
He didn't want to waste time in a place like this.
'Even one more person would help.'
Manannan and his party members. They had to break through these before their desperate situation worsened.
"The legs!"
The Ice Ball's target, which had been aimed at skulls, shifted.
Reggin precisely targeted the legs and shouted. El Silva and Greg nodded in unison.
Crack!!
The skeleton general's legs froze solid from the Ice Ball. Then came the two men's attacks.
Soon, the leg bones splintered apart, and the general's balance began to crumble.
El Silva didn't miss the opening, swinging his sword in rapid succession.
Splash!!
The front line's tense balance completely collapsed.
El Silva's greatsword sliced cleanly through the general's neck bone. The skull thudded to the ground.
Reggin admired the crisp swordsmanship, and the archer chuckled as he spoke.
"Our leader is acknowledged for his swordsmanship too."
Even as he relentlessly loosed arrows, the archer kept a proud expression while looking at El Silva.
"You know what you said earlier, before finding the red portal. About distributing the Saint's Sword. That you'd yield if we objectively contributed more."
"Yes."
"I hope you stick to that."
His voice carried firm resolve.
As if their purpose in coming this far was crystal clear.
"We came all the way here for that one sword."
"..."
"We'll save your comrade too. And we'll make sure to take down the witch."
"If that's how it goes, I'll hand it over cleanly."
"Thanks."
The archer smirked and nocked another arrow.
Pew—!
An arrow embedded in the skull of the last remaining skeleton soldier nearby.
"Our leader needs that sword badly. A lot's going on inside Phenix."
He didn't elaborate further. But then Reggin understood why they'd been wandering the 6th and 7th floors.
'...Phenix was a guild rife with competition for leadership positions.'
Internal power struggles.
That was why Phenix had collapsed before reaching the final phase, Reggin recalled.
'For now, they're trustworthy.'
Their motivations were clear.
Just as Reggin poured everything into surviving in this world, they were seeking ways to survive in their guild.
"Let's find the witch first."
There were enemies to deal with for that goal.
With the conviction they could watch each other's backs until the witch was dead, Reggin and his group moved forward, following the mist.
* * *
"Green smoke. Should we follow the yellow smoke again this time?"
"Yes."
Their pace was slower than expected.
Even though all seven were beyond stage 2 level.
'Quantity over quality, huh.'
And honestly, excluding Seria, they lacked a solid dealer. That was the biggest issue.
With the skeletons' durability and health boosted, pushing forward quickly was tough.
'These trash mobs are usually one-shots... but not anymore, so of course we can't blitz through.'
As a result, the group started glancing toward the green smoke.
Wouldn't that be better than skeletons?
"In terms of time, skeletons are still faster."
"...Right. The green smoke has trolls, yeah?"
"Yes. They're already infamous for their toughness... Imagine how much worse with the witch's magic buffing them."
"Yeah, fair point."
The archer shook his head as if the thought gave him chills.
"You've fought trolls before?"
"Of course. You run into them a lot from the 11th floor up."
"So you usually hunt on higher floors."
"Yeah, but honestly, I prefer lower floors. High-floor monsters don't die easy to arrows."
Reggin nodded instinctively.
Spellcrafters had tough early builds too, and archers were the same.
'Hard to output high damage.'
For a high-damage build, you needed a bow, arrows, and skills all tuned for one-shot soul-crushers.
But that hurt farming efficiency... and lagged leveling.
'Go for rapid-fire setup instead? Then damage sucks.'
That's why players called it one of the trickiest classes.
Well, properly raised, their peak performance was unmatched.
'If DAT had no time limits, I might've researched archer more.'
Tough early game, but high ceiling.
It appealed to Reggin, but he'd chosen spellcrafter because of DAT's tempo.
The 6th Tower acted as a time attack, making spellcrafter more suitable.
Swish—
Reggin glanced at the archer.
'But an archer already built to this level is a different story.'
Where could he go in 1, no, 2 years?
Maybe not final-phase ready, but he'd make a solid party member.
Among archers findable at this timing, he had real skill.
Pew—!
"Legs first!"
Mana flow steady. Accuracy high.
Classic one-shot archer traits, yet he could rapid-fire too.
"...Reggin! Left side, please!"
"Yes."
Seemed to have good situational awareness too.
'Definitely solid combat sense.'
Reggin tore a scroll at the approaching skeleton soldier on the left.
In his head, he was coolly assessing the archer and other party members' skills.
Actually, he'd been doing it since their first hunt together.
'If we don't take down the witch... surviving and leaving will be tough.'
Having come this far, they had to kill it to escape.
Reggin continued the fight, coldly gauging the group's strength.
"What about this gravestone? Skip it like the others?"
"Hmm."
Finally, with the area cleared, the archer asked about the stone marker.
They'd been skipping low-value gravestones to keep speed.
Reggin peered into the pit and spoke in mild surprise.
"...Seria."
"Yeah?"
"Grab that book visible inside."
"Book?"
They'd followed the yellow smoke for speed, but there was another reason.
"It's a holy book."
"...Holy book?"
"Seems the skeleton mage we just took down... wasn't actually a mage."
He looked at one of the scattered bone fragments.
Seria had one-shot it, so he hadn't noticed.
"Probably a skeleton that was a priest in life."
Seria entered the pit and retrieved the holy book Reggin pointed to.
Swish—
Reggin's eyes lit up as he examined it closely.
"What's that? You know it?"
"Not in detail, but it's probably an ancient holy book."
"...Really? Feels kinda creepy."
"The name sounds off, but I hear the performance is solid."
It was one of the two items he wanted from here.
'The carpet would've been nice too, but no sign of it. A holy book is satisfying enough.'
As Reggin stowed it in his bag, the archer asked.
"How do you use it? You know how?"
"Of course. It's me we're talking about—I'd never not know how to use this."
Reggin mimed tearing something and continued.
"Tear a page, and it creates a protective zone around the area. Tearing to use is my specialty anyway."
"...Holy Shield?"
"Similar. But limited uses. Only as many as remaining pages."
"...Bad news."
"Not really."
It was an item used by the dead up to their last breath. Having many pages left would be weirder.
'Five pages. That's plenty.'
Reggin nodded, eyeing the remaining pages.
— ...Bern!!
It was then.
"...Manannan!!"
Reggin shouted reflexively at the voice from the pendant.
Clearer than before. As he listened in disbelief, another voice came through.
— ...Reggin?
* * *
Reggin's group sprinted forward, wrapped in the Path of Wind effect.
'Handy having an archer for this.'
Downside: his mana drained faster.
— ...Ugh!!
They weren't far from Manannan now, so it was time for a final speed burst.
At full skeleton speed, they couldn't even chase—the seven ran at max effort.
— ...Reggin...! I don't know how you got here, but...
More sounds started coming through the pendant.
Clashing combat noises, dodges, pained groans.
And amid it, Manannan's voice.
— If you're heading here, give it up!
"...We're almost there. Just hold on a bit."
— ...I said don't come.
Crunch.
He could hear Manannan grinding his teeth.
'The battle's not going well for them.'
If it were, Manannan wouldn't tell him to stay away.
If he'd gotten the Saint's Sword, he'd be bragging and calling him over.
"Pick up the pace!"
Greg, grasping the situation, accelerated from the front.
— ...Reggin.
"...I see it!"
— If you're heading here, give it up!
He spotted where yellow and green smoke mixed.
As Reggin's group charged toward the silhouettes there.
"...Huh?"
Reggin and the archer's eyes met.
"That voice just now..."
"Didn't it sound like a looped playback of that earlier line?"
Before the unease could build.
Greg, leading, plunged into the smoke and shouted at one silhouette.
"Reggin's friend! We've come to save you!"
"..."
"...Huh?"
Soon, all seven reached the silhouette.
A chill ran down their spines.
"...What the hell is that?"
A woman with long white hair hanging down.
Manannan's voice leaked from her mouth.
— I said don't come.
She smirked, looking at Reggin's group.