Chapter 100: Guild War — Dawn (1)
A round sun floated in the sky.
It wasn’t the real sun.
It was a fake created by Mysteries inside the ruins, yet the sunlight settling softly over the forest shone as bright and pleasant as the real thing.
Twitch!
The snake tattoo coiled around my prosthetic arm twisted violently in a spasm before slipping inside my clothes.
This place was extremely bad for the mental health of the Silent One.
“Lady Lurias, if you experience chest tightness or difficulty breathing, immediately stop observation and rest.”
I slowly looked around.
Though it reproduced a real blue sky almost perfectly, the ceiling still betrayed the fact that this was indoors. Beneath it stretched a fresh forest across the ground.
And at the center stood a long golden tower connecting sky and earth.
《B-Rank Labyrinth — Battlefield of Sun and Moon》
《A massive sacred relic vault built by the church of Lumerlan, the god of light and sun-moon unity, who existed before the divine figures Solmiran and Selvaran split apart.》
Lumerlan.
A divine being who had been the only child of Meterd, the god of nature and abundance.
Before splitting into the siblings Solmiran and Selvaran, Lumerlan had been the chief deity of the righteous gods.
This was the sacred ruin where the final relic left behind by Lumerlan slept.
Quiet.
No one was nearby.
That was because of the nature of Battlefield of Sun and Moon, where the positions of explorers were randomly determined upon entering.
『Nobles of the night, listen.』
At that moment, the one who became our superior only within this labyrinth began issuing commands.
It wasn’t inside my head. It sounded like a young, resonant voice echoing from every drop of blood in my body.
『The war against the repulsive ghouls is nearing its end. After today, the cursed spawn of moonlight will fall forever into the swamp of night!』
In actual history, they kept fighting endlessly afterward…
『Move at once. Go and claim the final grace left behind by Lumerlan!』
The Lord was not inside the ruins.
The ghoul leader wasn’t either.
Entering the ruins almost guaranteed death, so both sides had sent only their subordinates.
“Understood, my Lord.”
I answered loyally.
They couldn’t hear me over there, but immersion was important for things like this.
“I will secure the sacred relic without fail.”
Muttering resolutely, I pulled out a map from the subspace of my spirit band and spread it open.
A luxury exploration tool provided by the Ashen Wolf Guild.
It displayed the locations of explorers carrying the same map.
Only two on this side.
Two regions split like a yin-yang symbol.
Four wolf-head markers were on the opposite Moon Battlefield, while only another explorer and I were on the Sun Battlefield.
《Because of the artificial sun’s sunlight, your overall physical ability has decreased by approximately 30%!》
The Sun Battlefield was disadvantageous for vampires, while the Moon Battlefield was the opposite.
Not only other explorers but also ghouls were threats to watch for.
《Advice: The other guilds will form alliances and initially target only the Ashen Wolf Guild members instead of attacking each other. Be extremely cautious.》
“That does put us at the biggest disadvantage.”
The coalition of other guilds targeting the Ashen Wolf Guild.
The already exposed abilities of the guild members.
And the presence of the Schemer among the Six Apostles.
There were too many obstacles blocking the road to victory.
“That just makes the guild war more rewarding.”
Situations like this weren’t bad.
Wasn’t it worthwhile if victory became harder?
Let’s move first.
If I stayed still, I’d only become an easy target for explorers working together.
Cultists were already weak like rabbits. To avoid becoming prey, I had to move constantly.
Step, step.
My footsteps echoed quietly as I walked between the trees.
It happened while I was moving silently.
《Warning: Ghoul approaching from behind!》
Fwoosh!
I immediately turned and released flames at full power.
Bright red fire surged forward, burning nearby trees.
The Fifth-Tier Sa · Yeom · Hwa had a completely different aura.
“…How dare you!”
An undead creature burst through the wall of flames, surprisingly intact.
《Slaughterer Ghoul (Level 5)》
《An elite soldier acting under the ghoul commander’s orders. Moves at speeds far superior to Stalker Ghouls—exercise caution.》
Unlike the ugly stalker ghoul, this one looked fairly neat.
At a glance, it barely differed from a human.
“Die, vampire!”
The Slaughterer Ghoul ran along a tree trunk and suddenly slashed with its claws.
A monster with a terrifying Agility of 18.
An unavoidable attack.
Stab!
Then I’d just take the hit.
Its long claws pierced my heart.
“Khahaha, couldn’t even react!”
The ghoul laughed triumphantly and slashed my face with its other hand.
It stung quite a bit…
But honestly, it was disappointing.
Compared to the agony when the giant magic book monster had read me, this was trivial.
“…!”
Perhaps sensing something from my indifferent expression, the ghoul hurriedly tried to retreat.
Before it could get too far, I fired black lightning from my right hand.
Crackle!
Inside Battlefield of Sun and Moon, all growth-type Mysteries were fixed at Fifth Tier.
Lightning many times stronger than usual pierced the Slaughterer Ghoul’s chest and burned its entire body.
The power of Fifth-Tier Black Lightning Bloom.
The ghoul’s body turned completely black and collapsed.
Of course, its regeneration was strong enough that this alone wouldn’t kill it.
“…Is that all?”
“Of course not.”
I answered calmly and walked over, slashing its pale abdomen with Full-Moon Executioner.
“Gaaaaah!”
The ghoul screamed horribly as its stomach split open.
A ghoul’s weakness.
Stab its abdomen with a crescent-shaped blade, and it dies.
“O-one more…”
Twisting its body strangely, the ghoul grabbed my pant leg.
“No thanks.”
I rejected it firmly and pulled away.
If stabbed twice, the symbolic power of the moon weakened, moving it away from death.
“…Such a futile end.”
The ghoul muttered its last words bitterly before its body disappeared into the air, leaving behind a small bright gem.
《??? — Primordial Fragment》
《Collect six to open the tower leading to the depths of the ruins. One is obtained each time another explorer or ghoul is defeated.》
One so far.
The first stage of the guild war.
Quickly collect Primordial Fragments and head for the depths.
Once the tower door opened, it remained open for ten seconds, allowing all explorers of the same guild to ascend together.
Tap tap.
After picking up the fragment, I resumed walking when footsteps sounded from around a corner ahead.
I transformed my right hand into lightning and waited.
Soon a small dwarf ran around the corner.
“Kar!”
“So it’s you, Lord Yallen.”
“There you are!”
Hop hop.
Yallen hurried over with light steps before stopping.
“First, shall we go through an identity verification process? Your Soul Rank is low, so you’re an easy target.”
“…….”
“Don’t just stare. Could you prove it? If you stay silent, I can’t remain still either.”
Without speaking, I rolled up my sleeve and showed the blue paint around my wrist.
The schemer-class Mystery Bound Color.
It allowed the user to track the location of paint applied somewhere in real time.
“Ah, it really is you, Kar!”
Yallen visibly relaxed and walked closer.
“I’m relieved you’re nearby. Since you have the least exploration experience among the participants, I was worried you’d be eliminated quickly.”
“That’s correct.”
“…Huh?”
The dwarf who had been approaching confidently suddenly stopped.
“Um… could you lower the black lightning in your right hand…?”
Crackle!
“Ghh!”
Yallen convulsed violently from the electric shock and collapsed forward.
But as he fell, he transformed into a small human.
“A shaman Mystery, Chameleon Camouflage. I almost fell for it. Clever of you to demand identity verification while being fake yourself.”
“…When did you notice?”
“Your Western Continent dwarf speech style was a bit clumsy. It should have sounded more innocent and cheerful.”
“I didn’t know that!”
The body of the fallen shaman explorer suddenly vanished and reappeared right in front of me.
An invisible weapon thrust toward my chest.
Just as it was about to pierce me—
Stab.
A young-looking dwarf suddenly appeared and plunged a dagger into the shaman’s neck.
“…Ugh, it’s Yallen!”
“Unfortunately for you, you’re eliminated.”
With fluid movements Yallen stabbed another dagger into the shaman’s forehead and heart.
The explorer collapsed.
After receiving three stab wounds in an instant, the body disappeared into the air, leaving behind only a Primordial Fragment.
He had been expelled outside the labyrinth.
“Kar, are you alright?”
Yallen looked up at me with a worried expression.
“My heart nearly stopped thinking my prediction was right! I’m relieved you’re safe.”
《Translation: I thought you’d collapse before joining up because you’re weak. Still, it’s good I arrived in time to save you.》
That subtle sarcasm and ridicule.
The original really was different.
“I’m a little disappointed. I wanted to have my heart pierced cleanly.”
“…Let’s move quickly. We’re at a disadvantage since only the two of us are on the Sun Battlefield.”
As Yallen hurried forward, I quickly grabbed his shoulder to stop him.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m sorry, but I’ll move separately from you. I have something to do alone.”
The dwarf vice guild master looked me up and down before tilting his head.
“That’s fine. I planned a defensive strategy first anyway… but what exactly are you planning? If we put our heads together we could make a better strategy.”
“I’ll do it like this.”
I immediately used Transformation.
Except for the prosthetic left hand unaffected by Mysteries, the rest of my body changed instantly.
After transforming into the shaman explorer I had killed earlier, I cupped my cheeks with both hands.
“What do you think, Vice Guild Master?”
“…….”
Yallen stared at me for a long moment before shaking his head.
“That… is it the catastrophic Mystery Transformation?”
Okail’s reputation as a notorious troublemaker still lingered, so he recognized it immediately.
It was the first time this had happened since I became a cultist.
“I can still tell it’s an illusion-type Mystery changing your appearance.”
“That’s because you saw the transformation happen.”
The combination of Thunder Dududung and Transformation worked best when the opponent hadn’t seen the moment the appearance changed.
Even Arsène Lupin, the great master of disguise, wouldn’t perform perfect disguises while everyone watched.
“You’re a schemer, so you understand what I’m planning, right? Please wish me luck!”
“…Kar, you haven’t completely replaced your personality already, have you?”
“Kar? I’m the respected heir of the Ires family, the Level-6 shaman Beldora Ires.”
Holding my coat hem with both hands, I bowed slightly.
“My specialty is heavy strength training. My hobby is monster hunting. My favorite Mystery is Chameleon Camouflage. Thanks to my exploration achievements, I’m considered a strong candidate to become the next guild master of the Snow-Bear-Love Guild.”
I knew the profiles, usual speech patterns, and main combat styles of every explorer participating in this guild war.
After all, only explorers with some reputation were allowed to participate.
“That sounds like a dangerously unstable state…”
“It’s fine. Creating a second personality isn’t a bad opportunity. I’ve always wanted to try it!”
“…Well…”
After searching for words for a moment, Yallen finally smiled brightly.
“Kar, you really are a strange person!”