Chapter 301: Detector
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 301: Detector
“It can’t be helped. We shall depart first.”
“I’m so sorry. I know you must be busy…”
“Not at all. We have plenty of time, so do not worry.”
Sepira Eclair had searched for Yoo Eon at the Mounted Goat Inn but was unable to find him. In ten minutes, the Mayerbridge Union was scheduled to depart for the site of the Hollow Breeze.
“Here.”
“Hmm? What is it, little one?”
“Give this to Daddy.”
“D-Daddy..?”
Yura, who had come trotting down the inn’s hallway, handed Sepira something—a small cloth pouch tied with a string. Since she was a tiny child who looked to be about eight years old, Sepira crouched down to meet her eye level before accepting it.
“This is… a scent pouch.”
“I made it with Mommy.”
“Mommy…?”
Sepira turned her head back toward Sera. That young man I saw has a child? I mean, it’s possible, but… a child this big? And she said she made it with her mother? Seeing the way the girl clutched the hem of Sera’s skirt, Sepira’s eyes widened.
“Could it be…?”
“Ahaha… Y-Yes, I’m her mother~….”
No matter how she looked at her, the woman seemed barely twenty, yet she had an eight-year-old child.
It can’t be, right…?
* * *
—Yes, Clan Leader. In the end, we couldn’t find him. I will depart with the rear unit.
“So that’s how it is.”
“Perhaps he really doesn’t intend to come this time.”
The members of the Mayerbridge Union’s first transit group, having heard the news through a long-distance voice transmission artifact, let out sighs of regret. Raya Delbaheim and Soles Getia expressed their disappointment as well.
His reputation was now famous within the Mayerbridge Union. He was someone they had heard rumors about—that he had connections with the higher-ups—but whose true identity they hadn't fully grasped.
However, the Guild Headquarters had officially recognized him as Orichalcum Grade.
“If he joined a clan, he could go even deeper into the Labyrinth. If we try to recruit him one more time now…”
Following the chatter of Melis Superiora, who had much to say on the matter, the Mayerbridge Union finally left the Mounted Goat Inn with no further results and headed for the Elipin Plains, the site of the Hollow Breeze.
They moved to Melabaha, a small city with the nearest Teleportation Gateway, and then entered the restricted civilian zone via airship.
—Pshhhhh….
“Yo, White Night! You’re finally here!”
“It’s been a while, O’Connor.”
Lykes O’Connor and Soles Getia, both warriors of Northern blood, greeted each other warmly. Though O’Connor had a sturdy build, Soles Getia was of a size that fell within the range of a normal human.
“You seem to have gotten even bigger.”
“Gwahaha! I really shouldn't be getting any bigger, though!”
All the Orichalcum-grade explorers were gathered, excluding Adelaide, who was absent, and Yoo Eon, whose whereabouts were unknown. As was often the case, Hechituk of the South was trying to intimidate the Northern explorers even before the subjugation of the Hollow Breeze began.
“Looks like they’re finally starting.”
“They really are a law unto themselves.”
The mages of Hechituk gathered one by one and quickly began drafting informal teleportation coordinates. It was a technique Northern mages could perform if they had to, but in the North, the distances between cities were shorter and there was less barren terrain.
In the South, there weren't many giant cities besides Hechituk, and many tribes continued to live a nomadic lifestyle. Rather than designating a single location and installing a permanent gateway, it was more advantageous for them to generate teleportation coordinates on the fly.
It was a type of magic drafting that saw little use in the North.
—Wooooong….
This isn't good… Is he really not coming..?
Skaeda Justitia stood alone, fidgeting restlessly, feeling the worried gazes of her guild members stinging the back of her head.
Once they arrive, the barrier will be raised..!
Once all the explorers from Hechituk arrived, a powerful Grand Magic Barrier designed to prevent interference from both inside and out would be installed.
It was a barrier uniquely designed through the combined efforts of the North’s Page of Arcana and the South’s Sharmana Anuyai. It possessed immense physical strength as well; its durability was such that it would take Lykes O’Connor over ten minutes of full-power effort to break it.
If its resistance against purely physical attacks devoid of mana was that high, its original function as a Grand Magic Barrier designed to the limit to block the Necro Species went without saying.
—Pajijijik..!!
—Kururung!!
Atop the half-dozen magic formations installed by the mages of Sharmana Anuyai, giant portals began to open simultaneously. Powerful explorers from various clans emerged from each portal one after another, and the Southern mages began to receive them.
“It is an honor to welcome you, Lady Nefertiri.”
“Good work.”
A woman stepped lightly out of the portal, receiving grand salutes from the Sharmana Anuyai mages. She had the bronze skin characteristic of the South, contrasted by long, snow-white hair. She wore decorative necklaces reflecting Southern identity, bold attire, and a headpiece shaped like a beast with religious significance.
And she had the long ears that signified Elf-kin heritage.
“Anyone for rock-paper-scissors?”
“Let’s have Sir O’Connor go.”
“That sounds good.”
“Hey now… why me?”
“Because you’re the oldest.”
“Good grief….”
Lykes O’Connor let out a deep, dissatisfied sigh, but eventually stepped forward. It was a formal but necessary act performed for the sake of the two explorer factions, which were divided by an invisible line.
“Greetings! Hemeth! You get more beautiful by the day!”
“Lykes. You look older every time I see you.”
“Haha! Well, I am a pure-blooded human, after all!”
With O’Connor’s booming greeting, he extended a rugged arm for a handshake. Due to his rare metal gauntlet, one of his fingers was thicker than Hemeth Nefertiri’s forearm, but she accepted his handshake without hesitation.
“You’re down one person?”
“I hear she’s resting.”
“And the other one?”
“Hmm? Who are you talking about?”
O’Connor feigned ignorance, but of course, he knew. There was no way the news of a new Orichalcum-grade explorer being born hadn't reached the ears of one of Roanmarie’s three great clan leaders.
“He’s not coming? Is he a coward?”
“Haha! My word, I have no idea what you’re talking about!”
“I suppose it’s highly unlikely a proper warrior would emerge from the comfortable North anyway.”
Hemeth abruptly let go of the hand she had loosely held, turned around, and immediately returned to the Sharmana Anuyai tents with her comrades from her clan, ‘Karnak Obelisk.’ Soon, the total darkness of the Hollow Breeze would descend.
“Ugh. She’s as strange a woman as ever.”
“You should have said something back, Sir O’Connor.”
At Lucas Saldermo’s playful reproach, O’Connor chuckled hollowly and scratched the back of his hairless head.
“Well, whatever. We can overcome the Hollow Breeze even with just us, can’t we!”
“That’s impossible.”
—Thump!
“Haha! A man needs to have spirit!”
“Ow… that hurts. I’m not an Orichalcum Grade like you.”
In any case, nine 8-star explorers, who received treatment equal to the Southern Orichalcum Grades (excluding Ashuras Vidhyarti), had arrived at the Hollow Breeze site.
With a total of 648 elite explorers from all over the surface world gathered in one place, a tentative conclusion had been reached that the Hollow Breeze would occur at an uncertain time within the next 30 minutes.
:: We will now deploy the Grand Magic Barrier to conduct the Hollow Breeze Subjugation War. Explorers, please take your positions immediately. ::
Using the Hollow Breeze induction device as the center point, a multitude of explorers began to swarm inside the barricade, which formed a circle roughly 3 kilometers away.
In terms of area, it was a region slightly less than 30 square kilometers. Within this vast zone, which could fit roughly 4,000 soccer fields, they took up positions far enough apart so as not to hinder each other’s combat.
—When I go back this time, I’m quitting being an explorer. I’m going to propose to my childhood friend waiting for me back home.
—I’m jealous. I’m going to go home and go on a trip with my wife.
It was a devastating force with an average grade of Palladium. Including the mages from Page of Arcana and Sharmana Anuyai, there was an overwhelming grandeur to the combat force, which exceeded a thousand people in total.
Even if they were recruited as regular soldiers, it wasn't a small number. But every single one of these individuals was elite personnel.
The Southern personnel took the southeast direction, and the Northern personnel took the northwest. Four hundred mages began to pour expensive magic crystals into the circular barricade, forming the barrier magic.
—Crack, crackle….
A hemispherical barrier was formed, providing perfect defense that even cut off the airflow. To allow supplies to pass through or to move the wounded, there were passages approximately 4 meters high and 2 meters wide in each of the 24 divided sectors.
The Hollow Breeze induction device absorbed mana from the air and condensed it into one spot, creating an environment where portals could easily form.
—Wooooong..!
:: Mana measurement exceeds limit. Premonitory symptoms of the Hollow Breeze have occurred. Explorers, please complete your combat preparations immediately. ::
Everyone inside the dome-shaped barrier began to draw their respective armaments, creating a chorus of clanking sounds.
:: The Hollow Breeze has begun. We will assist the explorers to the best of our ability. ::
At that moment, while everyone watched the center with expressions of tension as it grew chaotic.
—Kururung….
In a circular zone another 5 kilometers away from the Grand Magic Barrier for the Hollow Breeze, an anomaly was discovered at an outpost in the restricted civilian zone, which was manned by volunteers of Platinum Grade or higher and Cobalt Grade or lower.
“Hey, hey, something’s showing up on the detector.”
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
An explorer, with a cigarette dangling from his mouth and blinking tired eyes, stared blankly at the detector left behind by Page of Arcana.
“Oh, wait, it really is.”
“Go check it out.”
“Ah, alright.”
Since he had been paired with a Cobalt Grade who was higher than his own Platinum Grade, he had no choice but to move.
Piece of shit. I’ve been an explorer longer than him.
Tucking the detector, which was about the size of an adult male’s torso, under his arm, the man trudged along until he discovered—
“Wh-What the fuck is that..!!?”
Though he didn't know it, it was a synthetic monster possessing the green mana of a Lich, created by Yoo Eon as a prototype specifically for use against necro-species.