Chapter 186

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Translator: Ace

Chapter: 186

Chapter Title: Stage 12 - Lv. 652 Mad Mage (3)

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As an Exile, there's a vast array of knowledge needed to survive, covering all sorts of things.

Among them ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠is how to identify the material of an opponent's gear.

When metal clashes against metal with enough force, sparks fly.

And those sparks take on different colors depending on the material.

The dragonkin maid's metallic scales sprayed sparks.

Of course, that doesn't help much in figuring out a dragonkin's attributes. You can tell their type just from the color of their scales anyway.

But that wasn't what mattered to Logan right now.

Fine, let's say the dragonkin collapsing in a heap had lost her life all too easily.

The crucial part was the color of the sparks that briefly flew when the dagger sliced into the dragonkin's scales just moments ago—they were black.

Adamantide. A metal that turns the spark reaction pitch-black like deep ink, even if it's just a tiny amount mixed into gear.

He flinched inwardly but didn't let it show.

Adamantide isn't some metal you get lucky and stumble upon.

Even if you did have it, in a situation like this, selling it off would be far more helpful.

Even rankers scour the land for rare earth elements.

If they have something like that...

Logan's mind raced.

He realized it only now, but the three newcomers hadn't shown much anxiety even as this crisis hit.

To think he hadn't noticed. Panic had clouded his judgment.

Something was up. But it didn't feel malicious. Logan was just an ordinary adventurer, after all.

Jenny still hadn't picked up on the weirdness of the situation. That made sense.

Her perpetual nonchalance was always her strength. Having thick nerves could be an asset for surviving as an Exile.

The ears of the clueless gray cat perked up.

"Whoa! First dragonkin I've seen. She went down easier than expected."

"It's a flame dragonkin. Strong against fire attacks, but not particularly tough against physical ones."

Orgel stated coolly. Jenny nodded with an oh, right kind of look.

Logan buried his growing suspicions and calmly unfastened the chains from the dragonkin maid's corpse.

"That's not the point. It's servant attire, right? Which means there's a master of the mansion somewhere."

The owner of a mansion crawling with high-level monsters like this couldn't possibly be weak.

He knew that fixed-event scenarios triggered randomly were called random encounters.

Logan and Jenny knew what they were, but they couldn't possibly remember every single one of the countless encounters out there.

All they could think was, oh shit, this is bad.

Even he had no idea what to do now.

For non-challengers, random encounters were just strokes of bad luck that struck occasionally.

Only fools went hunting for them, yelling about clearing the Labyrinth.

Or veteran rankers with insider info on potential gains.

Logan's gaze wavered. Without thinking, it drifted toward Orgel, the most proactive of the three who'd joined them.

Fortunately, Orgel spoke up.

"I've run into this encounter before. We can escape it, sure?"

Jenny's eyes widened.

"Whoa? You've got the worst luck. You've seen this before? Wait, no—since you survived, maybe you're lucky?"

Logan was grateful to hand over command. Jenny's laid-back attitude aside, he lacked the confidence to handle this himself.

I briefly wondered why they'd caught on.

These folks had survived this grind for a long time, so their instincts were sharp—they'd pick up on it eventually.

Why, though? Was it because Hiu's dagger work was too clean? I'd told her to go easy, but she one-shot it straight to the afterlife.

They still hadn't fully grasped her attack power.

Being an angel, her holy aura wasn't obvious since it hadn't been against undead.

For now, I bluffed my way through. Glad it worked.

Flame dragonkin do have weak physical scale defenses, but not just anyone could slice through like that.

Logan was cooperative, at least.

Something felt off, but in the midst of it, he saw the new party members as a lifeline.

The weary mossy dwarf nodded to me without complaint.

A flicker of confusion passed in his eyes, though.

Taking command simplifies things. His silent compliance meant he wouldn't blab anywhere.

Lips loose could mean death. He seemed the type to get that.

Jenny the leaf fairy dual-wielder was a wild card, but Logan would keep her in line.

"The mansion's layout is different from before, so it's randomized. Still, the boss was in the basement. Stairs too."

"No sudden death?"

"Took me three days that time—no signs of it, I think."

"Know the boss's weakness? Or can we pass without taking it down?"

Doubt finally crept into Jenny's eyes. Seemed unlikely they'd beaten and escaped it.

"We could just rush through. Getting tangled up could lead to something nasty."

"Lucky. Guess it's not some freak random encounter."

The more valuable the prize, the less it forces a fight. Lets you sneak by.

Could be seen as balance between risk and reward.

But we'd take it down anyway.

Easy pickings with Hiu sniping from the shadows. Angels are mages' worst nightmare.

"Basement, huh. We'll scout and move. I'll take point. Our firepower's plenty to pick 'em off one by one."

"Save some time to peel scales? These are valuable."

Dragonkin scales, close kin to dragons, are naturally precious. Jenny swiftly pocketed what she could.

No weapon, being a maid. Broom was plain material.

"Ugh, these claws are insane."

"No weapon doesn't make it weak. Stay sharp."

"Got it. Got it. We'll manage."

We cleanly peeled a few large scales and pressed on.

Sensing presences soon multiplied.

I opened the door to the adjacent room. Empty.

Party followed in.

"Down via the window. Little, check for traps below. You know biased mana detection, right?"

Common to trip alarms using mana detection spells.

Logan flinched, but the kid recited incantations and cast.

"No alarms, no people!"

"Good at wall-climbing?"

"Naturally."

Logan's chain scythe was top-tier. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠White steel—impressive for average adventurers.

Two grades below rune steel.

Hiu and I bat-shifted for descent; Jenny and Logan rappelled the chains.

Hiu just gripped the wall with raw strength and dropped.

Outside chimeras weren't built for sky-watching.

Hiu fiddled with the shut window. Iron bars for garden chimera defense.

Meaningless against overwhelming force.

She tinkered a bit, then ripped it out. Pure strength.

Jenny whispered.

"How'd you do that?"

"[Unlock] skill. Switched from assassin to warrior tree—handy."

Bald-faced lie.

Door swung open on entry. One male dragonkin, red scales.

Logan whipped his chain. Unlike the maid, it didn't go down easy. Arm shot out, grabbing the scythe.

Tank or not, it had offense.

Scales cracked.

Blood flowed from fissures, but it yanked the scythe undeterred.

Jenny and Hiu charged together.

Dragonkin arms insufficient. Hiu crushed the gut; Jenny severed the neck.

"Dagger! We sync great?"

"Not the time. Jenny, that was risky. Whew."

As they bantered, I quietly told the kid.

"Next time, widen the range a bit. Manipulate it to flow along the floor—you can cover ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠more without detection."

"Got it!"

Some techniques only click in real combat. Even if I knew, I'd forget to mention 'em.

"Basement spot's probably randomized too. From memory, still near the center."

"Makes sense. Can't let it be free real estate—gotta stick it in the heart of enemy turf."

Labyrinth randomness spikes difficulty ceilings but floors 'em. Keeps it brutal.

Presences outside. Everyone sensed it.

Hiu and Jenny eyes met briefly.

No time for nods—they bolted out.

Hiu's ghostly glide; Jenny's nimble warrior lightness.

Crunch. Another dragonkin down.

"Numbers aren't huge."

"Silver lining."

No shooting. Red-scale flame dragonkin heat-sensitive.

Plasma rifle tracers would glow through walls.

Maybe this is doable? I thought briefly.

But as time passed, even Jenny sensed the oddity.

Pattern so far: Isolated island mansion swarming monsters.

Clearly not expecting intruders.

Servants strolling in one or two at a time proved it.

The fourth, higher-status dragonkin, appeared calling a name in anger—backstabbed.

Looked strong; Dagger one-tapped via ambush.

Jenny started feeling confused.

What? Assassins OP? Should I have gone that route?

Fifth: Group sensing trouble. Four armed ones.

Cleared in one breath.

Orgel struck from blind spot, throat-stabbing the lead.

Meanwhile, Dagger and Jenny flanked, each claiming one.

Last rear one gagged and bound by Little's magic.

Slid down dead.

Logan rushed, bound it, stabbed face weak spots with backup dagger—not scythe.

Didn't pierce easy—that was its misfortune.

Warrior superhuman strength hammered gruesome sounds repeatedly.

Agility warrior needs wide view; she caught it all.

No time to dwell after.

Jenny's foe wielded shortsword masterfully in tight hall.

Her hits landed but scales blunted lethality.

Clash of blades; she yielded in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠power, flung back.

Mana deflection has limits.

Few steps back: wall.

This dragonkin stronger than expected. Quality weapon, superior physique. Tough monster.

Back to wall, evasion cramped.

Tried ceiling leap. Triangle kick for integrated dodge—must-have for agility in indoors.

Dragonkin blocked. Downward slash anticipated perfectly, sealing escape.

Crossed twinswords blocked, but couldn't fully dispel force.

Balance shook.

Fatal opening. Dragonkin gaped to spew fire.

Attack never came.

Blade suddenly protruded from its occiput.

"You okay?"

Dagger grinned delightedly, withdrawing knife. Oddly, no blood spray.

Dragonkin flopped dead.

Blood soaked carpet.

Behind: four clean corpses.

Had to notice now. These weren't weak.

Twisted nearby door open, hid bodies.

Little magically evaporated carpet stains.

No trace but faint blood scent.

"These were pretty strong dragonkin. If we're doping, prep now."

Logan nodded silently, uncorking potion.

Jenny realized she'd faced consecutive tough foes without once opening a potion.

"Hey, Logan Uncle, this feels off, right?"

"Shh. We're bussing. Quiet."

"But those guys..."

"Dagger's weapon? Adamantide."

"......"

Jenny's eyes spun. Instinct drew gaze to dagger, then away.

Then to the three's plasma rifles—never fired.

Enviable guns, unused.

She groaned, miming zipping lips for Logan's sake.

Better not butt in.

Die here, no one knows. No need to stir shit.

"Dragonblood doping? First time!"

"Not full dragon, but scales well. All stats up around 500 each."

"Ooh, huge? Total 500?"

"Nah, per stat."

"Ooh. Wow. Insane."

Jenny forced cheer.

Real dragon blood doping? How'd they know? Never seen it.

Beast experts or not, dragons beasts?

Scarier than dragonkin or boss: mystery party members.

No point hiding now one noticed.

Cold weapons favored—dragonkin heat sense excuse. Easier anyway.

Superior to standard rifles.

Hiu blatantly powered dagger thrusts; dragonkin scales crumpled like styrofoam.

I went technical.

Target gaps between scales.

Weak spots: neck, temples.

Precise angle penetrates sans brute force.

Instant kill.

Kid eagerly multi-cast in combat.

No attacks; triple binds/debuffs ravaged foes.

Just us three: solid balance.

Ideal adds: better versions of Logan/Jenny roles.

Skill gap issue; positions preview nicely.

One true assassin besides frontline Hiu? Perfect.

Hall dragged on; finally, open space. Mansion hall with 2nd-floor path.

Stealthy body-hiding slowed advance.

Dragonkin realized assault; gathered in hall.

Gazes hostile.

Butler-ish monocle dragonkin sparked flames at fingertips.

Two more casters; total three.

Swordsmen: about ten.

Projectile wielders: five more.

No talk—bullets and spells flew. Mansion damage be damned.

I glanced at panicked Logan/Jenny.

Summmoned red wolves.

Unintended experiment; satisfied. Time to end quick.

They wouldn't even recognize 'em.

Wolves swarmed dragonkin. Not unique active—just [Blood Lord] summons.

None resisted.

Spells, swords, shots: useless vs blood wolves.

One-sided slaughter.

Hiu dashed across hall amid chaos.

Sturdy basement door shattered; she vanished below. Angel ring faintly visible.

Hall cleared; descended slowly. Chilled boss corpse; Hiu looting.

Gold/jewels too. Scooped into box, offered Logan.

"Loot fair. Want it?"

"Uh. Mm. Y-yeah. S-so, easier than thought."

Sudden turns wrecked his poker face.

Jenny near tears.

Opened box, checked contents: crying-laughing. Financial therapy best.

Kid ignored all.

Gravitated to boss mage research docs.

"Oi, hands off. Chimera stuff—better not know."

Kid pouted disappointedly.