Extraction Shooter: Escape from Sanctuary (1)
Raiders.
They were an adventurer party based out of the imperial capital.
All seven members held gold badges or higher, and they were a veteran team with five years under their belts in active duty.
Gold-badge adventurers were rated as equivalent to imperial guard field commanders in terms of combat power, so their skill matched their experience.
That was why Eaton held them in such high regard.
They had climbed steadily from iron to gold badges during the time he was still active himself.
“You’re here.”
“Instructor, it’s been a while.”
Raiders’ leader, Baroque, greeted Eaton Charleston, who stood at the library entrance.
“How’d the dungeon exploration go?”
“Great, thanks to you. We made enough to lounge around for a month.”
“Sounds like a solid haul. This is Eugene Paltrow, the mage working with me on the game.”
“Ah… that famous…?”
Baroque eyed the man standing beside the instructor.
Black hair, black eyes.
Disciple of Archmage Arkisiya, the one who’d turned the Magic Council upside down this year—not to mention the prophet of doom who supposedly foresaw the future.
If even a non-mage like Baroque had heard the rumors, he wasn’t some nobody.
Being one of only eight disciples of a grand mage already set him far apart from the ordinary.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Baroque, the leader.”
He tossed out a greeting, probing lightly.
Even a battle-hardened veteran like him found mages tough to deal with.
Especially ones like Eugene, who gave off that subtly unsettling vibe.
But contrary to his worries, Eugene was one of the more reasonable mages out there.
“It’s an honor to have Raiders here. I’ve seen your names on the adventurer guild boards a few times. Your skills speak for themselves.”
“…You’ve heard of us?”
“Of course. I’m in and out of the guild a lot. Last time, you cleared the third floor of the Labyrinth of Oblivion.”
“Oh.”
What business did a mage have at the guild? Still, knowing them that well earned a point in his book.
“Haha, pure luck. Thanks to Instructor Eaton, too. Oh, these are my party members.”
Baroque introduced his team.
Raiders consisted of three frontliners, three backline supports, and one guild priest—a balanced mix.
Gender split: five men, two women.
Melkia, who wielded a crossbow as her main weapon, and Miya, a cat beastkin hybrid dual-wielding short swords, were the ladies.
The rest: Bilm, the main tank with shield and sword; the hulking barbarian Ramonteo swinging a massive battle hammer.
Aldo Fabri, the guild’s 3-circle mage, and Edgar, the wandering guild priest.
With introductions done, Eugene led Baroque and the Raiders into the Cube Room.
Aldo, who’d heard the rumors as a mage himself, lit up and exclaimed,
“Whoa, they say no one under 3-circle can even get in here! Awesome!”
“Huh? What’s that about?”
“Magic Tower mages are total gatekeepers. Lines are killer, and guild mages like me get dirty looks just for showing up.”
“…???”
Eugene had never heard of this.
He’d been 2-circle himself not long ago.
Mage cliques are everywhere, huh.
Eugene made a mental note to expand the Cube Room or set up something new outside the library.
Escape from Sanctuary wasn’t a one-off training sim.
It was a proper sequel and DLC to Dead Wizard’s City.
As a live-service online game, it needed to be accessible to all sorts—not just Magic Tower elites.
Gamers stirring up drama in the sacred space? No thanks.
“Sorry we didn’t catch that sooner.”
“No, no! It’s fine! You’re super popular these days anyway.”
“After this test, come back post-closing, and I’ll keep the Cube Room open for you and the Raiders, Aldo.”
Eugene apologized to Aldo, easing the team’s tension.
He came off as affable and polite, just like Baroque’s first impression.
Eugene ran through the Cube Room guidelines with his usual finesse, then gathered everyone.
“We invited you because we heard you’re joining the expedition.”
“You mean the northern expedition?”
“Yes.”
Baroque was genuinely surprised.
They even had intel on expedition rosters?
Raiders ranked as near-platinum among gold-badge parties.
With the target being the Vulcanian Grand Duchy, the empire needed every skilled hand.
They’d gotten an offer from the palace, which Baroque had accepted.
With over a month until departure, they had time to recover from their last delve.
“Yeah, we’re in. Assigned to the left flank.”
Baroque said, gauging Eugene’s intent.
Contact via Eaton meant some off-the-books job for the expedition core, away from the guards?
Maybe retrieving artifacts from Vulcanian ruins.
Mages were poison to demons, but without adventurers, they’d just twiddle thumbs up north.
But Eugene’s request blew past his guesses.
“This is a live-combat training simulator for that expedition. It’s a game commissioned by His Majesty and officially approved by Commander Cassian Valerius and Duke Pavel Ishinkiore.”
“??”
Hold up—what?
His Majesty’s orders? A game??
It had made sense up to now, but the info dump hit like a truck.
Undeterred, Eugene pressed on.
“Before submitting to His Majesty, we’d like elite party Raiders to evaluate it.”
“Uh… Instructor? Mind translating what Lord Eugene just said? What’s a ‘game’? Like a board game?”
Truth was, adventurers like Baroque weren’t deep into ‘games.’
Most didn’t even know what they were.
Gaming Cubes required mana handling, and supply was scarce.
The library’s Cube Room was perpetually booked solid.
Post-closing, it’d swarm with mages from across the nation again.
So, non-mages who’d played Cube games? Rare as hen’s teeth.
Unless it was Golden Path, sweeping the continent.
VR full-dive Cube games weren’t mainstream for civilians yet.
Eaton stepped in to translate.
“Remember your first guild quest as a rookie?”
“…Scout the imperial sewers empty-handed for monsters, then escape the other side?”
“Exactly like that. Enter the game, kill monsters, escape.”
The blunt explanation had Raiders exchanging glances.
“Just a standard dungeon escape quest?”
“Training for the expedition, right? No reason to say no.”
“But Lord Eugene, the pay…?”
“Of course. Thirty silver for successful escape. Fifteen if you die or timeout.”
“Sweet deal. Escaping? Piece of cake for us!”
—No further questions, instant buy-in.
In that world, you didn’t die permanently, and wounds healed fast.
It teemed with enemies like those on a real expedition, and players could use familiar gear unlimited.
Hunger and thirst hit quicker than normal. Stamina management was key.
Over one hour in, potent demonic energy erupted—game over.
Grab valuables inside for extra pay (real cash).
Escape by any means.
“…More complex than I thought.”
“But better pay, boss. We’re in!”
“Fair enough.”
With final warnings checked, the seven adventurers entered their Cubes.
Synchronization rate 50%. Basic setup complete. Server load 285, stability 96.7%.
Integrity check passed.
Launching Escape from Sanctuary.
Region: Commercial District. Difficulty: A.
Link start.
A clear voice echoed from all sides, and Baroque’s vision went black.
The pitch darkness lifted swiftly. When Baroque opened his eyes again,
“Where…?”
He was in a city street littered with the wreckage of shattered buildings.
Adjoins Sanctuary and the old citadel. High-value goods and preserved foods remain in the various shops.
Rumors persist of Scavenger command deserters lurking in the central Kravil Hotel since the Fall.
Gold-badge party Raiders.
Their first raid had begun.