4
Chapter 4
We set the night watch. I was the last shift.
The first shift was Baldic, then me, Cowin, and finally Drek. But Drek volunteered for the middle shift, so I naturally took the last one.
That night, I thought I'd have a hard time falling asleep because of the pain from my wound, but surprisingly, it took less than five minutes.
***
'Where am I?'
When I came to my senses, I was already here.
It was a space filled with complete darkness, almost like the vastness of space.
[You have reached a milestone. Please select a perk.]
A voice echoed, seemingly striking directly into my ears.
'Milestone? Perk?'
Whoosh-
Along with a divine sound effect, something appeared before my eyes.
────────────
[Maximum Mana Increase]
[Maximum Health Increase]
[Blue Magic : Condensation]
────────────
Three massive cards were floating in the air.
Each card had an illustration and a brief description written on it.
'Is this some kind of game?'
It felt awfully familiar.
Anyone could see this was no different from a reward selection screen in a game.
'So I wasn't just dropped here with nothing?'
I thought I had been thrown into this place without any special abilities, but to think I was receiving a perk now.
I was grateful for the belated benefit, but at the same time, it felt somewhat suspicious.
What caught my eye the most among them were the colors of the cards.
[Maximum Mana Increase] and [Maximum Health Increase] were a plain white, but [Blue Magic : Condensation] was imbued with a faint green light.
'Is this like a rarity system?'
From the perspective of someone who had played a few games, there was a high chance the color difference was related to rarity.
Common abilities were achromatic, while special abilities were colored.
First, I examined the first two cards.
The descriptions written below were concise.
[Slightly increases maximum mana.]
[Slightly increases maximum health.]
It meant exactly what it said. Though I didn't know how much the values would increase.
It probably meant I should increase my mana if I wanted to use more magic, or increase my health if I wanted to endure more.
It was likely a concept similar to investing for the future.
However, for me, who couldn't even use mana right now, [Maximum Mana Increase] was useless.
Even so, choosing [Maximum Health Increase] as a Magician didn't really fit either.
Then there was only one remaining option.
"[Blue Magic : Condensation] huh...."
The short description written below the card caught my eye.
[Consumes mana to condense moisture.]
It was a simple sentence, but the meaning was clear.
Magic related to water.
I might not be able to use it properly right now, but at least if I was going to walk the path of a Magician, this would be better.
My deliberation didn't last long.
I reached out toward the [Blue Magic : Condensation] card.
Then, the card scattered into a cluster of light and seeped into my fingertips.
After that, the remaining cards also vanished without a trace.
Was everything over now? My body grew heavier.
My eyelids slowly sank down, and my consciousness faded.
As my consciousness sank, a single thought crossed my mind.
Please, I hope this isn't a dream.
If it is a dream—
I hope this entire ordeal is just a dream....
***
As I opened my eyes, I saw a cunning face.
It was Cowin.
"Has it been that long already."
"Yes. The, uh, Torch burned out."
I let out a short sigh, folded my Blanket, and got up from my spot.
Surprisingly, my body felt much lighter.
The wound that had been throbbing until just yesterday now barely hurt at all.
Just in case, I lifted my shirt slightly to check.
There—
A scab had already formed.
'Already?'
It was too fast.
It wasn't just a simple scratch; it was a proper wound.
Did Baldic treat it that well, or was there something else to it?
I couldn't be sure of the situation yet.
'Well, recovering is a good thing. What does the reason matter.'
There was no rush right now, so I decided to accept it positively.
Anyway,
'That was a vivid dream.'
I remembered the dream far too clearly.
I had definitely chosen a perk in the dream. Could it be real?
If it was real, how was I supposed to use it?
Just in case, I shouted 'Condensation' in my head.
Then, along with a bizarre sensation of something draining from my hand.
Swish-
Water droplets gathered above my palm and gradually grew larger.
Right around the time the water droplets filled my palm.
Stagger
I stumbled at the sudden pain in my heart.
Experiencing such obvious abnormal symptoms, I immediately tried to stop the magic.
'But how do I stop it?'
I realized that even though I knew how to use it, I didn't know how to stop it.
With something draining away helplessly, the severe pain in my heart intensified.
"Keugh-"
After a struggle, I finally succeeded in stopping whatever was draining from my body.
Plop
Splash-
Along with a sense of exhaustion, a stream of water flowed down between my fingers.
Did I really use up all my mana already.
I had never seen another Magician, but it was obvious that this amount of mana was not normal.
'To think I would use up all my mana just to barely fill a cup of water.'
It seemed the contents written in the diary were true.
Riv had no talent.
The problem was that this just happened to be my body now.
"Did your mana return?"
"!!"
When did he wake up?
Before I knew it, Drek had come up behind me and spoke quietly, looking down at my wet hands.
"Why are you up already?"
"I heard a sound."
"Ah."
The sound was not that loud. Probably.
Has he been on guard this whole time?
We were a team right now, but ultimately, it was nothing more than a gathering of Criminals.
It was natural to normally be on guard.
It was stranger to be snoring and sleeping like Baldic over there.
...But, what did he mean?
"What do you mean, return?"
"Our lives are on the line right now. No matter how much of a Magician you are, this is not a situation to just hold back."
"...."
"But you are not using magic? Then it is one of two things."
"Your mana is sealed for some reason... or you do not know how to use magic to begin with."
For a moment, my heart sank, but I barely maintained my composure.
"Seeing what just happened, it seems it was the former."
"...."
Did he keep an eye on me during the battle with the Kobold.
He was definitely not an easy person to fool.
Drek looked at the small puddle on the ground.
"It is definitely blue."
"...How much do you know about blue?"
"Blue? Are you not the one who knows better."
Drek had a puzzled expression.
"I was just curious."
"Hmm. Right, you must have your reasons for coming here."
As if he understood, Drek nodded his head.
"To answer your question, about the fact that it handles water and cold?"
"It handles cold too?"
"Did you not know? Of course water comes first, but I know it split into two schools later."
Was the Blue Magic Tower not just one entity.
Since this was not the only thing I did not know, I decided to slowly become shameless.
"Do you happen to know where the Blue Magic Tower is located?"
"The Blue Magic Tower is definitely...."
Drek stroked his beard and pondered for a moment.
"I heard it is in the Lahazah Desert."
Desert?
It is the Blue Magic Tower, yet it is in a Desert.
Thinking it was strange, I asked back.
"That question is even stranger. Where do you think water is needed the most?"
"That would be... Ah."
Usually, when you think of a region lacking water, you naturally think of a Desert.
"In a way, you could see it as a development for survival."
Lahazah Desert... I should remember that.
"For someone from the Magic Tower, there are too many things you do not know."
"...."
"If you go outside, it would be better to hide it. There are many people who target wandering Magicians."
Wandering Magician? Is that different from a Magic Tower Magician.
"And you should change your way of speaking as well."
"What?"
"Speaking like that will only make you look weak. In a place like this, you have to speak more roughly."
Well, compared to the other people that is true, but do you not need something to back it up to act strong?
If I spoke with that kind of tone, it was obvious a fist would fly right at me.
***
I could tell that the flames of the Torch signaling wake up time had all gone out.
After waking up the group, I fell into deep thought for a moment.
In this place where it was dark all around, I could not tell if it was day or night.
What time was it outside right now?
Since I could not feel the flow of time, the anxiety and fatigue welling up in my heart seemed to grow stronger.
It seemed some of the group were already up, as quiet conversation could be heard from behind.
"Damn it, coming here was not a dream."
"You were sleeping fine, and now you are talking nonsense."
After having a simple breakfast, we started preparing to depart.
The breakfast menu was the bread inside the Backpack.
Seeing food for the first time in almost two days naturally made my mouth water.
The moment I picked up the bread, put it in my mouth, and tried to chew.
Crack.
I could not chew it. This was not bread, it was a rock.
Feeling baffled, I looked around and belatedly realized that everyone was dipping their bread in water to soften it before eating.
Perhaps due to hunger, the bread dipped in water was quite delicious in its own way.
After finishing our short meal, we passed through the Kobold room and advanced into the passage at the back.
While passing through the passage, we found a corpse in the middle.
The corpse was dead with an Arrow struck in its side.
"Is it a trap."
Not long after seeing the corpse, we all stopped walking at the halt signal of the Mercenary leading the way.
"There is a trap ahead."
"A trap?"
At Drek's words, I kept my eyes on the front, but there were no elements that looked like a trap.
"You have to look down."
"Down? Ah."
Looking closely down, I could see a thin thread draped at ankle height.
"Is it a mechanism where Arrows shoot from the wall if you touch it."
"How terribly vicious."
Drek disarmed the trap.
He looked accustomed to this sort of work.
I should speak up now.
"I will use the Detection Stone."
"What? Did you have a change of heart all of a sudden?"
"...."
It must be a strange situation.
But I couldn't just say that I had only now figured out how to use mana.
Based on my earlier experience, I moved the mana inside my body.
Twitch twitch
Since it was my first time, it didn't immediately follow my will,
but as I concentrated my mind for a moment, the mana slowly started to move.
When I guided the mana and poured it into the hole of the Detection Stone,
Whir-
a small light emerged on the round Detection Stone.
The light moved frantically before stopping and pointing in one direction.
'Is it like a compass.'
As a result of moving my body around to check,
it definitely seemed to be an item similar to a real compass.
"Hmm, does that mean we just need to go in that direction?"
"You just wasted energy for no reason."
Since the location was in the opposite direction from where we came, we had to go back the way we came.
On our way back, we found two monster rooms, but perhaps the people who came before us had dealt with them, as only rotting corpses remained.
What was harder than the monsters were the traps. We encountered traps three times alone.
We noticed and disarmed the first two beforehand, but the third trap sent chills down my spine.
Perhaps having stepped on a floor trigger, a spear suddenly came down from above, but thankfully due to Baldic's short stature, he was able to remain safe.
After walking for a long time, we finally reached the front of the place the Detection Stone guided us to.
"Is that it."
It was a door.
It was smaller than the one at the Dungeon entrance, but its shape was similar.
"It seems the 2nd floor is the end. Should we consider it luck"
"Once we finish this...."
Looking at their reactions, it seemed this floor was definitely the last one.
"There will be a Gravekeeper. Stay tense."
"Those Gravekeeper bastards cannot be compared to the likes of a Kobold."
Gravekeeper.
Hearing it, it seemed to be slang referring to the boss mob in the final room of the Dungeon.
With tense expressions, everyone stared intently at Drek's hand holding the doorknob.
He finally opened the door.
Creak-
The size of the revealed space was not much different from the Kobold room.
This room was also quite spacious, but in terms of scale, there was no particularly noticeable difference.
However, there was a noticeable difference, and that was the structures.
Unlike the Kobold room which had been completely empty, various stone structures were scattered here.
A few large stones arranged like an altar across the room had traces of being used to support or secure something.
A flashy chest was placed on top of the stone altar located in the very center.
The chest was clean without a speck of dust, like an ancient Relic.
"...Is that it."
"Why can't I see anyone?"
The air in this room was too still.
For a boss room, nothing could be seen except for the structures.
"Did the people who came before us catch it perhaps?"
"This can't be!"
Tension was still flowing, but everyone cautiously approached the chest.
Only that single chest was placed inside the room.
The chest was tightly locked.
Everyone's gaze naturally turned toward Cowin.
"Ah, do I have to do it?"
Cowin hesitated for a moment, but eventually approached passively and began to unlock the padlock.
His fingertips turned the lock, and finally, a clicking sound was heard.
The lock was finally opened.
With a slightly excited expression, Cowin undid the lock and opened the chest.
As the chest opened, inside it—
was filled with abnormally rotted red flesh and bizarrely sharp teeth.
"What is this-"
Crunch-
The chest suddenly sprang up and swallowed Cowin's head whole.
""Huh?""
Everyone stiffened for a moment at the shocking scene.
"-Damn it! Run!!"
"Uwaaah!"
Along with Drek's shout, we instinctively ran out into the passage.
Cowin's screams gradually faded away, and the bizarre cries of the Mimic coming from behind grew increasingly louder.
"What the hell is that!"
"It's a Parasitic Mimic."
Parasitic Mimic?
As if those words were true, the sound of a legless Mimic running could be heard from behind.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
I quickly glanced behind me.
Cowin was running toward us with the Mimic covering his head.
The thumping sound was the sound made as the Mimic's main body slammed against the ground.
Unable to bear the Mimic's weight, Cowin's upper body bent into an inverted V shape, and as a result, it was coming at us slamming against the ground.
The sight of Cowin running while staggering with bent joints was far too bizarre.
"Ugh-"
I shouldn't have looked. Corpses were still difficult to handle.
But there was a more important issue, which was that the Mimic was faster than expected.
"Damn it, if it's a Mimic, isn't it worth fighting?"
At Baldic's words, Drek made a pathetic expression.
"Gasp... A Parasitic Mimic gets stronger based on the number of people it parasitizes."
"Pant... Pant, what...?"
"The Dungeon has been open for at least ten days, so if it's still alive..."
At those words, Baldic poured strength into his legs as if he had completely lost the will to fight.
We ran so frantically that before we knew it, the stairs to the first floor were visible in the distance.
"We're almost there."
"Let's get to the first floor and come up with a plan—"
"What is that?"
Drek's words were cut off by something visible on the stairs.
Some entity was coming down the stairs.
As we got a bit closer, we could tell that the entity was a person.
It was a person wearing a red Robe with extravagant embroidery.
"What? There are still living things here?"
The person in the red Robe let out her first words. Hearing the voice, it was definitely a woman.
"A Magician...."
"Damn it, a Magician?"
Were there some special characteristics? Drek's voice was filled with certainty.
"I have to deal with this before the ban, so I don't have time."
"...."
She pondered while completely ignoring us.
After thinking for a moment, she muttered to herself, and then abruptly began creating spheres of fire above both her hands.
No matter how I looked at it, it didn't seem like she made them because she was cold.
"No. It's probably better to just kill everyone."
She spat out bloodthirsty words with an indifferent expression.
At those words, everyone raised their weapons with tense expressions.
"Damn it...."
The moment she made a hand gesture to launch her magic.
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
In the distance, we saw the Mimic running toward us as if it were going to shatter the passage.
"Damn it, run to the entrance!"
Along with Drek's shout, we started running without a moment to hesitate.
Seeing us approaching, there was no way she would just leave us be.
"How dare you!"
Whoosh-
Swoosh-
She threw the fireball in her left hand toward us as we ran.
The fireball flew straight at us, cutting through the air, and its intense heat brushed past our skin.
Slam! Sizzle-
A powerful explosion occurred, and sparks flew with a sound that seemed to tear even the air apart.
For a moment, everyone flinched at the scorching heat covering their entire bodies.
"Aargh!"
"Keugh!"
Luckily, we dodged a direct hit, but due to the narrow passage, we couldn't avoid the entire aftermath of the explosion and sprawled out in the passage.
Unable to control our bodies due to the strong heat and shock, we cowered for a moment.
Perhaps the Magician also needed the energy to deal with the Mimic coming from behind, as no follow-up attack came.
"Damn it, get up quickly!"
"If you sit there, you'll die!!"
Hearing Drek's voice, I came to my senses and pushed myself up.
However, the passage was still hot, and we had to escape through the flames.
"Ughhh."
Baldic, who came to his senses a moment later, got up.
Without hesitation, we started running toward the entrance on the Magician's side again.
Dodging through the flames, we desperately ran toward the stairs and finally arrived at the bottom of the steps.
The Magician was glaring at us from in front of the stairs.
She still held a fireball in her right hand, and tension filled the air as it felt like she could throw it at any moment.
But she left a short "Tsk" and just walked past us as if giving up on us.
We dragged our exhausted bodies up the stairs and barely reached the entrance.
The entrance was open, but there was still a barricade in front of it.
Slam! Slam!
Explosion sounds could be heard from below, as if a battle was in full swing.
I'm a Magician like those things?
We lay in front of the entrance to catch our breath.
"Pant... Pant... I thought I was going to die."
"Gasp... Gasp...!"
Mixed with the sounds of heavy breathing, a sense of urgency still lingered as if our hearts were racing.
After sprawling out and catching our breath for a long time, the only thought we had was worry.
"What do we do now."
"We have to leave."
"It won't look good for us if we leave just like this."
It was obvious that leaving without any results would be bad.
But we didn't have any other way.
All I could do was survive the situation in front of me as much as possible.
Tap, tap-
Footsteps?
Footsteps could be heard from beyond the stairs.
"Could she have already caught the Mimic?"
"Damn it, the Magician is a problem too."
It seemed they had fully climbed up, as the footsteps got closer.
And what came up between the stairs was...
the Mimic's head.
"What?"
The Mimic had fully climbed the stairs.
Its lower body had changed into the shape of a woman.
Ah, the Magician had lost.
Seeing the Mimic come up in that form, the situation was more serious than expected.
Not only was it proof of the Magician's defeat, but it was also evidence that the Mimic had grown to some extent.
As if it discovered us, the Mimic raised its head.
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
And it charged at us like a maniac.
"Open the door!"
"Uwaaaah!"
Our escape was not over.