Sharp Wind
A sharp wind. Those are the people who abandoned the woman being dragged away by those wolves.
"What's with all these people? Can they even make any money like that? Are they just doing this as a hobby or something?"
The party that included the bear beastman numbered a full eight members. Considering parties were usually formed with four or five people, it was enough to make anyone tilt their head in confusion.
"This dungeon is probably more about stacking up experience points than turning a profit. It's just a throwaway dungeon, so let's blast through it quick. That kind of vibe?"
"I guess... Still, a few of them look pretty strong."
"Yeah... Do they?"
Yeonhee glanced back and forth between the four figures in robes and the bear beastman party, then puffed out one cheek in uncertainty.
"That side looks way more dangerous to me..."
Yeonhee had judged that the four-person party's overall combat strength posed a greater threat than the bear beastman group. I felt the same, but numbers couldn't be ignored. There was a reason people said volume beats quality.
Another ten minutes or so passed, and as we reached the final stretch of the first round, we were busy picking our next opponents.
"Instead of a weak party, let's go for ones that look like a decent fight, yeah?"
"What about the bear beastman party then?"
"Their numbers are a bit much to deal with. Hmm... Or maybe just that party with the old guys we faced off against at the start?"
"Wouldn't that feel kind of nasty? It seems like we'd get dragged into their mess."
"Then how about the party that only had mages earlier?"
"They're too strong... Mages are hard to read, so... Wouldn't it be fine to sit one round out?"
"I'm okay with fighting mages. My summons are all in peak condition."
"The mirror... My mirror..."
"Ha... Sis..."
In the middle of our discussion, Ham Eun-yeong was still staring fixedly at the mirror that refused to activate.
"What is it, sis? How is that mirror any different from usual?"
"It is... different... My face looks so skeletal in it... Sob..."
"...That's..."
Jua couldn't bring herself to confirm that it was the truth, so she shot us a look that said we should just decide among ourselves.
She wasn't suited for situations like this to begin with.
Still, in any other party that behavior would have earned her a serious scolding, or even a few hits if things got bad. Chatting about mirrors in the middle of a dungeon? We only let it slide because we had the luxury to do so.
"Fine. Then we'll go bold and pick the mages?"
"Got it! This time it's my turn!"
"You should focus on catching your breath. I'll take this one."
I could handle it alone, but...
If I were being honest, part of me wanted to fight every hunter in this place at least once. But I'd already shown plenty of my strength, so it was better to show some restraint.
"Opportunities to fight mages don't come around often."
Just as Jua said, magic battles between mages were extremely rare. There weren't many mages to begin with, and those with realistic, cool-headed personalities usually avoided creating situations where they'd have to fight each other.
Though I heard they had plenty of heated arguments on the internet.
But the stage was already set, so watching a proper magic battle would be valuable experience.
Beep———
You humans have worked hard fighting. There were a few interesting battles, but I wonder if the great master was satisfied... I want to quickly skip over the ones as weak as bugs. Shall I help? Want me to? Anyway—
The mimic hopped into the air, floated there, looked down at everyone, and shouted.
If there are any idiots willing to throw away the chance to meet the Golden Mimic, Lady Tania, raise your hands right now!
The hunters, who had been expecting the next battle to begin immediately, suddenly felt their minds go blank. But they quickly gathered with their party members and started an urgent discussion.
"Whew... That's a relief."
Yeonhee let out a sigh of relief first. I wasn't sure which part had eased her mind, but since we weren't getting rewards for every single fight, I was glad we wouldn't be wasting our strength unnecessarily.
"The mages are having a pretty serious conversation. Think they'll forfeit?"
"If everyone except us gives up, we'll get to meet that Golden Mimic right away! My heart's pounding!"
Well... It's hard to say. If we get dragged into that subspace and actually have to face a mimic transformed into something like a Necrosquall, forfeiting now might be the smart move.
All sorts of complicated thoughts kept chaining together. The mimic, apparently unable to wait any longer, twisted its short legs like a pretzel and suddenly yelled.
Uwaa!! Hurry up and decide!! You slow-ass snails!!
It hadn't even been thirty seconds since it last spoke, yet it was already throwing a tantrum. What a completely self-centered, insane wooden box. The brown mimic called Tiny was a character whose behavior was utterly impossible to predict.
The hunters' anxiety grew with every shout that shook the battlefield, and their judgment blurred in direct proportion.
Beep———
Oho? Only eight parties remain after the vote—the rest have all given up! Puhuhup!! You idiots! Kek, I forgot to mention there's a penalty for forfeiting. My bad!!
"What the hell is that?! A penalty out of nowhere?!"
"This rotten wooden box!! Why are you telling us now?!"
The hunters who had finally decided to forfeit after long deliberation exploded with anger at the sudden penalty announcement.
But the mimic simply raised one arm slightly, as if asking what they expected it to do about it.
The sin of abandoning a once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet Lady Tania! I shall bestow a curse that halves experience point acquisition for one month! Kahahaha!!
"A month?! You crazy son of a bitch!!"
"This is tyranny! The joke's gone way too far!!"
"It's unfair! This doesn't make any sense?! System! What the hell is the system doing?!"
People were passionately protesting the injustice with their entire bodies. But after a single blink, they had all vanished without a trace. Only the eight parties that had chosen to fight remained.
Even the injured, the corpses, and the administrators had disappeared cleanly.
It's completely lost its mind... Even a high-ranking mage couldn't pull off multi-teleportation on this scale. Does that mean that thing is on the level of an archmage?
The monstrous box, which possessed power comparable to an S-grade hunter, suddenly looked very different. One wrong move and it could annihilate us instantly with those ridiculous round hands. It was an existence beyond common sense, casually handing out month-long curses.
Gulp—
The shared thought among the remaining hunters was that they were utterly screwed, but it was far too late to back out now.
The brown mimic Tiny pulled out yet another thick tongue from inside its box, licked its lips, and stared at the hunters who remained.
·······
......
Tap—!
At that exact moment, I and the boyish-looking man from the four members of Veil charged forward simultaneously.
Mage—
Mage—!
As if we'd chosen the same target, the boy in the black robe and I reached out at the same time toward one of the mages in the group.
Beep———
Baek A-rin and 3 others — Kim Sang-jun and 3 others. Please fight! Quickly!
"Shit! No way! I was clearly closer by a few meters?!"
Just as the boy in the black robe said, even though I had been several meters farther away, I had reached the target first.
He seemed pretty confident in his speed, but I'm not one to lose in that department.
The boy quickly shook off his shock and shot like lightning toward his next target in line.
Hehehe.
While I was shrugging my shoulders and savoring the small taste of victory, three spells carrying distinctly different energies flew toward me at the same time.
Shiiiik——!
First came the sharp wind energy. Though invisible to the eye, I could sense it clearly and dodged with the slightest tilt of my head. But the wind's range was wider than I'd anticipated, and the tip of a thorn on my shoulder was cleanly sliced off.
It cut my thorn?!
It was definitely an offensive mage. Of course, slicing off the tip of a single thorn didn't mean it could cut through the core of my bone armor in one strike, but the problem wasn't me.
Yeonhee and the others... That one is dangerous.
Wind-attribute mages were relatively rare even among elemental specialists. I'd heard it was difficult to develop the ability further because, unlike other elements, wind wasn't clearly visible. In short, the mage who used this spell possessed exceptional talent.
I had originally planned to only restrain the enemies who might interfere while Jua handled the magic battle, but I changed my mind.
I have to drive that bastard back!
I could already sense Jua and Yeonhee rapidly closing in. A mage powerful enough to cut down any member of our party—including me. This one had to be stopped at all costs.
But I couldn't act immediately because of the other mages' spells that had flown in at the same time.