Chapter 101
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 101
Chapter Title: Hedravan
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The Founding Emperor.
The historic figure who unified all of humanity and brought an end to the wars.
The reason the current imperial family could wield absolute power was entirely thanks to his achievements.
'Well, he was the source of Aiden's talents too, so yeah, a pretty important guy. So we're already getting tangled up with him this early?'
The power of the Founding Emperor dwelling within Aiden.
Since Aiden had inherited that blood more purely than anyone else, the moment that power awakened...
'Not great.'
Vast power came with a vast price. And most people couldn't bear it.
Jun hoped Aiden wouldn't have to walk that path, if at all possible.
'To fix this...'
He'd need to strengthen his mental barrier further, somehow.
'Both him and me. We're seriously lacking in mental fortitude skills.'
In the end, this was something that would take time.
'Once this season ends, I'll tell Cloi right away to get some Growth Pills or skillbooks.'
It'd cost a pretty penny, but there was no choice.
He couldn't just abandon Aiden.
About a fortnight passed like that.
In the distance, enormous walls came into view.
The fallen city of alchemists, Hedravan.
They'd known from afar already, but Hedravan's landscape was far from pristine.
"This place doesn't have ghosts or something, does it?"
"I don't want to see any more undead now..."
"Same here..."
Maybe because of all the ordeals they'd faced in the Black Forest, Aiden and Maya looked unwell.
"Hm. Still, these walls were built pretty sturdy."
The walls, overgrown with plants after centuries of neglect.
And the cityscape visible beyond the crumbled gates.
It looked like it'd been abandoned for hundreds of years, yet surprisingly, every building was merely weathered—its basic form remarkably intact.
"But seriously, do we really need to risk checking the city first?"
"Layers 4 and 5 have been known to the world for centuries now. But this field's never been discovered."
Which also meant it couldn't be accessed through normal means.
"Meaning it's probably not tied to the layers—more likely a field accessed through some special method."
Such fields did exist, so Eleanor nodded.
"So we need to find a way out from here... and it's probably inside the city?"
"Exactly."
Eleanor realized anew just how composed this mage was.
Even after suddenly dropping into Layer 5, he'd made the most rational, optimal decisions.
"For now... let's focus on the big buildings."
"There are a ton of big ones, though?"
As Eleanor said, the city's buildings ranged from five stories low to ten high.
Compared to the surface, every single one qualified as a "big building."
'These buildings are taller than you'd expect for this world.'
"Prioritize anything five stories or taller. Shorter ones were probably for lower-layer folk."
In this world, where tall buildings symbolized wealth, it was a fairly sound theory.
But before long,
Jun had to admit it.
Layer 5.
It was still far too early for their party.
"Damn it, they're swarming!"
"We're blocked on all sides!"
"Get out of the way—I'll break through!"
Mutants came rushing from every direction.
Cleverly, they'd let Jun and the party venture deep into the city, then sealed the retreat and began encircling them once they'd gone far enough.
The problem was that every single mutant was high-level.
Or more precisely, Jun and the party simply weren't skilled enough yet for a Layer 5 field.
'I underestimated this place!'
Jun drew mana from the mana fluid and unleashed his chanted spell.
Flame Rage
Crimson spiraling fireballs blast the path-blocking mutants.
The mutants scattered from the fireballs, clearing the retreat path.
But the rear wasn't so easy.
"Th-there's too many!"
"Nngh!"
Aiden and Maya poured everything into holding the rear, and Eleanor threw up a barrier, but by then the mutants were already inside the range.
And from afar, a mutant that was firing something emerged.
"These things are ridiculously strong!"
Boom! Boom!
Dozens of charging mutants hammered the barrier in unison.
Each one heavy and fast. Cracks soon spiderwebbed across the shield.
"Summon!"
Jun summoned the golem, handed it off to Aiden and Maya, and deployed Iron Rampart at the rear to forcibly block the enemies' advance.
Iron Rampart
Forcibly blocks enemy advance at the rear.
"Run!"
"Got it... Senpai!"
In that instant, Aiden swung his sword from beside Jun.
Clang!
Something far off had extended an arm toward them.
The one mutant with ranged attack capabilities.
"Damn."
"Which way?!"
"Back the way we came—retreat!"
"Understood!"
Fortunately, where the mutants had swarmed wasn't far from the crumbled gates.
Aiden burst forward, mana erupting from him.
Charge
Bursts through blocking mutants.
He plowed through the mutants in front, while Maya cleaned up the followers.
The golem scooped up Eleanor and ran, and Jun followed the party with Burning Step and Grease.
Burning Step & Grease
Accelerates pursuit while slipping up pursuers.
Roooaaar――!
Kyaaarrr―!
The mutants' cries gradually faded into the distance.
Though somehow, it felt like they were mocking the fleeing intruders.
"Hah... hah..."
"Th-those things... they don't come outside the walls?"
"Hoo."
Having barely escaped the city, the party stared at the now-silent city with grim expressions.
"Th-they're... insanely strong."
Aiden, drenched in mutant blood, let out a deep sigh.
"Well... I expected some danger, but not this level."
This was top-tier difficulty even for Layer 5.
Fields didn't usually have monsters clustered like this outside dungeons.
Perhaps that's why the party's faces were full of embarrassment.
Aiden went without saying, and Maya had hurt her shoulder protecting Eleanor.
Even Eleanor's face, as she healed Maya, wasn't bright.
"That city... can we scout it?"
"Probably not. Sigh."
Jun answered Eleanor's question honestly. Aiden then voiced his opinion.
"Um, are Layer 5 monsters normally that powerful?"
The overwhelming numbers were one thing, but each was strong enough not to ignore.
The orcs in the Orcutus warfields had been tough too, but...
Right now, they felt two or three times stronger.
"Well... actually, this is normal strategy."
"Huh?"
"We've just had it too easy so far."
It was due to unexpected events, but they hadn't struggled much against regular monsters before.
The only time they'd needed this level of tension was early in the Black Forest.
"As I mentioned before, from Layer 4 on, clearing takes way more time. Bigger fields, sure, but also because of stuff like this."
Monster strength, numbers. And field traits constantly disrupting progress.
"Plus, we've mostly operated in fields above our level from the start."
Aiden had struggled in the Black Forest due to poor swordsmanship, but as it improved rapidly, he rarely had trouble with field monsters.
Maya, having survived Layer 5 from her tribe, didn't struggle much in lower layers.
And Eleanor...
'Not suited for offense, but her divine power holds up even in Layer 5.'
But as a priestess class—pure support—her combat prowess had clear limits.
Finally, mage Jun.
'My growth is way faster than normal mages, and different overall.'
Still, he couldn't use his power if the front collapsed.
"So what do we do?"
"Straight-up grind. Lure monsters and clear the outskirts slowly."
"Ah..."
It was pretty despairing info.
They had about a month left.
If they didn't escape the field before the season ended and Blackout's gates fully closed...
No one knew what would happen.
One sure thing: those who vanished like that were never found again.
Basically death. In-game, staying in the field until season end triggered instant game over.
"Well... no need to despair that much."
"Why not?"
"Kinda embarrassing to say, but... I've got this."
"...Yeah, embarrassing."
Eleanor quipped from beside him.
"Ahem. Luckily, this field's monsters have next to no magic resistance."
Even his Flame Rage had terrified dozens into opening a path.
"The issue is having to butcher them one by one."
Jun opened his dimensional bracelet and pulled out mutant corpses.
"Maya, if you would."
"Got it."
Five mutant corpses he'd grabbed in the chaos.
She extracted the mana fluids, and the party absorbed the mana.
Meanwhile, Jun spread the map and began explaining.
"And I just realized... check this out."
The map from the cabin detailed the city's districts.
Jun pointed to the west gate they'd entered.
"This mark. See it?"
A pattern of a triangle within an inverted triangle.
"Yes."
"Didn't know what it meant at first, but... looks like a named monster marker."
"Named monster?"
"Yeah. Log says seven powerful beings block the central areas. Remember the far-off sniper mutant?"
"Yes. Bone projectiles from its arm."
Impressively, Aiden had tracked even that distant foe's moves.
The one ranged threat that menaced Jun.
"Probably 'De Rudna,' one of the seven families guarding Hedravan."
Pausing thoughtfully, Jun spoke cautiously.
"And this is a guess, but... maybe the mutants move on that named's orders."
"What do you mean?"
"In short: take out the named, and the rest should scatter."
Not in the log—this was purely Jun's hunch.
"Their movements were... oddly organized."
"Oh, I've heard of that—'Mind Channel,' right? Some field in another layer had monsters like that."
"Similar. Like the giant ant swarms in Layer 6."
A hierarchy issuing commands via mana flows instead of pheromones. Get caught by one with Mind Channel, and the whole group knows.
"I say we exploit that weakness."
"How?"
Jun shook a mana fluid and grinned.
"I've got a way."