Chapter 18
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Evidence
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"No way, I never thought someone would beat us here. It didn't even cross my mind!"
The voice belonged to Luke Markner, the cheerful adventurer.
He approached Jun with his usual friendly smile.
"Huh? That's weird, though. Isn't the mage always hanging around with that handsome guy? What was his name... Aiden, right?"
"Doesn't seem like you're asking because you don't know."
Jun pointed at the curtain of darkness behind him, and Luke shrugged.
"I was really just curious... So how'd you find out about this place?"
"Who knows..."
"Sigh. I just don't get why all mages have to be so mysterious. Ahaha."
Jun turned the question around at Luke's casual grumble.
"Why didn't my detection spell pick you up?"
"Ah... So that's why you were on guard?"
The moment Luke casually reached for his waist, as if it were no big deal.
Shield
Clang!
Crimson flames splashed against the blue barrier that appeared in an instant.
What fell to the ground beneath the shield with a thud was a single bolt.
"Haa, Luke. Your problem is that you're too naive and dumb."
"Hey, don't blame me for the mage being so sharp!"
The one who appeared behind the indignant Luke was his twin sister, Lucy.
"Did you already forget you just said 'us' yourself?"
"Oh? Did I? Ahaha... Yeah, you're right."
Luke scratched his head sheepishly, admitting his slip-up amid the scolding.
"Still... I'm really curious. How did you get here?"
"Answer my question first, and maybe I won't have a reason to keep it secret."
"You mean the detection spell?"
Of course, since Jun only operated with Aiden, he was wary of the other team members too.
You never knew when betrayal might strike if a major treasure was found.
That's why he'd been using detection spells without gaps, or so he thought.
"Any seasoned adventurer carries something like this, don't they?"
In Lucy's hand was a ring emitting a purple glow.
It was something he'd never seen before, likely an artifact she'd kept hidden until now.
And Jun knew exactly what it was.
"Tch. [Hermit's Ring], huh."
An artifact useful for assassination classes, it suppressed presence and nullified detection spells beyond a certain range, just as its name implied.
'Gotta learn higher-level detection spells ASAP.'
He couldn't afford bulk magic books yet, so Jun filed away the regret in his mind.
"Then can we hear your side now? How you found this place."
"If I had to say... Knowledge isn't exclusive to you adventurers. Like that ancient tome from the Beast Temple that your 'Azure Cloud' crew nabbed, for example."
"...?!"
As the two adventurers reeled in shock, Jun unleashed the mana he'd quietly gathered.
Detecting Target
Wind Cutter
They'd fired the first bolt. It hadn't aimed for a vital spot, but the intent to attack had come from the twins.
At this point, dialogue was pointless.
Jun's spells erupted in response, but Luke reacted swiftly.
He raised a shield large enough to cover his small frame, blocking Jun's magic.
'The fact he's already holding that shield means he came prepared to face a mage like me.'
Luke usually fought with dual swords in a nimble style.
But could he wield a shield effectively too?
Luke's shield perfectly blocked Jun's spell.
Kaboom!!
The raging gale battered the shield mercilessly.
He was pushed back a bit, but Luke didn't allow a single hit through.
However.
"Lucy. Is this the power of a junior mage?"
"...No way."
The shield was utterly shredded.
That level of power wasn't impossible if he overchanneled mana at the risk of burnout.
But to cast and fire it that fast at this intensity?
If junior mages could do that, they wouldn't be so underestimated.
'Phew. That was close.'
But it was a misunderstanding on their part.
Jun had been secretly channeling mana the moment he heard Luke's voice.
A trick he'd picked up while desperately surviving against his old master who targeted his heart.
"Anyway, this shield's toast."
Luke tossed the wrecked shield aside without regret and drew his twin swords.
Blue aura flared along the blades.
'Level 3 user, as expected.'
Azure Cloud's base was in a level 3 field, so it made sense.
From level 3, the talented sometimes awakened aura.
'No escaping now.'
They were blocking the exit anyway, and that aura could shred the barrier behind him.
"Ahaha, no need to be so scared. We won't kill you."
Luke prepared to charge with his aura blades, while Lucy nocked her crossbow.
Jun raised [Shield], but his [Bright Eyes] skill caught something.
He immediately chanted another spell.
Elemental Armory (Conferment)
Wind Attribute
Wind swirled around Jun's feet, propelling him swiftly aside.
A wise choice. The previous [Shield] shattered without resistance this time.
The bolt embedded where Jun had stood gleamed with brown liquid at its tip.
"Basilisk blood too? You're well-prepared."
Basilisk blood resisted magic, explaining why the shield fell so easily.
"...You're a sharp mage."
Jun had noticed because of the unfamiliar fletching.
She usually used blue-fletched bolts; this was red.
Whoosh!
As Jun incinerated the bolt beyond salvage, Luke moved.
"But magic's useless against my aura!"
True enough.
In tight quarters, an aura swordsman was deadly to mages.
Jun countered Luke's advance with Wind Cutter, but the warrior's advantage shone.
Shiiiing—
The wind blades were sliced apart by the aura sword.
That was why mages struggled against aura users.
Spells were nullified by aura.
'If I knew higher magic, maybe.'
For now, no counter to that aura.
And Luke was better than expected.
His launch suggested body strengthening with mana.
'Most new aura users struggle just to maintain it.'
Yet Luke handled it casually, splitting mana for enhancement and cutting.
As the gap closed, Jun chanted while stepping back.
Rock Hold
Rumble—
The earth-binding spell he'd used on the Outer Wolf before.
No time for full imagery, so weaker, but it halted Luke briefly.
"Ack! Lucy, help!"
It only lasted a moment, but Jun's next spell was incoming.
He'd cleaved one wind blade, but Luke's face darkened.
Fresh aura awakening meant 20-30 seconds max for enhancement and cutting.
Luke needed Lucy's ranged fire to distract, but she wasn't helping.
"This won't work here! He's a crafty mage!"
As Lucy said, Jun exploited the terrain.
The narrow straight path, exit blocked by the twins, seemed to favor them.
But Jun positioned to align them, blocking Lucy's shots.
If Luke hugged the wall, he'd be exposed.
"I'll join in!"
Unable to help at range, Lucy stowed her crossbow and drew a short sword.
No aura for her, but.
Gentle Breeze
Her skill from a skillbook swept her behind Luke in a gust.
Even Jun couldn't survive both up close.
Plus, protect Aiden's barrier.
"Hoo."
Resigned, Jun pulled a small flask from his pouch and tossed it into their path.
Crash!
A lethal poison potion, secretly brewed during solo scouting.
Made to vaporize on air contact.
And sure enough.
Purple mist billowed from the shattered vial, filling the passage.
"Poison!"
"Ugh! Cheap shot!"
They hadn't expected this, but as pros, they hurriedly pulled out brown orbs.
'Figured they'd have poison wards.'
Artifacts granting poison resistance when mouthed.
Expensive, even the lowest grade beyond level 1 dreams.
But level 3 adventurers carried plenty.
Jun's plan didn't change.
He'd anticipated it; what he wanted was time.
He chanted a spell.
Infusing it with imagery.
What landscape formed in his mind.
"Lucy! Magic incoming!"
"Run instead of talking!"
They charged through the mist.
Unlike aura-bearing Luke, Lucy couldn't counter spells.
So Luke doused his aura and burst mana at his feet.
Lucy leaped forward with repeated Gentle Breeze.
The moment they burst through and reached Jun.
Jun smirked.
"Too late."
Dig
Their swords swung for Jun's head and chest, but sudden weightlessness hit them.
"...?!"
"Ah!"
The ground had vanished.
A deep pit, bottomless to the eye, yawned beneath them.
They plummeted helplessly.
Then another spell sealed the hole.
Rock Hold
As the pit filled, only their heads protruded above ground, unconscious.
It had been quite the strain.
Dungeon delving all day, fighting monsters, solo scouting with detection spells nonstop.
Then facing twin level 3 adventurers.
'Lucky their gear was crap for their level.'
Their equipment was level 2 at best, not matching their skill.
Hiding Azure Cloud ties saved Jun's life.
Otherwise, no easy win.
"So... those two are Azure Cloud adventurers, and this dungeon mess is their doing?"
"Yeah."
"And you took down two level 3s solo. As a junior mage."
"Yep."
"Heh, damn..."
Dozens of minutes later.
Colton, tracking the changed dungeon and missing twins, looked baffled.
It was understandable.
Junior mages were fragile even against level 1 warriors.
Jun's fast casting helped, but beating level 3 aura users? Unrealistic.
"You some mid-tier mage, mister?"
"Close to it."
Even without [Demon God Body], Jun's magic was mid-level.
'Can't get 4-circle books for mid-mages yet, no formal exam either.'
Problems for later.
"So... what do you know, mage?"
"Everything from this raid's issues to what's ahead."
"Ugh."
Colton's face crumpled.
"This got messy. When's that guy coming out?"
Colton nodded at the black barrier beyond Jun.
Jun broke into a cold sweat.
"Maybe a day...?"
He didn't know exactly.
"Definitely before a full day, though."
In-game time, less than a day.
"Got it. Spill what you know, mage. And what about these punks?"
They caused this mess.
Colton figured killing unpredictable adventurers was best.
But Jun spotted it first, so his say.
"Keep 'em alive for now. Whatever they did, we need the raid team's strength to survive."
"Tch... Fine. Damn fools stirring shit..."
"Probably to get their noble patron's attention."
Not from them directly, but Jun knew Azure Cloud's situation.
'Forgot since it's old. Azure Cloud was in the game lore.'
Years before start, required digging lore.
Jun skipped story, so late recall.
"Azure Cloud looks solid with noble backing, but it's not."
Failed expeditions, stagnant members.
Noble interest fading naturally.
What to regain favor?
This raid: clearing Black Forest's hidden stage untouched for centuries.
Perfect brag.
'From in-game history book, so not 100% sure.'
But Azure Cloud was the culprit.
"So you bet our lives on it?"
"Pretty much."
Neither cared about their drama.
Just pissed at the danger.
"Hoo... This complicates things. Even if we know, no proof. That's the issue."
Colton knew why Jun stayed quiet.
How to explain to others without seeming rebellious.
"Don't worry about that. I have evidence."
Jun shook the ancient tome with a smile.