Chapter 36
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: Military Shadows
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Erosion Phenomenon.
A content tied to the main scenario of the game <Blackout>, it was the operators' surprise gift prepared for users who had just shed their newbie status and were climbing to the upper layers.
Of course, most users were too busy showering those operators with curses to call it a gift.
Wood-crack!!
It looked just like a chrysalis shedding its shell to emerge as an imago. And since the subject happened to be the corpse of an Iron Lava, it felt even more so.
But what lay inside surely wasn't the Iron Lava's adult form.
Soon, the red energy filling its body swelled the corpse even larger.
Was even that reaching its limit?
Pfuuuuh—
The Iron Lava's corpse, bloated beyond its limits, burst open, spewing red mist in all directions.
"Fall back!"
At Jun's command, the group retreated in perfect unison.
But in an instant, the entire area was swallowed by the red mist.
When the mist finally cleared, the surroundings had been completely dyed red.
True to its name, the Erosion Phenomenon transformed the local environment in the blink of an eye.
And then.
Thud! Thud!
From beyond the lingering mist came the sound of something pounding the ground.
"Erosion entities...?"
Humanoid silhouettes flickered within the fog.
There were dozens of them.
This time, it was Colton who shouted.
"Damn it, it's a Military Shadow!!"
Military Shadow.
One form of erosion manifestation, they took the shape of soldiers.
And their movements were indeed those of seasoned troops.
"Tighten formation! They're coming!"
As the mist fully dissipated, the Military Shadows revealed themselves, staring down Jun and his group.
Their entire bodies were red.
Skin and gear alike, all red.
Moreover, their eyes gleamed with a dark crimson glow, like rotten blood.
In their hands, they gripped spears three times the length of a man's height.
Seeing them, Colton yelled again.
"Spearmen!"
"Damn it all, an Erosion Phenomenon at a time like this...!"
"Talk about rotten luck!"
"Mage! You better charge us top dollar for this fight!"
A brief moment of chaos ensued, but at Colton's shout, the mercenaries quickly reformed their ranks.
In large-scale battles like this, a mage could make all the difference. Naturally, they sheathed their weapons and raised shields to protect Jun.
Conferment: Elemental Armory
Attribute: Gold
Jun's magic layered over their shields.
And he didn't stop there—he deployed a barrier in front of the mercenaries.
It wouldn't hold for long, but it would ease their burden somewhat.
Sure enough, the Military Shadows advanced.
Step— Step—
Precise, disciplined footsteps approached with military rigor.
"At least... the silver lining is..."
Jun had once unlocked all of Maya's character scenarios.
Maya hated Erosion entities.
The casual killing intent she exuded without target was aimed squarely at them.
"I can buy plenty of time."
While Maya stalled, he'd prepare a spell to wipe them out in one go.
That was Jun's plan.
"It's just a Military Shadow from Layer 2 anyway. Maya, at Level 4, can hold them off no problem."
The moment he fixed his gaze on them with that expectation, Jun realized.
His assumption was dead wrong.
"Why are they staring at me?"
The Erosion entities that had appeared were targeting him.
Their movements were like a massive steel tide.
An army knows no defeat.
Footsteps that betrayed not a shred of doubt in that fact.
They wouldn't lose that momentum until the very end.
That made them terrifying foes.
Soon, they closed in and thrust their red spears.
Bang!
Dozens of spears slammed into the barrier at once.
Jun felt his mana circuits heat up—a sensation he hadn't felt in ages.
The sheer force of their strike had drained his mana enough to strain the circuits.
"Mage! Stay focused!"
At Colton's shout, Jun nodded.
Preparing another spell like this was impossible.
As he cut off the mana sustaining the barrier, it soon vanished.
"Tighten those asses and hold!!"
"Raaagh!!"
Now they had to block the Military Shadows' onslaught with raw strength alone.
Worrying about them was a luxury he couldn't afford right now.
Had he grown fond of these guys he'd faced multiple times?
Jun steadied his wavering heart and thought.
"It's my mana. They see me as the biggest threat."
This army that knew no retreat wouldn't stop for anything.
Not even a typhoon strong enough to hurl boulders.
Like the wind in Aesop's fable, failing to strip the traveler's cloak.
But Jun thought differently.
The wind didn't strip the traveler's cloak?
No. It was simply too weak.
If it had poured rain, drenching and weighing him down. If every step drained his stamina.
The traveler would've shed his sodden cloak without a doubt.
Same here.
The typhoon couldn't stop that army?
Then it was simply too weak.
Word Spirit: 'Odyssey of the Lazy Pilgrim' reduces influence by 15%.
15 percent.
The result he'd barely achieved after reaching the 4th circle.
Mana surged wildly.
Maya, who never took her eyes off the enemy, glanced at Jun.
What if mana whipped up a typhoon instead of wind? It might look like this.
Responding to one mage's call, the mana soon took form.
But it was slow.
Whenever the rampant mana veered off course, unyielding will corralled it back.
Thus, the incantation dragged on.
Watching the process, Maya shot a glare at Jun amid the mana storm.
"...You one strange ringgit."
He'd been peculiar from the first glance.
Maya's tribe, the Ancestor Reverers, communed with ancestral spirits.
She could sense souls, and to her, Jun was unique.
Three souls in one body.
If that were all, she'd have dismissed him as another oddity.
This was <Blackout>, after all—full of rarities.
But her ancestral spirit had spoken.
Follow him, and her goal would be achieved.
So she turned her gaze back to her purpose.
The Erosion entities.
The enemies who annihilated her tribe.
A black shadow moved against the red shadow army.
Aiden noticed first.
"Maya?"
Maya, radiating killing intent that prickled the skin, charged forward.
Was she planning to take on those elite troops alone?
It seemed insane, yet surprisingly, she didn't rush straight at the Military Shadows.
Instead, she scaled the wall, circling to their rear.
Then Aiden spotted it: at the very back, someone bearing a flag etched with an unknown emblem.
The armor differed from the regular soldiers.
Instinct told Aiden its identity.
Military Shadow Captain.
The commander directing this force.
Aiden considered matching Maya's move, but rethought it.
Maya was strong.
A Level 4 user nearing the cap, no less.
She wouldn't lose to it.
So instead of aiding her, Aiden eyed the mercenaries slowly falling back.
"Grrgh!"
"These crazy bastards!"
"Shut up and hold the shield!"
"Aaaagh!!"
The Military Shadows' spear thrusts were powerful. But that wasn't all.
The first rank struck and crouched; the second targeted the same spot.
Perfectly mechanical precision.
That was the Military Shadows' strength.
A flawless machine never erred.
But Aiden didn't find them strong.
Colton and his mercenaries struggling against them? Far stronger.
Because.
"Machines break if even one cog slips."
They were mere automatons following orders.
Charge
Bash
Even as he focused on the incantation, Jun scanned his surroundings.
Impossible for most mages, but Jun had honed this skill before meeting Aiden—back when he cast without frontline support.
His gaze landed on Aiden's back.
The protagonist of the game's tale, gifted beyond all, abandoned yet talented.
That talent surely touched the heavens.
The future hero of the true empire merged with the wind, shooting toward the shadow army.
"Sorry, Aiden."
But.
"Right now, you'll hit a wall."
Like any tale's protagonist, Aiden would face towering obstacles.
Bang!
As Aiden's sword sought to carve into a Military Shadow's flank, something intervened.
"...!"
The motionless third rank.
They raised shields, blocking Aiden's blade.
The Cloud-Steel Sword, which cleaved anything with mere intent, was stopped for the first time.
"Kgh...!"
Machines knew their weaknesses.
They always had countermeasures.
The third rank shieldbearers formed an iron wall to protect vital parts.
Aiden's sword couldn't pierce it.
Why?
Simple.
He was still weaker than them.
That was all.