Arman Abandoned Mine (5)
Using a Designated Return Scroll, I returned to the 4th floor of the Labyrinth Dungeon and slipped out carefully, avoiding any attention.
Among the knights and guards stationed at the dungeon entrance, none seemed to notice anything amiss.
I hurried through the bustling streets of the city and exited Labyrinth City.
That's when it happened.
"Are you Rain Astria, sir?"
One of the two guards at the city gate called out to me.
He alternated between looking at my face and the papers in his hand, confirming something, before continuing.
"Do you have a moment? The Guard Corps has requested a meeting with you."
"...What's this about?"
"We don't know the details... but Elder Gehan of the Guard Corps is urgently looking for you."
...An elder of the Guard Corps wants to see me?
I was curious, but the matter at the abandoned mine took priority right now.
The black mage Gerald had let me slip away after I ventured into the underground tunnels on my own—he must be fuming by now.
"I'm busy at the moment. I'll stop by later."
"Ah... Understood."
"Then."
I brushed past the guard and left Labyrinth City behind.
The landscape outside the city was a vast, empty plain.
The road was well-paved for carriages, but I opted to run on foot anyway.
Given my current stats, sprinting would be faster than taking a carriage.
A horse might shave off a bit more time, but... I hadn't learned to ride one.
If this goes well, I should learn horsemanship first thing.
After a light warm-up, I dashed along the road.
An hour of nonstop running brought me back to the village near the Arman Abandoned Mine.
"...Hoo."
I stopped at the village entrance, catching my breath with ease.
Once my breathing steadied, I stepped into the village.
One of the Rockhart Merchant Group's apprentice knights guarding the entrance spotted me.
"Rain... sir? Weren't you heading to the mine...?"
I gave him a small smile instead of answering and walked past.
Explaining everything would take forever.
I passed the other knights and returned to the tent where the briefing had been held.
"You're back?"
Beth was the only one left inside, waiting for me.
"Where are the others?"
"At the mine. Undead started pouring out about an hour ago."
Beth sat and gave a brief rundown of the situation.
An hour ago... that lined up perfectly with when I'd escaped using the Designated Return Scroll inside the mine.
"Let's go join them."
Beth reached out, grabbed my hand, and led me out of the tent.
As we approached Point A at the mine,
"Mage?"
Wilen, the knight captain holding the line there, spotted me first and strode over.
His armor was splattered with unmistakable undead gore.
He looked like he had questions for me, but with the battle still raging,
"Which point did you emerge from? No, never mind—this area's nearly cleared. Help the others."
With that, he charged back toward the undead spilling from the mine entrance.
I joined Beth in rotating through the other points, aiding those in combat.
There were no elite-grade undead among those emerging, so the fights were straightforward.
Once they spotted me safely outside, the undead began retreating back into the mine one by one.
Gerald must have unleashed them to hunt me down, but seeing my escape, he'd given up.
Once things calmed, we withdrew from the mine and returned to the village tents.
"Glad you're safe first off. Did you spot the black mage?"
I nodded slightly at Knight Captain Wilen's question and described what I'd seen inside.
Over ten elite NPCs turned undead, obeying the black mage's commands.
And... Roxfel, the Ironclad Knight. Mentioning his name made Wilen's brow twitch.
"That wandering knight... undead now?"
Wilen closed his eyes, lost in memories.
Having crossed blades with him before, he declared Roxfel was his to handle.
I filled them in on every detail about the black mage Gerald too.
"Mage, you somehow slipped out of there. Word is that black mage is no pushover, yet you broke through hordes of undead."
Wilen's voice held genuine admiration as he listened.
"They didn't chase you? Which point did you exit from?"
"......"
I gave a small smile and dodged the question.
The others exchanged glances at Wilen's words, but no one spoke up.
Then Wilen widened his eyes, as if realizing something.
"N-No way... you can use dimensional magic?"
"We should focus on the mine for now."
I made it clear I wasn't explaining.
Wilen pondered with a troubled look before composing himself.
"...Right. Asking about that isn't appropriate."
Good, he'd accepted it.
Still... he knows about dimensional magic too.
Has he encountered a 5th Hierarchy mage before?
I glanced around at the group.
The mood had grown chaotic, so I gathered them and summarized.
"To recap: The black mage is waiting for us in the underground tunnels. Among the undead guarding him, there are at least twelve dangerous ones. So, each of you here needs to handle at least three."
These weren't rabble—they were elite NPCs resurrected as undead.
They wielded their pre-death prowess, amplified further by the pervasive death energy in the mine.
We'd each need to take on at least three.
"Hold on, mage. The math's off... We have six senior knights including the captain. Add your group of three, that's nine... why three each?"
"Simple. The five senior knights will guard the mine exits instead of joining us."
The mine had six exits, including the hidden ones.
We'd assign Rockhart knights to the five excluding our entry Point A.
"But why...?"
"To block the black mage's escape. He'll definitely try to flee."
I'd assessed Gerald's forces.
With his ace, Roxfel, in hiding for ambushes, it might've been different.
But now that we knew, surprise attacks were off the table.
No other undead seemed more threatening than him.
"The black mage can split his body into fragments to escape. We can't let any slip away, so the senior knights must hold the entrances."
"B-But..."
"Enough. We'll do it that way."
Wilen cut off the lengthening debate.
The senior knights nodded in agreement.
Soon after, the full knight contingent—including us—moved to the mine entrance.
They formed teams and took positions at each point.
"As discussed."
Knight Captain Wilen approached with a grin.
"Forty apprentices, twenty-five knights, five seniors. Evenly distributed."
Each point got one senior knight, five regulars, and eight apprentices.
This setup could hold Gerald if he fled post-battle until we arrived.
"This should suffice."
Wilen stretched lightly.
We regrouped at Point A.
"Then."
Wilen stepped forward boldly.
We followed him into the mine.
The tunnel at Point A reeked of rotting corpses, but no moving undead appeared.
I guided the others to the underground tunnel entrance.
"There."
At the tunnel's end, a passage led deeper underground.
We hadn't encountered a single undead on the way.
Descending, the underground tunnels from before unfolded ahead.
Pressing on, we reached a vast central chamber.
"Heh... how the hell did you escape?"
The hunched old man, black mage Gerald, muttered at the floor.
He clawed at his hair, rambling to himself.
"Clone? Illusion? Did I let my guard down? How did you vanish?"
Gerald stood.
"Aaaah... I can't stand not knowing. I planned to kill just enough and slip away... but I've changed my mind."
He scratched his bent back.
From his robes, he drew a staff topped with a large skull.
The red Bloodstone embedded in it reacted to his mana, turning black.
"Forget the rest—I just need your head... heh."
Gerald's eyes blackened too.
Black smoke began seeping around him.
- Woo woo...
- Uh uh...
Undead crawled from the obscuring smoke.
Their eyes brimmed with black energy.
Black Cloud.
A necromancer ritual black magic that buffs nearby undead and thickens the area's death energy.
With the black mage's altar hidden in this central chamber, Gerald could cast ritual spells freely.
From the Black Cloud emerged twelve elite undead.
And then.
Clank. Clank.
Roxfel, the Ironclad Knight—now undead—emerged in his armor.
"Kahaha! Roxfel, long time no see!"
Spotting Roxfel, Knight Captain Wilen bellowed.
He raised his gripped greatsword overhead, his body igniting red-hot as he assumed position.
Wilen kicked off the ground, his blade clashing with Roxfel's.
Clang-!
Red energy exploded outward, scattering nearby undead and shattering their formation.
But as if it meant nothing,
"—Got you!"
Roxfel's stance crumbled from the strike; Wilen seized the opening and grappled him.
Wilen's foot pulverized the ground as he surged forward, red energy erupting again.
Having snagged Roxfel, Wilen instantly withdrew from the battlefield.
"Hah! You dare...!"
Gerald, snapping to, raised his staff to intercept Wilen—but too late.
Whoosh—
"Urk...!"
Before his black magic could cast, a dagger sliced from the shadows, grazing his throat.
Gerald dodged Beth's strike by a hair and kicked off the ground, scattering curses around him.
At the same moment, the elite undead charged us in unison.
I channeled mana and unleashed Splitting Ray.
Tsss—
A beam erupted from my staff tip, decomposing an undead's head.
Bursting through, the ray hurtled toward Gerald.
"Heh, fool! Taste your own power!"
Wooong—
A black mirror materialized in the air.
Mirror.
A 4th Hierarchy black magic that reflects projectiles.
Reflected spells gain bonus power from the caster's prowess—fatal even once in combat.
But—
Shing—
The Splitting Ray, glancing off at an angle, narrowly missed the mirror's edge.
I'd known about it and aimed to graze from the start.
At that trajectory, even a reflection wouldn't hit us.
I leaped back hard to escape the undead encircling me.
Regaining my footing, I checked Gerald.
"H-How...!"
Gerald let out a rattled groan.
He planned meticulously but cracked under stress when things deviated.
Missing me during recon had already thrown him off; he'd been stewing since.
I considered staying silent but spoke.
"That all you got, black mage... heh."
"Don't mock my speech!!"
The enraged Gerald swung his staff wide.
Intense mana surged from him, and the mine's lights flickered out.
Thud—
From the darkness, a black shape lunged.
That's...
"Mage, you think I've shown you everything?"
A massive four-legged beast with three human heads.
...A chimera.
Him having that meant.
"You've forced me to use my damned master's legacy after all...? You're not dying easy now."
Gerald pointed at me and grinned.