Chapter 216: Discarded Hand (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 216: Discarded Hand (5)
Orcules was a group of famous criminals who rebelled against the king. Though not older than a few decades, this group has gained notoriety by committing numerous crimes and acts of terrorism since its inception. The palace had placed enormous bounties on its members and launched a manhunt, but had only been able to eliminate seven of them so far due to their stealthy operations.
"And there are seven of them here, huh?" After hearing his subordinate's report, the captain of the Third Royal Guard, Marco Elbern, could not hide his groan.
As soon as disaster struck, he immediately responded and formed a safe zone in the center of the first floor to declare a state of war and seize command. The first thing Marco did was gather information. He sent search parties toward the portals to the second floor, which could be plowed through at any moment. He stayed up all night accepting report after report.
As a result, seven members of Orcules had been identified. Three were prowling around near the safe zone committing massacres—the Wailing Witch, Black Claw, and the Lighthouse Keeper—and the other four were blocking the second-floor portals.
So that was their goal from the start.
Elbern clenched his fists in a show of frustration. The first three were a problem too, but those four were the biggest stumbling blocks. The Corpse Collector, who was all the more so for being an evil spirit, was a man infamous for his grotesque and brutal acts. The Fallen Scholar, once the head of a great school of magic, had become a criminal after tampering with forbidden magic. The Blood Knight started as a soldier born in Bifron and gained notoriety for killing the head of the First Royal Guard.
And finally... Traitor.
The man who had gathered those deranged bastards to create the group known as Orcules had single-handedly written a history of countless wrongdoings and massacres. Seven representatives of that group were all here, but it wasn't just Orcules they had to be wary of. Countless big-name criminals had escaped to Noark. With all of them working together against them, Elbern couldn't guarantee they'd win even at their full strength.
Eventually, after a long silence, Elbern opened his mouth. "I'm canceling the plan to fight through the bastards and get to the second floor." Another heavy silence accompanied those words, weighing down the air in the room.
After struggling with himself for a moment, one knight spoke up. "...Day three will begin soon."
"I'm aware. But as long as the Fallen Scholar is also here, the portal is very likely to be useless anyway."
"Then..."
Elbern blinked slowly in an attempt to shake off his thoughts. A captain had to make decisions. "Gather wizards who can use portal magic as stealthily as possible."
So he had to make the necessary decisions, no matter what sacrifices they resulted in.
***
I opened my eyes and checked the time—12:17 a.m. Another day had passed before I knew it, and it was already the third day.
Nothing big had happened yesterday. I sorted through the loot we'd obtained on the way here, located an adventurer with repair-related abilities and fixed some broken equipment, stood guard with the rest of our team on our shift, and, as soon as guard duty was over, went around the neighborhood and collected information. I also heard what happened with Takelan.
"...Uh, that perrrson?"
I worked hard to pry it out of Missha, but after finally hearing what had happened, it didn't seem like a big deal. Seeing that we were all alive, he snapped and lost his mind for a moment. He blurted out some cruel things, but he didn't get very far.
"Aruru was no joke. She shouted back, saying how could he say that when you were dragged away in the state that you were in... Geez, it even made me sweat."
Hmm, Raven was quite fierce when she was mad. It was still a mystery how that small body could hold so much gusto.
"Anyway, that's all. Ainar got mad too, but he disappeared beforrre she could draw her sword."
I was thankful for my teammates' actions on my behalf, but the more details I heard, the more my jaw tightened. These guys didn't know that I had purposely placed them behind me to increase our chances of survival even the slightest bit.
"Huh? Why are you making that face?"
"It's nothing. I'm just hungry."
Takelan's anger was justified. If the formation had been designed solely with efficiency in mind, more people could have survived, but I hadn't done that. Although they might have been better suited to taking up the rear, I had placed my teammates where it was relatively safer—right behind me. Takelan must have realized that afterward, which was why he had reacted that way.
It's probably best to keep that to myself.
After taking a moment to fully wake up, I slowly got up and folded up my sleeping bag. Although it had been busy enough, day two had been much calmer compared to our intense first day. But that ended now.
"Mm, Mr. Yandel...?" Raven woke up at the sound of me moving around and poked her head out while rubbing her eyes.
"Did I wake you? Sorry."
"No, I just couldn't sleep..."
"Are you done sleeping?"
At my question, Raven dragged her upper body out of her sleeping bag and sat up. "And what about you? Are you done sleeping?"
"I can't sleep, either."
"Is that why you were going to stand guard alone?"
I smirked and readily admitted it. It would be funny to try to claim otherwise when we were in the same boat. "It's already the third day..."
On the third day, the Lord of the Floor spawned if five or more people were gathered in one place. Of course, there was a fixed probability of it appearing near us. Since ten thousand adventurers were already gathered on the first floor, the possibility that it would be summoned right in front of us was low, but...
You never know.
I was the tank of this team. Even if the Lord of the Floor dropped down right in front of our eyes, I could make time for my teammates to escape.
Whooom!
At that moment, the ground began to tremble and the monochromatic crystals embedded in the cave walls emitted a brilliant light. The color of the glow was blood red.
"Mr. Yandel, this is...!"
This meant that the Lord of the Floor had appeared somewhere.
"W-What is it?!" Starting with Ainar, the rest of my teammates woke up one by one. The same went for the other groups of adventurers who were sleeping nearby.
I calmly placated my teammates. "Don't be too freaked out. Luckily, I don't think it appeared nearby."
Where the Lord of the First Floor was, there was bound to be a loud sound. Since there was no such sound, it was safe to say that it had spawned somewhere far away.
"Everybody get back to sleep."
"But..."
"I'll wake you up if something happens. It hasn't been long since our guard shift ended."
"Aruru was no joke. She shouted back, saying how could he say that when you were dragged away in the state that you were in... Geez, it even made me sweat."
Hmm, Raven was quite fierce when she was mad. It was still a mystery how that small body could hold so much gusto.
"Anyway, that's all. Ainar got mad too, but he disappeared beforrre she could draw her sword."
I was thankful for my teammates' actions on my behalf, but the more details I heard, the more my jaw tightened. These guys didn't know that I had purposely placed them behind me to increase our chances of survival even the slightest bit.
"Huh? Why are you making that face?"
"It's nothing. I'm just hungry."
Takelan's anger was justified. If the formation had been designed solely with efficiency in mind, more people could have survived, but I hadn't done that. Although they might have been better suited to taking up the rear, I had placed my teammates where it was relatively safer—right behind me. Takelan must have realized that afterward, which was why he had reacted that way.
It's probably best to keep that to myself.
After taking a moment to fully wake up, I slowly got up and folded up my sleeping bag. Although it had been busy enough, day two had been much calmer compared to our intense first day. But that ended now.
"Mm, Mr. Yandel...?" Raven woke up at the sound of me moving around and poked her head out while rubbing her eyes.
"Did I wake you? Sorry."
"No, I just couldn't sleep..."
"Are you done sleeping?"
At my question, Raven dragged her upper body out of her sleeping bag and sat up. "And what about you? Are you done sleeping?"
"I can't sleep, either."
"Is that why you were going to stand guard alone?"
I smirked and readily admitted it. It would be funny to try to claim otherwise when we were in the same boat. "It's already the third day..."
On the third day, the Lord of the Floor spawned if five or more people were gathered in one place. Of course, there was a fixed probability of it appearing near us. Since ten thousand adventurers were already gathered on the first floor, the possibility that it would be summoned right in front of us was low, but...
You never know.
I was the tank of this team. Even if the Lord of the Floor dropped down right in front of our eyes, I could make time for my teammates to escape.
Whooom!
At that moment, the ground began to tremble and the monochromatic crystals embedded in the cave walls emitted a brilliant light. The color of the glow was blood red.
"Mr. Yandel, this is...!"
This meant that the Lord of the Floor had appeared somewhere.
"W-What is it?!" Starting with Ainar, the rest of my teammates woke up one by one. The same went for the other groups of adventurers who were sleeping nearby.
I calmly placated my teammates. "Don't be too freaked out. Luckily, I don't think it appeared nearby."
Where the Lord of the First Floor was, there was bound to be a loud sound. Since there was no such sound, it was safe to say that it had spawned somewhere far away.
"Everybody get back to sleep."
"But..."
"I'll wake you up if something happens. It hasn't been long since our guard shift ended."
"But you're tired too."
"I dozed a little so I'm fine."
I wasn't sure if they would be able to sleep right away, but I forced my teammates to get back into their sleeping bags and close their eyes, deciding that recovering their stamina was our top priority.
Whooom...
About twenty minutes later, as if their battery had run out, the crystals that illuminated our surroundings went dark. That meant the Lord of the Floor had been eliminated. Of course, it was still too early to be relieved. Unlike the lords of the upper floors, which took months or years to respawn, this guy could be resummoned multiple times.
"We'll be okay, right...?"
"Don't worry. Thirty proper adventurers can take down the Lord of the First Floor. In our current situation, no matter where it appears, it'll be quickly dealt with."
That was also the biggest reason why I wanted to charge down that gruesome passageway to join the palace's forces. Here, we'd be safe from the Lord of the Floor. Even if it showed up right under our noses, help would come if I could just hold out.
"Then I'll leave this place to you."
"Where are you going?"
"To obtain some information."
"Then I'll go w—"
"It'd be a waste of manpower. If you really can't sleep, stand guard with the rest of them."
As soon as the Lord of the Floor was defeated, I left our assigned area and headed to the center region. The respawn time of the Lord of the Floor was six hours. In the meantime, I was going to look around and see if there was anything unusual because there was nothing else to do.
[North 172-21]
While I advanced using the marks drawn on the walls by the imperial troops, I also kept an ear open to the nearby conversations of other adventurers.
"Hey, did you hear? I heard it was the south passageway."
"You mean where the Lord of the Floor appeared?"
"Yeah, I heard about twenty people died by the time support came."
"Damn it, I'd rather those underground bastards come at us instead."
This was the idle gossip of adventurers in a similar situation to me, so the things they said weren't very reliable, but I couldn't just ignore them, either. Still, it was more than useful to learn public opinion.
"I don't know how much longer we'll have to stay here."
"I know. In the last speech they gave, they said they would clear the path to the second-floor portal soon. But it's already the third day."
"It's making me nervous that they're so quiet."
As expected, adventurers were showing distrust toward our leadership, which had not announced anything since the first day. The same went for me.
They should be making a decision soon...
If the Lord of the Floor was killed every six hours, that meant a total of eight Lords would be killed in two days. That meant that on the fifth day, that thing would most definitely appear.
With a large clan and even the head of the guards here, they can't possibly not know that...
But why hadn't they taken any action yet? I was incredibly curious about the conversation that had been held at that meeting the day I got here.
"But you're tired too."
"I dozed a little so I'm fine."
I wasn't sure if they would be able to sleep right away, but I forced my teammates to get back into their sleeping bags and close their eyes, deciding that recovering their stamina was our top priority.
Whooom...
About twenty minutes later, as if their battery had run out, the crystals that illuminated our surroundings went dark. That meant the Lord of the Floor had been eliminated. Of course, it was still too early to be relieved. Unlike the lords of the upper floors, which took months or years to respawn, this guy could be resummoned multiple times.
"We'll be okay, right...?"
"Don't worry. Thirty proper adventurers can take down the Lord of the First Floor. In our current situation, no matter where it appears, it'll be quickly dealt with."
That was also the biggest reason why I wanted to charge down that gruesome passageway to join the palace's forces. Here, we'd be safe from the Lord of the Floor. Even if it showed up right under our noses, help would come if I could just hold out.
"Then I'll leave this place to you."
"Where are you going?"
"To obtain some information."
"Then I'll go w—"
"It'd be a waste of manpower. If you really can't sleep, stand guard with the rest of them."
As soon as the Lord of the Floor was defeated, I left our assigned area and headed to the center region. The respawn time of the Lord of the Floor was six hours. In the meantime, I was going to look around and see if there was anything unusual because there was nothing else to do.
[North 172-21]
While I advanced using the marks drawn on the walls by the imperial troops, I also kept an ear open to the nearby conversations of other adventurers.
"Hey, did you hear? I heard it was the south passageway."
"You mean where the Lord of the Floor appeared?"
"Yeah, I heard about twenty people died by the time support came."
"Damn it, I'd rather those underground bastards come at us instead."
This was the idle gossip of adventurers in a similar situation to me, so the things they said weren't very reliable, but I couldn't just ignore them, either. Still, it was more than useful to learn public opinion.
"I don't know how much longer we'll have to stay here."
"I know. In the last speech they gave, they said they would clear the path to the second-floor portal soon. But it's already the third day."
"It's making me nervous that they're so quiet."
As expected, adventurers were showing distrust toward our leadership, which had not announced anything since the first day. The same went for me.
They should be making a decision soon...
If the Lord of the Floor was killed every six hours, that meant a total of eight Lords would be killed in two days. That meant that on the fifth day, that thing would most definitely appear.
With a large clan and even the head of the guards here, they can't possibly not know that...
But why hadn't they taken any action yet? I was incredibly curious about the conversation that had been held at that meeting the day I got here.
They must know that that's what Noark is after too... But why are they just holding out?
I thought for sure they would choose to clear a path somewhere and advance to the second floor.
Trudge, trudge.
The more worried I grew, the more I increased my walking speed. Then a familiar face appeared—the guy who had first discovered the backpack copying bug and spread it far and wide within the tribe.
"Kharon...?"
"Bjorn, the great warrior and son of Yandel!" When I recognized him first and spoke to him, Kharon got up immediately and rushed toward me with his usual intensity. "To meet you here! As expected, you are destined to lead us!"
I was a bit taken aback but I accepted the greeting in true barbarian form since I was glad to see him too. I asked the question on my mind. "But who are those people next to you?"
"The warriors I met here!"
"You met them here?"
I couldn't understand this at all. The barbarian backpack copy bug had been blocked a long time ago. That the technique had been widely spread among adventurers was one contributing factor, but the biggest factor was that the stream of lower-level adventurers had dried up after the magical identification tags were created since it cost seventy thousand stones to get one tag. That was why I heard Kharon had joined a third-floor team not long ago.
"What happened to your team?"
"Oh, they died on the way here! So the soldiers introduced me to some warriors who were left alone like me!"
Damn soldier bastards. A party of five barbarian warriors... It was obvious they just put these guys together because they were fed up with them.
"A-Are you really Little Balkan! It's an honor to meet you! I-I am Devan, the second son of Verox!"
"Oh, hey. Nice to meet you too." Greeting the barbarians who were excited at my name, I continued my conversation with Kharon. Maybe if I hadn't noticed him in the first place it would have been different... but I couldn't just leave him now that I had. "Why don't you join us instead of staying here?"
"I-Is that all right?"
The identification tags and the equipment they were wearing alone were enough to tell me they were warriors active on the third floor or higher. Having them with me would definitely be a help. More importantly, I could trust them.
"Of course you can," I told Kharon, who was greatly appreciative of what area our team was assigned to. "I'll let the administrative officer know on the way, so you guys can head over first. If you see a wizard, be polite and say that I sent you."
"Okay!"
"Ah, if you don't know which way to go, ask the adventurers nearby. If you shout and wake them up, they'll let you know even if it's annoying."
"Ooh! I see!"
I sent Kharon's group off and was about to leave when I stopped at the low sound of a man's voice. "Bjorn Yandel."
When I turned around, I saw the last person I wanted to run into. "Takelan Arvenon." He was among a group of adventurers I had never seen before. That was a given. He had lost all his comrades on the way here.
In the silence, Takelan studied me. The twitch in his chin proved that he was holding something back with great difficulty.
I spoke first. "I heard what happened while I was gone. Do you resent me?"
Takelan didn't nod or shake his head—he just stood there like it was all he could do to survive. It took a long time for him to answer me. "No, I do not resent you." That was an unexpected response. Takelan spoke slowly, emotion in every word. "I kept thinking about it because that was all I could do. How did things end up this way? Lena is dead, but how can you guys smile and laugh? If those bastards didn't run away in the middle, maybe Lena could have lived. No, above all, I kept wondering... Did you not know things would turn out like this?"
"So, did you reach a conclusion?"
"I don't know. The fact is, you are the one who was the most injured. And you are the one who had the hardest job. And it wasn't a situation where you could guarantee even your teammates' survival."
Was there such a thing as a situation where anything was guaranteed? I only did my best to raise our chances of survival even the slightest bit. That was why it felt like a sharp knife was scraping at something inside of me.
"I shouldn't have followed you. However," Takelan continued, "I was the one who chose to. I was the one who voted for you as the leader too. I was the one who just watched silently when that woman said they'd use Mass Teleport! It was all me."
Watching him direct all the blame on himself in self-hatred, I was seized by an indescribably painful feeling.
"So I don't resent you."
"...I see."
What could I possibly say in this situation? I couldn't even offer up clumsy words of consolation. But did my hesitation tell him everything I needed to know?
"Don't pity me." Takelan ended the conversation there and sat down again. "There will come a day when you feel the same way as I do."
His eyes were no longer directed at me—only at the floor. I sensed that all the words we would ever exchange had been said.
Trudge, trudge.
So, I continued on my way again. Takelan did not speak up as I left, and a while later, the passageway widened and a wide central cavern appeared. I first located an administrator and let them know that Kharon's group had joined ours.
"Team Apple Narak... Oh, you're at a passageway outside the Northern District. Okay, it's been registered."
That ended my business, but just as I was about to turn around, a knight came out of the barracks, walked up to the administrative officer who had helped me, and glanced my way.
Murmur, murmur.
He named a total of six schools.
"Oh, yes. A wizard from that school? Let me check the list."
As if priests weren't enough, now they're trying to conscript wizards?
That was my first thought, but as I turned the names of the schools the knight mentioned over in my head, I noticed they all had one thing in common.
"Derta, Sperys, Jacquard..."
Portal magic.
Wizards of those schools who were above rank four were able to open a portal that could carry up to thirty people. The moment I realized this fact, my heart pounded uncontrollably.
Thump!
There was no point in denial. A conversation I had not too long ago flashed through my mind.
"A great captain is not a person who makes the perfect choices. They're a person who makes the necessary ones."
That man would without hesitation discard what he deemed to be low priority. All of it.
They must know that that's what Noark is after too... But why are they just holding out?
I thought for sure they would choose to clear a path somewhere and advance to the second floor.
Trudge, trudge.
The more worried I grew, the more I increased my walking speed. Then a familiar face appeared—the guy who had first discovered the backpack copying bug and spread it far and wide within the tribe.
"Kharon...?"
"Bjorn, the great warrior and son of Yandel!" When I recognized him first and spoke to him, Kharon got up immediately and rushed toward me with his usual intensity. "To meet you here! As expected, you are destined to lead us!"
I was a bit taken aback but I accepted the greeting in true barbarian form since I was glad to see him too. I asked the question on my mind. "But who are those people next to you?"
"The warriors I met here!"
"You met them here?"
I couldn't understand this at all. The barbarian backpack copy bug had been blocked a long time ago. That the technique had been widely spread among adventurers was one contributing factor, but the biggest factor was that the stream of lower-level adventurers had dried up after the magical identification tags were created since it cost seventy thousand stones to get one tag. That was why I heard Kharon had joined a third-floor team not long ago.
"What happened to your team?"
"Oh, they died on the way here! So the soldiers introduced me to some warriors who were left alone like me!"
Damn soldier bastards. A party of five barbarian warriors... It was obvious they just put these guys together because they were fed up with them.
"A-Are you really Little Balkan! It's an honor to meet you! I-I am Devan, the second son of Verox!"
"Oh, hey. Nice to meet you too." Greeting the barbarians who were excited at my name, I continued my conversation with Kharon. Maybe if I hadn't noticed him in the first place it would have been different... but I couldn't just leave him now that I had. "Why don't you join us instead of staying here?"
"I-Is that all right?"
The identification tags and the equipment they were wearing alone were enough to tell me they were warriors active on the third floor or higher. Having them with me would definitely be a help. More importantly, I could trust them.
"Of course you can," I told Kharon, who was greatly appreciative of what area our team was assigned to. "I'll let the administrative officer know on the way, so you guys can head over first. If you see a wizard, be polite and say that I sent you."
"Okay!"
"Ah, if you don't know which way to go, ask the adventurers nearby. If you shout and wake them up, they'll let you know even if it's annoying."
"Ooh! I see!"
I sent Kharon's group off and was about to leave when I stopped at the low sound of a man's voice. "Bjorn Yandel."
When I turned around, I saw the last person I wanted to run into. "Takelan Arvenon." He was among a group of adventurers I had never seen before. That was a given. He had lost all his comrades on the way here.
In the silence, Takelan studied me. The twitch in his chin proved that he was holding something back with great difficulty.
I spoke first. "I heard what happened while I was gone. Do you resent me?"
Takelan didn't nod or shake his head—he just stood there like it was all he could do to survive. It took a long time for him to answer me. "No, I do not resent you." That was an unexpected response. Takelan spoke slowly, emotion in every word. "I kept thinking about it because that was all I could do. How did things end up this way? Lena is dead, but how can you guys smile and laugh? If those bastards didn't run away in the middle, maybe Lena could have lived. No, above all, I kept wondering... Did you not know things would turn out like this?"
"So, did you reach a conclusion?"
"I don't know. The fact is, you are the one who was the most injured. And you are the one who had the hardest job. And it wasn't a situation where you could guarantee even your teammates' survival."
Was there such a thing as a situation where anything was guaranteed? I only did my best to raise our chances of survival even the slightest bit. That was why it felt like a sharp knife was scraping at something inside of me.
"I shouldn't have followed you. However," Takelan continued, "I was the one who chose to. I was the one who voted for you as the leader too. I was the one who just watched silently when that woman said they'd use Mass Teleport! It was all me."
Watching him direct all the blame on himself in self-hatred, I was seized by an indescribably painful feeling.
"So I don't resent you."
"...I see."
What could I possibly say in this situation? I couldn't even offer up clumsy words of consolation. But did my hesitation tell him everything I needed to know?
"Don't pity me." Takelan ended the conversation there and sat down again. "There will come a day when you feel the same way as I do."
His eyes were no longer directed at me—only at the floor. I sensed that all the words we would ever exchange had been said.
Trudge, trudge.
So, I continued on my way again. Takelan did not speak up as I left, and a while later, the passageway widened and a wide central cavern appeared. I first located an administrator and let them know that Kharon's group had joined ours.
"Team Apple Narak... Oh, you're at a passageway outside the Northern District. Okay, it's been registered."
That ended my business, but just as I was about to turn around, a knight came out of the barracks, walked up to the administrative officer who had helped me, and glanced my way.
Murmur, murmur.
He named a total of six schools.
"Oh, yes. A wizard from that school? Let me check the list."
As if priests weren't enough, now they're trying to conscript wizards?
That was my first thought, but as I turned the names of the schools the knight mentioned over in my head, I noticed they all had one thing in common.
"Derta, Sperys, Jacquard..."
Portal magic.
Wizards of those schools who were above rank four were able to open a portal that could carry up to thirty people. The moment I realized this fact, my heart pounded uncontrollably.
Thump!
There was no point in denial. A conversation I had not too long ago flashed through my mind.
"A great captain is not a person who makes the perfect choices. They're a person who makes the necessary ones."
That man would without hesitation discard what he deemed to be low priority. All of it.