Chapter 224: Like Fireworks (4)

Translator: RaidenTL

Chapter 224: Like Fireworks (4)

We were just a few steps away from the darkness. Relying on the shimmering torchlight, we stood in a dense formation. Everywhere we looked, displeased eyes followed us.

What are you staring at?

Hundreds of eyes filled the darkness. It felt like we had stepped inside the setting of a cruel, twisted fairy tale. Of course, that was just the setting. The storyline was up to us. If we overcame this adversity, this would become a story of hope. If we fell here, it would remain just a cruel tale.

Whiiip!

The spear-shaped shadow embedded in my shield pulled out and returned to the darkness. This had already happened several times. This bastard had to be shy or something because the only thing he was doing was shooting potshots from a distance.

I guess that works for us, though, considering we're only here to stall.

With that thought in mind, I checked the condition of my equipment. The shield had holes all over it. "You'll need to get a new shield once you're out," the warrior next to me said.

A statement that assumed that I'd return alive. I grinned. "Oh, I should definitely buy a new one."

We would survive, at least one more of us.

Slide...

After those four regular shots, I heard a sound from the darkness.

So, done testing the waters?

Slide.

Soon, on the whistle of a spooky breeze, it appeared. It was about six feet tall and wore only a robe that looked like something the dead would wear. It didn't even have a weapon. Its outline looked humanoid, except for the fact that, like a ghost-type monster, the parts of its body not covered by the robe consisted only of billowing, dark blue smoke.

Flash!

The place where its head should have been above the neck was covered by a hood. A red eye flashed from underneath it. It was unquestionably different from a human. First, there was only one eye emitting light, and even that was located in the center of the face, not on the right or left, making its proportions strange. On top of that, the eye was huge, as if its entire head was made up of a giant eyeball.

"Avoid eye contact as much as possible," said Kyle.

As soon as I confirmed the monster was there, I fixed my eyes on his shoulder. The reason was simple.

"Do not be afraid."

The moment you met that eye, you had a certain probability of being affected by the Fear status condition.

"Look at me."

When Fear stacked up nine times, the character in question became a servant of the Lord of the Abyss forever. Just like the countless monsters in the labyrinth, they'd turn into enemies and attack us.

It's an awful attack pattern.

In reality, it was safe to say that it was essentially an Instant Kill, since the Monsterization effect wasn't reversed even after the boss was cleared.

Well, our objective isn't to clear it but to last ten minutes...

I doubted anyone would reach Monsterization in ten minutes, but we couldn't let our guards down yet. We hadn't come here fully prepared, after all. There were no fear-related fail-safes in place. In other words, the status condition Fear itself was threatening enough on its own.

"Ugh..." A warrior next to me gripped his head and groaned. It looked like he'd met the monster's eye. If he was set off by Fear, he would've either dropped his weapon and fled or attacked us.

"Bjorn!"

"Be careful!"

While I was checking on my comrade, a shadow shot out from Berzak's chest. The awl in question had struck my shield time and time again. However, it was using a slightly different pattern from before.

Whiiip.

The terrifyingly threatening shadow split into dozens of different strands and swept over me like a net.

Splat.

The shadow clung to my body like octopus suckers. I could feel it pulling at me from all over. It was obvious what his plan was. Since regular hits were going to take too long, he must have been planning on dragging me into the darkness.

Ha, we're not that unprepared.

"Ecovir Iheran Ifoun." Kyle shot the spell he had prepared in advance, the rank-seven support spell Attribute Bestowal. For reference, the attribute in question was naturally strong against Dark-attribute monsters.

Whoosh!

A pure white flame combining the Fire and Divine attributes swallowed everyone's weapons except those of the knights. The reason he didn't use it on them was simple.

Slice!

With an aura, it was possible to inflict damage on the monster without Attribute Bestowal.

"Save Bjorn!"

The moment I was shackled by the shadows, warriors ran forward and cut or smashed it with weapons engulfed in flames. My body was freed in an instant. However, before I even had a moment to catch my breath, dozens of shadows jumped out of the bastard's body again.

Whiiip!

It was a new attack pattern again. This time, the bastard was aiming not only for me but for everyone. I hurriedly adjusted my grip on my shield.

It's begun.

The real battle was getting started.

The eye monster I killed earlier, the Watcher of the Abyss, was a summon used by Berzak to select its next victim after a battle ended. When cast, it appeared all over the entire cave and roamed around looking for a sacrifice. Once you ran into it once, that was it. There was no way to break the aggro on you, and so I killed the eye without hesitation. If no one attracted the main aggro, it was impossible to lure Berzak out.

As was evident from how it had been acting up to this point, until my comrades attacked the monster first to save me, I was the only one the bastard had seen as his enemy.

While we had been strategizing, someone had asked, "Then wouldn't it be better for a single person to step up and sacrifice themselves?"

Realistically, there was no chance of that working. Aside from the question of who would fill that role, Berzak's line of sight had a radius of one mile. If we couldn't hold out until the rest of the group escaped that radius, it would all be for naught.

Ten minutes.

Kyle estimated the time it would take to be about ten minutes. If we were defeated before then, it would pursue the expedition team and commit a senseless massacre.

Boom!

That was why I held out, not on my own, but with the wizards and warriors who had followed me here.

"Ugh..." A warrior next to me gripped his head and groaned. It looked like he'd met the monster's eye. If he was set off by Fear, he would've either dropped his weapon and fled or attacked us.

"Bjorn!"

"Be careful!"

While I was checking on my comrade, a shadow shot out from Berzak's chest. The awl in question had struck my shield time and time again. However, it was using a slightly different pattern from before.

Whiiip.

The terrifyingly threatening shadow split into dozens of different strands and swept over me like a net.

Splat.

The shadow clung to my body like octopus suckers. I could feel it pulling at me from all over. It was obvious what his plan was. Since regular hits were going to take too long, he must have been planning on dragging me into the darkness.

Ha, we're not that unprepared.

"Ecovir Iheran Ifoun." Kyle shot the spell he had prepared in advance, the rank-seven support spell Attribute Bestowal. For reference, the attribute in question was naturally strong against Dark-attribute monsters.

Whoosh!

A pure white flame combining the Fire and Divine attributes swallowed everyone's weapons except those of the knights. The reason he didn't use it on them was simple.

Slice!

With an aura, it was possible to inflict damage on the monster without Attribute Bestowal.

"Save Bjorn!"

The moment I was shackled by the shadows, warriors ran forward and cut or smashed it with weapons engulfed in flames. My body was freed in an instant. However, before I even had a moment to catch my breath, dozens of shadows jumped out of the bastard's body again.

Whiiip!

It was a new attack pattern again. This time, the bastard was aiming not only for me but for everyone. I hurriedly adjusted my grip on my shield.

It's begun.

The real battle was getting started.

The eye monster I killed earlier, the Watcher of the Abyss, was a summon used by Berzak to select its next victim after a battle ended. When cast, it appeared all over the entire cave and roamed around looking for a sacrifice. Once you ran into it once, that was it. There was no way to break the aggro on you, and so I killed the eye without hesitation. If no one attracted the main aggro, it was impossible to lure Berzak out.

As was evident from how it had been acting up to this point, until my comrades attacked the monster first to save me, I was the only one the bastard had seen as his enemy.

While we had been strategizing, someone had asked, "Then wouldn't it be better for a single person to step up and sacrifice themselves?"

Realistically, there was no chance of that working. Aside from the question of who would fill that role, Berzak's line of sight had a radius of one mile. If we couldn't hold out until the rest of the group escaped that radius, it would all be for naught.

Ten minutes.

Kyle estimated the time it would take to be about ten minutes. If we were defeated before then, it would pursue the expedition team and commit a senseless massacre.

Boom!

That was why I held out, not on my own, but with the wizards and warriors who had followed me here.

"Behelaaah!"

Wielding flaming weapons, we resisted the darkness. It wasn't an easy task.

Whiiip!

Constant attacks flew at us from sharp shadows that could punch through almost anything. Normally, I could've handled this without trouble. Although I had no way of knowing how long it would last me, as long as I blocked it with my shield I wouldn't be seriously injured.

This goddamned game.

The problem was that I couldn't see in front of me. Since my gaze was fixed lower down to avoid eye contact, I wasn't able to react in time. For reference, it was like this in the actual game too.

[Do not look into Berzak's eye.]

If this command was applied to the character, no matter how high their Agility stat, their evasion rate and defense success rate plummeted, just like right now.

Stab!

The shadow dug deep into my shoulder.

[Your body is rapidly regenerating due to Recovery (Greater)'s effects.]

It was getting to the point where potions weren't enough. Even though the aggro was dispersed somewhat, most of it was focused on me.

"Agh, ah!"

And the shadows weren't simply stabbing at us, either. They were also flying out in the shape of nets and dragging my comrades into the darkness. We'd been diligently slicing the shadows and blocking them until now, but we couldn't hold out forever.

God damn it.

Eventually, the first sacrifice occurred.

"Sillian!"

Sillian Neroff was the guy who had come along saying that it would be cool to tell this story at drinking parties later.

"Arghh! Agh! Ahh!" Terrible screams rang out from the darkness he had been dragged into. It made me feel very strange. In the game, I thought it was just a sound effect to set the mood.

Anger boiled in me, but the more it did, the more I focused on remaining vigilant. Once again, there needed to be someone doing that.

"Stop."

"But—!"

"If you go in there, you will die too."

He'd already been sucked in, so saving him was impossible. At our current level, at least.

One of the warriors vented his anger. "God damn it!"

It wasn't that I didn't get it. We couldn't even witness the death of a comrade we'd fought alongside all day with our own eyes. We could only listen to the sounds from beyond the darkness. I felt helpless. It was something I'd felt countless times just today. But whether I felt helpless or not, the battle continued.

[Your body is rapidly regenerating due to Recovery (Greater)'s effects.]

Berzak activated a skill called Call of the Abyss. It gathered all the trash mobs in the bastard's line of sight into one place.

"Grk! Greuk!" The Abyssal Goblins that had received the call released a bundle of monsters, summoned more, and set traps far and wide. Another person died as a result.

Shooop!

Traps went off and monsters jumping out of the Monster Bags ran wild, initiating a melee battle. An awl-shaped shadow pierced the body of a comrade. Even the wizards who had been casting Mana Shields on occasion to prevent fatal injuries couldn't react in time.

"Behelaaah!"

Wielding flaming weapons, we resisted the darkness. It wasn't an easy task.

Whiiip!

Constant attacks flew at us from sharp shadows that could punch through almost anything. Normally, I could've handled this without trouble. Although I had no way of knowing how long it would last me, as long as I blocked it with my shield I wouldn't be seriously injured.

This goddamned game.

The problem was that I couldn't see in front of me. Since my gaze was fixed lower down to avoid eye contact, I wasn't able to react in time. For reference, it was like this in the actual game too.

[Do not look into Berzak's eye.]

If this command was applied to the character, no matter how high their Agility stat, their evasion rate and defense success rate plummeted, just like right now.

Stab!

The shadow dug deep into my shoulder.

[Your body is rapidly regenerating due to Recovery (Greater)'s effects.]

It was getting to the point where potions weren't enough. Even though the aggro was dispersed somewhat, most of it was focused on me.

"Agh, ah!"

And the shadows weren't simply stabbing at us, either. They were also flying out in the shape of nets and dragging my comrades into the darkness. We'd been diligently slicing the shadows and blocking them until now, but we couldn't hold out forever.

God damn it.

Eventually, the first sacrifice occurred.

"Sillian!"

Sillian Neroff was the guy who had come along saying that it would be cool to tell this story at drinking parties later.

"Arghh! Agh! Ahh!" Terrible screams rang out from the darkness he had been dragged into. It made me feel very strange. In the game, I thought it was just a sound effect to set the mood.

Anger boiled in me, but the more it did, the more I focused on remaining vigilant. Once again, there needed to be someone doing that.

"Stop."

"But—!"

"If you go in there, you will die too."

He'd already been sucked in, so saving him was impossible. At our current level, at least.

One of the warriors vented his anger. "God damn it!"

It wasn't that I didn't get it. We couldn't even witness the death of a comrade we'd fought alongside all day with our own eyes. We could only listen to the sounds from beyond the darkness. I felt helpless. It was something I'd felt countless times just today. But whether I felt helpless or not, the battle continued.

[Your body is rapidly regenerating due to Recovery (Greater)'s effects.]

Berzak activated a skill called Call of the Abyss. It gathered all the trash mobs in the bastard's line of sight into one place.

"Grk! Greuk!" The Abyssal Goblins that had received the call released a bundle of monsters, summoned more, and set traps far and wide. Another person died as a result.

Shooop!

Traps went off and monsters jumping out of the Monster Bags ran wild, initiating a melee battle. An awl-shaped shadow pierced the body of a comrade. Even the wizards who had been casting Mana Shields on occasion to prevent fatal injuries couldn't react in time.

Slump.

One more died like that.

"Kyle! How much longer?!"

"Four minutes."

What, four minutes left?

"Four minutes have passed."

Geez, I almost got excited there.

Crunch!

Just then, the first disaster struck.

"It's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a Troll! Push it back!"

One more died. The cause of death was a Troll summoned right under our noses. But the problem wasn't the Troll—it was that the deceased was a wizard.

God damn it.

The death of a warrior was inevitable, but a wizard was different. They had been placed in the middle so we could protect them in whatever way we could.

That means mana will run out soon...

This was the worst-case scenario. But even as I thought that, I continued to move, and time continued to pass.

"Five minutes left... four minutes!" As if to boost morale, Kyle announced the time with each minute that passed. "Now we just have to hold out for three minutes!"

Since the wizard's death, there had been no more victims. Like the veteran adventurers they were, they gradually accumulated experience as the battle continued. However, something happened at the eight-minute mark.

"I can no longer use magic. I can just barely maintain the Bestow spell," Kyle reported.

So we'll have to survive without support from a wizard, huh?

This was sooner than I had expected, but it couldn't be helped. One wizard had already died. To leave enough mana to activate the magic circle, we had no other choice.

"Keeek!" As the wide-range spells dried up, the monsters emerging from the Monster Bags piled up.

And in this grueling situation, dealing with reduced numbers and the absence of magic, Berzak continued to shoot arrow-like shadows at us without pause.

Shoop!

Like that, another person died.

I don't think I'll be able to keep that promise.

You couldn't give your final will and testament in the middle of such a fierce battle. Whether the enemy was a monster or a human, they wouldn't be so kind as to give us time for that. So we had discussed it beforehand.

"If you guys can grab my equipment, take it to my teammates." That was the will left behind by the guy who had just died. But just as I'd told him back then as well, there wouldn't be time to do that.

"Ahh! H-Help me!" The guy right next to me was grabbed by the shadows and disappeared into the darkness. "Ahh! Ahhh!"

Listening to the resounding screams, I bit down on my lip.

"Deliver the news to my son. You will definitely be famous by the time you get out of here. That boy will wish to meet you."

I thought I could keep that promise if I could just get back alive.

"I'm going to charge the magic circle now!"

There was one minute left until we hit our target of ten minutes. The wizards activated the magic circle they drew earlier. I swung my mace frantically. My shield was nowhere to be seen. Oh, right. I tossed it aside earlier, announcing I did not need it. It would be impossible to repair anyway, so I didn't feel all that bad about it.

Slump.

One more died like that.

"Kyle! How much longer?!"

"Four minutes."

What, four minutes left?

"Four minutes have passed."

Geez, I almost got excited there.

Crunch!

Just then, the first disaster struck.

"It's a Troll! Push it back!"

One more died. The cause of death was a Troll summoned right under our noses. But the problem wasn't the Troll—it was that the deceased was a wizard.

God damn it.

The death of a warrior was inevitable, but a wizard was different. They had been placed in the middle so we could protect them in whatever way we could.

That means mana will run out soon...

This was the worst-case scenario. But even as I thought that, I continued to move, and time continued to pass.

"Five minutes left... four minutes!" As if to boost morale, Kyle announced the time with each minute that passed. "Now we just have to hold out for three minutes!"

Since the wizard's death, there had been no more victims. Like the veteran adventurers they were, they gradually accumulated experience as the battle continued. However, something happened at the eight-minute mark.

"I can no longer use magic. I can just barely maintain the Bestow spell," Kyle reported.

So we'll have to survive without support from a wizard, huh?

This was sooner than I had expected, but it couldn't be helped. One wizard had already died. To leave enough mana to activate the magic circle, we had no other choice.

"Keeek!" As the wide-range spells dried up, the monsters emerging from the Monster Bags piled up.

And in this grueling situation, dealing with reduced numbers and the absence of magic, Berzak continued to shoot arrow-like shadows at us without pause.

Shoop!

Like that, another person died.

I don't think I'll be able to keep that promise.

You couldn't give your final will and testament in the middle of such a fierce battle. Whether the enemy was a monster or a human, they wouldn't be so kind as to give us time for that. So we had discussed it beforehand.

"If you guys can grab my equipment, take it to my teammates." That was the will left behind by the guy who had just died. But just as I'd told him back then as well, there wouldn't be time to do that.

"Ahh! H-Help me!" The guy right next to me was grabbed by the shadows and disappeared into the darkness. "Ahh! Ahhh!"

Listening to the resounding screams, I bit down on my lip.

"Deliver the news to my son. You will definitely be famous by the time you get out of here. That boy will wish to meet you."

I thought I could keep that promise if I could just get back alive.

"I'm going to charge the magic circle now!"

There was one minute left until we hit our target of ten minutes. The wizards activated the magic circle they drew earlier. I swung my mace frantically. My shield was nowhere to be seen. Oh, right. I tossed it aside earlier, announcing I did not need it. It would be impossible to repair anyway, so I didn't feel all that bad about it.

"Yandel, come here!"

Oh, it's already done?

Suddenly, a bright light emanated from the ground. Berzak seemed to be startled by that, as he stopped attacking and just watched us. The same went for the other monsters. It was only for a moment, but the battle had stopped.

I quickly scanned my surroundings. I couldn't see all the dead bodies, of course. Some had been dragged into the darkness.

It has to be nearby!

At the border where the light met the darkness was the body I was looking for. I quickly ran toward him and retrieved his sword and shield. I had to use quite a bit of strength. Even dead, his eyes were still open and his weapon was clutched in his hand.

"Bjorn!" someone shouted, and I rolled through the dirt to get inside the magic circle. The warriors didn't even ask why I did that.

"That's... yes, we did promise."

"His teammates will be grateful."

When I sprung back up to my feet, I could see monsters approaching us in the distance. They had been momentarily scared off by the light the magic circle was emitting, but they soon seemed to decide it wasn't a threat.

"Bothering us until the end!"

"Hey, wizard! I think we should go now!"

"Just a little longer!"

I stared straight ahead. I could see Berzak.

"I saw you."

What the fuck did you see, huh?

I fixed my eyes on the bastard and recited the names of the deceased in my head.

Silian Neroff. Neil Feymez. Paul Agmus. Garfen Gulan. Matt Elvans. Refrey Siaberus.

Six people in total.

Yeah, I'll see you again someday.

Riakis, the Lord of Chaos; the Dragon Slayer, Regal Vagos; and Berzak. I hoped these bastards knew that I wouldn't be running from them forever.

[Kyle Pevrosk has cast the rank-four spatial spell Mass Teleportation.]

***

When I opened my eyes, there were people around me. So we had reached the right place.

"How much distance have we cleared?"

"It should be close to two miles. Now that we're totally out of sight, he won't be able to follow us. Well, if we run into a Watcher of the Abyss again, that will change things."

I checked behind me like a man possessed. I saw none of those fucking eyes in the darkness, thankfully. That meant we really had succeeded in teleporting that long distance.

"Incredible."

"Not really. If we hadn't entrusted the coordinate designating device to this team, even I would have been unable to teleport us this far. Oh, and the other wizards shared some of their mana with me."

Well, even if he wanted to be humble about it, that wasn't something just anyone could pull off, no matter how much help they had. It wasn't easy to use magic like that in a place where Mana Efficiency was reduced to a quarter.

"...Then I'll start moving."

"Without resting?"

"I can rest as I go."

I opened a bottle of potion and poured it over my head. While the other warriors were receiving treatment, I started walking.

Before long, I found the people I was looking for—Garfen Gulan's teammates. They were very tight-knit, enough so that they had come to the frontlines to try to take him away from the danger there.

"Yandel, come here!"

Oh, it's already done?

Suddenly, a bright light emanated from the ground. Berzak seemed to be startled by that, as he stopped attacking and just watched us. The same went for the other monsters. It was only for a moment, but the battle had stopped.

I quickly scanned my surroundings. I couldn't see all the dead bodies, of course. Some had been dragged into the darkness.

It has to be nearby!

At the border where the light met the darkness was the body I was looking for. I quickly ran toward him and retrieved his sword and shield. I had to use quite a bit of strength. Even dead, his eyes were still open and his weapon was clutched in his hand.

"Bjorn!" someone shouted, and I rolled through the dirt to get inside the magic circle. The warriors didn't even ask why I did that.

"That's... yes, we did promise."

"His teammates will be grateful."

When I sprung back up to my feet, I could see monsters approaching us in the distance. They had been momentarily scared off by the light the magic circle was emitting, but they soon seemed to decide it wasn't a threat.

"Bothering us until the end!"

"Hey, wizard! I think we should go now!"

"Just a little longer!"

I stared straight ahead. I could see Berzak.

"I saw you."

What the fuck did you see, huh?

I fixed my eyes on the bastard and recited the names of the deceased in my head.

Silian Neroff. Neil Feymez. Paul Agmus. Garfen Gulan. Matt Elvans. Refrey Siaberus.

Six people in total.

Yeah, I'll see you again someday.

Riakis, the Lord of Chaos; the Dragon Slayer, Regal Vagos; and Berzak. I hoped these bastards knew that I wouldn't be running from them forever.

[Kyle Pevrosk has cast the rank-four spatial spell Mass Teleportation.]

***

When I opened my eyes, there were people around me. So we had reached the right place.

"How much distance have we cleared?"

"It should be close to two miles. Now that we're totally out of sight, he won't be able to follow us. Well, if we run into a Watcher of the Abyss again, that will change things."

I checked behind me like a man possessed. I saw none of those fucking eyes in the darkness, thankfully. That meant we really had succeeded in teleporting that long distance.

"Incredible."

"Not really. If we hadn't entrusted the coordinate designating device to this team, even I would have been unable to teleport us this far. Oh, and the other wizards shared some of their mana with me."

Well, even if he wanted to be humble about it, that wasn't something just anyone could pull off, no matter how much help they had. It wasn't easy to use magic like that in a place where Mana Efficiency was reduced to a quarter.

"...Then I'll start moving."

"Without resting?"

"I can rest as I go."

I opened a bottle of potion and poured it over my head. While the other warriors were receiving treatment, I started walking.

Before long, I found the people I was looking for—Garfen Gulan's teammates. They were very tight-knit, enough so that they had come to the frontlines to try to take him away from the danger there.

"You are..." They recognized me, too, and froze. Their eyes were on the sword and shield I was holding.

"Take them."

"...Is he dead?" an adventurer asked tearfully, and I remained silent. It took a while for her mouth to open again. "This... I'll take it. But take this." After picking up the sword, the woman handed me the shield. "You will need it, I think."

"...Thank you." I didn't refuse and accepted the shield. I had lost mine, after all. Refusing this would only make this more painful for them too. "Then I will go."

I continued forward and soon reached my teammates.

"Anyone injured while I was gone?"

No one answered my question. They just stared at me blankly. Missha's hands even trembled.

Oh, is she going to scold me for getting hurt? I should run, quick.

"If you're not hurt, then I'll just go—"

"Stop. Please, stop and get some rrrest. You've done enough. Okay?"

"Yes, Mr. Yandel. Do as Miss Karlstein says. If you go up there in the state you're in, you won't be any help, anyway. You said there could be another big fight later on, right?"

I decided to stop being stubborn. Raven was right. Even after going through all that, I still had a mountain left to climb. I'd better conserve my energy.

Trudge, trudge.

While other warriors cleared the way in the frontlines, I followed the procession with my teammates and recovered my stamina.

After a long while, instructions to stall the procession came through on the message stone. "Stop!" I sensed intuitively that we had reached our destination.

"Is the portal open?" asked Kyle.

His voice was followed by that of Teterud, the leader of the all-dwarf clan, whom I had entrusted with the frontlines. "It's open."

So we'd come to the right place. My legs felt strangely weak. If this place had been destroyed, too, I would've really lost it.

"Raven, take care of things on this end."

"Yes, go. You're going to even if we stop you, anyway."

I passed through the crowd of adventurers and headed to the front lines. As soon as I arrived, Teterud greeted me. "Now what are you going to do? Will you go in straight away?"

"As soon as preparations are finished back there."

"Are you going to go first again?"

"Is there a point? You guys are going to follow right behind me, anyway."

"Haha, that's true."

I soon stood in front of the portal. After about ten minutes, I got a message from Kyle through the message stone. "The preparations are complete. You can go in now."

I closed my eyes and took a breath. Even I could tell my breathing had gotten rough, but the rougher it got, the more I thought of the positives.

There might be no one there.

Noark's side probably would have assumed that even if someone managed to come up alive, it would be a small number.

Plus, it'd be more beneficial to them for us to return to the city, testify to what the royals and their knights have done, and create disorder.

Of course, that was just one possibility. They also could have decided to be thorough and deployed troops near the portals to finish off even the few survivors.

I'm sure they didn't leave that many behind.

Regardless of how much equipment they had grabbed on the first floor, they couldn't live off of that. Their main forces would have gone straight up to other floors to mine for mana stones.

God damn it.

Even as I thought that, I found myself feeling uncertain. However, I still put my foot forward.

This isn't the first time.

How many times had I been certain before? We didn't have any other options, anyway. Even if we waited here patiently, we'd just end up getting picked off by Abyssal Goblins.

Trudge.

I took one more step and entered the portal.

[You have entered the Goblin Forest on the second floor.]

My vision went black for a moment. It wasn't long before I felt my body floating. When I opened my eyes, I saw a green forest.

"God damn it."

There was good news and bad news. The good news was that there weren't many troops nearby. And the bad news...

Fuck, they're still here?

My expectation that their main forces would have headed up to mine for mana stones was wrong.

Splat.

Finding my balance and landing on the ground, I studied the three people in the forest. I could tell who they were just by looking at their clothing—two of them, at least.

"The first survivor." This was the person who had destroyed all the portals, the Fallen Scholar.

"Haha, I told you someone would definitely show up if we waited here. Hey, barbarian! Congratulations. It was a rough journey, eh?" asked an unknown beastman.

"Oh? We meet again." The last man was still wearing that white mask from before. "I guess we're meant to be? Pshehe." With his eyes on me, the Corpse Collector grinned.

"You are..." They recognized me, too, and froze. Their eyes were on the sword and shield I was holding.

"Take them."

"...Is he dead?" an adventurer asked tearfully, and I remained silent. It took a while for her mouth to open again. "This... I'll take it. But take this." After picking up the sword, the woman handed me the shield. "You will need it, I think."

"...Thank you." I didn't refuse and accepted the shield. I had lost mine, after all. Refusing this would only make this more painful for them too. "Then I will go."

I continued forward and soon reached my teammates.

"Anyone injured while I was gone?"

No one answered my question. They just stared at me blankly. Missha's hands even trembled.

Oh, is she going to scold me for getting hurt? I should run, quick.

"If you're not hurt, then I'll just go—"

"Stop. Please, stop and get some rrrest. You've done enough. Okay?"

"Yes, Mr. Yandel. Do as Miss Karlstein says. If you go up there in the state you're in, you won't be any help, anyway. You said there could be another big fight later on, right?"

I decided to stop being stubborn. Raven was right. Even after going through all that, I still had a mountain left to climb. I'd better conserve my energy.

Trudge, trudge.

While other warriors cleared the way in the frontlines, I followed the procession with my teammates and recovered my stamina.

After a long while, instructions to stall the procession came through on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the message stone. "Stop!" I sensed intuitively that we had reached our destination.

"Is the portal open?" asked Kyle.

His voice was followed by that of Teterud, the leader of the all-dwarf clan, whom I had entrusted with the frontlines. "It's open."

So we'd come to the right place. My legs felt strangely weak. If this place had been destroyed, too, I would've really lost it.

"Raven, take care of things on this end."

"Yes, go. You're going to even if we stop you, anyway."

I passed through the crowd of adventurers and headed to the front lines. As soon as I arrived, Teterud greeted me. "Now what are you going to do? Will you go in straight away?"

"As soon as preparations are finished back there."

"Are you going to go first again?"

"Is there a point? You guys are going to follow right behind me, anyway."

"Haha, that's true."

I soon stood in front of the portal. After about ten minutes, I got a message from Kyle through the message stone. "The preparations are complete. You can go in now."

I closed my eyes and took a breath. Even I could tell my breathing had gotten rough, but the rougher it got, the more I thought of the positives.

There might be no one there.

Noark's side ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠probably would have assumed that even if someone managed to come up alive, it would be a small number.

Plus, it'd be more beneficial to them for us to return to the city, testify to what the royals and their knights have done, and create disorder.

Of course, that was just one possibility. They also could have decided to be thorough and deployed troops near the portals to finish off even the few survivors.

I'm sure they didn't leave that many behind.

Regardless of how much equipment they had grabbed on the first floor, they couldn't live off of that. Their main forces would have gone straight up to other floors to mine for mana stones.

God damn it.

Even as I thought that, I found myself feeling uncertain. However, I still put my foot forward.

This isn't the first time.

How many times had I been certain before? We didn't have any other options, anyway. Even if we waited here patiently, we'd just end up getting picked off by Abyssal Goblins.

Trudge.

I took one more step and entered the portal.

[You have entered the Goblin Forest on the second floor.]

My vision went black for a moment. It wasn't long before I felt my body floating. When I opened my eyes, I saw a green forest.

"God damn it."

There was good news and bad news. The good news was that there weren't many troops nearby. And the bad news...

Fuck, they're still here?

My expectation that their main forces would have headed up to mine for mana stones was wrong.

Splat.

Finding my balance and landing on the ground, I studied the three people in the forest. I could tell who they were just by looking at their clothing—two of them, at least.

"The first survivor." This was the person who had destroyed all the portals, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Fallen Scholar.

"Haha, I told you someone would definitely show up if we waited here. Hey, barbarian! Congratulations. It was a rough journey, eh?" asked an unknown beastman.

"Oh? We meet again." The last man was still wearing that white mask from before. "I guess we're meant to be? Pshehe." With his eyes on me, the Corpse Collector grinned.