Chapter 275: Vortex (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 275: Vortex (1)
Bewilderment and surprise—setting those emotions aside, my brain analyzed the visual information it was gathering.
Drake.
First, Drakes did not spawn on this island. So, how was this possible? The answer lay in a conversation I'd had just a few hours ago.
"Carmilla and Belverson. This has to be the work of those bastards."
Two plunderers from Noark had likely betrayed Amelia because they coveted a treasure she was in possession of. Of the two, the woman named Carmilla was said to have summoned a beast.
Hmm, then since I've identified the enemy...
Whoosh!
Judging by the fire the Drake was breathing at us, it was clear they had malicious intent as well. So there was only one thing for me to do now.
"Prepare for battle!" I shouted, gripping my mace tighter. As we'd already been in several similar situations lately, this cry once again served as a trigger that spurred everyone into action.
"E-Everyone, gather round!" Raven, who had been staring blankly at the sky, hurried to cast a spell before she could even put the Magic Vial in sub-space. "Alerbeth Wiar!"
The rank-seven support spell Mana Barrier was the most used non-elemental defense spell for wizards. However, the translucent barrier that surrounded us was covered in a blue frost.
Did she just layer an ice spell on top of it in that split second?
One thing was for certain—her casting had gotten really fast since she'd become an adventurer.
Whooom!
While I was taking a moment to admire Raven, the flames the Drake was spewing met the mana barrier and fanned out like rainwater running down an umbrella. In any case, it bought us time to catch our breath.
Erwen is incapable of combat. Ersina is out of divine power. Raven likely doesn't have much mana left, either. Even my MP is at its limit.
I updated my alllies' stats in the short moment we were afforded. The situation wasn't looking good in a lot of ways. Thanks to the battle with the Guano Sea Serpent, almost all of our biological resources including stamina were at rock bottom.
This won't be easy.
Just as I was thinking this, the flames suddenly stopped and the Drake crashed into the mana barrier.
Kwaaang!
Body Slam, the foundational skill of a tamer.
Rippp!
Since it slammed down on us with all the speed and strength of that giant body, there was no way a rank-seven defense spell could hold up.
[Abman Urikfried has cast Hazardous Material.]
The moment our enemies emerged through the broken mana barrier, Mr. Bear fired an explosive arrow at the Drake's forehead.
Kwaaang!
The Drake blocked the attack without much damage by shielding its body with its large wings. Well, that didn't matter. We never expected it to be a one-shot kill.
"Behel—aaah!"
I activated Giantization, which I had been carefully rationing, and kicked off the ground to run toward the Drake, which was hovering in an effort to block Mr. Bear's arrows.
Dash.
The distance between us rapidly narrowed.
"Carmilla, I will take care of that barbarian." Just then, the man riding on the Drake's back leapt off of it, aiming his sword at me. The blade was surrounded by a white aura. It wasn't the type of aura used by knights.
Oh, that looks like it's going to hurt.
My tank's intuition told me that just ignoring this and charging forward would be dangerous. And so I raised my shield and blocked the sword.
Bannng!
A heavy shock rattled the shield.
Good thing I blocked that.
A flying barbarian akin to a cannonball had been stopped by a single sword. It looked like my shield was scratched as well. If I'd chosen to take the hit with my body, I would have suffered considerable damage.
"I thought... you were... rank five."
Anyway, what was this bastard talking about? I had only one thing to say. "Go to hell."
I wielded my mace with a flourish, and he responded by stepping on my shield, backflipping, and widening the distance before even landing on the ground. Jeez, did he think he was a flying squirrel or something?
Dash.
After returning to the ground following that brief exchange in mid-air, I immediately sprinted at him. At the same time, the Drake's throat gurgled before it released another stream of fire. But that wasn't a problem. I wasn't alone, either.
"We'll handle it!"
Once again, Raven's defense magic shot out to block the Drake's flames, and Mr. Bear fired a quick arrow to keep the Drake in check.
Dash.
I kept running.
Whooom.
At first, the man went to block my Swing without avoiding it, but apparently sensing something was off, he pulled his sword back and retreated. Jeez, he had good instincts.
If he blocked it, it would have completely destroyed him.
Biting my lip in annoyance, I heard Mr. Bear cry out from behind me. "Yandel, I'll leave him to you!"
"Yeah, and I'll leave the rest to you guys."
That was how the structure of the battle naturally took form. Summoner Carmilla was tackled by Raven, Mr. Bear, Patzran, and Hans J together.
"Woohoo! Leave the monsters to me!" Even in the middle of all this drama, Ainar couldn't read the room and launched herself at the trash mobs to clean up shop.
"Why do you keep running away? You attacked me first."
I dealt with the swordsman named Belverson. Well, I did have one order to give out before we started fighting in earnest. "Raven, use a team communication spell!" I closed the distance between me and the swordsman and ordered Raven to turn on Voice Control, but with one more condition.
"Just us? But why—"
"Did you do it?"
"Yes. Our conversation can only be heard by us now."
Okay, in that case... After confirming that the spell was working, I speedily conveyed my message to the others. Everyone except Raven seemed confused by my instructions.
"I don't know why you're saying that, but okay. If the time comes, I'll do as you say."
I didn't think I had to worry about them not following instructions. Put simply, that meant that we each just had to focus on doing our jobs.
Dash.
The distance between us rapidly narrowed.
"Carmilla, I will take care of that barbarian." Just then, the man riding on the Drake's back leapt off of it, aiming his sword at me. The blade was surrounded by a white aura. It wasn't the type of aura used by knights.
Oh, that looks like it's going to hurt.
My tank's intuition told me that just ignoring this and charging forward would be dangerous. And so I raised my shield and blocked the sword.
Bannng!
A heavy shock rattled the shield.
Good thing I blocked that.
A flying barbarian akin to a cannonball had been stopped by a single sword. It looked like my shield was scratched as well. If I'd chosen to take the hit with my body, I would have suffered considerable damage.
"I thought... you were... rank five."
Anyway, what was this bastard talking about? I had only one thing to say. "Go to hell."
I wielded my mace with a flourish, and he responded by stepping on my shield, backflipping, and widening the distance before even landing on the ground. Jeez, did he think he was a flying squirrel or something?
Dash.
After returning to the ground following that brief exchange in mid-air, I immediately sprinted at him. At the same time, the Drake's throat gurgled before it released another stream of fire. But that wasn't a problem. I wasn't alone, either.
"We'll handle it!"
Once again, Raven's defense magic shot out to block the Drake's flames, and Mr. Bear fired a quick arrow to keep the Drake in check.
Dash.
I kept running.
Whooom.
At first, the man went to block my Swing without avoiding it, but apparently sensing something was off, he pulled his sword back and retreated. Jeez, he had good instincts.
If he blocked it, it would have completely destroyed him.
Biting my lip in annoyance, I heard Mr. Bear cry out from behind me. "Yandel, I'll leave him to you!"
"Yeah, and I'll leave the rest to you guys."
That was how the structure of the battle naturally took form. Summoner Carmilla was tackled by Raven, Mr. Bear, Patzran, and Hans J together.
"Woohoo! Leave the monsters to me!" Even in the middle of all this drama, Ainar couldn't read the room and launched herself at the trash mobs to clean up shop.
"Why do you keep running away? You attacked me first."
I dealt with the swordsman named Belverson. Well, I did have one order to give out before we started fighting in earnest. "Raven, use a team communication spell!" I closed the distance between me and the swordsman and ordered Raven to turn on Voice Control, but with one more condition.
"Just us? But why—"
"Did you do it?"
"Yes. Our conversation can only be heard by us now."
Okay, in that case... After confirming that the spell was working, I speedily conveyed my message to the others. Everyone except Raven seemed confused by my instructions.
"I don't know why you're saying that, but okay. If the time comes, I'll do as you say."
I didn't think I had to worry about them not following instructions. Put simply, that meant that we each just had to focus on doing our jobs.
Dash.
On that note, I ran at the swordsman again, closing the gap.
His comrade and the owner of the Drake tried to help him several times, but found herself interrupted by Raven and Hans J until she was eventually dragged into a full-fledged battle with that part of the team. "Ugh, so annoying. I'll kill you if you lose!"
From then on, our fight became a one-on-one matchup, but it wasn't as easy as beating up their archer earlier. There were several reasons for this. First, this guy was not a glass-cannon long-range fighter, and he was overall on a higher level than the archer.
[Your Soul Power is insufficient. Giantization has deactivated.]
More importantly, due to the battle with the monsters beforehand, my MP had run out and it was impossible to use my abilities to subdue him. Man, if only I were in top form, I would have owned him a long time ago.
"You're good, but this ends now!" When Giantization deactivated, the swordsman closed the distance and swung his sword at me. As a citizen of Noark, he seemed to be well-versed in fighting people because his timing and sword's arc were difficult for me to block with my shield.
But this guy doesn't know about Ironskin.
The ogre's passive skill, Ironskin, had the side effect of raising the user's Physical Resistance by a multiple of two exclusively against slashing damage.
Clang!
The sword dug into my forearm, but that was all. It was my turn now.
Whoom!
As a foreign sensation spread through my skin, I struck his temple with my mace.
Crunch!
A pleasant crunch resounded.
"Ugh." Unfortunately, what the mace shattered was not his skull but his left arm, which he raised just in time.
Well, better an arm than a head. I guess you're smart enough to realize that, at least. So, one more.
Just as I was about to exploit this opening by swinging my mace again, I was forced to step back as a monster came at me from the side.
"Kyaaagh!"
Ha, my precious opportunity.
"...So, an ogre essence." This guy also seemed to be aware of Ironskin now. From that point on, he only pretended he was going to cut me and attacked mainly with stabs.
Looks like a short battle is out of the question.
When a more difficult battle ensued, the number of wounds on my body went up. The wounds weren't even healing with a potion from Raven, perhaps because the sword was poisoned. However, I refused to get impatient.
Just refill your MP first.
Change of plans. I was now going to fight as defensively as possible and figure out what essences he had, then end the match.
As I was preparing for the long haul, I heard a woman let out a shout from somewhere across the battlefield. "Hans Aulock!" It was the voice of the woman firing off various attacks from the Drake's back. "Stop interfering and help us!"
A feeling of déjà vu crossed my mind. Coincidentally, many things about this situation overlapped with the events of Doppelganger Forest.
"W-W-What are you talking about!?"
"Ha! I'm the one who did your background investigation and gave it to that bitch. You think I don't know who you are?"
The fact that our enemy was from Noark was the same.
Dash.
On that note, I ran at the swordsman again, closing the gap.
His comrade and the owner of the Drake tried to help him several times, but found herself interrupted by Raven and Hans J until she was eventually dragged into a full-fledged battle with that part of the team. "Ugh, so annoying. I'll kill you if you lose!"
From then on, our fight became a one-on-one matchup, but it wasn't as easy as beating up their archer earlier. There were several reasons for this. First, this guy was not a glass-cannon long-range fighter, and he was overall on a higher level than the archer.
[Your Soul Power is insufficient. Giantization has deactivated.]
More importantly, due to the battle with the monsters beforehand, my MP had run out and it was impossible to use my abilities to subdue him. Man, if only I were in top form, I would have owned him a long time ago.
"You're good, but this ends now!" When Giantization deactivated, the swordsman closed the distance and swung his sword at me. As a citizen of Noark, he seemed to be well-versed in fighting people because his timing and sword's arc were difficult for me to block with my shield.
But this guy doesn't know about Ironskin.
The ogre's passive skill, Ironskin, had the side effect of raising the user's Physical Resistance by a multiple of two exclusively against slashing damage.
Clang!
The sword dug into my forearm, but that was all. It was my turn now.
Whoom!
As a foreign sensation spread through my skin, I struck his temple with my mace.
Crunch!
A pleasant crunch resounded.
"Ugh." Unfortunately, what the mace shattered was not his skull but his left arm, which he raised just in time.
Well, better an arm than a head. I guess you're smart enough to realize that, at least. So, one more.
Just as I was about to exploit this opening by swinging my mace again, I was forced to step back as a monster came at me from the side.
"Kyaaagh!"
Ha, my precious opportunity.
"...So, an ogre essence." This guy also seemed to be aware of Ironskin now. From that point on, he only pretended he was going to cut me and attacked mainly with stabs.
Looks like a short battle is out of the question.
When a more difficult battle ensued, the number of wounds on my body went up. The wounds weren't even healing with a potion from Raven, perhaps because the sword was poisoned. However, I refused to get impatient.
Just refill your MP first.
Change of plans. I was now going to fight as defensively as possible and figure out what essences he had, then end the match.
As I was preparing for the long haul, I heard a woman let out a shout from somewhere across the battlefield. "Hans Aulock!" It was the voice of the woman firing off various attacks from the Drake's back. "Stop interfering and help us!"
A feeling of déjà vu crossed my mind. Coincidentally, many things about this situation overlapped with the events of Doppelganger Forest.
"W-W-What are you talking about!?"
"Ha! I'm the one who did your background investigation and gave it to that bitch. You think I don't know who you are?"
The fact that our enemy was from Noark was the same.
"D-Don't listen, everyone! This wicked woman is just trying to cause infighting—!"
"So, is that how you want to play it? Everyone, listen! Hans Aulock is the scumbag who killed the daughter of Count Montraina twelve years ago and concealed it!"
Said enemy was openly revealing a man named Hans's secret and encouraging them to betray their team.
"What a cunning tongue! Do you really think we'll believe that?"
One of Hans's comrades even denied the betrayal, but Hans had been driven into a corner. It was all exactly like back then.
"Iherno Kar Verdei..."
However, it played out completely differently.
Stab.
Before Hans J could finish casting, a shortsword skewered him in the lungs.
Choke!
It was the kind of quick reaction that could only be achieved by someone who was already lying in wait.
Slump.
When Hans J dropped, the eyes of the woman who had tried to appeal to him went wide. "H-How...?"
How do you think? I prepared to stab him just in case there was the slightest hint of him screwing around.
It was Erwen who'd stabbed a shortsword into Hans J's back. Even though she was badly injured enough that she couldn't participate in battle, killing a wizard was easy, especially if she had been preparing to do so right behind him.
"Y-You! Why did you...?!" On the other hand, having never anticipated this, the priestess stared at us with her jaw dropped. It looked like she was still unable to accept Hans J's betrayal.
"Why do you think? He's a traitor."
"That's just her trying to turn us against each other! It hasn't even been confirmed yet...!"
"But he suddenly cast a spell."
The priestess' face hardened at Erwen's harsh words. "It's possible the spell wasn't aimed at us...!"
She wasn't wrong. We couldn't know for sure if Hans J's spell was actually aimed at us, but humans were rational creatures.
"You really think that?"
Hans J would have realized it right away. We may have been able to write that woman's words off as a tactic to turn us against each other for now, but if and when we got back to the city, we would have had questions. Because there was a possibility we could look into his background, the smartest thing for him to do was kill and silence everyone.
Anyway, this bastard really was the traitor.
I thought it was possible he wasn't since there was no basis for my hunch aside from his name, but it seemed the Hans effect was scientific fact.
"Bjorn Yandel! Say something!" The priestess directed her arrow of criticism from Erwen to me, but I already knew how I would respond.
"Good job, Erwen."
"It's nothing. I just did as I was told."
Yeah, but it's the fact that you followed through and did it well that's important.
Both Mr. Bear and Raven had gotten the same instructions, too, but they hadn't been able to act as speedily as Erwen. The moment you killed someone, there was no going back. No matter how prepared you were mentally, there was still a psychological barrier to entry.
It's possible she's the one I can trust the most when it comes to things like this...
Entering another evaluation for Erwen in my mental database, I raised my shield. The moment I did, a pure white blade embedded itself in its metal face.
Bang!
Dang, not even a second to think, huh?
Well, since their trump card ended up misfiring, I was sure he felt a sense of urgency.
"Mr. Patzran! Mr. Patzran, say something! That elf struck down Mr. Aulock...!"
"Ersina, let's discuss this later. It's possible he really was going to betray us."
Thankfully Patzran was not as naive as the priestess and postponed this conversation for later. Judging from his tone, it sounded like he had been surprised at first, but seemed to accept I'd made the right call.
Yeah, that's how it should be. Anyone can see he was going to betray us sooner or later. Okay, then the betrayal plotline ended without trouble...
It was right when we returned to our original positions, each fighting our respective battles, that there was a setback.
"Mr. Yandel, Mr. Urikfried is—!"
"D-Don't listen, everyone! This wicked woman is just trying to cause infighting—!"
"So, is that how you want to play it? Everyone, listen! Hans Aulock is the scumbag who killed the daughter of Count Montraina twelve years ago and concealed it!"
Said enemy was openly revealing a man named Hans's secret and encouraging them to betray their team.
"What a cunning tongue! Do you really think we'll believe that?"
One of Hans's comrades even denied the betrayal, but Hans had been driven into a corner. It was all exactly like back then.
"Iherno Kar Verdei..."
However, it played out completely differently.
Stab.
Before Hans J could finish casting, a shortsword skewered him in the lungs.
Choke!
It was the kind of quick reaction that could only be achieved by someone who was already lying in wait.
Slump.
When Hans J dropped, the eyes of the woman who had tried to appeal to him went wide. "H-How...?"
How do you think? I prepared to stab him just in case there was the slightest hint of him screwing around.
It was Erwen who'd stabbed a shortsword into Hans J's back. Even though she was badly injured enough that she couldn't participate in battle, killing a wizard was easy, especially if she had been preparing to do so right behind him.
"Y-You! Why did you...?!" On the other hand, having never anticipated this, the priestess stared at us with her jaw dropped. It looked like she was still unable to accept Hans J's betrayal.
"Why do you think? He's a traitor."
"That's just her trying to turn us against each other! It hasn't even been confirmed yet...!"
"But he suddenly cast a spell."
The priestess' face hardened at Erwen's harsh words. "It's possible the spell wasn't aimed at us...!"
She wasn't wrong. We couldn't know for sure if Hans J's spell was actually aimed at us, but humans were rational creatures.
"You really think that?"
Hans J would have realized it right away. We may have been able to write that woman's words off as a tactic to turn us against each other for now, but if and when we got back to the city, we would have had questions. Because there was a possibility we could look into his background, the smartest thing for him to do was kill and silence everyone.
Anyway, this bastard really was the traitor.
I thought it was possible he wasn't since there was no basis for my hunch aside from his name, but it seemed the Hans effect was scientific fact.
"Bjorn Yandel! Say something!" The priestess directed her arrow of criticism from Erwen to me, but I already knew how I would respond.
"Good job, Erwen."
"It's nothing. I just did as I was told."
Yeah, but it's the fact that you followed through and did it well that's important.
Both Mr. Bear and Raven had gotten the same instructions, too, but they hadn't been able to act as speedily as Erwen. The moment you killed someone, there was no going back. No matter how prepared you were mentally, there was still a psychological barrier to entry.
It's possible she's the one I can trust the most when it comes to things like this...
Entering another evaluation for Erwen in my mental database, I raised my shield. The moment I did, a pure white blade embedded itself in its metal face.
Bang!
Dang, not even a second to think, huh?
Well, since their trump card ended up misfiring, I was sure he felt a sense of urgency.
"Mr. Patzran! Mr. Patzran, say something! That elf struck down Mr. Aulock...!"
"Ersina, let's discuss this later. It's possible he really was going to betray us."
Thankfully Patzran was not as naive as the priestess and postponed this conversation for later. Judging from his tone, it sounded like he had been surprised at first, but seemed to accept I'd made the right call.
Yeah, that's how it should be. Anyone can see he was going to betray us sooner or later. Okay, then the betrayal plotline ended without trouble...
It was right when we returned to our original positions, each fighting our respective battles, that there was a setback.
"Mr. Yandel, Mr. Urikfried is—!"