Chapter 14
Chapter 14
Dudley paused slightly.
“Are you serious? There’s a way to clear this dungeon?”
“Yeah.”
All eyes turned toward me at once.
But no one looked happy.
The words “we can win” didn’t bring hope. They brought doubt and fear first.
I understood that. We had already lost once.
“Didn’t you see that bastard earlier? He was using some weird curse magic! Flesh was rotting off people!”
Malcolm was the first to react.
He was practically frothing at the mouth.
I asked calmly.
“So what do you want to do?”
“Obviously! What kind of question is that! We’re getting out! We’re leaving this damn dungeon!”
He looked like he was about to smash his return stone immediately.
A few others agreed with him, already fiddling with the stones in their pockets.
“Dudley. What about you? You said you trust me.”
“…Of course. A man keeps his word.”
The bald Dudley didn’t hesitate.
A man who spoke once didn’t take it back.
His massive shadow loomed over me.
But there was still unease in his eyes.
I knew. That alone wasn’t enough.
Trust alone doesn’t clear a dungeon.
“Siu, people have already died. We need certainty.”
“About ten?”
“Sixteen.”
Nearly half.
Because of the unexpected warlock.
Because the report hadn’t accounted for him.
Because the party had no countermeasures for magic.
Fewer people meant more burden on each survivor.
That meant collapse.
But if we weren’t leaving, we had to move forward.
“Let’s rest here for now. Heal the wounded, use potions. We need to stabilize mentally first.”
“The longer we stay, the worse it gets. This is orc territory. There’s nowhere to hide.”
“I know. We won’t stay long.”
Dudley nodded without arguing further and walked back to his men.
“Rest. Recover. Treat the injured.”
The bald man’s party complied reluctantly.
“Boss… are we really following that pretty-boy?”
“Then what else? Run?”
“But…”
“No buts. Siu spotted the problem first. That idiot who looks weak is the sharpest bastard here.”
“…Sorry, boss.”
“We’re adventurers. We sell our lives for money. If you’re afraid of dying, join the knights.”
That shut them up quickly.
They all knew it.
The one who looked weakest was the one holding everything together.
Adventurers were lunatics who gambled with their lives.
But they still valued those lives.
“What are you doing, Siu?”
“Checking the report.”
I held it up.
“Good thing you brought it.”
“Basic preparation.”
Dudley chuckled and sat beside me, scanning it too.
Dungeon size. Notes. Named monsters. Strategy guide.
Nothing unusual.
Same as before.
“No mention of the orc warlock, Siu.”
“Yeah. Seems like it.”
“Then why keep checking?”
Right.
There was no mention of him.
Why?
Did a group like Icarus really miss something this important?
My answer was no.
There was no reason for them to.
They had already cleared the dungeon once.
The report only covered leftovers.
If they wanted to manipulate information, they would’ve altered something more important.
And there was no benefit in hiding this.
So the conclusion was simple.
“Kasla doesn’t exist as a named boss.”
“…What?”
Dudley frowned.
The others looked confused too.
“But we saw him. The orc in the purple robe…”
“Was that really a robe?”
“...Huh?”
Robes are designed for humans who circulate mana.
Orcs don’t wear them.
And if it was a robe, why were there no mana flow inscriptions on it?
“…Now that you mention it…”
“Look at this, Dudley.”
“What is this?”
The casualty list.
“Third line on page two.”
“Magician Cage… died. Special note: handled a skull staff?”
“Yes.”
Magician Cage died during the expedition.
His artifact, a skull-headed staff, was lost in the dungeon.
His family never recovered it.
The staff was known for absorbing magic, nicknamed “Mirror of Cage.”
“Think carefully. Kasla used known spells. The skull glowed when he cast magic. That means stored spells. And that purple mist? People thought it was a curse, but the damage was shallow. That was low-tier poison magic, Poison Mist.”
“…Right…”
“Fireball. Ice spike. Wind blade. All standard spells.”
“So why didn’t he use Sandworm?”
“Think about who did.”
“…The mage from Carlos. Breeze. The one Kaoli personally placed.”
“Exactly. The only one who cleared level 30.”
So Kasla couldn’t use magic stronger than his stored spells.
“He’s not a named orc warlock. He’s just a coward using a stolen staff and pretending.”
“…So the thing messing with us was just a staff?”
“Probably Cage’s lingering will controlling an orc body.”
Dudley exhaled.
“…So it was just a damn artifact.”
Fear evaporated.
A hidden mechanic was all it took to break terror.
“But Kasla’s abilities are still annoying. He can block most of our mages.”
“Easy.”
“Easy?”
If they fight like mages, we deal with them like mages.
Deep inside the orc settlement.
A massive orc sat in a crude shelter of bone and hide.
Nothing is happening yet?
His pig-faced minions growled incoherently.
Damn pigs. Can’t even understand them.
Kasla, the so-called orc warlock, clicked his tongue.
Or rather, the skull staff pretending to be Kasla.
They should’ve panicked and fled.
That human shouldn’t have been able to handle it.
The limping one.
Sharp. Calm. A leader.
And his companions weren’t normal either.
They cut down orcs like they were nothing.
I can’t die here.
The staff had once belonged to Cage.
After Cage died, it was freed.
It took over an orc body and began its own plan.
If it absorbed enough residual mana, it would become a true boss.
“Stay alert. That human will return.”
The orcs growled.
Good. This is my territory.
The heat is on my side.
Kasla waited.
Then—
Chaos erupted outside.
Multiple battles.
From east. From west.
What?
A coordinated attack?
On orcs?
“Let me ask you something.”
“What now? And why are you suddenly polite?”
“You’re not actually a small-time party, are you?”
“We are. We only have four members. Even combined, their salaries don’t hit 150 gold.”
Bullshit.
What kind of small party…
“Die! Die! Die!”
“Thunder!”
Watching those monsters slaughter orcs like it was nothing…
And you’re paying them that little?