Chapter 82
Chapter 82
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 82
Chapter Title: Floor 34 (2)
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I moved with Sharon.
Far off in the distance, the orcs' encampment came into view.
"If things proceed as expected, we'll run into the enemy's patrol within thirty minutes."
Sharon whispered, her body concealed in the bushes.
Her voice was calm.
The five years had made her even more seasoned.
Her profile looked reliable.
We advanced without a sound.
Before long, the voices of orcs drifted over from afar.
I reflexively prepared to fire sand bullets.
But Sharon lightly grabbed my arm and shook her head.
"It's fine. It's just the wind carrying the sound. They're still a ways off."
Sharon tilted her head, listening intently to the orcs' conversation.
A faint smile soon crept onto her lips.
"We're in luck. They're talking about the shamans' ritual."
That peculiar ability of hers we'd already confirmed back on Floor 33.
For some reason, Sharon could speak Orcish.
She'd put it to good use during the last prisoner rescue op, too.
"The original plan was to raid their scattered shamans' tents one by one… but that's not necessary anymore."
Sharon unfolded the map and pointed to one spot with her finger.
A dilapidated altar on the outermost edge of the encampment.
"All the shamans are gathered there, preparing a large-scale ritual."
Thanks to that, our mission had become far simpler.
Instead of hunting down dozens of scattered shamans for assassination, we could just hit the altar where they'd all gathered.
"Perfect. No need to waste time."
We immediately turned toward the altar.
Following Sharon's guidance, we slipped through the enemy's watch network undetected.
How long had we traveled?
At last, a sinister altar loomed before our eyes.
An altar made of bones. Over ten orc shamans bustled about.
Orc shamans drawing bizarre patterns in blood, chanting incomprehensible incantations as they prepared the ritual.
"Should I fire?"
"Yes."
I felt no need to wait any longer.
I snapped my fingers.
Dozens of silver bullets materialized in the air.
Boom! Boomboom! Boomboomboomboom!
The sound of watermelons bursting filled the altar.
The shamans, focused on their ritual.
Even the soldiers guarding the shamans.
All collapsed without so much as a scream.
It happened in an instant.
In less than ten seconds, only corpses littered the altar.
I nodded in satisfaction.
"Alright, shall we head back?"
It was right then, as I turned to leave.
"Gr… Grrraa…."
Amid the sound of vomiting blood, one of the fallen shamans staggered to his feet.
It should have pierced his head clean through.
I looked at him with puzzlement.
"Huh? How's he still alive?"
On closer inspection, black, murky smoke rose from near his heart.
It looked like the smoke was forcibly plugging the hole in his head.
Some kind of black magic keeping him alive, apparently.
"Gr…."
The creature glared at us with eyes full of hatred.
Unknown words poured from his mouth.
As he reached out, black smoke gathered in his hand.
A curse, plain as day.
And that curse was unmistakably aimed at Sharon.
'She can just block it easily….'
But right then, the shaman's gaze shifted from Sharon to me, standing beside her.
His eyes bulged in shock, and he bellowed a curse-laden shout.
"Sand…!"
At the same time, the curse veered off course.
The target wasn't Sharon.
It was me.
"What the?"
I was dumbfounded.
Why the sudden reaction at the sight of me?
Still, I remained calm.
I had my automatic barrier, after all.
And even if that somehow failed, I had the pendant around my neck.
The world tree's iridescent leaf.
A unique-grade pendant that nullified curses.
No way I'd get hurt.
Arms crossed, I indifferently watched the incoming curse.
Then, something unexpected happened.
"No!"
Sharon screamed and threw herself in front of me.
Arms spread wide, as if using her body as a shield to protect me.
I yelled in shock.
"Are you insane? Why take it for me?"
In that instant, all stray thoughts vanished from my mind.
I poured everything into defense.
For the first time in my life, truly.
"Move!"
With a shout, I roughly grabbed Sharon by the scruff of her neck.
I hurled her aside.
The size difference was huge, but my overwhelming strength stat made it possible.
No time to check on Sharon tumbling to the ground.
Rumble rumble rumble—!
The earth beneath my feet shifted.
A massive sand wall erupted from the ground.
Kababoom—!
The pitch-black curse shattered against the sand wall.
Black energy scattered in all directions.
I didn't stop there.
"Die."
The towering sand barrier I'd raised collapsed forward.
It crushed the last surviving shaman flat.
Crunch. The sound of bones shattering.
"Haa…."
I let out a sigh.
Sharon lay on the ground, staring up at me in a daze.
Anger flared for a moment, but seeing her face drained me of the will to yell.
"Why'd you do that? You got a death wish or something?"
"…I couldn't lose you, Wise One."
"What?"
"You are the kingdom's last hope, incomparable to a mere soldier like me. If something happened to you…."
"Haa, as if something would…."
I couldn't listen to her anymore.
I pressed my throbbing temple.
"Listen up. The safest place in this world is right behind me."
I thumped my chest with my fist.
"I never get hurt or die. So don't ever pull something this stupid again. Your job isn't to protect me—it's to stay alive, quietly hiding behind me. Got it?"
Sharon had no reply to my firm words.
She just nodded, eyes glistening with tears.
"Alright. Let's go back."
My heart pounded like mad.
NPC or not.
The fact that someone had tried to throw away their life for me didn't feel real at all.
***
We headed wordlessly toward the plains where the main force waited.
Seymour's army fought desperately.
"Doesn't look like they're winning."
The orcs were few in number, but each one was strong.
The real problem was the particularly frenzied ones among them.
Orc berserkers enveloped in dark red auras.
They seemed to feel no pain, swinging their blades madly even after fatal wounds.
Even three or four regular soldiers couldn't hold them off.
"That's the power of the shamans…."
"It looks like it's about to wear off. Let's wait."
No sooner had I spoken than the battlefield shifted.
The dark red auras cloaking the berserkers began fading like smoke.
"Gr… Graaah…?"
The berserkers looked down at their bodies in confusion.
The forcibly amplified power drained away, and the suppressed pain hit all at once.
Berserker orcs screamed and collapsed.
The tide of battle turned in an instant.
Seymour, holding the front line with difficulty, wouldn't miss this chance.
His booming voice echoed across the field.
"Full assault! The enemy's spells are broken! Victory is at hand!"
"Waaaaah!"
The soldiers roared and charged the orcs.
A complete reversal.
The orcs panicked and began scattering.
Victory seemed all but certain.
I watched the scene with satisfaction.
"This should be enough to restore their pride, right?"
I decided to drive the final nail in.
This level of intervention was fine.
It would even make their victory more dramatic.
I planted the Conqueror's Banner from my shoulder into the ground.
"Mirage."
An illusion of the banner rose up.
I enlarged it, and enlarged it further.
Just like on Floor 33.
A massive white banner emblazoned with a golden sand hourglass emblem appeared over the plains.
The first to spot it were the fleeing orcs.
Pure terror filled their eyes.
"Sand hourglass…!"
The orcs dropped their weapons, screaming as they scattered.
The horrific massacre in the ravine flashing through their minds.
The legendary tale spread by the sole survivor.
That legend had now appeared before them as reality.
The orc army collapsed completely.
They were no longer an army.
Just terrified rabble.
"Better effect than I expected."
I smiled contentedly.
The kingdom's soldiers, spotting the massive banner, cheered in awe.
"Waaaaah!"
"The Wise One is with us!"
To them, the banner symbolized victory and salvation.
No way their morale would falter.
The one-sided slaughter continued.
***
A short while later, the battle ended in the kingdom army's overwhelming victory.
Seymour and Sharon left the cleanup to their aides and approached me.
Seymour bowed deeply before me, not even bothering to wipe the blood from his armor.
"Wise One… I don't know how to repay this grace."
His voice brimmed with gratitude and awe.
"You've saved our kingdom once more. If you hadn't dealt with the shamans, we all would have died here."
I shrugged.
"Didn't you seize victory with your own blood? I just lent a little help."
Seymour simply gazed at me with an emotional expression.
Then, Sharon cautiously spoke up.
"Wise One, about earlier… I'm truly sorry. I was foolish."
She kept her head down, unable to meet my eyes.
"I won't put you in danger again. And… I'll value my own life, too. I'll survive for sure, behind you."
I lightly patted her shoulder.
Had to make a step stool since I couldn't reach, but anyway.
"Good thinking."
In that moment, a familiar system window appeared before my eyes.
[Quest 'Kingdom's Crisis' completed.]
[Sharon's survival unlocks a hidden story.]
[Relationship with NPC 'Sharon' changes to [Fated Companions].]
'Hidden story unlocked, huh.'
Good call saving her?
Lost in thought for a moment.
Soon, a familiar sensation enveloped my body.
The feeling of being ejected from the tower.
I closed my eyes.
***
[Great War Tower. Jung Man-ho updates to Floor 34. Breakless speed…]
The next morning.
The news was filled with reports of the Floor 34 climb.
"Huh?"