Chapter 22: The Archmage
Chapter 22: The Archmage
Even by a conservative estimate, there were as many females as there were wolfdogs in that final swarm yesterday.
And unlike yesterday, this wasn't a mixed pack with males; it was made up entirely of females.
Even though Sara and I had leveled up since yesterday, it was clear this would be a tough fight.
"Hmm. Is it finished?"
"What are you talking about? Can't you see the ones surrounding us, just waiting for their turn?"
"How could I not see them? I was asking if you were finished dealing with the Transcendent Species."
"Hah. A mere mutt in heat like that? No matter how big it was, it was no match for me."
"Then I suppose I can stop now."
"Huh? Stop what?"
The cloth of the robed woman's hood lifted slightly around the middle.
Huh? Did she raise her hand? What is she doing?
With a snap! of her fingers, the wolfdogs that had been watching from the perimeter all began to charge toward me at once.
"Hey! What is this?!"
"Ho ho. Why did you think they were holding back their attack until now, young man?"
It seemed this robed woman had been using some trick to keep them at bay.
"If you could do something like that, you should have said so! So why did you release them now?"
"Did I not ask if you were finished?"
"How was I supposed to know that's what you meant?! You can do it again, right?! Please tell me you can do it again!"
"Hmm. That would be difficult."
"Dammit. Sara, with me! We're breaking through!"
"Yes!"
It would be too difficult to fight while completely surrounded.
Guwon charged forward, intending to break through one side first.
Of course, he didn't forget to activate his Saint's skills. At the very least, this skill was optimized for drawing aggro, so he could prevent them from targeting Sara like yesterday.
Being able to focus solely on the battle in front of him without any other distractions was a huge advantage.
Alright. The first priority is to break through one spot, get Sara up a tree, and then hit all the wolfdogs with Saint's Touch to focus their aggro on me.
"Hey! Aren't you going to help?!"
"Hmm. Do your best. I shall take on the role of cheerleader from here."
The robed woman was now floating leisurely in mid-air, observing the fight.
Dammit. Just you wait until you get a taste of my skills later. I won't stop, even if you're crying and begging.
Before the wolfdogs could completely tighten their encirclement, he rushed forward and struck them.
For now, he focused less on dealing damage and more on concentrating their aggro. Activating Saint's Touch, he hit each one of them, getting them tangled up while sending Sara ahead.
"Get up a tree for now!"
"Okay. Be careful!"
After barely managing to break through one point and getting Sara to safety up a tree, Guwon dealt with the ones he was engaged with, then turned to face the remaining females.
It was going to be a tough fight, but the robed woman was a small comfort.
She might be standing by now, but if I'm on the verge of death, she'll help, right?
She seemed very interested in the Saint's skills, so she probably wouldn't let him die before she got to experience them.
He didn't know how she did it, but the fact that she had held all of them back until he'd dealt with the Transcendent, and the way she was floating so casually now, suggested she was a bigger deal than he ever imagined.
That thought put him a little more at ease.
From her perch in the tree, Sara had already started letting arrows fly.
Her attacks were now powerful enough to inflict fatal wounds on the females, strong enough to shoot down any that drew her aggro and tried to leap at her with some circus-like double jump.
Guwon would tag them with Saint's Touch, and if any he missed tried to jump and attack Sara, she would shoot them down with an arrow.
With no need to worry about Sara getting hurt by the wolfdogs, Guwon fought with reckless abandon.
He grabbed the first one that rushed him, threw it, and stomped on it.
He elbowed another one charging from the side, then immediately extended his hand to strike the one in front.
He kneed one aiming for his legs and swept its legs with a low kick, creating a barrier to keep the others from rushing in.
All the while, Sara's arrows flew relentlessly, picking off the wolfdogs one by one.
At this rate, this might be easier than I thought.
That thought was short-lived. No matter how skilled he was, he couldn't overcome the sheer violence of their numbers.
Sara's arrows were finite, and Guwon's health, which had been slowly chipped away, was finally reaching a critical point.
Dammit. Did that Transcendent bastard gather every single female in the area? Why are there so many?
At this rate, he was actually going to die.
"Hey! Are you really just going to watch from over there? Please, save me!"
"Is this his limit? I suppose it can't be helped."
The center of her robe lifted again, just like before, and suddenly, he felt an incredible surge of energy.
How could he describe it? It was a sensation he'd never felt before. It was invisible to the eye, but he could feel an immense amount of energy gathering where the robed woman was. Was this what they called mana?
Then, that energy transformed into countless spheres.
Their number was likely the same as the remaining wolfdogs.
The spheres shot out, one for each wolfdog, and in an instant, they erased the creatures from existence.
Yes. She literally erased them.
The wolfdogs vanished from their spots as if they had never been there, so quickly that he couldn't even see them feel pain or sustain any wounds.
If it weren't for the pain and the wounds he'd suffered fighting them just moments ago, he would have thought the whole thing was a dream. It was that fleeting of a sight.
Only the Magic Stones and dropped items on the ground proved that the wolfdogs had ever been there at all.
"Who... who the hell are you?!"
"Hm? I believe I have already told you who I am. Have you forgotten? Your memory is quite poor. Do you not think it rather rude to forget the name of someone you have only just met? Very well. Be sure to remember it properly this time. My name is Diana. I am one who walks the path of magic."
"There's no way I'd forget an introduction that cringey! I'm not asking for your name. I'm asking what you are."
"...You do not know of me?"
"How would I? Have we met before?"
"Hmm. I thought it strange when you continued to speak so informally even after I revealed my name, but to think you truly do not know me. Young lady over there, do you not know of me either?"
"Huh? No."
Sara, who seemed quite shocked by Diana's magic, jumped in surprise when Diana addressed her.
"Neither of you knew who I was? And you still let me travel with you, despite my suspicious attire. How kind."
So she's self-aware enough to know she looks suspicious.
"Well, if you do not know, then it matters not. Do not worry. I truly have no ulterior motives; I am simply curious about the skills of the Saint job. I have no intention of harming either of you."
"Is that why you left a man to die?"
"Are you not an otherworlder? I have heard that your kind sometimes awakens to new powers when cornered. I had hoped for such a thing from you, but it seems you are not of that sort, regrettably."
What kind of manga-protagonist bastards crossed over to create that kind of stereotype?
In any case, she was probably telling the truth about not wanting to harm him.
Seeing how she'd wiped out those wolves, she could do it anytime she wanted.
And it seemed she wasn't the type to take what she wanted by force.
"Shall we collect the Magic Stones and materials, then? A Transcendent Species has a chance of dropping something quite rare."
Oh, right. As soon as he'd killed the Transcendent, he'd been thrown into a chaotic fight with the females, so he hadn't even had a chance to check what it dropped.
"By the way, do you get a reward from the Guild for reporting a Transcendent Species?"
"Mm. Once a species is reported, there are many cases of it being discovered again. The reward should be quite handsome."
Nice. Diana, who was clearly high-level, had said it was her first time seeing a Transcendent on the upper floors, so they were probably the first to find it. The reward for discovering the females last time was substantial, so he could have high hopes for this one, too.
With a heart full of excitement, he collected the drops and Magic Stones from the females and went to where he'd defeated the Transcendent. A Magic Stone nearly half the size of his fist lay on the ground. Considering the female wolfdogs' Magic Stones were only about the size of his thumb's first knuckle, the difference was immense. No wonder it could take so many of my hits.
"Hoh. A stone of this size would not be out of place compared to a monster from the next layer. You did well to defeat it."
What?! You just watched while I fought something like that?!
No, wait. Was she using all her power to hold back the females?
Judging by her carefree attitude, that didn't seem likely.
The moment he put the Magic Stone in his inventory and checked the dropped item, Guwon covered his eyes.
Aargh! My eyes!
"Hey, Diana."
"Hm? What is it?"
"Do they normally drop stuff like this?"
"Hoh. That is a rather rare item. You are luckier than you look."
You call this lucky?
The item the Transcendent Species dropped was none other than its own penis.
What's more, it was still in the same rigid state it was in right before death, proudly showing off its magnificent form.
"If it's so great, could you carry it for me?"
Whether it was a good item or not, he didn't want to touch it.
"You truly have no filter when speaking to a woman. If you are so loath to touch it, why not ask the young lady over there?"
Diana pointed to Sara, who was diligently picking up drops from the female wolfdogs.
"Do you want to see someone get killed? If I asked her, she'd probably try to skewer me with an arrow."
"You two are quite the amusing pair."
Amusing, my ass.
Left with no choice, Guwon picked it up with his fingertips, minimizing contact as much as possible, and shoved it into his inventory.
"What the hell is this thing supposed to be used for anyway? Do you happen to know?"
"...Hmm. Well, it is used for various purposes."
"Really? What's the most common use?"
"N-Now, what good would it do you to know such things? Is it not an item you can simply sell?"
For the first time since they'd met, Diana looked flustered.
"Saying it like that just makes me more curious. What is it? What's it used for? Huh? Tell me. C'mon, huh?"
"Silence! You really have no shame in what you say to a woman! Are you aware that verbal sexual harassment is a crime?!"
"I was just asking out of curiosity, why are you suddenly bringing up sexual harassment? What, do they use it as a dildo or something?"
"..."
Huh? No way, is that for real?
"S-Sorry."
"...Just be quiet."
After that, Diana didn't say another word, so Guwon silently focused on collecting the items.
It's super awkward now that the one who was chattering on and on has gone silent.
"So, what now?"
After finally finishing the item collection, Guwon broke the uncomfortable silence.
There had been so many wolfdogs that just gathering the items had taken a considerable amount of time.
According to his original plan, he should either find a way down from here or follow a path known to the Guild, but his health was in pretty bad shape after that last battle.
Even with his high natural recovery, it would take a while to get back to full strength.
He couldn't just venture into an unknown area when he wasn't in top condition.
And the timing was awkward.
He'd come to the dungeon late today to begin with, so it was already too late to go back to town, re-equip, and come back.
But it was also a little too early to just call it a day.
"In any case, if you wish to proceed further down, you will have to return to town once. Should you not at least acquire some basic armor? It may be fine for the young lady, as she is in the rear guard, but what of you? A person standing on the front line without so much as a weapon, let alone proper armor. Do you have two lives to spare?"
Diana's words were still a bit thorny, as if she were still pouting, but she gave him some sound advice for his current situation.
When you get down to it, she's the type who likes to look after people, isn't she.
"It's true. Watching you fight makes me nervous."
Even Sara, who had been unilaterally hostile toward Diana, seemed to agree with her on this point.
Armor, huh...
He had some spare funds, so it wasn't that he couldn't have bought some if he'd wanted to.
But it was just so cumbersome.
Back in his world, he prioritized function so much he only ever wore tracksuits. The thought of him having to walk around covered in clanking sheets of metal...
But she was right.
If he'd been properly equipped, he and Sara might have been able to handle the last battle without needing Diana's help.
He couldn't just stick to easy fights forever. He'd have to wear it eventually.
"Alright. Let's head back for today."
Besides, just from the profits of that last battle, he'd already earned more than enough for one day.
Come to think of it, he wasn't even planning on coming to the dungeon today. It should be fine to call it a day a little early.