Chapter 171: From Their Respective Positions
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 171: From Their Respective Positions
The Boundary Watcher is an undead monster that appears in the inter-floor villages.
It appears in the same form in every inter-floor village, but it grows progressively stronger the closer it is to the Deep Layers.
This means the Watcher on the 2.5th floor is stronger than the one on the 1.5th floor.
Since the Gourmet Whale is the master of the 2.5th floor, one might hope the monsters it brought would also be at a 2.5th-floor level, but unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
Because the White Lion is the lord of the 9.5th floor.
"Don't let the front line collapse!"
Inspector Neko, a wizard who had recently been making a name for herself on the 5th floor, was responsible for one flank of the defensive line in front of the Public Security Headquarters.
"Flame Fuse."
The flames of her 4th-tier binding magic traveled along a wick into the heart of the Watchers' formation.
Boom!
The explosion was considerable by mid-floor standards, but it didn't seem to do much damage to the Watchers.
"No way."
But there was no time for disappointment.
The battle was too frantic.
"We can't let them take the White Lion's corpse!"
Magistrate Krusla was at the forefront, trampling the Watchers.
All the high-ranking members of the Public Security Headquarters had been deployed.
"Hold your ground, no matter what!"
"What about the university's wizards?"
"They're swamped with their own problems!"
"Don't expect any support from the university!"
"The Public Security Headquarters must protect itself!"
Fortunately, there was one Deep Layer wizard here with skills that could rival a professor's.
Edward, the head of the Berten estate.
Since the university professors had to deal with the Assembly, Edward's presence here was part of the plan.
Originally, Isel was supposed to be here as well, but she had rushed off to the university.
Thanks to her, however, they had obtained crucial information.
[Killed the Dagger Raptor, but it revived. An exit room has appeared inside the university.]
Edward shared Isel's message with the Public Security Headquarters.
Among the many mysteries of the Labyrinth that Sohen had witnessed and experienced over the years, this was easily one of the most significant.
An exit room appearing on the surface?
The analysis from Nathaniel's temple had been correct after all. The Gourmet Whale, which had brought the Ossuary and the Watchers, was a mobile fortress of the Labyrinth.
The Dagger Raptor's revival was unfortunate, but there was a silver lining.
The White Lion can't be revived.
A new exit room in the Labyrinth doesn't form unless the exit gate disappears.
And who would be foolish enough to throw themselves into that unidentified exit gate?
From the Public Security Headquarters' perspective, the appearance of an exit room at the university was actually good news.
All they had to do was prevent the corpse from being taken and clean up the monsters from the inter-floor village that had come up.
This was a war Sohen would win.
"Ash Explosion."
Edward created an opening by setting off an explosion in the middle of the Watchers.
"Now!"
Consul Peterson leaped into the gap.
The martial prowess of the Consul, considered one of the greatest swordsmen not just in Sohen but in the entire world, was beyond imagination.
Field-Cleaver.
What erupted from his sheath wasn't just a single horizontal slash.
It was a storm of sword wind that crushed the enemy's morale and suppressed them in a single blow.
Like its master's personality, the straight and orderly blade drew a clean arc.
Along its trajectory, the heads of all Watchers within a fifty-meter radius were severed, as if a lawn had been neatly mowed.
Poof!
What erupted from the severed necks was not blood, but black smoke.
Boom! Kaboom! Crash!
And then, meteors the size of human heads rained down upon the corpses.
"Meteor Shower."
Edward cast another spell in quick succession.
To be honest, Neko found her mind going blank for a moment watching the Deep Layer monsters fight to the death.
This is hopeless...
No matter how hard they fought, there was no way to win like this.
Peeeeeeet!
Because every time the Caretaker of Rest let out a whistle, all the dead Watchers would revive.
Peeeeeeeeet!
Even if their limbs were severed, their hearts destroyed, or even their heads cut off.
The Caretaker of Rest's undead restoration magic made the war endless.
Of course, the Public Security Headquarters wasn't being pushed back easily either.
Because…
"Cardinal Servan."
The man leading the Order of Nathaniel had stepped onto the front lines.
*
Unlike the last Labyrinth eruption, this one had been anticipated by Sohen's leadership, and everyone was prepared.
During the previous eruption, the Cardinal had focused on treating the wounded deep within the temple for safety, but not this time.
"Anointing with Holy Oil."
A bible in one hand, a baculus in the other.
The Cardinal, dressed in robes with golden embroidery, was salvation incarnate.
Just like his 8th-tier magic.
"Mark of Salvation."
A power granted to only one among the many followers of Nathaniel, the God of Fair Contracts and Monetary Transactions.
His holy divine power took control of the area around the Public Security Headquarters.
The golden, magical holy oil spread across the foreheads of every friendly ally.
It was Nathaniel's mark, designating them as targets for salvation.
[Regeneration of Salvation]
Now, the warriors here would rapidly regenerate even if their arms or legs were blown off.
It was different from resurrection; if they were killed instantly, it was over, but they wouldn't die as long as they were on the brink.
For example, if one's neck was half-severed and blood was gushing from the carotid artery like a waterfall, they could still recover.
This was a war between immortals.
A battle between the Caretaker of Rest's undead legion and Cardinal Servan's high-speed regenerators.
The outcome was not easily decided.
"The longer this goes on, the more disadvantageous it becomes for us."
The Consul had foreseen the end from the very beginning.
Unlike the undead, humans accumulate mental fatigue.
Even if wounds healed instantly, the pain felt in each moment didn't disappear. Morale would gradually fall.
"Besides, the Cardinal's magic isn't eternal."
The Mark of Salvation was the most powerful magic of Nathaniel's temple, but it could only be activated by putting the entire temple's wealth up as collateral.
One gold coin per gram of regenerated tissue, bone, or blood.
While the gold coins in the Cardinal's pocket weren't physically disappearing, the Mark of Salvation would cease the moment the temple's assets went bankrupt.
"At this rate, we'll be pushed back."
The Consul frowned.
"We have to take down the Caretaker," Krusla said.
"I know. But there's no way."
The Caretaker was perched inside the Gourmet Whale's mouth.
Thirty meters in the air.
Hiding behind the Gourmet Whale's impenetrable teeth, it rarely showed itself.
"There are ways to get up there, but..."
The problem was that the Watchers wouldn't allow it. For the high-ranking, Deep Layer-level combatants, having even one person leave their position was critical, and they were so heavily marked by the Watchers that they couldn't move.
"Consul."
Someone tapped the shoulder of the preoccupied Consul.
"Neko?"
It was the rookie who had recently been promoted from Constable to Inspector.
"I will assassinate the Caretaker."
*
In the game, items came in four grades: Normal, Magic, Treasure, and Legendary.
The Compass of Greed, for example, was a Legendary grade item.
But surprisingly, there was an item in the game that anyone could easily access: the staff stuck like a lightning rod at the very top of the West Tower's roof.
[Staff of the Apex]
Anyone who could climb to the top of the West Tower could simply pull it out with their bare hands and take it.
The instant they did, however, an alarm would sound, they would become a wanted person in Sohen, and the university's high-ranking wizards would begin to hunt them down.
Why would they just leave such a treasure stuck on the roof?
Because it was necessary for the most important task at the university.
Memory Book creation.
When a professor created a new Memory Book for a freshman, the professor acted as the guarantor, the contract became the content of the Memory Book, and the magical medium that transmitted it to Wizus was the Staff of the Apex.
It was said that the staff's original owner was Wizus himself.
Though for Wizus, it wasn't a staff but a fountain pen.
Just as a large monster like the Caretaker of Rest used a one-handed wand that functioned as a staff for a human due to the size difference.
Wizus was supposedly so much larger that the magical fountain pen he used for his shorthand magic was that very staff.
In any case, being an item of Wizus, one could assume its power was immense. Many players had risked becoming wanted by Sohen to acquire the staff and try to use it, but all had failed.
They couldn't unlock the staff's hidden power.
I didn't know back when I was making walkthroughs, but I found out later. The key is the ethereal state.
A wizard can use the staff when they enter an ethereal state.
Like Meldini was doing right now.
"Arcane Torrent."
A stream of sapphire-colored ethereal water shot out from the professor's staff like a fire hose.
It was already a powerful 6th-tier spell, but when fired by an ascended Meldini using the Staff of the Apex, its power was far greater than usual.
Dong—!
And the bell tolled.
With the sound of the bell, the ethereal torrent that had shot into the sky scattered in all directions, like an ultrasonic humidifier.
"Arcane Focus."
Meldini was controlling the torrent to attack the gliding Dagger Raptor.
And inside the main entrance of the West Tower.
"Caleb!"
Isel came running with our entire party.
"Isel."
There was no time. Meldini's fight wouldn't last long.
There was the variable of Isilof, but there was no telling what would happen.
"I need your help."
We had to back Meldini up.
"Any spell will do. Please, put me to sleep right now."
"What...?"
Isel's eyes went wide.
Aimus, Back Attack, and Yernil also had looks of utter confusion.
But there was no way to explain, nor was there time.
"Quickly! And wake me up again in one minute."
"Understood."
Isel aimed her wand at me.
"Sleeping Agent."
It was called sleep, but it was on the level of anesthesia.
The kind where you count down—5, 4, 3—and the surgery is over when you wake up.
Of course, in my case, it was a little different.
My consciousness didn't fade. As my body went limp and drowsy, what appeared before my eyes was a level-up message.
[Caleb has leveled up.]
▶Lv.27 → Lv.28
Because we had killed the Dagger Raptor.
[Yernil has leveled up.]
▶Lv.27 → Lv.28
[Aimus has leveled up.]
▶Lv.27 → Lv.28
[Back Attack has leveled up.]
▶Lv.27 → Lv.28
*
"To the magic bookstore!"
I led the others and dashed out again.
Outside, a battle of giants was unfolding.
Boom! Kaboom!
Blade-feathers that had lost their target scattered and rained down.
"Be careful!"
The feathers plunged into the roofs and walls of the university buildings as if they were made of tofu.
If they hit us, it would be fatal.
It had been raining in Sohen since the afternoon, the sky was dark, and the falling daggers were too fast to see clearly.
"We have to dodge well! Isel's defensive magic..."
I was about to explain when a thunderous explosion, KABOOM!, from the sky made everyone duck.
"Ugh!"
Yernil even covered her ears from the auditory assault (?).
The source of the sound was Meldini.
The professor had flown into the sky and cast a supernova spell. Blue lightning was spreading out in all directions.
Boom! Kaboom! Crash!
A barrage of lightning bolts, like a multiple rocket launcher, rained down everywhere.
Doooong!
The bell once again sent out the warning it had issued several times already.
[Students are to stay away from the West Tower at all costs. Remain indoors if possible.]
It reminded me of when the professor duo fought the Wyndham duo.
Back then, even just 'watching' the fight hadn't been simple.
It was the same now. Lingering aimlessly on this battlefield would only get in Meldini's way.
"Let's go."
So let's hurry.
[Bookstore]
The magic bookstore, which provided spellbooks for the university's wizards, was now closed. The librarian had evacuated long ago. The door was locked, but...
"Dust Explosion."
There was no time to unlock it, so I blew the entire door off its hinges.
"I just need your help finding one spellbook."
I had leveled up, and my 4th-tier slot was now open.