Chapter 196: The Wizard's Vanguard
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 196: The Wizard's Vanguard
Just like that, the mood turned icy.
“B-Boss?”
As the situation took a strange turn, Back Attack glanced at me nervously.
“But Raghat… I know this guy…”
“It’s been a long time since you left the West, Back Attack.”
The dean of the Magic University had originally been human, too, but he was murdered and devoured midway through by the White Lion and Dagger Raptor duo.
The White Lion then used disguise magic to pose as the dean.
The Orc Legion had already fallen apart by the time Back Attack left the West. Their leader, Yagnar, was dead, and the unit commanders had either been killed or moved to Sohen.
In the midst of that chaos, who would’ve noticed if the real Raghat disappeared and someone in disguise took his place?
“Isn’t that right? Explain yourself. Orc Great King.”
Begging us for a single pill had also been a fake-out.
If the Orc Great King’s party had been wiped out and he’d lost his belongings before looting the Lizard’s corpse, he should have found the medicine. That would be the normal course of action.
The fact that he didn’t even search meant he didn’t need the medicine.
No adventurer like that exists.
The only monsters who act that way exist on the 8th floor.
That’s because the 8th-floor monsters aren’t affected by the floor’s unique magic. It’s only natural.
So what about an Inter-floor Lord? The lord of the 8.5th floor?
The Spider Doctor had also been completely unaffected by the cold and delirium of the 3rd floor.
So, this guy who didn’t loot the antiviral medicine from the Lizard Lord’s corpse, who can speak human language, and is posing as the Orc Great King…
“Are you the Inter-floor Lord of the 8.5th floor?”
“Hmm…”
Raghat stroked his bristly chin with one hand.
Then came the answer I had been praying wasn’t true.
“I slipped up.”
*
It was one of the things I had been constantly worried about.
Where were the other Inter-floor Lords, and what were they doing?
It would be too naive to believe they were all in the Labyrinth like the Gourmet Whale.
Wasn’t it more likely the opposite? That they were on the surface?
Look at the White Lion.
He had seized the position of dean at the Sohen Magic University, the most elite institution on the continent.
Look at the Dagger Raptor.
He had taken turns with the White Lion carrying out the dean’s duties, holding Sohen in the palm of his hand.
Professor Dalstream said the Inter-floor Lords were those who had offered up their ancient kingdoms in exchange for eternal life and the power of a god.
If I were one of them, I wouldn’t spend 30,000 years living underground in a Labyrinth teeming with monsters.
I’d want to go to the surface.
It was like if Qin Shi Huang had actually succeeded in achieving immortality. Would he lock himself in his tomb for 30,000 years?
Wouldn’t he dream of world domination and act more aggressively on the surface?
‘Most of the Inter-floor Lords are probably on the surface.’
That was my hypothesis.
And perhaps, like the dean of Sohen’s Magic University, they had seized high-ranking positions in key cities around the world and were manipulating them as they pleased.
Unless they were imprisoned in a stone monument like the Spider Doctor.
Still, the nagging thought of ‘no way, it can’t be’ was slowly becoming a reality.
‘Maybe it wasn't the Consul who summoned them.’
The Consul had reported the possibility of a great eruption from the Labyrinth and summoned the leaders of the Labyrinth Union’s member nations to Sohen to discuss it.
And surprisingly, not a single one of them, who were highly unlikely to gather in one place, was absent.
I had assumed it was because they had heard about the great eruption and felt a sense of urgency, but that might not be it.
Perhaps the one who summoned them wasn’t the Consul at all.
Perhaps…
“The Master.”
I’m so fucked. For real.
“Ordered everyone to gather.”
Just as the Consul was preparing an all-out assault on the Labyrinth, the Labyrinth Master was rushing to unleash a devastating eruption on the surface. He had summoned the Inter-floor Lords.
I had far less time than I thought.
“Have the other Inter-floor Lords entered the Labyrinth as well?”
“A few of them.”
“Who were they disguised as before?”
“I can’t tell you that.”
“…”
“What a letdown. I wanted to follow the famous Caleb around and see what he was like. This has become boring.”
The Orc Great King—no, the Inter-floor Lord of the 8.5th floor—spoke.
“Wh-what are you?”
Back Attack was in deep shock.
“What did you do to Raghat…?”
“Ah, right. I should explain that to you, Back Attack. It’s true I used disguise magic. And there’s one thing Caleb got wrong in his explanation.”
He continued.
“You seem to think I offed the original Orc Great King and disguised myself as him after you left the West, but that’s not it. It was me ‘from the very beginning’.”
“…”
“From the start, Back Attack. Long before you joined the Orc Legion. From the moment I joined the legion as a grunt.”
So that’s how it was.
This bastard had been messing around in the Orc Legion like some max-level dragon from a generic fantasy novel, polymorphed and playing at being weak.
For an Inter-floor Lord, an adventure in the Labyrinth was meaningless.
For these guys, the days of acting like Qin Shi Huang trying to unify the world were long gone.
And so…
“The West is the most fun, after all. It’s packed with warmongers. Besides, most of the Lizards and Orcs are empty-headed morons who’d never suspect someone like me. It’s so convenient.”
The Inter-floor Lord said.
“It’s even funny sometimes. For example, ‘the Great Yagnar’.”
“…”
“Calling himself great. Hahaha! You have no idea how hilarious it was watching him get annihilated by Lizards on his way back to base…”
BAM!
Enraged, Back Attack stabbed his dagger at the Orc Great King’s temple.
But the tip didn’t penetrate. It was like striking a rock; he didn’t even flinch.
“Too hasty.”
The monster’s disguise unraveled. He was already a two-meter-tall, muscle-bound giant, but he was growing even larger.
Two legs sprouted from his back at the waist.
The monster resembled something like a centaur from Greek mythology.
At least one part of his story was true.
The lower body of a horse, the upper body of a man. Holding a spear.
To be more precise, his left arm was a shield, and his right arm was a spear.
The Lord of the 8.5th floor.
‘The Dark Lancer.’
*
“He’s the most psychotic of all the Inter-floor Lords.”
Cobra said.
“And you could say he’s the strongest of them all. Not because the power he received from the Labyrinth Master is special, but because he’s a madman who has spent 30,000 years seeking out nothing but battlefields.”
While the other Inter-floor Lords lived various lives in various forms, the Lancer had only ever done one thing.
War and slaughter.
To him, it was entertainment that hadn’t grown old even after 30,000 years.
And it was a mad penance, crossing the line between life and death for 30,000 years.
“In terms of raw power, none of the other Inter-floor Lords can match him. He’d listen to the White Lion, at least, but as you know, the White Lion is currently undergoing a resurrection ritual.”
The faces of Hijikata’s party turned pale.
“There’s nothing to hold him back. The 8th floor is hell right now. Can you imagine how much that guy, forcibly summoned by the Labyrinth Master and dragged away from his battlefields, is itching for a slaughter?”
“Caleb…”
Soyul whispered to Gildal.
“We have to help Caleb. He’s heading down to the 10th floor right now. If he runs into that monster on the 8th floor…”
“Cobra!”
Gildal shouted.
“We’re taking the stairs down!”
A threatening hiss escaped Cobra’s lips.
“Did you not understand a word I just said?”
“We understood!”
“And?”
“That’s why we’re going! Caleb’s party saved ours before!”
“You’ll only slow them down if you go.”
“We’re still going. It’s the right thing to do!”
“Besides, you won’t even make it to the 8th floor. You’ll die on the way. That’s just common sense.”
At that, Hijikata quickly pointed out.
“If we’re lucky, we might run into Caleb still wandering around the 6th floor and stop him, right?”
It was a plausible argument.
After all, it had only been about three days since Caleb’s party took the elevator.
Of course, in reality, they had found the stairs as soon as they got off the elevator and found the 8th-floor stairs after only two days on the 7th floor.
“We can go down to the 6th floor, find Caleb, and convince him not to go any further.”
“That’s right. We can handle the 6th floor. Don’t underestimate us,” Soyul added.
Gildal, Hijikata, and Soyul were all in agreement. Everyone except Gadozumi.
“Hey, you idiots! Get a grip! Wouldn’t it be better for us to clear the exit room, get out, and ask the Consul for help!?”
“Then we’ll clear the exit room for you. You can go out alone and get the Consul,” Hijikata retorted, which only made Gadozumi jump.
“Don’t be ridiculous, you losers! If you go down without me, you’ll be wiped out in three seconds!”
“Then let’s go together. We’ll send Caleb a message scroll on the 6th floor. If it gets returned, that means he’s already below the 7th floor. We can rethink it then,” Hijikata said.
“…”
Cobra’s tail swayed gently.
“This is why I like people from the East. They have a sense of romance.”
He said.
“But that’s also why I won’t let you go down.”
“Then we’ll force our way down!” Gildal roared.
“With your skills, it’s absolutely impossi—”
Cobra scoffed, then suddenly spotted something and flicked his tongue.
Behind Gildal’s party, someone was approaching.
This season in the Labyrinth was certainly bizarre.
The summoned Inter-floor Lords were roaming each floor, and Deep Layer adventurers from other Labyrinth Cities were descending the stairs.
“We have a friend with good ears on our side, so we overheard on the way.”
The Elf Matriarch of the Fairy Woods, Sarquin, was leading a party of four elves toward the stairs.
“Are you going to stop us from going down, too?”
*
What?
What did I just see?
There wasn’t even time to flip the Hourglass.
The moment the Lancer’s disguise unraveled, Aimus slammed his iron staff down on the bastard’s head. It was a smart move.
Attacking during a transformation sequence is the golden rule, right?
I saw the monster’s arm lengthen like a spear to block the staff, but then…
“Gah…”
Suddenly, the tip of that spear bent at a bizarre angle, instantly tearing through Aimus’s iron armor and piercing his stomach.
His Steel Veins shattered.
Blood mixed with iron filings gushed from his lower abdomen.
“Aimus!”
“Boss—!”
As Yernil and Back Attack screamed, the monster’s gaze turned to me.
“I’m not like those third-rate weaklings who’ve grown soft in peace, wandering the lower floors,” he said, flinging Aimus from the tip of his spear to the ground.
“I am the vanguard of the Labyrinth Master.”
In that instant, I understood.
This bastard was in a completely different weight class from the likes of the Dagger Raptor.
He was much closer to the White Lion.
No.
Perhaps in terms of pure strength, he might even surpass the White Lion.
The Labyrinth Master is the wizard, the White Lion is the rogue, and this guy is the fighter.
Calling himself the Labyrinth Master’s vanguard was no exaggeration.
“You will all be annihilated he—”
“No.”
Aimus, who had been thrown to the ground, clutched his wound and got back up, his eyes blazing.
“No one is dying.”
I flipped the Hourglass.
*
[Your Turn. Time Remaining: 60 seconds]
[Action Points: ■■■■■■]
I wonder what would have happened if I had taken that blow instead.
It wasn’t a speed I could have reacted to manually, but the Hourglass would have flipped automatically, stopping time just before impact.
Dammit.
Calm down.
Aimus taking a hit so unexpectedly was a bad start, but he isn’t down. He may not be as tough as that monster, but our vanguard is sturdy too.
We’re high-floor adventurers, after all.
[Your Turn. Time Remaining: 58 seconds]
[Action Points: ■■■■■■]
Think carefully. How can we overcome this?