Chapter 32: The Wizard's Escape Strategy (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 32: The Wizard's Escape Strategy (3)
“I have no idea what’s going on.”
Back Attack scratched under his chin.
He couldn’t remember a thing.
He’d rushed into the Labyrinth after hearing Aimus’s party was attacked, but after that, his memory was a hazy blur, just on the edge of recollection.
When he came to his senses, he was on the roof of a cathedral in the middle of a frantic situation, chewing on a piece of trash.
Spit.
He spat it out. It was a hair tie.
Then everyone was shouting “Aimus, Aimus,” and as he was looking around, the wizard suddenly…
“He screamed at me to use a dagger, so I threw it on instinct. Looks like I did it right?”
“…”
“But where the hell are we? Are these people Brother Aimus’s new party—Ugh!”
Suddenly, Aimus threw his arms around Back Attack in a tight hug.
“Thank god.”
“I can’t breathe!”
“I’m so glad you’re okay.”
“What’s with you? This is weird!”
“Let’s talk once we get out of here. I’ll explain everything.”
Following Back Attack’s revival, there was another piece of good news.
“Caleb!”
It was Yernil, waving from a distance.
Standing beside her, having perfectly completed her special mission, was the dwarf wizard.
Though they were on a seven-meter-high roof, and the others were on a field, a considerable distance away.
“Astin!”
The impatient Barbarian’s roar echoed far and wide.
Their side was finally having its reunion as well.
“I’m so glad you’re alive!”
“You idiots! What are you still doing up there? Why haven’t you run away yet!” the dwarf shouted up at the roof.
“Better than the guy who fell behind! You moron! Glad you made it back alive!” the Halfling yelled back, the rims of his eyes turning red.
“Yeah, you assholes! When I woke up, I was twice as happy to see a pretty elf instead of your ugly mugs! Dammit!”
“Astin! Astin! Sob!”
The Barbarian, despite his large frame, suddenly started to cry.
“Alright, everyone.”
I moved to the front and changed the subject.
“I understand you’re all happy to be reunited, but we’re still in danger. Especially Yernil and the dwarf—if you keep shouting over there, you’ll draw the aggro of all the Watchers, so quiet down now!”
Caleb put a finger to his lips, signaling for silence.
“From now on, I’ll speak quietly. The dwarf won’t be able to hear me, but Yernil can listen and relay the message.”
He said.
“I’m only going to say this once, so listen to the plan carefully.”
*
The display case was five meters tall, and the roof, which we could barely hang onto by jumping from the top of it, was over seven meters high.
So, here’s a question.
How do we escape from a 7-meter-high cathedral roof, surrounded by monsters, and get to a gate 30 meters away?
First off, just jumping down is suicide.
The moment we land, the Watchers will chase us like mad.
Furthermore, the Monk and the Lizard, who aren’t the most agile, have a high chance of spraining their ankles. As for me, it’s not a chance—I’m 100% guaranteed to break my ankle.
Therefore, we have to incapacitate the Watchers and the Administrator to stop them from moving, then make a quick escape.
“To do that, I need to cast a big spell, and I’ll need about thirty seconds. We’ll have to hold our ground for a bit.”
Thirty seconds was the remaining cooldown on the Hourglass.
In the middle of a battle, that’s an eternity, but we could hold out for that long now.
Why?
Because it was also taking time for the Watchers to pull themselves out of the roof debris and regroup.
Besides, those things don’t have any decent ranged attacks.
The Administrator can fire a corrosion ray from its wand, but the roof itself provides cover, so it won’t have a clear angle.
There’s only one way for them to attack us.
“They’ll climb up the display case.”
No sooner had the words left my mouth than a Watcher scrambled up the display case and poked its head over the edge of the roof.
Thwack!
The Barbarian immediately swung his axe and sent the creature’s head flying.
“Don’t let the bodies pile up on the roof. The Administrator can reanimate the undead. If they start taking over the roof, it’s over for us.”
The Barbarian quickly kicked the Watcher’s corpse off the display case.
“I will hold this position.”
He declared with a grim expression, his fighting spirit blazing, but the Barbarian had another job to do.
“No. Back Attack and Bernard, you two take this spot.”
“Understood.”
Bernard readily agreed, but Back Attack’s memory was still a bit outdated.
“Sorry, but my party leader is Brother Aimus, so I should follow his orders…”
“Just do as he says!”
“Listen to him!”
“You’d be wise to listen to Caleb.”
Criticism rained down from all sides.
“W-what? Okay, okay, I get it.”
A bewildered Back Attack quickly complied. Aimus nodded and explained to him.
“Back Attack. Caleb is our party leader now.”
“This wizard? He’s a total…”
Back Attack whispered into Aimus’s ear.
“Pipsqueak.”
Dammit. You want a taste of a four-shot Lightning Shock?
I’ll admit I’m a bit small, though.
“Anyway, I’m counting on you, Back Attack.”
“What’s the plan after those thirty seconds are up?” the Halfling asked.
“Then I’ll use a large-scale lightning spell to hold the enemies in place for a moment. We’ll escape in the confusion. First, Yernil!”
I gave Yernil her instructions.
“You and the dwarf wizard move to the front of the gate and hide. When I summon the clouds, you’ll cast the earth rampart spell.”
Yernil nodded, then took the dwarf and began to move stealthily.
Ten seconds left.
*
Once the cooldown was over, I cautiously approached the edge of the half-destroyed roof.
The horde of Watchers, now mostly free from the debris, was swarming below.
The Administrator was among them.
The Administrator was smart.
Instead of recklessly trying to climb onto the roof or using magic to destroy it, it was surrounding the cathedral, inside and out, forming a perimeter to prevent our escape.
But what’s about to happen is beyond anything you could imagine.
I aimed my wand toward the inside of the cathedral and began to cast.
“Cumulonimbus.”
As I flipped the Hourglass.
[It is your turn. Time remaining: 60 seconds]
[Action Points: ■■■■]
*
Now, I wait for the cooldown.
Cumulonimbus has a 15-second cooldown.
During that time, I’ll design the thunder and lightning show that will be the finale of this escape.
How should I position the Cumulonimbus clouds?
The height should be about level with the roof.
Any higher, and it’ll be difficult for us to escape.
But it can’t be too low, or the rainfall area will be too small.
I’ll keep them at a consistent roof-level height, densely packing the area from the destroyed section of the cathedral to the space in front of the main entrance and along its left and right sides.
“Cumulonimbus.”
The clouds would unleash a massive amount of rain in an instant, and the earth rampart would prevent that water from overflowing toward the gate.
Since it’s only a 30-meter distance, precisely dividing the two areas is key.
To use the 15-second Cumulonimbus spell four times within the Hourglass’s 60-second window, I have to time it perfectly, like playing a rhythm game.
Right at the moment the remaining time hits 30 seconds.
“Cumulonimbus.”
[It is your turn. Time remaining: 30 seconds]
[Action Points: ■■□□]
Cumulonimbus is a type of summoning magic.
It’s a summon that, once every three seconds, fires an additional lightning strike at any target hit by lightning magic.
In the game, its 15-second cooldown and short 30-second duration made it impossible to summon on a large scale.
Even with cooldown reduction potions, the limit was maintaining about three Cumulonimbus clouds at once.
“Cumulonimbus.”
[It is your turn. Time remaining: 15 seconds]
[Action Points: ■□□□]
Once, just to feel the high of a Cumulonimbus build, I tried a freakish combination like a four-wizard Cumulonimbus party. It was powerful, alright.
The problem was that the wizards started dropping dead before all the clouds were even summoned.
But it’s fine now.
“Cumulonimbus.”
I frugally used my last action point just as the timer hit 0.
[All Action Points have been consumed.]
[Ending turn.]
[The Hourglass has been flipped again. Cooldown: 60 seconds]
I immediately flipped the temporary hourglass.
[It is your turn. Time remaining: 60 seconds]
[Action Points: ■■]
After waiting another 15 seconds, I summoned the sixth cloud.
“Cumulonimbus.”
The clouds had already gathered to envelop the cathedral.
It felt like looking out the window from the top of the Lotte Tower observatory, with the clouds below my feet.
“Cumulonimbus.”
I finished by adding a seventh cloud.
[All Action Points have been consumed.]
[Ending turn.]
Plink. Plink.
Pitter-patter.
As time, once stopped, began to flow again, raindrops started to fall.
Whoooosh!
A torrential downpour.
The rapidly rising rainwater began to flood the area, sweeping away the Watchers and the Administrator.
And into that, a little something with a sting.
“Lightning Shock.”
*
“What the…”
The dwarf wizard, Astin, felt his mind go blank at the shocking sight.
Suddenly, a massive cluster of dark clouds had gathered in front of the cathedral and begun to unleash a tremendous downpour.
“Use the earth rampart spell! Quickly!” Yernil shouted.
“Ah, oh right. Right.”
The dwarf aimed his wand and quickly recited the incantation.
“Rise! Rampart of Warding Earth!”
The ground surged upward, forming a semicircular wall that enclosed the cathedral.
At a glance, it looked like a fortress wall, but it wasn’t. It was a ‘dam’ to prevent the rainwater from flowing over to their side.
“…”
Beyond the dam, the downpour was causing a flood.
It was rather shocking for the dwarf.
Magic capable of causing that much rainfall shouldn’t appear until at least Tier 3 spellbooks. How could a 1st-floor wizard do this?
If he had cast some sort of cloud-summoning spell from Tier 1 or 2 in rapid succession, he would have had to cast it six or seven times in a row to achieve this.
‘They called him a super-fast caster.’
Being a wizard himself, the dwarf recalled hearing such a rumor somewhere.
‘It seems to be true.’
It was a talent ranked among the very highest for wizards.
And that swarm of black clouds wasn't just pouring down rain…
BOOM!
CRACK-BOOM!
BOOM!
It was relentlessly striking the flooded ground with lightning.
The water, which had risen in an instant, churned like a flooding river inside the cathedral, and the lightning crashing down upon it created a vision of hell.
CRACK-BOOM!
A torrent of lightning.
There was no other way to describe it. A raging river of high-voltage current swept through the inside and outside of the cathedral.
“Wait a minute. But…”
Astin, whose mind had gone blank for a moment at the monstrous display of magic, finally came to his senses.
“How are they going to get out of there?”
“The Barbarian will come over first.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Get-out-of-the-way-! Astin!”
“Huh?”
It was real.
The ugly barbarian was leaping over the clouds, clearing the earth rampart, and flying toward them.
*
“Looks like a good jump.”
A frail weakling like me would be a wreck even if I jumped straight down and used a landing roll, but a sturdy Barbarian could jump and fly more than twenty meters.
‘Barbarian’s Long Jump.’
I had devised this plan the moment I heard the Barbarian had that skill. The Barbarian would escape first by long-jumping over the clouds.
Man, what an incredible wizard, that Caleb! To think he could use such a powerful water-style jutsu in a place with no water!
Pfft.
The fact that another crazy joke popped into my head must mean I’m also excited about escaping.
Calm down, calm down.
Be meticulous until the very end!
“Alright, Monk, it’s your turn. You remember the oak barrel interview, right?”
“I do. I will do my best.”
This was the Monk of monstrous strength, who could lift even the heavily armed Birtanen, who was heavier than a ridiculously heavy oak barrel.
“We’re much lighter than an oak barrel. Please throw us.”
From now on, he was going to throw all the people and luggage on the roof over the clouds and the earth rampart.
And on the other side, the Barbarian would catch them like an outfielder.
“And before we start, to ensure our success rate. Bernard.”
I had Bernard cast the same divine magic he used during the interview on the Monk.
“Use Power of Radiance on Aimus.”
It was a strengthening buff that added +3 to Strength.
The Monk, now surging with power, picked up the Halfling first, just as planned.
“Let’s go!”
The Halfling, tense, hugged his crossbow tightly. Aimus took a running start, got into a power position, and threw him like a javelin champion.
Whoooosh!
“Aaaaaah-!”
The Halfling’s scream and the sound of him cutting through the air could be heard at the same time.
And at the end of it…
“Got-’em-!”
…was the Barbarian’s triumphant roar.
“Bernard is next.”
This one was a bit heavier, so he disarmed first.
“See you on the other side, Monk. You’ve worked hard.”
The Lizard was heavier than the Halfling, but to Aimus, who was now buffed with Power of Radiance, there wasn’t much difference.
“Hup!”
With a short grunt from the Monk, Bernard was sent flying and was also caught by the Barbarian.
“Got-’em!”
“Now for the luggage.”
We roughly tied Bernard’s discarded steel armor, mace, and shield to Aimus’s iron staff.
With the iron staff, he really looked like a javelin thrower this time.
Since these weren’t people, it didn’t matter if the Barbarian caught them or not, as long as they made it over the rampart, so a rough throw was fine.
“Hup!”
Another brilliant success.
Now, only I, Aimus, and Back Attack remained on the roof.
“I have a question, though.”
Back Attack raised his hand.
“With magic this powerful, can’t we just kill the monsters below?”
“I don’t think so.”
The horde of Watchers might be on the verge of annihilation, but the Administrator wouldn’t die from this.
As proof, we’d been hearing a thump! thump! sound for a while now.
“The Administrator is trying to break down the cathedral’s back door to escape.”
With rainwater pouring in through the front entrance, that would be its only way out. It had already used Phase Shift.
‘To be honest, I’m tempted too.’
We could probably kill it if we pushed just a little harder.
But we don’t have anyone to deal the extra damage.
Not me, with my Hourglass on cooldown, and not Yernil and the dwarf outside, who don’t have a clear angle.
And if Aimus, Back Attack, Bernard, or the Barbarian went down to deal damage, they’d step into the lightning torrent and be sent to the afterlife.
“…So, besides the Halfling crossbowman, we don’t have anyone who can attack, which means the success rate is low. If the boss escapes and starts healing the undead on a massive scale again, we’ll be the ones in danger. It’s better to escape now than to get greedy and take the risk.”
“…I see.”
“Now it’s your turn, Caleb.”
Aimus extended his hand to me.
I tucked my wand into my belt and approached him.
“Aimus, Back Attack. After I get over the rampart, you two need to get out immediately. Just as I told you.”
“Understood.”
“The Cumulonimbus clouds will only last for about another ten seconds, so there’s no time to waste.”
I entrusted myself to the Monk.
He grabbed my shoulder and hip as if lifting a sack of rice, hoisted me up, and then…
Thump-thump-thump-thump!
…started running.
Shit, he’s faster than I thought.
This is kind of scary.
“You saved us,” Aimus said.
“See you on the other side.”
Sorry, but I’m too tense to answer.
I’m the kind of guy who goes to Everland but won’t even ride the T-Express.
“Aaaaaah!”
Now I know why the Halfling screamed.
Below me, the clouds, the waves of high-voltage current, and the earth rampart flew past.
And beyond them…
“Hehehehe!”
…was the excited Barbarian, bouncing on his feet with a terrifying look on his face.
Shit, that’s even scarier!
*
“Gotcha!”
The Barbarian caught Caleb in a princess carry.
“Caleb!”
Yernil jumped up and down excitedly beside them, but Caleb himself looked rather mortified.
“Almost everyone’s out now.”
Six of them, excluding Aimus and Back Attack, were gathered right in front of the gate.
“Aimus and Back Attack will come out together using Shadow Leap.”
Back Attack was the one who had pulled the wizard out from inside the Black Hornet Egg Plate chest armor and teleported onto the platform.
Shadow Leap could transport one additional person.
“And that’s a full escape.”