Chapter 80: The Wizard's Initiate
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 80: The Wizard's Initiate
The message Neko sent never arrived.
The note vanished, only to reappear in her hands a few seconds later.
‘Delivery failed.’
The reason: the recipient was not on the 4th floor.
As a rule, when the four-person constable party was escorting criminals arrested within the Labyrinth, they would cuff the suspects and send them through the exit gate first. But Lilweed, the suspect, was here, and the message wouldn't send. What did that mean?
It was highly likely that Constable Team 2 had been wiped out.
This was worse news than just one constable team being down.
There were two reasons.
First, Neko's original plan to request backup from the Public Security Headquarters was completely ruined.
What if Constable Team 2 had managed to send a message for help to the suspects' party? What if they had succeeded in reporting that the enemy was a party from the 5th floor or higher, and that Neko's team alone wasn't enough?
Then a higher-ranking party, including at least one inspector, would have come as backup. Ennes, after all, was an experienced adventurer who had reached the 6th floor.
If they had successfully requested backup in time, a skilled individual of that caliber would have entered the 4th floor by now. Then, we might have been able to catch the poachers just by stalling for time.
But they had failed to call for backup.
The Public Security Headquarters was likely optimistic, assuming that two constable teams, including Chief Constable Neko, would be more than enough to catch the poachers.
Therefore, no backup was coming.
And the second reason this situation was so bad…
"I have to… I have to catch them."
Neko was on the verge of a breakdown.
She looked as if she'd been struck from behind, especially when the Avian descended and ‘disguised himself as a constable from Team 2’.
The enemies had disguised themselves as Constable Team 2.
"It's my fault."
Neko was consumed by guilt.
I could understand why.
After all, I was the one who asked Neko to escort Lilweed.
But Neko had passed that task on to Constable Team 2.
So now, this cat-woman was blaming herself, thinking Team 2 had been attacked and wiped out because of her orders.
Dammit.
I should have thought that far when I handed Lilweed over to the leader of Constable Team 2.
Of course, the poachers' goal was to grab the Gathering Core and run, so they'd avoid field combat if possible. But if they saw Lilweed, they wouldn't just leave him be, would they?
They would think that if he was handed over to Public Security, their identities would be exposed.
Furthermore, considering they had an Avian with them and calculating backward from the moment the number on the remaining party check card decreased, it was possible that…
‘We might have been watched, too.’
When we were subduing and capturing Lilweed, they might have already been observing us through the Avian's eyes.
Then why didn't they attack us then?
It was probably because they saw the Cumulonimbus.
When wizards fight, predicting the composition of each other's Memory Books and waging a war of information is the priority.
They didn't attack rashly because it was an unknown spell.
If so, I had a good read on the opponent's personality. He was an incredibly cautious and careful person. Then again, most wizards are.
As proof…
‘The enemies still haven't entered the foggy area.’
They were deliberating.
The presence of fog meant that some 4th-floor party had already claimed the steel mill.
They were being cautious, wary of potential traps. But they wouldn't give up.
Why?
They must have heard from Lilweed. That there were people who knew the poacher party's identity. My name and Neko's would have been mentioned.
‘They're trying to hunt us down.’
That's why they're trying to erase their identities again. If my party and Neko's are all killed, and Lilweed escapes, the poachers' identities will once again be shrouded in mystery.
‘This is tricky.’
That poacher leader, Ingelam.
Wasn't he said to be the most promising talent at the Magic University before I enrolled?
He was on a completely different level from the likes of Sally or Antonelli. Even in game terms, it felt like the difficulty had spiked.
"Caleb. The situation has changed drastically. With Lilweed's party joining them, we no longer have the numerical advantage. There's no backup coming either. If we're all wiped out here, the Public Security Headquarters won't be able to put out a warrant for Ingelam."
Neko had reached a similar conclusion to mine.
"So, someone has to get out of the Labyrinth. We'll hold Ingelam's party here."
Her conclusion was a little different from mine.
"We'll buy you time, so your party should slip out quietly through the steel mill's back exit. Then, find the exit room quickly, clear it, and escape. We'll do our best to stop them from chasing you."
Neko said.
"Go to the Public Security Headquarters and put a warrant out for Ingelam."
Neko drew her wand.
"Everyone ready?"
It was a last stand, a fight to the death.
The faces of Neko's party members—the priest, the Lizard crossbowman, and the Orc fighter—were grim. They all knew this would be an incredibly difficult fight.
"My poor command led to this. I'm sorry. We might not be strong enough, but let's do everything we can."
"Let's go."
At Neko's resolve, the Orc fighter dusted off his hands and stood up toughly.
The human priest uttered a blessing. The Lizard crossbowman looked the most anxious of the four, but he rose to his feet like a true constable.
Before, she had asked for help through Dreta, but now that defeat seemed likely, she was telling us to escape.
‘Not very fitting for a Blackdog second-stringer.’
Neko was truly a person who valued public order. According to that order, it was right for the Public Security Headquarters to protect civilians like us.
They put back on the masks and goggles they had taken off indoors. The poverty clung to their raincoats like volcanic ash, a stark display of the Public Security Headquarters' poor conditions.
"Let's go."
Still, the four of them moved forward, leaving us behind them.
No one uttered a word of complaint.
Their equipment may have been poor, but their sense of responsibility was not.
*
Let's look at the situation objectively.
Haven't I achieved all my goals?
I found the well, used Byullant's hammer, and even evolved the Wizard's Eye with Gobniu's hammer.
I'm done with my business here.
Logically, there's no reason for me to fight the poacher party here.
And I can't guarantee we'd win. The most rational decision is for our party to escape alone.
Just as Neko said, while the constable team is busy fighting the poachers, we slip out the back, find the exit room, and get out.
They'll chase us using the Avian's vision, but we have the Watcher, so if we play a game of cat and mouse, our chances of finding the exit room are quite high.
That's the rational choice.
What reason is there to stay here and fight a 5th-floor-level wizard party alongside Neko's team?
None.
"Wait a minute."
But why am I stopping them?
I brought Neko's team back and had them sit down.
Inside my head, I was rattling off all sorts of logic to justify this foolish action to myself.
1. If I make our party flee alone, Aimus, Back Attack, and Yernil will all be disappointed in me.
Their trust in me might fall. My party members are too good-hearted.
Is that not convincing? How about this reason?
2. Neko is considering a Possessor Registration System and plans to strengthen the Public Security Headquarters to restore order in Sohen.
That would make the city much safer for me. It's a future too valuable to throw away. If Neko becomes an inspector, she'll have considerable influence and could ensure my safety in a pinch.
Or another reason.
3. Even if we sacrifice Neko's team and escape first, there's no guarantee we'd actually succeed.
Ingelam's party might attack us before we find the exit room. Or worse, right after a battle with an exit boss.
I decided it was safer to settle things here rather than run with such an uncertain threat at our backs.
Fuck.
I don't like any of them.
I don't know anymore.
Maybe it's simply because I feel sorry for that cat wizard.
The inspector who mentored her right after she joined turned traitor and was ruined, her investigation partner was captured by Blackdog and murdered, and her junior team was annihilated while carrying out her orders.
Unbelievable.
Am I the kind of person who acts on emotional pity?
They're not even my party.
But still, running away by ourselves right now feels somewhat cowardly.
Maybe this was my problem, even before considering Aimus, Back Attack, or Yernil.
One objective fact.
I have a better chance of winning against them than Neko does.
And.
"Take off your raincoats."
Unlike Neko, who's about to charge in recklessly, I have a strategy to seize an advantageous position.
*
In front of the steel mill's main factory sector, past the loading dock and warehouse, the huge main gate set in the chain-link fence was already open.
Facing the thick fog beyond it, two adventurer parties were deliberating.
One was Lilweed's party, and the other…
‘Dreta's Constable Team 2.’
Their appearance, which had doubly crushed Neko's spirit, was that of Constable Team 2.
"So you're saying a wizard named Caleb and Constable Neko, their two parties, are inside? Eight people in total?"
At Ingelam's question, Lilweed nodded.
Lilweed, who had been on the verge of being killed after Constable Team 2 was wiped out, had barely managed to negotiate.
The method of that negotiation was…
"The, the constable party is one hundred percent in there. They must have come to catch you. And… Caleb's party also said they were looking for the steel mill. They might be in there together."
If those two have joined forces, your party alone won't be enough, Ingelam. You'll need us. We'll help you. Let's fight together. So please, let us live!
…Lilweed's desperate persuasion, based on that logic, had worked.
"Let's go in."
Ingelam fiddled with a card.
[Current Adventurer Parties on Floor 4: 16]
It wasn't an illusion; it was real.
Dreta of Constable Team 2 had managed to tear up her card just before death, but she couldn't get to Lilweed's.
"They'll be expecting us. Are you sure about this?" the Halfling druid asked.
"It's fine. If the enemy doesn't know that Constable Team 2 was wiped out, we'll act as if Dreta is escorting Lilweed. We'll break through the fog, get close, and launch a surprise attack."
That was why Ingelam had disguised them as Dreta's party.
"If they know Team 2 was wiped out and see through our disguise, they'll attack. Who will they attack? Probably…"
Ingelam pointed at Dreta.
"Lilweed."
They were in a double disguise.
Ingelam's party was disguised as Lilweed's party, and Lilweed's party was disguised as Constable Team 2.
Since one person in Lilweed's party had died, there was an empty spot, which the Avian rogue was covering. It was the best position to be in to evade a surprise attack.
"Play your part as a human shield well and survive, and I'll let you go, Lilweed. I promise."
Ingelam, disguised as Lilweed, placed a loose handcuff on his own wrist and stepped into the fog.
‘If the enemy attacks, they'll attack Lilweed, who's disguised as Dreta.’
They would naturally assume he was Ingelam.
All I need to do is throw them off for a single moment.
That's how a wizard's battle is fought.
‘Caleb.’
He was curious to see just how skilled this supposed genius the Magic University had found really was.
He wanted to ask him.
‘Do you know anything about tactical battles between wizard parties?’
A wizard's power stems from their ruthlessness. Because the wizard has the highest firepower in the party.
To unleash it, you must know how to use everyone else like pawns in chess.
Like Lilweed, for example.
Disguise these guys as Dreta and Constable Team 2, and a third-rate wizard will think they've seen through the ruse and excitedly fire off a spell.
‘Never dreaming that I would be disguised as Lilweed.’
‘That will be your fatal mistake.’
‘I will see your magic.’
‘I already know you have the ability to summon a thundercloud.’
He could roughly guess how many slots a wizard who just entered the 4th floor would have in their Memory Book.
At most, four Tier 1 slots and one Tier 2 slot.
With spellbook combinations, he might have acquired one or two more Tier 2 spells.
But, kid.
A fight between wizards is like a game of poker.
Reading what cards are in your opponent's Memory Book is the foundation of battle.
‘You will waste your magic on Dreta.’
‘Your spell will go on cooldown, and I will read what kind of magic you possess.’
‘I will then deploy tactics in real-time to counter your spells.’
‘That is a wizard's battle.’
Click!
Constable Dreta—no, Lilweed—grabbed the handle of the steelmaking process room.
And the moment he turned it…
"What…"
Something shocking happened.
Some wizards initiate combat in a startling fashion.
He doesn't rashly assume that Dreta is Ingelam.
When confirming who is who, he doesn't use something like a remaining party check card.
This wizard's method is far more controlling and thorough.
"What the fuck…"
Light flowed from the body disguised as Lilweed, and the shell of illusion began to peel away.
The elf's skin and pointed ears vanished.
"The disguises are coming off!"
Dreta's Constable Team 2 disappeared, becoming Lilweed's party.
Lilweed, the canine beastfolk rogue, and the human female fighter.
What had been Lilweed's party transformed into Ingelam's party.
Ingelam, the Avian rogue, the Barbarian fighter, and the Halfling druid.
For a moment, bewilderment that no disguise could hide bloomed across the faces of the seven wanted criminals, their identities and positions completely exposed.
*
Yernil couldn't track the enemies' sounds at all.
Ingelam must have used a noise-canceling spell. Something like Soundproof Wall or Owl's Hunt.
As expected, the opponent was experienced and thorough.
He gained party-wide detection with the Avian's vision and prevented detection with a noise-canceling spell?
But thanks to that, I learned two things.
Ingelam had both a disguise spell and a noise-canceling spell in his Memory Book.
Both are Tier 2 spells.
Let's deduce the enemy's Memory Book.
‘How many spell slots does a 5th-floor wizard have in their Memory Book?’
He would have about five Tier 1 spell slots, two Tier 2 slots, and one Tier 3 slot.
With both Tier 2 slots filled, he couldn't create an additional Tier 3 spell unless he managed a Quadra Combination or higher from his Tier 1 spells.
What's in the five Tier 1 slots and the one Tier 3 slot?
What spells fill those empty spaces?
I have to figure that out first.
How?
Now that I've dispelled their disguises with the Watcher.
[Your turn. Time remaining: 60 seconds]
[Action Points: ■■■■■■]
With the Hourglass.
*
The modified Hourglass now has a base of 6 Action Points.
However, it consumes 1 point for each command given to a party member.
It's actually a disadvantage if I have to give commands to Aimus and Back Attack as well as Yernil, but…
"Move."
Right now, it's much more useful.
First, I move Neko's raincoat.
She's gritting her teeth, leaning against the window frame, aiming her wand at the enemies.
As if she's about to unleash a spell.
[Your turn. Time remaining: 54 seconds]
[Action Points: ■■■■■□]
The large, black poncho-like raincoat Neko wore was perfect for creating the silhouette of a person.
Especially in the fog.
"Move."
This time, I manipulate the Lizard crossbowman's raincoat. Likewise, in the fog, directly behind the enemies.
The crossbowman is next to Neko, aiming his crossbow at the enemies through the window.
"Move."
This time, I place the Orc fighter's massive raincoat right next to Ingelam.
Wait, so that's what Ingelam looks like. Yernil, your drawing skills are terrible, aren't they?
[Your turn. Time remaining: 29 seconds]
[Action Points: ■■■□□□]
"Move."
I move the human priest's raincoat as well. The four raincoats should create the feeling of surrounding the enemies in the fog.
[Your turn. Time remaining: 13 seconds]
[Action Points: ■□□□□□]
With my remaining Action Points, I also give an order to Yernil, who is aiming her bow next to the Lizard crossbowman.
"Yernil, shoot an arrow at the Halfling druid."
[All Action Points have been consumed.]
[End Turn.]
[The Hourglass has been flipped again. Cooldown: 60 seconds]
*
‘It's an ambush.’
Suddenly the disguises were gone, and arrows, crossbow bolts, and fireballs came flying.
Anyone would have thought so, wouldn't they?
So Ingelam's reaction wasn't a mistake.
It was a natural conditioned reflex, like an eyelid closing when a finger pokes toward it.
"Ground-Rising Siege Ram!"
When the sharp, hard awl of bedrock, summoned from the ground and launched forward at a 45-degree angle, pierced the enemy…
"Shit."
Ingelam realized it wasn't a person, just the hem of a raincoat.
His mind went blank.
‘I've been read.’
My spell. I ended up casting Ground-Rising Siege Ram.
He must have pulled this raincoat stunt just to see it.
He couldn't understand any of it.
How did he dispel the disguises?
The Watcher?
He could mobilize a treasure of that level?
And what about the raincoats?
What the hell did he do to make four raincoats suddenly pop up and surround them from all sides?
*
I feel like Zhuge Liang gathering 100,000 arrows.
‘Ground-Rising Siege Ram.’
A Triple Combination Tier 2 spell.
The fact that he used it means that three of his five Tier 1 slots are…
‘Earth Rampart, Sculpt Fragment, and Bedrock Cover.’
Ingelam. So the only cards I don't know in your Memory Book are two Tier 1 slots and one Tier 3 slot?
And there's another piece of good news. The enemy doesn't have a Quadra or Penta Combination.
The reason is that there are no more Tier 1 spells that can be combined with Earth Rampart, Sculpt Fragment, and Bedrock Cover.
Therefore, I don't have to worry about the existence of a Tier 3 combination spellbook.
I just need to be wary of a standard Tier 3 spell from a spellbook.
I can see a glimmer of hope.