Chapter 62: Chapter 62: A Sudden Turn (4)

Edmerek was here.

Just by knowing that fact, we could infer quite a lot.

The probable reason why outside support couldn’t come was undeniably because they were heavily engaged in battle with Edmerek’s subordinates.

Most likely, Edmerek himself was hiding and had entered the dungeon alone.

By creating chaos using his subordinates, he infiltrated alone to achieve his purpose.

It was a tactic he often used. I’d been caught off-guard by it several times when I was a newbie.

There was nothing as bewildering as when you were ardently blocking an attack and suddenly clones spread out from the main body.

“However, there’s one weakness here.”

“I’m not sure where you learned about this… but I am curious. It’s a weakness of the archbishop, after all.”

“Yes. I would also like to hear it, Brother Yandel.”

As they rushed toward the location of the next distress signal, Vincent and Helena, whose eyes were sparkling, discussed everything they had learned so far.

After all, it wasn’t just a bishop but an archbishop. He was definitely not someone who could be confronted by mere first-year students.

I didn’t say it, but I was sure they were quite worried. If it weren’t for Edmerek, I would have gathered a few members and fled immediately.

“Edmerek’s power is too strong. Think about it. He can create avatars with various abilities just by swallowing and vomiting after a few days. There must be some limitation.”

If that were the case, the Church of the God of Tainted Unity would have already overturned several nations with these avatars.

Edmerek’s power was formidable, but… there was a very simple problem.

Every time he creates an avatar, he loses an amount of energy equivalent to what was invested in that avatar.

And if an avatar dies, he could never recover the energy he had put into it.

“That’s why the clone we killed earlier was weaker than the archbishop’s usual ones.”

“Indeed. Everyone values their power. He probably only gave it enough power to win, or he set it to a level he wouldn’t regret losing.”

Exactly what Vincent said.

“You might have guessed by now, but I’ll summarize it again.”

We had to find and kill Edmerek’s avatars, following the sequence of the distress signals.

Sadly, the previous group we met was defeated, but if there were still those who could fight, they could join us.

In this way, Edmerek’s power would diminish, and our group would grow, eventually confronting and capturing Edmerek.

That was the basic plan.

“Of course, it won’t be easy. Edmerek isn’t a fool. He won’t just stand by and let us exploit his weakness.”

Although he extremely hated changing his plans, he wasn’t so stubborn that he’d resist even when a blade was thrust before him.

“But I think this is the best plan we can execute now.”

If we felt that something was off, we’d immediately run. But the entrance would probably be more dangerous.

It was unlikely that Edmerek left the only exit untouched.

Waiting for the professors from the outside to come and help wouldn’t be an option either.

He must have prepared to buy as much time as he thought was enough.

Having been tricked by Edmerek multiple times in H&A, I knew all too well how good he was at setting up inescapable scenarios.

Ultimately, our only viable option was to hunt Edmerek before he hunted us.

A crisis was also an opportunity.

I didn’t anticipate this challenging event since we skipped the tutorial.

But if we managed to win, the Church of the God of Tainted Unity would be weakened at once.

The grand conspiracy that would be intertwined with Edmerek in the mid-part would naturally crumble.

Stepping out of the standard gameplay for Edmerek’s strategy was a bit unsettling… but I was confident.

I’d captured Edmerek several times, so there was no way I’d fail, right?

It was a straightforward plan, and both Vincent and Helena followed it well.

Even if they continuously restored their health with potions, they tirelessly ran through the forest and dealt with Edmerek’s avatars.

Thanks to that, the results were favorable.

From a rabbit-like avatar that could break rocks with a kick to a turtle-like one hiding within a hard shell spouting high-pressure water streams.

And other avatars resembling a mantis, cat, wolf, and even a duck and a raccoon-like avatar, which seemed like two of them had been consumed at once.

We managed to handle a considerable number of avatars.

However, Edmerek began to respond to this faster than expected.

Whenever I charged with those who could fight, his avatar would just flee.

If his escape failed, he would try to severely injure one of us.

Perhaps the fortunate thing was that I still had plenty of potions in my inventory, and there were quite a few priests who joined us.

No matter how gravely injured they were, as long as they didn’t die, I was able to save them.

Well… just because they were alive didn’t mean all of them could fight, so some reduction in our combat power was inevitable.

Edmerek forced us to use up our resources, and we minimized that expenditure with our abundant potions while rescuing the other students.

At some point, this drawn-out battle of attrition began.

No matter how many potions and buffs were used to maintain our peak physical condition, our mental exhaustion was unavoidable.

The students were growing more and more weary. Yet Edmerek’s main body was still nowhere to be found.

Barely holding onto their dwindling willpower, they reached the next location… and encountered a familiar face.

“Ohohohoh! Did you think you could face me with just this much?”

A voice sweet in tone but with an overly ladylike intonation.

Her hair was a rare blue color, styled in an even rarer roll bun style.

Her elongated ears, a trademark of a high elf, fluttered up and down. Her neat facial features wore a mischievously smug smile.

Elisha Sylvan Glenchiel.

She, who had torn apart one winged avatar, widened her eyes not just at me… but also at the swarm of students behind me.

“Oh my? Yandel, could it be…?”

It made sense since, behind Elisha, there was also a group of students.

Now I understand why Edmerek began to fight back much earlier than expected.

It wasn’t just me, but Elisha had also been moving around, defeating the avatars and rescuing the students.

With his avatars dying from all directions, he must have figured out it was futile to be stubborn.

Approaching the surprised Elisha with a big smile, I said,

“I’m glad you’re safe, Lady Glenchiel.”

“I’m relieved you’re safe, too. After all the effort I put in, there’s no way I’d be beaten by mere cultists of this level. Yes, indeed.”

Seeing the confident, smiling Elisha, all my built-up tension and fatigue melted away.

This changed things.

Many more avatars must have been defeated, and our forces were effectively strengthened.

Maybe my expression was too cheerful because Elisha crossed her arms, highlighting her vast mana reserves, comparable even to Carla’s.

“Hehe. Were you that happy to see me? It seems you, like me, have been rescuing others, but leading injured and exhausted people is a whole other issue!”

“Huh?”

Our people were perfectly fine, maybe mentally drained, but…

“Especially for a commoner like you, it must’ve been even more challenging!”

“Well… Yes, but…”

That’s why I let Vincent and Helena take the lead.

Vincent might look that way, but he was a sturdy warrior from the Grenadin Family.

Helena might not get special treatment, but it was widely known that she was a Saintess candidate.

Even the proud students from Class A would nod at their words.

Of course, Elisha didn’t know this and continued with a sympathetic look.

“But don’t worry. I, Elisha Sylvan Glenchiell, successor to the Sylvan Tower and a high elf, will share your burden!”

“Hmm…”

“Oh? Are you worried I’ll steal your glory? I’m not that kind of person. Once we escape, we’ll write the report together.”

“No, I trust you with that. What I meant was…”

“Then, what? Surely… you… trust me, right?”

Her disbelief was clear in her trembling eyes. And with a bitter smile, I shook my head.

“It’s not that. It’s just that we can’t leave here right now.”

“Yes?”

“The Archbishop of the Church of Tainted Unity has deliberately stormed in. The entrance would probably have way more dangerous traps or ambushes than we can even compare to now.”

“The Archbishop? Why would such a big shot… no, how is he here…?”

It seemed like she knew about the attack by the cultist but had no idea who exactly had come.

“First, let’s treat the students who are with Miss Glenchiel and explain.”

“Wha… Yes… Ah, no. Divine energy is a power that is hard to recover, so it should be used sparingly, Yandel.”

“Yes. I’m aware. Unlike magic or aura, which can be easily restored with potions, divine energy can only be replenished through prayers or natural healing. So, except for a few peculiar injuries, everything needs to be healed with potions.”

“But using potions would be such a waste. If, as you say, the Archbishop is really after us, we need to conserve our healing means.”

“I have quite a lot of potions.”

“No matter how many, to treat all these people…”

Getting a little tired of explaining, I simply opened my inventory.

Woosh.

“……”

Elisha, her mouth agape, gazed at the pile of potions that had quickly accumulated on the ground.

“How many potions did you even stock up?! And all of them are of superior grade!”

“I’m the type who values having emergency medicines on hand.”

“This is beyond emergency medicine! These are supplies!”

Elisha eventually screamed out in exasperation.