Chapter 170: Chapter 170 Burning (2)

Burning (2)

Burning (2)

A giant mirror emitting a red light.

About thirty explorers are gathered beneath it.

The blue wolf emblem on their chests signifies that they belong to the same clan.

"Shift change!"

One of the teams stationed in front of the mirror switches places with the team that just finished resting at a man's shout.

And they start mechanically hunting the monsters that appear through the mirror.

It's a sight that any 5th-floor explorer would have seen at least once.

"...Let's go somewhere else."

The explorers who happened to arrive here turn away dejectedly after seeing them.

It's already familiar.

The entire 5th floor is like this.

"Halt! From this point onwards, it's the territory of our Nebiswolf Clan, so please go somewhere else."

Ordinary teams can't even object.

It's because most of the large clans on the 5th floor are skilled enough to operate on the 6th floor.

For reference, there's only one reason why those skilled explorers are camping out on the 5th floor.

It's because the 6th floor is monopolized by even larger clans.

And this is much more profitable.

"Vice-leader, what's the total amount we've acquired today?"

They hunt in 24-hour shifts and gather magic stones, driving out anyone who complains with force.

"A Doomfire Fairy essence dropped. Anyone want to buy it?"

When a 5th-grade essence drops, they store it in a test tube and sell it in the city, and anything below that is sold to nearby explorers at a cheap price.

Explorers who want experience points?

They even accept them as customers and maximize their profits.

"I'll cast the Bonding spell, so don't participate in the battle and just stay back."

That's when, as they're enjoying the fruits of the labyrinth and hunting repeatedly...

"Leader! It's a Veritas!"

"What?"

The man who was commanding the clan from the back hurriedly gets up and approaches the mirror.

A monster is visible beyond it.

[Groooooowl—!!]

Two horns protruding from its forehead.

A muscular body over 3 meters tall.

Black wings covering its upper body and four arms. It's the demon-type monster, Veritas.

"We're lucky today."

The corners of the man's mouth curl up into a wide smile.

It's a monster he's encountering for the first time in a year.

'How much did we sell it for last time?'

Although it's a 5th-grade monster, he remembers it selling for a high price at the Magic Tower because of its rarity.

And the amount of magic stones they acquired during this expedition is below their quota, so this one alone will more than make up for the loss.

"Everyone, get into formation!"

The man takes out his weapon for the first time in a while and stands at the front. And he waits for Veritas to completely emerge from the mirror.

"It's coming out!"

A giant foot slowly steps out from beyond the gate.

The clan members' eyes are filled with anticipation.

No one is worried about the battle.

The mages have already completed their highest-level spells.

It's just a rare monster, a 5th-grade in the end, so the battle will be over as soon as it appears.

Right, that should have been the case...

[Behel—laaaaaaaaaa!!]

A human battle cry is heard from beyond the mirror.

And at the same time, the monster that was about to step outside turns around and pulls its foot back.

"...What the hell are those guys?!"

He couldn't understand the situation at all.

____________________

“Behel—laaaaaaaaaa!!”

Veritas turns its head as soon as I unleash [Wild Release] with all my might.

And the mirror that was beneath its feet disappears.

Fortunately, it seems like the aggro worked well.

‘Phew, I almost missed it.’

The monsters in the other world enter the labyrinth through those mirrors.

In other words, if we were even a little late, we wouldn’t be the ones fighting this guy.

[Groooooowl—!!]

The bastard charges towards me as soon as I raise my shield.

Kwaaang!

Its strength feels weaker than the troll’s.

It’s the number one monster that doesn’t live up to its appearance.

It looks like a level 3 monster…

“Mr. Yandel, are you okay?”

“I can handle it, don’t worry about me!”

“Everyone except for Mr. Yandel, please retreat. We need to figure out what its abilities are first!”

It’s an enemy we’re encountering for the first time, and we don’t know anything about it.

Raven is flustered and gives her first order.

Geez, there’s no need to be that careful.

‘…It would be strange if I acted like I knew something here.’

I’m confident that I can hold him off indefinitely in a 1:1 situation, so I decide to just watch without saying anything.

Honestly, I’m also a bit curious.

What kind of judgment will our mage make without any information?

“Marde Guarjur.”

The first spell Raven uses is ‘Mana Measurement’.

It’s the same one used when exchanging magic stones for money at the checkpoint.

“Fortunately, it’s only around 5th-grade level!”

The monster’s threat level has been measured.

But that’s all we know so far.

We have to deduce the rest through actual combat.

Kwaaang!

An explosion occurs as the bastard’s fist and my shield collide.

[Mark of Explosion].

“There were no signs of mana movement. I think it’s an inherent ability…”

She got the passive part right.

Then what’s the activation condition?

Kwaaang! Bang! Kwaang!

Raven carefully observes the battle from afar while explosions occur one after another beyond my shield.

And she reaches a conclusion.

“Same spot! The explosion occurs when you hit the same spot!”

…Correct.

I didn’t expect her to figure it out this quickly.

“So how long are you going to just watch?”

“Uh… he seems to be doing fine on his own, but wouldn’t it be better to observe a bit more? Miss Kaltstein or Miss Ainar might get seriously injured.”

Hmm, so I’m not going to get seriously injured?

I feel a sense of pride and offense as a tank.

“I’ll throw you a potion if it gets dangerous!”

“High-grade?”

“Yes, high-grade!”

Then it’s fine.

I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but based on my experience, high-grade potions have the least pain.

Even with Pain Resistance, it still hurts.

“Oh, it even uses its feathers as arrows? Judging by the fact that there’s no mana movement, it seems like it’s just an individual characteristic!”

Anyway, Raven’s voice becomes lighter, as if she’s judged that it’s not a particularly dangerous enemy at our level.

“Mr. Yandel, can you hit it with your mace? There might be something that activates when it’s hit…”

It seems like she’s enjoying analyzing a monster she’s seeing for the first time. It’s the first time I’ve seen our mage so excited, so I follow her instructions.

Kwagic!

I smash one of its four arms with [Swing], and the joint bends at an unnatural angle.

The wings unfold immediately.

“It’s an ability!”

It’s one of Veritas’s three active skills.

[Wings of Greed].

Swaaa!

The surrounding air is sucked in like a whirlpool in a drain.

After about 3 seconds of inhalation, the wings fold with a snap, and the broken arms are all healed.

“It’s a regeneration ability!”

She immediately casts the ‘Deterioration’ spell, as if she doesn’t want to just watch and do nothing.

‘Phew, I hope this one drops…’

Although its true value lies in its passive, it’s better to get a useful active skill if we’re going to absorb it.

「Veritas has cast [Legion of Hatred].」

「Veritas has cast [Doom Ray].」

Summoning demons or shooting beams isn’t really my style.

Whoosh!

I easily dodge the ‘Doom Ray’, which has a 3-second casting time, and then cast [Gigantification].

Because I finally have permission.

“I think we’ve confirmed all its abilities!”

“Uh, then can I go fight now?”

The long-awaited moment of execution.

“Behel—laaaaaaaaaa!!”

While Ainar grabs her greatsword and smashes the summoned demons, the bear-like man and Raven take aim with their ultimate moves.

「Avman Urikfrit has cast [Dangerous Substance].」

「Arrua Raven has cast the 5th-grade attack spell [Lightning Spear].」

It’s our team’s strongest damage-dealing combo, which even the troll, the embodiment of survivability, couldn’t withstand.

Kwaaang!

A giant explosion occurs, and Veritas’s body turns into a mass of light.

「Killed Veritas. EXP +5」

White particles of light scatter along with black smoke.

Raven uses wind magic to clear the smoke, as if curious about the result.

And then a white essence is revealed.

“It, it’s an essence!!”

[Wings of Greed], the one I was hoping for, dropped.

It’s just a 33.3% chance…

‘To think it actually dropped on the first try.’

I’m suddenly feeling a bit uneasy.

_________________

A 5th-grade monster essence dropped.

Therefore, there are two choices.

Either we store it in a test tube and sell it, or one of the team members pays for it and absorbs it.

“What are you going to do?”

“I think Ainar should have this.”

“Eek? Me?!”

I completely ignore Ainar's fuss.

Although she’s the one involved…

…I’m a man who will become the Barbarian Lord someday.

In short, I can represent all barbarians.

“Hmm… you haven’t even properly checked what kind of essence it is?”

We confirmed the skills through battle.

But you can only know what skills the essence contains after absorbing it. And besides, the base stats attached to the essence are also as important as the skills.

“Considering that, I’d like you to give me a discount.”

“How much?”

“16 million stones.”

Ainar is shocked at my offer.

“16 million stones?!”

“Ainar, please be quiet. Okay? Bjorn is talking.”

“Ah, alright!”

Although the conversation is briefly interrupted, Raven continues with a serious expression, without even chuckling.

“If we split it four ways, I’ll only get 4 million stones.”

Hmm, as expected, it didn’t work.

That’s why I said 16 million.

“The price seems too low. It’s a rare monster that even I didn’t know about, right? And most importantly, if we store it in a test tube and sell it, 40% is mine.”

“…I’ll let you research it instead.”

“Are, are you selling me to a mage?!”

“Hmm, just like Mr. Yandel did before?”

She looks quite tempted.

As expected, research is more important than money for mages.

I seize the opportunity and reveal the cards I prepared one after another.

“And besides, if you store it in a test tube and use the Distortion spell, you can’t use it again.”

In other words, I’m saying that she might regret using the Distortion spell on this if we find a treasure later.

Raven nods, as if she’s also greedy.

“Although we only have a few days left… indeed, we can’t rule out that possibility.”

Alright, it seems like she’s convinced.

Now it’s the bear-like man’s turn.

“Mr. Urikfrit, what do you want to do? I’ll make up for the loss with research…”

“I don’t mind. I’ve already earned enough. And in the first place, we came here thanks to Bjorn finding that monster.”

“Hmm, that’s true… but are you really okay with it? I don’t even know how much it will sell for.”

“So I’m saying I don’t mind. It’s good for us if the barbarian lady becomes stronger.”

“Alright, then it’s settled.”

Now Ainar has to pay the bear-like man and Raven 4 million stones each when we return to the city.

It means I’m back to being broke, even though I earned a lot this time.

“Here, absorb it before it disappears.”

Still, Ainar absorbs the essence without any objections, as if she’s happy about the new essence.

「The essence of [Veritas] seeps into Ainar Frenelin’s soul.」

A black mass of light instantly seeps into her skin as soon as it makes contact.

Raven’s eyes sparkle with curiosity.

“So, how is it? What’s the most noticeable change?”

“Uh… I feel stronger…”

“Hmm, that’s ambiguous. We’ll have to research it in the city later. First, try using the abilities.”

“Ab, abilities?”

“Ah, it might be difficult to imagine.”

Raven gives her tips on how to use Soul Power, recalling the three abilities that Veritas used.

“It’s also good to say the lines out loud. That’s how we learn magic for the first time.”

“Uh, uh… I’ll try.”

Ainar starts trying out Veritas’s active skills one by one, following Raven’s instructions.

“Co, come out! Demons!!”

The summoning skill, [Legion of Hatred].

“Keeeugh!!”

The ranged attack skill, [Doom Ray].

And…

“Wings!!!”

[Wings of Greed].

Swoosh!

Wings of light unfold behind her and flap.

It’s Barbarian (Female) Valkyrie Mode.

“Have, have I become a Valkyrie?!”

Ainar exclaims with a delighted expression as she looks around, examining herself.

“Behel—laaaaaaaaaa!!!”

It’s a good thing she likes it.