Chapter 224: Chapter 224 Like a Flame (4)

Like a Flame (4)

Like a Flame (4)

Darkness, just a few steps away.

We maintain a tight formation, relying on the flickering torches.

Unfriendly gazes surround us.

‘Geez, they’re staring.’

Hundreds of eyes gleaming in the darkness.

It’s like we’ve entered a cruel fairy tale, characterized by a gloomy and eerie atmosphere.

Of course, it’s just the atmosphere.

The outcome depends on us.

If we overcome this adversity, it will become a story of hope.

And if we crumble, it will just be a cruel tale.

Whoosh!

The stiletto-shaped shadow that was embedded in my shield is pulled back into the darkness.

It’s already happened several times.

This bastard is being shy since it’s our first meeting, just poking us from afar with normal attacks.

‘Is this a good thing for us, who are trying to buy time?’

I check the condition of my equipment with that thought.

My shield is riddled with holes.

A warrior next to me mutters,

“You’ll have to buy a new shield when we get out.”

It’s a statement based on the premise that we’ll survive.

I chuckle and answer,

“Ah, I’ll have to.”

We’re going to survive.

As many of us as possible.

Swoosh.

After four consecutive normal attacks, I hear movement from the darkness.

Right, the probing is over?

Swoosh.

He appears with an eerie gust of wind.

He’s about 2 meters tall.

He’s wearing a ragged robe, like something a dead person would wear, and he has no weapons.

His silhouette is that of a basic human form.

But like an incorporeal monster…

…only dark blue smoke billows from the parts of his body that are exposed outside his clothes.

And…

Flash!

…where his head should be.

Only crimson eyes gleam in the shadowed area beneath his hood.

It’s clearly different from a human’s structure.

First, there’s only one eye emitting light.

And it’s not even on the left or right side, but in the center of his face, making the proportions off, and…

…it’s huge.

As if his entire head is a giant eyeball.

“Try not to make eye contact with him.”

I fixed my gaze on his shoulder as soon as I saw him.

The reason is simple.

[Don’t be afraid.]

There’s a certain probability of being afflicted with the ‘Fear’ status effect if you make eye contact.

And…

[Look at me.]

…if Fear stacks nine times, that character permanently becomes a subordinate of the Lord of the Abyss.

Just like the countless monsters in the labyrinth.

They become enemies and attack us.

‘It was a bullshit pattern.’

It’s practically an instant death move.

‘Monsterization’ doesn’t even disappear after the boss is defeated.

‘Well, we’re not trying to defeat him, we just have to endure for 10 minutes…’

I don’t think anyone will reach ‘Monsterization’ within 10 minutes.

But I can’t relax.

We didn’t come here fully prepared.

We haven’t done any Fear-related setup.

In other words, even the ‘Fear’ status effect alone is a threat.

“Ugh…”

A warrior next to me groans and clutches his head.

It seems like he made eye contact with him.

If he was afflicted with Fear, he would have either dropped his weapon and run away or attacked us—

“Bjorn!”

“Watch out!”

A shadow shoots out from Verzak’s chest while I’m briefly checking on my companion.

It’s the same stiletto that attacked my shield several times.

But it’s a different pattern from before.

Whoosh!

The stiletto, which was flying towards me menacingly, splits into dozens of strands and envelops me.

Like a net.

Thwack.

The shadows cling to my body like octopus suckers.

I feel a pulling force from all directions.

His intention is clear.

He’s trying to drag me into the darkness since it would take too long if he just used normal attacks.

Huh, we’re not that weak.

“Ekobir Iheran Aiphoun.”

Kyle casts a spell he prepared beforehand.

The 7th-grade support spell, ‘Attribute Imbuement’.

For reference, the attribute is Sun, which is the opposite of dark-type monsters.

Whoosh!

A white flame, a combination of fire and holy attributes, envelops everyone’s weapons except for the knights’.

The reason he didn’t use it on the knights is simple.

Slash!

They can damage him even without ‘Attribute Imbuement’ since they have Aura.

“Save Bjorn!”

The warriors charge forward and cut or smash the shadows that are binding me with their flame-engulfed weapons.

My body is freed in an instant.

But dozens of shadows shoot out from his body again before I can even catch my breath.

Whoosh!

It’s a different pattern again.

He’s targeting everyone, not just me.

I hurriedly adjust my shield.

‘It’s starting now.’

It’s time to start the real battle.

_____________________

The eye monster I killed earlier.

The ‘Abyssal Watcher’ is a summoning skill that Verzak uses to choose his next target after finishing a battle.

It’s summoned throughout the cave, and it searches for sacrifices.

For reference, once you encounter it, that’s it.

There’s no way to shake off the aggro.

That’s why I crushed its eye without hesitation.

We wouldn’t be able to lure him out if someone didn’t draw aggro.

As you can see, he only recognized me as an enemy until my companions attacked to save me.

[But wouldn’t it be better for someone to step up and sacrifice themselves?]

Someone suggested that when we were making the plan, but it was an impossible strategy.

Leaving aside the question of who would take on that role…

Verzak’s line of sight is about 2 kilometers.

It’s meaningless unless they can endure until the expedition party completely escapes from his sight.

‘10 minutes.’

Kyle estimated that time to be about 10 minutes.

If we collapse before then, he’ll chase after us and start a massacre.

Therefore…

Thud!

…we endure.

Not just me.

But with the mages and warriors who followed me.

“Behel—laaaaaaaaaa!!”

We resist the darkness, wielding our burning weapons.

It’s not easy.

Whoosh!

His normal attack is a stiletto-shaped shadow with high penetration.

Normally, I would have been able to react easily.

I wouldn’t be seriously injured as long as I blocked it with my shield, although I don’t know how long it would last.

But…

‘Damn game.’

…the problem is that I can’t see properly.

I can’t react in time because I’m looking down to avoid making eye contact.

For reference, it was the same in the actual game.

[Don’t make eye contact with Verzak.]

If you applied this instruction to your character, their evasion and block success rates would plummet, no matter how high their Agility stat was.

Just like now.

Thump!

A shadow pierces deep into my shoulder.

「Body regenerates quickly due to [Moderate Healing] effect.」

I can’t drink enough potions.

Even though the aggro is somewhat dispersed, I’m still the main target.

And in the midst of that…

“Ah, aak!!”

…he doesn’t just stab us, he throws shadows in the shape of nets, dragging companions into the darkness.

Although we’ve been blocking them by cutting them…

‘Damn it.’

…we can’t block them forever.

The first casualty.

“Sillian!!”

Sillian Nerf.

The guy who followed me because he thought it would be a cool story to tell at a drinking party.

“Aaaaaak! Aak! Ack!!”

Horrible screams come from the darkness where he was dragged away.

I feel a strange sensation.

In the game, I just thought it was an effect to enhance the atmosphere.

“…….”

Anger boils inside me.

But I have to get a grip.

Someone has to be rational in this situation.

“Stop.”

“But!”

“You’ll die too if you go.”

It’s impossible to save him now that he’s been dragged in.

Not at our level.

“Damn it!”

A warrior vents his anger.

I can understand.

He couldn’t even watch his comrade, who he had fought alongside all day, die.

He just heard the screams from beyond the darkness.

Powerless.

It’s an emotion I’ve felt countless times today.

But the battle continues, whether we’re powerless or not.

「Body regenerates quickly due to [Moderate Healing] effect.」

Verzak also used a skill.

[Abyssal Call].

It’s a skill that summons all trash mobs within his line of sight to one location.

“Grrr! Grrr!”

The Abyssal Goblins who were called swarm, throwing Monster Pouches and summoning monsters, and scattering traps from afar.

One person died because of this.

Thump.

A chaotic battle where traps are triggered and monsters summoned from Monster Pouches run rampant.

A stiletto-shaped shadow pierces a companion’s body.

Even the mages, who were casting Mana Shield to prevent fatal blows, couldn’t react in time.

Thud.

Another one dies.

“Kyle! How much time is left?!”

“4 minutes.”

What, 3 minutes?

“4 minutes have passed.”

Phew, I almost got my hopes—

Kwagic!

That’s when the first variable occurred.

“It’s a troll! Push it back!!”

Another one dies.

The cause of death was a troll that was summoned right in front of us.

The problem wasn’t the troll, but the fact that the casualty was a mage.

‘Damn it.’

I considered the death of a warrior to be inevitable, but a mage was different.

We placed them in the center to protect them.

‘At this rate, we’ll run out of mana quickly…’

This is the worst.

I continued moving despite that thought.

Time passed.

“5 minutes left.”

“4 minutes!”

Kyle told us the time every minute, as if to boost morale.

“Just endure for 3 more minutes!”

There were no casualties after the mage died.

As expected of veteran explorers, their combat proficiency was starting to increase.

But that’s when, after 8 minutes…

“I can’t cast any more spells. It’s all I can do to maintain the imbuement spells.”

…Kyle made an announcement.

‘We have to endure for 2 more minutes without the mages’ support…’

It’s earlier than expected, but it can’t be helped.

One mage died.

He probably had no other choice if he wanted to save enough mana to activate that magic circle.

“Kyaaaaaak!!”

Monsters summoned from the pouches start to pile up as the mages’ AoE spells stop.

Our numbers have decreased.

And we don’t have magic.

Verzak didn’t stop, shooting shadows like arrows from afar as the burden on us increased.

Thump!

Another one dies.

‘I can’t keep that promise.’

You can’t leave a last will and testament in the middle of such a fierce battle.

Whether the enemy is a monster or a human.

They’re not kind enough to give you the time.

So we talked about it beforehand.

[If you can take their equipment, take it and give it to their companions.]

That was the last will and testament of the guy who just collapsed.

But as I said back then, it doesn’t seem like there will be any time for that.

“Aak! He, help me!”

The guy next to me was dragged away by a shadow and disappeared into the darkness.

“Aak! Aaaak!!”

I clenched my teeth, listening to his screams.

[Deliver the news to my son. I have a feeling you’ll be famous when you get out. He’ll be happy.]

I’ll be able to keep this one.

If I can return alive.

“We’re using the magic circle now!”

One minute left until the 10-minute mark.

The mages activated the magic circle they had drawn beforehand.

I swung my mace mindlessly.

I couldn’t see my shield anywhere.

Ah, I threw it away earlier, saying it was useless.

It’s not like I can repair it anyway.

“Yandel, come here!”

Oh, is it done already?

A brilliant light erupted from the floor.

Verzak also stopped attacking and looked at us, as if wary.

It was the same for the other monsters.

“…….”

The battle stopped for a fleeting moment.

I quickly scanned the surroundings.

I couldn’t see all the corpses.

It’s only natural.

Some were dragged away into the darkness.

‘He must be nearby… ah!’

The corpse I was looking for was at the edge of the light.

I quickly approached it and retrieved the sword and shield.

I had to use quite a bit of force.

He was still holding onto his weapons, his eyes open even in death.

“Bjorn!”

Someone shouted, and I rolled on the ground and entered the magic circle.

The warriors didn’t ask why.

“That was… right, we had that promise.”

“His companions will be grateful.”

I quickly got up, and I saw monsters approaching us.

They hesitated for a moment at the light emanating from the magic circle…

…but they judged that it wasn’t a threat.

“They’re annoying us until the very end!”

“Hey, mage! It’s time to go!”

“Just a little longer!”

I looked straight ahead.

Verzak, he was there.

[I’ve seen you.]

Seen my ass.

I fixed my gaze on him and repeated the names of the dead.

Sillian Nerf.

Neil Famez.

Paul Agmus.

Garpen Gullun.

Matt Elvans.

Lefrey Siaberus.

Six people in total.

‘Right, I’ll see you again someday.’

Riakis, the Lord of Chaos.

Regal Vagos, the Dragonslayer.

And Verzak.

「Kyle Pebrosk has cast the 4th-grade spatial magic [Mass Teleportation].」

I hope these bastards know.

That I won’t always run away.

__________________

When I opened my eyes, I was surrounded by people.

Right, we made it.

“How far did we get from him?”

“Well, it should be about 3 kilometers. He won’t be able to follow us since we’re completely out of his sight. Ah, it would be a different story if we encounter the Abyssal Watcher again.”

I instinctively looked back.

There wasn’t a single one of those damn eyes in the darkness. It meant we really succeeded in teleporting that far.

“Amazing.”

“Amazing my ass. Even I wouldn’t have been able to teleport this far if I hadn’t left the coordinate designation medium here. Ah, and I also shared mana with the other mages.”

Well, although he said it awkwardly, it wasn’t something just anyone could do.

Even with the other mages’ help…

…it wasn’t easy to cast that kind of magic in a place where mana efficiency was reduced by 75%.

“…Then I’ll be going.”

“Without resting?”

“We can rest while we’re moving.”

I opened a potion and poured it over my head.

And I moved forward while the other warriors were receiving treatment.

I soon found the people I was looking for.

It was Garpen Gullun’s companions.

They were so close that they even came to the front lines to drag him back, asking why he was trying to suffer needlessly.

“You’re…”

They also recognized me.

And they froze.

Their gazes were on the sword and shield I was holding.

“Here.”

“…Is he dead?”

A female explorer asked tearfully, and I just remained silent. She spoke again after a moment of silence.

“I, I’ll take this. But please take this.”

She took the sword and then handed me the shield.

“I thought you… might need it.”

“…Thank you.”

I decided to accept the shield without refusing.

After all, I lost my shield.

And it seemed like refusing would only hurt them more.

“Then I’ll be going.”

I continued forward.

And before I knew it, I reached where my companions were.

“Anyone get injured while I was gone?”

“…….”

No one answered my question.

They just stared at me blankly.

Misha’s hands were even trembling.

Ah, are they going to scold me for getting injured?

I should run away.

“It’s good that you’re not injured. Then I’ll be—”

“Stop.”

“…….”

“Please, just rest for a bit. You’ve done enough. Okay?”

“Yes, Mr. Yandel. Do as Miss Kaltstein says. It won’t help if you go to the front now. You said we might have a big fight later.”

I gave up.

Raven was right.

Although we had gone through so much, there were still mountains to climb.

It would be better to conserve our strength.

Thud, thud.

I recovered my stamina, following the procession next to my companions while other warriors were clearing the path at the front.

After some time…

[Halt!]

…an order to stop the procession came through the message stone.

I instinctively knew.

That we had reached our destination.

[The portal… is the portal open?]

I heard Kyle’s voice, and then Teterud, the leader of the dwarf clan who was in charge of the front lines.

[It’s open.]

Right, so we came to the right place.

My legs felt weak.

If this one was also destroyed, I would have lost my mind.

“Raven, I’ll leave this to you.”

“Okay, go ahead. You’re going to go anyway even if I stop you, right?”

“…….”

I pushed past the explorers and headed towards the front lines.

Teterud greeted me as soon as I arrived.

“So, what are you going to do? Are you going in right away?”

“As soon as the preparations in the back are complete.”

“Are you going to take the lead again this time?”

“Does it matter? You’re just going to follow us anyway.”

“Haha, that’s true.”

I then stood in front of the portal.

After about 10 minutes, I received a message from Kyle through the message stone.

[We’re ready. You can enter now.]

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

Even I could feel my ragged breathing.

But I tried to focus on the positive aspects.

‘There might be no one there.’

Noark would have thought the same.

That even if someone survived, it would only be a small number.

‘It’s more advantageous for them if we return to the city and testify about what the royal family did, causing chaos.’

Of course, it’s just a possibility.

They might have stationed troops and tried to eliminate even the few survivors.

But…

‘They wouldn’t have left many behind.’

No matter how much equipment they looted on the 1st floor, they couldn’t live off of that. The core forces would be on the upper floors, mining magic stones.

‘Damn it.’

I couldn’t be certain, even though I thought that.

But I took a step forward.

‘It’s not like it’s my first time.’

When was I ever truly certain?

We didn’t have a choice anyway.

If we just waited here, our strength would only decrease as we were harassed by Abyssal Goblins.

So…

Thud.

…I took another step and entered the portal.

「Entered 2nd Floor Goblin Forest.」

My vision went black for a moment.

And then I felt a sensation of weightlessness.

I opened my eyes, and a green forest came into view.

“Damn it.”

There was good news and bad news.

The good news was that there weren’t many enemies nearby.

And the bad news…

‘Damn it, I can’t believe these bastards are still here.’

My prediction that the core forces would be on the upper floors, mining magic stones, was wrong.

Thud.

I landed on the ground and observed the three people in the forest.

I could tell who they were just by their appearances.

At least two of them.

“You’re the first survivor.”

The Ruin Scholar.

The one who destroyed all the portals.

“Haha, I told you someone would come if we waited, didn’t I? Hey, barbarian! Congratulations. It must have been a tough journey.”

An unidentified beastman.

And…

“Hoo, we meet again.”

The man who was still wearing that white mask.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“It seems like we’re fated.”

The Corpse Collector.

“Pfft.”

He smiled, looking at me.