Parting the thick white mist, Jun used [Scan] to survey the area and began moving in the direction where the life signals were faintest.
“What about them?”
In response to Eleanor’s question, Jun narrowed his eyes as he spotted a fallen group using [Keen Eyesight].
“It’s the Hertex Adventurer Party. They’re badly injured.”
“Tch, I’d better go check on them.”
Even for an adventurer party that had established territory on the fourth level, it was unlikely they had a high-ranking priest with them. Jun nodded.
“S-Stop right there. Who are you?”
“We’re the White Whale Mercenary Corps. We came because we heard the commotion.”
“Wh-What? The White Whale Mercenary Corps?”
“We have a high-ranking priestess here. She’s going to tend to your wounded.”
“…Please, wait just a moment.”
Recognizing Eleanor’s priest robes, one of the injured adventurers limped off quickly toward the tunnel, dragging his wounded leg.
It seemed to be a hastily dug tunnel, and even from the entrance, many more injured people could be seen inside.
“Will you come in?”
“Much appreciated.”
After receiving permission, they entered the tunnel and found a mage who was likely the one who had created the tunnel alongside Hertex, the leader of the Hertex Adventurer Party.
“I didn’t think we’d meet under such circumstances. Still… it’s good to see you. I’m Hertex, the one in charge here.”
The man who introduced himself as Hertex had a rugged build and was covered in cuts and torn skin.
“I’m Jun, leader of the White Whale Mercenary Corps.”
“So I finally meet the famed mage in person. I apologize for the commotion.”
“Pleasantries aside, it seems the situation doesn’t really allow for them. Why not let our priest tend to your wounded first?”
“Ghh… I’ll take you up on that.”
Although the conversation was calm on the surface, Jun was quite unsettled internally.
According to the information I got from Chloe before we came, Hertex is supposed to be an adventurer nearing level 6.
On top of that, all his party members were experienced adventurers, and under normal circumstances, they’d be operating on the fifth level.
So how had they ended up in such a state?
“Guh… From the look on your face, you’ve got a lot of questions.”
“My apologies.”
“No, no. I suppose I owe you an explanation.”
While receiving treatment from Eleanor, Hertex began explaining what had happened.
Upon hearing news that a field boss had appeared at an unusual time of year, he immediately sent word to the adventurers stationed in the field and quickly set out with his team.
Though they weren’t as thoroughly prepared as they would be during a typical season, they were still seasoned adventurers.
The plan had been to engage the field boss, push it back, and then post an official request for reinforcements.
But things had gone wrong from the very start.
“It showed up… the damn thing appeared.”
“What do you mean by ‘thing’?”
“…A Twin-Headed Troll. An irregular field boss appeared.”
Unaware of that fact, Hertex had tried to face the Twin-Headed Troll head-on by himself and was defeated.
As expected of a field boss, the troll was surrounded by a horde of monsters.
Caught off guard by the unexpected power, the Hertex Adventurer Party’s formation broke, and they suffered heavy losses before retreating.
Just as the explanation concluded—
“Damn it, it’s coming this way!”
“Argh… my leg’s still broken…!”
“Evacuate anyone who can’t fight immediately to the rear!”
“But Captain, if we do that, our front line will—”
The Hertex Adventurer Party, already demoralized from their earlier loss, fell into chaos once more.
Although Hertex was a level 6 adventurer and had managed to inflict significant damage during their retreat, the monster had already regenerated and was advancing again.
Drawn by the troll’s savage aura, more monsters from the field were beginning to gather.
With only those present, there was no way they could hold the line.
“Hertex. We’ll try to lure it away. You focus on evacuating your wounded.”
“…Are you sure? That thing…”
“We have some information on it, and we’re not planning to engage it head-on.”
“Hoo… Given the situation, I suppose we don’t have a choice. May Hermetes grant you his blessing.”
Given the circumstances, there was no way they could just leave them to die.
It was a matter of conscience, but also of reputation.
The Hertex Adventurer Party is fairly well-known. If we abandon them, it’ll spread some nasty rumors about us.
Right now, even without the Hertex Adventurer Party, numerous mercenaries and adventurers had gathered in the field.
And if it was just about luring the enemy, the task wasn’t all that difficult.
“Eleanor, finish treating the wounded over there. And Maya, I want you to guard Eleanor.”
“Got it, Captain.”
“Understood!”
Rather than taking part in the decoy operation himself, Jun left behind the two who would be more useful in the rear and stepped out of the tunnel with Aiden, who excelled in agility and stamina.
“Senior, is there anything specific you need me to do?”
“Some of the monsters might try to circle around and block the retreat. I need you to intercept them.”
“Understood!”
By the time the adventurer party was almost ready to retreat, the ground began to rumble.
The monster horde had arrived not far from their position.
“There are about thirty up front. Behind them, maybe twice as many.”
“That’s a lot…”
“In times like these, you strike first. I’ll hit them with the opening blow. Aiden, keep an eye out for any that try to slip past.”
“Yes!”
Aiden nodded with enthusiasm.
If the goal was just to grab their attention rather than kill them, he figured it was doable.
“Alright… let’s kick things off with a little spice.”
[Multicasting]
[Scan]
[Detecting Target]
As the allies prepared to retreat, Jun poured all the mana he’d been storing into a single spell.
The image in his mind was a wildfire.
A natural disaster that was massive and all-consuming.
[Flame Rage]
A spiral fire orb surged to life at the end of his incantation, spinning violently.
Fwooooom—
The crimson orb floated in midair.
A relic left behind by Sergey’s chimera, a 7th-circle mage’s masterpiece.
Its secrets had brought Jun moments of enlightenment, but above all, it greatly amplified his fire magic.
Fshhhhhhh!!
The spiral fire orb, flying far faster than before, spun at blinding speed as it shot toward the monster horde, hidden in the mist.
Sensing the intense heat even through the fog, the startled monsters scrambled left and right to avoid it.
Though it was much faster than before, it wasn’t so fast that the beast-type monsters couldn’t react.
But that didn’t mean dodging it was the right move.
Because avoiding the orb didn’t make it disappear.
Having reached the center of the monster ranks unharmed, the spiral orb—
Booooooooooom――!!!
—suddenly erupted, unleashing a roaring inferno as if releasing all its pent-up fury in a single burst, incinerating the monsters in the area.
KiiiiiiiiiiiiiiighI!
Goooooooooogh!!!
With just one spell, the monsters scattered in all directions, fleeing in panic from the raging ball of fire.
“Wow…”
And for a brief moment, Aiden stared blankly at the scene, utterly captivated.
The saying that a prepared mage is terrifying…. It must have been created for someone like his senior.
Kuaoooooo――!!!
Was it a reaction to that blaze?
From not far off, the fearsome roar of the Twin-Headed Troll erupted.
Perhaps the creature had learned something from its earlier clash with the Hertex Party, because it released a magic-disrupting Fear, attempting to break Jun’s spell.
“He’s burned through quite a lot of mana, it seems.”
Whether it was the lingering toll from the earlier battle with Hertex, Jun’s magic didn’t waver in the slightest.
On top of that, Jun had now grown somewhat accustomed to ancient magic.
His spell patterns were far more refined and stable than before. A Fear like that wouldn’t be enough to shatter them easily.
Kuruuaaa!
Though it lacked magical power this time, it was enough to snap the panicked monsters back to their senses.
“Not so fast.”
Jun had no intention of letting things play out on their own.
His will. A concentrated embodiment of nature’s fury.
[Lightning Call: Transformation – Thundercloud]
He built upon the spell originally cast by Illusia, adding his own will and infusing it with even more mana before unleashing it.
Thanks to the ancient magic that reinforced its structure, [Lightning Call] now held significantly more mana than it ever had before.
Fzzzzzzzzzzt――――!!!
In a flash, the world turned white.
A deafening thunderclap echoed so violently it made their ears ring.
Kh… khaaaak…
From beyond the fog came the beast’s dying scream.
Of course, that single strike wouldn’t be enough to kill it…
Any more than this, and I’ll be in danger too.
Monsters that had scattered now picked up on Jun’s mana and were racing toward him.
“Aiden!”
“Yes!”
Aiden, who had been drawing the monsters’ attention until now, responded to Jun’s call.
“Are we retreating?!”
“That’s right. Let’s go!”
They had done enough.
Jun quickly cast a reinforcement spell on Aiden and used [Burning Step] to escape the area himself.
Before long, a furious roar echoed from the distance. The troll had regained its senses.
***
“…That was incredible.”
At Hertex’s murmured words, the other party members found themselves nodding without realizing it.
The mage standing by Hertex’s side was no different.
“That heat we felt when we set out… it wasn’t normal. It felt like a truly profound kind of magic.”
“You sensed it too?”
“Yes.”
At mage Muldrow’s words, Hertex deeply agreed.
Even in that brief moment, an overwhelming surge of mana had rippled through the air.
“Using both fire and lightning magic together…”
The sound of crackling thunder behind them was so intense, it made one hesitate to even look back.
Just what kind of preparation would it take to produce such destructive power?
“Mister. How’s your body holding up?”
“I’m doing better, thanks to the priestess. No trouble running.”
“Your muscles are still in shock. That’s thrown your mana flow off balance too. If you push yourself too hard, the injuries might flare up again, so take it easy.”
“…Thanks for the advice.”
And more than anything, he couldn’t help but envy the fact that their mercenary group somehow had a high-ranking priestess in their ranks.
Maybe it’s actually a good thing this whole incident happened now?
The thought crossed his mind for a moment, but he quickly shook it off.
“We evacuate to the [Checkpoint] immediately! Then I want a group of those still able to move to go support the White Whale Mercenary Corps! Understood?!”
No matter what, if they’d received help, it was only right to repay it.
Rescuing a mage who would naturally have trouble moving would require them to be ready for serious losses.
Just as the members were about to respond—
“We’ve just arrived.”
“……!”
In that moment, Hertex felt genuinely grateful he was a level 6 superhuman.
…Had he not been, he might’ve forgotten all sense of dignity as a commander and let out a high-pitched shriek like a startled girl.
Without a sound, the mage had emerged from the mist, soaked in blood.
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