Although the hidden stage had begun, the tasks assigned to the four teams remained the same.
“To get straight to the point, our main goal is escape.”
“Is escaping from a raid really that easy?”
After Colton gave his men a rough explanation,
While they continued to rest, Jun had a brief meeting with Colton to discuss their future plans.
“There is a process to all phenomena.”
“What are you talking about out of the blue?”
“I mean it literally. Just because it’s a raid doesn’t mean escape is impossible. There’s simply something within the raid that prevents it.”
It’s commonly known that escaping a raid is impossible until the target is defeated.
But that’s only because there’s a corresponding process that makes it so.
In other words, once you understand the process, a solution exists.
“As proof, the reasons you can’t escape in the middle of a raid vary in each case.”
“Hmm…? Now that you mention it, that’s not entirely wrong.”
Colton recalled a few raids that came to mind and nodded his head.
“And in the case of the Black Forest raid, the entrance is blocked by a black barrier. Doesn’t that barrier look familiar?”
“…Ah! It’s like the barrier that trapped your companion! It’s very similar, isn’t it?”
“That’s right. But destroying the Fairy Queen isn’t the only way to break that barrier.”
If you gain the recognition of the Beast Knight Pride who was inside, the barrier will disappear on its own.
In other words, there were various ways to remove the barrier.
“Hmmm…”
“The way to break the barrier blocking the raid’s entrance lies with the Forest Guardian. We have to kill it.”
“So, it all comes down to the target of the raid. Is that at least some relief? At least we don’t have to face the monster called the Fairy Queen.”
Colton’s shoulders trembled. Perhaps he just recalled the shriek she let out when she first awakened.
“Is that why you suggested not killing those adventurers?”
“Whatever the case, they’re still Level 3 adventurers. Frankly, we can’t take down the Forest Guardian on our own.”
“I can’t argue with that.”
Colton nodded his head in agreement.
“We have to take down the Forest Guardian… So, in the end, our task hasn’t really changed.”
“Yeah, we still need to clear the dungeon.”
Defeating the dungeon bosses would weaken the Forest Guardian’s power.
Because of that, despite the current mess, clearing the dungeon became their objective.
“Phew… Damn it. Then we need to get moving right away.”
After progressing through the dungeon for about three hours, they finally reached the boss room.
Normally it would have taken only an hour, but the frequency of monster appearances had noticeably increased since the Fairy Queen’s awakening, which led to the delay.
Everyone showed signs of exhaustion on their faces but no one complained.
“Listen up, everyone. You heard it all, right? We have to fight anyway. Otherwise, we’re as good as dead.”
“Then let’s kill them all and grab a beer, Captain!”
“When have we ever worked safely?”
“Let’s go smash them all to pieces!”
Fortunately, the mercenaries’ morale hadn’t dropped as much as expected.
While uncertainty breeds fear, as long as there is a clear solution, humans inevitably take that path.
As someone once said, mercenaries who constantly risked their lives knew well that there was no benefit in putting off what needed to be done.
“Alright, let’s get moving.”
The cave was illuminated by Jun’s [Light].
Inside, a huge Steel Bug loomed over the team.
“That’s one ugly beast…”
It was a Giant Steel Bug, a mutant species that had absorbed the forest’s energy.
As the boss of this dungeon, it was the target they needed to kill to weaken the Forest Guardian.
Creeeak.
Of its eight legs, six supported its body on the ground, while the remaining two were shaped like enormous blades.
It looked different from other Steel Bugs but Colton pointed out another difference.
“Just like Mr. Mage said, that thing’s covered in fungus.”
Purple fungus grew around the joints of the Giant Steel Bug. This was something it didn’t originally have; it was only caused by the Fairy Queen’s awakening.
With the slightest impact, it would release toxic spores everywhere, making it a particularly troublesome opponent.
However, Jun didn’t see it that way.
Before the creature could move, Jun cast a spell.
[Aqua]
The image in his mind was of a waterfall cascading down a huge mountain.
The magic that appeared in response to Jun’s imagination created a huge stream of water over the Giant Steel Bug.
“Kiiirrr?!”
“Good! Charge!”
While the creature recoiled from the sudden shower of water, Colton seized the moment and gave the command.
The mercenaries covered their mouths and noses with cloth and confidently rushed at the creature.
Since it was soaked with water, its toxic spores wouldn’t be able to drift through the air.
Phew. I hope they hold out.
While he prepared the next spell, Jun anxiously watched the mercenaries charge at the Giant Steel Bug.
The danger of the mutated Giant Steel Bug wasn’t just in its fungal spores.
Its physical abilities had also improved significantly, which meant the burden on the mercenaries drawing its attention had increased as well.
“Dodge everything! Don’t try to attack recklessly! Just keep it distracted!”
Colton, who had been informed of this by Jun, also moved quickly and concentrated on getting the Giant Steel Bug’s attention.
Their goal was to buy time for Jun to prepare his next spell.
I have to finish it in one shot.
Thanks to the mercenaries’ efforts, the creature hadn’t noticed Jun yet, but if he failed to kill it in one blow, he wouldn’t survive either.
If the enraged creature charged, the mercenaries wouldn’t be able to stop it.
[Deciphering the spell…]
[Deciphering complete.]
[The influence of the spell, ‘Odyssey of the Lazy Pilgrim’, is reduced by 10 percent.]
He removed his hand from the choker around his neck and focused on his magical power.
The noise of the mercenaries faded away, leaving only the arrangement of magical power and the image he was creating in his mind.
He envisioned lightning striking down in a relentless storm and the lightning rods surrounding it.
The unpredictable fury of the heavens would be drawn to the lightning rods.
[Double Incantation]
[Enchantment: Elemental Armory]
[Attribute Enchantment: Metal]
He completed the metallic enchantment on the spare weapons the mercenaries had planted around the Giant Steel Bug.
[Detecting Target]
He then aimed his magical power at the Giant Steel Bug and the weapons embedded in the ground, preparing for the upcoming spell.
And then.
[Lightning Whip]
Lightning burst forth from Jun’s fingertips and shot forward.
“Kirik?”
The Giant Steel Bug briefly turned its attention toward Jun. It managed to sense the waves of magical power, but it was too late—far too late.
The lightning-infused whip struck the creature’s body in an instant.
The devastating electric shock spread throughout its entire body, amplified by the water Jun had previously drenched it with.
But Jun didn’t stop there; he continued to pour magical power into the [Lightning Whip]. To make sure the effect persisted.
“Ugh…!”
The destructive power far exceeded what he had achieved in his battle with the Goblin Lord. Yet, did he underestimate the spell’s consumption? Much more magical power drained at once than he had expected.
Though he possessed magical power as vast as the ocean, Jun’s magical power circuits burned red hot as they were struggling to handle the load.
Just die already!
Contrary to Jun’s wishes, the creature struggled desperately to escape with its tenacious vitality.
But there was no way out.
The mercenaries’ metal weapons had been driven into the ground around the creature, and the [Lightning Whip] was coiled around them.
“Kiiiiii——!!”
Like a prison forged by the God of Thunder himself, the creature screamed inside the flickering blue lightning cage.
The prison of lightning only dissipated once the creature’s movements had completely stopped.
***
When the death of the Giant Steel Bug was confirmed, a blue gate materialized.
I’ll have to investigate this too.
Jun gazed steadily at the blue gate.
In my world, warp magic was common in games and comics when it came to fantasy.
But in the world of <Blackout>, information about spatial magic was extremely rare.
So rare that even Jun hadn’t heard any close rumors about it.
If I want to find a way home, spatial magic would be the most promising approach… but still.
Even during his time as Lee Jeong-Jun, he had never seen a trace of spatial magic inside <Blackout>.
The only chance to see it was through these mysterious warp gates that appeared in dungeons.
Back then, I just thought of it as a convenient game feature…
Now that he was standing in front of the warp gate and staring at it directly, his thoughts became increasingly tangled.
Colton then spoke to Jun.
“Not going?”
“…I’m going.”
The mercenaries entered the warp gate, and Jun followed them shortly after.
What came into view was the clearing they had seen before departing for the dungeon.
The camp tents of each team were still visible, but the atmosphere was entirely different from before.
“Get the raid leader out here right now!”
“How the hell did the dungeon turn into this mess?!”
“Do you even know how many casualties we’ve suffered?! And you expect us to accept this with no explanation from the raid team?!”
The first thing that caught their eyes was the people shouting in anger and their faces contorted with fury.
Each one of them seemed to be heavily injured as if they had been through hell.
Yet they couldn’t contain their rage.
Judging by the smaller numbers… it seems there were some casualties.
Jun had expected some people to die, of course.
No matter how much the Azure Cloud Party had prepared for this, there would have been limits with only two adventurers assigned per team for the clear.
In fact, the twin adventurers assigned to the fourth team had carried antidotes, but could the two of them really have handled the Giant Steel Bug on their own?
If Jun hadn’t been there, they would have faced huge losses.
“I-I don’t know either! And on top of that, monsters have already attacked the camp five times!”
Meanwhile, the guides who had stayed behind to protect the camp were overwhelmed.
It seemed they knew nothing about what had happened, as they were drenched in cold sweat… but that did nothing to appease the mercenaries who had just returned from the hellish dungeon.
“Get in touch with the raid leader right now! If you don’t, we’ll file a formal complaint with the guild once this raid is over!”
“S-Sirs… please calm down… let’s not escalate this…”
“Calm down?! You want us to calm down?!”
The cold shift in the atmosphere of the camp occurred when one of the team leaders grabbed a guide by the collar.
“R-Reporting…!”
All eyes turned toward the entrance of the camp at the desperate cry of a man who had appeared there.
His appearance was more than enough to grab everyone’s attention. Blood gushed from one arm as if it had been torn off by something.
“D-Deputy Leader?!”
The others stared in shock at the man bleeding before them, though only for a moment.
As the guide whose collar had been seized let out a scream, a wave of murmurs filled the camp.
“Did he say Deputy Leader?”
“What in the world is going on?”
“Could it be… did the raid fail?”
One of the other guides quickly ran to the tent, grabbed a potion bottle, and rushed over to the man they called the Deputy Leader.
“Deputy Leader! What in the world…?”
“F-Failed the subjugation… annihilation…”
“Th-The raid was annihilated?!”
“D-devastating losses…”
With those final words, the man known as the Deputy Leader lost consciousness, and a heavy silence descended upon the camp.
***
“This… this isn’t the kind of situation where we can just explain what we know, is it?”
Since the Deputy Leader of the raid had delivered the report, the atmosphere within the camp had been one of utter chaos.
Generally, if a raid failed, the only outcome was death.
The word “annihilated” signified their imminent death, so the atmosphere among the raid party was beyond words.
“Don’t be ridiculous! You’re telling me I’m going to die here, like this?”
“This makes no sense, none! This is just a level 1 raid that everyone else succeeds in…”
Some rambled incoherently, while others worried about the families they would leave behind.
Some couldn’t accept the reality, while others got consumed by anger and shouted meaningless outbursts.
“At this rate, we don’t stand a chance.”
“To be honest, we’re also pretty uneasy.”
Just as Colton said, his men couldn’t hide their agitation either.
However, while Colton’s expression was grim, there was no sign of resignation in his demeanor.
Jun was curious about the reason and asked him.
“Why wouldn’t I be? Mr. Mage over here still looks calm, right? Maybe you’ve got something up your sleeve.”
“There’s no way.”
No matter how skilled Jun was, there was nothing he could do if the main force had been annihilated.
The same would be true even if Aiden were to return.
“However, I don’t think the main force was completely annihilated.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m going to have to pay a visit to that Deputy Leader.”
Leaving those words with Colton, he entered the tent where the Deputy Leader had been moved. Inside, a man who appeared to be a healer was examining the Deputy Leader’s arm.
“Pouring potions on it won’t help.”
“W-Who are you? You can’t just barge in here!”
“Look at the Deputy Leader’s arm, and he still hasn’t regained consciousness, right? No matter how much potion or holy water you use, it won’t do any good.”
A transparent bottle with a sacred symbol was placed on one of the shelves.
It was a symbol representing Ariklotus, the famous god of healing.
“How did you get that?”
“First, let’s try to save this man.”
To turn the tide of the current situation, they had to save the Deputy Leader no matter what.
Since he made that decision, Jun rolled up his sleeves and said,
“From now on, do exactly as I say.”
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