The sky darkened as if storm clouds had rolled in, and fireballs began pouring down like rain.
Fortunately, our base was located on the outskirts, so it seemed to be less affected by the volcanic eruption.
However, we couldn’t completely let our guard down.
Boom-boom-boom—!
The volcano erupted once more, spewing out more fireballs.
One of them shot up especially high, then traced a parabola as it flew toward us.
Shouts rang out from all around.
“Uh, uh—?”
“Hey, hey! That thing!”
Some hurriedly prepared defensive skills or threw themselves aside to escape, but in the end, the fireball crashed down near the middle of the hill.
Boom!
“……”
“……”
As we stared at the blazing flames flickering from the cratered ground, it seemed everyone was thinking the same thing.
“…We should invest in defensive facilities too.”
It had barely missed us just now, but what if a fireball landed right over our heads?
Or on a building we had carefully constructed, or on the crystal tower?
That would be an incredibly frustrating situation.
So it would be best to prepare defensive facilities in advance.
They would also come in handy in case the enemy decided to attack.
Rumble…
Before long, the erupting volcano began to settle down, and the fireballs that had been pouring like rain almost completely stopped.
Only a bit of volcanic ash drifted through the air.
But now there was another problem.
The once desolate volcanic zone was stirring with frantic movement.
Because of the monsters that had appeared all over the area.
Watching the scene, Song Cheon-hye made a guess.
“They must have woken up because of the volcano.”
“Probably.”
The explosion wasn’t just loud. It was deafening and on top of that, the ground had been violently shaken by the quake.
All the monsters that had been quietly resting or hiding in their nests came pouring out at once.
The most noticeable were the goblins with reddish-brown skin.
Fitting the environment, they were called Fire Goblins.
Song Cheon-hye looked slightly pleased.
“This reminds me of the dungeon we went to before.”
“The Fire Goblin Temple?”
If I remember correctly, the Fixed Zone rule applied there.
There were no such restrictions here, but compared to regular goblins, the ratio of Beheader Goblins and Shamans was much higher.
They swarmed around in groups, hunting other monsters.
Their targets were giant turtles or hermit crabs crawling out from the overflowing rivers of lava, but those creatures weren’t exactly pushovers either.
Flames blasted from the turtles’ mouths, and the hermit crabs moved with surprising agility, slamming goblins with the huge rocks they carried on their backs.
What a complete mess.
Thinking that, I lifted my gaze toward the top of the volcano.
Although the eruption had stopped, smoke was still seeping out, and for a brief moment, something resembling a human silhouette seemed to drift between the plumes.
A Draconic Soldier.
If it could fly freely, then it was a top-tier individual. At least A-rank.
Whether we’d run into it was still uncertain, so I decided to wait and see.
I turned to Song Cheon-hye.
“Can we go now?”
“Yes, go ahead.”
With permission granted, I exchanged glances with Seo Ye-in and Park Na-ri, and the three of us started down the hill together.
As we moved, I pointed toward the distance and explained,
“We’re heading deep inside first.”
“Mhmm…”
“Go as fast as possible, and ignore anything else if you can.”
“Got it.”
Park Na-ri nodded and climbed onto Bum’s back.
When she gently stroked from his head down to his neck, he let out a low purr.
He’s surprisingly calm in his original form.
In mini-tiger mode, he’s a total menace.
Chammy had been sitting quietly on her shoulder but now took off high into the sky.
Seeing they were ready, I held out my hand to Seo Ye-in.
“Grab on.”
“Hand.”
Whoooosh—
As we activated Feather Step together and chained it with Wind Force, we ended up hovering a few centimeters above the ground.
Just lightly pushing off the surface was enough to propel us smoothly forward.
Before long, we were sprinting toward the volcano.
We went up and down the uneven terrain, and whenever a river of lava appeared, we leapt clean over it.
Occasionally, we ran into monsters.
A Beheader Fire Goblin spotted us and immediately showed hostility.
“Grrr—”
With a low growl, it hurled something from its hand, but I easily dodged and repeated the instruction I’d given earlier.
“Ignore it.”
“Okay.”
Then we shot past it at tremendous speed, leaving it far behind.
After traveling a while longer, a giant turtle crawling along the path turned its head toward us.
But a streak of chilling energy shot straight into its open mouth.
Boom!
I fed it a Frozen Spirit Shot and kept moving.
Passing monsters in similar fashion, we continued for quite some time before I glanced around from the corner of my eye.
We’ve come in pretty deep.
Figuring this was far enough, I changed direction.
“From here, that way.”
“That way” meant Group C’s territory.
The reason we hadn’t gone straight from the start but instead moved deep in first before turning was to reduce the chance of running into Group C participants.
The route was longer, but we were fast enough that I calculated we’d still reach the destination first.
Sure enough, by the time we slowed down after traveling a considerable distance, there wasn’t a single student in sight.
It meant they hadn’t advanced this far yet.
I posed a question to the two of them.
“Why do you think we rushed all the way out here?”
Park Na-ri hesitated for a moment before answering timidly,
“To… secure a spot first…?”
“Correct. But why?”
This time, Seo Ye-in answered while tilting her head slightly.
“…An ambush?”
“Close. Something you’re good at. You even have the skill for it.”
“…Traps?”
“Exactly.”
Phase one of screwing over Group C: baiting people.
Setting traps was part of that.
But if we placed them just anywhere, it would be hard to see any real effect.
If some random monster stepped on one and set it off, all it would do is put them on alert.
What I was aiming for was a place the participants would have no choice but to visit.
The “sanctuary”.
They had to charge their crystals, so there was no way they could avoid it.
The next step was to figure out where the sanctuaries were located.
I looked at Park Na-ri.
“I need a favor.”
“Mhmm… okay….”
Park Na-ri gave a small nod and focused her mind.
A fresh green glow spread through her entire body.
Seeing that Bum and Chammy were glowing the same shade of green, it seemed she was communicating with them through some kind of skill.
After a moment, Chammy who had been flying overhead let out a sharp cry as a signal.
Piiiiiiiiii—
“Th-That way, I think….”
“Good. Let’s go.”
We rushed in the direction Park Na-ri pointed, and sure enough, a shabby stone pagoda stood there.
I pointed at the ground and instructed Seo Ye-in.
“Lay some traps and catch up. We’ll scout around first.”
“Got it.”
Then Park Na-ri and I moved out together.
Naturally, there wasn’t just one sanctuary, so it was best to identify all the ones nearby.
With Chammy’s help, Park Na-ri continued searching the area, locating the sanctuaries one by one and pointing them out.
“Over there… and over there, too….”
“Excellent work.”
I nodded in satisfaction.
Definitely the right call bringing her instead of that useless Song Cheon-hye.
Being able to survey the area from the air made things so much easier.
After finding the sanctuaries, we looked for a place to hide.
There were a few conditions to consider,
It can’t be too far from the sanctuary.
That way, we could confirm whether the plan was unfolding properly and respond quickly if things went wrong.
So the best option was to take up a position somewhere between several sanctuaries.
We should avoid anywhere too easy to spot.
If we laid the traps and waited, only for Group C to find us first?
That would mean failing before we even got started.
But we also can’t choose a place with too many obstacles.
It would interfere not only with visibility but with long-range attacks as well.
Despite all these demanding conditions, Park Na-ri and Chammy managed to find the perfect spot.
The only minor issue was that it happened to be a fire goblin nest.
The Beheaders glared at us and let out low growls.
“Grrr….”
But before they could even raise their weapons, a figure lunged at them with incredible speed.
It was Bum.
“Grrraah!”
With a swipe of his forepaw, one Beheader’s jaw twisted violently to the side.
He brought his paw down from above on the next one, caving in its skull.
Watching the scene, I thought,
Is this why he holds back in his original form?
He couldn’t exactly twist Park Na-ri’s jaw off.
Chammy seemed to be the same.
If she pecked like she did in mini mode, she’d probably punch holes straight through her master’s face.
For spiritual beasts, they were surprisingly considerate.
Thinking that, I supported them with wind magic and ice bullets.
Before long, we had completely cleared out the fire goblin nest.
Right then, Seo Ye-in seemed to have finished setting the traps.
I considered laying some at the other sanctuaries as well, but—
There’s no time.
We’d already been in this area for quite a while.
Group C could show up at any moment, so it seemed better to stop here rather than risk being discovered.
So Seo Ye-in joined us as we were.
She glanced around and gave a short remark.
“Perfect spot.”
“Right? Our ‘friend’ went through a lot to find it.”
“Good job, friend.”
At that, Park Na-ri’s face filled with pride and emotion.
“Mhmm…! We’re friends…!”
Even though it was said half as a joke, she seemed genuinely happy.
Soon, a brief bit of small talk passed between us.
“How do you manage Bum’s fur?”
“Just… brushing him sometimes and giving him baths…?”
“Does he behave during baths? Seems like it’d be tough.”
“Mmm… It’s a war every time….”
As we talked about him, Bum let out a low growl from the side.
“Grrr.”
As if to grumble, Isn’t that a bit of an exaggeration?
Park Na-ri gently stroked him as if to soothe him, then suddenly flinched and looked up at the sky.
Without a word, she pointed at Chammy, who seemed to have spotted something.
Sure enough, when I turned my gaze toward one of the sanctuaries, I saw students with a yellow “C” on their chests.
A well-balanced four-person party. Two close-range, two long-range.
One of them, who appeared to be the party leader, pulled out an empty crystal and trudged toward the sanctuary.
Once he got close enough, a bright pillar of light connected.
Flaaaash—!
The party leader continued charging while the other three positioned themselves as if to protect him.
Seo Ye-in and I exchanged a subtle glance.
“Wrong one.”
“…That’s unfortunate.”
Unfortunately, it was a spot where no trap had been set.
Of course, that had been factored into the plan.
A wicked smile spread across my lips.
“Let’s take it out.”
“Okay.”
Seo Ye-in pulled out the weapons she had brought along.
Placing the sniper rifle beside her, she began adjusting the mortar.
“……”
As if realizing what we were about to do, Park Na-ri began chanting a spell as well.
A fresh, invigorating energy settled over Seo Ye-in.
She’s applying a buff.
I cast my own skill in turn.
[Activated ‘Amplification.’]
[The target’s skill ‘Explosive Shell’ has increased in rank. (B+ → S+)]
Soon, a large sphere of magical energy formed in Seo Ye-in’s hand.
When she held it against the mortar’s barrel, it smoothly seeped inside.
After making a final, minute adjustment, she pulled the trigger.
Boom—
With a clear, ringing sound, the shell shot high into the sky.
It crossed the long distance and fell right into the middle of the four-person party, who were still diligently charging the crystal.
Whoooooosh-Booooom—!
Leave a Reply