166 The Great Magi (1)
5th floor canopy.
Gradually, the limit comes from the team unit, and the clan-scale hunting is carried out smoothly.
As soon as I entered there, my heart sank.
Not a description, really.
“uh? Bjorn, did you feel it too? It seems that the level of the soul has risen!”
Ainar immediately dropped Yunan, but he did not level up.
It’s just that the soul power has increased.
「Achievement」
Condition: Reach the 5th floor.
Reward: Permanently +20 soul power.
But if this happens, are all other achievements that have met the conditions broken?
It seems so, but I’m not sure.
Well, you should be able to see the stats window.
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Mental strength is not a stat that you can feel.
“Calm down, Einar. It’s not promotion, it’s a phenomenon called baptism.”
Anyway, Raven, who likes to explain, kindly informed Ainar instead of me.
It is also easy to understand at eye level.
“The labyrinth is a blessing to the explorers who have reached this point. Baptism is generally known as such. Wizards have a slightly different opinion.”
“Oh, right! Something romantic!”
Ainar, who likes superstitions, never asked about the thoughts of the wizards. But did Misha, who was listening, have a question?
“Then there’s no point in being baptized for wizards who can’t drink the essence?”
“no. We increase our magic. Looking at it now, it’s quite a lot. If I had known it would be like this, I would have come sooner as the seniors said.”
“Ugh, that’s right… … .”
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Misha wiggled her tail.
However, he seemed to know what he was thinking.
It must have reminded me of Dwalkie, who always lacked magical power.
“Ah, I heard that priests have increased divine power. And to tell you one more thing—”
I cut off my words before Raven’s explanation became endlessly long.
“Isn’t there something weirder than that?”
“yes?”
Raven tilts her head as if she doesn’t understand the meaning.
On the other hand, Uncle Bear, who had often visited the 5th floor, agreed with me and nodded.
“There are a lot of people. It’s not like this in the first place.”
Yeah, that’s not the case either.
I glanced around and swallowed my saliva.
The starting point of the 5th floor Daema-gyeong is the safe zone.
So this place always looks like a campsite.
However… … .
‘Why are there so many tents?’
At this point, it is almost the size of a village.
In addition, looking at the flags scattered here and there, it seems that more than half of them are explorers belonging to the clan… … .
‘what? Why are they staying here?’
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Most of the explorers based here are in teams.
Should it be some sort of shortcut?
Clans with a large number of people take care of themselves even in the middle of the 5th floor and camp together.
By the way… … .
“Bjorn, I think everyone is looking at us… … . Are you okay?”
5th floor explorer.
An explorer with a level enough to belong to a clan.
They stare at us from afar and giggle.
It’s not like I’m trying to be offensive.
What is it really?
It was time to think about why.
“hey!”
A man from far away waving his hand and approached me quickly.
“Abman! Hey, right?”
“… … Karl?”
“Nice to meet you. It looks like you finally changed your mind and saved the team, right?”
“How did the relationship happen? By the way, are you still in there?”
“Aren’t men loyal? You have to bury the bones.”
Uncle Bear greets us warmly as if we are very close.
After realizing my gaze, he added an explanation.
“Ah, this is Karal Larveger. was a colleague Until he left me and joined the clan on his own.”
“When did I leave you? I begged you to go with me, but you were the one who ignored me.”
Seeing Uncle Bear speaks a lighter tone than when he treats us, it seems like we are close friends.
it went well
“This is Bjorn, son of Yandel.”
“… … Oh, are you?”
Perhaps he’d heard the nickname “Little Balkan”, Karal with an interesting look.
“I heard you haven’t even been in your first year yet, but you’ve already come this far… … . Somehow, I feel so humble today.”
“I was just lucky. There is one more thing I want to ask you.”
“I think I know what you are asking. Why do you want to know why we’re still here when we should be facing upwards?”
Well, to be precise, I wondered why he was staring at me from afar… … .
Once he nodded his head.
“It’s simple. Of those who decided to join us alone, more than half didn’t come. The whole schedule has been stopped.”
Half didn’t come up?
How could that be?
It was a car that intuitively felt the seriousness of the situation.
“So I’m going to ask.”
Karal asked cautiously.
And it brought up something completely unexpected.
“Have you also been attacked on the 4th floor?”
That masked boy… … .
It wasn’t just us.
***
After thinking for a while, I honestly answered that I had been attacked.
Then Karal asked some questions about the situation at the time, and we answered honestly and got the information we needed.
“Yeah, I found it with detection magic… … .”
“It was pure coincidence. When I first turned on the detection magic, it turned out to be nothing.”
After the identity was discovered, Karal’s expression became serious when the masked man even told him that he had chosen to kill himself.
“Huh, what is self-determination? … .”
“Are there any stalkers?”
“The only thing is that it is a well-planned thing yet. Anyway, thanks for talking. If you ever found out something… … I will give you the news through Abman.”
Soon Karal left to report the news to the clan.
So, we had a little time to talk.
“… … He wasn’t just a looter either.”
There were several masks left.
And they indiscriminately attacked the explorers on the 4th floor or higher. Were we the third team to come up alive even after being attacked?
It’s definitely not understandable.
Because there is no one who sets up a vigilante even at the Tower of the Sky.
“We were really lucky… … .”
Even those who actually survived said that their teammates died or were seriously injured and only managed to get rid of masked people.
We were the first to discover it in advance and drive it to suicide.
The gaze towards us is now understandable.
At first, they must have looked forward to seeing if they were a member of the group they had been waiting for. Then I wondered if we would have been attacked as well.
“Mr. Yandel, is what he said before true? At least 300 people must have died in this raid… … .”
“Well, we’ll have to go back to the city to find out for sure. They survived, but there must be some who stayed on the 4th floor because the explorer or guide died.”
“Ah, right… … .”
Of course I said that, but it doesn’t mean much.
Hundreds of explorers are certain to have died.
It wasn’t the low-level explorers who hunted on the first and second floors, but the veteran explorers who climbed the tower for decades.
“Whew… … .”
Even though I felt fearful of this huge fire, I felt a little relieved.
Still, it wasn’t sent by the dragon killer.
I even delusionalized that it might be a regional leader’s cub or an assassin sent from the Yongin tribe.
“How the hell did the big guys do such a ruthless thing… … .”
I was speechless at this point.
Information that the royal family is planning to subdue Noark has not yet been announced.
‘After all, this must be like a declaration of war against him.’
I was convinced in my heart.
The culprits of this terrorist attack are the explorers of Noark.
‘This is probably going to get bigger.’
Headache rushes in
There will be a war between the royal family and Noark.
No, it is safe to say that it has already happened.
But the biggest problem here… … .
‘When the subjugation ended in failure.’
When Noark locked the door and the war prolonged.
At that time, I am also fucked.
The next battlefield will surely become a labyrinth.
‘Because you need manastones to maintain the city, whether it’s Noark or Rafdonia.’
Nemil.
Why was I drawn into the game at a time like this? If I had come a year earlier, I would have had more time to prepare.
‘uh… … . But wouldn’t there have been a war if I hadn’t delivered the high priest’s letter to the shrine?’
I had a sudden thought, but I brushed it off.
why is this my fault
It’s all the dragon killer’s fault.
Originally, all the three major religions were putting their neutral gear in order to keep the royal family in check. So who wants to kidnap the high priest and make him a slave?
“Bjorn?”
“Oh, I thought for a moment.”
“So what are you going to do now?”
When I finished thinking, everyone on the team was looking at me. That’s because they still see them as mere terrorism.
You won’t be as complex as I am.
“There is no change in the schedule. Resume exploration.”
Soon I made a decision, and Raven cautiously expressed concern.
“Is it okay if those guys are in the labyrinth?”
“It will be fine. With a clan like this, if you have an idea, you won’t be able to do anything here.”
Rather, now is the safest time.
Next month, even on the 5th floor, the cubs of the tunnels may roar… … .
Perhaps it is possible that the entrance to the labyrinth is blocked.
“Come on, stop thinking and let’s go get some money.”
The fifth floor will also be closed after the 30-day period ends, so you have to earn a lot.
I might be taking a break for the next few months.
***
The structure of the 5th floor Daema-gyeong is simple.
You can think of a large, tray-shaped rock, and then imagine a slide that stretches out in four directions.
The problem is that the slide is divided into dozens of branches, breaking in the middle and connecting to other roads, etc.
Whoops.
As soon as we got out of the starting point where the red lights were shining like a butcher shop, the darkness of the labyrinth and the heat of the labyrinth greeted us.
Not all four roads are like this… … .
This is the nature of the route we have chosen.
“The character has entered the special area.”
「Field Effect – Hellfire Gorge is given.」
「The status abnormality [Cheer Brand] is given.」
「All consumption values increase by 1.5 times, and fire resistance decreases by -30.」
All consumption values.
In other words, it consumes 1.5 times the amount of soul power, magic power, divine power, or energy than usual.
Not bad though.
Compared to other routes, this is a yangban.
「Arua Raven has cast the 8th grade enchantment [Cold Blood].」
“The character’s fire resistance is greatly increased.”
The magical energy of the cold seeps into the blood vessels, cooling the body that was burning hot.
In that state, we slowly continued our exploration.
I haven’t encountered the monster yet, but just walking was more stressful than I thought.
‘This isn’t even a bridge.’
A road about 10 m wide.
The darkness of the labyrinth obscuring the view.
And a cliff that radiates intense heat.
“Einar, stop looking down.”
“I, I just wanted to know what was underneath… … .”
“I heard lava flows.”
“lava? What is it?”
“Uh, it’s hard to explain… … .”
Raven answers Ainar’s curiosity again and again. Ainar frowned at every difficult word, but listened intently nonetheless.
‘In this respect, it seems like porridge is a good fit.’
As a team leader, it was quite a satisfying sight, but I couldn’t just watch it.
“Einar, stop bothering Raven and look straight ahead.”
“Oh, I got it!”
Re-tighten the released tension and go down the incline. There was a fork in the middle, and I took out my notebook and drew a map ignoring metrology.
I have no intention of continuing my exploration with the safe zone as a base, but… … .
I decided that I should be able to come back in case something happened.
It was a moment when I was passing through three forks like that and realized the greatness of Rottmiller.
Aww-!
The ground shakes with the sound of an explosion.
Soon, a rising pillar of fire passed us by.
and… … .
douchebag.
Small sparks flew and fell forward, forming a dense, dense cluster.
An animal whose body is covered in roaring fire.
“It’s Ifrit.”
“From the start, there are two level 5 monsters.”
At the same time as the battle started, Raven casts the ‘Impress Cold’ magic. Ifrit is a spirit creature, so it is immune to physical damage.
“Adds cold damage to the character’s weapon.”
Frost light over the mace.
I ran out in a gigantic state and smashed one with a mace.
The taste was refreshing.
Puff-!
A mace that smashed a troll’s shoulder with one blow, Ifrit doesn’t hesitate.
This is why I hate spirit creatures.
I don’t know if it’s a ‘property change’ magic that changes physical power to other attributes of the same class. Because ‘Improve Cold’ can only inflict damage equal to the additional damage.
“Aishir Faist.”
Raven’s 6th grade curse magic ‘Rapid Freeze’.
And Missha’s [Ice Crushing] combo.
In the end, this battle flowed in the composition of carrying Misha and Raven while I was holding out.
「You have defeated Ifrit. EXP +5”
Uncle Bear summoned Cheol-woong to assist the tank, but Ainar just watched.
It was the fate of a physical warrior.
Degur.
A magic stone fell where Ifrit disappeared.
Again, no water came out.
But instead.
“The character’s level has risen.”
「Spirit power increases by +10.」
“The maximum absorbable essence is increased by +1.”
Finally reached level 5.
This also means that it has to come out with an integer.
[Keek!!]
Now, there is only one monster left.
The beast of flame that has lost its precious companion roars at us.
It was that moment.
“… … Is it Ifrit?”
A group of five explorers appeared from the opposite side. They seem to be heading to the safe zone after finishing the hunt… … .
Where else did you learn dog manners?
“It will take more than five minutes just by looking at it.”
“Oh, I’m tired of dying, but we’ll just catch it, right?”
A huge ball of water fell from the sky and wet Ifrit’s body.
The fire quickly subsided.
“What is this—”
Without saying anything, the arrows that were subsequently fired pierced Ifrit’s head.
🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺
The last one that becomes light and disappears.
As soon as I saw what he had left behind in the world, I sighed heavily.
“… … Jeong Jeong-dang!”
The essence of a level 5 monster has been revealed.
‘Nimiral.’
I’m not really funny
Why only at times like this?