Wave

I waited in what could be called the heart of the area, calmly observing the situation as it unfolded. I was most concerned about the adventurers who hadn’t reached the realm of transcendence. After all, the area with the weakest skills was most likely to request help first.

But whether it was unexpected, or whether I had become prejudiced as a ‘frog’ who had become a transcendent, forgetting my tadpole days. The adventurers didn’t panic against the sudden rush of enemies and admirably fulfilled their roles.

These were the ones challenging the 4th floor of the labyrinth. Just because they hadn’t reached the realm of transcendence didn’t mean they lacked ability. We, who had excellently blocked the first attack, which could be called a wave, immediately set up barricades according to Raellan’s instructions.

It was impossible to collapse or transform the labyrinth’s walls themselves, but magic worked to some extent on the floor. Of course, tricks like digging tunnels to get past the walls didn’t work. This was because the labyrinth’s walls were endless, as if they reached the sky and the earth, all the way to their ends.

Still, the barricades created by the mages were quite excellent for being temporary. They had alarm magic to alert us to enemies sticking to the barricades, and a structure that lifted the ground to block the path, creating small holes at intervals where spears could be inserted, allowing us to unilaterally attack enemies beyond the barricades.

Furthermore, because the angle was slightly tilted, it seemed difficult for monsters to cross the barricades unless they had wings. Having blocked five paths in that way, we immediately returned to our positions to block the second wave. I also finished preparing to respond at any time, recognizing all the spatial coordinates within our area.

An hourglass floated above everyone’s head, and the sounds of footsteps began to draw closer. The sound of swords swinging, the sound of weapons clashing, groans and screams. Those things repeated for a while, then the hourglass that had floated above our heads disappeared.

Having easily dealt with the second wave as well, we gained confidence. We can definitely block this much. That thought was evident in our expressions. But soon, a heavy silence descended instantly at the monstrous roar flowing along the labyrinth’s walls.

That roar was different from the monsters we had faced so far. Judging the opponent’s appearance by the size of the sound alone was an ability that humans had developed to survive since they were animals. The seasoned adventurers here already knew. The guy who emitted a roar with a low-pitched vibration that made the tips of their toes tingle was definitely dangerous.

An adventurer who had been observing the approaching monsters at the corner of the crossroads widened his eyes and shouted.

,O, Ogre is coming!!!”

The adventurer who had reached the realm of transcendence next to him calmly checked the approaching ogre and urgently told us.

,It’s not a normal ogre! Its skin is gray, and its eyes are red! It’s also much bigger than a normal ogre. And the ogre is holding a spear….”

Generally, ogres were low-intelligence monsters that fought by uprooting things like trees, but their strength and destructive power were strong. But the labyrinth’s ogres were different. They weren’t normal monsters, but monsters with the intelligence to challenge the labyrinth like us.

The seasoned adventurers instantly fell into a panic. Unlike the previous waves, the monsters didn’t rashly approach, but started pouring attacks from afar, as if the adventurers were carefully moving while exploring a dungeon.

,Shit, the ogre has a crossbow!”

,Get out, fall back!”

,Hanson-ssi is hurt! Hey, fall back! Abandon this area completely!”

,A beast spider has appeared here too! We have a mage here, so we can block it enough!”

Numerous pieces of information echoed throughout the labyrinth’s walls. An adventurer with both arms cut off was putting his hands in the armpits of another and dragging him towards me.

,H, help me!”

After using space magic to return a huge bolt, as if shot from a ballista, that was flying behind him, I materialized a soul into the Lily Mask. I have enough magic power. Although it’s hidden by the wall, I’ve created a dimensional exit high up like a drone to secure visibility.

Peok-! Peok-! Peok-!

It wasn’t difficult to burst the heads of monsters that crossed the area using space magic. Even if they had intelligence, they couldn’t avoid attacks that stabbed in from unseen places.

Having cleared one area, I immediately turned around to support another area. Every time I stabbed with my spear, at least five heads were pierced. If space magic was used appropriately, the simple act of stabbing with a spear was no different from a shotgun with dozens of spear blades stabbing in at the same time.

The adventurers who had been in a panic soon regained their senses thanks to my timely support. I also killed a monster that was secretly sticking to the barricade, trying to occupy the area insidiously, by piercing its head with space magic.

,At this rate, it seems like I can do it alone….”

The adventurer with the severed arms didn’t forget to make a joke even while struggling. The other adventurer who had brought him skillfully took out an item from his waist bag and stopped the bleeding. But there was no way to regenerate the severed arms right away. He hadn’t챙겨 the arms, and the ogre had crushed them.

There was a casualty who couldn’t participate in the battle. There was no escape route nearby where we could leave the labyrinth right away. I had no choice but to keep the injured person next to me, but Raellan, who had approached in the meantime, swung his staff.

Shoong―――!

The yellow light that escaped from the end of the staff made such a strange sound and struck the injured adventurer’s forehead. The eyes of the adventurer who had been struggling to make jokes quickly cooled.

,What, what are you doing, you bastard!!!”

The adventurer who had been stopping the bleeding was furious and tried to grab Raellan’s collar. But Raellan, who lightly blocked the approach by swinging his staff again, said with an annoyed face.

,If one person can’t do their part, we’ll all have a hard time. It’s better to die quickly for everyone’s sake. That guy would have wanted everyone to survive too, of course.”

As Raellan said, the area we had to protect was reduced a little. Derok, the guild leader of the Adventurer’s Guild, who had come after hearing the commotion, stared at the dead adventurer for a moment and said as if spitting it out.

,Return to your positions.”

Derok shouted at the adventurers who had grasped the situation and were looking at Raellan as if to kill him.

,That’s an order. Return to your positions!”

At Derok’s command, the adventurers bit their lips and glared at Raellan before returning to their respective areas. Derok growled at Raellan, who shrugged his shoulders and tried to return.

,Yesterday was exactly the 14th anniversary of Hanson-ssi joining the Adventurer’s Guild.”

,Then, his retirement pay must be generous.”

At Raellan’s mockery, Derok clenched his fist and said.

,I’ll take care of my guild member’s problems. So, if you swing your staff at my subordinate again….”

Derok raised his sword, which was covered in monster blood, and aimed it at Raellan.

,I’ll cut off your head first.”

,The guild leader is acting emotionally. If I touch him a little, I can easily swallow the Adventurer’s Guild too.”

In an atmosphere where they seemed like they would fight at any moment, I used space magic to put spear blades on both of their shoulders.

,Stop.”

Unlike Raellan, who smiled leisurely even with the spear blade touching his shoulder, Derok reflexively knocked away the spear blade. After glaring at me and Raellan for a moment, Derok took a rough breath and returned to his assigned area.

,Master, do you think my actions were wrong?”

I shook my head at Raellan’s question. Rather, I felt comfortable because the inconvenience of having to keep the injured person by my side had disappeared.

Raellan gave a mischievous smile and tapped his head with his staff before returning. I used space magic to move the corpse on the floor far away, and used space magic to check the condition of the rescue team one by one.

Everyone is doing well. Ellie was still Ellie, and Lamine was skillfully using monster corpses to create cover. Before long, monsters began to rush in again. This time, footsteps and shouts filled the labyrinth.

An enormous number of goblin troops, reminiscent of the 2nd floor of the labyrinth, began to rush in endlessly. But due to the nature of the labyrinth, no matter how many enemies rushed in, a pincer attack was impossible because the path was narrow. Everyone skillfully pushed away the corpses in front of them and slowly retreated, maintaining distance against the goblins who were trying to move forward.

I thought about the hourglass above my head. I started helping from the area that was pushed back the most. I left the goblins at the very front to others and stabbed and killed all the goblins in the middle of the formation, as if cutting off their waists. Thanks to the middle being cut off, the adventurers were able to easily clean up the divided goblins and regain the area.

The mages literally melted the goblins. It was enough to just shoot magic in the straight, narrow alley. My help wasn’t needed at all. In particular, Red Magic Tower Master Valentine was the most destructive mage I had seen, except for Ellie. Not even corpses remained where the red flash had passed.

Just as I was about to take a short break after the wave ended, something unusual happened. Suddenly, an hourglass floated above my head. I quickly checked around the barricade, but there were no monsters hiding.

Just in case, I pierced the heads of all the monster corpses in the area to check, but the hourglass above my head still didn’t disappear. There was definitely a monster in the area.

I quickly used space magic to check all the areas, but there was nothing that looked like a monster anywhere.