Captain Battle
by Afuhfuihgs
Up to stage 60, it was a series of ordinary stages as I remembered. As if giving us time to adapt to the changed environment, all the stages required were clearing out all the monsters and some cooperation.
But from stage 61 onwards, the stages progressed differently from what was in the novel. It seemed like a variable that occurred because we had more people than Roel, who was alone. Still, it wasn’t particularly difficult. The second reason we deliberately increased the number of people was to show our true worth in cooperative games.
The most important thing in cooperation is teamwork. You have to act quickly with eye contact and intuition, without time to exchange words at the right moment. But with space magic, I could do the work of several people alone.
Need to press a button at once? Use space magic to simply extend people’s hands so they can press the button. Need to move objects while avoiding monster attacks? Just use space telekinesis to move the objects to the designated location.
Using magic to catch keys flying in the sky and open boxes was also easy with space magic. The ability to transcend the intention of cooperation was space magic. That’s what Raelran aimed for too.
At first, the adventurers and mages were embarrassed by the changed environment, but now they completely trusted me. Who wouldn’t trust me when I was fighting off hordes of monsters and suddenly breaking through stages at tremendous speed?
Even when a stage came up where we had to kill all the monsters within a time limit, they would glance at me first. Only after Raelran’s scolding would they come to their senses and clear out the monsters. That’s how we quickly rested for another hour at stage 80 and then climbed up to stage 83.
17 stages left. No one had died since it changed to a stage-type dungeon. No, everyone knew it had become safer than before. And they knew it was all thanks to my space magic.
That’s why Valentine, the Red Magic Tower Master, was blatantly rubbing her chest against my arm. There’s no mage who wouldn’t get turned on by seeing magic with such unbelievable efficiency and practicality as space magic. Even Colton, the alchemist, was showing a strong interest in space magic.
But soon, Colton’s interest wasn’t in space magic, but completely turned towards Yuri. He noticed that I had considerable knowledge of magic engineering when he saw me solving problems related to magic engineering that came up in stage 81 without hesitation.
,Are you perhaps a genius?
…?
As I stared at him as if asking what kind of bullshit he was spouting, Valentine, who kept sticking by my side, answered with a nasal voice.
,Of course! Just the skill of using a spear is amazing, but space magic and knowledge of magic engineering too… what else could you be if not a genius?
Everyone who was eavesdropping on Valentine’s sweet flattery nodded in agreement. I sighed and subtly approached Ellie. Ellie smiled softly and whispered to me.
,The underachiever is now being called a genius?
,Yeah, I guess it looks ridiculous in the eyes of a real genius.
,No, I agree that you’re a genius too. You used the shortcut of quantum jump, but the fact that you digested it all and made it your own is something impossible for ordinary people.
I didn’t expect Ellie to answer so seriously to my joke-filled self-reproach. Ellie smiled and told me to have confidence as I shrugged my shoulders for no reason. I didn’t particularly need confidence. The only person I could brag to about how much I’ve grown is still in the coffin.
After a little time passed, stage 84 began. Buttons appeared on the dome-shaped wall, as many as there were people. Since there was no kind explanation of how to proceed in each stage, we scattered and pressed the buttons simultaneously, using our intuition. Then a small blue dot appeared in the center of the dome.
Shuuuuuuk―――!
,Uwaaaagh!
,Shibal, what the hell is that…!
It started sucking everything in the dome towards itself like a black hole. An adventurer who was pressing the button without much thought floated into the air and flew towards the blue dot. I used space magic to save the adventurer just before they were sucked into the blue dot, but it was clear that everyone couldn’t hold out for long and were gradually being pulled towards the blue dot.
,Sa, save me!
,…Use magic, use magic라도!!!
,What magic can I use! It’s absorbing everything!
Derok’s body, who had stuck his weapon into the ground, floated into the air and looked precarious, and the barricades created by the mages soon collapsed and were sucked into the blue dot. The more it absorbed, the larger and stronger the blue dot became.
I calmly assessed the situation. There was no timer around the blue dot. There were no monsters, no objects to move, and no sparkling floors. Then the answer was only the buttons.
,Press the buttons again!
Raelran must have come to the same conclusion, as he shouted that and pressed the button firmly using magic. But everyone was doing their best to resist being pulled into the blue dot. I used space magic to press all the other people’s buttons as well, but I realized that the light on the button disappeared the moment I took my hand off.
The buttons must be pressed simultaneously. I only have two hands, but that doesn’t mean I have no way. I have the ability to pierce my head with 30 spear blades at the same time.
I materialized spears with blunt ends and pressed 14 buttons simultaneously (excluding the one Raelran was pressing). Then the blue dot disappeared and the adventurers who had been floating in the air all fell to the ground with a thud.
,Damn it! Yuri, you’re the best!!!
An adventurer who fell face first and was bleeding from the nose suddenly shouted loudly. I don’t know if he was angry or wanted to praise me. Anyway, that’s how stage 84 ended. The following stages were not difficult. Valentine and Ellie competed to solve the problems related to magic.
But in stage 89, just before the break, we all realized that an anomaly had occurred. Monsters appeared. Unlike the last stage where almost 10 times our number swarmed us, this time it was the same number as us.
But they weren’t ordinary monsters. They were all wearing armor and weapons made from monster bones. Decisively, all those monsters had reached the realm of transcendence.
,This is… how.
,Monsters have reached the realm of transcendence…?
,Really, is this possible?
It seemed to be a shock to the adventurers. Their identity as adventurers was to eventually surpass monsters through endless growth. Their belief was that they could eventually kill any strong monster.
But the monsters in front of them hadn’t survived just by their innate abilities. Like adventurers, they had killed monsters, gained experience, and reached the realm of transcendence, becoming monsters who could kill what couldn’t be killed.
Moreover, the monsters’ physical abilities were far superior, so the adventurers, who had been deprived of their only advantage over the monsters, ‘growth,’ were furious at the injustice.
,Shibal, kill them all!
,Come on, come on. I’ll smash your heads with a hammer!
,Are there any furry females by any chance!
As the adventurers shouted excitedly, the lizardman at the front of the monster group stepped forward half a step.
,Alright, everyone calm down.
…!
,Shibal- the monster is talking!!!
,Kyaaaaak! Kyaaaaak!
As the adventurers panicked and buzzed, Raelran waved his staff, annoyed, and silenced them. Leaving behind the adventurers who were only mouthing words like people drowning, Raelran said to the lizardman.
,A monster who can speak human language.
,Human language, does language need to be divided by species?
Ellie suddenly nudged my waist with her elbow at the lizardman’s sarcastic answer to Raelran’s words. What do you want.
,…Well, that’s true. So, now that we can communicate, are you thinking of having a conversation with us?
,No, I just said it because the rule is Captain Battle, but it seemed like you’d just rush in. But it’s not very dignified for those who have reached the same realm of transcendence to fight without dignity.
Raelran seemed properly pissed off at the lizardman’s shrug and arrogant attitude.
,Hoo, a monster is talking about dignity… Judging by your yellow teeth, it seems like you don’t even know what brushing is.
,Of course not. We don’t have teeth as weak as yours that would fall out with one punch. Humans become docile when you knock out all their teeth so they can’t even bite, even if they act arrogant like this.
Was this a trash-talking Captain Battle…? For a while, Raelran and the lizardman threw harsh words at each other. But our Raelran was the ‘unlucky bastard’ that Ellie acknowledged. No matter how good the lizardman’s trash talk was, he couldn’t beat Raelran, who was hated by everyone.
,Is that flesh under your fingernails that you put there to eat when you’re hungry during battle? Well, I guess hygiene doesn’t exist for monsters who live a miserable life drinking rainwater collected on the ground. I wonder what kind of dignity such a monster is talking about. Do you perhaps compare the size of each other’s horns to show off the superiority of the males? Oh, your horn is smaller than my pinky.
,Yo, you…! Shut up and have the captain who will fight first step forward! I’ll cut off your head, pull out your tongue, and use it as a whip!
The monsters behind the lizardman roared loudly at his cry. It seems like the lizardman is the first to step forward on their side. We turned our heads to talk about who would step forward first on our side… but I couldn’t see anyone in my sight. I turned my head to the other side, but I couldn’t see Ellie, who had been nudging my waist.
….
With a sense of foreboding, I turned around and saw the adventurers and mages who had retreated, giving me a thumbs up. Even Raelran, who had been trash-talking, had already retreated with Ellie.
,Hey, we believe in you! You’re our pride!
,Show them, Yuri! Show the monsters the greatness of humans, the power of the captain who leads us…!
,You’re the strongest among us! Wipe out those arrogant monsters!
Derok, who was standing among the adventurers who were spouting such words recklessly, nodded at me with the ‘Section Chief, I trust you to handle it!’ expression that Lacar often showed.
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