Ch.123122. Empty Seat (7)

# 122. Empty Seat (7)

A different landscape than expected.

They advanced slowly through that ironic scenery—familiar in memory yet strangely unfamiliar.

The further they progressed, the stronger the monsters became, and since these monsters were quite high-level, they couldn’t move quickly.

Still, being a team with proper formation, they could advance at a faster pace than other teams, including the first team that had entered this structure.

Of course, that didn’t mean they could go without rest breaks.

“Let’s take a short break here.”

She was fine, but Briton and Chris at the front line were the problem.

After continuous battles, they were visibly exhausted—anyone could tell by looking at them.

Even now, after finishing combat, they were still breathing heavily with beads of sweat forming on their foreheads.

“I’m fine…”

“Me too…”

Yet even in such difficult circumstances, they still said such things.

They clearly showed that they put their safety and physical condition second.

“I’m not fine, so rest now. We’ve come this far because of your hard work.”

“Yes…”

As she said, if they hadn’t held the front line, the situation would have been much worse, and some might have already been eliminated.

However, they seemed unaware of the role they had played.

Rather than feeling confident about it, they seemed to feel guilty that the team was taking a break because of them.

“It’s thanks to you all that we’re still intact. Your performance deserves plenty of confidence.”

“Thank you…”

With her continued praise, they seemed to be gaining confidence little by little and letting go of their unnecessary guilt.

Of course, they couldn’t completely abandon those thoughts.

‘If it were Albert, he’d still be going strong…’

That thought couldn’t help but linger in their minds, and Albert had indeed already passed this stage with ease.

They didn’t know this for certain, but they could guess to some extent.

However, they weren’t given time to dwell on such thoughts, as she suddenly detected something and informed the team members.

“I’m sorry, but I’ll have to take back what I said. Please get up right now.”

“What is it this time?”

“This time, I think it’s people.”

The size and nature of those magical energies were varied, and their number easily exceeded the hundreds.

There was only one possibility.

“It’s another team. Since they’ve made it this far, they must be quite strong.”

After hearing her explanation, Aelin asked with an anxious expression.

“It’s not that team, is it…?”

“There are too many of them. I’d say about 140 people.”

Still, since it wasn’t all 200 people, they could subdue them more easily than before.

Moreover, their physical condition wasn’t bad since they had just taken a rest.

They quickly prepared for the upcoming battle, and as usual, Briton and Chris took the lead under her protection.

“In this location, we definitely have the advantage.”

In such a narrow space, they had a much greater advantage with their excellent area-of-effect skills.

They knew this fact better than anyone, so the moment the opposing team came into view—

“Now!”

Aelin and Rachel unleashed the magic they had prepared toward the crowd.

Their unique skills [Blue Flame] and [Ray of Brilliant Light] instantly engulfed the enemy.

-Whoosh! Crackle!-

With 140 people crowded in an already narrow space, they couldn’t avoid taking those spells head-on.

And not many could survive those incredibly powerful spells hitting them directly.

Most of the opposing team was eliminated after taking those two spells, and those who managed to survive were finished off by her.

As she dealt with those who survived the spells, she said:

“This combination certainly has many advantages in situations like this.”

“What about other times?”

“It has many advantages in those situations too.”

In truth, the current combination wasn’t bad.

It would have been perfect if not for the lack of a warrior making the front line vulnerable and the absence of an assassin preventing them from targeting the enemy’s back line.

The absence of a warrior and assassin was keenly felt, but they were able to overcome it to some extent thanks to Chris holding the front line and Riel’s long-range assassination.

“There are some deficiencies, true, but you’ve all worked hard to overcome them.”

“It was more than just ‘some’ deficiencies.”

“We won’t often fight without warriors and assassins in real combat situations anyway.”

In fact, it would be more accurate to say there would be none at all.

Since warriors make up the largest proportion of hunters, battles without warriors simply don’t happen.

Rather, there were far more cases where there was a shortage of priests and snipers, who were fewer in number.

“And we’re doing well even just among ourselves. Let’s keep working hard.”

Those occasional positive remarks from her helped tremendously with the team members’ morale, maintaining the warm atmosphere they had from the beginning.

While Albert’s absence was certainly significant, each of them had used their own methods to gradually fill that void.

As a result, they had managed to fill that empty space to some extent and advance.

“We’re almost at the center now.”

Thanks to her hopeful words, the team members could muster their strength, and that strength manifested as results before their eyes.

They had splendidly overcome continuous trials and filled his empty seat impressively.

They had won every battle and managed their stamina fantastically throughout those fights.

They had just faced quite powerful monsters, but they appeared so composed that they could be described as perfectly fine.

Therefore, they could head to the center right away, but they couldn’t.

“A wall?”

Some wall was blocking the path to the center of the building.

The wall was sturdy enough to withstand ordinary attacks without budging, but it didn’t seem like it had originally been there.

The other walls were made of different materials, and there was a significant difference in hardness.

“That’s strange…”

She said this as she approached the wall, and the other team members did the same.

Aelin stroked the wall, Chris put his ear against it, and she asked him:

“Can you hear anything?”

“Uh… yes, I can hear something like breathing.”

“Then… at least there’s something inside.”

***

As I had expected from the beginning, something was indeed there.

However, it wasn’t particularly welcome.

The feeling was similar to when I saw the Belly Wolf… honestly, it was much worse.

Looking at that monster, which was incomparable to the Belly Wolf as a single entity, I muttered:

“No… why is something like that here…”

It was a young specimen again, but this time it was extreme.

I couldn’t help but be frightened by its enormous body, dozens of times larger than a C-rank Orc, and the formidable cold air emanating from that body.

“Ice Golem…”

The cold reminiscent of her magic gave me goosebumps, and team members were backing away in fear of its massive body.

Of course, they had every reason to.

Although it was a weak and young specimen, the fact remained that it was a monster that normally appears from S-mid rank and above.

“That’s probably equivalent to a B-highest or A-lowest rank boss.”

Even if it was a young specimen, it was too much for us to handle.

Therefore, the realistic choice was to run away first, rather than thinking about ‘why is it here?’ or ‘how do we defeat it?’

And that’s what we were going to do.

However…

“Why the hell is it blocked?”

As if the blue dot was some kind of trap, as soon as we entered, not only our entrance but all original exits were sealed off.

Team members were trembling in fear, and the monster was slowly walking toward us.

It was a moment requiring quick and wise judgment…

A moment when everything would be determined by my decision, I thought:

‘What would Her Majesty have done?’

In truth, I already knew the answer to that question.

She would have told the team members:

‘Let’s try together. I’ll support you.’

But that was only possible for her.

It was a method possible only for her, who had expertise in that area.

And I don’t have such abilities.

I don’t have the luxury to focus on others during battle or the ability to protect team members who might be attacked.

Therefore, I had to make a different choice from hers.

A method that suits me… and one that I can execute.

“Hey, just stay there like that. I’m not joking—really stay right where you are.”

I transformed my sword into a greatsword and activated [Mortal’s Last Stand].

Then I said to the team members I needed to protect:

“Until I kill that thing.”