Ch.164Surprise attack, lightning, successful

Black Label.

A small, hand-sized magical tool that can hide large objects in two dimensions, similar to the “inventory” in fantasy novels.

It’s an item developed by Mina to conceal an artifact, the so-called infinite mana battery, discovered in the ruins of Evernight Mountain.

“The mana supply from the ‘contents’ of the Black Label is incomparable to crystal mana tanks. Plus, unlike mana tanks that require constant control, once you connect the mana pathway, it supplies power automatically, making it perfect for this operation.”

Mina whispers softly, concerned someone might overhear.

Her opinion must be accurate, as she meticulously analyzed how to hide the artifact inside the Black Label and link it to the Ancestor’s power source to maintain its concealment.

With this, preparations for sniping the Orc Shaman are complete.

Jessica will create a “tunnel to accelerate magic” using the Fragment of Prophecy, allowing Phyllis’s Lightning Bolt to travel faster and farther.

Of course, since magic isn’t a guided missile, landing a headshot on the Orc Shaman from over 200 meters away will be entirely up to Phyllis, but given her skills that I’ve witnessed so far, I believe she’ll manage without issue.

The massive amount of mana required will be supplied through the contents hidden in the Black Label, namely the artifact…

“Mina, doesn’t Jessica need to take the contents out of the Black Label to utilize that mana?”

“Well… yes?”

“You said that artifact would be dangerous if others spotted it.”

“Though rumors of Orcs appearing should keep people away from the western hills for a while… it still concerns me a bit.”

“Ah, yes, there’s always that slim chance.”

The contents of the Black Label—the artifact that supplies infinite mana—would not only draw tremendous attention if its existence became known, but it’s valuable enough to potentially cause social upheaval.

That’s why we decided to keep it hidden inside the Black Label until we’re properly prepared to utilize it.

As Jessica said, besides us, how many people would travel through the hilly region where Orcs roam, specifically taking a route that deviates from the southern bypass of the marshlands, just to see ancient ruins with unknown purposes?

‘But some people pull 0.01% probability items with a single free ticket in gacha games, don’t they?’

Though I’ve never experienced such luck myself, only sampling a few free pulls as a non-paying player, I honestly don’t want to ignore even the slimmest probability.

“Mina, is there a way to extract just the mana without taking out the contents so Jessica can use it?”

“Hmm, it’s not impossible if I slightly modify the Black Label…”

Mina paused mid-sentence and glanced toward Jessica’s lower body.

I seem to be the only one who understood the meaning behind that gesture.

“Wait a minute. You don’t mean…?”

“We don’t have a choice. The jewel on the protrusion is merely the asymmetric mass isolation storage compartment, and the mana input/output organ is on the opposite side.”

“Eh? Huh? What do you mean?”

“I mean, for Jessica to use mana from the Black Label without removing its contents, she needs to wear the Black Label.”

A moment of silence.

Although only Mina and I witnessed the Black Label being “equipped” to the Ancestor, the other three have heard a general explanation.

In other words, Jessica wearing the Black Label means putting it on her buttocks—

“We have no choice. We’ll just take it out briefly when sniping the Orc Shaman, then hide it again.”

“Right. The anus is an excretory organ. Not a place to insert random objects.”

“Then Phyllis and I should practice interfering with the spell formula without stopping the Lightning Bolt. A simple method that doesn’t consume much mana should suffice.”

“Mina, I have some parts I’d like to attach to Phyllis’s rifle. Could you make them after I explain?”

The proposal to equip Jessica with the Black Label was unanimously rejected.

We began preparing to perfect our long-range sniping tactics.

The next morning.

After breakfast, we headed toward the western hills and decided to conduct a final check of our sniping tactics before reaching the location where the Orc group was spotted.

After confirming we were sufficiently far from Hopmill Farm and that no other people or Orcs were visible, we set up a wooden sign, left Seti beside it, and moved to a hill about 250 meters away.

“Phyllis, are you comfortable with using the scope and bipod?”

“Yes, I’ve sufficiently mastered them during yesterday’s practice shooting. Though this is my first time shooting at a 250-meter distance, I doubt I’ll miss.”

Phyllis’s repeating rifle was equipped with a sniper scope I had asked Mina to make, and in her left hand, she held a metal rod with a slightly Y-shaped split at the end.

It’s a simple bipod to plant in the ground and rest the muzzle on the split part.

“Once Mina takes out the artifact, I’ll activate the Fragment of Prophecy. Phyllis, get ready to fire, and Will and Mina, please keep watch around us.”

“Got it.”

“Shall I take it out then? Access authorization, Minaret Belghand. Black Label, release.”

As Mina extended her hand in front of the Ancestor’s buttocks and spoke the artifact extraction password, a cube-shaped object emitting a subtle magical aura emerged from the Black Label and settled on Mina’s hand.

It looked almost as if the Ancestor was defecating a square-shaped object, which was then passed hand-to-hand to Jessica… Well, let’s not think too deeply about that.

“Ready? Then let’s begin. Signal Seti.”

“Right.”

I raised both arms to give the pre-arranged signal to commence the test firing, and upon seeing me, Seti moved more than ten steps away from the sign.

This was to avoid being hit in case the aim went astray.

After confirming Seti had moved far enough, Jessica closed her eyes and activated the Fragment of Prophecy while holding the artifact instead of her grimoire.

In front of her, Phyllis was in a sitting position, having planted the bipod in the ground, aiming at the target 250 meters ahead.

Soon, vast amounts of mana could be felt flowing from the artifact hovering above Jessica’s palm into her body, and shortly after, five magic character rings about 10 centimeters in diameter appeared in a line in front of the muzzle of Phyllis’s rifle.

“Lightning Bolt {Accelerated Thunder Bullet}!”

*Crackle!*

The lightning that left the rifle’s muzzle passed through the five rings ahead, extending toward the front with overwhelming speed and momentum.

No magic character rings remained where the lightning had passed through. This was evidence that the modification of the spell using the Fragment of Prophecy had been successful.

“How did it go?”

“Just a moment, I’m asking Seti… Ah, she signaled that it hit.”

“That’s a relief. Let’s put the artifact back and go check the results.”

Jessica quickly stored the artifact back in the Black Label, and when we returned to where we had set up the target, Seti came running with the target board she had pulled from the ground.

On the wooden board with a rough silhouette of a human upper body drawn on it, there was a fist-sized hole right in the center of the head portion.

“Perfect score.”

“Wow, excellent headshot.”

“Thanks to the bipod and scope Mina made. I could shoot without the slightest tremor.”

“Hehe~ Though Will provided the idea.”

“With this, we’re prepared to snipe the Orc Shaman. Let’s head toward the ruins in earnest now.”

“Yes, Phyllis, please keep watch beside me, and Seti, sorry, but could you go about 50 meters ahead of the carriage?”

“Sure. Leave it to me.”

I don’t like making Seti walk while we ride in the carriage, but in this operation, reconnaissance is as important as preparing for the shot.

If we can spot the Orcs before they discover our carriage, we can hide behind a ridge or rocks and aim for a perfect shot.

If that’s not possible, our second-best option is to blow off the Shaman’s head from a distance beyond the reach of Orc arrows, before they realize what we’re doing.

For that, we need Seti, with her superior reconnaissance abilities, to go ahead and spot the Orc group first.

After moving slowly to avoid making too much noise for about two hours, Seti, who was walking far ahead, raised her spear to the left.

This was the pre-arranged signal for when she spotted monsters like Orcs or wild animals in our path.

“Looks like Seti found something. Let’s all get off the carriage.”

“Finally…”

We parked the carriage next to a suitable rock, took out the artifact, and went to Seti’s side. Beyond the ridge of the hill, we could see about ten Orcs marching.

The distance was approximately 200 meters. They were moving from right to left.

Taking out binoculars for a closer look, I could see an Orc painted with dark blue pigment in the center of the back row of their 3-4-3 formation.

“Is the one with the paint the Shaman?”

“Yes. Let’s get ready, Phyllis.”

“Indeed. Both the distance and direction are perfect.”

They appear to have sentries, but our figures are hidden from them by the ridge.

The slight breeze is also blowing from the left front, so there’s no worry about being detected by scent.

It’s truly the optimal position for sniping, but because of that, Phyllis’s face showed clear tension.

She must feel the pressure not to waste this opportunity.

“Don’t be too tense, Phyllis. Since the target is moving, aim for the body rather than the head, and even if you miss, we’ll have plenty of time to respond while they try to find us.”

“…Understood.”

After confirming that Phyllis had steadied her breathing, I nodded to Jessica, who activated the Fragment of Prophecy while holding the artifact, creating acceleration tunnels.

Phyllis rested the muzzle on the bipod and carefully waited for the right moment.

No one made even a breath of sound, fearing it might disrupt her concentration.

“Lightning Bolt {Accelerated Thunder Bullet}!”

*Crackle!*

A familiar electrical discharge sound accompanied the pure white lightning shooting out.

Now that I think about it, using Lightning Bolt for sniping was an excellent choice in terms of suppressing the gunshot sound.

But more important than such observations is whether Phyllis’s shot hit the Orc Shaman.

Quickly raising my binoculars to find the Orc group, I could see Orcs in confusion surrounding the Shaman, who was sprawled out.

Unless the Shaman had suddenly decided to take a nap during the march, the reason for his collapse could only be the Lightning Bolt.

“Direct hit! Let’s go!”

“Mina! Please store the artifact!”

“Got it! Be careful!”

As soon as the charge signal was given, Seti dashed forward like an arrow, while Mina, who received the artifact from Jessica, retreated toward the carriage.

Jessica, Phyllis, and I followed Seti, running toward the Orc group.

This is the moment to deliver the finishing blow before the confused Orcs can regroup.