Ch.4747. Munchkin’s Arrival

As evening began to darken across the wilderness, an electronic-like sound echoed through the air.

“Stay alert!” the squad leader shouted, and our squad tried to form a defensive formation.

‘We need to run.’

I was certain now. The creature that had appeared before us was indeed the monster I had encountered on the 10th floor.

“Don’t form a formation! The others disappeared without even having time to react, so we need to try something different!”

I shouted as I dashed ahead, with the mage and Shiro following my lead.

“Adel, I agree with you,” Shiro said as she caught up to me, with the blue-haired mage following behind us.

“To minimize casualties, we need to gather more data on this unknown enemy! Since those who stood still died without any reaction, let’s experiment by running away as soon as we hear the sound!”

The blue mage said with a smile. Despite the dangerous situation, her attitude was terrifying.

“…Everyone move toward the camp!”

The squad leader, having made his decision, was already carrying the priests on his back as he ran.

He asked the green-haired priest to take out a communication magic tool, and she held it up to his mouth.

“This is Squad One! We appear to be pursued by a monster suspected to be the cause of the recent disappearances!”

He explained the situation and requested backup.

It seemed he had determined that if four people went missing, the remaining three would have difficulty returning to camp on their own.

-Crackle, craaackle!

Despite running at full speed, the sound wasn’t fading—it was getting louder.

‘Is it already too late?’

I had tried this once before when I successfully escaped, but this time it seemed impossible.

I immediately changed my thinking and began to consider various scenarios.

Getting captured with Shiro, or both of us remaining in this wilderness.

I didn’t consider the possibility of us being separated.

That was beyond what I could control now.

‘Its power has weakened.’

When I encountered it on the 10th floor, I was captured within seconds of hearing the sound.

It must have been adjusted to match the 5th floor’s difficulty when it was summoned here.

In the game, it was comparable to an 11th floor mid-boss, so by the same logic, it should be around a 6th or 7th floor field boss level now.

‘Whatever happens, survival is possible.’

Of course, it would be difficult to defeat it with just the personnel we had here.

However, I decided to focus on the fact that there was a possibility of survival.

-Screech!

As we continued to flee, the sound began to reverberate through my entire body.

“There are monsters ahead!”

The blue-haired mage shouted upon seeing a pack of Hellhounds blocking our path.

The squad members barely had time to feel despair at the monsters blocking our way.

-Crackle.

A single short sound.

“This many is too much for just the four of us! Squad Leader, please take the lead!”

But there was no answer.

“…Squad Leader?”

The blue mage seemed confused, but Shiro and I immediately formed a formation.

“Except for us, four people have disappeared! The female knight is gone too!”

The female knight who had been beside us just a moment ago had vanished, but Shiro was still here.

And since I could still hear the blue-haired mage’s voice, there was no need to assess the situation further.

“Only three of us remain! Please send backup quickly!”

“…!”

She began preparing her magic before I even finished speaking.

Fortunately, she seemed to grasp the situation quickly.

“Shiro, please take the left side. I’ll handle the front and right.”

“Okay.”

While Shiro had only been casting magic from the rear when hunting with the squad members, that wasn’t her original position.

She was a support-type frontline mage.

She assisted in frontline combat with freezing magic while also participating in melee alongside warriors.

“Cast lightning magic on any monsters that try to flank us! We’ll hold the front line with just the two of us!”

“…Understood!”

She showed some hesitation, seemingly not fully trusting our abilities, but recognizing there was no alternative, she refocused on her magic.

‘That’s understandable.’

Until now, we hadn’t needed to step up in battle. The squad leader, the princess, and the blue mage had been sufficient.

However, our skills were not inferior to theirs.

Dozens of bird-like creatures the size of horses charged toward us.

Hellhounds. Mid-tier Grade 4 monsters, but troublesome due to their numbers.

Corrupted by demonic blood, their bodies were covered in wounds.

Some had exposed flesh revealing bones, while others had half-destroyed faces.

‘Horrifying.’

With that brief thought, I applied Instantaneous Hardening to my mythril sword.

Their weak points were the abdomen and neck.

-Slash!

I severed the neck of the first one that lunged at me.

“Adel!”

The mage shouted as she saw a Hellhound approaching me.

She was concerned, but…

‘I can cut down two more with Hardening.’

I had already calculated this.

I immediately rolled forward and sliced open its belly.

Using the momentum from the roll, I pushed my shield forward.

-Boom!

I temporarily pushed one away and slashed the neck of another beside it.

I had moved about a meter ahead of Shiro, exposing my left side, but it didn’t matter.

-Crackle-zap!

The lightning magic covered my left flank.

This bought time for Shiro to rejoin me.

“Fight defensively for a moment!”

I shouted.

It would be difficult with just two frontliners and one lightning mage for rear support, but I was confident.

“Adel, I’ll support you briefly.”

Shiro’s freezing magic pierced through the Hellhound pack, restricting their movement.

Having consumed a strength potion at the Ice Tower previously, I used my shield to block their approach as much as possible.

I stabbed those that tried to flank us, and the blue mage handled any that slipped through.

-Crunch!

At one point, my right forearm was bitten, but I hardened my arm guard and smashed the creature’s face.

We continued the seemingly comfortable but actually precarious battle, and…

-Thunk!

After several minutes, the battle ended as I drove my sword into the head of the last Hellhound.

“Shiro, are you injured?”

I approached Shiro to catch my breath.

“No. How about you?”

“I don’t think I’m injured either.”

As we checked each other’s condition, the blue-haired mage approached us with admiration.

“…I hadn’t seen you fight properly until now, but you’re both quite strong.”

Having consumed potions at the Ice Tower—Shiro a mana resonance potion and I a strength potion—we were in an enhanced state.

With just one more Source setting, we would be worthy of being called upper-level explorers.

“Thank you. Let’s start heading back to the base camp.”

Unfortunately, there was no time for small talk.

This was because of what I had learned when we entered the 10th floor with a two-party system in the past.

‘One hour.’

Regardless of whether the abducted people survived, that creature would reappear in an hour.

There was no guarantee it would come for us, but given the current situation, the probability was high.

Unlike others from different squads who had survived and returned, we were too far from the base camp.

The constant monster attacks severely restricted our movement.

‘That’s why support will be difficult too.’

It would take a long time for reinforcements to arrive, so we had to return using only our strength—the three of us.

One victory in battle didn’t give us much hope.

-Patter patter!

We moved as quickly as possible.

***

Time passed.

Our stamina was depleted after numerous battles, and we were still far from reaching the base camp.

By this point, a question began to form in my mind.

‘Why did the princess participate in this operation?’

With an entity randomly making people disappear, why would she personally get involved?

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t come up with a reasonable explanation.

I was too busy thinking about my own situation, so I pushed that thought aside.

After well over an hour had passed…

‘We need luck.’

I didn’t expect to arrive before it appeared again.

Now, I could only pray that the creature wouldn’t come to where we were.

“…What do you think happened to them?” the blue-haired mage spoke up.

Despite her smiling face, was she worried about them?

“They’re probably dead. That’s what’s happened to everyone so far.”

If you enter the labyrinth without knowing the strategy, most people die.

Without understanding the labyrinth’s gimmick, it’s impossible to even face the boss there.

No matter how strong you are, you’d eventually die after repeated battles.

Well, given our squad members’ level, they might still be alive.

“…I see.”

The blue-haired mage’s smile faded slightly as she sighed.

Even with that, her smile didn’t completely disappear. Perhaps her facial muscles were contorted?

Her expression, which transcended ordinary smiling, was terrifying.

“For now, we need to survive, so let’s move as quickly as—”

-Boom.

A massive vibration was felt from ahead.

“…”

Everyone fell silent and looked toward the source.

The ground split open as a massive entity rose up.

“It appears to be a Sand Beast,” I spoke first.

“…If it’s a Sand Beast, isn’t that a top-tier Grade 4?”

The blue-haired mage’s hands trembled.

“Yes. And it’s likely stronger due to demonic blood corruption.”

Sand and debris formed a monster several meters tall.

It was probably around the level of a mid-to-low tier Grade 3, similar to a baby basilisk.

‘The actual difficulty might be even higher.’

A baby basilisk is essentially Grade 4 level except for its poison, and back then, I had memorized its patterns.

In contrast, regular monsters rarely have pattern sequences.

This meant we had to fight based purely on strength.

-Patter patter.

Moreover, the sound of something approaching came from beyond the Sand Beast.

It sounded like something running on two legs.

‘A humanoid monster has appeared?’

When corrupted monsters are nearby, other monsters are more likely to gather.

Given the Sand Beast’s high rank, other creatures were probably converging here rapidly.

“Let’s form a formation.”

Battle was inevitable.

Just as I raised my shield…

-Crackle, crackle.

“!”

To make matters worse, that creature’s sound was heard.

‘Of all times, now.’

Even if the Sand Beast was slow enough to outrun, we would still have to deal with it to prevent other monsters from following.

Avoiding abduction seemed impossible.

‘Being abducted without fighting is the best option.’

I wasn’t sure if just the three of us could clear the labyrinth, but we had no choice.

-Patter patter!

As something else approached, I hurriedly prepared to be abducted.

“Look out!”

-BOOM!

Someone struck the Sand Beast’s head, causing a spectacular explosion.

-Crackle crackle!

Since it was already too late to escape from the abductor, I stood still to conserve energy and watched.

There stood a man wearing purple armor.

Adamantium and mythril alloy. Each piece worth tens of millions of Ars.

“I came in response to your support request. What’s the situation?”

Though we had never spoken with him, we all knew who he was.

The vice-captain of the Imperial Second Guard and the commander of this operation—a Holy Knight.

“Four squad members, including the squad leader, have gone missing, Captain Kyle.”

Kyle.

An orphan who became a knight in a noble family, and through overwhelming skill and effort, was taken in by the Imperial family—a genius knight.

‘Why is he here?’

I wondered, but that question soon disappeared.

“…Was the female knight in your squad also among those who disappeared?”

Of course—the princess was part of this unit.