Ch.7526. The Heart of the Caldera (1)

The three of them entered the boss area.

For faster movement, Soso carried me on her back. Thanks to that, we reached the vicinity of the boss area quicker than expected. But it was no time to feel relieved.

I felt it with my entire body—how dangerous it was to enter this place without the blessing of Father Stefano, the holy priest.

‘The MCI of these two…’

I hurriedly checked their MCI through my earpiece.

Compared to before we entered, when Father Stefano and Arini’s holy power was still with us, their MCI had doubled instantly.

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[Party Member / MCI / Threshold]

* Yuri Tarkovskaya(W): 51 / 83

* Yeon Soso(S): 54 / 87

* Lee Minsu(O): 30 / 81

[Ambient MCI]

*Within 50m radius: 250

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‘Mental contamination this fast…’

And the ambient MCI was excessively high. Considering that an S-rank dungeon boss area usually measures around 120, this was beyond common sense.

“The magi… it gets worse the closer we get to the boss area.”

Not just me, but Yuri and Soso were also experiencing this level of ambient MCI for the first time.

‘Neither of them has crossed their threshold yet.’

In a normal dungeon, their mental contamination levels wouldn’t be considered bad.

The Hellhound hunters had already reached their thresholds in Zone B where the magi was less intense than here. Yet here we were, right at the doorstep of the boss area, and they were resisting the magi quite well.

‘But we need to make contact with the boss.’

The moment we make contact with the boss, their MCI will undoubtedly cross the threshold. Then we’d have to flee immediately.

If we don’t quickly lower the MCI that has crossed the threshold, we don’t know what might happen as they fall into confusion like the Hellhounds. We would need to go straight to Father Stefano and Arini for purification.

I said, “We need to move quickly and decisively. We don’t have much time.”

Tension filled Yuri and Soso’s expressions. Even though MCI doesn’t affect me, I could feel the ominousness of this dungeon with my entire body.

For those two whose minds were being directly contaminated, the pressure must be even greater.

“I trust you, Minsu. I’ll follow your instructions.”

“This lady will do the same.”

But they both trusted me. After a brief silence, I said:

“The objective of this mission is to confirm the boss. And since the Guild Leader has been continuously using mana all the way here, it would be too much to ask her to cast spells directly at the monsters.”

Yuri tried to object, but Soso raised her hand to stop her.

“You’ve been holding back that heavy snowfall all this time, so it can’t be helped. What’s next?”

“I’ll detonate a fire spell at a specific point. We’ll break through together using the temporary gap that forms. Of course, Team Leader Yeon will need to take the lead after that.”

Both of them understood my explanation. The moment I use the fire spell, our group will be detected by the monsters in the area.

The monsters in the boss area already number in the triple digits. If we’re surrounded, our lives can’t be guaranteed.

‘I need to be more cold-headed.’

Fortunately, I was maintaining my composure.

Despite feeling cold even with my fire-attribute mana and the warmth of the Red Jade, I was trying to keep my mind colder than the freezing environment.

‘Additionally…’

While most measuring equipment like dungeon drones couldn’t function due to the magi, the portable oscilloscope was working properly. And most importantly, my intuition. With the Red Jade replacing my mana heart, my senses had become much more acute.

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「Confirming active special effects.」

* Protection of Mana Heart Red Jade(S)

: An S-rank Ancient Gear is replacing your mana heart.

: Perception abilities for the five senses and magi awareness increased by 3x.

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‘If the system were working as before, it would have shown about a 3x increase.’

This was a zone dangerous enough to threaten our lives. So my already sensitive perception had been enhanced further.

With the oscilloscope and my magi perception ability enhanced threefold, I could find a detour path where fewer monsters were concentrated.

The difference in numbers was about half. Though it was just a short detour, reducing from 150 to about 75 monsters would significantly increase our chances of successful reconnaissance.

“To be able to detect monsters so accurately… even with my Heavenly Demon Divine Technique, my senses are blurred in this area.”

Soso remarked with amazement.

But even though I’d found a route with fewer monsters, we were still just three people. We were at an overwhelming disadvantage. Either way, it was extremely dangerous.

“75 monsters. Whew… that’s daunting. But we can’t abandon the reconnaissance here.”

Yuri was right.

This was reconnaissance, not a full assault. If Flame, who had agreed to take on Zone A, abandoned this reconnaissance, the dungeon conquest schedule would be delayed.

‘And Flame’s external evaluation would drop.’

I could tell from their expressions. All three of us sensed it. Now that we’ve come this far, we absolutely had to confirm what kind of monster had created such a dangerous area.

That was the pride of being hunters. The three of us were representing the guild now.

‘None of us will back down here.’

Of course, I had no intention of losing my life here. Nor Yuri’s or Soso’s.

“Then let’s go in.”

And I hadn’t thoughtlessly estimated the success rate at 50%. In fact, it was higher than that. I had lowered the probability when speaking to Yuri for her decision.

I also had an ace up my sleeve.

Secretary-General Choi Seung-hoon. The latest thesis on combat magic theory I received from him. I had prepared for contingencies using that thesis.

‘I only had time to refine the theoretical formula, but it should work.’

With the overwhelming numerical difference, ordinary firepower wouldn’t be enough to create a gap among those numerous monsters.

I had successfully used the Flame Butterfly’s Fire Ring again in the ancient dungeon, but these monsters were clearly stronger.

‘Instead, I’ve modified the theoretical formula to fit my spell, so I should be able to generate enough firepower.’

I took out the Wind Cutter, the wind dagger, and gripped it tightly. I held it in a familiar reverse grip, as I had learned in dagger techniques.

‘Two-element resonance compression. That method.’

I sent the movement route to the two of them through the earpiece.

At that moment, Yuri cleared the view around us with a freezing spell. The surrounding heavy snowfall temporarily disappeared.

“More than I expected…”

And the multitude of monsters filling the snowy mountain. It was enough to give me goosebumps.

“But if it’s the path Minsu found, there’s enough possibility. Hurry!”

With Soso’s shout, the three of us moved.

***

Wooooong-

Yuri’s Nivis emitted light to its limit.

“I’ll clear the view 50 meters ahead at once. But I can’t do it twice due to mana limitations, so we must succeed.”

“Understood.”

I got off Soso’s back. As Yuri said, I needed to launch the most powerful spell through the brief gap her spell created.

But I only had one chance. If the firepower was insufficient, even Soso couldn’t open the path to the boss in one go. There was no room for error.

During the time we moved here, I had already completed the spell calculation in my head.

‘Choi Seung-hoon. The core of his theory is…’

Combat magician Choi Seung-hoon was an all-rounder. But for most magicians, being an all-rounder isn’t a compliment.

It means not specializing in any one element, having to dabble in other elemental magic because of mediocrity.

For people like Yuri and me, as single-element magic rises to higher tiers, its power increases incomparably to the previous tier.

‘The conventional wisdom is that ambiguous multi-element magic is far inferior to high-tier single-element magic.’

But Choi Seung-hoon broke that prejudice in the magical world.

With fluid combinations of multi-elemental magic, he offset the lack of raw power and created even more sophisticated tactics.

And the combat magic he devoted his life to was now looking toward a new horizon.

‘Resonance compression…’

Maintaining two different elemental spells simultaneously. And making those two attributes resonate to create a single spell.

Such overlapped magic circuits temporarily create mana with a very high compression ratio.

And when that compression exceeds the critical point and collapses under its own power, the released magical firepower transcends its original tier.

‘In theory, it sounds plausible, but…’

From the start, making two different elemental magics resonate is extremely difficult in terms of circuit calculation.

Taking the partially common calculation formula as the root, and computing variables that increase exponentially in real-time.

‘It’s a very delicate process requiring both precise mana control and high-level calculations simultaneously.’

Generally, the item that substitutes for high-difficulty magic calculations is gear.

But even with precise calculation equipment or engineering calculators, it’s still the magician who must find the solution that makes the magic work.

Naturally, one had to perfectly understand the formula that had become extremely complex due to the increasing variables.

If the calculation is even slightly off, the spell immediately backfires. That backflow naturally affects the caster too.

‘It could become dangerous enough to tangle the mana load, but I can do it.’

After receiving that thesis by email, I immersed myself in interpreting it until the night before departing for Paju.

‘Fortunately, fire and wind magic calculation formulas have many common elements.’

So the dual calculation, that difficulty was somewhat reduced. And the fact that I could use both the Red Jade and Wind Cutter gears simultaneously for calculation.

“I’ve cleared the view!”

And at that moment, Yuri shouted. The Wind Cutter emitted a mana resonance sound.

Wooooong-

Temporarily, rapidly accelerated mana condensed in front of the Wind Cutter. The 5th-tier wind attribute spell created by the Wind Cutter: Storm Chaser.

Like creating a small typhoon, the mana-made storm vortex was tearing through the air. Yuri was momentarily surprised to see me creating high-tier wind magic, but there was no time to be distracted.

‘Now to add the Flame Butterfly’s Fire Ring…’

The Wind Cutter held in reverse grip vibrated intensely as if about to explode.

As if that mana torrent was about to backflow into me, my whole body trembled, cold sweat forming on my forehead despite the freezing cold.

“The flame…”

And with Soso’s surprised exclamation, a butterfly of flame, no, a bird of flame soared.

***

KABOOOOOOM-

“The path is open!”

Yuri shouted.

The flame spell, with wings of blue fire, flew as if riding a tailwind at an incredibly fast speed.

It instantly reached the end of the view Yuri had cleared. Then came the intense explosion.

“Haa… haa… haa…”

The effect of the fusion magic was tremendous. Temporary chaos erupted among the monster group. Those that had been maintaining a relatively organized formation were scattering in all directions.

‘Finally… a gap has formed.’

But the mana consumption was greater than I had imagined. For a moment, my head spun like anemia and the world looked yellow.

“A-are you alright?”

And to Soso who was worried about me, I shouted:

“I’m fine! Hurry!”

At those words, Soso immediately dashed forward. Just like the blue flame bird that had been fused with wind magic, Soso’s body moved at an incredibly fast speed.

“Let’s follow quickly.”

“Yes!”

But this wasn’t the end. I gripped the Wind Cutter tightly.

‘After confirming the boss, I need to create an escape route once more.’

Even though my mana was turbulent enough to make me nauseous, I had saved enough to use fusion magic one more time.

And Soso’s sword shone without a moment’s pause.

Aura Sword. Not just a sword with mana loaded onto it, but a close-range fighter’s ultimate technique that only a swordsman who has reached enlightenment can create.

Monsters blocking her path, even trolls or high orcs with strong regenerative abilities, had their heads flying off without even being able to react to Soso’s sword.

“Huff… huff…”

I barely managed to follow behind. Thanks to the Wind Cutter’s wind, its agility enhancement effect, I could barely keep up with Soso.

“This is the boss area…”

And the snowy mountain terrain changed once again as we passed the monsters’ defensive line.

A caldera. A crater formed after a volcanic eruption. The lake that would have been there was also completely frozen.

I could guess that the source of the area’s terrible magi and cold was undoubtedly here. And in the middle of that frozen lake, there was a person.

“A woman…?”

Soso, who arrived first, exclaimed. We were still at a distance from the lake. But the heavy snowfall that had filled the surroundings had stopped in the crater area.

I too looked at the center with my sensitive perception. Definitely a person. A young woman at that. But a woman in a place like this couldn’t be an ordinary person.

“How could a young woman be in a place like this… perhaps a villain?”

But I couldn’t exactly guess her identity. At that moment, Yuri, who had created a magical lens from ice, confirmed the woman’s appearance in detail.

And in a voice very unlike Yuri, she exclaimed in dismay:

“This can’t be!!!”

A moment later, I couldn’t believe the words that flowed from her lips.

“Chae… Chaemin? W-why is she there?”