episode_0019

While taking out the black mages around me, I avoid the sea of poison and climb upwards.

1 hour.

2 hours.

As time passes and I climb higher, corpses gradually begin to appear.

Most of their bodies had traces of black mana left on them.

Unlike our party, which was overwhelmingly over-spec, the specs of the explorers who were active on the second floor weren’t that great.

Just looking at the equipment and clothes they had, they were lacking compared to us.

I closed the eyes of an explorer who hadn’t yet closed them and took his explorer’s badge.

With this, I’ve already collected 23 explorer badges.

It had been six hours since I had separated from my companions.

“……”

『Sense of murderous intent detected. Draw 5 cards.』

[Careful Mercy (1)] [Chop (1)] [Defense (1)] [Baptism (1)] [Holy Strike (2)]

Two black mages appear from the darkness.

The black mage’s mouth, grinning wide enough to show his yellow teeth, is visible from within his hood.

…What’s so great about it.

“All of you will become [sacrifices] for our wish!!”

Ignoring whatever nonsense the black mages were spouting, I threw a card into the air.

[Careful Mercy] – Draw 3 cards and Obliterate 1 card.

The deck glows and 3 cards are drawn. Then, I Obliterate one [Chop] card.

[Defense (1)] [Baptism (1)] [Holy Strike (2)] [Penance (0)] [Chop (1)] [Chop (1)]

[Holy Strike]

All the cards I was holding Obliterate.

Five lights rise around me.

The black mages’ expressions harden as they see it.

“A priest……?”

The black mages panic and draw up black mana.

I send a powerful light towards them.

Clang!!!

It penetrates the thin shield they created and pierces the heart and head of the black mage on the left.

Instant death.

『[Butcher’s Gloves] consume blood.』

『Energy increases by 1, and draw 1 card.』

I use the drawn card right away.

[Chop]

Slash!!!

The other black mage’s chest is deeply cut.

However, the black mage continues to move black mana in order to use black magic.

There’s no way to respond.

If I were alone.

Thwack!!

Luca’s axe is embedded in the black mage’s solar plexus.

“Ah… ah.”

The black mage’s chest is torn and blood gushes out.

But even so, he smiled widely, showing his yellow teeth, and said.

“No matter how much you struggle, it’s no use… The newly born [Apostle]-nim is…”

Cough!!

At that moment, blood poured out of the black mage’s mouth again.

The same reaction as when the other black mages I’d met had confessed information.

But this guy seems a bit tough, he said a few more words before dying.

“Will save this world…”

Slash!!!

Luca’s axe cut off the black mage’s head.

『Check the card rewards.』

[Divine Shield (1)] – Deals damage proportional to the shield.

[Divine Blessing (0)] – Bestows a blessing to strengthen an ally.

[Hammer of Salvation (2)] – A powerful hammer strikes the enemy.

Finally.

With just this one, the attack plan is over.

I reach out and choose [Divine Shield (1)].

The card returns to the deck.

“That Apostle, Apostle thing. I wonder who it is.”

Luca narrowed her brow and rubbed the blood off her axe on the floor.

They put a strange black magic on you so you can’t talk, but they’re such stupid black mages who are eager to talk.

The black mages said they were followers of an evil god, so if it’s an Apostle of an evil god, is it like a young master position?

If so, it seems like that great young master is destroying the second floor because he wants to do something.

Looking at all the black mages I’ve met so far being in a good mood, it seems like things are going better than expected.

Well, it’s only natural since they’re bullying the second floor explorers.

There are people who even throw games to go to lower tiers and play king in the original game.

“I don’t think we can learn anything more even if we catch black mages now.”

“……Yeah.”

As Luca said, there’s no more information to be gained even if we catch black mages now.

Because they always say the same thing.

For now, if I combine the information from about 10 people, it’s as follows.

– The [Apostle of the Evil God] has been newly born.

– If many humans are sacrificed to the sea of poison, [something] will awaken.

The newly born Apostle of the Evil God is killing explorers because he wants to do something.

Unfortunately, no one said anything about this “something.”

At this point, I can only assume that information about that “something” is not known to the foot soldiers.

In the end, in order to obtain information, we have to fight the executives, not the foot soldiers.

But we don’t have the leeway to do that when we don’t even know how strong they are.

“The sea of poison is right in front of us.”

Moreover, the sea of poison has almost caught up with us while we were finding out information.

If we don’t go up soon, we’ll be swallowed by that poison.

“Let’s go up.”

*

[00:00]

It was midnight.

Originally, it was the time when the red portal that allows you to exit the maze should open.

The red portals I saw on the first floor were so densely packed that you could see them every five steps.

It’s different now.

Because red portals are opening sparsely.

Besides, the appearance is different.

The portal is unstable and constantly shaking, and the flow is breaking.

“I’ll test it.”

As soon as Luca finished speaking, a blue doppelganger appeared.

The doppelganger enters the red portal.

Luca’s blue eyes sparkled as she watched something.

“It leads to the sea of poison. We shouldn’t go in.”

As expected, the black mages tampered with the red portal.

We would have been in big trouble if we had just gone in.

“But, are you okay? You look like you’re having a hard time.”

Luca said, looking at me.

I agree.

I’ve been fighting and walking around for a long time, so I’m incredibly tired.

But even so, it’s not easy to rest.

“Is there a safe place right now?”

Even now, we run into black mages at least once every hour, and we also encounter monsters if we walk a little.

Besides, the sea of poison is following us every moment.

If we fall asleep for a moment, we’ll be caught.

But even so, Luca grabbed my shoulder as if she couldn’t give up.

“I’m sturdy, so I’ll watch over you for a bit.”

Her attitude is firm.

What’s wrong with my condition that she’s acting like this?

I’m a little out of breath and sweating, but.

“…Okay.”

As Luca advised, I went into a tree trunk and took a short nap.

It was amazing that I could sleep as soon as I lay down.

A sweet 4-5 hours of sleep.

Fortunately, no one came during that time.

I wanted to give Luca, who was on guard duty, some time to close her eyes, but.

Seeing that the sea of poison was catching up again, we climb upwards again.

Thwaaang!!!

The forest is shaking more often than yesterday.

Someone must be fighting that black something I saw yesterday somewhere here.

“I wonder if the other three are okay?”

“…Kai’lek is there, so it’ll be alright somehow.”

Although he changed his class, I’m not worried because Kai’lek, whose specs themselves were level 4-5 explorer, is there. Grace too.

What we need to worry about is ourselves.

Because the road is gradually becoming more complicated, and the speed of climbing is getting slower and slower.

“We’ve almost been caught.”

The sea of poison has caught up to the floor right below us.

We were avoiding monsters that looked as strong as possible while climbing.

In the end, do we have to catch that monster that’s blocking the way and pass by?

Silphione.

The upper body is that of a woman, but the legs are tree trunks that have taken root, a plant-type monster.

She is in charge of the elite monster position in the Forgotten Forest on the second floor.

I heard that she usually doesn’t block the road like that.

It’s likely that a black mage summoned her.

To block the explorers coming up and submerge them in the sea of poison.

In fact, there are a few explorer corpses next to Silphione.

It means they all died here without being able to get past her.

“……”

Silphione is quietly looking down at us.

The green light visible between her slightly opened eyes was tracking our movements.

Then, Silphione’s mouth opened, and the vines around her began to move.

“……What do we do?”

Luca would normally rush in and grind the monster, but.

She can’t easily approach.

That’s because Silphione is a counter to warriors.

Yellow pollen is gradually being released from the small flowers visible among the vines.

If you touch that, you’ll become paralyzed.

So, generally, Silphione is a target to be avoided among 2nd floor explorers.

In order to defeat her, a mage has to remove it with magic, or you have to remove them with a powerful ranged attack, but.

It is as hard as picking stars in the sky to find such talent among 2nd floor explorers.

Of course, there is a mage here.

Well, he’s a Holy-attribute mage, though.

Ting!

『Deck List』

『Paladin’s Deck』

『Paladin’s Deck』

[Chop] [Chop] [Chop] [Chop] [Chop]

[Defense] [Defense] [Defense] [Defense] [Baptism]

[Holy Strike (2) – Obliterate]

[Gate of Heaven (2)] [Careful Mercy (1)] [Penance (0)]

[Light’s Protection (1)] [Prayer (0)] [Celestial Aria (0)]

[Pure White Wall (1)] [Trial (Unusable)]

[Offering to God (0)] [Divine Shield (1)]

I’ve adjusted the deck to some extent, so it’s a perfect opponent to check how well this deck works.

“Luca, buy me some time.”

“Okay.”

Then, Silphione sends a powerful vine towards us.

『Battle begin. Draw 5 cards.』

『Cost 3/3』

『Until next draw 60… 59…』

[Chop (1)] [Trial (Unusable)] [Offering to God (0)] [Gate of Heaven (2) – Power] [Light’s Protection (1)]

Good starting hand.

I throw a card.

[Gate of Heaven (2) – Power] – Draw 1 card each time a card Obliterates.

A splendid gate appears behind me.

Light pours out as the gate opens.

Regardless of the effect, the aggro seems to be drawn just by this, Silphione is flustered by the powerful light and the vines’ movements are slowed.

An action as if waiting for a powerful attack to come.

I don’t miss the slight amount of time that illusion creates.

[Offering to God (0)] – Obliterate 1 card and gain 2 Energy.

What will be Obliterated is [Trial (Unusable)].

[Trial (Unusable)] – When Obliterated, draw 3 cards and add 1 [Trial] card to the deck.

When a card is thrown into the sky, it flies and enters the Gate of Heaven.

Then, the light becomes even stronger and illuminates the surroundings.

Of course, that’s the end of the Gate of Heaven’s effect.

But there’s no way Silphione would know that, so she starts to be wary.

3 cards with the effect of [Trial].

1 card with the effect of [Gate of Heaven].

I draw 4 more cards.

[Chop (1)] [Light’s Protection (1)] + [Holy Strike (2) – Obliterate] [Penance (0)] [Chop (1)] [Chop (1)]

I want to get rid of all those Chop cards.

I would have been frustrated originally, but.

Now I just have to erase them.

First, I will use the all cards except Chop.

[Penance (0)] – Consume HP and gain 3 Energy.

『Energy 6/3』

Suddenly, a long wound appears on my arm and blood gushes out.

The risk is bigger than I thought?

“Ivan…?”

I send a signal to the flustered Luca that I’m okay and use another card.

[Light’s Protection (1)] – Gain a powerful shield. Add 1 [Regret] to your hand.

Flash!!

A shield of light surrounds me.

It’s a shield so powerful that all the vines are deflected.

[Holy Strike (2)]

[Chop] 3 cards and [Regret] 1 cards rise into the sky and enter the Gate of Heaven.

At the same time, 4 lights ripple around me.

A powerful streak of light flies towards Silphione.

The vines block the 4 lights that I shot.

But just one light passes through the gap and pierces Silphione’s body.

Kyaaaaaaak!!!

A bizarre voice echoes around.

It’s not over yet.

Since 4 cards have been Obliterated, I drew 4 more cards with the [Gate of Heaven] effect.

『Energy 3/3』

[Defense (1)] [Defense (1)] [Chop (1)] [Divine Shield (1)]

Unfortunately, it’s still not enough to run an infinite deck.

Do I need more draw?

Of course, it seems like I’ll be able to keep turning if I go to the second and third turns.

Still, it seems like I can end the enemy this turn.

I throw 2 cards.

[Defense]

[Defense]

The shield becomes thicker and stronger.

Clang!!!

Clang!!!

Only then did Silphione come to her senses and start attacking by moving the vines.

Moreover, yellow powder is released every time the vines are swung.

When Luca saw that, she tried to step back a little, but I grabbed her shoulder and said.

“I’ll open the way, so finish her.”

She takes a breath and rushes forward.

Watching her, I threw a card.

[Divine Shield] – Deals damage proportional to the shield.

A card that melts and disappears into the air.

Soon, the shield of light that protected all directions gathered forward and became a giant shield.

Push through.

A strong shield of light that moves forward and destroys everything around it.

Luca follows behind it.

In order to somehow stop it, Silphione moves the vines to block the front, but the vines are torn off in droves.

Thwaaang!!!

The shield of light hits Silphione exactly.

Crack!

The lower body connected to the tree trunk is torn off, but it’s not over yet.

Slightly insufficient damage.

I leave that to Luca.

Taaht!!

Luca, who jumped high, holds her axe high and moves towards Silphione’s head.

But there’s no way Silphione can be finished off with just that.

Luca also knows that, so she uses her card, her skill.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, the two-handed axe grew larger.

The two-handed axe was already as tall as Luca, but it grows three times larger.

I was wondering how she would swing that, but.

You can use gravity.

Because it was already growing while swinging from top to bottom.

Swish!!!!

Like a lumberjack splitting firewood with an axe, she cuts Silphione’s body in half.

It didn’t take long for the vines that were moving wildly to gradually lose their strength.

“…Success.”

Luca slings the axe, which had returned to its original size, over her shoulder and wipes the sweat off her forehead.

『Check the card rewards.』

[Guardian (3) – Power] – The shield lasts permanently.

[Holy Ground (2)] – Create a powerful zone to gain damage reduction for a certain period of time.

[Oath of Justice (0)] – Brings back 1 Obliterated card.

All three are worth choosing.

But among these, what caught my eye was [Guardian].

There are many shield-related cards in my deck right now.

It would be nice if a shield that lasts only 1 turn, 1 minute, could be maintained continuously.

The longer the battle and the stronger the opponent, the more helpful it will be to keep building up the shield.

Especially now, it’s the perfect card in a situation where I have to face dangerous enemies.

I chose [Guardian (3) – Power].

“It’s a silver card.”

As Silphione Obliterated, a silver card came out.

Luca smiled gleefully and put the card in her pocket.

It’s strange that she’s happy that she made a little money in a life-threatening situation, but.

I decided to just let it go by thinking that this is the life of an explorer.

“…Wait.”

Suddenly, Luca’s fluffy ears pricked up.

What did she sense?

The moment I tried to scatter my senses to read the mana, strong mana swept past us.

““……?!!””

There was no damage, but our eyes naturally turned to where the mana came from.

Something is happening.

The surging sea of poison is gradually becoming calm.

All the plants except for the thick tree trunks crumble, and the red sunlight coming from high above shines into the forest.

The dark forest becomes brighter.

But the emotion felt there was not hope.

[Something] was summoned from a place so far away that it couldn’t be seen.

“…Ivan!!!!”

Luca suddenly runs towards me.

Ah, I was momentarily lost in thought.

When I turned around, black wolves were already running towards me.

Black wolves that looked like they had been wildly scribbled with thick black pens were appearing here and there in the forest.

『Sense of murderous intent detected. Draw 5 cards.』

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

『Deck List』

『Paladin’s Deck』

『Paladin’s Deck』

[Chop] [Chop] [Chop] [Chop] [Chop]

[Defense] [Defense] [Defense] [Defense] [Baptism]

[Holy Strike]

[Gate of Heaven] [Careful Mercy] [Penance]

[Light’s Protection (New)] [Prayer (New)] [Celestial Aria (New)]

[Pure White Wall (New)] [Trial (New)] [Offering to God (New)]

[Divine Shield (New)] [Guardian (New)]

7 Attack Cards

13 Skill Cards

2 Power Cards

0 Curse Cards

Total of 22 cards.