episode_0058

The canyon collapses.

Clumps of dirt and ice fall into the narrow canyon.

If I get hit by that, I am confident I will die instantly.

That’s why I have to block everything.

Perhaps it’s thanks to having slept soundly.

I have no hesitation in lifting the terrain.

The moving terrain soon blocks everything that falls.

“Run!!!”

Hearing my voice, the explorers trust me and only run forward.

I continue to build, not betraying their expectations.

“Left!!!”

The ones leading the way are the guides.

6 guides simultaneously scout everything around them to find a path.

They immediately find the best path and run.

Seeing that, I understood why explorers act in clan units.

Likewise, I am not the only mage here.

“I’ve made a shield!!!”

The mage from Erica’s party instantly puts small shields around all 40 people.

“I froze it!!!”

The mage from the Magic Tower unleashes frost towards the collapsing ceiling.

Thanks to that, my burden was lessened.

But this is merely a temporary measure.

We must quickly escape the canyon.

It’s been a while since I ran so hard I was out of breath.

As even just running became difficult and my terrain manipulation faltered, Luka, who had noticed, came over and roughly carried me on her back as she ran.

“I see the outside!!!”

Before long, the end of the canyon is visible.

But also the numerous black Yetis blocking the way there.

“Switching to Plan B!!”

As soon as Erica shouted, I lifted the ground to create stairs.

To climb above the ice canyon.

“I’ll break through!!”

The beast-warrior from Erica’s party goes up first.

He immediately body-slams the thin ice ceiling.

There was a light *thud!* sound from his small body, but the result was different from what was expected.

A powerful shockwave erupted forward, shattering the ice ceiling and sweeping away the black Yetis that were on top of it.

The massive hole created by that.

Everyone rushes towards it together.

We reached the top of the canyon.

Unlike the end of the canyon far away, there weren’t many Yetis here.

Seeing as they seem to be blocking the exit, one can guess that they aren’t just moving mindlessly, but that something is controlling them.

And the entity that shook the canyon was also above the canyon.

One gigantic black bird. It was here.

The bird was descending from the sky, breaking the canyon.

That means that one bird isn’t all there is.

“Huh, wait?! Something’s coming from above!!”

As soon as the guide shouted, the mage from Erica’s party cast a shield.

Thump!!! Thump!!!

It’s an attack that can’t penetrate the shield, but a powerful shockwave beyond it shakes our bodies.

3 black birds.

They dive steeply like falcons attacking prey from the sky, attacking us.

Although the attack failed, the birds started to ascend into the sky again.

They were so fast that there was no time to react.

“Move, avoiding the birds!!!”

As soon as Erica shouted, everyone started moving as planned beforehand.

Plan B.

Originally, after passing the end of the ice canyon, a wide plain unfolds, and beyond that, a lake awaits, but it’s not good to break through there.

To face a large number of enemies, you must at least have an advantage in terms of space.

As soon as we saw the plain teeming with black Yetis, we would change direction and head towards the lake by crossing the edge of the plain, along the mountain range.

And thankfully, there weren’t many Yetis there.

The problem is those birds.

They drop vertically towards us as we continue to run, attacking.

Shriiiiek!!!

The mage from Erica’s party also seemed to be reaching their limit, showing signs of difficulty.

It was time to start responding to some extent.

Just then, a group of Yetis appeared before us.

The procession momentarily halted.

While the warriors dealt with the Yetis, hunting the flying birds was the mages’ and archers’ job.

“Wait for them to attack!!!”

The wait was not long.

“They’re coming down!!”

Thump!!!

The bird’s talons striking the shield.

They came down and struck so quickly that no one could capture the bird’s movement. But at least at the moment of attack, a gap was visible.

Whooooosh!!!

Kairek’s arrow cuts through the air.

But he is not the only archer here.

One arrow flies directly towards the bird’s eye.

Thud!

The arrow lodged in its eye.

It was an arrow with strength incomparable to Kairek’s, but since it accurately struck the eye, I thought there would be no problem.

“Whooooooo!!!”

The black bird emits a strange cry and ascends back into the sky.

Behind it, a second bird descends.

The mage from the Magic Tower, predicting this beforehand, managed to bind the black bird’s legs by unleashing frost at it.

“Got it!!!”

Kairek shot an arrow, and I activated a magic circle.

[Crush (4)] – Crushes the target.

Crack!!!

The sound of the bird’s neck bone breaking is heard as it goes limp.

Kairek’s arrow lodges in the heart of such a creature.

“Good…”

I activated a magic circle towards an explorer who was rejoicing.

[Strike]

Thump!

The shockwave activated instantly slightly shifts the trajectory of the bird’s talons.

An attack that was dodged thanks to that.

Seeing this, the explorer immediately thrusts his spear, but before long, the bird ascends back into the sky.

“You must not let your guard down!!”

One person almost died just now.

This time, the priest cast a holy shield around them.

However, the birds were not coming down and were just watching.

Cunning creatures.

The place they headed for was where the warriors were.

Crack!!!

One warrior was attacked by a black bird and fell.

While everyone was flustered by the instantaneous event.

Fortunately, the warrior got back up.

Getting up while bleeding profusely was typical of an explorer.

It was fortunate that he wasn’t so weak as to be taken down by something like this in one go.

The priest quickly approaches to heal him.

That opening was once again protected by the mage from Erica’s party casting a shield.

They barely managed to block the bird’s attack.

“At least the mages would die in one hit.”

“Is there no way to prevent them from approaching?”

We can’t endure like this.

Around the time everyone was flustered by the unexpected appearance of the enemy.

I recalled one strategy I had been thinking about since yesterday.

“I have a way.”

It might be a little dangerous, but I have no choice but to do it.

I activated several magic circles on my body.

[Tidal Wave]

Do you know surfing, wave riding?

You could say it’s not a story likely to come up in such a desperate situation.

But for a mage, imagination is a weapon.

One possibility that came to mind while testing various things before going to sleep.

[Tidal Wave], a powerful spell of mine that is also very conditional.

It is very difficult to use, and if used incorrectly, it could kill me and my party members as well.

But despite that, I thought this was the only move to resolve this situation.

First, the terrain is good.

It would be difficult to use in a place with many mountain ranges and hills.

Now, a wide plain extending to the lake is before my eyes.

Next is that safety from the birds can be secured.

If I adjust the tidal wave well, I can at least block above, so I will be able to block the birds falling vertically.

“Is that really possible?”

“That seems like too dangerous an idea.”

Some opposing opinions came out, but we couldn’t think of a safer or faster way to move than this.

Furthermore, the birds’ attacks are increasing in real time.

At least when staying in place, we can block and counterattack, but while running, we don’t know when we will be attacked.

The conclusion came quickly.

“Let’s do it!!!”

As soon as we heard Erica’s decision, we quickly finished preparations.

And from the end of the canyon overlooking the wide plain, we were looking at the horizon in the distance.

“I will do it.”

First, I create the first wave.

It’s a wave to clear the Yetis spread across the plain.

As I draw a line on the ground with my finger, an enormous amount of water begins to gush out from there.

Seeing that sight, the mage from the Magic Tower couldn’t hide their astonishment.

“Even our School Head wouldn’t find it easy to create this much water at once!!”

As could be told from his earlier use of ice, this person seemed to be from the Blue School.

Whoooosh!!!

A powerful wave swallows the Yetis and advances forward.

Before long, not a single Yeti remained on the plain.

“They won’t die just from that, but it should prevent them from interfering.”

With the Yetis gone, we immediately jumped from the canyon and descended onto the wide plain.

The birds continued to attack us as we fell, but I didn’t necessarily need to step forward.

All the birds were intercepted.

However, one bird that managed to pierce through the shield attacked Kairek.

Thump!!!

Kairek, who was embedded in the ground, raised his hand as if to say he was fine.

Indeed, he was Kairek, unmatched in sturdiness.

“Get ready!!!”

As soon as we finished landing, we moved as promised.

Since it would be troublesome if the birds interfered during that time, I activated a few more stacked magic circles.

[Vortex]

[Electrocute]

[Fireball]

Spells flying towards the sky without a target.

No bird would get hit by the blind spells, but thanks to that, we were able to buy some time.

“Got him!!”

Luka carries me in her arms and runs.

I looked at the canyon we had left and drew a line with my hand.

Whoooosh!!!

The water gushing from the line soon gathered and became a single tidal wave.

And that tidal wave is approaching towards us.

“He made it!!!”

The mage from the Magic Tower created a giant ice sheet.

Everyone climbs onto it.

Immediately, he activates a magic circle.

[Reverse (3)] – Reverses gravity for a certain period.

The ice sheet floats towards the sky.

It gets onto the giant tidal wave as is.

The plan was to ride the tidal wave like surfing using this.

It worked to some extent.

The birds couldn’t attack and were just flying, looking at us.

There were also no monsters blocking us, and we were quickly heading towards the lake.

However, if there was one thing overlooked.

It was that surfing didn’t exist in this world yet.

And that I had never surfed before either.

We were immediately swallowed by the tidal wave.

But I am not the only one here.

As expected of the Blue School of the Magic Tower, where masters of water and ice magic gather.

He manipulated my tidal wave and gathered the people inside.

Furthermore, he used a strange magic to allow us to breathe.

As a result, we ended up riding the tidal wave.

We continue to move forward.

The first wave ahead loses its power and dissipates.

The Yetis that were inside are scattered in all directions.

Unfortunately, hardly any of them died.

I manipulate the tidal wave.

The tidal wave moves further forward, drawing in the water from the dissipating wave ahead.

But the tidal wave we were inside was also starting to lose power.

Getting closer and closer to the bottom.

It’s time to get out here.

After signaling everyone, I split the tidal wave in half around us.

And immediately after lifting the terrain, I created a giant slide and slid down.

“I see the lake over there!!!”

Before long, the location of the lake started to become visible.

Of course, I can’t see it with my eyes, but seeing the guides’ faces brighten, it must be the lake.

“But aren’t there any giant monsters nearby?”

“No?”

The information the knight found yesterday. I heard the bones in the lake returned to normal and became a boss-level monster.

Is it still quite far away and not visible?

It didn’t take long for that question to be answered.

Because something fell towards us.

“That’s…?!!”

A black shape falling from the entirely dark sky.

I thought it was the birds we had been fighting so far, but it wasn’t.

Right.

It would be better to say it like this.

A black Pterodactyl.

An explorer’s body was impaled on the Pterodactyl’s beak.

He was the mage from Erica’s party who had been casting shields to protect us from the birds until now.

“Johan!!!”

Erica shouts and runs towards the Pterodactyl.

When she swings her sword, space shatters.

But the Pterodactyl was no longer there.

“Disappeared?”

The Pterodactyl went back up into the sky.

It killed the mage who was the biggest obstacle to it.

Then who will be next?

It’s me.

By the time I realized that, I had already locked eyes with the creature.

Am I going to die?

But subspace moves.

A defense golem that pops out of thin air explodes.

The explosion of the defense golem pushes me.

As I fly sideways, I activate a magic circle.

[Lightning]

Crackle!!

The flying electricity penetrates the Pterodactyl’s body, but.

It had no effect at all.

Immediately flapping its wings, creating a vortex, the Pterodactyl soars into the sky.

The explorers who were within it are scattered in all directions.

Not missing that opening, the black birds fall and attack the explorers.

Thump!!!

Something hit my neck hard.

My vision blurs momentarily.

Thud.

The world tilted.

I had collapsed.

Screams are heard.

I feel the lives of countless explorers disappearing.

Is it going to end so suddenly and meaninglessly like this?

Shouldn’t I at least squirm like a stepped-on earthworm?

I activated a magic circle.

[Purgatory (5)] – Creates a purgatory that pulls everything in.

A single black dot is marked on the world.

Everything begins to gather towards that single point.

The explorers were no exception.

Of course, just gathering them doesn’t inflict any damage.

But it’s enough just to catch the flying birds.

I left the finishing touches to the other explorers.

“Die!!!!”

Erica lets out a scream and cuts down the birds gathered by Purgatory all at once.

Simultaneously, as Purgatory is released, everyone falls to the ground together.

But one creature still remains.

I activate a magic circle.

[Chain Hell (3)] – Summons countless chains to bind the target.

Numerous chains gushing from the ground fly towards the falling Pterodactyl.

Immediately, I quickly check the cards I had saved until now.

[Temporary Stop (1)] [Charge (1)] [Immolation (3)] [Ice Storm (4)] [Ignite (0)] [Shield (1)]

I throw 2 cards.

[Charge]

[Temporary Stop]

The reinforced [Temporary Stop] stopped the Pterodactyl’s movement for a moment, and chains lodged in its body.

Immediately, it twists its body to escape. One chain came loose.

“Attack!!!”

From now on, it’s time for a gang beatdown.

Originally, the human race hunted animals with persistent stamina and cooperation.

It’s time to show that power to this creature now.

Whoosh!!!

Chains emerging from Hans’s body bind the Pterodactyl’s body.

The falling Pterodactyl.

A harpoon arrow lodges itself in its brow.

It penetrates and gets stuck in the skin.

I also continue to activate magic circles.

[Ragnarok (4)] – Unleashes a powerful shockwave.

[Chain Hell (3)] – Summons countless chains to bind the target.

[Freeze (2)] – Freezes the target.

[Electrocute (2)] – Electrocutes the target.

Countless magic spells fly towards the Pterodactyl.

The power of each of these individual spells might not affect the Pterodactyl, but.

The continuous attacks accumulate damage on the Pterodactyl.

And now the warriors approached the Pterodactyls.

Sharply discarded swords, spears, and axes begin to tear the Pterodactyl’s body.

Its body screams and it swings the wings attached to its two arms.

Flap, flap.

It seems like it’s just lightly flapping, but the power of each swing was not to be ignored.

Several explorers hit by the wings were sent flying and fell, spitting out blood.

A sharp wing sliced one explorer’s body in half.

The situation was gradually becoming critical.

To finish it, Erica shouted.

“Everyone move back!!!”

Erica, who had somehow pulled out a new sword, used Space Cut once again.

Space tears, and the Pterodactyl’s body begins to be cut.

Its proud left wing was severed, and unable to maintain its posture, it collapsed.

Explorers climb onto the body of the collapsed creature and continue to stomp and stab it.

Only then did its movements begin to stop.

Thud!!!

As Erica’s sword sliced its neck, the Pterodactyl finally dissipated.

The sacrifice was too great to rejoice in victory.

Bodies scattered everywhere.

But I cannot close my eyes yet.

“More birds are gathering!!!”

“Everyone gather up and run away for now!!!”

We had to escape to a location where we wouldn’t be hit by the birds’ attacks, at least.

Stumble.

I tried to get up, but after being hit by the birds’ attack once, my body wouldn’t listen.

Luka, who came towards me.

“You, your arm…?”

“It’s nothing.”

Luka’s left arm was completely gone.

Despite that, she picked me up with only her right arm and started running.

Finally, I activate one magic circle and send it towards the birds.

Simultaneously, my consciousness gradually plunged into darkness.