episode_0110
by fnovelpiaMonsters filling the surroundings and an exploding volcano. Monsters being replenished in real-time search for and move towards all humans in the vicinity. That is, they are continuously rushing towards us. Of course, it doesn’t feel like mobs are flooding in like on the lower floors. However, monsters that don’t seem ordinary even at a glance are chasing us, so it clearly feels like it won’t be easy. Due to the sudden change, wondering if this happens often on the 6th floor, I turned my head to look at Erica. Specifically, Erica’s party’s guide, Yuria. However, Yuria also seemed to be in a completely unexpected situation, frowning heavily, so when I asked her why, “A volcano erupting on the 6th floor is quite common. Roughly every 7 days. And mass monster outbreaks also happen occasionally. However…” “However?” “These two starting simultaneously all of a sudden? Plus, the volcano erupted 4 days ago. It hasn’t been 7 days yet. It’s too clear to anyone that something has interfered.” Turning my head immediately to look at Grace, she had the same reaction. “Besides, since Ivan and Ms. Noah suddenly stumbled, maybe… something has happened in the labyrinth?” Although she said it indirectly because Erica’s party was nearby, according to Grace, someone’s interference must have occurred momentarily, causing a change in the labyrinth. However. If so, who is the perpetrator? It didn’t take long to find the answer. “This damn pervert bastard…” Because the only one Noah would speak of in that manner is the Evil God. To begin with, the only ones who could harm Noah and me, who are on a different level from most humans, would be the two gods. They usually don’t even glance when we’re in the labyrinth, so I don’t know why they’re reacting now. Could it be that there’s a limit to the phenomena they can cause? Understanding the situation comes later; dealing with what has happened is first. Quickly check the hand. [Reversal (3)] [Strike (1)] [Body Enhancement (0)] [Lightning (3)] + [Vortex (3)] Unfortunately, due to the sudden situation, I didn’t change the Joker card, so Vortex remained. Furthermore, the other cards aren’t particularly good either. Still, there’s a reliable card that always appears. [Body Enhancement] A lightened body. Thanks to it, my slightly labored breathing returned to normal. At the same time, a giant shadow falls. Three black giants blocking our path. “No time to deal with them!!” As soon as Erica’s party, who was ahead, turned left, we followed behind them. However, the speed at which the black giants attack is much faster than the speed at which we turn. Specifically, the shockwaves they unleash. With a BANG!!! sound, a strong impact hits my back. However, the impact immediately vanishes completely. As if nothing at all had happened, I continue running forward. This is the power of the robe my master gave me. It completely nullifies a certain amount of incoming damage. Unfortunately, the cooldown is quite long, and I can’t control it freely, so if I deplete it with a weak attack and then a strong attack comes, it can be easily seen through. The reason my master gave me this is so that I don’t get hit by blind attacks. ‘If this hadn’t been here, I might have been hit once from the start and been incapacitated.’ Thanking my master once again, I run forward again. However, the distance between us and the monsters does not widen. Of course. Because we are moving this way and that to avoid the monsters. It’s not easy to escape from monsters running in a straight line. “Escaping like this is impossible!!!” Kylek, who was ahead, instantly turns around and shoots an arrow. The arrow lands precisely between the eyes of the monster that was attacking me. Seeing the monster that attacked me fall, Kylek also runs again. I, who was about to use the [Reversal] card, held the card in my hand for now and continued forward while receiving Kylek’s support. However, Erica, who heard Kylek’s protest, clenched her teeth as if she already knew, and then “I’ll break through the front.” Immediately, Erica ran forward without avoiding the group of monsters. And from her waist, she drew a different sword than the one she was using. A sword boasting a half-worn, junk-level state. A weapon that would be used once or twice in a training ground and then discarded, one that no one would consider useful, but for Erica, it is a perfectly usable sword. As soon as Erica swung the sword, space shattered, and cracks appeared on the bodies of all the monsters in front of her. And then the sword Erica was holding went *clang*. Discarding the sword with only the handle left, Erica immediately drew the sword she was using and charged. However, there are still monsters that survived even that attack, which was like her ultimate move. Still, since they were weakened, we immediately prepared for combat. Therefore, it is enough for me to just tie down the enemies rushing from the rear. As soon as I finished quickly assessing the situation. “Block!!” A sub-space opens, and a Defense Golem pops out and creates a shield. I immediately throw one card as well. [Vortex] I send all the surrounding swirling wind to the rear and make it spin wildly. Then, the monsters that were rushing had their movements slightly slowed by the wind. Just being slightly slowed down is enough to shake them off. Just as I saw that the monster group couldn’t keep up and was about to run forward again. My expanded senses detect something. “Wolves…!!” Wolves that were using incorporeality had broken through the vortex using incorporeality and were leaping towards us. Of course, the golem had created a shield in the middle. The wolves easily tearing through the golem’s shield and coming in. “I’ll stop them!!!” Grace, the fastest among us, turns back. But because there were too many for her to stop alone, Luca subtly looked at the situation and pulled back. “…Should I step forward?” Noah, who was beside me, whispered to me. In fact, if she stepped forward, this degree of hardship could be quickly resolved. The problem is that it’s not yet to the extent where we can show the power of the black mage to Erica’s party. “Trust your companions.” “…Okay.” Fortunately, not long after, Grace and Luca shook off the wolves and returned. And just then. “Enter the forest!!!” We broke through the wall of monsters and rushed into the forest. “Grab on.” As if already used to it, Noah grabbed my side. It was originally a role mainly handled by Grace, but since Noah is unable to unleash her power now, it’s a substitution. Immediately, Noah hoisted me like luggage and began running through the forest. As she jumped over high hills, bushes, and pieces of wood that I would have stumbled over long ago, the groups of monsters chasing us also became entangled in the forest’s many obstacles and were increasingly unable to follow. Just when I thought we could escape at this point. “Watch out!!!” Grace leaps high into the sky and knocks something away. With a BANG!! sound, something that fell onto the nearby tree immediately began to burn. It was a volcanic bomb spewed from the volcano. The problem was that it was just the beginning. It seemed like they had planned to attack with volcanic bombs if we entered the forest. Countless volcanic bombs fell into the forest, incinerating it. “Cough!!” Thanks to the resulting smoke, breathing becomes difficult again. Furthermore, that’s not the end. *Drip, drip.* Even rain begins to fall from the sky again. Seeing that, the party quickly pulls up their hoods. This hood, developed specifically for the 6th floor, can block this rain for a certain amount of time. However, because it doesn’t last long, it should only be used in situations where we absolutely must push through the rain. “It’s not easy.” It was already hot and humid to death, and in a situation where breathing is also difficult, everything is burning around us, and the falling rain is trying to melt everything. Wow, the 6th floor is really tough. The environmental factors are incomparable to the 5th floor. Meanwhile, the power of each individual monster is also increasing. I also wonder just how much harder it will be higher up than this. “Aaaaah!!!” Along with the sound of a scream coming from the front. The party’s movement stopped. Several tree monsters wearing skulls were blocking the path. They quickly extended their roots and began to surround us. “Of all things, *these* guys…!!” Erica clenches her teeth. It feels like meeting the worst enemy, even when you meet them. It’s certainly not easy to encounter monsters that tie your feet when time is of the essence. Because there are still monsters following behind. 『Until next draw 5…』 Checking the time until the next draw, I spoke to Noah, who was holding me. “If we want to survive, we’ll just have to step up, right?” “…Okay.” As expected, we couldn’t get by easily. 『It is your turn. Draw 5 cards.』 『White Storage Box – Preserve 1 card at the end of your turn.』 [Lightning (3)] + [Hail (3)] [Mana Burst (0)] [Shatter (4)] [Water Spray (0)] [Earthquake (4)] As soon as the cards were drawn, Noah released me. Landing lightly just like that, simultaneously one card slipped from my hand and dissolved into thin air. [Lightning] I shoot the electricity gathered at my fingertips straight ahead. Flash! In that instant, the lightning had already reached the tree monsters. At the same time, a flash of light spreads around. By the time my vision returned, I saw that all the trees soaked in rain were starting to burn. However, they hadn’t died yet. [Mana Burst] – Energy increases by 3. You take damage. Simultaneously with the feeling of a wound appearing on my arm, a sense of omnipotence flows throughout my body. I immediately throw one card. [Shatter] *CRACK!!!* The tree monster splitting intensely. The monster in the center vanishes, clearing a path. “That way!!!” The party that had stopped immediately runs. However, the tree monsters’ fine roots extend to fill the empty space, and at the same time, other roots begin to interfere. “They’re faster than expected!!” Tree roots that had completely blocked the spot where I had eliminated the tree monster in no time. For now, the first attempt failed, but. If the first try doesn’t work, just try the next. “Move.” Noah dashes forward. She summons her avatar. As the giant avatar slashed the tree monster’s body with a scythe, it was cleanly cut away and vanished. “That’s…!!” Erica’s party was momentarily surprised upon seeing the avatar Noah summoned, but. For now, they started moving forward along the path Noah had opened, leaving the explanation for later. And. [……!!!] The strange words that came from Noah’s mouth. As soon as they heard those words, which looked like language from no world whatsoever, the movements of the tree monsters that were extending their roots to block the path stopped. A situation that looked to anyone as if she had controlled the monsters using the language of a black mage. Furthermore, that’s not the end. As Noah unleashed dark mana to cover the sky, the color of the falling rain turned transparent. It was obvious to anyone that she had caused a change in the labyrinth. “Ivan, that person… No.” Since Erica was already a little suspicious, having seen the black mage’s book and saying she knew something, it would be strange for her not to notice by now. But she also decided to focus on clearing the path for now, so I also decided to think about it later and move forward. As we barely passed the tree monsters, the flames had already almost caught up to us and were on the verge of engulfing us. Even though one might say it would have been better to run without entering the forest in this situation, we had to enter the forest. The volcano had already erupted. “Fo- Found it!!!” As the voice of Erica’s party’s guide, Yuria, was heard from the front, everyone’s faces brightened slightly. A large, high hill we had arrived at before we knew it. A stone door that didn’t suit the hill that was burning in real-time. That door was wide open. This is the [Shelter] that must be entered when a volcano erupts on the 6th floor. However, if there were people inside, we would have had to find another place, but. “Fortunately, it seems no one has entered yet!” As soon as the guides who quickly looked inside said that, we entered. And immediately began to close the door. “What, the door isn’t closing?” A situation where the door doesn’t close no matter how much the rope is pulled. If so, we just have to close it manually. “The fire is coming!!” “Close it quickly!!” In the midst of a disaster where monsters, flames, and lava were pouring down from far away. We began to manually close the stone door with all our might. *KWAAANG!!!* Fortunately, we were able to close the door before the disaster reached us. Then everyone let out a deep sigh of relief. Each person began to rest, sitting down or leaning against the wall. But that time wasn’t very long. Because Erica was slowly approaching me and Noah. “More than that, won’t you explain?” Erica pointed at Noah. “About this girl.”
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