episode_0133

When humans fight for their lives within the labyrinth.

It’s naturally advantageous for the side that catches the guide first.

One more thing on top of that.

I immediately used [Darkness].

It’s a magic I normally don’t use often.

But it’s a magic perfect for a situation like this.

It reminds me of the past.

That time when I laid down darkness to gain an advantage in a situation where I was being chased by enemies and took them down one by one.

A story from when I hadn’t been in the labyrinth for long.

When I was transmigrated to another world not long after, I killed someone for the first time.

Even now, after quite some time has passed and I’ve killed many black mages, I’m not used to it.

But even so, if my life is threatened, I have no choice but to fight.

『Current Status』

『Energy 6/5』

『Until next draw 0』

『Applied Effects』

『Magic King’s Grimoire (Enhanced) – Allows you to draw magic circles.』

『Momentum – Energy increases by 1 each turn.』

『Terrain Manipulation – Consume mana to manipulate terrain.』

『Ifrit (Enhanced) – Summon a fire spirit.』

『Advent – Enter Advent state.』

『Space Folder – Can use Blink at all times.』

After changing my deck, I first used [Magic King’s Grimoire] and received the effect of [Cat’s Paw] to apply it in enhanced state.

Next, I combined [Charge] and [Ifrit] and applied them in enhanced state.

Afterwards, I used all remaining power cards.

If there’s anything regrettable, is it perhaps because of the effort I put into raising the Rogue deck and Paladin deck to a level similar to the Elementalist deck when I received Cain’s help last time?

If I had just a few more power cards, dealing with the bandits in front of me would have been easier.

Well, this is enough though.

Once the guide died and darkness was laid down.

The panicked bandits.

But unlike my expectation, they didn’t easily fall apart.

“Is it a black mage?! They were supposed to have disappeared after the Sector 11 raid?!”

“Focus!! This isn’t the first or second time something like this has happened!”

“There’s only one enemy!!”

First off, they naturally seemed to have mistaken me for a black mage thanks to the [Darkness] I used.

This is not a bad result.

There’s nothing more disadvantageous in battle than misunderstanding your opponent.

Furthermore, their cohesion seems stronger than I thought. Are bandits who climb up to the 7th floor different in some way?

Normally, if you have the skill to reach the 7th floor, wouldn’t it be more profitable to just clear things up by robbing on the lower floors, or simply work as an explorer?

There are many questions, but I decided not to worry about them.

First, I use the card I’m holding in my hand.

[Purgatory]

A powerful magic that even the gemstone soldiers couldn’t react to and were dragged away.

While the darkness obscured their vision, I’ll take them down as much as possible in one go.

A single dot that appeared above that cave.

Centered on that dot, everything in the world began to be sucked in.

“W-What is this?!”

The panicked bandits urgently try to escape, but some of them are already starting to be sucked in.

Watching that sight, I quickly pass the turn.

『Your turn. Draw 5 cards.』

『White Container – Preserve 1 card at the end of the turn.』

[Strike (1)] [Body Enhancement (0)] [Rupture (4)] [Tidal Wave (3)] [Deep Roots (6)] + [Drain (3)]

You might think the hand isn’t very good.

But it’s an excellent hand.

Because numerous power cards have already been applied, and with enough magic circles etched on my body, the value of utility cards has increased.

The moment I was about to immediately use the card in my hand.

One of the bandits in front shouted.

“Hey!! Black mage!!!”

“……”

“L-Let’s make a deal!! We can give you everything you need!! There are corpses we’ve killed everywhere! There’s a lot we can give you!”

Unfortunately, there’s no time to talk.

Even if they are robbing by utilizing monster gimmicks, to be bandits on the 7th floor, there must be at least skill users on the level of the 8th or 9th floor mixed in.

Giving them time to react is the worst possible outcome.

It’s a quick decisive battle.

[Body Enhancement]

First, I use Body Enhancement, which is never bad to use.

Then, the tension that slightly wrapped my body completely disappeared.

Afterward, I immediately open one of the magic circles on my body.

[Lightning]

A powerful attack card that you would never think is a 3-cost card.

Crackle-

Immediately, lightning crackled loudly in my hand within the darkness.

But at that moment, something flew towards this place.

I quickly evaded with a short blink to the side.

But several who endured Purgatory continued to charge towards this place.

[Looks like they’re running towards the sparks that flew?]

‘Looks like it.’

They must have figured out my location just by the sound of the electricity crackling or its appearance.

If they can do that even without a guide, it means their skill isn’t to be underestimated.

“Black mage, you attacked first!!”

“They say black mages have personal hideouts? We can get another one!!”

The bandits charging in, as if it’s even better.

It seems they’ve forgotten that the guide dying was a distant past.

First, I finish off the weaker enemies tied up by Purgatory.

I shoot the lightning gathered in my hand directly towards the huddled lesser bandits.

Instantly, the lightning ripped through the darkness and flew towards them, intending to pierce through the bodies of a dozen bandits at once.

“Block it!!”

At that moment, as a man being dragged away by Purgatory raised his shield, a barrier was laid around him.

The barrier easily blocked the lightning, so things aren’t going to flow easily after all.

And another variable.

“Screw this!!”

Two bandits abandoned their comradeship and immediately started to flee.

I quickly tried to raise the terrain towards that area to block the passage.

But the wall of earth instantly crumbled under a swung fist.

The two immediately fled, taunting us.

As expected, Terrain Manipulation is insufficient to stop 7th-floor class individuals.

I’ll have to leave the rest to Kailer and Luca.

[Behind you!!]

While Noah’s voice was heard.

One card already left my hand.

[Strike]

I don’t know about anything else. My basic attack card that has the advantage of activating instantly.

Immediately with a *thwack* sound, the upper body of the bandit who approached from behind me bent backward.

It feels like Strike gets stronger the more I use it.

However, it only has stopping power. It doesn’t have lethality.

The bandit quickly recovered and swung his sword.

Simultaneously with blinking to evade.

I moved under Purgatory, avoiding the bandits who had approached me.

“Clean up the guys tied up.”

[Okay.]

Noah emerged from my shadow and went up towards the bandits huddled by Purgatory.

Now, truly alone.

There are 4 bandits in front of me.

Just as I was about to quickly collect the darkness that had protected me slightly.

A bandit used equipment that emitted light.

Immediately, the darkness quickly began to disappear.

“This is perfect for black mages!!”

Perhaps to the bandits, explorers and black mages are the same existence.

However, one bandit who saw my complete appearance up close stopped.

“Wait, that clothing. And that appearance. Isn’t that the Tower Master’s disciple?”

“What? He wasn’t a black mage?”

But knowing who I was didn’t change anything.

Rather.

“We absolutely cannot let him escape alive.”

It only served as a reason for them to rekindle their fighting spirit.

“I heard the Tower Master’s disciple is a 6th-floor explorer. We can definitely win.”

“No, he must have hidden power from the start. Don’t underestimate him.”

Despite saying that, the tension in their bodies slightly loosened.

Like, how dare a mere 6th-floor mage stand in front of the vanguards?

They’re right. If I were a typical mage.

Perhaps I would be the same.

The only difference is that I am in perfect condition right now.

First, I throw one card I’m holding.

[Tidal Wave]

I immediately tried to draw a line in the air with my hand.

But my senses check something.

One bandit instantly disappeared.

They had appeared behind me at some point.

Since I already knew, I quickly used Blink to move into the scattering darkness ahead.

“It’s obvious!!”

However, three bandits simultaneously attacked right in front of where I blinked to.

How on earth did they read my movements?

I quickly rolled my eyes to find a place to escape.

Unfortunately, due to the nature of the cave terrain, there weren’t many places to evade.

I quickly moved to an appropriate location.

*Paat*-

The sword that hit my robe bounced off and fell to the floor.

If it weren’t for the robe my master gave me, I would have been stabbed by the sword and taken the follow-up attack directly.

“What on earth…”

“Why would I tell you!?”

Maybe there’s a way to detect it.

If so, there’s no need to use it.

Let’s go into a straightforward test of strength.

*Clap*!!

As I flicked my hand, a water splash bloomed in the air.

[Water Spray]

Not particularly dangerous, but a magic perfect for obscuring vision because it’s instant.

Using this to obstruct the vision of one bandit who was rushing in, I immediately lightly drew a finger in the air.

And a wave erupted from there.

That wave climbed the cave in reverse.

The wave pushed back the 4 bandits who were rushing in.

But at some point, it was abruptly stopped.

The water instantly got sucked into a bandit’s hand.

“That’s impossible!!”

“Is it because he’s the Tower Master’s disciple? To use such magic so casually.”

“Here I come!!”

One bandit gathered the water they had put in their hand and created a water sword.

I don’t know what kind of power that is. Can they perhaps block other magic like that too?

Just as that question arose.

The water sword flew towards me.

I immediately open a magic circle.

[Freeze]

Cold air that advanced forward from beneath my feet.

It surged up, grabbed the flying water sword, and quickly froze it solid.

However, the bandits charged forward without caring what I did.

Several slashes flew towards me for ranged harassment.

I took out the fire spirit from my pocket.

Because I had been feeding it mana little by little since earlier.

It instantly grew massive and revealed its true form, launching fire fists that filled the cave.

“Block it!!”

The bandits quickly hid behind rocks in the fire that filled the cave.

However, I’ve already found all of them.

While Ifrit attacks, I can move too.

I immediately open a magic circle.

[Telekinesis]

I slightly lifted a bandit who was hiding.

“Aaahhhh!!!”

One bandit engulfed in flames.

It didn’t take long for his movements to cease.

“Phew…”

It was tougher than I thought.

I did come after diligently storing magic circles.

But they were close to running out.

If one or two more had been allocated to my side, it could have been truly dangerous.

“What, you caught them all?”

Just then, Noah arrived beside me.

Behind her, there were only countless corpses of bandits.

“Yeah, I told you. It’d be manageable.”

“It was close.”

I was able to overwhelm them even though they were 7th floor because I had spent about an hour stacking magic circles.

If I had just run into them while walking around, I might have been instantly killed.

Perfect preparation.

Master’s words that a mage must only fight within the given environment have never been wrong.

Noah poked the three bandits who were completely neutralized.

“What should we do with them?”

“Right… We can just kill all bandits, but maybe we should hand over one or two to the knight or the guild.”

As I was contemplating their future disposal.

Footsteps were heard from behind.

It was Grace, Kailer, and Luca.

I was worried if those three might have been attacked by the bandits who ran away, but it seemed my worry was unfounded.

However…

Someone unfamiliar was following behind those three.

Someone in full plate armor with the emblem of the Empire.

It wasn’t difficult to deduce who it was just by looking.

“Are you a knight?”

“…That’s right.”

Indeed, it would be strange if no one came when such chaos broke out on the 7th floor.