episode_0138

The vampire’s army surges in. Fortunately, the terrain is smiling upon us. Because I deliberately chose a place with some elevation changes. Red monsters pouring from the end of the passage. Their appearances were all different, and they were monsters I had never seen even once in the labyrinth. 『Until next draw: 5.』 Defeating the trash mobs is one thing, but I really want to see the next turn first. In that case, I’ll have to use a group crowd control magic. Immediately, one magic circle on my left arm is released. [Purgatory] A single black dot appeared up ahead. With that, all the monsters began to be pulled in. Of course, the smaller monsters started being pulled first, and the rest began to be pulled slowly. At a certain moment, Purgatory stopped moving. It didn’t fail. Because countless small monsters were gathered in the black dot. ‘Could there be a limit to the number of targets it can hold?’ I didn’t even know such a function existed until now. Because I had never faced so many monsters before. As a result, the monsters released from Purgatory’s grasp rush towards me. An overwhelming quantity. However, unlike the quantities I’ve faced in the past, they seem quite superior in quality. It doesn’t seem like it will be easy as I thought. 『Until next draw: 0』 『It is your turn. Draw 5 cards.』 『White Storage Box – Preserve 1 card at the end of the turn.』 [Body Reinforcement (0)] [Fireball (1)] [Fire Dragon (4)] [Exchange (2)] [Reversal (3)] + [Lightning (3)] The hand is ambiguous. Neither good nor bad. But since I can quickly acquire cards, it doesn’t matter. Chaat- I quickly throw 2 cards. [Body Reinforcement] [Lightning] At the same time as my body becomes lighter, electricity lightly rises between my index and middle fingers. I immediately shoot lightning towards the trash mobs gathered in Purgatory. “I shall not permit it-” But then, along with the vampire’s voice, something rises between the trajectory of the lightning. Something with a strangely white body among the red monsters. The lightning that touched that body could not penetrate and instantly disappeared. “Bone Golem…” A golem made of countless human bones blocked the lightning and was looking proudly at this place. As expected, is the 3-cost attack card starting to show its limit? Lamenting later. Before I knew it, quite a lot of monsters had approached. Just as I was about to immediately open the next magic circle. [Be careful…!!] Chaat- Noah’s scythe blocking the pile of blood that suddenly flew in. How on earth did it fly in so quickly? I let my guard down. Just because they are monsters doesn’t mean they wouldn’t have ranged attack methods. Sure enough, monsters spitting blood that melts everything. I immediately raise the terrain to block it. It doesn’t end there. I overturn and shake the terrain. The terrain shakes like a strong current, as if an earthquake occurred. But despite that, a few stubbornly adapted and charged forward. The number seems to be less than roughly 5%, but since the initial denominator was large, the enemies that cross over are still a group. [We need to fall back.] Listening to Noah’s advice, I immediately use Flash to escape far back. The monsters that have moved away again. However, I can’t seem to come up with any way to stop those pouring guys. I’m just chipping away at them little by little. First, I throw a card in my hand. [Reversal] The monsters in the front row directly collide with the ceiling of the cave. But as if mocking my efforts, the second row instantly passes the first row. Is this me casting magic on monsters, or are the monsters just in the place where I cast magic? First, to conserve magic circles as much as possible, I pour mana into the fire spirit. The enlarged Ifrit takes a deep breath, then powerfully spews fire from its mouth, filling the passage. However, even with the flames filling the passage, the status window doesn’t pop up. By now, the effect of the Butcher’s Gloves should have activated, shouldn’t it? Surely… it doesn’t mean that Ifrit’s flames didn’t catch even a single one, does it? My prediction, which was usually wrong, hit the mark this time. Monsters coming through the flames. Their bodies were charred and flesh had fallen off, but they didn’t die. Only then did I understand why this situation was happening. When I first used [Purgatory], unfortunately, it only filtered out the weak ones. The slightly tougher ones weren’t pulled into Purgatory. That’s precisely where all the plans went awry. Even as I continued to create obstacles afterwards, those who overcame them were all more superior individuals. This means that only the fairly capable ones from the vampire’s army remain in front of me now. For me, who had intended to actively use the Butcher’s Gloves, this is the worst situation. ‘The kids haven’t gotten too far yet, have they?’ [Uh, it seems we need to buy a little more time. Enough so they can’t follow.] However, the option of breaking through head-on to take down the trash mobs is just too bad. I wanted to save it a bit, but I’ll have to use one big one. One magic circle on my back is released. [Blizzard] Jjeojojojok- Instantly, the ground around me freezes. Then the surrounding air freezes. Soon, ice begins to form. The ice gradually grew in size, taking on the appearance of giant icicles like those seen in the 5th floor’s severe cold zone. And the ice fragments thus completed are shot forward simultaneously. Swaaaaaaaaaa– A wind so cold and powerful it could freeze your lungs flies with the fragments. That wind stiffens the bodies of all monsters it touches, and the ice fragments that fly after it tear the stiffened bodies. Powerful might befitting an 8-cost attack card. Thanks to that, the status window pops up in a stream after a long time. 『[Butcher’s Gloves] consume blood.』 『Energy increases by 1, and you draw 1 card.』 『[Butcher’s Gloves] consume blood.』 『Energy increases by 1, and you draw 1 card.』 The status window popping up continuously and the cards being drawn. And the energy slot in the deck fills up quickly. And I use those drawn cards again. [Shockwave] [Thunder Shock] A powerful shockwave flies out, and several small lightning bolts fly out to attack the monsters. Then, due to the fallen monsters again, Butcher’s Gloves are applied. I use the drawn cards again. If energy drops in the middle, I open the magic circles on my body at that time. As I used magic without a break like that, Before I knew it, the monsters could no longer approach further. I, mana and cards. That guy, his army. A tightly contested war of attrition. However, I was the one gradually being pushed back. But it doesn’t matter. Because if it gets reasonably close, I can just use Flash to retreat for a moment. While the tense standoff continued like that. At a certain moment, the monsters stopped rushing forward and went back into the mist. “Huu…” As expected, did it realize that engaging in a war of attrition with trash mobs is meaningless? Actually, it’s not completely meaningless. Because my mana seems to be running out little by little. But I’ve bought enough time. If I escape from now, it’s enough. However. “Remarkable. To burn your own body to protect those below you. Truly a paragon of a superior.” The vampire revealed its true form. [Not running away? If you fight the main body 1 on 1, you absolutely won’t win, will you?] ‘……Just a little bit.’ Buying time is one thing, but. Can’t I find out its purpose? Why it’s doing this specifically on the 7th floor. “Surely you didn’t think you won, did you? This battlefield is a narrow cave, so I was just being considerate by only sending out useless guys.” “My, how tearfully grateful I am.” Indeed, even the Bone Golem it summoned can’t pass through the passage due to its enormous size, can it? Of course, if it were me, I would have collapsed the passage. …Is there really such a thing as a cheese-prevention mob? But then, it should also react when I collapse the Gemstone Zone, shouldn’t it? Only various questions are piling up. The vampire grins and sits on a throne made of corpses in the mist. I subconsciously furrowed my brow for a moment. “I’m bored, how about a chat?” “Are you trying to chat with an enemy in front of you?” “Well, so what can you do? Can you even kill me? You’ve already missed all your friends anyway, and you could just instantly flash away and escape if you put your mind to it.” When the vampire raised its hand, a table and chairs made of corpses and bones rose up. Since there was no reason to do what that guy wanted, I remained in my spot. “Well, it doesn’t matter, I suppose. Apostle of the Main God.” The vampire momentarily looked at the shadow beneath me. “I’ll let you guys live, so go outside.” “…What does that mean?” “Literally. I’m about to start controlling the 7th floor’s portal. I’m saying I’ll send just you out.” What is its intention? More importantly, does controlling the portal mean preventing people from leaving, like with the 2nd floor witch? But I know that sort of thing can’t be done easily. Because even the 2nd floor was done using the hidden field boss, the witch. In the first place, if the labyrinth’s portals could be manipulated by a few black mages, what kind of explorer would enter the labyrinth? Is it a declaration that it will do something similar? “Well, you probably can’t decide right away. There’s roughly about 2 hours left until midnight. If you don’t leave by then, I’ll assume you’re going to fight me.” “What’s the reason?” “Well, I’ll be honest. You’re in the way. I planned to just quickly take what I needed this time and leave. So, let’s just pass by pretending not to know each other. Isn’t that a good suggestion? You can just go out and come back a few days later. Or you can go to the 6th or 8th floor and come back after a while.” “……I cannot.” “Hohoho, your answer seems a bit late. Well, think about it carefully.” As if it no longer intended to talk, the vampire slowly disappeared into the red mist. That mist slowly moved in the opposite direction, and soon hid its appearance. Simultaneously, the tension suddenly subsides. Staggering for a moment- However, Noah, who had popped out somehow, grabbed me. “Are you okay? It was a bit awkward for me to step in midway…” “It’s fine. Anyway, let’s rejoin the kids now.” “Leave it to me. I attached a small monster to Grace. We can find them quickly.” Cold sweat streams down. The magic circles on my body were already starting to hit rock bottom anyway. If the main body had attacked there, I might have really seen some blood spill. “Get on my back.” “…Okay.” * Fortunately, everyone was able to rejoin before midnight. “Mr. Ivan!! What about that guy?” “…For now, it doesn’t seem like it will chase us.” At the news that it wouldn’t chase them, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. “We intend to leave outside at midnight.” Another party declared. That’s a natural thing to say. There’s no reason to stay on the 7th floor when a monster like that is roaming around. From the start, an explorer’s life is meant to be viewed in the long term. Avoiding a little bit of danger is the best course of action. “We too…” Is running away the right thing to do? There isn’t really a need to do something dangerous, but. “As expected, it seems something is bothering you. Remarkable. Unfortunately, ordinary explorers like us are busy running away. Still, before leaving, I should look around the area where the Gemstone Flowers are. It’s a shame about the Gemstone Zone, but…” At that moment, Grace suddenly started smiling triumphantly. And then she flicked her finger! A small piece of gemstone was shining and spinning in the air. Grace, who immediately caught it, approached the other party. “I managed to grab proof from the Gemstone Zone while running away. Please take this.” “…When on earth did you do that?” No, did she even dig up the gemstone in the center while running away earlier? “Thank you!!” “If you see me later, just give me some grass.” “…Grass?! Ah, you mentioned there was such a curse.” The atmosphere, which had been a bit gloomy due to Grace’s actions, lightened up. “Then I hope you can give me that grass. Well then…” The explorers leaving. Looking at their backs, various thoughts cross my mind. How comfortable would it be if we also ran away from this place right now? “Of course, we have ours too! At least one was successful, right?” “……Yes.” “By the way, aren’t you leaving, Mr. Jack? I thought you would try to leave somehow.” “Hahaha! That’s because… the contract hasn’t ended yet. Well, there’s still some time left until midnight, so please decide quickly.” It seems Jack is also waiting for our course of action to be decided first. Therefore. “…It’s right to talk first, I guess.”