Chapter 163
Chapter 163 – Easy Pickings (3)
"All Adventurer Guild members, assembly complete!"
S-rank adventurers led a hundred Possessors. The objective: the Possessors' growth.
The neutrality declaration certainly had its effect.
The Adventurer Guild had not shed blood in the Labyrinth conquest. Even the newly introduced forced matching system had been manageable, thanks to the 'neutrality declaration.' It was possible because, at this point in time, adventurers held the greatest clout in the Labyrinth.
"Only one team got matched with the Empire side."
The overall commander of the adventurers. The SS-rank adventurer counted the number of factions that had entered the Labyrinth.
"The numbers are overwhelmingly fewer compared to before the Great Cataclysm."
It felt as though that great empire had sent only a single team. A guess, but one that was hardly different from the truth.
We all came in as usual, yet only one team was matched with the Empire.
Even if only one team had come, the Empire was a nation to watch. Was this not the very Empire waging a continental conquest war on the surface? The SS-rank adventurer called over the team assigned to the Empire side.
"Is it true that you encountered Saint Erik?"
That name was not merely famous, it was infamous. By all accounts, a violence-first absolutist who brooked no argument? In fact, the S-rank adventurer who had been matched with them looked like a complete wreck. And yet he appeared happy.
"It, it was a little dangerous, but… I was lucky!!"
What followed was that instead of killing him, Erik had stripped him bare of his items and let him go.
"Unlucky, too. You were so proud of those earrings…"
An S-rank adventurer appearing half-naked with his equipment stripped off. It could have been laughable, but not a single person in the room mocked him.
"Our Adventurer Guild, upon spotting the Saint's party, will also make it our goal to strip them of their equipment."
This wasn't some low-rank adventurer. This had happened to an S-rank adventurer, no less. Was that not an incredible title, one that required recognition from the Adventurer King?
"From now on, all adventurers move as one unified group."
A response plan against the Imperial faction containing Erik had been set — now the next issue was the Allied Nations.
"Two died on the Allied Nations side, you said?"
"It was Verdi Reinhardt's forces — Seat 1 of the Round Table."
Some adventurers matched with the Allied Nations had died. It was plainly an odd development.
"Weren't they supposed to be training Possessors as well?"
For those who claimed to be training in the Labyrinth to lay a hand on adventurers was tantamount to suicide. In the current Labyrinth, adventurers and the Black Mage Group were the dominant forces.
"Even the Allied Nations must be stretched thin with war preparations — and they're picking a fight with adventurers?"
Empire, kingdoms, sacred kingdoms alike. Were they not all embroiled in war, unable to dispatch their armies to the Labyrinth?
"There must be a reason… Anyone who can think of something is free to speak up!"
The adventurers sought input from their newly allied Possessors.
"P-Park&Yoon Guild!"
A Possessor suddenly cried out in alarm. The Chinese Possessor, Zhang Lixiong. Whether from trauma or something else, his entire body trembled.
"Zhang Lixiong, the Park&Yoon you mention, is that the new Seat 12 that emerged in the Allied Nations?"
"Yes… those, those demons!"
"I heard they were weaklings, so what is there to fear?"
At that, Zhang Lixiong quickly began to speak. It was a story from the world the Possessors had once lived in.
"In a place called Continental Online, the guild called 'Park&Yoon' was known as the strongest."
Not only in skill, the Park&Yoon Guild was superior in financial power as well. He went on to say that even the might of the Great China had been unable to stand against them.
"You were second place?"
Second-ranked guild in Continental Online. Zhang Lixiong had been one of the raid leaders of the [Zhonghua Yitong] Guild. So naturally, he knew the viciousness of the Park&Yoon Guild all the better.
"Those bastards would tell us we could clear the new floor first, send us in ahead, and then…"
The Floor Masters of newly opened floors in Continental Online were difficulty that absolutely could not be cleared in one attempt. They would generously yield that opportunity to his guild, their rival, and yet—
"It, it wasn't generosity at all, in truth they were siphoning all the information through us. They'd gauge the floor data based on status penalties and equipment wear, then swoop in and take the First Clear for themselves"
Listening to it, something slightly off became apparent. The SS-rank adventurer cut off Zhang Lixiong.
"Isn't that just you lot being idiots for falling for it?" "W-well, that's true, but…"
The opportunity to clear the Labyrinth's topmost floors was simply too limited. And that was also because the Park&Yoon Guild had been 'controlling' it.
"In a situation like that, they'd start needling us, saying things like 'is that all Great China can do, can't even clear the top floor once'"
He went on to say that when someone named Kim Su-ho stepped forward and belittled them, they had snapped.
"The, the way they needled you was an art form."
"Regardless, this is the gist of it."
The SS-rank adventurer assessed the threat level of the Allied Nations' Seat 12 — the emerging faction composed of Possessors. It was a matter of Continental Online, but it was close enough to this world to serve as sufficient reference material.
"Did you not say there were a hundred million people?"
"That's why eventually all the guilds united and managed to drive them out, but…"
The Park&Yoon Guild had been the first to clear the Labyrinth's topmost floor. In other words, they had earned the right to enter the next floor.
"They went into the next floor on their own and just never came out."
"Utterly vicious people."
Beings who controlled the Labyrinth through methods of cruelty that adventurers could not even have imagined. That was the Park&Yoon Guild.
***
"Nishida, what on earth is that?"
Erik pointed at the cosmos. The translucent grey shadow filling the sky, and the Milky Way drifting within it. A monster from Earth's fictional works, called the Cthulhu Mythos, the Outer Gods.
There was something like Nyarlathotep and the Great Old Ones too, I think—
Having only heard of it in passing, grasping the nature of that darkness was a distant prospect. Even looking at it, Erik could not make sense of what was what. However, Nishida Ryo was different. He was a genuine hardcore otaku.
"Waaah, at fi-first I thought it was Nyarlathotep, but looking closely the characteristics feel slightly different!"
"So what is it, then?"
"A power that creates a cosmos-like world in a shadow-like form… I'd guess it's probably what's called Mynoghra — something like a cousin of Nyarlathotep!"
A string of explanations followed after that. Things like it having a human-like way of thinking, yet possessing an eccentric nature that regarded humans as mere collectibles. Or that it had the power to cross between the material plane and other realms.
There's a lot of lore crammed in there, but—
From within Nishida's lengthy explanation, Erik extracted the parts worth noting.
"That would be its physical body manifested in the material plane."
Erik's fingertip pointed at the sky full of cosmos.
Whoooosh!
A massive pillar of flames fired by Lu-Solace's Saint. Their number reached into the thousands. The power of the flames reached all the way to the edge of the sky, attempting to melt the cosmos.
But the majority only sliced through empty air. Where Erik pointed was a spot similar to where the pillars of flame had actually struck — something like a physical body.
"Yes! As expected, God sees right through it!!! The spot where the pillars of flame are embedded — that is the physical body that has manifested in the material plane."
Nishida grew increasingly excited. A moment had arrived where he could show his worth. He continued his explanation once more.
"It's a monster that feeds primarily on human life force, and I think there was a setting attached to it about disliking light."
Having heard this much, Erik felt he had enough.
It feeds primarily on human life force, does it,
Was that not the perfect setting for a Black Mage to manifest? On top of that, he had now identified its weakness.
Is that also considered a form of light?
The pillars of light fired by Lu-Solace's Saint demonstrated overwhelming destructive power. It was a monstrous power truly worthy of being called one of the peaks of the continent.
Ooooooo!
The Outer God Mynoghra, pierced through by that power, writhed as if in pain. The countless tentacles covering the ground and the cosmos that formed the sky both twisted simultaneously. The true monster was undoubtedly the Outer God. Yet Erik found Lu-Solace's Saint to feel more monstrous.
Her power does not deplete. On top of that, whether her head is severed or her heart is destroyed, she keeps regenerating.
It looked similar to how he himself achieved [Divine Regeneration] through unlimited use of gold. The Saint's divine power was consumed, yet replenished in equal measure.
It really is like my own divine recovery.
No—perhaps it surpassed even that? Erik could replenish expended divine power with 10,000 gold. Yet that Saint appeared, at a glance, to have her divine power continuously replenished at no cost.
Could it be…
A flash of insight struck Erik's mind. Could the Saint's power perhaps operate on a mechanism similar to his own?
The Saint's power is also charged by consuming something — it's just that I haven't yet figured out what that is.
It was certainly a plausible thought. The suspicion was considerable, but there was much to do for the time being.
"A human is overwhelming an Outer God!!"
As Nishida Ryo marveled, the scene before them was truly mythic. Was this not the sight of the Saint, resembling the sun, eradicating the Outer God resembling a great evil cosmic entity? The visible spectacle was enough to make one want to cheer for the Saint. But…
"Nishida, what do you make of the fact that that Saint is trying to kill me?" "W-what do you"
Nishida Ryo glanced to Erik's side. He could see Jang Du-sik fiddling with his club. His mind turned quickly, and the sharp eye he had developed through repeated beatings began to shine.
"We need to help that Outer God right now?"
"That's right."
Erik gave a satisfied nod. Left as things were, that Outer God Krullu might very well die.
I need to make the Saint burn through her power.
***
The landscape of the 10th Floor had long since transformed into something out of a demon realm. The ground was filled with the Saint's flames, and the sky was spread with the cosmos, the physical body of Mynoghra. Erik deployed Nishida's party to tackle the Floor Master of that 10th Floor.
"A-an actual Orc village!"
As if to prove this was still the 10th Floor, right in the middle of that unearthly landscape stood a crude tent. Judging by the size of the enormous tent, which exceeded ten meters in height, whatever lurked inside was likely a genuine Orc General.
"Is this place r-really supposed to have been a meadow?"
A cosmos with a drifting Milky Way and a land filled with solar flames. A crude Orc tribal tent planted right in the middle of it all. While the Possessors stood there dumbstruck, Erik prodded them with a word.
"Go clear it right now and come back."
Possessors who had revived at the Divine Temple could only return to the Labyrinth on the same floor as Erik. Since Erik intended to move on to the next floor, he had assigned his party to clear the Floor Master.
I'll be last.
Erik also needed to defeat the Floor Master. That was because the 10th Floor was the highest floor he himself had currently reached as well. Of course, Erik himself planned to leave the floor last, at the very end.
If I'm going to do the enemy-against-enemy strategy properly, I need to watch until the end.
It was something like a resolution. A single-minded determination to eliminate both the Saint and the Outer God on this floor in one go.
Whoosh!
The tent opened and Nishida's party emerged.
"An Orc over 5 meters tall and they just carved it up—"
"That was only possible because you held the line for us, Nishida."
"Hmph, it's because my arrows blinded them that you all fought so well!"
Park Chang-ho, Nishida Ryo, and Kang Pung-ho strolled out of the Floor Master's room as lightly as if returning from a picnic. Cha Ye-rin and Yoo Han-na were watching the three of them with expressions of disbelief.
"Hey! Quiet!"
At Jang Du-sik's shout, the Possessors fell silent. Erik sent Jang Du-sik and Janson in as the next pair to tackle the Floor Master.
Whoosh!
Both of them, one-second clear. The 10th Floor's Floor Master was obliterated instantly. After that, he had the two of them finish the clears for Vel and Pe as well.
"Go on ahead."
Erik sent his party up toward the stairs to the next floor. The two children, Vel and Pe, were kept behind.
It's time for Isolation.
Erik surveyed the battlefield.
Oooooooo!
The cosmos was being torn apart by sunlight. The moment when the advantage was clearly divided. The enormous tentacles surging from the ground were beginning to collapse.
Is it the divine power after all?
Just as he himself had been. The Saint, too, seemed capable of killing any being connected to black magic given enough time.
"Isolate."
Erik had the two children cast the Isolation spell. The Saint was then confined. Trapped in the cube, she cried out.
"This underhanded trick again!!!"
Pointing at that Saint, Erik offered the children a few words of wisdom.
"Those who pulled petty tricks always rage harder when the same is done to them."
"Is, is that so?"
"Is that right?"
The children tilted their heads.
"It is. And if you don't want that to happen to you, just become strong enough that it doesn't matter."
With those words, Erik sent the two children up the stairs. Then he stepped alone into the Floor Master's tent. What appeared before him was a massive Orc General and ten elite Orc soldiers under its command.
Fsssss!
The moment Erik swiped his hand, the monsters vanished in an instant. Floor Master or not, it was only the 10th floor, they were killed without a second thought.
Whoosh!
When he stepped back out through the tent flap,
Crackle!
The [Isolation] spell let out a screech as if about to shatter. The Saint was incinerating the interior with ultra-high-heat flames.
Erik smiled thinly. Then he unleashed a barrage of attacks upon the Saint.
Boom! Boom! Bang!!!
Meteor. Judgment Greatsword. Lightning of Retribution.
On top of that, the Outer God's power tore the Saint apart. It was the power of the Outer God, one that crossed between the material plane and other realms, stirring darkness.
As the Saint's body was torn by Erik's greatsword, the severed flesh was sucked into the other realm.
"Just how long do you intend to keep up these despicable tricks?"
The regenerated Saint demanded in fury.
"Doesn't seem like you're running out of power from just this much?"
The moment Erik replied,
Crackle!
A golden flash the Saint had flung slammed into the ground at Erik's feet.
"H-how did he dodge that?"
Erik had grasped that Lu-Solace's Saint had a quite twisted nature, and so he had been certain she would ambush him the moment he replied.
As expected, this woman pulls the exact same moves as the Solar Sacred Kingdom.
A vicious method. So then, he simply had to treat her even more viciously in return.
—Tok tok!
[Park Chang-ho: The Black Mages on Floor 11 have set up a workshop! Du-sik hyung is currently subduing the Black Mages and Janson hyung is conducting a Heresy Interrogation.]
A report came in from the party he had sent ahead. Seeing that message… The battle between the Saint and the Outer God felt different to him.
Birds of a feather flock together.
He thought that similar types tend to play well with each other.
What is the Black Mage Group doing?
Summoning the Outer God to control the 10th Floor and monopolizing the resources above.
What is the Saint doing?
Claiming she wants to eliminate someone like him who has achieved divinity, demanding a conversation while launching ambushes.
Then what should I be doing?
Erik arrived at a clear answer as to what he needed to do.
—Tok tok!
[Park Chang-ho: These guys have piled up demon stones like a mountain!!! Enough to craft thousands of magical tools!]
[Photo]
First, ascend the Labyrinth.
The Black Mage Group monopolizing the Labyrinth is openly stockpiling supplies, so he would seize those.
The Saint will follow along eventually.
Then, while heading to the next floor, he would chip away at the Black Mage Group's forces. Until when?
Until I meet a Black Mage Group powerhouse strong enough to pin the Saint down again.
At minimum, he would have to keep the Saint in tow until they encountered the monsters manifested as Floor Masters.
Right now I'm the one playing catch-up, but—
By then, that would change. If he could pin the Saint against the Black Mage Group's conquest team heading for the Labyrinth's topmost floors? It would even be possible for him to be at the very forefront, clearing the topmost floor himself.