The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 126

[Zone 2 Conquest Complete.]

[100 points added for conquest.]

[A marker to enter Zone 3 is activated.]

About seven hours have passed since the labyrinth exploration began.

[Current total score: 513 points]

In that time, we encountered a total of 13 teams and fought four battles.

The first three battles were against a nine-person team formed by three allied teams.

The last battle was against a twelve-person team formed by four allied teams.

Naturally, the last battle was the toughest due to the larger number of opponents.

“Ugh, I’m going to die. Those damn underhanded alliance bastards. Did you see them acting at the end? So fake, seriously.”

Right after entering the entrance of Zone 3 and securing a safe area.

Soon-chan collapsed onto the floor.

“Yeah, the three Japanese teams could really act.”

“I know, right? It’s like they just met today.”

Soon-chan gritted his teeth while sprawled out on the floor.

Recalling the Japanese team’s deceitful acting at the end of the fourth battle, his anger seemed to surge again.

“Calm down.”

“I am calm. I’m just a little annoyed.”

The fourth battle started as a 9-on-3 fight, just like the previous three battles.

However, not long after the battle began, the Japanese team joined late, making it a 12-on-3 situation.

The situation was really messed up then.

I don’t know if it was to dispel suspicion of an underhanded alliance or what.

The Japanese team acted like they were meeting the alliance for the first time and talked to them.

They pretended to negotiate and then joined the alliance.

“Ugh. If they were going to act like they just met, they should have used their magic separately. They acted like they just met, but when they were at a disadvantage at the end, they just slipped into the combined magic? I thought they were a team that had been training together for months.”

The problem was that they used a combined magic with all 12 of them.

It’s virtually impossible for people who have just met to use a 12-person combined magic.

In other words, the Japanese team was also part of the alliance from the beginning, and they did that ridiculous acting to hide the fact that the alliance was formed in advance.

That’s why Soon-chan is so furious.

It’s annoying enough that they’re an underhanded alliance, but they even acted, so it’s no wonder he’s angry.

“Ugh. I wish they would all die. What a hardship because of them.”

In the first place, the battles had been continuous, and his anger had built up to a critical point.

It feels like that anger exploded at the end.

I understand.

I was also a bit annoyed by the Japanese team’s brazen acting at the end.

“Getting annoyed won’t change anything. If you have the energy to be annoyed, focus on your breathing.”

Senior Kang Shinwoo, who was sitting cross-legged next to me, breathing, casually said a word.

Even while saying that, his breathing didn’t falter at all.

He was truly a flawless martial artist.

“I’m still focusing on my breathing……”

“I won’t say it twice. Time is gold.”

“……Y-yes.”

It seems that Senior Kang Shinwoo’s words had a great sense of intimidation, as Soon-chan quickly became quiet.

Well, it also means that Soon-chan is intimidated by Senior Shinwoo.

“Hoo……”

Whatever the reason, Soon-chan also began to calm his anger and focus on his breathing.

Watching Soon-chan gradually calm down, I also began to concentrate.

‘I need to recover as much as I can now.’

It wasn’t just Soon-chan and Senior Shinwoo who had exhausted their mental and physical strength from the continuous battles.

I was also quite worn out.

There won’t be many chances to rest after this, so I need to recover as much as possible now.

“……”

“……”

Only the rhythmic breathing of the three of us echoed in Zone 3.

How much time had passed?

Senior Shinwoo and I finished our preparations first.

“Hoo. I feel a bit better now.”

Finally, Soon-chan opened his eyes with a refreshed expression, and all preparations were complete.

Soon-chan swung his shoulders and rotated his ankles appropriately as he approached me.

“Let’s go.”

Senior Shinwoo turned his body as he looked at Soon-chan approaching.

Then, he took a step forward.

“Senior, the lead is my role as a tank~ that’s what I’m saying.”

At that moment, Soon-chan quickly ran and took his place one step ahead of Senior Shinwoo.

“Okay. Lead the way.”

“Yes, sir.”

I could feel his strong determination not to be deprived of the lead position as a tank.

“Hayul, what are you doing? Hurry up.”

Soon-chan called out to me from the front.

It’s like his annoyed self from before was a lie.

It seems that he was just too exhausted earlier and his annoyance had exploded more than necessary.

“I’m going, I’m going.”

I also moved quickly and followed behind Soon-chan and Senior Shinwoo.

That’s how our basic three-person formation was established.

“Where should we go?”

Soon-chan asked me while being cautious of the front.

“Let’s take care of the named monster before other teams enter Zone 3.”

Other teams will eventually enter Zone 3.

It’s better to attack the named monster in advance.

It’ll be a headache if we get interrupted.

“So, we’re going straight for the boss’s head? Okay. Let’s go.”

Soon-chan grinned and took a big step forward.

“But.”

After walking about five steps.

Soon-chan suddenly stopped walking.

“Where is the named monster?”

Senior Shinwoo looked at Soon-chan with a strange look.

“……Did you just walk ahead so confidently without even knowing where to go?”

“Ahem.”

It seems he just walked out with momentum.

He seemed embarrassed even by his own thoughts.

Soon-chan avoided Senior Shinwoo’s gaze and looked at me.

“Ahem, ahem. So, where do we go?”

“You can go anywhere.”

“Anywhere?”

“Yeah. Anywhere.”

Was there a reason why I didn’t stop Soon-chan from walking alone and just watched him?

“Remember when I said that the named monster in Zone 3 is a suppression device to increase the difficulty of the conquest?”

“Yeah, you did.”

“Do you think a monster with such a role would just be stuck in some room in Zone 3?”

No matter how strong a monster is, if it’s stuck in a room and doesn’t move, it’s not a big threat.

You just have to avoid entering that room.

“The named monster in Zone 3 randomly roams throughout Zone 3.”

The already incredibly powerful named monster of Zone 3 appears randomly throughout Zone 3.

This is why the difficulty of Zone 3 is said to be extreme.

“Random…… So, does that mean we can just walk around and meet it?”

“Yeah. So, just go wherever your heart tells you. Meeting it is just luck anyway.”

“Okay. I’m really lucky. Just trust me.”

Soon-chan laughed roughly like a wild carnivore.

“Don’t go too far ahead. Remember that a weakening barrier is spread throughout Zone 3, right?”

“It’s okay. No barrier can stop me. Mwahahaha!”

Soon-chan laughed loudly and strode forward.

He seemed too excited, so I thought about stopping him, but I decided to let it go.

‘He’ll calm down on his own in three minutes anyway.’

In three minutes.

Once he realizes the horror of the barrier, he’ll naturally become quiet.

* * *

About 30 minutes had passed since then.

“I’m really sorry, but can you change the lead?”

A short if short, long if long time.

30 minutes in Zone 3, which boasts hellish difficulty, was enough to extinguish Soon-chan’s burning passion.

“You’ve worked hard. Recover a bit in the back.”

“……Okay.”

Soon-chan moved behind me with a completely worn-out expression.

“……I’m going to die, seriously.”

A face worn out from fatigue.

His brow was furrowed as if he was feeling a headache.

His eyes were half-open, as if his head was also blank.

“What is this place? It’s not just hellish……”

Only 30 minutes had passed, but Soon-chan was on the verge of exhaustion. He was completely drained both physically and mentally.

“The barrier. It’s no joke, right?”

“……Yeah. I feel like I’m going to die.”

A special barrier is spread in the labyrinth’s Zone 3.

The barrier is called the ‘Mana Shackles’.

It’s also called the weakening barrier.

By changing the mana within the barrier, it puts a load on the intruder’s mana, gradually eroding their mind and body.

This load is more powerful than expected, and ordinary people can’t last even 30 minutes before falling into exhaustion.

“That’s why everyone either gives up on conquering Zone 3 or does it last.”

“……Yeah. I felt it to the bone why that is.”

He was using magic alone in such a special barrier and leading the attack at the forefront. It was natural for him to be in this state.

“Should I take the lead next?”

Senior Shinwoo, who had been listening quietly, casually spoke.

Unlike the exhausted Soon-chan, Senior Shinwoo was very energetic.

“No. I’ll take the second lead. Senior, please rest a little further back.”

For reference, I was also just as energetic.

It was natural.

Senior Shinwoo and I were not affected by the ‘Mana Shackles’.

We had no choice but to be fine.

“Hmm. I see. I’m the third rotation then.”

As I said, the ‘Mana Shackles’ is a barrier that puts a load on intruders by changing the mana within its range.

Just hearing this, you might think it’s a cheat-like barrier that can uniformly impose a load on all intruders within the barrier.

However, the Mana Shackles is not that much of a cheat-like barrier.

The Mana Shackles can only weaken a limited number of targets.

‘The person at the very front among the targets within 10 meters.’

That’s the range of the weakening effect.

In short, in a small party like this, only one person at the forefront is affected by the ‘Mana Shackles’.

That’s why only Soon-chan is in such a worn-out state right now.

“Then, we’ll start again.”

“Okay.”

“Yeah.”

We changed the rotation and started walking again.

About 5 minutes passed like that.

“Hoo. I feel a bit better now.”

When Soon-chan’s complexion had improved to some extent.

“You seem fine.”

Senior Shinwoo, who was closely following behind me, casually spoke.

He seemed surprised that there was no change in my complexion, and he let out a small exclamation.

“Yeah, why do you seem fine? I felt like I was going to die.”

Soon-chan muttered with a sullen expression.

He had an expression that he couldn’t understand how I could be so calm.

“Yeah, why are you fine?”

But I was also the same, unable to understand this situation.

‘Why am I so fine?’

The Mana Shackles is a barrier with a considerable bad reputation.

There is a restriction that the effect applies to one person within 10 meters, but perhaps because of that restriction, the effect is truly outstanding.

Even 7th and 8th circle mages struggle with the Mana Shackles, so that says it all.

That’s why I thought I would naturally be affected by the Mana Shackles.

But what do you know?

The Mana Shackles is not having a big impact on me.

‘Is this also related to the Vaitern system?’

It’s not that there’s no load, but it’s at a level that can be sufficiently covered by natural recovery.

Only 5 minutes have passed, so I’ll have to see more, but if this load level is maintained, it means that the Mana Shackles will not have any adverse effects on me.

‘I’ll have to see more as time passes, but if the Mana Shackles has no effect on me, it means that I can proceed with the conquest while maintaining the condition of Senior Shinwoo and Soon-chan at 100%.’

And if I can maintain the condition of the two front lines at 100% while proceeding with the conquest, the conquest of Zone 3 will become much easier.

‘Then, I don’t have to be so passive, right?’

The plan that had already been revised once in my head began to be revised again.

Just as my thoughts were quickly being organized.

Thud-!

With a strange pressure, my heart dropped.

“……Hayul.”

Soon-chan called me in a low voice.

“I know.”

Soon-chan must have felt the same thing as me.

“……”

Senior Shinwoo was the same.

He seemed to be feeling the pressure and the enormous presence that was getting stronger every moment, and his aura was fluctuating sharply.

In the suffocating silence.

Tada-da-da-da-!

The sound of something running could be heard.

A heavy sound of something huge kicking off the ground and running.

“……It’s coming.”

In the dark passage, black, glossy fur shimmered with a faint light.

“The Devourer of Hell.”

Demonic red eyes and two large, curved horns.

And the creepy black fur that also resembled a demon.

“Devil Ape.”

Literally translated, it’s a demon ape.

It stood tall in front of us, boasting a solid, muscular body.