The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 143

The Rebirth of the Mythical Archmage-144

Right after successfully joining up with Dahlia and Kyle at the right moment.

After finishing a briefing of about a minute,

we fought against two A-rank monsters that had descended into the mid-boss room.

The battle formation was by no means bad.

No matter how much they were A-rank monsters, they had not yet recovered 100% of their power due to the restraints and control spells.

They were much stronger than the Death Stalker from before, but not to the point where we couldn’t handle them.

With this level of power, we could somehow deal with A-rank monsters in this state.

“Kyle! Don’t overdo it!”

“Don’t worry, buddy. I’m still doing fine.”

And above all, the compatibility was good.

The monster Kyle was currently holding off alone, the Sharp Mantis, was a monster whose strengths were its speed and the sharp blades on its two arms.

In short, it was a monster similar to Kyle’s type.

Of course, the Sharp Mantis’s stats were much higher.

Looking at this alone, you could say that the compatibility was rather bad.

To say that they are the same type but Kyle’s stats are lower is the same as saying that Kyle is a lower version of the Sharp Mantis.

But this is what people who don’t know Kyle would say.

“And this level of attack. It’s nothing compared to my master!”

No matter how fast and strong the Sharp Mantis was, it couldn’t compare to Kyle’s master, Min Ga-yeon. [A renowned sword master]

Speed, strength, and sharpness were incomparable.

“If I were to get hit by such a haphazardly swung sword, I would have been disowned a long time ago.”

Kyle smiled as he dodged the Mantis’s blade by a hair’s breadth.

It wasn’t a close call.

Everything was a planned evasion.

Kyle was dodging every attack by a hair’s breadth in order to evade the opponent’s attacks with minimal effort.

“……He’s really like a monster. It’s annoying.”

Dahlia clicked her tongue at the sight.

Like how other people’s rice cakes always look bigger [a Korean idiom meaning that what others have always seems better], Kyle’s speed and combat sense were always the object of envy.

“Dahlia! If you have time to look at Kyle’s side…….”

“I know! I’m already done preparing!”

Dahlia cut me off and cast a spell.

The blue flames quickly expanded their territory.

It surrounded the other A-rank monster I was facing.

“Now!”

At Dahlia’s command, the other players also fired fire magic at once.

All the magic surrounded the Werewolf.

“Shin Ha-yul!”

“Roger!”

At the same time, I also covered my whole body with ‘Superheated Hell.’ [A powerful fire-based magic]

In that state, I jumped towards the Werewolf, which was surrounded by all sorts of fire magic.

While approaching.

The fire magic used by Dahlia and the other seven tried to burn my body, but the Superheated Hell, which boasted overwhelming fire resistance, protected my body.

Awoooooooo-!

The Werewolf roared from the center of the fire magic.

I could see its figure clearly through the flames.

‘The Werewolf’s characteristics are its powerful durability and magic immunity.’

The Werewolf can erase magic through its roar.

That roar is to erase the magic that fills the surroundings.

‘Well, try to erase it if you can.’

The Werewolf was focused on its roar.

I approached the back of the Werewolf and climbed onto its back.

Even so, it didn’t notice my presence.

‘When using Dispel Howling, the Werewolf focuses all its senses on that, and other senses are almost blocked.’

In that state, I immediately wrapped my hand around the Werewolf’s neck and placed my hand on its neck.

The closest position to its vocal cords.

It felt like the inside of its vocal cords was trembling, as if Dispel Howling was about to be activated, and I felt it directly in my hand.

I felt that tremor and moved my mana.

‘Interference.’

I haven’t fully grasped the magic formula for Dispel Howling yet.

Therefore, perfect interference is impossible.

But slightly twisting the magic formula is enough for now.

‘I insert my mana into the Werewolf’s mana. That’s enough for now.’

I insert an impurity called my mana into the Werewolf’s mana.

Normally, this level of interference is meaningless.

But.

‘For sensitive magic like Dispel Howling, this is enough to cancel it.’

If the magic is a dispel-type magic, it’s a different story.

As it is the most sensitive magic of all, this small interference is enough.

Awooooooo……uck?

The Werewolf, which was roaring, suddenly choked and grabbed its neck.

It scratched its neck as if in pain and knelt on the floor.

I turned my back on the Werewolf and stepped back.

“Dahlia!”

“Okay!”

At my shout, Dahlia’s blue flames moved.

The other students’ magic was the same.

Whirr, whirrr! Kwang!

Flames concentrated on the spot where I had left, and an explosion occurred.

I also gathered the Superheated Hell that I had been wearing on my body into a sphere and threw it on top of it.

Kwaaaang!

My flames were added to the already rough flames, and the explosion became even more violent.

Thud!

Beyond the thick flames, I could vaguely see the Werewolf collapsing on the floor.

‘Divine Eye.’ [A skill that allows the user to see mana flow]

My Divine Eye confirmed that all the mana was leaving its body.

“Werewolf death confirmed! Phase 1 complete!”

The subjugation of the Werewolf was over.

“Next is Phase 2. Switch to subjugating the Sharp Mantis!”

At my shout, Dahlia nodded and shouted.

“Everyone to your positions! Kyle! Fall back!”

Now, all that was left was the Sharp Mantis that Kyle was facing.

* * *

About 10 minutes had passed since then.

The subjugation of the Sharp Mantis was completely over.

“……I’m going to die.”

Dahlia collapsed on the floor with a pale face.

I didn’t even need to use my Divine Eye to know. Dahlia was currently on the verge of mental exhaustion.

‘Following the Dance of the Rebirthing Bird [A powerful magic technique], she even fought the Werewolf and the Sharp Mantis.’

It was amazing that she hadn’t collapsed until now.

“Are you going to be okay with that lack of stamina?”

“Shut up, Kyle. It’s not that I lack stamina, okay?”

On the other hand, Kyle still seemed to be in good shape. In this battle, Kyle did not use any of his techniques, including ‘Breezy Wind.’ [A wind-based sword technique]

Since his main role was to be a diversion, he had no chance to use them.

As such, it was natural that his mental and physical strength were much more relaxed than Dahlia’s.

Even if that wasn’t the case, Kyle was originally much superior in stamina.

“Mental exhaustion is also a matter of training…… Something’s coming.”

Kyle stopped talking and flew somewhere.

He moved to check and respond to the monster approaching from the passage leading to the entrance of the mid-boss room.

Swish!

Kyle quickly approached the monster and cut off its head.

Kyle looked at the monster’s corpse, which had its head cut off and was lying on the floor, with a puzzled look.

“Ha-yul, this guy’s body is already a mess. It looks like it was fighting somewhere else and ran away.”

The monster had run away here in a state that was no different from a rag.

This meant that the battles taking place elsewhere were also going very favorably.

“Did the escort team or the emergency response team move?”

Kyle swung his sword in the air to shake off the blood, put it back into its sheath, and approached me.

“No. I don’t think so. The wounds are too rough to say that the escort team moved.”

Judging from the monster’s wounds, it seemed that a fierce battle had taken place.

If the escort team or the emergency response team had moved, these kinds of wounds would not have been left.

“Hmm. Then it means that another team dealt with it.”

“That’s highly likely.”

“……What the heck is the operation team doing?”

Dahlia, who was lying down in the back, complained while panting.

She even muttered harsh curses in a small voice.

It was natural for such harsh words to come out, as she almost died due to the operation team’s mistake.

“Looking at how much time has passed and there’s still no contact, I wonder if something happened outside as well.”

I said, looking back and forth between Dahlia and Kyle.

“What do you mean by something?”

Dahlia raised her upper body and sat up, asking.

“I don’t know either. It’s just a guess.”

About 20 minutes had passed since the power outage. Nevertheless, the operation team has not shown any response.

This is something that would not happen unless some variable occurred outside.

“……Yeah. It seems like that’s the case, given the circumstances.”

Dahlia seemed to have calmed down a bit and answered with a somewhat calmer expression.

“Then it means that leaving the arena is also a problem?”

Kyle’s expression became even more serious.

“That’s right. Whether it’s a terrorist attack or whatever, there will be a very dangerous situation unfolding outside.”

“……Is this what they mean by ‘out of the frying pan, into the fire’?”

Kyle sighed deeply.

The frustrating situation itself seemed to be very displeasing to him.

“Then, would it be better to rest a little more before going outside?”

Kyle glanced at Dahlia, who was lying on the floor.

It was a question that implied that it would be better to move after Dahlia had recovered to some extent.

Logically, it was right to do as Kyle said.

Dahlia is the strongest force in this party. If there is danger outside the arena, it is right to move after Dahlia’s condition has recovered to some extent.

“No. That won’t do.”

But unfortunately, there is no time for that now.

“Recovery or whatever, we have to get out of this arena as soon as possible.”

“……Why?”

“Why? You idiot, Kyle. Have you forgotten what kind of guy the last boss of this arena is?”

Before I could answer, Dahlia answered.

“What kind of guy? It’s the Tricolor Tiger.”

“Haa. Are you really that oblivious? Or are you just short-sighted…….”

She clicked her tongue, looking at Kyle as if he was hopeless.

“What if the Tricolor Tiger comes down while we’re waiting for my recovery?”

“Ah?”

Kyle let out a small exclamation with a ‘I see’ expression.

“No, but looking at how it hasn’t come yet, isn’t it because it can’t break through the security of the final boss room?”

“There’s no way the Tricolor Tiger can’t break through the iron door that the Werewolf and Sharp Mantis broke through. Are you really an idiot?”

The iron door of the final boss room and the iron door of the upper boss room are not that different in terms of strength.

That the Tricolor Tiger couldn’t break the iron door that the Werewolf and Sharp Mantis destroyed? That’s impossible.

“Then why isn’t it moving yet?”

“That’s…… I don’t know.”

Dahlia glanced away and looked at me.

She had an expression that believed I knew the answer.

“It’s to recover its strength.”

“……Recover its strength?”

“Yeah.”

I checked the burnt corpse of the Werewolf and the severed corpse of the Sharp Mantis in turn.

“For some reason, all the restraints and control spells that were binding the monsters in the arena have been released. Thanks to that, the monsters have regained their original power.”

“Right?”

“But it’s only the mid and lower monsters that have fully regained their power. It’s different for the upper monsters that had a lot of restrictions. Since they were under much stronger restrictions, their power doesn’t immediately return just because the restraints were released. That’s why we were able to deal with the Werewolf and Sharp Mantis relatively easily.”

“…….”

As if she had noticed what I was about to say.

Dahlia’s eyes trembled.

“So, you’re saying that the Tricolor Tiger is now crouching down to recover its strength?”

“Probably. The Tricolor Tiger is known to be smart, so that’s highly likely.”

“……Then that’s a big problem.”

If we stay like this, we will be in a position to fight the Tricolor Tiger at its full condition.

“It’s a big problem. That’s why I’m saying we need to get out of here quickly.”

The Tricolor Tiger is a monster so powerful that even if three upper boss zone monsters attacked it at once, they wouldn’t be a match for it.

Fighting such a monster is the worst possible option.

We have to get out of this arena as soon as possible.

“I understand. Then let’s quickly head to the lower boss room…….”

That was when Kyle was about to say his last words.

“Hey bro. Sorry to throw cold water on you all of a sudden.”

A familiar voice was heard from the mid-boss room.

“Even if you want to leave the arena, there’s no way to get out.”

Soonchan appeared from the dark passage with a very disgruntled expression.

It seemed that they had also been in a very fierce battle, as their appearance was a mess.

“……What do you mean?”

“What do I mean? It means exactly what I said.”

Senior Ma Jin-seok also appeared behind Soonchan.

Behind them were Adela and Senior Jin Hee-yoon.

All nine members of the Korean team were visible.

“This arena is completely sealed off. Adela confirmed it.”

Adela nodded at Soonchan’s words.

“Yes. While we were in the lower boss zone, I checked the security wall that could lead out of the arena. It was closed.”

Adela continued.

“It seems that the security wall malfunctioned and went into bunker mode. We are currently completely trapped in this arena.”

“……Really? That’s some pretty despairing information.”

I looked at the passage leading to the upper boss room and smiled bitterly.

“In other words…… the only way to survive is to defeat the Tricolor Tiger…….”

With Dahlia’s muttering, a dark atmosphere descended into the cave.