“Uuuuuuh…”
“Aaaah-”
Hunters still dazed and confused.
Over two hundred hunters lie groaning on the floor.
I squeezed out the remaining magic power to summon the ‘Gori’ squad.
In the front paws of the bat, there’s a small brown bottle filled with Irmana’s water.
“Share it one by one.”
“Squeak!”
At the command of ‘Gori’ No. 1, the other bats moved in perfect order.
Perhaps due to the repetitive task over the past few days, they skillfully opened the cap and served the water.
“Ha──”
“Whoo──”
Hunters, after consuming Irmana’s water, slowly found stability.
It takes a bit of time to feel the effect, but it’s truly a miraculous remedy. Infinite thanks to Goddess Irmana today…
‘…Is this enough to return now?’
The Creeper Guard squad who followed me into the underground space immediately moved to the battlefield, so it seemed fine to leave the hunters resting and return to the front lines.
“Good. My magic is slowly coming back… It doesn’t all come back at once.”
My stats slowly recovered, and the magic recovery rate, which had converged to zero, began to rise again.
[Basic Mana Circulation]
The difference between zero and one was astonishing.
All abilities related to mana recovery began to work, and the leading digit of the magic power figure changed in an instant.
Just as I was about to move, Yeon-hee sent a signal about releasing the summon. I responded by slowly approaching her question.
[Flame Cut]
Swoosh──!
I started to move slowly towards the center while taking out the Creeper Guards from the outskirts.
Thanks to [Basic Mana Circulation], as I approached the center of the battlefield, the magic recovery rate significantly increased, and fighting primarily through swordsmanship while wearing the Rune of Absorption allowed me to recover half of my magic power before I knew it.
‘The recovery of stats is a bit slow.’
With only 70% of my stats recovered, even the attacks from the Creeper Guards felt threatening.
– Mreeeeeeek!!!
– Die, you filthy bug bastards!!
The heat of the battlefield was still intense, and now that my magic power was partially recovered, I summoned ‘Jim’ who could tank and raced to where the ‘Castle’ was located.
Kaboom!!
Riding on the gigantic centipede, I dashed across the battlefield, unleashing fireballs over the areas crowded with Creeper Guards.
It consumed a lot of mental energy to ensure that only monsters took damage, but the effect was certain.
Several locations that had fallen into a stalemate breathed a sigh of relief after a few fireballs.
– Hey!! You weren’t visible, but you’ve been summoned again!!
Someone waved at me cheerfully. Showing such leisure in a battlefield like this indicates they are quite a veteran, but I had no idea who they were. Meeting people who display inner familiarity toward me is still a strange experience.
“Il-wol!! Did you succeed? Are you hurt?”
“Clap, Clap, Clap!!”
Upon my arrival, Yeon-hee examined me with a worried expression and checked the safety of the hunters.
‘Her hands…’
I couldn’t help but notice her swollen hands.
It seemed like she had pulled the bowstring for so long that her index and middle fingers were massively swollen.
If she had used magic to protect her fingers while using skills, it might have been better. But she probably was trying to conserve that as well.
I lightly tapped Yeon-hee’s head and quickly scanned the surroundings.
‘Overall, they’re all drained.’
My comrades were filled with poison.
Just looking at the dark circles under their eyes made it evident that their condition was poor, but as I arrived and they received the buff from the magic circuit, they began to regain their strength.
“Jim, kill them all!”
[Grindgudgudgud!!]
As I let Jim loose around the Castle, he started rampaging like a wild horse, tearing apart the Creeper Guards.
Swoosh──
Spreading his poison widely, Jim’s antics kept the hunters surrounding the Castle panicked as they stepped back.
– Uwaah! Wh-what is that?! A new monster?!
– Is that the Centipede Hell?!
– It’s a summoned creature from Lee Yeon-hee! Don’t worry about it, everyone!
– Whoa… Amazing. Just how many types of summoned creatures are there?
– I saw earlier that it was also used as a mount by the Grim Reaper. Its combat power is considerable!
It wasn’t surprising that the monsters’ attention was drawn to ‘Jim,’ who acted as a crack in the chaotic situation. When he cast [Provocation], green tentacle monsters swarmed in terrifying numbers.
‘It’d be great if I could unleash a breath attack at this moment. Where did the Sword Dragon go?’
As I looked up at the sky, Yeon-hee pouted her lips while pulling back her bowstring.
“The Sword Dragon was taken down by the 32nd Escalon. It’ll take a while for him to return.”
“Tap…”
The Escalon that Maeng Seong-yong had taken on.
It turns out he had been cornered and had carelessly unleashed his ranged skills, accidentally piercing through the Sword Dragon’s neck.
It seemed unbelievable that the Sword Dragon was taken out in a single blow, considering its usual prestige, but if it was the desperate struggle of a monster close to S-rank, it was something I could accept.
‘Still, summons don’t start from level one like minions.’
Moreover, they don’t reset their levels, and all injuries heal when they are re-summoned, et cetera, created an unbridgeable gap between Yeon-hee and me.
In any case, with Yeon-hee revived and benefiting from my buff, she managed to summon a multitude of previously uncalled summons while regulating her magic.
“Chuwararar!!”
“Krwaaaah!!”
The Alpha Trio was summoned again.
They coordinated together, systematically engaging one Creeper Guard at a time.
As the one who attracted aggro better than the hunters began to take action, the winds of battle swiftly shifted in our favor.
*
A considerable amount of time passed since I had returned.
‘Team 1 and 2 should be covering the main body by now, right? The outcome might have already been decided.’
From what I could guess, the biggest key in Teams 1 and 2’s infiltration operation was whether they could bind the First Escalon or not.
And I worried if Yeon-su could manage that alone.
I wasn’t the only one thinking this way; there had to be hidden allies with at least equal or greater powers than Yeon-su.
The Association Head Choi Gang-han and Hyeon Il-hwan of Ilseom were formidable strengths, but that alone wouldn’t be enough.
‘They must have recruited a couple of Transcendents, right?’
People with foresight would surely consider that.
‘The Escalon’s power is stronger than I anticipated, but they wouldn’t overlook such variables. It should be fine.’
And as I returned, it had a positive impact on the battlefield, as our forces began to push the monsters back.
– Arise… [Entanglement of New Growth].
Swoosh──!!
The plant magician Yoo Min-jeong’s binds wrapped around the body of the 31st Escalon, securing it firmly to the ground.
‘Finally bound. It took quite a while.’
The 31st Escalon seemed to have struggled a lot, given how fast it moves.
But aside from Yoo Min-jeong, everyone was A-rank, so capturing an Escalon was commendable.
Crack──
“Kraaaah!!”
The pale vine that Yoo Min-jeong unleashed shimmered faintly with magic power, and the bound Escalon showed remarkable performance as it tried to break free yet utterly failed.
‘With that level of ability, I shouldn’t forget them…’
It was no longer surprising to encounter a singularity created when I appeared.
‘Hoo─’
– [Basic Mana Circulation] greatly increases the magic recovery rate.
The remnants of wasted magic power scattered in the air quickly circulated and continuously filled me with refreshing energy.
With enough magic to trigger [Flame Shot] multiple times, I concentrated my mind while sweating profusely as Yoo Min-jeong urged to keep attacking.
The restrained 31st Escalon abandoned resisting skills and enhanced its shell, entering a defensive posture.
The A-rank hunters who had succeeded in bringing the monster down had already exhausted their magic, making it difficult to perform attacks that could penetrate its defense.
– Fire Sorcerer!! Fire Sorcerer─!!
Yoo Min-jeong’s desperate cry, clearly knowing it, repeated several times.
‘You don’t have to shout so much; I can hear you just fine…’
Whoosh──
Terribly condensed flames.
This was only my third activation, but the sensation felt like I had been using it for decades. This time, I infused over 50% more magic than before.
‘DIE!’
Kaboom──!
The condensed flames jetting from my hands tore through the air, heading straight for the strangely postured 31st Escalon’s head.
“Kruuu?!”
As it recognized my skill, its eyes filled with a burning red.
Bang───!!
The grotesquely twisted face of the Escalon was directly hit by [Flame Shot].
Its head exploded, scattering green liquid into the air.
It had momentarily reinforced its facial shell to block the attack, but it was hard to minimize the damage.
Whirr──
“Kyyaaaah!!”
One side of the disgusting, human-like face of the 31st Escalon ruptured massively, wailing in terrible agony.
‘…It seems to have better defense than the 26th one.’
Lower-numbered monsters didn’t seem to show a significant disparity in combat power.
– Good! Cast the amplification magic!!
– Yes!! Blaze Expander!!
Bang──!
‘Oh… They really came prepared.’
As the amplification magic from the support mage aiding Yoo Min-jeong stacked several times, the previously faint flickering [Flame Shot] erupted again, engulfing the body of the Escalon.
‘Wow… That’s not the level of a regular support mage!’
The scene of the flames I cast rampaging more ferociously was incredibly impressive, and dozens of top A-rank hunter skills rained down on the 31st Escalon, quickly whittling down its health.
“Ughhh…!”
– You’ve helped greatly in defeating the ’31st Escalon’!
– Experience points have increased significantly!
– The [Obsession] eagerly snatches the highest-grade mana stones from a distance!
– Obtained a high-grade mana stone!
‘Good, the reward seems a bit stingy, but considering all these people were involved, it’s something to get a high-grade mana stone at least.’
– The magic recovery speed reaches its maximum!
The massive brawl between countless hunters and monsters was reaching a climax, and thanks to that, the efficiency of [Basic Mana Circulation] soared to its peak.
I set the rune to ‘Rune of Absorption’ and jumped into the battlefield, starting to defeat enemies with my swordsmanship.
– 15 magic recovered!
– 8 magic recovered!
A grateful rune that recovers magic when defeating enemies.
By utilizing the swordsmanship that consumes the least magic, I accelerated the process of my recovery.
‘But I mustn’t be too tight with my magic usage.’
I can’t think that all the monsters in the battlefield are accounted for.
The fact that the 29th Escalon I faced in the morning was not visible contributed to that ongoing tension.
[Not much time left!!!]
At Maeng Seong-yong’s booming shout, the hunters responded with a roar.
A bloody battle against a horde of monsters, including S-rank ones.
It was a challenge and a hardship I had anticipated, but even so, the hunters who had joined up to this point were undoubtedly missing a few screws in their heads.
The faces of the hunters displayed the maximum excitement a human could feel, mixed with the tremendous ecstasy and pleasure that they could bring about; sensations you wouldn’t even dare to label normal.
It was like a drug, wielding the power to gamble with their lives.
“Hah- Hah-”
Even Yeon-hee’s breathing was rough.
Even though she wasn’t engaging in close combat, it was impossible for her not to feel the excitement of battle.
Even the usually stoic Shin Young-ah had a flush on her face as she roared.
This world was truly going insane.
But in an insane world, it’s the insane ones who seem to be normal.
[Cool-headed]
‘I know. I have to stay calm too.’
I sharply attuned my focus to the waves of sensation.
I easily sensed the existence that was observing us without actively participating in the fight.
Two hunters who had followed Noh Ha-yoon and Ham Eun-young.
They were initially focused on ‘protection,’ yet occasionally unleashed ranged skills to dispose of Creeper Guards swept out from the outskirts.
However, the master of the [Stealth] pact with me was utterly dedicated to gathering information. Of course, there would be no reason to help out in combat just because we had made a pact.
‘Did we meet once? I’m able to somewhat identify the general direction now…’
I was beginning to detect a flow of will toward a point from what had earlier been mere vague sensations.
But I still hadn’t pinpointed a specific location yet.
At that moment, an even bigger problem entered my range of perception, so I cleanly wiped my thoughts of that guy away.
’29th Escalon… You’ve finally come. Those damn bastards aren’t giving us a moment’s rest.’
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