Chapter 167: Demonic Palace (1)

‘It’s about to start.’

The Spirit Master in Harang’s party, Allen Meir, looked at the entrance to the Demonic Palace with a slightly tense expression.

It looked massive enough to accommodate hundreds at once, but that was an illusion.

‘Due to the magic circle, only four can enter every 20 minutes… and the drop locations are random.’

The dimensional rift caused spacetime instability, but as a non-magician, she couldn’t fully grasp the explanation.

What mattered was that Allen Meir’s party was the first to enter the Demonic Palace.

‘I’m uneasy.’

If she had confidence in her party, she wouldn’t feel this way. Being the first to start could be an advantage for earning points.

But Allen Meir lacked confidence.

More precisely, she couldn’t trust her party members, so she thought it’d be better if other parties went first to draw attention.

‘At least these two seem better than I expected…’

Allen Meir glanced at the human Rogue, Shylock, and the elf archer, Queir.

They were still bickering incessantly, but she now knew their dagger and arrow skills were formidable.

Their sparring at the Magic Tower’s public training ground had been impressive, and they’d softened toward each other, recognizing each other’s abilities.

Still, their constant squabbling was a bit much…

‘They’ll quiet down once we’re inside. They’re not new to dungeon exploration.’

With that thought, Allen Meir turned to the black-haired young man.

Yes.

He was the problem.

A southern bumpkin whose only known traits were being a swordsman and a Graduate.

Sure, manifesting a complete Aura Sword at such a young age was impressive, but what was needed here wasn’t ‘skill for his age’ but ‘absolutely exceptional skill.’ She had no intention of risking danger to nurture a prospect.

Of course, someone might say:

Nothing’s confirmed yet. Couldn’t this young man be far stronger than the other three?

‘No way.’

Allen Meir gave a bitter smile.

Exactly.

Not an elf or dwarf, but a human swordsman’s skill usually correlated with age.

The black-haired youth, who didn’t even seem mid-20s, was almost certainly the weakest link.

“Then… let’s enter. Party 1! Allen Meir, Shylock, Queir, and Harang! Step forward!”

The Yellow Magic Tower magician called out Party 1 with a solemn voice.

The noisy Rogue and archer shut their mouths, their faces tense.

Allen Meir touched her face.

‘It’s stiff.’

Realizing she was also quite nervous, she took deep breaths. Glancing at Harang walking ahead, he seemed utterly unfazed.

Normally, she’d have admired his boldness, but now… she only thought it was due to his lack of experience.

‘No choice. I’ll have to look out for him inside.’

She sighed deeply.

She regretted her actions at the briefing.

Instead of walking out because she didn’t like her party, if she’d shown more leadership to unite them… wouldn’t it have been a better party than expected?

‘Whatever. Let’s do well from now on.’

Shaking off useless thoughts, Allen Meir stood beside Harang.

Soon, Queir and Shylock joined them, and she spoke.

“I know it’s late to say this…”

“Hm?”

“What?”

“What are you trying to say?”

“…I’m saying let’s do our best together. It’s a matter of life and death, after all. And a chance for a big score.”

“…”

“…”

“…That’s true.”

“So let’s do this.”

Belatedly, Allen Meir tried to rally the party with warm words.

Fortunately, no social misfits ruined the moment.

With a cough, Shylock led the agreement to her words.

“Let’s do it. Let’s do well.”

“Alright. Let’s gather points safely and steadily.”

“I’m in. Let’s take down the Crack Keeper and Ancient Magician.”

“…Let’s focus on securing the exit first.”

Hearing Harang’s words, Allen Meir replied with a slight lapse in expression control.

What? Crack Keeper? Ancient Magician?

The biggest weak link mentioning boss monsters outright annoyed her.

‘If only a tough monster appeared right away to make that rookie cry.’

That’s when it happened.

Ziiiing-!

Light began to leak from the magic circle at the Demonic Palace’s entrance.

The ground trembled, and the air hummed.

Then, moments later.

Paat-!

With a flash of red light, Party 1 vanished.

Watching them teleport into the Demonic Palace, the Yellow Magic Tower magician muttered quietly.

“May they reap a bountiful harvest.”

***

Swoosh-

Thud!

Party 1, teleported slightly above the ground, landed safely.

They looked around.

Magic lamps embedded in the ceiling illuminated the surroundings.

Roughly carved knights adorned the walls.

It felt like they’d landed inside an artificial structure.

The elf archer, Queir, muttered.

“It’s not damp or humid. That’s nice.”

“I’d prefer a place like that.”

“What! Picking a fight with me again?”

“No, I mean—”

Taking a breath, the Rogue Shylock continued.

“Places with such an artificial feel tend to have high-difficulty mechanisms and traps.”

“Hmph! Weren’t you all confident before?”

“I am confident, but we need to assess the situation accurately. There are quite a few magic lamps… Places like this are likely filled with traps and guardians to show off the creator’s prowess. Plus, with the corruption from Magi, the Yellow Magic Tower didn’t send us in first for nothing.”

“…So, what do we do?”

“We move. I’ll scout.”

“Sorry. If I could control wind spirits, you wouldn’t have to take such risks…”

“No. Even with spirit information, there are limits. I’d scout anyway. I’ll check this corridor first.”

“…If it’s dangerous, retreat immediately. I’ll cover you with arrows.”

“I’ll assist as much as I can with spirits.”

“Hm.”

Nodding, Shylock crept forward stealthily.

Allen Meir, watching from behind, was impressed.

No matter how carefully she moved, her footsteps made noise, but Shylock glided forward like a ghost, silent.

He wasn’t the only one.

The elf archer was similar.

Was it due to the elves’ light movements?

Not as silent as Shylock, but she moved with minimal sound, prompting Allen Meir to further raise her evaluation of the party.

That’s when it happened.

“Wait a moment.”

Step, step.

“…”

“…”

“What are you doing?”

“I’m going to check this.”

“What’s there? There’s nothing…”

“I think there is.”

“Sigh…”

Shylock, who had been moving ahead, looked at Harang with disbelief.

It was understandable.

In a situation where everyone was moving cautiously, his loud footsteps echoed through the corridor.

And he was going the opposite direction.

Ignoring Shylock’s path, he stared intently at the wall with the carved knight.

“Ha…”

Allen Meir let out a deep sigh.

Yes.

This guy was the problem.

He didn’t know when to step up or stay back.

He couldn’t distinguish when to act or hold back.

Her mood soured. Without him, this could’ve been a decent party, and that fact infuriated her.

“Hey! What are you doing!”

Naturally, she wasn’t the only one who thought so.

The most hot-tempered party member, elf archer Queir, glared at Harang with fierce eyes.

It was understandable.

Unlike their initially worrisome start, the party had found their roles and was working smoothly. It was fine if he couldn’t find his role and seemed lost, but acting on his own like this was infuriating.

But moments later.

Srrrng-

Wooooong-!

Slash-!

The moment Harang suddenly manifested an Aura Sword and sliced through the carved knight on the wall.

Everyone’s eyes widened.

The first reason was that the Presence he emitted was far stronger than expected.

The second reason…

Grind!

Grind-!

The carved knights on the wall materialized, surrounding them.

Wooong!

Wooong-!

Wooooong-!

“These… Death Knights!”

Shylock shouted urgently.

Death Knights were undead monsters capable of wielding dark Aura Swords, boasting strength comparable to a typical Graduate. Depending on their swordsmanship in life, they could be rated as upper or even peak-level demonic creatures, making them extremely tricky.

Six of them—no, one was down, so five!

With that thought, he shouted urgently.

“I’ll draw their attention! The rest of you take them down one by one!”

Even as he spoke, Shylock thought their survival odds were slim.

Simple math showed six against four, and they hadn’t formed a proper formation. If he and Harang held the front while the Spirit Master and archer provided firepower from behind, it might’ve been different, but the situation was far from ideal.

‘Damn it, it’s like we landed in a boss room right from the start. How is this difficulty even possible…!’

Allen Meir and Queir thought similarly.

Though the distance wasn’t too close to render them helpless, it was obviously easier to fire from behind a solid vanguard.

‘This might be the end. But let’s fight to the last.’

‘No way! I’m not dying! I’ll survive somehow!’

Resolving themselves in their own ways, they glared at the Death Knights taking full form.

Then.

Harang swung his sword.

Once.

Twice.

And a third time.

Slash.

Slash.

Slash-!

Thud, collapse, clatter.

“…”

“…”

“…”

“They’re slower than a typical Graduate. Good.”

With just three strikes, Harang felled all six Death Knights, speaking casually to the group.

***

Some time later.

When the 6th party, led by 7th-star magician Salina Mayer, was exploring the Demonic Palace.

Psssh-!

“…?”

“What the!”

“What are you doing!”

“Me?”

The brown-haired woman who pierced Salina Mayer’s heart smiled and replied.

“I prefer being alone, like Harang.”

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.