One Rank 3 Researcher,

Nine rank 4 researchers,

Fourteen official knights capable of using Auras,

And one rank 3 mage.

It was these people who were to become the basis of the plan. In the face of an impending crisis, even such a number could not guarantee anything.

However, it was almost a miracle that there were so many of them.

The best of them have already escaped through the portal. A shortage of high-level personnel was inevitable. After all, how many people will voluntarily give up the ticket to survive and stay of their own free will?

In reality, it's not an exaggeration to say that that's all we have.

Not bad.

With this thought in mind, I looked away. There was a black-haired man in his forties in a robe. This is who I doubted the most:

Kyle Perosk, a rank 3 battlemage with ties to the royal family. I was very surprised to find out his rank. In this industry, it was customary for a magician to be treated as if his rank was one higher. Of course, this was not courtesy towards magicians. In fact, Raven was only rank 6, but she was in charge of the most team work after me. It would be correct to say that the criteria for calculating ranks were different. But what about a rank 3 Magus?

A rank 2 researcher is actually on the verge of the strongest.

To be honest, I didn't understand why this bastard commander left this man. Isn't a rank 3 Magus the most high-level human resource to take with you, no matter how much he refuses?

Or is he so strong that even the bastard commander couldn't force him?

Hmm, maybe that's true.

For the royal family, the death of such a person was a greater loss than the death of thousands of researchers. Probably, the commander tried to capture it somehow, but failed.

Is it because of enmity?

Before leaving, I asked Kyle why he stayed, and he coldly replied in a harsh voice.

"I can't run when he's here. This is the first opportunity in a long time."

Unfortunately, Kyle didn't say who "he" was. It wasn't the kind of atmosphere to dig into it, and whatever his motives were, they worked in my favor. So I set off at once.

Time was ticking up to the present moment.

I ran in the vanguard of hundreds of people.

*Top, Top, Top*

The formation was simple. After dividing more than a thousand researchers into three groups, I ordered them to follow each other at a certain distance. The forces were distributed accordingly, but the main group, which I have already mentioned, was in the advance detachment. The rear group did not offer resistance. They also resigned themselves to the fact that if a monster appears, then they will be the ones who will clear the way through all these dangers.

—…

And so, apart from the sound of running, there was only a terrible, tense silence. Usually I exchanged a few words with my teammates to calm my nerves, but now it was impossible.

My team members were elsewhere.

*Top, Top, Top*

Behind me stood only warriors and knights, as heavily armed as I was, and they, like me, had only one task: When something happened, to clear the way. It was, of course, the most dangerous position, so I sent my comrades back. This situation was in many ways different from what it was before. Since there were more people now, it was much safer in the back.

"[Are there any deviations?]

As I ran like this, I heard a voice from the Message Stone hanging from my belt.

It was Kyle, who was about 70 meters behind me.

For reference, my entire team was sitting next to him.

— No, I don't.

Even as I answered, I felt uncomfortable. With so many people moving around the terrain, this kind of communication is necessary, but I've never used it when there was just a team. Maybe I'll get used to it when I create a clan.

"[Okay, I'll send a message to the rear. Let me know right away if anything goes wrong.

— Definitely.

I ended the conversation and looked straight ahead. The thick fog that had formed a few days ago had completely dissipated, and no Noark explorers were in sight. As time passed, nothing remained but blood and corpses.

Will it start soon?

As time passed, my heart beat more restlessly. It was a matter of course. More than half an hour had passed since the 9th Floor Lord had appeared, and the crystals on the cave walls had begun to emit red light.

"This way."

Suddenly the road developed, and I turned right. At the same time, one of the warriors following me left a mark on the wall, and that is why I went in front, so that in the front rows there would be someone with the abilities of a guide.

"Stop!"

I erased all distracting thoughts and made everyone stop. Crystals that glowed bright red lost their light and turned black.

After about 3 seconds, the entire cave was engulfed in darkness.

*Whoosh*

I lit a torch prepared in advance and said:

"From now on, all be ready.

For some reason, I remembered a quote from Einstein:

"I don't know what weapons will be used in World War III, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones."

Of course, this quote does not quite fit to describe my current situation.

However, one thing was clear.

[The special condition of the Nine Horrors is met].

[The Lord of the Abyss, Berzak, began to wander around the floor].

It was time to go back to basics.

***

[Field Effect - Abyssal Mist]

[All active effects disabled].

[Mana efficiency is reduced to 1/4].

[Monsters affected by the Abyssal Mist evolve to higher beings].

***

*Click*

I inserted the torch into the groove of the helmet.

Activating the Barbara Candle Mode!

I hadn't used this mode for a long time, but it didn't bother me too much, because the rest of the warriors did the same thing.

"Haha, I don't even know when I last used the torch.

— The same thing.

Everyone put their torches in their helmets, and their eyesight was restored again. Then the black mist surrounding us became clearer. It was like the darkness that appears from the 2nd floor of the labyrinth, the darkness that consumes all light.

Visibility is about two meters.

It turned out to be shorter than expected. However, in the game, when I hunted Berzak, I was always accompanied by several excellent mages. Since I have always called it after creating ideal conditions, I have never encountered such a situation.

"I've heard about it, but it seems to be more dangerous than I thought.

Tension reigned among the experienced warriors. In battle, vision is crucial. For example, in the United States, the ideal distance for confrontation with a criminal was considered 6.4 meters. If it was less, then it was difficult to fight off a criminal attacking you with a knife. The same can be said about firearms. It was the distance needed to aim and pull the trigger at a person trying to lunge at him with all his might.

But 2 meters...

"[We need to act quickly].

When I paused just a moment to prepare, Kyle's call sounded through the Message Stone.

"I fastened the torch. We'll go now.

I addressed the warriors, alerting them, and went forward, covering my upper body.

*Top, Top, Top*

I gradually quickened my pace. This was one of the reasons why the current situation was excruciating, and why the front ranks were made up of sturdy warriors and knights. Just think, we had to run with visibility of 2 meters.

"Behellaaaaa!" As if throwing away fear, I roared, stepping from foot to foot.

When will we reach the goal if we go so slowly? Yes, we already knew it was dangerous, right?

"Go ahead!"

When I first jumped into the darkness, the warriors plucked up the courage and followed my example. Well, it will be easier for them if I light the way for them.

"Kyaaa!"

In the darkness, the beast howled and rushed at me. It was too big to be from the 1st floor. Well, I guess it's also because I didn't use [Gigantization] as usual.

*Blow!*

I struck my shield at the beast's jaw. And immediately the warrior to my right cut his neck with a double-edged axe.

*Khac!*

The axe plunged into the hide, but the blade got stuck in the bone. There was a bitter taste in my mouth. The dwarf who had just swung his axe was a rank 4 warrior, and not a guard, but a dealer of melee damage. However, he was unable to kill him in one hit.

"Kya!"

The beast rushed at us again, despite the deep cut on our necks. I hit him on the head with a mace.

*Blow!*

He probably wouldn't have died from that either, since I didn't use my only attack skill, [Sweep].

More precisely, I couldn't use it.

[All active effects disabled].

In the Abyss Mist, all of our active skills were sealed. The Corpse Golem's [Acid Liquid] was still active, but I couldn't use the [Flesh Blast]. So I couldn't use [Gigantization] now.

It feels like I'm back to where I started.

A strange feeling of loss overwhelmed my entire body. It reminded me of the early days when I had nothing. Perhaps that was why the other warriors were so afraid of what was beyond darkness, because one of their greatest weapons had disappeared.

"What are you all doing?!" Follow me!

However, the baseline derived from the essence remained the same. We could use passive skills, we also had the equipment that we had so diligently collected. We couldn't use gear effects or scrolls, but permanent options like a 50% reduction in impact power from Insignia of the Guard Corps were still in place.

"Leave those who are still alive in the rear!"

We ignored the monster and plunged back into darkness, deciding that by killing each one of them, we wouldn't get there in time.

"Kyaaa!"

"Woof! Gav!

At intervals of a few steps, groups of animals appeared. They were about one and a half times the size of a lion, but resembled the Blade Wolves that were usually found in the eastern area of the 1st floor. However, the difference in strength was like heaven and earth.

[You killed the Void Wolf. Experience +5].

We had to clear the way by defeating Rank 5 monsters with the same difficulty rating as the Trolls, without any active skills. That is why I recruited mainly warriors. Mages, summoners, necromancers, and other characters heavily dependent on skills were useless in this event. On the other hand, most warriors tended to have high default stats.

"Ahhh, my hand...!"

"Priest, cure him quickly!"

Despite this, the more the road was cleared, the more wounded appeared. Just as my combat power had dropped after losing [Gigantization], the rest of the explorers were not used to their current state. Not the least role in this was played by the skills of the Void Wolves.

[The Abyss Wolf cast [Inner Madness]].

[Inner Madness] is an active skill given to Blade Wolves that have evolved in the Abyssal Mist. The effect was simple. All defense-related stats were removed, and bonuses were added to attack stats such as slashing, destructive, and penetrating power.

"Kyaaa!"

Brushing aside my thoughts, I quickly covered my face with a shield.

*Khag-khag-khag!*

From the other side of the shield blocking the claws, there was a grinding sound. However, I was more worried about my body than the cost of repairs.

Is this the strength of the Grade 4 Moon Ore?

It will be difficult even for me to withstand this without weapons.

It is quite natural that losses continued to appear. These claws were capable of tearing through Class 2 metal like paper.

If they drop essence, I will immediately consume it.

Usually, this event opened towards the end of the game, so their essence wasn't as appealing to me, but this time it was different. Firstly, as for the 5th rank, the default was not only high performance, but also good skills. One of these skills could have turned me from an extreme tank to an extreme damage dealer for a while. However, in this situation, I could not use this skill.

However, their basic indicators are really high.

Any increase in the numbers would be very helpful. The essence could then be erased in the temple. 1 million stones no longer seems like such a high price.

'Behellaaa I shouted, hoping to raise my morale.

I wasn't the only one who did it, but everyone appealed to what they believed in to get rid of fear.

"For Raphdonia!" Loyal knights tirelessly appealed to the king who had left them.

"Ailie!" "Some gave the names of their wives.

"Let the light of the star guide me!" "Some asked for help from their gods.

A while passed, and Kyle's voice rang out through the Message Stone.

— [Shift time].

The warriors and knights who had been conserving their stamina in the back rows had swapped with the front.

— ... Will you be okay?" The dwarven warrior who had fought the longest by my side asked anxiously.

Of course, to be honest, I wanted to rest too.

"Someone has to look for the way ahead.

"For this, you can call another scout.

"Another scout...," I grinned.

Most scouts did not have combat skills. To put such a person here, where even heavily armed warriors and knights can find themselves with torn flesh and intestines falling out?

"Don't worry. I am well.

—... I'll be back soon.

God, so much dedication for such a short battle.

"I'll be waiting."

As the warrior dwarf walked away as well, new faces appeared near and behind me. They did not seem unfamiliar, because we had already introduced ourselves to each other before leaving.

"Elbertin, Davers, Karkin, welcome back." I'll leave that side to you guys.

"Haha, it's been a long time, you look.

"Why don't you rest in the back?" We'll clear the way.

The warriors were attentive to my battered gear and the still dripping blood.

"I can still hold on. If anything, I'll let you know.

"You are a stupid man.

"It is because of this quality that so many people have gathered here.

"Damn, these guys don't even give us time to say hello.

No sooner had we finished our short conversation than we had to hastily resume our movement because of the beast that appeared in front of us.

"They're different from regular Blade Wolves, so be careful.

"We know.

"There are already enough of them on side roads.

"Not as much as here, but it was fierce there too. Many have already died.

A what?

"Died...?"

"There are no priests there.

Got it.

All the priests were stationed on the front lines, but I don't think that makes the situation any safer. However, there were casualties in this battle.

And...

Their divine power will eventually run out.

In order to preserve the divine power, I ordered to send the wounded to the rear and give them potions, but even that was a matter of time. Further, this place will turn into an even more terrible hell.

Misha...

I shook my head. I was worried about my teammates, but if something happened, they would contact me through the Message Stone.

I have to focus on what I need to do.

I put my thoughts aside and shifted the weight of the shield to my shoulder and shifted the weight. If necessary, I wielded a mace. At times I would scream, and sometimes I would even lose my balance and fall to the ground and then quickly get up.

*Blow! Blow! Colic! Gnashing!*

The beasts spewed black blood as they were cut through by blunt weapons, swords, and even knight auras. Their blood continued to cover my body.

So time passed.

The warriors who had put all their stats into Physique were breathing heavily and moaning. That was our battle. Even I, proud of having been through every possible scrape, had a hard time keeping my sanity. But why? When I came to, another warrior was standing to my left. Since when?

"Davers, when did Elbertin return?"

—... — man did not answer.

"Is he dead?"

— Yes.

... Got it. And we promised to drink together later.

'Behellaaa

As if pouring fuel, I burned all my fleeting emotions and moved forward. I also ordered the priests to inflict healing mainly on others, not me. Since I possessed Pain Resistance, I only needed a potion.

*Smirk*

No, to be honest, I didn't even know myself. Maybe I'm mad from so many battles? Or was it because there were only warriors next to me, the barbarian instinct inherent in this body woke up? Because we knew each other by name? I didn't know. Maybe because I've seen too many deaths lately.

For some, I was a discarded hand. And for me, others were also thrown away hands. Until a few days ago, this was an obvious fact. I was not indignant and did not consider it unreasonable.

That was the world, and I decided to live up to it.

*Tudum!*

However...

What the hell is that feeling? I wasn't that kind of person.

*Tudum!*

A hot heart and head, the warmth of flowing blood, stickiness.

*Tudum!*

Yes, I guess it's natural that I'm out of my mind now.

"Ahh!"

I stopped looking for the reason. I don't know why, but every time someone behind me died, I felt something stirring in my heart. It was a desire that I had never felt before.

*Tudum!*

I myself, my teammates and countless people behind me, I wanted to bring them back alive...

*Tudum!*

[Your HP is below 20%. All resistance and tenacity stats have reached the maximum thanks to the passive skill [Hero's Path]].

... Even if I had to burn everything I had.