Chapter 170 - Burning (2)

A massive mirror shone with red light. Around thirty explorers were gathered beneath it, the blue wolf emblem on each of their chests marking them as members of the same clan.

“Time to switch!”

At one man's shout, one of the teams stationed before the mirror traded places with the members who had finished resting. They began mechanically slaughtering the monsters emerging through the mirror.

It was a sight any fifth-floor explorer would have seen at least once.

“... Let's go somewhere else.”

Explorers who happened upon the place saw them and turned away in resignation. They were used to it by now. The entire fifth floor was like this.

“Halt! This is Nevis Wolf Clan territory. Please go elsewhere.”

An ordinary team couldn't even protest. Most of the major clans on the fifth floor consisted of fighters strong enough to operate on the sixth.

Incidentally, there was only one reason such skilled fighters were camped out on the fifth floor: even larger clans monopolized the sixth. This was far more profitable.

“Deputy commander, what's today's total haul?”

They hunted in shifts around the clock, collecting magic crystals and driving out anyone who complained by force.

“A Doomflame Elf Essence has dropped! Anyone interested in buying it?”

When a rank-five Essence dropped, they bottled it in a test tube to sell in the city. Anything below that, they sold cheaply to nearby explorers.

Explorers looking to earn EXP? They took even those on as customers to maximize their profits.

“We'll cast Unity magic on you, so stay out of the fighting and wait in the back for a bit.”

They were once again reaping the fruits of the Labyrinth through their repetitive hunting when it happened.

“Commander! It's Vertars!”

“What?”

The man commanding the clan while resting in the rear sprang up and approached the mirror. A monster was visible on the other side.

[GROOOOOOAR!!]

Two horns jutted from its forehead. It had a muscular body over three meters tall, black wings covering its upper body, and four arms: the demon-type monster Vertars.

“Today's our lucky day.”

A broad smile spread across the man's face. It had been an entire year since he last encountered one.

'How much did we sell it for last time?'

It was only rank five, but he remembered selling it to the Magic Tower for a considerable sum thanks to its rarity. Their magic crystal earnings for this expedition had been below target, but this alone would more than make up the shortfall.

“Everyone, get into formation!”

For the first time in a while, the man drew his own weapon and took his place at the front. Then he waited for Vertars to emerge fully from the mirror.

“It's coming out!”

An enormous foot slowly stepped through the gateway. Anticipation filled the clan members' eyes. No one was worried about the fight. The mages had already finished preparing their most powerful spells. Rare though it was, the monster was only rank five. The fight would surely end the instant it appeared.

Yes, that was how it should have gone...

[“VEHELLLAAAAAA!!”]

A person's roar rang out from beyond the mirror. At the same moment, the creature stepping out turned around and promptly withdrew its foot.

“... What? Who are those people?!”

He couldn't make sense of what was happening.

* * *

“VEHELLLAAAAAA!”

Vertars turned its head as I unleashed [Wild Outburst] with all my might. The mirror that had formed beneath its feet soon disappeared.

Fortunately, it looked like I'd successfully drawn aggro.

'Whew. Thought we were going to lose it.'

The monsters living in the Otherworld entered the Labyrinth through those mirrors. In other words, if we'd been just a little later, someone else might have gotten this kill.

[GROOOOOOAR!!]

The creature lunged the instant I raised my shield.

BOOM!

Judging by the impact, its Strength was lower than a troll's. It really was the number one monster that failed to live up to its looks. You'd think it could put a rank-three monster to shame just looking at it.

“Mr. Jandel, are you all right?”

“I can take it. Don't worry about me!”

“Everyone except Mr. Jandel, fall back for now. We need to find out what its abilities are first!”

Faced with an unidentified enemy on our first encounter, Raven flusteredly took command for the first time.

There was really no need to be so cautious.

'... But it'd look strange if I acted like I knew it.'

I was confident I could hold it off for hours one-on-one, so I decided to watch without saying anything. Honestly, I was a little curious, too.

What decisions would our mage make without any prior knowledge?

“Marde Guarzur.”

The first spell Raven used was Mana Measurement—the very same one used to exchange magic crystals at the checkpoint.

“Fortunately, it's only around rank five!”

That established the monster's threat level. But that was all she'd learned so far. The rest would have to be deduced through combat.

KABOOM!

An explosion erupted as its fist met my shield.

[Scars of Explosion].

“There was no sign of energy moving. I think it's an innate ability...”

She'd correctly identified it as a passive, at least. Now, what triggered it?

BOOM! BANG! KABOOM!

As explosions went off one after another on the far side of my shield, Raven watched the fight closely from a safe distance behind me. Then she reached her conclusion.

“The same spot! An explosion happens when it hits the same spot!”

... Correct.

I hadn't expected her to figure it out this quickly.

“So how long are you going to keep watching?”

“Uh... You seem to be doing fine on your own. Wouldn't it be better to observe a little longer? Ms. Karlstein or Ms. Aynar could get seriously hurt.”

Hmm. So I couldn't get seriously hurt?

Somehow, I felt both slighted and proud as a tank.

“If you're in danger, I'll throw you a potion right away!”

“A high-grade one?”

“Yes, high-grade!”

Well, in that case.

I didn't know if it was just my imagination, but in my experience, high-grade potions hurt the least. Having Pain Tolerance didn't mean it didn't hurt.

“Oh, it can use its feathers like arrows, too! There wasn't any energy moving, so I think that's just a natural trait!”

Anyway, Raven's voice had grown considerably lighter, apparently having decided it wasn't a particularly dangerous enemy at our level.

“Mr. Jandel, could you try hitting it with your mace? It might have something that only activates when it's hit...”

She seemed to be enjoying analyzing a monster she'd never seen before. I didn't think I'd ever seen our mage this excited, so I obediently followed her instructions.

CRUNCH!

I brought [Swing] down on one of its four arms, bending the joint at an unnatural angle. Its wings immediately spread.

“An ability!”

One of Vertars's three active skills: [Wings of Greed].

WHOOOOSH!

The surrounding air was sucked in like water swirling down a drain. After drawing it in for about three seconds, the wings snapped shut, and the broken arm healed completely.

“It's a regeneration ability!”

She was watching, but evidently had no intention of sitting idle, since she immediately cast Worsening on it.

'Whew. Please let this be the one that drops...'

Its real value lay in its passive, but if we were going to absorb it, we might as well get a useful active skill, too.

「Vertars has cast [Legion of Hatred].」

「Vertars has cast [Ray of Destruction].」

Demon summoning and laser beams weren't exactly fitting for a barbarian, were they?

WHOOOM!

I easily dodged Ray of Destruction, which had a whopping three-second cast time, then activated [Gigantification].

After all, I'd finally gotten permission.

“I think we've identified all its abilities now!”

“Oh, so I can go fight now, nyah?”

The moment we'd been waiting for: time to finish it off.

“VEHELLLAAAAAA!!”

While Aynar smashed the summoned demons with her greatsword, Mister Bear and Raven brought out their finishing moves and took careful aim.

「Avman Urigfried has cast [Hazardous Material].」

「Allua Raven has cast the rank-five attack spell [Lightning Spear].」

Our team's strongest damage-dealing skills—even a troll, the very symbol of survivability, hadn't been able to withstand them properly.

KABOOOOOM!

A massive explosion erupted, turning Vertars's body into a mass of light.

「You have defeated Vertars. EXP +5」

Particles of light scattered amid black smoke. Curious about the outcome, Raven cleared the smoke with wind magic.

A white Essence came into view.

“A-an Essence, nyah!!”

The [Wings of Greed] I'd secretly been hoping for had dropped. It was only a matter of beating 33.3 percent odds, but...

'It really dropped on the first try.'

Suddenly, I felt a little uneasy.

* * *

A rank-five monster's Essence had dropped, leaving us with two options: bottle it in a test tube to sell, or have a team member pay for it and absorb it.

“What are you going to do?”

“I think Aynar should have this one.”

“Huh? Me?!”

Everyone completely ignored Aynar's fuss. She might be the one directly involved, but... I was the man who would someday become the Barbarian Lord.

Put simply, I could speak for all barbarians.

“Hmm... Even though we haven't properly identified what kind of Essence it is yet?”

We'd identified its skills through combat. But there was no way to know which skill this Essence contained without absorbing it. Besides, an Essence's base stats were just as important as its skill.

“I'd like you to take that into account and give us a bit of a discount.”

“How much?”

“Sixteen million Stones.”

Aynar nearly fainted at my opening offer.

“Sixteen million Stones?!”

“Aynar, please be quiet. Okay? Bjorn's talking, nyah.”

“R-right!”

Despite the brief interruption, Raven continued with a serious expression, without so much as a chuckle.

“Divided four ways, that only gives me four million Stones.”

Hmm. No slipping that past her, then. That was why I'd said sixteen million.

“I think that's too low. It's a monster so rare even I didn't know about it, isn't it? More importantly, I'd get forty percent if we bottled it and sold it.”

“... I'll let you research her in exchange.”

“A-are you selling me to a mage?!”

“Hmm, like you did before, Mr. Jandel?”

Her expression said that was quite tempting. Research really did trump money for mages.

With the momentum on my side, I stopped testing the waters and played the rest of the cards I'd prepared.

“Besides, if you bottle this and use spellbend on it, you won't be able to use it again, will you?”

In other words, wouldn't she regret using spellbend on this if we found treasure later?

Raven nodded, evidently harboring some hopes of her own.

“We only have a few days left... But you're right. We certainly can't rule that possibility out yet.”

Good. That seemed to settle things with her. Next was Mister Bear.

“What would you like to do, Mr. Urigfried? I can make up my loss through research, but...”

“I don't mind. Haven't we already earned plenty? We're only here in the first place because Bjorn found that creature.”

“Well, that's true... But are you sure? Even I don't know how much this would sell for.”

“I'm telling you, I don't mind. The barbarian lass getting stronger is good for us, too.”

“Good. Then it's settled.”

Now Aynar would have to pay Mister Bear and Raven four million Stones each once we returned to the city. We'd earned a fortune this time, but it meant she'd be penniless all over again.

“Here. Absorb it before it disappears.”

Still, she must have been happy to get a new Essence, because Aynar took it without a word of protest.

「[Vertars's Essence] seeps into Aynar Pheneline's soul.」

The black mass of light seeped into her the instant it touched her skin. Raven's eyes shone with curiosity.

“Well? How do you feel? What's the most noticeable change?”

“Uh... I think I'm stronger...”

“Hmm, that's rather vague. I think we'll have to research the stats once we're back in the city. Could you try using the ability first?”

“A-ability?”

“Oh, I suppose it might be hard to visualize.”

Raven advised her to use her Magic Power while picturing the three abilities Vertars had demonstrated earlier.

“Saying the words out loud helps, too. That's how we do it when we first learn magic.”

“U-uh... I'll try.”

Under Raven's direction, Aynar began trying out Vertars's active skills one by one.

“C-come forth, you demons!!”

The summoning skill, [Legion of Hatred].

“Nnnngh!!”

The ranged attack skill, [Ray of Destruction].

And...

“Wings!!!”

[Wings of Greed].

FWASH!

Wings of light unfurled behind her back and fluttered.

I dubbed it Barbarian (Female) Valkyrie Mode.

“H-have I become a valkyrie?!”

After looking herself over, Aynar shouted with an expression of utter delight.

“VEHELLLAAAAAA!!!”

Glad she seemed to like it.