Tap, tap, tap.
The black rain hurt her skin at the slightest touch. She knew what it was: Rain of Despair, the passive ability of Lord of Chaos Riakis's aura.
[You continue to take chaos-type damage over time. Your mana resistance is greatly reduced.]
[Warning: When you are continuously exposed to Chaos-type damage, there is a chance that the Confusion status anomaly will be applied.]
This ability caused a lot of damage over a wide area, and also turned the rain-affected terrain into an erosion zone and nullified all types of field effects.
Damn...
I had hoped it wouldn't be like that, but it had actually arrived.
"He's here! The monster is here!"
"H-hey! What are you doing? Go and stop them!"
Panic broke out among the explorers on the third floor who had paid a fee for their protection. Their eyes all turned to the same spot.
"You're not thinking of abandoning us, are you?"
"You even took our equipment as payment! Take responsibility."
Excited shouts erupted from dozens of people. The executive in question, who had announced himself several times as a representative to the crowd, sighed heavily with a bitter smile. "…So this is what it is."
It wasn't that he didn't understand how she felt. As long as they received their quota, their only option was to confront the lord of the land with all their might.
"This expedition is going to suffer a lot of damage." Surprisingly, there was only unease on the executive's face, and no sign of anxiety or impatience. Then he caught his breath and shouted, "The Lord of Chaos Riakis has arrived! Bring out everything you have ready!"
The instruction echoed loudly. Upon hearing this, those who wore the Dzarwi clan emblem embroidered on their chests moved in unison.
"Every team to their positions!"
Mages, priests, and ranged damage dealers headed to the center, while melee scouts went to the outskirts. They began using all kinds of consumables without hesitation.
[You have used an Advanced Resistance Auxiliary Scroll.]
[You have used an Energy Regeneration Auxiliary Scroll].
[You have used a Numbered Item: Banner of the Sun Lord. The weapon is infused with the light of Ersium.]
Several magical doping scrolls, numbered consumable items, and even various types of auxiliary equipment consumables; in less than a minute, consumables worth at least 10 million stones disappeared like light.
"There are enough supplies, so don't hold back! We'll come back with at least one person alive."
I began to think I had underestimated them. Now that I thought about it, it wasn't that they lacked imagination. They had already anticipated the worst-case scenario and were fully prepared behind the scenes.
However, they received a protection rate because…
They had literally built their stakes on it, because not meeting the Lord was even a little more likely. I don't know why that made me laugh.
Seriously, there are too many efficiency freaks in this world.
I should have been more humble. These people had also taken numerous risks to become explorers and get to where they were today. They couldn't have gotten here just by luck.
«To think that they always carry so many provisions... They are really a large-scale clan!». It was more appropriate to be alert to them than to despise them. It would also be more efficient to find something to learn from them than to be jealous.
«Bjorn, what are we going to do now?» Missha asked.
«What needs to be done? We should first see how it develops».
That was my plan from the beginning. As long as we found the Lord of the Soil, just leaving this place was a big risk. If it became useless, we would have to leave immediately.
But this should be enough to at least hold on.
As if to prove it, a barrier of fire enveloped us in the shape of a circle. This was not an essence skill, but a magic spell.
[The Spirit of Chaos has been destroyed. This place will deteriorate].
As it began to rain, the Spirit of Chaos, which rushed like a tidal wave, was destroyed before it could break through the barrier of fire.
¡Whooooom!
Furthermore, a huge barrier that formed over our heads even stopped the rainwater from pouring down.
Well, that's the only thing a fire barrier can stop.
«Bjorn, look there!»
From where Missha was pointing, a huge shadow gradually took shape along with a deep roar on the ground.
¡Boom! ¡Boom!
Rough and heavy looking black leather horns sprouted from the top of the head and an ominous aura hovered over it.
«¡Vamooos!»
When the fire barrier was easily breached, a beast the size of a movie monster emerged, large enough to make you lose all sense of distance.
«Ese es el... »
«Lord of Chaos, Riakis!»
The crowd was frightened to see him and took a step back, but the clan members remained calm. «Keep your positions! Don't let it go backwards!»
As if battles with large monsters were their daily routine, the warriors silently defended their positions. This guy didn't like that.
"Bam!
Once Riakis struck with his front paw, the battle had officially begun.
What was a real foray into the reality of the game like? The answer to the old question was quite simple.
«Don't make any effort to stop it. Avoid it at all costs! Understood?»
Even in hand-to-hand combat, tanks and damage inflicters avoided frontal encounters, dodging an agitated tail or slashing claw with remarkable dexterity. That made sense, since they probably knew better than anyone that no matter how hard their bodies were and no matter how high their strength levels were, there was no way they could compete with a monster like that.
Is this how a battle with a ground lord usually goes? It's interesting.
Perhaps because it was a role I would have to play one day, my attention was definitely focused on melee scouts rather than mages or damage dealers. There was much to see and learn. There were also some moments of danger.
¡Boom!
No matter how hard they tried to avoid it, injuries were inevitable against such high-ranking monsters. Normally, if you were hit like that, you would die instantly instead of suffering an injury.
«Are they still alive after that?»
«...It's really amazing.»
With their statistics through the roof thanks to numerous essences and the help of doping scrolls, priests and support-type scouts, these people were already a weapon each.
«Ahhhhhh!»
«Damn, I almost died!»
Wounded warriors were patched up and sent back to the front. Of course, not everyone was like that.
«Damn, that son of a bitch shouldn't have died like that...»
«Focus on the fight at hand and don't take your eyes off it!»
Casualties arose as the battle dragged on. A melee warrior was instantly killed by the monster's foot, and three ranged damage inflicters were vaporized by its breath. However, if you examined the current situation objectively...
It has been stable for the moment.
«C-four deaths already... Isn't this too dangerous?»
Whatever the reaction of the third floor scouts, the warriors continued to hold out on the front line. The wizards' magic was strong enough to force Riakis out of the center as well.
They seem to be aware of the dark sphere pattern, too.
«Let's keep watching for now! They are still the famous Dzarwi clan! I'm sure they'll find a way».
A black marble emerged from the eroded earth and headed towards Riakis.
[Chaos Lord Riakis attracts the power of origin.]
What worried me most was also blown up by the long-range damage dealers before it could be absorbed by Riakis.
«Stop the fire!»
«The bastard can't be threatened anymore!»
Furthermore, seeing how they stopped shooting from time to time to ensure the monster's vitality, he was sure that these guys knew the strategy to take it down.
That's why they've just been holding on. Jumping to phase 2 without that item means game over.
«Why have they stopped attacking? Are stupid? As long as they have the drive, they need...»
In a way, that made sense. To think that he was the only person who knew everything about this world was arrogance. An expert who played Dungeon and Stone for ten years and knew everything there was to know about this game? And? Labyrinths had existed for thousands of years. This wasn't like a game universe; It was reality for the people here. They had to get into it to make money and survive, and they had probably gone through a lot of trial and error. This would be passed on to future generations as a record.
Although only a few have a monopoly on real and valuable knowledge.
I wasn't too worried. The hidden items, which were particularly difficult to find in the game, seemed to be barely recognized even by the people here. Knowledge as a professional would continue to be my best weapon to survive here.
Clic.
I opened the clock and looked at the time. It was 10:37 p.m. More than three hours had already passed. Despite the prolonged battle, the clan members faithfully performed their respective duties without losing concentration.
After using that amount of consumables, it no longer mattered how much money they had earned from the protection fee.
I suddenly realized why these great clans did not hunt down the ground lords despite knowing the strategy. The rewards for subjugation were not exactly small, but involved an enormous amount of goods. There was a possibility that a member of the elite would die. Furthermore, there was a high chance that the monster would return, even if the attempt failed.
It is not a profitable business.
¡Boom!
While thinking this, for some reason, Riakis ignored the warriors and ran towards the center, crushing five long-range damage dealers in an instant. A situation like this could definitely occur during a raid. Fortunately, the warriors stood up, ran towards Riakis, and turned him around, but two melee damage dealers died instantly in the process.
Even so, they will be able to last the rest of the time.
I reanalyzed the war situation. A total of eleven people had died so far. Although it was equivalent to 20% of its total power, the remaining staff continued with their work without panicking. There may have been some gaps now, but certainly not enough to cause a fatal outcome. The problem was that there were a lot of bastards around who couldn't even make a simple judgment like that.
«Bad! These incompetent bastards!»
«Do you know how many people have died?!»
They had not even set foot in the erosion zone and fallen into a state of Confusion, but another wave of panic hit the crowd. It wasn't difficult to understand where they came from. Eleven deaths, and this is just counting the number of clan members. Countless scouts who had paid the protection fee died every time Riakis wreaked havoc.
Has your sense of judgment been clouded now that you feel your lives are threatened?
The way I saw it, it was their fault for watching a raid from the sidelines like idiots. But they wouldn't listen to me if I said that.
«Bjorn, the atmosphere is getting serious.»
«Use sé», can compete in a Misha.
«We have to do something...»
«Just wait. I'm thinking».
I looked around as wide an area as possible. The clan did not seem to be able to detect this yet, as they focused only on Riakis. Meanwhile, a man's loud voice ignited chaos.
«We can't just stare like this, let's all work together to survive!». It was Jack Fletcher, the first to take off his equipment and pay for protection. «Do you know how many people have already died? They can't protect us. We must defend ourselves!»
«True!», someone shouted.
Another shouted: «But I don't have the equipment, so how...».
«You have to return it! After all, did those guys keep their promises?»
At his instigation, the bodies that had turned their backs on him last time added their forces, and the balance grew uncontrollably.
I muttered quietly: «Missha, get ready».
«Get ready for what?»
«We're leaving here right now». It was already a lost cause.
***
As soon as we quickly grabbed our backpacks, as if there was a riot, many explorers ran towards the center where the supplies were stored.
«Everyone, calm down! This will put everyone in danger-»
Only then did the clan recognize the situation, but it was too late.
«Don't make me laugh!»
«Give me back my equipment!»
Soon after, the clan's wizards and archers stepped aside, and the scouts began collecting everything they had on hand with greedy eyes.
«Give it to me! It's mine!»
«Who cares about that in this situation?»
«Stay away right now! If you don't, I will attack you!»
«If I die here or there, it's the same!»
«Why do you doubt?» a clan member shouted. «From now on they are looters! Destroy them all!»
At some point, seeing the figures full of confusion and madness, I erased every last remorse.
«Bjorrrn...»
«Enough looking, come on.»
«Okay!»
I led Missha in the opposite direction to Riakis. Before long, a wall of fire blocked our path.
«W-what are we going to do now?!» Missha shouted.
«What do you mean? We pass over».
I'm going to use this body like a barbarian. Some burns will result, but I can relieve them with a little saliva.
«Are you serrrio?!»
Oh, I guess not for you.
«¡Ah! ¡Kyaa!»
Picking up Missha with both arms, I lifted her up as if rushing. Sprinting in that state, I quickly crossed the five-yard-thick fire barrier.
¡Czzzzzz!
The faint smell of cooking meat sizzled. My skin stung slightly even through Pain Resistance.
I asked: «Missha, are you okay?».
«...Thanks to you, I'm fine. Look ahead!»
Shortly after leaving Missha and looking in front of me, I saw Chaos Spirits swarming around the area. We didn't have time to get rid of each one of them.
«Run».
"Huh? That way?"
"Is there another way?"
The spirits had already discovered us and were slowly approaching. I quickly made my way through them to avoid attracting more hostility, as I didn't know how the battle was progressing.
Fuck.
After running for about five minutes, the surroundings suddenly darkened. It was so dark that it was difficult to see even a foot ahead.
"Bjorn, are you there?!"
"I'm here." Fortunately, he could still hear.
"What's going on?"
Instead of answering, I sighed heavily. No analysis was necessary. The situation was clear.
[The Lord of Chaos Riakis has managed to absorb the source power. The Malignant Hiatus field effect applies within a five-kilometer radius.]
Riakis's weapon of annihilation and instant death, Evil Hiatus: The son of a bitch had finally swallowed all those damn marbles.