Chapter 135: Veteran The Okigo—a monster officially designated by the government as Hazard Level 7.
Its monstrous strength, befitting its massive frame, and its iron-hard hide allowed it to shrug off most magical attacks while pulverizing anything that dared to draw near.
Hazard Level 7 was the highest level a single mage squad, typically consisting of seven to nine members, could hope to handle. Even then, such a feat was only possible if the squad included a 12 Zodiac-class mage; it was the absolute limit for a small unit.
Anything beyond that level was impossible for even a member of the 12 Zodiacs to face alone, and Hazard Level 10—the absolute maximum—had only appeared a handful of times in human history.
Blown far back by the Okigo's brute force, Frey adjusted her posture mid-air and landed firmly on the ground. The sheer momentum left long furrows in the earth where her feet dragged, but Frey ignored it, immediately checking on her subordinates who had been pushed back with her.
"Status!"
"We're good!"
"Selby is fine! Rick and Mots are all clear too!"
"Why are you answering for me?! Captain! I'm fine!"
Her subordinates shouted back their reports one by one. All seven members she had brought to face the Okigo were safe. She wouldn't have brought them in the first place if they were the type to be taken out by a single blow.
Frey had seen it—the way the White Abyss had writhed, trying to ensnare them during the brief moment they were airborne from the Okigo's attack. Calculating that the reaction speed here was faster than in the Illusion Space simulations, Frey barked out her orders.
"The battlefield has changed. Sync your mana wavelengths before the fog traps us. Type C."
Even if they couldn't see through the fog, they could track each other's positions through mana. The subordinates immediately synced their wavelengths to the Greyhound standard.
"Selby!"
"Yes! Right here!"
"Confirm the terrain and share it with everyone. Turk, Sunwoo, Brandon—keep the Okigo busy."
At Frey's command, Selby spun the shield she was holding with a click, transforming it back into a long staff before slamming it into the ground.
As her magic activated, the ground around the staff crumbled into sand, which then rose into the air in spherical clusters.
"Scattering! Watch your eyes and mouths! 3, 2, 1!"
As Selby's countdown ended, the massive clumps of sand burst outward, creating a localized sandstorm. The tendrils of the White Abyss that had been creeping forward to snatch the sand were sliced through, and the scattered grains adhered to the surrounding structures and the ground.
The mana-infused sand transmitted its location back to Selby. While not as precise as direct sight, it allowed her to map the surrounding terrain and their current positions in real-time.
A 3D map composed of dots formed in Selby's mind. Though the map looked rudimentary, she could track the position of anyone who stepped on the sand, allowing her to scout for enemies within range.
"Selby!! Are you done yet?! I'm gonna die over here!!"
"Just a second! I'm refining it!"
"Hurry up!"
Because she was scattering a vast amount of sand, overlapping data and non-terrain objects often cluttered the feed. Selby spent precious seconds filtering out the noise from the generated map. She responded to Brandon, who was groaning while trying to hold back the Okigo, all while rapidly polishing the map.
This was an original spell unique to Selby; it was impossible without not only magical skill but also the computational power to process such a massive influx of information.
As the battlefield shifted, the Chisara—monkey-like monsters controlled by the Okigo—began to swarm. The rest of the team was busy protecting the vulnerable Selby.
"Selby, it doesn't have to be perfect. Share it now."
"Understood! It's ready!"
Responding to Frey's order, Selby clapped her palms together hard.
"Linking! Drop your mana resistance! 3, 2, 1!"
Turk, Sunwoo, and Brandon, who were busy engaging the Okigo, dropped their mana resistance exactly on her countdown. Dropping one's resistance while facing an enemy was practically suicidal, but because they had crossed the line between life and death together countless times, the three of them lowered their guards for less than 0.1 seconds.
The moment the map Selby created was transmitted to everyone's minds, the team's movements changed instantly.
Armed with real-time terrain data and enemy positions, the team members fanned out, sweeping through the surrounding monsters. Frey delivered a heavy blow to the Okigo, forcing it back.
"Big sis, what now?"
"I shouldn't have listened to that guy."
"Haha, well, he was right up until the middle. The magical tools and spells we prepared worked great too."
As Frey gnashed her teeth, Turk defended Yeon-woo with a chuckle. They didn't know how he had obtained it, but the intel Yeon-woo provided was more accurate and far more helpful than anything the government had offered.
Based on Yeon-woo's information, the mercenaries had pushed the Okigo so hard inside the cave that they had started to think it was too easy for a Hazard Level 7. However, the situation had changed drastically once the cornered Okigo began to go berserk.
Pushed back to this disadvantageous terrain where the cave had collapsed and the White Abyss had settled, Frey checked the Okigo's position on Selby's map and turned around.
"For now, we head to the communication tower and regroup with his teammates."
"Won't that be dangerous?"
"It's better to share Selby's magic with them once. Better to face it knowing what's coming than to be blindsided."
"I guess we'll have to work hard to protect them if we don't want to get chewed out by your disciple."
"He's not my disciple."
At Frey's sharp glare, Turk looked away and feigned ignorance, kicking a nearby Chisara.
"I'll do another mapping once we get near the tower," Selby added.
"Make it fast this time."
"I've already done it once, so the calculations won't take as long. Don't talk like I'm the only slow one here."
"In that case, I shall open the path."
Mots spoke up as Selby grumbled her reply, and Sunwoo stepped forward to lead the way. Selby increased the link output to Sunwoo alone to sharpen the accuracy of the enemy positions. Based on the data she sent, Sunwoo swung his sword through the empty air.
Following his swing, phantoms of his blade fixed themselves in the air before dozens of sword strikes vanished into the fog.
"Skreeeeeee—!!"
"Gah!"
The shrieks of monsters echoing from all directions, combined with the mapping data, confirmed the enemies were being cleared. However, Sunwoo scanned the fog with a furrowed brow.
"The White Abyss even catches magic. I'll have to increase the speed of the next volley."
"You still took down quite a few."
"Two missed."
Despite having Selby's magic, Sunwoo's face was full of dissatisfaction because a mere two out of dozens of strikes had missed while his vision was completely obscured. Brandon, who had tried to strike up a conversation, simply shrugged at Sunwoo's unbearable perfectionism.
"Natsume."
"Yes. I'll push them back once."
"I'll assist."
At Frey's call, Natsume came to a halt. Rick tapped the ground at her feet as he passed by. A sprout broke through the earth where Rick had touched, and Natsume plunged her sword into the soil, flinging the dirt and the sprout toward the pursuing Okigo.
Against the Okigo charging with its yellowed, razor-sharp teeth bared, a handful of dirt and a tiny sprout looked pitifully inadequate.
"Grow."
At Natsume's calm voice, the sprout reacted. Roots grew at an unbelievable speed, transforming into a massive net that draped over the charging Okigo.
"ROOOOAR!!"
The roots, which had grown large enough to cover the massive beast in an instant, were impressive, but as the Okigo swung its thick arms, they were torn like paper and tossed aside.
However, the giant root net wasn't the only one.
As the Okigo left its upper body exposed after the swing, another root net flew in and entangled it, followed by two more in rapid succession.
"Low-intelligence monsters really are easy to deal with."
Without even looking back to see the Okigo collapse under the weight of the root nets, Natsume turned and rejoined the group as if it weren't worth her concern.
*
"Something's coming!"
Rio, who had been rubbing his eyes after getting a face full of the sudden sandstorm, sensed a mana reaction and alerted the others. The mana wasn't being hidden, signaling they were allies, and the mana fluctuations were perfectly synchronized. Rio stared blankly into the fog, thinking, No way.
The fog, which had seemed frozen in place, suddenly split apart. Frey and her team leaped through, landing near Rio.
Red eyes, red hair, a fierce gaze, and an overwhelming aura.
"Is that... the real deal...?"
"Are you Rio? I am Frey."
"Yes! I-I'm Rio! I-It's an honor!"
"Ahaha, no need to be so tense, kid."
Turk laughed, patting Rio on the shoulder.
"The situation has changed, so I'm taking over command! Mots, Sunwoo, Brandon—help those two hold off the Chisara. Natsume and Rick—take over Rio's role and fortify the position. Selby!"
"Yes! Scattering again! Watch your eyes and mouths! 3, 2, 1!"
As Selby kicked up another sandstorm, the other subordinates scattered to their assigned tasks. Natsume and Rick covered the area around the communication tower with massive tree roots. Chisara tried to climb them, but thin roots whipped out from the gaps, entangling the monsters and crushing the life out of them.
When the Chisara gave up on climbing and swarmed through the intentionally left openings, Sunwoo's conjured blades rained down, wiping them out.
As Mots and Brandon also went on a rampage, slaughtering the Chisara, Yukina and Takeo—who had barely been holding on—watched in a daze.
12 Zodiac-class mage Frey's team was far superior to any mages they had ever seen, and their teamwork was flawless. Yukina watched the mages move like a fluid stream, supporting each other without a single wasted motion.
She focused as if she couldn't afford to miss a single movement, falling into a trance until someone placed a hand on her shoulder.
"It's good to focus, but drop your mana resistance for now."
"..."
"Ah, I'm Turk. Did Yeon-woo mention me? Maybe not, but just drop it for a second."
"3, 2, 1!"
Following Selby's shout, Yukina dropped her mana resistance, and an enormous amount of information flooded into her mind. The terrain of the entire base, real-time enemy detection through the pressure of footsteps on the sand—it was worlds apart from when her vision was blocked by the fog.
"Who's marking for Angelica?"
"Me! That's me! Pfft, hack..."
"Ack! Please don't eat my sand!"
Selby scolded Rio for swallowing sand, and Frey told him to keep relaying the monster's coordinates. Before long, Angelica's magic began falling like a bombardment, prompting Turk to whistle.
"She really is Monica's daughter."
"This isn't what you told me! You said the cave wouldn't collapse! You're dead meat when you get down here!"
"...Well, the radio probably isn't even connecting well, so she can't hear you. You should stop being so angry."
Turk tried to calm Frey down as she screamed at Yeon-woo into the radio.
"Turk, get the kids treated and let them rest. Selby, you take over the relay to Angelica."
"Yes, ma'am—"
"I can still fight."
Yukina stepped forward, protesting Frey's order. It wasn't just empty pride; unlike Takeo, she wasn't injured and still had plenty of mana left. However, Frey looked at her for a moment and shook her head.
"It's just a rotation. Recover your stamina and mana, then you'll be redeployed. Don't interfere with my orders with your clumsy bravado and shallow knowledge. We're wasting time."
"..."
"Now, now—the faster you recover, the sooner you can be useful. We have to deal with the Okigo, not just the Chisara, so we need every bit of help we can get."
Turk mediated between the two and gathered Rio and Takeo to provide treatment.
"Who will handle the Okigo?"
Currently, all the team members were busy following Frey's orders. The Chisara were appearing from everywhere like weeds, and there was no one left to stop the Okigo.
"Me."
"What?! Even if you're the Captain, you can't do it alone!"
Selby, who had been marking enemies for Angelica, tried to stop her in shock, but Frey just gave a nonchalant smirk.
"I won't be alone."
"Huh...?"
"Ah—in that case, we should clear out. Selby, stop what you're doing and come here."
"Eh? But..."
Turk pulled Selby away with a sly grin, as if he actually enjoyed Frey's glaring "axe-eyes."
Frey clicked her tongue in annoyance and looked up at the sky, which was invisible through the fog.
If it was him, he'd surely settle things quickly and come down.
He was an annoying, perverted, arrogant, self-absorbed idiot, but he was someone she could trust.
Frey slowly lowered her gaze and clenched her fist toward the Okigo charging through the fog.
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