TM-Chapter 30

The Wizard’s Escape Strategy

When casting resurrection magic on undead, you must be careful. If you mess up, the undead will be annihilated.

Resurrection magic is divine magic to begin with, so it’s poison to undead and can’t be used directly.

So how do you do it?

“Enter eternal rest.”

I use the Undead Eternal Rest scroll that Isilof gave me. I’ll extract the necromancy from Mister Backstab’s body. The urn and resurrection scroll come after that.

“Uhhh…… Uhhh……”

However, since the eternal rest magic takes about 1 minute to complete, I need to protect the weakened undead during that time.

“Won’t you two tell me your skills? Speak quickly.”

I took out Sally’s telekinesis wand while pressing the Halfling and Barbarian again.

“Fine. Since we’re going to fight together, I’ll tell you. My skills are Piercing Shot and Ricochet Shot.”

The Halfling said.

I listened while taking out Mister Backstab’s urn.

“And the Barbarian friend next to me has Heavy Charge and Barbarian Long Jump as skills.”

The skills aren’t bad.

I focus on taking out the urn while listening.

Telekinesis has very weak physical force and is slow.

And the urn is fragile porcelain, so I need to be careful and take it out cautiously.

“You should share your skill information too.”

Now the Halfling exchanged conversation with Yernil.

“I have Triple Shot, and the Monk next to me has Smashing Gaia. And Caleb……”

“I roughly know about wizards. You don’t need to say.”

From what I can see, the Halfling, Barbarian, and that guy Austin who died earlier – all three were originally one party.

“Now let’s avenge Austin!”

The Barbarian is burning with such comradeship.

Earlier outside, he also said something about not being able to leave Austin behind.

“Let’s complete our mission after leading the battle to victory!”

“Good!”

The Barbarian shouted again and Bernard echoed, but the Halfling didn’t react.

The Halfling seems to have figured out that they can’t defeat those monsters with their current strength, right?

I think so too.

Bernard still doesn’t know much about the Manager of Rest.

Since that thing appeared, the best scenario for nobodies like us is to escape alive through the gate.

Even that would have been difficult with just me, the monk, and Yernil, but if I use that 2nd floor party well, it might be doable.

‘Now halfway.’

When the urn was halfway down from the cabinet, the Halfling started persuading his companions.

“I think proceeding with the mission is hopeless now. Didn’t you see that big guy that appeared at the end? That must be the boss. It’ll be on a different level from what we’ve been dealing with so far. We can’t even avenge Austin.”

Only the Halfling there knows how to assess the situation.

“So I can’t agree to following the 1st floor wizard’s instructions.”

No, I take back what I just said.

“It’s a newly formed party! Besides, the monk has been the lowest-tier adventurer his whole life, and the Elf is only on her second labyrinth run! They’ve never even seen the 2nd floor! If we listen to those guys’ instructions, we’ll all be wiped out!”

There’s some logic to it.

Instead of getting angry, brother monk deployed a mature persuasion strategy.

“Since those good-for-nothings brought us this far, isn’t our party leader’s command worth betting on?”

But it didn’t work.

“Forming a party is also an ability. We should be the ones commanding here. We’re a skilled 2nd floor party. You guys should listen to us.”

Kwang!

The barrier was already half broken.

“If you’re giving instructions, what will you do?”

I asked the Halfling while completely retrieving the urn and holding it in my arms.

“Our party leader is Bernard. Bernard. What will you do?”

“I handed over command to Caleb.”

The paladin said, pointing at me.

“It’s fine, so just tell me once.”

Let’s not have prejudices. Who knows? Maybe that talkative paladin has an awesome idea……

“Then let’s break through head-on!”

……No way, right?

“Me, the Barbarian warrior, and the monk – the three of us will take the front and clear a path! After escaping to the gate Caleb mentioned, we’ll regroup and come back!”

“Come back here again! Are you crazy!”

The Halfling immediately voted against it.

“We must complete the mission!”

“Forget it, damn it! That’s already gone down the drain!”

Kwang!

Now the barrier is almost completely broken.

“Everyone.”

Enough with the useless command disputes.

Let’s make a more productive deal.

“Following your plans so far got Austin killed, right?”

“……!”

“If you try something like a frontal breakthrough, you’ll all die. But if you follow my instructions, I can save everyone here. Not only that……”

Let me go one step further.

“I can revive the dead Austin, and I can help you complete your mission too.”

“What! Austin!”

“What did you say!”

“What are you talking about!”

All three people jumped in shock.

***

What was that paladin party’s mission?

It’s not ‘Mister Backstab’s resurrection’.

Why?

Because they failed to join our party, right? Contract failure is absolute for Nataniel’s followers. It means Nataniel commanded them not to do that work.

Despite that, Bernard came down here under orders from the temple.

Why?

Because they absolutely must verify the ‘soul preservation system within the labyrinth’ that might have a huge impact on soul preservation and resurrection services, which are one of the temple’s main income sources.

That must have been why the temple cooperated with the Magic University on this project in the first place. The high priests aren’t interested in some 1st floor rookie Mister Backstab nobody.

Bernard probably received orders like this from the temple,

‘We’ll provide you with a skilled 3-person party at 2nd floor level, so verify whether there really is a soul preservation system in the labyrinth. However, independently from the Mister Backstab resurrection that the Magic University is conducting. That side failed the contract.’

If Bernard goes back and reports mission completion saying he saw Mister Backstab’s resurrection, he’ll get royally screwed.

Nataniel said not to get involved in that, so how can we base our mission’s evidence on that?

They’d tell him to collect evidence separate from Mister Backstab’s resurrection.

Think they’re crazy?

You saw correctly. Nataniel’s believers are lunatics.

As evidence, that paladin is still talking about missions even though I used eternal rest to attempt Mister Backstab’s resurrection.

Moreover, after I recruited Aimus, they didn’t come looking for me even once during a full 8 days, and even on the 1st floor, instead of finding our party to propose cooperation, they attacked the 1.5th floor by themselves.

“I can help you complete that mission. By resurrecting your comrade Austin. In return, you must completely follow my orders, and you need to pay me for this work too.”

The Halfling’s eyes shook with tremors.

“How……How much compensation?”

“We don’t have time to negotiate that, so let’s ask the Nataniel priest. How much the fair value of our contribution is.”

“I’ll do it!”

The Barbarian suddenly shouted.

“But is that really possible? Austin didn’t have soul preservation on him. He wasn’t even caught by the Labyrinth Master……”

I pointed to the urn that had glowed green when Austin died earlier.

“If you die in the inter-floor space, your soul automatically enters the urn.”

“What! Then that’s Austin! Austin!”

“If you take that out of the labyrinth as is, it’ll break immediately. But if I resurrect him here, Austin will go to the temple and testify directly about what he experienced.”

Still, the Halfling had a dubious expression. I understand.

“We don’t even know where Austin’s corpse is.”

The Halfling said in a gloomy voice.

“This is our first time here, and we lost our way long ago while running in panic.”

“That’s fine too. Will you do it or not?”

“I’ll do it. Caleb. I’ll personally request reward distribution from Nataniel’s priests!”

The paladin shouted.

Kwang!

Now the sanctuary’s front door broke. The barrier still has a little left, but the wooden door can’t hold up. Once the door falls off, the barrier won’t last long either.

“Alright, fine! You command. Tell us what to do.”

Good. The Halfling came over too.

Really, every single step is a crisis.

“Good. Then……”

I pointed to the giant display case. Now completely empty.

“First, could you move this display case and lean it against the wall?”

Brother monk alone can’t move this.

The combined strength of three muscles – Barbarian, paladin, and monk!

I’m counting on you guys!

***

Kwabang!

The barrier broke.

And the sanctuary building’s roof also burst open. Because I destroyed it with a dust explosion.

Since the display case is enormously large, when you put it against the wall, you can use each display compartment as a ladder to climb up. And if you jump from the very top.

Tak!

Even a shrimp like me can hang onto the broken roof.

“……!”

But I can’t pull myself up.

I don’t even have the strength to do a single pull-up!

“Yernil!”

“Yes!”

When I struggled and called for help, Yernil hopped up onto the roof and pulled me up.

The scene looking down from above……

“Haah.”

Really makes me sigh.

It’s just like a scene from a zombie movie. A zombie horde – no, a horde of hundreds of Boundary Sentinels surrounding the survivors’ last shelter.

Monsters covered in black cloth with no eyes, nose, or mouth, holding swords and charging through the narrow entrance.

Blocking their front were the monk, the paladin, and the Barbarian.

“Sentinel’s Shield!”

The Paladin blocks the front with his shield, while the Barbarian and the monk catch the ones leaking to the sides and smash their heads.

“But we won’t be able to hold long.”

Yernil, who came back down, sent Mister Backstab up to the roof along with the Halfling crossbow user.

Looking as I pulled him up, it seems the necromancy has almost all drained out. His eyes are barely opening.

“The urn too!”

I also received Mister Backstab’s urn that the Halfling handed me.

Yernil came up alone with Austin’s urn tucked under her side.

At the same time, I shouted toward the monk.

“Don’t resist too strongly and slowly retreat backward!”

The reason is because of the Manager.

“What is this monster!”

The Manager of Rest, which looks like a 3.5-meter tall No-Face, was holding one giant wand in his hand.

The Manager uses it like a wand, but if you acquire that as an item, it’s classified as a staff.

Because it’s so huge.

I use a high-attack dual wand build, but sometimes I’m tempted by that staff. Because……

‘It contains undead healing magic.’

“The monsters are healing!”

There’s obvious panic in the paladin’s voice.

Even though I warned them in advance, seeing it directly must be shocking, right?

‘What if I kill the Manager.’

Then I could get that staff.

And I might even win this battle.

It was the strategy I thought of first, but I quickly abandoned it.

About half of us would die, and the probability of me being included in that half is very high.

Wizards are always priority targets.

“Fight with the mindset of buying time!”

Whether the Boundary Sentinels get their skulls cracked by the monk or get split in two by the Barbarian, if the Manager of Rest waves his wand once, they all recover completely.

‘Undead Healing has a 15-second cooldown.’

“Fall back little by little!”

“Dust Explosion.”

I aimed for an opening and blew up one undead in the middle.

“I’ll be back, Caleb.”

Behind me, Yernil put on a determined expression and stuck the resurrection scroll she received from Bernard into her waistband.

Then she slung her bow over her shoulder, secured her quiver well, put potions in her pouch, and held Austin’s urn in her arms.

“I’ll go and come back!”

Tak!

Yernil jumped from the roof.

In the opposite direction from where the Sentinels were swarming.

No one here knows Austin’s corpse location, but Yernil knows the direction and distance exactly.

Because she caught the position when Austin died.

Sound Mapping is a 1st tier special ability.

And since all the aggro is drawn to this sanctuary, there should be almost no danger to Yernil.

‘Austin was said to be a wizard.’

I need to revive that guy to provide support from the opposite side.

Go! Yernil! Bottom card pulling!

No.

Top card pulling!

***

If we had gone head-on, we’d all be dead.

Such thoughts came to mind for Bernard, the paladin of the Nataniel Sacred Church.

Has there ever been a time when it was this difficult to fathom Nataniel’s will?

‘This is on a completely different level from earlier!’

Though Austin died, Bernard thought he could complete the mission. The Barbarian was also fired up with fighting spirit.

However, the Halfling opposed.

Because a boss appeared, it would be difficult.

Caleb also opposed.

‘If the Manager of Rest appeared, even dealing with the small fries would be difficult.’

Still, I thought it might be somewhat exaggerated, but it’s real.

It’s on a completely different level from earlier. Not only are they much faster and stronger……

‘The stench!’

They emit a foul odor like rotting corpses that occasionally makes your head dizzy.

‘The Manager of Rest heals undead, strengthens them, and casts stench aura magic.’

That’s how Caleb explained it.

That stench lowers the resistance of nearby enemies and makes them drowsy.

So I need to keep my mind straight.

‘Even with such warnings……’

Bernard’s head was dizzy.

“Uaaaah!”

Seeing him scream excessively, the Barbarian seems panicked too.

‘How many have we killed already?’

Monster corpses on the ground – five, six, seven…… nine.

Piiit!

That sound again. The 3.5-meter demon lightly swings its giant magic staff while making a sound like whistling.

Then……

“Bernard!”

The Barbarian jumped in front of the nine Sentinel corpses rising up.

Striking two with his two-handed axe while.

“Get it together!”

“……”

Frontal breakthrough my ass.

Far from advancing, even buying time isn’t easy.

But……

‘How is that guy holding up?’

That adventurer lowest-tier third-rate trash monk that Caleb picked.

His combat ability is strange.

Kwang!

Crack!

Kwajik!

A giant steel staff is the strongest weapon for controlling and dominating an area from a distance.

Especially against Sentinels rushing with crude longswords.

Thunk!

Every time he swung, monsters got smashed and collapsed. When they tried to block with swords, the swords broke too.

“Bernard! If it’s hard, team up with the Barbarian! Leave the right side to brother monk!”

Caleb shouted from behind.

“……Monk. How do you endure the stench?”

Bernard asked while moving to the left.

“If you train on Mountain Dalai.”

Aimus smashed two more Sentinels with his iron staff.

“You learn how not to be consumed by distracting thoughts.”

“……What about staff techniques?”

“I learned them on Mountain Dalai.”

Piiit!

The Manager swung his wand again.

“Brother monk!”

Caleb shouted from behind.

“Smashing Gaia!”

Among the dozens of Sentinels that had been crushed and fallen, then restored and risen again.

Aimus struck down hard with his iron rod.

***

The sanctuary floor materials shattered, creating an explosive shockwave.

Sweeping away the Sentinel horde that was just rising.

Between the settling dust and corpse fragments, Bernard’s shocked expression is visible.

It must be bewildering.

It’s your first time seeing a staff strength the monk, right?

I cleared even Turn-Based Master difficulty with that.

Not only excellent at area control and counterattacks, but also high mental resistance, so 1.5 floor’s stench aura doesn’t work.

‘Still, if it were alone, it would have been breached.’

Anyway, the Barbarian seems to have entered a rage state and is resisting the drowsiness, and the paladin is still decent enough to tank at the front, so the three of them are managing to buy time.

Pyung!

The Halfling crossbow user is also providing solid supporting fire.

Looking at his expression, this guy will also go out and apologize to our monk.

“You’re doing well!”

I shouted while firing Dust Explosion.

“Just keep slowly retreating like that! While buying time!”

Until Yernil signals.

“Caleb!”

The Halfling urgently tapped my shoulder.

“It’s a signal flare!”

Looking to the side, a flash arrow was rising about 200 meters away.

Got it.

“Everyone come up to the roof! I’ll provide cover!”

[It’s your turn. Time remaining: 60 seconds]

[Action Points: ■■■■]

I flipped the hourglass.