The Ceremony of Selection had begun. The Evil Race Army’s invasion of the Desert Town Cutlass was all for this ritual to decide the Evil King.
It was not only to smoke out Camille, the son of the Evil King, but the Evil Race had also driven themselves into a situation where they had to decide on a leader by starting a war.
It was a nuisance, but the Evil Race’s resentment ran that deep. However, they didn’t refuse my participation as a human, and some even accepted humans like Camille’s mother, so I felt their hatred was more towards the Holy Church and its followers than towards humans in general.
“…Haa.”
I finally exhaled, moving away from the annihilated enemies.
I hid one of the side paths with a “Wall” to guide them to another passage, stirred up their anxiety with the “smell” and “sound” of Monsters, and showed them an illusion of a “hall” before the pitfall, trapping them all at once.
As expected, we, who only knew the regular entrance to the Dungeon, were being watched by other clans. Twenty people lying in ambush might seem like a lot, but I felt it was quite few. If all the candidates and designated warriors died, that clan would lose, but it was an unspoken rule that others could enter the Dungeon as hidden soldiers.
Those hidden soldiers all seemed to have the skills of Assassins. They were Rank 2 to 3, but that many would be a sufficient threat to Camille and the others who were advancing ahead.
I used a tactic that consumed a large amount of Mana, weighing my stamina and Mana, in a situation where I should have been conserving both. I didn’t choose my means. The reason I deliberately separated from Camille and the others to act alone was because I thought I couldn’t win by being passive.
We had little information about the Dungeon, and we couldn’t set up large-scale traps. That’s why I moved to investigate the enemy’s information and eliminate the dangers for Camille and the others who were advancing ahead. And, in some cases, Camille and the others were prepared to become decoys themselves.
“…It’s going to be a long battle.”
I didn’t think it would be settled in a week or two. But we couldn’t rely on our clan for food and other necessities, so we had to consider taking them from the enemy.
First, information gathering. Because it started without any preparation, we were short on many things. Food, weapons, medicine, Monster repellents, Dungeon information, we could only prepare the bare minimum.
If necessary, I would take them from the enemy and give them to Camille and the others. And my job was to annihilate the enemy while suppressing their stamina consumption as much as possible.
On the first day, I decided to investigate the inside of the Dungeon.
This Dungeon had multiple entrances, which made the Dungeon, which only had ten floors, a complex maze. The width of the paths also differed as you progressed, and the angles of the corners were different. If you went down a gentle slope, you would find yourself on a lower floor before you knew it, and if you looked up, you could see another passage above the high walls.
The Dungeon wasn’t completely dark. As is the case with any Dungeon, due to the nature of the Dungeon to “lure in prey,” the walls and ceilings inside emitted a faint light, about the brightness of a moonlit night, so even humans with weak Night Vision could fight well enough if they got used to the darkness.
But that was only in the large passages and halls, and the light didn’t reach the narrow passages and divided paths that were like animal nests.
This would be the key to Dungeon battles. The other guys seemed to think that the small passages in the ceilings and walls were Monster nests, but I thought they could be used as ambush points if you had high Martial Arts, Stealth, and Search Skills.
In fact, the passage near the ceiling that I explored was a bat nest, and it was now being used as one of my temporary bases.
On the second day, I investigated the beasts of the Dungeon.
This Dungeon was a “Beast Dungeon,” and the beasts you defeated could be used as food if you processed them properly. In fact, the Evil Race Fortress was eating meat from unidentified beasts, which was probably obtained from the Dungeon.
Even if they were called beasts, there were no ordinary animals in the Dungeon. They were just beast-type Monsters that had been transformed into Monsters by Mana Particles. In a normal Dungeon, Monsters of about Rank 1 would appear in the lower floors, and the difference in floors would only be the difference in number and frequency, but here, you couldn’t use that as a standard.
Because the other floors were intricately connected, you could encounter large beasts or groups of Rank 2 Monsters like the ones Camille and the others had encountered even on the first floor. I had only seen beasts up to Rank 3, but I memorized the types and habitats along with the geography of the Dungeon.
On the third day, I decided to look for another entrance.
Considering that the only other clans we had encountered so far were those guys I had defeated with illusions, the other entrances must not be in an easily accessible location. The guys I defeated must have been lurking since before the Ceremony of Selection began.
The probability of finding it by blindly searching the maze was low. But if you stayed in the Dungeon for a long time, you could see a pattern even in the labyrinth. The structure of luring you inside didn’t change, so if you could figure that out, you should be able to find another entrance.
This involved luck, so it wasn’t certain, but I was lucky enough to find a clue.
“…Ten people, huh?”
I didn’t find another entrance, but I found a unit of about ten people who probably came from there.
They were all Rank 3, and their weapons were made of steel, but they were wearing full-body armor that seemed to be made of beetles. Were they an assault unit attacking other clans? But the number of people and equipment seemed half-baked. Even if they targeted the main force with a Rank 5 with that equipment and number of people, they would probably be defeated…
But I somehow understood by watching their actions. Their equipment and composition seemed to be designed to defeat the Monsters of the Dungeon, not to defeat people. But the soldiers of the Fortress didn’t seem to be defeating Monsters for meat. In the first place, if you were diving into the Dungeon at this time, it meant hostile action. If that was the case, their purpose was…
“A supply unit?”
In my eyes, everyone was carrying a bag imbued with Mana Particles. If it was a bag with its interior expanded by Dark Magic, the contents would be food, medicine such as Potions, or, judging from the number of people, maybe spare weapons.
Now, what should I do? There was no reason to let the supplies be delivered. As long as I didn’t know where the main force was, the risk of attack would increase as time passed.
And more than anything, I felt a sensation that made my hair stand on end.
A trap? But…
“Let’s do it.”
I organized my thoughts in a few seconds and instantly switched my thinking to combat.
I was aware of the danger. Even if there was a possibility of a trap, if I was going to miss this, I wouldn’t have even participated in the first place.
This was a “battlefield” where survival was at stake. There was no need to let even a supply unit of soldiers return alive, but… I would dare to have them become “incapacitated.”
The reason was simple. If I gave soldiers who had no reason to die injuries that couldn’t be healed with Potions, rather than warriors who had a reason to die, other personnel would move for exploration and rescue, which would reduce the enemy’s manpower.
I didn’t have much time, but I would set up a trap. I could only make simple ones, but that was enough for now. To add more traps just in case, I headed to the Monster whose location I knew.
A large boar Monster, Great Boar. A Rank 3 Monster that was hunted for food even in ordinary human towns. It was as big as a carriage, but its nature was timid, and it was Rank 3 because it could be hunted by anyone with enough people, even if they weren’t Adventurers, but this Great Boar became a Rank 4 difficulty under certain conditions.
That was, in a narrow place where its huge body couldn’t be avoided, and in a state where the Great Boar wouldn’t flinch even if it was attacked… an “excited state.”
“Something’s coming!”
“It’s a Great Boar!”
The soldiers of the supply unit hurriedly readied their weapons when a Great Boar that was two meters tall appeared where the passage narrowed.
I had stressed the Great Boar by using a smell that animals hate. The chemicals alone weren’t enough for the smell, so I disguised it with illusion magic, but the distilled strong alcohol I used for the finish was real.
The vaporized smell alone would be effective for animals that weren’t used to alcohol. The Great Boar, which had been stressed in a drunken state, was excited by the pain of the arrow wounds released by the supply unit and rushed at them violently.
At this rate, half of them should be seriously injured. Some of them might even take down the Great Boar with them, but they would have to give up and think they were unlucky.
But at that time…
Bwoon…!
The air was greatly disturbed, and a “Shadow” spread from under the soldiers’ feet, and the charging Great Boar was swallowed by the Shadow as if it were sinking.
“!”
“Ha!”
The next moment, a Dark Elf woman emerged as if seeping out from the “darkness” of the passage where I was, attacking with two curved swords—shamshirs.
Clang!!
My knife and dagger, which I had instinctively raised to defend, struck sparks against the two shamshirs in the darkness, illuminating our figures.
“Found you!”
“Tch!”
After a few exchanges, we were forced out of the hidden passage simultaneously. The woman stopped her pursuit, creating distance and standing next to the man who appeared to protect the supply unit.
“Oh, I didn’t think you’d really come!”
“Charleschan-sama’s words are never wrong!”
“…Twin Yoma Clan members, huh?”
I held my Black Knife and dagger, looking at them. Still young… the man and woman, appearing to be around twenty years old in human years, had the same face, though their hair lengths differed.
“That’s right, human woman. I am Seriku, a ‘warrior’ of the Yoma Clan.”
“Likewise, I’m Seda, a ‘warrior’. Fufufu, Charleschan-sama was wary of an attack on the supply unit, but she didn’t expect you to come to us.”
“Charleschan-sama acknowledged you as a human woman. It seems you thought you had us, but we were the cleverer ones. Don’t think you can escape while facing all of us here.”
“…………”
I see, it seems I was the one caught in a “trap.”
That Yoma Clan leader woman knew her defenses would be weakened, but she sent a few warriors to guard the supply unit. The supply unit’s full body armor might have been because they expected me to come.
That strange sensation must have been because these twins were hiding in the “shadows.”
The man in leather armor, Seriku, used [Shadow Walker]—meaning he’s a Rank 4 Dark Magic user. And Seda, who fought me head-on, seemed to have Swordsmanship Skill at Level 4.
Rank 4 Magician and warrior twins. Moreover, their magic system and fighting style are similar to mine, making it difficult. But—
“That’s convenient for me.”
“—What?”
The two were momentarily distracted by the “rumbling” sound coming from behind them. Not missing the chance, I simultaneously threw two knives from [Shadow Storage]. They barely dodged them, and behind them, the supply unit was being attacked by Great Boars.
“Who said there was only one plan?”
“Tch!”
The man clicked his tongue, realizing my aim. Both Seriku and Seda could defeat Great Boars alone, but the situation was different now.
With the hidden “me” right in front of them, they couldn’t turn their backs on me to help the supply unit.
And… I won’t miss this perfect opportunity to defeat the two separated warriors on the spot.
“Now, shall we begin? The battle of warriors.”
The dungeon entrance located in the basement of the Evil Race Fortress has multiple entrances, but that’s not limited to the interior.
The dungeon, which had its artificially created entrances blocked as if it were breathing, was creating entrances in places far from the fortress, like a large tree extending its roots.
Many of these remain buried without being discovered, but some have been managed by clans who found them without reporting to the country.
“Gaaaaaaahhhhh!!”
“Black beast!?”
“It’s a monster!!”
In the moonlight, a black beast suddenly attacked the Dark Elves who were preparing in front of the dungeon entrance.
“Gyaaaaah!”
“It’s not just a monster, this is—”
The Rank 2 and 3 men were easily torn apart as if paper was being ripped, and the man who tried to raise a warning cry had his head silently severed by a woman sneaking up from behind.
A few minutes later, the only ones standing on their own feet were the black beast and the woman—Nero and Serejula. The only surviving man looked up at Serejula, his dark face turning blue.
“You are… a War Demon!? You’re alive!”
Frowning at the man’s words, Serejula kicked the man’s jaw.
“To think there’s still someone who remembers me after fifty years… For now, you’ll tell me everything you know.”
From Cutlass Town to the Evil Race Fortress, it would take a month on foot across the outer desert, or two weeks even if crossing the ruins. But Serejula, a former Evil Race Army warrior, knew some of the secret passages used by the Evil Race Army.
Among them, the most dangerous path could be traversed in just a few days with Nero’s running ability.
Thus, relying on her memory, she headed to the Evil Race Fortress, and just as she was about to infiltrate the fortress from a dungeon she knew, she ran into these unlucky fellows.
“Ceremony of Selection? A Pink Hair human for the prince’s warrior!?”
Serejula, having extracted the information, felt a massive headache and clutched her head. Moreover, she sighed deeply upon hearing the names of those participating.
“…Ergrim, huh?”
Magician Clan Elder Ergrim. The man Serejula once admired as her master, who trained her magic and assassination skills.
Even now, she couldn’t say for sure that she could win against him. But Serejula was more concerned about something else than her master’s terror. The figure of a young girl, whom she hadn’t seen for decades, vaguely passed through Serejula’s mind.
(…Could it be that that child is also there…?)
“Let’s go, Nero.”
—End—
The two of them, with expressions filled with tension, entered the dungeon.
Immediately after… at the entrance of the dungeon where Serejula and Nero disappeared, the man who had been bound hand and foot and left rolling suddenly burst into flames, and next to him, a black-haired girl with a flower-like smile floated into the dungeon.
Black-Haired Lady: “I’ve come to pick flowers.”
Next time, Ceremony of Selection Part 3:
Clash with two Rank 4 warriors!