Part Eighty-Five

Magic is an intricate and complex thing. By using mana to form glyphs, one can influence the world around you. This isn’t just limited to the elements either, true mages can manipulate far more than what the eye can see. In prior ages, mages were ostracized for this ability, even to the point where they were hunted by their kinsmen.

But over time, the utility of magic eventually overturned the situation. Healing Magic could prevent thousands of deaths even in smaller towns, elemental magics were excellent for dissuading the many predators that prowl the multiverse, and Space Magic could revolutionize the transportation industry. With these discoveries, magic entered a golden age in many dimensions.

But even the most beneficial magics have their dangers.

For all their utilities, all magics came with the power to utterly destroy life as we know it. When taken to the extreme, any magic can cause widespread devastation, even if it doesn’t look like it.

Masters of elemental magic could destroy entire towns with a single spell, Space Magic can rip holes in reality or transport armies to pillage, even Healing Magic can turn someone’s biological functions against them. These are merely a handful of the apparent dangers of magic, but there are some spells so insidious, that they’re forbidden in all civilized worlds.

Many would expect for these spells to all come from Dark Magic, which is known for bending and twisting the Laws of reality, but the worst of the worst lie outside of the darkness. For all the stigmas surrounding it, Dark Magic follows its own set of rules, ones which cannot be violated. No, the worst spells are those that are supposed to follow the Laws of reality, but don’t.

One such spell would be the Ice Magic Ritual [Absolute Zero], which encases the target in a shell of ice that never melts. There are records that a certain kingdom within a certain dimension used this spell to execute traitors, and their remains can be seen even now, tens of thousands of years later, perfectly preserved in un-melting ice.

The only known counter to the spell is the Fire Magic Ritual [Eternal Flame], which conjures an inextinguishable flame. Spell Reactions like this are common, and can occur between many schools of magic. Another reaction would be when multiple kinds of magic targeting the same structure, like the mind, collide. The reaction varies depending on the types of magic and the individual spells involved, though the weaker spell will usually be dispelled.

Now, why was this important? Because in some cases, a spell will be laid in such a way that it causes an adverse reaction when stimulated by an outside force. Spells like this are usually malicious in nature, designed for some nefarious purpose.

When Michael’s spell had touched her, a chill went through her entire body, causing goosebumps and a slight hitch in her breathing. She instantly realized what the phenomenon insinuated, and the possible ramifications of further spell reactions. Death would be preferable to that.

If her guess was right, then it meant that the spell that she thought she evaded had actually affected her. If she’d been unlucky, she could’ve ended up like all the humans and monsters she saw following it.

But Kalia had been lucky. Her distance from the caster, high magic resistance, and innate willpower led to a nearly impossible conclusion: she’d actually resisted the spell’s effects, a feat nearly impossible for an F-Rank. Even Michael would’ve been subjugated by the powerful spell.

The only reason she’d even noticed Michael’s spell was because her soul was still fragile from fighting off the more sinister spell. It was like a half-healed wound, the wrong stimulation could reopen it.

She’d finally quelled the initial panic that had set in, and steeled herself. Though now she had to reassure Michael that he hadn’t done anything wrong.

***

It was like Kalia’s switch just flipped. One moment she was on the verge of a panic attack, the next she was telling me to calm down or I’d reopen my wounds. The sudden change was highly unnerving. It was like she’d figured out a problem that was weighing her down, and had come to a promising solution. Though I was kind of annoyed when she chided me for using magic in the infirmary.

“So it wasn’t an adverse reaction to Dark Magic?”

“No, no it wasn’t. I’m a little more magically attuned than the others, so I noticed the spell. But seriously, please don’t do that again. Spells can have odd interactions that you wouldn’t expect. Using Dark Magic in an infirmary is a bad idea.”

“Ah fine. I won’t cast any more Magic in here, but you’re responsible for any complaining I do, got it?”

“Yes, yes. Now go to sleep. You need rest to help you recover. And I need a break from your teasing.”

“Rude!”

Me, get to sleep? Good luck with that. I have to sleep on my back because of my injuries, and I’m horrible at that. Haah, yay me.

***

[Alicia’s POV]

Though her mind screamed at her to turn back, she decided to follow Braddock and Cameron anyway. The combination of Stealth and Accuracy meant that she could stal- follow them at a larger distance without losing them.

The two men soon arrived at their destination, one of the smaller common rooms in the barracks. The issue now was that there was no way to see into the room, since all the barracks lacked windows. She couldn’t just sneak into the room either. Stealth may have made her harder to detect, but it wouldn’t make her invisible. She needed to know what was happening in the room without getting caught.

Creeping up to the door, she pressed her ear to the keyhole, hoping to hear what was happening inside.

“So, they’re definitely up to something?”

That was Braddock, she’d recognize his voice anywhere. It carried a certain graveliness, a deep, hoarse timber that reminded her of her grandfather. Come to think of it, they probably would’ve gotten along pretty well.

“Mn-hm. A few of them accosted Kalia earlier, but they were scared away by that monster. Stupid shits looked to be on the verge of shitting themselves.”

“Monster? Are you talking about the wolf that broke in?”

“What? No! If it had been that beast, Kalia and everyone in the infirmary would be dead. No, I meant the guy that works with Cameron. The one who fought the Orc General solo and won.”

“The lad isn’t a monster, he’s just very… aggressive, when it comes to killing monsters. Very, very aggressive.”

“I don’t know. I kind of agree with Grant. Anyone who can fight such a powerful monster one-on-one is someone to be cautious around. And considering his aggressive personality, I’d back off if he came at me like that too.”

Grant, I know that name! He’s the other member of Kalia’s group! But who’s the woman speaking? I don’t recognize her voice at all.

Most of the mercenaries in the Dungeon were men, but that wasn’t to say that there weren’t some women there. At least a fourth of the group was female, though it was harder to tell the exact amount since some people wore bulky armor and helmets that they never took off.

As for why there was a difference in the gender ratios to begin with, well it was probably multiple reasons. The overall gender ratio for all mercenaries skewed slightly towards men, so that affected it too. And then there was the unspoken threat. The fact that the disaster zones were essentially places where the law wasn’t enforced.

Still, these were only deterrents, and didn’t stop all women from conducting mercenary activities. Alicia had met and interacted with a number of them, so for her to not know one who was talking with Braddock and Cameron, well it mystified her.

Assuming that the other male voice is Grant, that means there’s four of them in there, including this mystery woman. I just wish I knew who she was.

“Ehem. Leaving Michael aside, they sure picked a bad time to do this. Or maybe it’s a good time? There’s only hours left ‘til we can get out of this hellhole, so maybe this was actually good timing.”

“The only things those snakes are good for is knowing when to run. I told you it was a bad idea to bring so many people into this Dungeon. Hell, we shouldn’t have even come.”

“I can’t argue with that. Who would’ve thought we’d be pushed to this degree. I vastly underestimated what a C-Rank Dungeon entailed.”

“Yes, it was a most abrupt awakening indeed. Until now, I and many others took the dangers of the System’s Dungeons lightly. While the E and D-Rank Dungeons are much simpler, I believe that C-Rank Dungeons are meant to thoroughly test one’s mettle. And most of us have been found wanting.”

“Oh-ho, is the great Camilla actually admitting defeat?”

“Mn, I suppose I am. Why, my followers have already begged me to pull out of this Dungeon, and I am inclined to agree. This fort will become quite dangerous in the next two or three days, especially for those not in the elite squad.”

“As if you couldn’t join if you really wanted to. You might not match up to that monster, but you and your men are plenty powerful. Hell, I saw you take out a Minotaur Soldier. That ain’t an easy task.”

“Why Grant, whatever could you mean? Are you insinuating that I am somehow affecting the NPCs decisions? Why that’s preposterous! Surely you wouldn’t suspect little old me of something so heinous, would you?”

“Wah, uh, I, um.”

“Camila, enough. Now are you going to cooperate or not?”

“Oh boo. Yes Braddock darling, I’ll cooperate with your little scheme. I’ll bedevil them so thoroughly that they won’t be able to do anything nefarious. You can count on it.”

“Just see that they don’t bother Kalia. She needs to be free to do whatever it is she’s after. Cameron, can I count on you to do your part?”

“Yes.”

“Then we’re done here. Oh, and remember to warn the others. We still don’t know how the Void Wolf got into the fort. The NPCs said that the Anti-movement Array is still functioning, so there may be a secret entrance or backdoor into the fort. I’m mobilizing a search party just in case.”

The scraping of chairs signaled that the meeting was over, so Alicia scurried into a vacant room before they came out. She left the door open a crack so she could peep though.

First out the room was Braddock and Cameron, though the two men went in separate directions. Grant waited a minute before leaving, but it was Camila who kept her waiting. The mystery woman stayed in the room for a good five minutes, infuriating Alicia. She was only sticking around so she could catch a glimpse of whoever it was.

Oooo, why is she making me wait so long!? Ah, I’ve got it! If I just go in, I can act like I got lost and went to the wrong room by mistake. That way I can get a glimpse of whoever this person is. I don’t like how the others seem to know who she is, but me and Michael don’t. Yeah, let’s do this!!

Alicia quickly darted across the hallway and burst into the room, but to her astonishment, there was no one there.

***

::Dungeon Scenario Update:

Remaining Challengers: 756.

Mid-bosses remaining: 1 of 3.

Monster Army Remaining: 54.2%

Time until escape is possible: 20 Hours 11 Minutes.

The Dungeon Boss will arrive one day after all Mid-bosses and 90% of the Monster Army are killed.::

The time was nearly upon them. Less than a day remained. Soon, one way or another, those challenging the Dungeon would escape. Though whether it would become a story of glory or tragedy was yet to be decided.

The clock is ticking. Make it count.