Part Twenty

“Oh sweet nectar….I’m out of…..that stupid forest”

With the magical weasel guiding me, my journey through the forest was finally at an end. It had been a piece of cake after we met up, as the weasel’s senses were far stronger than mine. We were able to avoid every monster, meaning I’d actually had a chance to recover.

“I’m actually….happy….to see the fort. Strange.”

“Chrp! Chrp, chrp!”

The weasel saluted me, then faded into motes of mana, before those too faded away. What? Noooooooo, don’t go magical weasel! I need you!

Having lost my lone ally, I headed towards the fort. Even if I’d been able to rest, my body wasn’t doing well, having suffered horrific injuries in combat. It was honestly impressive that I’d gotten this far. But as we all know, just when you think you’re in the clear, life kicks ya in the nuts.

“””AWWWWOOOOOOOO!!!”””

Oh for fuck's sake! Why the hell does this keep happening!?

Just as I was about halfway to the forest, hundreds of monsters began to pour out of the forest. Normally I wouldn’t be worried, but I was currently only capable of moving at a slow hobble, meaning the monsters would catch up before I could reach the fort.

I wasn’t going to hold out for aid either. Even if they did send someone to help, there was no way I could fight off dozens of monsters at the same time in my current state. That left me one choice. I’ve regenerated enough mana for one use, so that’ll have to be enough.

By pulling what dregs of mana I had left, I could squeeze out a use of Beast of the Nightmare, though I would be draining my reserves completely dry, something I’d never done before. Let’s hope this doesn’t kill me!

I kicked off the ground, charging forward as quickly as possible. Ironically, because the Skill boosted my Stamina and Endurance, the pain and exhaustion that had plagued me had disappeared. Though this was only temporary. As soon as the Skill ended, they would return and then some.

Which meant I had to cross a football field sized area, scale the wall and get into the fort, all in one minute. How’s that for desperate measures. Next time, I’ll just retreat like I’m supposed to.

“””AWWWWWOOOOOOOO!!!”””

“Shut up you stupid fucking wolves! Do I look like I want to play!?”

Dozens of Black Wolves were nipping after me. While I was slowly distancing myself, they were nothing if not persistent. I’ll have to time this perfectly. If I fuck it up by even a second, it could kill me. One way or another.

Lucky for me, I kept all kinds of exploration tools inside my magic bag. Including a grappling hook. As to why I had one, well that was because the one other time I needed one, I didn’t have it, which was dangerous to say the least. As for why I needed it, I’ll leave that to your imagination.

Using Skanda allowed me to better aim the hook, but slotting it in place was still difficult. I almost didn’t get it, but one of the nearby soldiers grabbed onto it and kept it steady while I started to climb.

Damnit, my gym teacher was right! Climbing a rope can save your life!

Getting over the walls battlements was the single greatest feeling in the last day or so. Knowing that I’d actually made it was worth the gut-wrenching pain I was about to experience.

Not even five seconds after I’d stood up, burning pain shot through my entire body. I collapsed almost immediately, barely able to register the sounds of others fighting of the wolves that tried to scale the wall.

Gaaaah! Fuck, it fucking hurts!

Black spots danced in my vision, as my consciousness once again faded away. The last thing I heard was someone yelling for a medic.

[Alicia’s POV]

“AWOOO!”

More wolves. Even though I should be happy that it’s an easier attack, why am I so anxious? That’s a silly question. I already know why. It’s because he isn’t here.

She’d been overly anxious for the last hour. Ever since the Archmage had said he would try to guide Michael back to the fort, she couldn’t sit still. There hadn’t been any word as to whether he’d arrived. Even the System telling her that Accuracy had finally gotten to C-Rank, a feat Michael hadn’t accomplished, wasn’t enough to lift her spirits.

And so she stood on top of a tower, mechanically shooting arrows into the milling throng of wolves down below. Each arrow found it mark, biting deep into flesh. Her machine level precision was awe-inspiring to the others and even a little intimidating. It was this, plus the story about how Michael outran a horde of monsters, that would cement them as a group not to be messed with for the others.

Hm? My eyes are tingling again. The last time this happened, I got Accuracy. Maybe if I feed more mana into my eyes, something will happen. Because of the lessons she’d been doing with Kalia, she was able to feel the flow of her mana within her body. This gave her an increased awareness of her condition, more easily allowing her to detect anomalies.

As she began to slowly gather mana into her eyes, her vision suddenly improved dramatically. In fact, she could see the tree line as if she was near it. Wha? How do I-, oh that’s how. That was shocking, my vision suddenly jumped further out. I’ll have to experiment, see what exactly I can do with it.

More wolves died by the minute, to the point that their numbers were dwindling. One might pity them, if only they didn’t throw themselves against the wall with such fervor. Black Wolves would never retreat on their own. Their bloodlust was too strong. Though how they managed to find foothold in the stone was a mystery.

The last wolf was soon killed and calm returned to the fort. But only for a scant few moments.

“Alicia! Alicia, come quick! There’s trouble!”

Since Michael wasn’t around for her to banter with, she’d spent time with Kalia learning magic. And a couple other women had joined in on the lecture. She’d felt nervous at first, but their kindness had quickly soothed her nerves. It was one of Kalia’s comrades who’d come over in a panic.

“Evelyn, calm down. You need to actually speak in a way I can understand.”

“It’s Michael! He came back, but he’s wounded! Kalia went over and I saw a whole bunch of mages running around too. Someone said he might die!”

The change was instantaneous.

“Take me there, now!”

[Kalia’s POV]

He’s in worse shape than I thought, but it could be much worse. While there’s a number of cracked ribs, it’s the injuries to his internal organs that’s putting his life at risk. There’s some bleeding and I think one of his lungs might have ruptured.

Actually, it’s quite odd. His organs seem like they were ripped apart then sewn back together halfway. Most of his injuries are half healed. Does he know Healing Magic? But if that’s the case, then why didn’t he stay in one place to heal? He wouldn’t have to risk himself like that if he could, so maybe he was out of mana?

It doesn’t matter, my job is to heal him. It might be all I’m good for, but I won’t let someone die in front of me if I can save them. I’ve just got to focus.

She was the most skilled at Healing Magic, so the NPC mages were allowing her to lead, even going as far as to supply her with additional mana. With their support, she had the mana to cast the sixth-grade spell [Regenerate] which quite literally regenerated the target’s body. It wasn’t strong enough to regrow limbs, but it was perfect for this situation.

While [Regenerate] was similar in power to the fourth-grade spell [Heal], its starting mana consumption was higher. After the spell was cast it leveled off, but the high starting cost kept her from using the spell in combat.

“Let me go! You’ve got no right to keep me out! Damnit, I said move!”

That’s going to be a problem. She’s been on tenterhooks ever since the others came back without Michael. If she sees his current condition….. well I don’t think that’ll be very good for her. But on the other hand.

“Don’t you try to stop me Cameron! He’s our friend! We’ve got a right to see him!”

“Alicia, all you’re doing is causing an unnecessary scene. If you want Michael to pull through, you’ve got to let them help. Arguing with those trying to heal him is only going to make it worse.”

Alicia yelled a few more times, before bursting into hysterical tears. She could hear someone, probably Cameron, consoling her, before the sound of her crying faded away.

Poor girl, she’s already somewhat unstable and this won’t help. No matter how well Alicia tried to hide it, she could tell the girl was hurting deep down. But it wasn’t her place to try and console her. That duty belonged to her companions, not those who could barely keep themselves together.

“Ow. Why do I always wake up saying that?” The sudden comment from her patient caught her completely off-guard.

“You’re awake!?”

“If Alicia yells like that, then I would think even the dead would wake up. Owww. Though maybe I should just be grateful I’m not one of them.”

He tired to get up, but a combination of her forcing him back down and a sudden bout of pain kept him from getting out of the bed. She had to lecture him about taking care of himself as soon as possible.

“Fine, fine! I’ll stay in bed for now. What are you even doing here?”

“I’m using my Healing Magic to help you recover. The other mages are just supplying mana for me to use. By the way, how do you feel?”

“Like I got hit by an extremely angry pig, breaking a bunch of ribs and shredding my insides, then stitched them back together before running with a pack of angry wolves chasing me. Oh, and I’m rather thirsty.”

“………….I’m not sure that analogy helps me to understand what happened.”

“Hahaha. It’s not an analogy, it’s exactly what happened. Except that I didn’t mention the magical weasel. I didn’t want to confuse you.”

Magical what!? Are we sure he’s coherent? Did I mess something up?

“I can tell by your face that you don’t understand. I’m not sure I do. After all, I don’t actually know if it was a weasel or a ferret.”

“Haaa, if you can make jokes, then I guess that means you’re fine. I’ve been ordered to ensure that you can fight, so I’ll heal most of your injuries. But! You should listen to what I have to say.”

She proceeded to heal and lecture him for the next hour, while he couldn’t escape.

[Finnél’s POV]

“Hmph, I see that he managed to survive. I must say I’m impressed, even if it is grudgingly. I guess even peasants are capable of impressive feats now and then.”

A single room in the fort had been made soundproof by a manufactured barrier. Finnél may have been scum, but he had plenty of hardware to burn through.

“Young Master, preparations have been completed. We are ready to begin operations at any time.”

“Excellent. This Dungeon has shown itself to be far too dangerous. Based on what the pawn on the sabotage team said, that monster was most likely an Orc General. For one to appear in a C-Rank Dungeon, but not be the Boss? We need to escape as soon as possible.”

He was terrified of what the Boss could be. There was even the possibility, slim as it was, that it was B-Rank. The last time he encountered one of them, it hadn’t gone so well.

Curses! Curses, curses, curses! If it weren’t for my orders, I never would’ve entered this blasted Dungeon! This is all that bitch's fault! If she didn’t go and acquire her Class so soon, there wouldn’t be so much pressure on me to get mine! And who gets Saber Lord anymore? Everyone knows magic Classes like Trickster are far better.

It was clear he was going on a mental tangent. After House Valec had learned that a new world was about to begin its World Decay cycle, they had sent several operatives to investigate and acquire resources. Finnél was one of them and just before he could head home, he had received Intel that a difficult Dungeon was to be cleared and was ordered to acquire as many resources from it as possible.

Finnél was nothing if not patient. He managed to rein himself in before he could explode. Working for a family that would exploit even its own sons and daughters had tempered his rage to a degree.

“You are all dismissed. Tomorrow night we’ll make our first move. Don’t get caught.”

The agents bowed and stepped into the shadows. Finnél wasn’t impressed with them, as each was below C-Rank, but they were the best he could get on short notice and House Valec would never waste an enhanced being on a simple mission like this.

“Master Finnél, may I have a moment?”

It was Sávos, his attendant since birth, who’d spoke. The elderly man was a battle hardened veteran of the House, but since he’d failed his Trial three times, he was considered a failure. However, Finnél valued his usefulness and thus gave him more consideration than he did the pawns.

“Yes Sávos? What is it?”

“Young Master, you know I have always had your best interests at heart through my years of service, so please heed my words when I say we should kill that boy.”

“Why should we work to deal with one lone human? If he gets in our way, then we can deal with him then. There’s no way he’s strong enough to stop us.”

“It’s…. You see, in my youth I had the misfortune to be stationed at a certain research station. One that was attacked and destroyed in almost violent manner.”

“Wait, you don’t mean…?”

“Yes, the Nightmare Queen. I was one of the few survivors and I still remember her cutting people in two with her weapon. A weapon which bears remarkable resemblance to the swords that boy carries. He may be more trouble than we thought.”

The Nightmare Queen, a vicious terrorist that had plagued not only House Valec, but the entirety of the GCA. If he possessed even a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of her power, it could disrupt all his plans.

“But never fear Young Master, for I have a plan.”

He held up a vial filled with a dark purple liquid, which Finnél recognized instantly.

“I’ll ensure that this winds up in his pack an the next time he leaves the fort, it’ll attract so many monsters that not even he could survive.”

It was a good plan. While it may wind up involving others, Finnél cared little for what might happen to the humans. He’d do anything to ensure he survived.

“Then I’ll leave it to you Sávos. Don’t let me down