STGB Episode 484

Pilgrims (2)

Four adult males with slightly better stats than me.

As someone who has always relied on stats and skills to take down monsters and plunderers, I was a bit worried, but in the end, it was an unnecessary concern.

‘……It’s easier than I thought.’

If it were a bare-knuckle fight against four opponents, it might have been different. But with proper weapons and a shield, the numerical disadvantage wasn’t a big issue.

I could see everything clearly.

Well, I’ve been fighting monsters like Amelia since I was a low-level, so maybe it’s natural?

Crack!

When the enemy attacked, I deflected with my shield.

When their openings appeared, I slammed my mace down. Repeat.

Crash!

After driving my mace into the skull of one soldier, only one soldier remained.

“……I, I don’t want to die.”

The young-faced soldier, who had been staying in the safest rear position during the fight, sensed defeat and started to turn and run.

Well, your dead friends would be disappointed.

I grabbed my shield like a boomerang and threw it forward with all my might.

Whoosh!

The skill name is Shield Arrow.

It’s a skill I practiced hard during my low-level days because I wanted a ranged attack, but it ended up being a skill I rarely used.

Thud!

The soldier, hit in the back of the head by the shield, fell forward, and I quickly approached and captured him.

“Let go, let go! Let me go……!”

The soldier, in a panic, struggled desperately.

“I have some questions.”

“What makes you think I’d answer you… Ugh!”

I punched him in the solar plexus, and he calmed down.

“Cough, cough, ugh……!”

Now that the environment was somewhat conducive to conversation, I began to extract information from the soldier.

First, the thing I was most curious about.

“Where is this place?”

“What… do you mean…….”

What do I mean?

I’m asking because I really don’t know.

“Just answer. Where is this place?”

“……The Pilgrim’s Cave.”

Hmm, it definitely looks like a crystal cave.

“What’s your objective?”

“To capture all the escaped pilgrims and bring them to the judgment platform—”

“Don’t shout. It echoes.”

I continued to ask questions in rapid succession, resolving my doubts and turning uncertain information into confirmed facts.

There was quite a bit of information to sort through.

Information 10: There are other pilgrims besides me.

Including me, there are four in total.

It seems that Erwin, Vercil, and Aynar are all in a similar situation to me……

Information #11: The pilgrims’ goal is to activate the hidden Witch’s Altar in the cave.

This seems like the clear condition.

Even if it’s not, going there would at least allow me to reunite with my team.

‘If it was this easy to get intel out of a single soldier, I’m sure the rest of them will figure it out, too.’

Ah, of course, the location of the witch altar is another problem.

But I have a guess.

The place where we were raiding.

The central dark zone.

The chamber where the monument of Gavrilius  the first person to set foot in the Labyrinth, is located.

If there’s something hidden in this cave, it’s got to be there.

‘…Otherwise, it wouldn’t have us start out on the outer edges.’

The concept of this event is becoming clear in my mind.

The rocky desert, the goblin forest, the beast’s lair, the land of the dead.

Four characters starting from the entrance connected to the original second-floor field, each overcoming their own trials and reuniting at the center.

‘It’s probably a boss fight there, or the next phase will start…’

How the hell did this event trigger anyway?

Just because there were four raid members?

No, that can’t be.

There’ve been plenty of times in the game when one of my teammates died halfway through and we still took down the Lord of Terror with just four.

‘…I’ll worry about the conditions later. For now, let’s focus on clearing it.’

I finished the interrogation and left the area.

***

First try.

For any serious gamer, there is nothing more exciting and exhilarating than this, and it always has been for me.

But…….

Thud.

That’s only true when it’s in the game.

When it becomes reality, the situation is completely different.

Thump, thump, thump.

Every moment is filled with fear and caution.

The thrilling excitement is gone, replaced by a chilling tension and a thought that’s stuck in my head.

‘I can’t make any mistakes.’

I have to get it right the first time.

This isn’t a roguelike game where you improve by dying.

There’s no second chance here.

「Your character has defeated ten imperial soldiers.」

「All stats have increased by +1.」

「The character has defeated fifteen imperial soldiers.」

「All stats have increased by +1.」

「The character has defeated twenty imperial soldiers.」

「All stats have increased by +1…….」

Moving around while hunting soldiers in groups of five or less, I could feel my stats gradually increasing.

‘Is it every five kills…….’

I’m not sure exactly how much my stats are increasing, but it seems to be the case.

‘Whatever the boss might be, I need to grow as much as possible before facing it.’

Ideally, I’d focus purely on hunting and keep raising my stats, but I decided that my top priority was moving towards the center of the cave rather than farming enemies.

It was a completely rational decision.

‘In a setup like this, there’s a chance there could be a time-based penalty.’

Ways to get stronger and ample time, [Dungeon & Stone], isn’t kind enough to give both at the same time.

‘…If there’s time left, I can hunt then. For now, let’s move.’

Concentrating more on movement than hunting, I walked towards the centre, wondering how much time had passed.

‘…It must have been at least seven hours.’

That’s when the information was updated.

Information #12: Even if the labyrinth is “closed,” it’s not a place you can actually escape.

It’s already past the time when this place should have shut down completely, yet I’m still here.

And, of course, there was some anxiety because of that.

‘…It’s not like a rift that will permanently trap us if we don’t escape in time, right?’

This was another variable I couldn’t ignore.

But worrying over it now wouldn’t change anything—

“A pilgrim!”

Right then, a shout echoed from a side passage.

How did they spot me when we can’t even see each other?

Despite the confusion, I hurriedly prepared for combat, but no soldiers appeared from the side passage.

No, rather, the sound of their footsteps grew distant.

“Catch them!”

“Filthy servants of the witch!”

Only then did I understand the situation.

Someone else is nearby, not me.

Thud.

Without hesitation, I ran in the direction the soldiers had gone.

‘Aynar? Vercil? Erwin? Who is it?’

As I wondered who the soldiers were chasing, I soon spotted a group of soldiers gathered and standing still in the distance.

‘……They’ve gathered all the nearby soldiers.’

Nine soldiers blocked three passages.

In the centre, surrounded and trembling, was Vercil Gowland.

“S-stay back! Don’t come any closer!”

Vercil trembled as she swung her bone wand.

From a warrior’s perspective, it seemed doubtful that she intended to hit them at all.

Naturally, the soldiers didn’t move.

“What are you waiting for? Capture her!”

“Eek, eek!”

In the end, Vercil was subdued by the soldiers without putting up much of a fight.

‘How did he even make it this far in one piece?’

I couldn’t figure it out, but there was no time to think about it.

There was no time to think. The soldiers had already forced Vercil to her knees and were preparing a blade for execution.

Nine against one… it’s going to be tough.

But there was no choice. I couldn’t just watch Vercil die.

Crunch.

I slammed my mace into the back of the rear soldier’s skull.

“Ambush!”

“It’s an ambush!”

As soon as I killed one, all eyes turned to me.

Well, no need to move stealthily anymore.

“Bethel-raaaaaaaaaaaaaah.”

I charged forward with my weight behind my shield.

It was a necessary decision.

“What are you doing! Start with that woman-!”

How do you approach and rescue a hostage while methodically taking them down?

“Uh, ugh!”

Based on the enhanced stats I had acquired on my way here, I pushed two soldiers aside and rushed towards the centre.

And the moment I picked up the kneeling Vercil.

Thrust!

A longsword dug deep into my side.

“Hey, Jandel?”

“Greetings later.”

The path I had cleared by charging was blocked again by soldiers who had gotten up after being pushed aside.

First I had to change my position.

With no resistance to physical attacks and surrounded on all sides, there was no chance of victory.

“Hold on tight.”

“Huh? Aah!”

I made sure Vercil held on tight, then turned back the way I had come.

I shoved one soldier aside with my shield.

Thud.

As I tried to dash away, a sharp pain shot through my thigh.

Thud -!

Damn spear-wielding bastard.

I smashed the spear shaft in my thigh with my mace and continued my dash. This allowed me to rescue Vercil and break through the encirclement.

The problem was….

I can’t run with this leg.

Well, at least I don’t have to worry about getting flanked. 

I quickly set Vercil down and pushed her behind my back.

The soldiers were slowly approaching from the other end of the straight passage.

‘Given the passage’s layout, they can only come at me three at a time.’

And there are eight soldiers left.

‘…This isn’t good.’

I’ve taken one hit to the side and one to the thigh. If the fight drags on, more soldiers might hear the commotion and join in.

Crack.

As I braced for a tough fight, lowering my stance to keep my center of gravity low.

「Vercil Gowland has cast [Rising Flesh].」

……Healing began to flow into me.

****

[Rising Flesh].

An active ability of a level 7 monster, the Dark Worshipper.

It had been activated by Vercil Gouldland.

‘…What is this?’

A mage using a vitality skill?

A phenomenon I’ve never seen in all my time playing [Dungeon & Stone].

But there was something more urgent than satisfying my curiosity.

‘This changes everything.’

There’s only one thing I need to ask Vercil right now.

Not how he could use that skill, but—

“Vercil, how much more can you use that ability?”

“One more time in three minutes.”

“Good.”

My injuries have already been completely healed.

Even if I get hurt again, there’s a way to recover in three minutes.

In other words, I can afford to fight much more aggressively now.

Thud.

I dropped my defensive stance and charged forward, swinging my mace.

And then…

Crunch, crunch-!

I took a few minor injuries as I increased the intensity of my attacks, but in the end, I won the fight.

[Your character has killed seventy imperial soldiers]

[All stats have increased by +1]

After killing seven, the remaining two fled.

I didn’t bother to chase the ones who ran away.

“Hey, Jandel…”

“…before they bring reinforcements, let’s get out of here first”

“Ah, right!”

I quickly looted a suit of armor that looked about the right size for Vercil to wear, plus a shield, and then got moving.

And then..

「Vercil Gowland has cast [Rising Flesh].」

In a safe spot, I let her heal me first, and then we talked.

“What is this? How can you use abilities?”

“I don’t know either. Ever since I woke up, I’ve been able to use them naturally… It’s strange. It feels like I’ve got a new organ in my body, you know? I’m probably the first mage to experience this.”

Hmm, I didn’t need such a long explanation.

Just as I was about to say something, Vercil coughed awkwardly and stopped herself.

“A-anyway, that’s not the important part. There’s another ability I can use besides this one.”

“What is it?”

“I think it’s [Assimilation].”

[Assimilation] is a gnome skill.

Its effect is to create a stealth barrier within a 3-metre radius.

From what I heard, Vercil had been using this stealth skill diligently to make it this far…

‘Are they giving mages skills as a form of balance adjustment?’

Hmm, that seems likely.

A mage with no combat experience would need that kind of balance patch to survive.

“It was really tough. I ran out of soul energy? So while I was resting, I ran into the soldiers… Once I was spotted, I couldn’t use stealth anymore.”

“Where was your starting point?”

“…Huh?”

“If you looked outside before the barrier disappeared, you should know.”

“Uh… Sorry. I was so panicked that I ran off without looking.”

“Ah… I see. Well, that’s understandable. It’s not important anyway. By the way, how did you find out that you had to go to the centre?”

“Huh?”

We both tilted our heads, confused.

“You came to the centre on purpose?”

“This is… the centre?”

“……”

Right, she just ran off without direction and ended up here.

Well, good thing she ran into me, then.

“So, Mr. Jandel, how’d you do all that? I can’t believe you took on ten soldiers by yourself and won. Where’d you get that gear? At first, I didn’t even recognize you!”

Once her story was over, Vercil started asking me all sorts of questions, and I shared my story and the information I had gathered so far.

Start: 0 minutes in.

Just before the barrier broke, I overheard the soldiers talking and realised that we were ‘pilgrims’.

I also noticed that the area outside the barrier resembled the Goblin Forest, so I guessed that my companions might have started at the opposite location…

Seeing that the soldiers were using ‘language’, I decided that I could extract information through interrogation.

And then I escaped.

20 minutes later.

I realised the monsters were helping me.

After watching the soldiers fight the monsters, I assessed the soldiers’ rank and learned that the cave appeared dark to them.

30 minutes in.

Deciding I needed more information, I hid behind the brightest crystal and ambushed them.

I barely won a three-on-one fight, looted equipment and increased my combat power.

45 minutes in.

Wearing the Imperial set, I ambushed more soldiers.

After winning the battle, I started interrogating them.

I gained a lot of information here, including the fact that the pilgrims’ goal was to activate a hidden witch’s altar in the cave, which helped me set my next objective.

2 hours in.

To increase my stats, I focused on moving while killing every soldier I encountered. I was worried about variables that might arise if I took too long.

And then…

About 7 hours in.

“That brings us to now. Got it?”

Phew. I think we’re done exchanging information.

“Alright, let’s move. We need to hurry to the center. There’s a high chance the witch’s altar is there.”

Despite my words, Vercil didn’t follow.

She just stood there, staring at me blankly.

“Did you know about this situation before?”

“Huh?”

What’s she talking about?

If I had, I wouldn’t have made such a mess.

“Of course not.”

“Then how did you know all this…?”

It was such a ridiculous question.

“…Isn’t she a player too?

Why is she so surprised by such obvious deductions?