STGB Episode 530

Escape Plan(3)

Ranking Up.

Explorers describe the unique sensation of ranking up in different ways.

Some say it feels like their stomach is filling up.

Others compare it to the fullness of being connected to a beloved partner.

There are even those who say it’s like sobering up abruptly after being drunk.

But if you talk to them, they all eventually agree on one expression.

It’s hard to put into words, but—

Whoooosh.

It’s as if something from the outside seeps into you, making your very existence feel more dense. This sensation was vividly clear, even right in the middle of battle.

“BETHEL—RAAAAAAAH!!”

I’ve reached Rank 8.

Honestly, it happened much faster than I expected.

If I’m being completely honest, before coming down to the first underground floor, I thought it would take at least another year.

‘Does this mean I can absorb two more Essences now?’

Even by my own standards, this growth rate was abnormal.

According to the guild’s statistics, the average time it takes to go from Rank 7 to Rank 8 is about six years.

And that’s only counting those who make a break through and reach Rank 8—those who retire at Rank 7 aren’t even included in the data—

CRACK!

I cut off my thoughts and swung my hammer.

‘I’ll think about it later.’

Leaving behind the Orc warrior disappearing into light, I quickly scanned the battlefield to assess the situation.

“Huff… huff…”

Only 30 minutes had passed since the Rainfall began.

Under the dome-like barrier stretched above, both the explorers and the monster warriors swinging their weapons were visibly exhausted.

But even in that state—

“An Essence…! An Essence dropped!”

“W-Wait…! Whose was it? Did anyone see? Did anyone see whose it was?!”

“I-I saw it! It was Drake’s!”

“A Level 4! What are you all doing?! Hurry and Get it!”

The moment an Essence dropped, a mage rushed forward with a test tube, while the explorers and warriors desperately protected her as she collected it.

“Hey! What are you doing?! Now’s not the time to pick up magic stones!”

“Ah…! I was just worried it might get stepped on… Fine, got it!”

It’s a bizarre sight to see explorers basically ignoring mana stones.

But what could I say? If they started gathering mana stones too, their burden would increase.

Besides, unlike Essences, magic stones don’t disappear, so they could always collect them after the Rainfall ended—

KWA-BOOOOOM!!

Then, something massive crashed onto the barrier above.

The impact was so tremendous that even though the barrier absorbed the hit, the shockwave alone made the ground tremble.

[UUUUOOOOOOOH—!]

Looking up, I locked eyes with a giant staring down at me through the cracked barrier.

“It’s a Hipramagent…!”

Right, so it dropped down from the sky again.

It hadn’t shown up for a while today, so I’d wondered where he went.

Zzzzt—

“Baron! The barrier’s integrity is down to 30%!”

Because the bastard had landed right on top of us, the time we could hold out during the Rainfall had become dangerously tight.

It was only thanks to this barrier that we were able to fight even with the monsters falling from the sky.

“Lord Jandel! At this rate, we should retreat to the village and regroup—”

“Everyone, hold your positions!”

“But where are you going?!”

“I’m going to peel that thing off the barrier.”

With that, I stepped outside the barrier.

BOOM! CRASH! THUD!

Head, back, shoulders, waist—

The moment I stepped out, monsters falling from the sky collided with my [Gigantified] body, transferring the impact of their fall.

It was a strangely fascinating experience.

Whoooosh—

The fact that they died and vanished just from hitting me…

Would every battle have been like this if I’d gone all-in on a Reflection build?

Aside from such pointless thoughts, I moved as cautiously as possible.

If I accidentally stepped on an Essence, it would be a disaster.

Unless you’re a Saint or Saintess, an essence can only be removed at a temple.

‘Alright.’

I leaped jumped onto the semi-transparent barrier, and the explorers below began murmuring as they watched me.

“…The Baron just climbed onto the barrier!”

“What… is he trying to do?”

“We can’t even help him from here…”

Tch, just watch and you’ll see.

[Ooooh…?]

I grabbed the Hipramagent’s hair with both hands as it sprawled across the barrier.

And then—

“The Baron is pulling the giant down!!”

“How… is that even possible?!”

“It’s moments like these that remind me… he’s not human.”

Using the barrier’s sloping surface like a roof, I yanked the giant down with all my strength.

[U-UOOOOOH!!]

The startled creature flailed in panic, which actually worked in my favor.

Thud!

In trying to lift its massive body off the barrier, it slipped and tumbled down.

Crack—!

The barrier sustained even more damage in the process, but that was unavoidable.

[U-UOOOOOH…!!]

As he fell to the ground, the giant roared in frustration, as if protesting the unfairness of it all.

Pfft, talk about the guilty party filing the complaint first.

‘Where do you think you’re running off to?’

I didn’t even blink as its roar hit me head-on.

No—I roared back even louder.

“RAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!”

Maybe he realized I wasn’t an easy opponent?

“T-The giant is retreating!”

“The giant is backing down from Baron’s roar!”

The Hipramagent, still on all fours, began to crawl backwards, watching me warily.

I could feel him hesitating, so I quickly raised my hammer and smashed his nose.

THWACK!

He didn’t seem to take much damage.

But for a Hypramagent, this was enough.

[U-UOOOOOH!!]

He immediately turned and started running.

“”T-The giant is fleeing!”

Yeah, run along now.

You cowardly bastard—

Flash!

Huh?

Suddenly, there was a flash of light from behind me.

Whooosh—!

A single sword shot forward like a spear.

And then—

Thud.

Eventually, the sword lodged into the nape of the giant’s neck.

Boom-!

It exploded on impact.

「You have defeated the Hipramajent.」

The giant’s headless body collapsed before the mages could cast [Distortion Magic].

“It’s… dead?”

That thing got one-shot…?

“……”

“……”

All the explorers, including myself, gulped and looked in one direction.

Specifically, the origin point of that sword.

“Why the stares? Wasn’t that the goal?”

There stood the Village Chief.

His face as expressionless as ever.

***

The village of monsters who call themselves human.

And its chief—the Dragon Knight, Cornelius Brungrid.

Honestly, the reason I’d brought him along for this Burning Event was to get a glimpse of his combat prowess.

But…

‘What the hell is this old man…?’

The display of power he’d just shown was beyond shocking.

He one-shot something even Erwin couldn’t kill in a single strike?

‘I knew he had to have some hidden cards, but…’

I never expected him to be this monstrous.

For some reason, my spine tingled.

“What now? Didn’t you say we had to get stronger to escape? Are we turning back?”

“…Of course not.”

This wasn’t the time to dwell on the chief’s strength, so I focused solely on fighting the monsters.

And before long—

“Baron! We can’t hold out any longer!”

“…We’re retreating to the village.”

After holding out until the barrier was on the verge of collapse, we descended back to the village.

Then—

“Everyone, rest up!”

We took a break at the entrance to regroup.

The mages sat sprawled out, recovering their MP.

Priests and healers moved around, tending to the injured, while Versil took a headcount.

“Casualties?”

“Twelve injured in total. Three lightly wounded, nine seriously.”

“No fatalities?”

“A few of the village’s fighters are dead, but……. none of ours.”

“Good.”

At that moment, the village chief appeared behind me so silently I almost jumped.

“It’s over.”

Damn, you scared me.

“Over… how?”

“I’ve closed the entrance connected to the village. No one can leave until the Rainy season ends.”

Ah, so that’s what he meant.

“Can’t you open and close it at will?”

“No.”

That was disappointing.

If that were possible, we could’ve sent out small teams to collect unclaimed Essences.

‘And he said fighting at the bottom of the village with the entrance open was impossible too, because the ‘gate’ could sustain permanent damage…’

It was a shame the Burning Event had to end like this, but I quickly shook off my regrets.

Right now, I had a more pressing question.

“Chief, what was that earlier?”

“That?”

“The glowing sword. I never heard anything about you having something like that.”

“I see.”

“‘I see’ isn’t an answe—”

Before I could finish, the chief cut me off.

“Do I have any reason to tell you?”

“Uh…”

Well… he had a point.

Flustered, I hesitated for a moment, and the chief stared at me as he spoke.

“As you said, our arrangement was a transaction. We help you, and you find a way out. That’s all.”

“…And?”

“Focus on your task. Don’t let curiosity lead you astray.”

Just do your damn job…

He was not entirely wrong, but why did it sound so rude?

“Oh, right. Go ahead.”

“Come find me later. We’ll talk more then.”

“Many warriors died or were injured today. I must tend to them now.”

With that, the chief left with the warriors, and soon after, we headed to our lodgings in the village.

Then, we immediately began tallying our spoils.

“Here’s the list of Essences we acquired this time.”

Let’s see…

“Two Level 3, seven Level 4, and one Level 5…”

Even calling this insane would be an understatement.

We’d been outside for less than two hours since the Rainfall began. And this wasn’t even all we’d gained from the battle.

“Also, Tersia and Rockrov’s soul ranks were raised in this battle.”

Auyen reaching Rank 7 was one thing, but Erwin Ranking up to 8 was huge.

 

This meant that even though her essence slots were full with Chaos Essence, she now had an empty slot.

“My soul rank has also increased.”

As soon as I mentioned my rank-up, everyone started exclaiming.

“What? Bjorn! Really?”

“Wow, three big promotions in one day. Shall we hold a celebration tonight?”

“Let’s not…”

Usually, when someone ranks up, all you say is a quick “congrats.” That’s the norm.

“Ugh… I just caught up, and now I’m behind again!”

Aynar clenched her fists in frustration.

She’s still stuck at Rank 7.

Ah, of course, she doesn’t have much experience left to rank up.

I guess she’ll be the next to rank up.

“Congratulations… Bjorn.”

Then Misha approached and congratulated me.

Unlike Aynar, there was no impatience in her voice.

Then again, she was already at Rank 8.

After being mentored by Lee Baek-ho for over two years, it was only natural.

As for Amelia’s level, she’s at a ‘full’ 8.

She reached 8 right around when we first met on the 2nd floor, so maybe by the time we leave here, she’ll reach Rank 9…

“At this rate, I can see why folks get so obsessed with new regions. The clan’s growth speed is unreal…”

Once Aynar hits 8, that’ll be five out of seven people in the clan at Rank 8.

If we fill all our empty Essence slots, we’d be even stronger than we were now.

“Anyway, let’s start distributing the loot…”

After tallying the spoils, Versil led the distribution. Since no one had priority pick, we started with the Armin expedition Team, who had a 30% share.

“We’d like Lacrel’s Essence, Malaka’s, and the Nether Stalker’s.”

They fairly claimed one Level 3 and two Level 4 Essences. Next was Hex Clan.

(Well, they were basically unpaid slaves, but still…)

“You guys pick too. Anything you want?”

“Huh? We can really…?”

“We fought together, didn’t we? And the stronger you get, the easier things are for us. So don’t think of it as charity—pick what you need.”

This much welfare was necessary to avoid problems later.

“Then… we’ll take these three Essences.”

After some discussion, Hex Clan chose two Level 4 and one Level 5 Essence.

I guess skipping the Level 3 was their last shred of pride.

‘I’ll keep this one reserved for now.’

After the loot distribution, we had some free time.

The exhausted explorers scattered to rest, while those who’d obtained new Essences left to test them out, their eyes gleaming despite their exhaustion.

“It’s been a while since it’s just us.”

“Yeah.”

“Jandel, when are you meeting the chief?”

“Probably tomorrow. I’ll rest today first.”

“I see…”

“The silver lion clan didn’t show up after all.”

“They’re probably dead. They were too greedy for their skill level.”

After that, we ate together, chatted for a bit, and dispersed to our own activities.

“I’m going to have a quick look around.”

“Shall I help?”

“Sure, that’d be nice.”

Amelia took Erwin on a patrol.

“Uh… can I go out too? I’m not that tired…”

Aynar left to visit her monster friend at the blacksmith.

“Bjorn… I’m going to rest. See you later…”

“I’m… also tired after all that.”

Misha and Auyen went to their rooms to sleep.

Before long, only Versil and I remained in the common area.

“What about you?”

“I’ll rest some more. I overused my mana, so my head’s pounding.”

“Got it.”

“What about you, Mr. Jandel?”

“I’ll read a bit before bed.”

With that, I went to my room, turned on the mana lamp, and opened a book.

For some reason, I couldn’t focus on the words.

‘Cornelius Brungrid.’

Just how strong was he?

From what I saw, he might still have all the Essences he’d possessed as a human.

Could we beat him if we all ganged up on him?

No, more importantly—

‘If he ever tries to kill us…’

Would I be able to protect my comrades?

Lost in thought, I eventually collapsed over the desk and fell asleep.

“Jandel, wake up.”

“…Hn?”

When I opened my eyes, Amelia was shaking my shoulder.

At first, I thought she was scolding me for sleeping at the desk like usual, but—

‘That look in her eyes… It’s the same one she gets when something’s wrong.’

“…What happened?”

Without a word, she placed an iron dagger on the desk.

“What’s this?”

“A weapon I found in this village’s blacksmith.”

“Okay… and?”

She gestured for me to take a closer look.

As I examined the dagger carefully—

“……”

Goosebumps ran down my spine.

“You found this… at the blacksmith?”

The dagger bore the emblem of the Silver Lion Clan.

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