Mystery 3

No one objected when I said we’d be staying here through the rainy season.

In fact, it was probably what everyone had expected.

After all, we continued our investigation until just a few days before the rainy season started. If we had wanted to avoid the rainy season, we would have finished our investigation and relocated.

Maybe it was because everyone was so calm, the investigation captain seemed embarrassed. “I’ve asked a pointless question. I’ve been so focused on the investigation lately that I didn’t think it through.” He scratched his head awkwardly and offered an apology.

“There’s no need to apologize. Everyone here knows how hard you’ve worked on the problem.”

I then proceeded with the meeting and checked if anyone had objections. Fortunately, none of the leaders opposed.

It wasn’t because they were intimidated by my authority.

It was simply that most of them didn’t consider the rainy season a serious threat.

After all, we had already experienced it once.

From Library Island to the Village Chief’s Island, though our journey had begun on the third day of the rainy season, we had made it to our destination without a single casualty.

“Given the supplies we used back then, it’s definitely best to avoid the rainy season if possible. But if avoiding it isn’t an option, then there’s no reason to fear it.”

“However, after the rainy season ends, the mages will be significantly weakened for at least a few days, so we need to carefully consider this aspect as well.”

“Yes, If we have to fight another enemy right after the rainy season ends, the absence of the mages could be devastating.”

The topic of our discussion was clear.

It was not whether we might be annihilated or how to escape the rainy season.

It was about how we could minimize damage and get through the rainy season as smoothly as possible.

After exchanging various opinions and strategies for a long time, we arrived at Plan A.

But, we didn’t stop there. We continued to brainstorm.

And then…

Plan B, Plan C, Plan D…

We kept preparing contingency plans to respond to any possible situation.

This was the advantage of a group practically being the army of the king.

Mistakes were unacceptable, so preparing for every possible scenario came naturally.

Hah, it would be good if my clan could adopt this mindset as well…

“All right, this meeting is over. Go prepare according to what we discussed.”

With that, the hours-long meeting ended, and in the remaining time, everyone scattered and busied themselves preparing for each plan.

And before long…

Crash—!

A monster fell from the sky and shattered against the barrier, marking the start of the rainy season.

And at the same time…

“Plan C is out.”

One of our contingency plans was off the table from the start.
***

The core of Plan A was to use the resources and hold out by maintaining a barrier over the ship, and Plan C was the exact opposite.

It was an escape plan, just in case we encountered an enemy or challenge we can’t handle. Plan C could also be linked with Plan D, which involved circling the island and returning just before the rainy season ended.

However, both plans were now meaningless.

Boom—!

With a deafening roar, silver waves crashed around the windless zone, connecting the sea to the sky.

“What kind of absurdity is this…?”

The sight was so overwhelming that even the seasoned explorers of the expedition force stood dumbfounded, staring at the sky.

But as they regained their senses, they realized the gravity of the situation.

“This right now…”

“Isn’t this extremely dangerous?”

The vast sea, which had plenty of room for three large warships and a medium-sized one, was suddenly a sealed chamber.

No matter how strong our ships were, breaking through those raging waters didn’t seem possible.

“Stay calm and hold your positions! Nothing has changed! As long as we each do our part, there won’t be any problems!”

After regaining his composure, the vice-commander gave orders and calmed the chaos.

He said, “Nothing has changed,” but we both knew that wasn’t quite true.

It wasn’t “nothing has changed.”

It was nothing has changed yet.

The escape route was blocked, but we still had to endure seven days of the rainy season.

However…

Were the surging waves blocking our escape the end of this event?

I didn’t think so.

Not that I was overly worried about it, though.

Even during the meeting…

And now, with the rainy season finally here…

The Goblin’s intuition hadn’t activated yet.

So, then…

“BETHELL—RAAAAHHH!!”

Leaving my commander’s post, I rushed toward the railing and swung my hammer at the monsters climbing onto the ship.

“Baron—!”

The vice-commander exclaimed in shock as I joined the fight, but I ignored him. If something significant happened, he’d relay it to me.

“Please come back at once…! Who will take command if you’re out here?!”

Well, command could be handled from here too.

Fighting and leading amid chaos—

It’s not easy, but it’s what I’ve always done.

“I can command from here! You just keep reporting!”

Seeing that it was futile to stop me, the vice-commander calmed down and carried out his duties as instructed.

Casualties.

Resource consumption rate.

The rank and characteristics of the incoming monsters.

He relayed information nonstop, and fortunately, there were no major issues yet.

So I focused more on the battle.

CRACK!

As time passed, more monsters survived the fall and climbed aboard.

The higher the monsters’ ranks, the more of them survived the fall from the sky.

“We’ll take over, Baron!”

As the battle dragged on, all members, including myself, took turns fighting to conserve our stamina.

Of course, the mages were an exception.

Though they didn’t fight, they were constantly pouring magic into the barrier.

Most of the power came from magic stones, but the stones alone couldn’t sustain the barrier.

Day one, day two…

Time passed, and we reached the third day.

So far, two deaths.

Due to the nature of the rainy season, intense battles were unavoidable from the start, so sacrifices were inevitable.

However, the injuries had no impact on our overall fighting capability.

Unless it was instant death, our robust healer squad would drag them back from the brink of the underworld.

This… actually feels like it’s going well.

Despite the ominous waves, the rainy season plan was proceeding smoothly.

Two fatalities… Well…

Two deaths may sound harsh, but in this line of work, you could die at the hands of a goblin on a bad day.

Still, the smoother it went, the more I braced myself.

‘But… is this really the end ?’

The peak of the rainy season passed, and we were now fighting fewer monsters.

That probably fed my growing sense of complacency.

Though I remained wary of potential variables, the thought that the rainy season might end like this grew stronger.

‘Honestly, enduring the rainy season out in the open is already an incredibly difficult condition…’

If it were only the Anabada clan members and not the expedition force, we wouldn’t have dared attempt such a high difficulty level.

Even with the same members, countless casualties would have occurred without these insanely powerful warships.

And thinking about it that way…

Maybe this is the right difficulty after all.

The more complacent I became, the more I heightened my vigilance.

Isn’t it the same when driving? It’s when you start getting confident that you’re most likely to crash.

But…

The third day, the fourth day, the fifth day…

Even after passing the midpoint, nothing out of the ordinary happened.

Not that it was easy, of course.

“Casualty in Team 2.”

On the sixth day, another fatality occurred.

Compared to the intense early days, the situation had relaxed considerably, but difficulty is always relative.

Though the number of monsters had decreased, our condition wasn’t at its best either.

Fighting in shifts day and night meant we hadn’t slept properly, and our fatigue had reached its peak.

“How many combat dropouts?”

“Three.”

Even after receiving healing from the priests, some were too exhausted to get up…

Perhaps because of that…

“Damn it.”

Even our Squad 4, which had seen no deaths so far, had an incident.

One mage collapsed from exhaustion, and the barrier temporarily dropped.

CRASH!

The damage to the ship from the falling monster was one thing, but…

“Retrieve the bodies.”

We lost one from the Armin Expedition and two from the Hext Clan.

“Reverse-summon the ship and gather everyone on Warship 1.”

We had to activate Plan E.

It meant gathering everyone on one ship.

It had a downside, monsters would also concentrate, but we had no choice.

One ship was already damaged, and we were almost out of magic stones due to heavy use early on.

Trying to endure all seven days from the start… it’s brutal.

Maybe I underestimated this because we had no casualties last time.

Surviving from the third day onward was starkly different from surviving from the very first day.

But if there was one silver lining…

The seventh day.

Before we knew it, the final day arrived, and as the clock struck midnight, no further events occurred.

[00:00]

The rainy season had finally ended.

Unlike last time, however, the members didn’t gather and cheer.

“……”

“……”

Everyone had given their all, and the deck was strewn with the exhausted, breathless bodies of the expedition member.

“Is it over…?”

“Even if it’s not, I can’t move anymore…”

I wanted to offer them words of praise for their hard work, but I decided to save it for later and looked up at the sky.

‘It’s about time for something to start happening.’

Why wasn’t anything happening?

Just as that thought crossed my mind…

Flash—!

A radiant rainbow-colored light enveloped us, as if blessing us for passing the trial.

***

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP—!

A mechanical beeping echoed nearby.

I opened my eyes to see something flying before the rail of the ship.

No, to be precise…

Whirrrrr—!

A drone, hovering in place.

‘What the hell is that now?’

Even in my hazy state, I instinctively grabbed my hammer and stood up.

Then…

Bzzzzzzzt-!

As if noticing my intent—

VRRRRRRRR—!

The drone flew off into the jungle.

“Where… are we…?”

“Is everyone okay?!”

“Assume battle positions!”

Even in their exhausted state, the team members quickly sensed something was off and rose to their feet.

‘Wait, jungle?!’

I hurried to the railing to check the surroundings.

It wasn’t as though we were near a river or coastal point; our ship had simply been placed deep within the thick of the jungle.

And then…

“Mister! Over there! A building!”

At some point, Erwen had climbed up the watchtower and was shouting while pointing at something.

“You should come see this!”

“You need to see this!”

Perhaps it was because the ship was so large.

Though the trees were large, stepping onto the ropes tied to the sails gave me a clear view.

“There! Over there!”

Following Erwin’s directions, I saw an artificial structure that resembled a temple. It was shaped like a pyramid or a diamond.

For some reason, the moment I saw it, a certain region came to mind.

One of the fields on the 7th floor of the Dark Continent.

A rare zone within the labyrinth where mechanical-type monsters frequently appeared.

If I wasn’t mistaken…

‘The Pantheon Ruins.’

The place where we had woken up looked strikingly similar to that location.

Continue reading more chapters at henprogressive.com

Please join here, I need supporters to help me continue translating STGB and Lee Gwak