16
As all five magic circles were destroyed, the flow of mana that had been turning the floor black stopped.
It stopped moving because there was no more room for it to flow.
However, the black mana was not flowing, but was overflowing and becoming thicker and thicker.
So rapidly that you can feel the difference even after just a moment of looking.
Seeing that, Sisala’s face hardened.
“The mana isn’t getting weaker. No, it’s actually getting thicker… I think there’s a separate place where this black mana is generated.”
As soon as he saw the phenomenon, Sisalah immediately grasped its meaning.
It was an insight worthy of the yellow-haired wizard of Eltomagia.
“What we destroyed was the part that circulated and activated the generated mana. That’s why the flow of mana was directed towards the magic circle in a different direction every time we destroyed one.”
“Then… it’s a big problem!”
Sisala, who had been thinking for a moment, turned pale and screamed.
“It was like this while it was circulating, but if you break that cycle, the power that was continuously generated will accumulate, and the imperfect magic circle that has accumulated power in that way… …!”
“I know. If it keeps being made, it will accumulate, and if the pressure reaches its limit, it could explode.”
Sisala opened her mouth like a carp and spat out words in staccato.
“Wh-what are you thinking! No, of course you have thoughts! This is really too dangerous. I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but it’s reckless. If the circulation of this large magic circle isn’t tangled and completely broken, we’re in a bomb that could explode at any moment!”
She is right.
The moment all five magic circles are destroyed, this dungeon turns into a time bomb.
If the time limit is exceeded, the mana will not circulate and will run wild. Then, even if you don’t explode and die, you will die from being contaminated by the evil energy.
At first glance, it seems like there is no such thing as an absurdity, a gimmick.
But in fact, the destruction method itself was not difficult at all and was simple.
If you want to make a frontal breakthrough, go to the center and finish clearing the dungeon within the time limit. If you feel that you can’t do that, you can run away and come back.
The key is ‘road’ and ‘time’.
Can you find your way to the center in time?
Can you memorize the exit and escape in time?
‘Running away is the safest way, but… if you do that, the entire Danumine Valley will be contaminated. That will lower your score considerably.’
Even if it is the same hidden dungeon, if the strategy is different, the rewards you receive will also be different.
If I hadn’t reached my target level, I would have chosen the safe route, but once I was past level 30, there was no reason not to aim for the best result.
But before that, there was a problem that had to be dealt with.
‘I can’t let you get involved in something this dangerous.’
Dojin said while looking at Sisala.
“Sisala, the way out. Do you remember?”
“Of course! Even though I lack magical talent, I do have a good memory. Follow me!”
Sisala, who had been stamping her feet, grabbed Dojin’s hand and began to lead him along the way.
As she herself said, she had a really good memory, and she was able to find the exit by retracing the complicated path without getting lost.
“Over there! There are stairs over there!”
Sisala, who discovered the stairs, ran with a bright face.
Even so, he held Dojin’s hand tightly until the end and did not let go.
But when I almost reached the top of the stairs.
Bam.
Dojin pushed her hand away.
And pushed her out of the dungeon.
“uh?”
Unlike Dojin, Sisala, who had the average wizard’s sense of balance, stumbled and fell.
“I’m sorry. I can’t just leave the magic circle running wild like this.”
“What the-”
Sisala’s eyes filled with anger as she looked back at the situation in an instant.
But Dojin’s hand moved a step faster than that.
In his hand was a piece of iron, the key to the dungeon.
Kururung.
The dungeon entrance closes in an instant.
[Sisala Omen’s favorability rating has decreased by 3 points to 27.]
[Sisala Omen’s favorability rating has decreased by 3 points to 24.]
[Sisala Omen’s favorability rating has decreased by 1 point to 23.]
‘… … .’
Dojin smiled bitterly as he saw the grim message.
Even though it was completely blocked out and no sound could be heard, it seemed as if an angry scream could be heard beyond the closed walls.
Kookooooong-
No, I actually heard it.
A faint vibration was transmitted, as if some kind of magic had been cast.
Even so, it would be absolutely impossible to break through with the magic of a 4-star wizard.
‘It’s a shame that the favorability rating is low, but it can’t be helped.’
Up until this point, there was little danger of Sissala dying. But not anymore.
Dojin knew very well that unlike users, NPCs were not free from death, and that he was not free from the death of NPCs.
Because I learned through some not-so-pleasant experiences.
“Then… let’s try to solve this quickly.”
Dojin, shaking off the bitter memories, turned around and headed towards the center of the workshop.
There was no shortage of time.
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This was also because the time limit was quite generous and we moved very quickly.
“So that’s how it was originally.”
The place that was open in my previous life was now covered by a sturdy stone gate.
Dojin took out some holy water and drank it before opening the door.
Although I’ve been drinking periodically while in the dungeon, now is the time to refill all the doping I can.
“Then shall we go?”
Something that has to be done anyway.
Dojin, who was about to confront her without wasting time, hesitated.
[Sisala Omen’s favorability rating has increased by 10 points to 33.]
A message appeared saying that Sisala’s favorability rating, which had been dropping, had risen to a higher level than before.
You must be really angry. I wonder why your favorability rating went up.
Sometimes Dojin had a hard time understanding the favorability system.
Anyway, it’s good news that what went down has now gone up.
Trying to fully understand the systems intertwined with the minds of LOST NPCs who are more human than humans is just a headache.
‘Let’s focus on the task at hand.’
Dojin used the dungeon key once again.
A large stone gate opens with a creaking sound.
Even though it wasn’t fully open, black smoke was pouring out through the gap.
Mana that was created and accumulated in the central magic circle.
‘If my level had been just a little lower, I would have died without even trying.’
Intelligence is an ability that also affects magic resistance.
The level of contamination and concentration was so high that it would have been impossible to resist if I hadn’t leveled up and raised my intelligence.
‘The visuals are amazing.’
When the door opened wide, the sight that greeted my eyes was astonishing.
In comparison to other magic circles that had been destroyed, there were countless stars carved into the magic circle, and human hearts were placed here and there.
The heart, which had been specially treated to prevent corruption, looked like a plastic model, but it was in fact the heart of a real person who had been killed and harvested.
And the magic circle of the stone-throwing wizard that was laid beneath that heart was still continuing to amplify the resentment of the victims, absorbing their pure mana and replacing it with mana contaminated with resentment, then spitting it out.
“… Honestly, it seems a little difficult. But I guess I should try it.”
It was the first nervous moment since returning.
That makes it more exciting.
The feeling of all kinds of hormones being released from the brain when it recognizes a crisis.
In a familiar yet slightly unfamiliar cat-like state, Dojin released golden mana.
《Book of Truth》
Unfolding myself as a book that records the truth.
Woof.
Demonstrated telekinesis.
The target is bottles filled with holy water poured out from the inventory.
Dojin gathered them together and slammed them against the floor.
It broke at once, and a large amount of water soaked the surrounding area.
The central magic circle began to move in response to the mana of the approaching enemy and the holy energy of the holy water.
Yeah, it really wiggles like a living thing.
The black energy gathers thickly and reproduces the appearance of resentment.
-Save me!
A voice full of resentment.
Just hearing it makes my heart race and I feel like I can’t concentrate.
But if it collapsed here, the hidden dungeon boss would be reborn, and then the attempt to stop the magic circle from going wild within the time limit would fail.
So Dojin opened his eyes wide and corrected the magic circuit that was about to run wild.
And then she licked her lips.
To make the best move you can now.
《Ice Arrow》
The reason Dojin saved the holy water until now and scattered it all around him was all for this moment.
To change the ordinary 1-star attack type freezing magic into something extraordinary.
Yeah.
The sacred water that soaked the floor rose up and turned into arrows.
Wedge.
Without any need to save, Dojin immediately shot the ice arrow.
A magical barrier contaminated with resentment that could not be penetrated by ordinary ice arrows.
However, the arrows made from holy water were different.
Phew.
Even though it was broken, it damaged the barrier and the fragments fell inside the magic circle.
Enough is enough.
I brought plenty of materials to make arrows.
Wedge. Wedge. Wedge.
Dojin whipped the magic circuit and created and fired ice arrows in succession.
-Die! You die too!
The ‘child of resentment’, whose birth was prevented, cries.
But Dojin didn’t stop.
He fired three, five, and six ice arrows in succession.
Pupupupupu.
Phew.
The half-finished boss’s arm moved and aimed for Dojin.
A long, black hand that surges forward like a whip.
Dojin’s eyes moved.
The ice arrow changed target and aimed for the bastard’s arm.
Pufufufu.
The three shots hit one point.
The bastard’s black arm flexed, and Dojin tilted his head back to avoid the attack.
At the same time, Dojin’s follow-up attack finally broke through the weakened central barrier.
But at that point, Dojin’s mana was also on the verge of running out.
It was because the boss monster was tougher than expected.
‘The maximum number of shots you can shoot going forward is three at most.’
If you are even a second late, the breached defenses will be restored, and the attack will fail.
The decision had to be made at this very moment with three arrows.
Is it possible? It is possible.
Based on the information contained in the field of vision, the experience, not the brain, derived the results.
Wedge.
Dojin’s arrows flew according to instinct.
The target is not the boss monster, but the magic circle itself.
Three ice arrows made of holy water simultaneously cut off the vital points of the magic circle, the lines responsible for the circulation of mana, and blocked the points.
It was a magic destruction that replaced mana spikes with ice arrows.
in result.
-Kueeeeek!
The child of resentment screamed like a strangled child.
And then it kept expanding, contracting, and expanding again.
Accordingly, the polluted mana that had filled the center of the workshop also ran wild.
“Ugh!”
Dojin, who was exposed to the force of that angry wave, was not unharmed.
‘Was I too complacent… …!’
It was because I hadn’t expected that there would be this much resistance in the process of destroying the magic circle.
If there was even a little bit of Manara left, how could I possibly hold out… … .
[The “Mana Aptitude” trait has been created.]
A single line of message came to mind at a moment when I was starting to lose my mind.
Immediately after changing jobs, Dojin’s magic circuit, which had been trained on the pure mana of the Manri Library, became stronger as a trigger for the strong stimulation, and his characteristics blossomed.
As the magical circuits expand and become stronger, magic resistance also increases, and a small amount of extra mana is created.
Dojin squeezed out his mana, drew up the holy water that had pooled on the floor, sprayed it, and covered it with “light.”
The light sphere floating in the mist created a breathing space, resisting the unclean mana even a little, and Dojin looked at the child of resentment collapsing inside and the hearts of the victims rotting and crumbling in an instant.
