Chapter 809

Chapter 809: Hidden Story (1)
[The Last Day]. One of the active skills of the rank 1 monster, Sniktura. The effects of this skill are quite varied.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM-!

Meteors fell from the sky.

Flash-!!

Lightning strikes with damage equivalent to about Rank 3 attack magic.

DRRRRRRRRRRRRR-!!!

The ground shook and caved in, temporarily limiting movement.

True to its name, [The Last Day] unleashed a chaotic barrage of terrifying effects.

Within a 10km radius around the caster, for 24 hours.

“Huh? Isn’t that good then? It kills monsters for us without lifting a finger!”

Ainar said innocently after hearing the explanation, but I didn’t bother elaborating further. After all, Barbarians learn best through experience.

Flash-!!

“……!!”

Lightning struck Ainar directly on the crown of her head, leaving her trembling, unable to even let out a short scream.

This is the biggest problem with [The Last Day].

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM-!

While the meteors, lightning, and numerous apocalyptic effects are truly destructive…… The problem is that they don’t distinguish between friend and foe.

“A-Are you alright? Fenelin!”

“U-Ugh…… I-I’m fine…… J-Just can’t move my mou—!”

Flash—!!

“……!!”

“Ainar got struck by lightning again……! A-Are you okay, nyah!?”

“…U-Ugh… uh… E-Emily……! S-stop this! I-It hurts like hell……!!!”

Ainar, having been unlucky enough to be struck by lightning twice within moments, spoke urgently, but Amelia only showed an unusually flustered expression. Well, this is the skill’s second problem. This skill, which indiscriminately devastates your surroundings, cannot be canceled mid-way.

“Emily! Can’t you hear me—.”

“Give it up, Ainar. It can’t be stopped mid-way anyway. It lasts for 24 hours no matter what.”

“What……? Don’t lie! I’m not stupid! What kind of ability in this world can’t be stopped midway!!”

“Uh……”

I was taken aback by Ainar’s confident outburst. Judging by everyone’s reactions, it didn’t seem like I was mistaken.

“Raven? Most activation-type abilities can’t be stopped voluntarily, right, nyah……?”

“Ah, yes… That’s… Right? Even Ainar’s [Indomitable Soul] is an ability that remains active for a certain period of time once used, right?”

At Raven’s words, Ainar, who had insisted it was nonsense that abilities couldn’t be stopped, fell silent, and Amelia, the instigator of this incident, carefully observed everyone’s reactions.

“……Well, it’s still pretty amazing. That it lasts for 24 hours.”

“It’s not amazing, it’s terrible.”

“This is a serious problem. If Fenelin is reacting like this, ordinary people could die.”

“So this is going to continue for 24 hours, this is really troubling……”

“Ahem……”

Amelia, seemingly aware that she’d caused a problem, cleared her throat.

“Well……”

Suddenly, Amelia spoke up. Looking at me, somewhat meekly.

“…Strictly speaking, it’s not entirely my fault.”

“……Huh?”

For a moment, I couldn’t believe my ears. I was wondering what she was going to say, but she’s starting with trying to avoid responsibility? The Amelia? As I looked at her with disbelief, Amelia avoided my gaze and continued speaking.

“W-well… Yandel, according to your conditions, it shouldn’t have been possible to use at all……”

Ah, that……

“Well, that’s true but……”

“Yeah, Mr. Yandel! Why did it activate anyway?”

As Raven, who had been standing beside me, showed curiosity and joined the conversation, everyone’s attention turned to me.

But……

“Hmm, well……”

Honestly, I’m not sure of the reason either. In the game, there was only one condition needed to activate [The Last Day].

“What do you mean ‘well’? Wasn’t the activation condition that it could only be used on the day the labyrinth floor closes?”

That’s correct. This skill can only be used on the day the labyrinth floor closes. For example, day 7 for the first floor, day 10 for the second floor, and so on. And although this is a hidden field, it belongs to the sixth floor, so it should only be usable on day 60.

“Then why did it activate now?”

That’s true. I’m starting to have a lot of thoughts as well. Regardless of the accident, isn’t something strange? Why would a skill that can only be used on the day the labyrinth floor closes activate now?

BOOOOOOOOOOOM-!!!

Is there some secret that I was unaware of?

***

Honestly, I’ve been too lucky lately. From surviving without any casualties when we were on the brink of annihilation against the Sniktura, to even obtaining its essence. My luck has been too good.

But precisely because of that.

‘It makes me even more anxious……’

In my experience, when many good things happen, equally bad things follow. The reverse was also true, but still. Anyway.

‘I have a lot to think about……’

From the story about the Floor Lord being summoned to the sixth floor, to [The Last Day] suddenly activating, and my growing concerns about how I should make judgements and decisions in the future. But thinking about the immediate situation……

‘It’s not bad, is it?’

That was my conclusion. Leaving external matters aside for now focusing solely on clearing the hidden field ‘Memory of the End’, [The Last Day] activating is a positive. Just like this.

[Over 10% of monsters in the area have been defeated. The Ancient Beast’s power weakens.]

[Over 20% of monsters in the area have been defeated. The Ancient Beast’s power weakens……]

Just by circling the outskirts of the island with Amelia, the monsters on the island were being eliminated at a rapid pace. You could say it was like we were literally scorching the earth, you know?

[You have defeated a Fanatic Gatekeeper. +EXP 7]

[You have defeated a Eerie Memory. +EXP 6]

[You have defeated a Alluring Flower. +EXP 6]

[You have defeated a Mirror Hound……]

[……]

Seeing how experience points are rapidly rising every now and then, it seems that even monsters above rank 4 are helplessly getting blown away by meteorites……

‘It might be possible to clear it in a day at this rate.’

Considering this was planned to take at least a week in our exploration schedule, I can really feel how insanely fast this is going. Well, it’s not without its problems though. As with everything in life, anything fast inevitably causes problems.

“Aaaargh!! That’s the tenth time I’ve been struck by lightning!”

“Kyaaaah! Mr. Parav! Mr. Parav got crushed by a meteor……!!”

Setting aside side effects like fainting from lightning strikes and nearly dying from meteor impacts. The biggest problem was this.

“Um… There’s five people left now that need one, right……?”

“Since Ms. Raines doesn’t immediately need one, it’s effectively four people.”

“Ah… Right……”

‘Memory of the End’ is a field that required you to continuously reset the [Death Sentence] debuff in order to clear it. However [The Last Day] was interfering with the reset process. After all, we need to encounter a monster first to use ‘Distortion’ on it.

“But will this be okay……? W-We only have 2 hours left……”

“Haha… It’ll be fine, Ms. Marrone! Don’t worry too much!”

Though we were frantically running around with the wizards casting ‘Distortion’ whenever possible, the acquisition rate was slower than expected, increasing everyone’s anxiety. Especially for the members who hadn’t reset yet.

“Easy for you to say don’t worry…… Mr. Parav, you can laugh because you’ve already reset……”

“…M-My laughing wasn’t meant that way!”

“……I’m sorry. I was being sensitive. It’s not your fault, Mr. Parav.”

“No……! I-I think it’s a completely understandable situation, so there’s no need to apologize……”

“……”

Of course, in the worst case, there was the option of sending members who couldn’t reset in time back to Skull Island through a portal. At least that would remove the [Death Sentence] debuff.

‘The problem is that with a Floor Lord summoned outside, it’s not completely safe either……’

Still, being at risk of death is a hundred times better than certain death.

[Time remaining until death: 01:50:17.]

With less than 2 hours left until [Death Sentence] activated, we focused all our efforts on obtaining ‘Original Sins.’ And as a result.

[Lilith Marone has taken an ‘Original Sin.’]

[Beleg Shusia di Tersia has taken an ‘Original Sin.’]

After resetting two people, we succeeded in acquiring one more Original Sin. Which means after feeding this one to someone, only one person would remain……

“Oh……!”

For some reason, Guild Master Illya Adnus’s expression brightened as soon as Original Sin dropped. That itself wasn’t an issue, but what he muttered afterward was problematic.

“…Ahem! Finally, it’s my turn……”

As the leader, I couldn’t ignore those words.

“Your turn?”

“……?”

“There’s still one more person who hasn’t taken it.”

“Ah, you mean that fellow?”

Adnus said, glancing at Auyen who was standing next to Amelia. Though he didn’t look particularly worried.

“Haha, don’t tease me. It wasn’t just given out randomly in order, was it? From what I observed, you took care of the frontliners first, then the backliners. It’s arranged by order of usefulness for future expeditions, isn’t it?”

Wow, he noticed that……? As expected of someone who worked in politics, he’s quite sharp. But for someone so smart, why didn’t he realize this.

“Auyen is next.”

In terms of priority, you’re dead last, buddy.

***

Of course, there was a bit of commotion over the priority ranking. Guild Master Adnus glanced at me with a dissatisfied look……

“What’s with that look?”

“…I’m not giving any particular look……”

What do you mean, that’s definitely a look.

“Do you think you’re more helpful to the expedition than Auyen?”

As soon as I brought it up, Adnus spoke as if he’d been waiting for this.

“Ahem… It’s been a long time since I retired, and while things are different here… I’m not someone who would normally bow to others in terms of skill……”

From what I could tell, he, who was a former navigator, seemed to feel wronged about losing in a ranking of importance to Auyen……

“Uh… I’m fine. Even if I eat one last……”

“What do you mean fine?”

“Well… Mr. Adnus is a incredibly remarkable person, beyond compare to someone like me……”

That statement irritated me a bit. Was he saying this because he disliked causing conflict, or was he genuinely being humble? I couldn’t stand by watching one of my members act like this, so I cut in decisively. I don’t care if that guy’s a Guild Master or whatever.

“Auyen, you are a member of our Anabada Clan.”

“……”

“And he is not. Is there anything else to think about?”

“……”

“If not, then take it. Adnus will get the next one that drops.”

Well, even cold water has a hierarchy.

“This discussion is over. We don’t have time, so no more questions.”

After forcibly ending the matter, Adnus didn’t say anything more. He knew it as well. That here, my word is law.

[Auyen Rockrobe has taken an ‘Original Sin.’ Fire resistance permanently increased +1.]

With Auyen’s reset completed, we could move around with somewhat lighter hearts.

“H-Haven’t we suddenly become too relaxed?”

“It’s your imagination.”

“N-No, I feel like we’ve actually slowed down… Um… We’re also moving away from the portal… Didn’t you say we might need to take that portal in the worst case?”

“Everyone’s tired. Don’t whine in this difficult situation.”

“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

See, you should have acted that way from the start. Why do I always have to enforce discipline this way?

“Then let’s pick up the pace.”

Afterward, we returned to moving swiftly and hunting, and as a result, we managed to successfully complete Adnus’s reset as well.

[Illya Adnus has taken an ‘Original Sin.’ Fire resistance permanently increased +1.]

And some time later.

“Above!”

At someone’s shout, I looked up to see a black portal forming.

It wasn’t particularly surprising……

“Another one?”

This is actually another effect of [The Last Day].

Besides dropping meteors and lightning, this skill occasionally creates portals that spit out random monsters……

“Wonder what’ll come out this time.”

“Everyone, don’t let your guard down! According to Mr. Yandel, monsters up to rank 2 can come out!”

Everyone immediately got into battle formation upon spotting the portal.

And……

“It’s small?”

“Is it a small species?”

“Doesn’t look very strong.”

Finally, the monster’s form gradually emerged from the portal.

“……Huh?”

And then, with a scream, the monster fell to the ground.

“Aaaaaaaaahhhhh……!!!”

THUD-!

“Ow, that hurt……”

The monster kept rubbing its bottom, apparently hurt from the fall.

“Still, it’s a success! I actually made it here! Yahoo! My research on the specified trajectory using the magic quantum mechanics extraction conversion formula was right!”

Wait, is this even a monster in the first place?

I wasn’t certain, but the excited shouting figure finally noticed our presence and jumped in surprise.

“……Eeeeeek!!!”

“……”

“Wh-who are you all……?”

That’s what I wanted to ask.

“What the hell are you?”

“Huh? I-I’m, A-Arta…?”

“…Arta?”

It was a hidden piece I didn’t even know about.