TEOCH 50

We ran through the forest, treading on the dense grass.

The gem flew around above my head, as if it were following us. Every time the bluish light illuminated our surroundings, the tree roots would stealthily hide themselves in the bushes, and for some reason, the demonic beasts in the sky, who were likely tracking our position using this light, only circled in the air, observing the situation.

It seemed this gem itself possessed an extraordinary power, given that those creatures were holding back despite having clear opportunities to attack. Of course, this was incredibly fortunate for us. In this urgent situation, we would not have been able to make it in time if we had to travel by climbing branches.

‘But I have to hurry. I wasted too much time finding this gem!’

Feeling anxious, I glanced at the map several times. There was only about 1 hour and 30 minutes left until the entire island collapsed. Our situation was not a leisurely one.

Because we had moved quite far from the riverbank, the distance to the upstream area had become considerable, and it was uncertain whether we could arrive on time even if we ran at full speed without being hindered by other demonic beasts. Furthermore, the bigger problem was not time, but stamina.

“Hah, heok…! The slope seems to be getting steeper. Is it just my imagination?”

“No, it’s not your imagination! We’ve now entered the upstream region of the river!”

“…So you mean there’s a mountain ahead?!”

“That’s right! Now, let’s hurry up and climb!”

Rehas let out a groan, readjusted Damian on his back, and started running again. He was already drenched in sweat from head to toe, as if he had just been pulled out of water.

And Rehas was in better shape than the others. Damian, whose sense of balance was ruined by the aftereffects of excessive magic use, couldn’t even stand properly on his own and was being carried by Rehas. Rikiel, who had overexerted himself using the parasite, maintained a blank expression, but his complexion was ashen like a corpse. It was doubtful if any of them could hold on. And we couldn’t rest until we found the Amplifier…

‘By the way, is it really okay to use that Amplifier? It’s the only way right now, so I have no choice, but!’

Normally, that Amplifier was an item that should have been used in the battle against the ‘Guardian.’ The Guardian of this area used an instant-death attack that couldn’t be avoided by normal means, and to block that instant-death attack, a large-scale, powerful defensive magic had to be cast.

The six ‘gems’ imbued with defensive magic, the two ‘controllers’ needed to control that magic, and the four ‘amplifiers’ to maximize the magic power. Only when all of those were in place could the Guardian’s instant-death attack be blocked.

But if we use up those items for our immediate survival, what are we supposed to do in the boss battle? Do we have to block the instant-death attack in some other way during the boss fight? It would be a relief if there was some kind of substitute provided in the game… But if there wasn’t even that, it would be a classic case of robbing Peter to pay Paul.

‘Later, let’s worry about it later! We have no other choice right now!’

After all, we have to at least be able to enter the boss battle with our survival guaranteed for now! I found my way relying on the bluish light and checked the remaining time on the map. The letters on the map were still glowing red, but the static that had covered the entire map window until just a moment ago was now gone. This meant that obtaining that gem was the right answer.

Since there was no other way to infuse magic power into that gem, for now, we had no choice but to rely on the solution Tristan had come up with. We had to live first, right!

“Heok, heok…! How much longer do we have to climb?!”

“Just bear with it a little longer, Sir Rikiel! We only have to climb for about ten more minutes!”

The mountain path, which had started as a gentle slope, gradually became steeper and the terrain more rugged. The ground, which had been covered with soft earth, was now covered with rough rocks and sharp stones, making it so perilous that a single misstep could send one sliding and tumbling down.

We had to struggle up the mountain, grabbing onto the sparse grass and tree trunks. Everyone was clearly exhausted, but for now, we had to be relieved just by the fact that we weren’t being attacked by demonic beasts.

‘It’s okay, such a steep slope is proof that we’re almost at the summit!’

CRRAAAASH! Feeling a deafening roar shake the entire mountain, I hurriedly turned around. The island, which had been so vast, now had less than a third of its original size remaining. All that was left was the mountain on the north side of the island and a few kilometers of forest surrounding it.

To protect even this much of the forest, we had to stop the collapse as quickly as possible. If even that forest was gone, we’d have to worry about not being able to find food for the next few days!

“Mr. Rohan, it seems a huge number of demonic beasts have gathered at the summit! Can’t we take a detour?!”

“No, it’s not a matter of detouring or anything, that’s our destination! The Amplifier will be at the center of those demonic beasts!”

“What do we do about those demonic beasts? With our current strength…”

“Let’s trust me one more time, Damian! Please use a large-scale fire magic just once! You have that much magic power left, right?”

“I-I have it, but…!”

Damian’s voice was trembling considerably, but I pretended not to notice. The only thing we could do now was to clear a path to the Amplifier with Damian’s fire magic, quickly retrieve the Amplifier, and restore the gem’s function to its original state. And if we just ran with all our might while the charred demonic beasts were regenerating, we should be able to ‘survive’ for now.

“Your Majesty, I request that you cover our companions! And Rehas, I know it’s hard, but please try a little harder! If any demonic beasts break through Damian’s fire and attack me, please stop them immediately!”

The summit of the mountain was teeming with demonic beasts that had fled from the island’s collapse. Seeing the demonic beasts packed so densely that there was no room to even set foot, I was inwardly daunted, but this was no time to hesitate.

First, after hiding my companions well behind a tree, I lay flat on the ground so as not to be seen and waited for Damian to cast his spell. I got into a position where I could get up at any moment, and in my mind, I tried to accurately ‘predict’ the distance I would have to run to get the Amplifier.

I have to succeed in one go. By any means necessary!

“Mr. Rohan, now!”

As soon as the shout erupted from behind me, I immediately got up and started running. An intense light exploded in my vision, which had grown accustomed to the darkness, but I was already fully expecting that, so I ran on without the slightest bit of panic.

The foul smell of burning flesh, the screams of demonic beasts, and an intense heat filled the air. As I ran, a fierce roar came at me from behind, but the owner of that roar couldn’t even reach me before it let out a pained scream and was thrown aside.

Running with my eyes squeezed shut to protect my vision from the sudden light, I forcefully opened my eyes into slits when I judged that I had run far enough and looked around. The orange flames left a searing afterimage in my vision, but because I had shielded my face with my arms to block the surrounding light, I could somehow make out the situation.

Where is it, it should be around here somewhere? As I thought that and looked around, I felt something get in the way of my feet.

…Was it here?! I hurriedly bent down, picked it up, and checked it. A disk made of reddish metal, with a plethora of bizarre characters engraved on it.

In other words, it was the very thing I was looking for.

[Quest Item: Amplifier]

[An unidentified disk made of an unknown metal. Its principles are unknown, but it has the ability to dramatically amplify the user’s magic power.

However, its durability does not seem to be very good, as a part of the disk is destroyed with each use, so let’s use it carefully! If you use it rashly, you might run into trouble later?]

[Number of uses remaining: 3/3]

I hurriedly picked up the Amplifier, and for a moment, I froze upon seeing the newly added sentence at the bottom of the item description. Wait, is it just my imagination? If my memory is correct, a descriptive phrase like ‘you might run into trouble later if you use it rashly’ wasn’t there from the beginning, was it?

‘This bastard is really trying all sorts of things!’

Spitting out a curse whose target was not even clear, I turned and ran. Avoiding the surrounding demonic beasts was the priority, but I could not help but be amazed at the viciousness that cleverly drove a person into a corner, as if it had predicted my actions from the start.

So, you’re saying you predicted that we would try to use the Amplifier to infuse magic power into that gem and set the stage accordingly? You’re telling us to choose between suffering in the boss battle or dying here!

For now, I had no choice, so I ran back to my companions. My companions, unaware of my boiling heart, greeted me with cheers. I swallowed a deep sigh down my throat and held out the Amplifier to them.

In any case, the choices given to us now were extremely limited. Either use the Amplifier and chip away at our future lifespan, or don’t use the Amplifier and fall gracefully with the island.

Of course, the answer was already all but decided.

“Damian, with this, can you activate the magic imbued in the gem?”

“This is… a tool that amplifies magic power? With an amplification device of this level, it should be possible!”

“Then I’ll leave it to you. Since things have come to this, let’s stop the collapse before the entire island falls apart!”

I watched the summit of the mountain to see if any demonic beasts were chasing us, but fortunately, the power of that magic seemed to have been quite strong, as there was no sign of them yet.

RUMBLE, CRAAASH, the earthquakes, which roared with enough force to shake one’s insides, grew more and more intense, but at the same time, the Amplifier operated by Damian also began to vibrate violently, emitting a blue light. The magic power flowing from Damian’s hand passed through the Amplifier and into the blue gem.

WHOOOSH—!!

The gem, which had been emitting a soft glow until just a moment ago, suddenly began to emit a flash of light so bright it was blinding. The gem, having absorbed the light flowing from the Amplifier, began to rotate intensely and rise high into the sky. We couldn’t even open our eyes properly in the excessive light, but we lifted our heads and watched the gem’s transformation.

How much time passed like that? The immense magic power released from the Amplifier seemed to hover around the gem for a moment before instantly beginning to spread throughout the entire island. The magic power, which enveloped everything like a dense spiderweb, supported the collapsing island, and the strong earthquakes that had been shaking the entire island gradually began to weaken.

“It’s beautiful…”

A murmur whose speaker I couldn’t guess was heard, and the surrounding companions all nodded their heads. Before long, the magic power that had enveloped the entire island was absorbed into the island as if it were melting away, and the flash of light that had been emanating from the gem also gradually subsided. The gem slowly descended from the sky, as if its job was done.

The gem, which landed on the summit of the mountain, came down to the spot where the Amplifier had been until a moment ago, and then vanished, as if it were being absorbed into the island.

As the gem disappeared, darkness instantly fell all around. Because we couldn’t adjust to the sudden darkness, everything looked pitch black, but we still tried to look around and at each other’s faces. A hollow laugh, a mixture of relief and exhaustion, burst out from everyone, one after another.

“…Is it over?”

“It’s over.”

Ignoring the silence that had settled over the entire island, we giggled and burst out laughing. I casually checked the map window and realized that the numbers that had been blinking red and decreasing had already disappeared from the map. All that was left was the single word ‘Congratulation!’ scrawled across it.

It was absurd that after all that suffering for nearly five hours, all we got was that pathetic congratulatory message, but right now, I was so tired that I didn’t even have the time to complain about it.

“Ah, the sun’s rising.”

At Rehas’s mumble, we looked at the horizon far away. After the gem disappeared, light had finally appeared in the sky that had been pitch black. But after seeing that spectacle just now, that sunlight felt like nothing. It was just empty.

“Come to think of it, has it only been one day since we came to this area?”

“Shut your mouth, Damian. You shouldn’t say things like that…”

Thinking that the demonic beasts from the summit might chase us, we staggered down the mountain, despite being plagued by a fatigue that felt like we could collapse at any moment.

We had to find a shelter anywhere and rest. The thought that we might have to go through this whole ordeal eleven more times made my head spin, but for now, I didn’t want to think such depressing thoughts.

Anyway, we survived today.

That’s enough.