Log Horizon

The Abyss Shaft raid team used one week for preparation.

They reinforced their camp and made dozens of forceful reconnaissances. They wiped out all other enemies except the bosses. They did their best to replenish their perishables and headed towards the battlefield.

Federico felt his breathing become shallow and took a deep breath.

The scenery in front of him was no different from last week.

The imposing dark purple figure of "7th of the garden" Ruseato loomed in the center of the circular arena.

The arena where the battle last week was fought was shrouded in silence.

Federico kept his eyes on his party leader Shiroe and waited for the signal.

Federico felt this taciturn young man had changed over the past week.

He mingled more with the other party members after that defeat. Federico knew he was a good Enchanter, but he was even better now. Federico had gotten used to the new staff Shiroe drew out from his bag.

They could not afford to hold back anymore, they had to do whatever it took to increase their probability of success. Federico felt that Shiroe had responded well to their expectations.

The problem of food reserves was also resolved by Shiroe"s group.

They provided ingredients from their bags without reservation, improving both the quant.i.ty and quality of their meals. The party"s beginner Chef Vuorinen was grateful. Some members commented "so you couldn"t bear to part with your food before this?" but that opinion faded away in no time.

They were guests of Silver Sword after all, so they couldn"t push the blame solely on Shiroe and his group.

Being wiped out was the turning point.

Although "death" was scary and painful, it could bring people together sometimes. Friends from high school or college could get along quite well, but the bonds between members of raid groups were on another level. Sharing this painful experience together elevated their relationships from friends to a band of brothers.

(Although you can"t be friends with people you despise...)

Federico thought as he bit his lips.

(But brothers in arms can"t work together if they hate each other.)

That was the case for Shiroe. It was the same for Demiqas too.

Azalea closed his eyes in meditation and raised his right hand.

He cast the Summoner"s spell Soul Possession. With it, the Summoner could possess a summoned familiar for reconnaissance. He dismissed the spell, shook his head a couple of times and made a curt report to William. "The standby mode position remains unchanged. No signs of other enemies."

The same result after a week of repeated scouting.

The raid bosses might have learned to cooperate, but they still had their own thoughts and preferences, they weren"t perfect. Log Horizon"s Shiroe mentioned this several times this past week. If you talked to him, you would find that he was a nice chap who thought far ahead. But according to the rumors from Akiba, Shiroe was a mastermind who could manipulate the minions of h.e.l.l.

(I"m fine with him being either type.)

Federico thought.

Shiroe was an introvert. His shy expression felt like a brick wall. His explanations were hard to grasp and a bit long winded. But these were minor flaws. The members of Silver Sword couldn"t really criticize others. They were just a bunch of recluses, every one of them had issues of their own. Shiroe might be a weird guy, but among Federico"s friends, he belonged to the bunch with common sense.

Shiroe chanted a short spell and activated it. The Enchanter"s Elixir spell increased the potency of recovery spells.

Vuorinen cast Heartbeat Healing, conjuring a bright green light that was injected into Federico"s body. The recovery rate had definitely increased. Federico was grateful to Shiroe who continued to cast buffing magic on everyone.

Preparation time was over. It was time for Silver Sword to shine.

This was the continuation of that night when William bared his heart for all to see.

They counted down quietly. Naotsugu rushed out as it went down to zero. The Guardian in the 2nd party left the others far behind and charged "7th of the garden" Ruseato alone.

(Wait for it. Wait for it...)

William"s left arm was stretched out horizontally as he surveyed the whole arena. Federico and the others were waiting eagerly. William stared at Naotsugu"s back, waiting for the first attack.

"Castle of Stone!!"

Naotsugu roared as he lifted his shield. This was the special skill of Guardians that negated all damage. Using these 10 seconds of invincibility, Naotsugu took the first hit of the raid, the fierce attack Death Knell Moon.

"Now!"

William charged as he shouted.

Federico was right behind him.

Death Knell Moon and Kneeling Dark Silver Swing were the special attacks of Ruseato in black knight mode. Even the elite tank d.i.n.kuron needed the support of defense buffs and health regeneration in order to endure these two attacks. Shiroe"s comrade Naotsugu negated it with his Castle of Stone. From their previous battle, they had determined that Death Knell Moon had a cool down time of 90 seconds. This meant that Ruseato couldn"t use Death Knell Moon for the next 87 seconds. Ruseato didn"t have any other powerful wide area attacks.

Kneeling Dark Silver Swing was a powerful single target strike. During this time, Federico and the others could move to their a.s.signed positions safely.

Although this was to be expected in raid battles, a Guardian from a small guild pulling it off so perfectly made Federico smile.

Even now, they were afraid of "death".

But their emotions were sky high.

The moment he charged forward with his comrades at his side, the instant they executed their difficult team battle, Federico"s heart was like a toy plane flying in the wind. Others might think this was a dumb and naive emotion, but Federico borrowed the patented quote from his guild master, "I don"t give a s.h.i.t."

Just like that night when William screamed and challenged the world, this was the path Federico chose.

Federico had died numerous times since he arrived in this world.

Time and again he rose back from the darkness. He was reminded of the regret and frustration over and over again.

But he had no memory of meeting his comrades in the darkness, and he found out it was the same for his comrades when they chatted. This made Federico glad. Some said this was only natural as they were just playing a game. But to him, Silver Sword was his home and he could call his guild mates brothers without hesitation. He felt that all this was proven.

... Friends.

It felt awkward to say this term.

At his age, it was troublesome to differentiate friends from acquaintances, and it was hard to cla.s.sify people like this anyway. They might be close or distant to you, it didn"t really matter. As a fresh graduate entering the workforce, this was how Federico felt.

But hearing the term friends from his high schooler guild master, his eyes felt warm. Federico felt complicated.

Maybe he would return to the original world one day.

The daily life alternating between his work place and residence. In reflection, having the resolve to die in a fight was really incredible.

It was not bad, but he would definitely refuse if he was asked to stop. This was a raid zone, and they were the raiders.

"Viper Strike Rush!"

Using the dark purple gauntlet as a springboard, Federico leaped into the air and attacked Ruseato"s arm with his flamberge. The venomous Viper Strike Rush did not deal a lot of damage, but it added the bleeding debuff and reduced accuracy by 4%.

This number was not trivial for raid battles. They would be able to reduce healing by this amount, lowering the MP usage rates, allowing them to keep battling longer. Federico would say that this was the 4% that would increase their chance of winning.

d.i.n.kuron relieved Naotsugu"s duty as the main tank.

He might be the handsome boy in Silver Sword, but he was equipped with phantasmal armor from head to toe, and wouldn"t back down even from Isaac of Black Sword Knights. Contrary to his normal gentle voice, he was shouting loud enough to shatter eardrums. War Cry, a skill that extended the effects of items and increased resistance to status debuffs.

Federico felt a surge of energy through his body.

He moved to Ruseato"s back and dealt much heavier blows than before. Alternating between vertical and horizontal strikes, his skills allowed other attackers to deal heavier damage. Considering the battle plan this time, having a good start was crucial.

About ten meters away from the edge of the arena where the battle with "7th of the garden" Ruseato was being fought, the sound of two dull metallic thuds could be heard.

Silver Sword"s Samurai Ranodomaru used "Zentetsuken".

As they had investigated in advance, cutting out a bar from the metal gate was enough for humans to pa.s.s through easily.

Federico snuck a glance as he continued his attack.

(It isn"t time yet!)

The attack output against Ruseato was ramped up. There was not much Ruseato could do. Naotsugu had nullified his most damaging skill, and he had nothing that could take out d.i.n.kuron"s watertight defense.

d.i.n.kuron and the others would be ma.s.sacred with ease if Ruseato called for aid, but it had suffered less than 10 percent damage so far. He probably wouldn"t ask for help yet... Federico was able to wipe away his fear by following this line of thought.

There was no guarantee. There was a chance that the other 2 bosses would join the fray at any time. Other bosses might turn up too... There was simply no way to tell. These were all deductions made through scouting the map and the team work among the Guardians.

With the slow pa.s.sage of time, Federico kept up the attack and kept the status quo, waiting for the plan to start.

They thirsted for victory.

They wanted to quench the thirst in their hearts, putting their all in strike after strike.

Federico"s sword Sigh of Musuperu turned into a mini typhoon through the might of Adventurers, pelting the armor of Ruseato with numerous blows. Cracks appeared on the armor under the fiery attacks, the ricochet scratching Federico"s face. But Federico paid it no heed.

Federico didn"t know he was the kind of guy who preferred doing things right until recently.

He understood this in the past week.

Wanting to be victorious did not equate to the desire to bring down powerful foes, gaining fame or fortune. It definitely did not equate to bearing emotions of hate or anger.

He just wanted a proper reward.

This was a raid William wanted to win so bad that he cried.

A fight where Silver Sword laid their lives on the line.

Federico didn"t want all their efforts to be for naught. He didn"t want this to be a meaningless challenge they kept up because of their own stupidity. If that were true, wouldn"t that be sad?

He bore no grudge against Ruseato. He even felt a sense of respect for it.

Federico and Silver Sword just wanted to verify one thing.

They were not wrong. They were stronger.

All he wanted was to prove it.

"The limit point!"

William let out a shrill cry as the support and healing characters rushed off. "7th of the garden" Ruseato was morphing. The armor covered in cracks shed off like a layer of skin, revealing a body as white as snow beneath... its appearance had changed to that of the white knight mode.

The black armor turned into a shadow like swamp, turning into countless warriors. The Adventurers within the trap zone of Ruseato had restricted movement. It stuck to their feet and stopped the players from moving. In order to avoid this area, the raid group changed its formation.

"Hurry! Shiroe"s party will lead!"

Following William"s command, the group jumped into the other side of the iron gates one by one. "3rd of the garden" Ibra-Habura awaited them there.

The counterattack of Federico and company started here.

Demiqas was among the first to infiltrate the western pa.s.sageway.

The corridor with a high granite ceiling inters.p.a.ced with giant pillars extended in a straight path far ahead. The end of the tunnel was hazy like the sunset, but they knew through advance reconnaissance that flaming snake Ibra-Habura was in the large hall ahead.

Demiqas looked around restlessly as he followed Naotsugu in front of him.

In Demiqas" eyes, the armor clad Guardian Naotsugu was as slow as a tortoise. He might look like he was sprinting, but his speed was half of Demiqas". Demiqas would be able to pull away with either a Wyvern Kick or Phantom Step.

But he would just charge headfirst into the flaming snake if he did that. He had to stay behind Naotsugu to avoid that even if he hated it.

The group was led by Naotsugu and Demiqas.

The tank of the 1st party d.i.n.kuron was the rear guard, fending off the shadow warriors as they retreated. They couldn"t move fast this way. With their main defensive party fighting in the rear, Demiqas and the others had to hold the front.

The opening phase of the plan was simple.

The last time all h.e.l.l broke loose, "3rd of the garden" Ibra-Habura and "4th of the garden" Tarutauruga opened the giant gates and entered.

The gaps in the gates were too narrow for them to slip through, and it seemed that they could only be opened from the other side.

The scripted event was probably the two gates opening up after they defeated "7th of the garden" Ruseato. But that was not the case this time.

The plan this time was to use the maze-like layout of the dungeon.

This meant that using this arena as a prison to isolate Ruseato was the gist of the plan. Ruseato was unable to pa.s.s through the iron gates and enter the pa.s.sageway so he couldn"t pursue the group escaping through the western pa.s.sageway. But it was possible for him to break down the gate with his destructive attacks, that"s why they engaged Ruseato until he turned into the white knight mode with weak attacks. If they didn"t defeat all the shadow warriors, Ruseato wouldn"t be able to move when in white knight mode.

They had already scouted ahead using a covert type summon. They had already been briefed on several possible situations that might arise, but it was a relief for this situation to prevail.

Ruseato couldn"t open or destroy the gate and was effectively nullified. The frost giant Tarutauruga situated in the east might open the gate into the arena, but he wouldn"t be able to access the western pa.s.sageway, just like Ruseato. They had been cut out of the equation. If Demiqas" group defeated Ibra-Habura and progressed into the depths of the zone, they could conquer this dungeon.

... But none of the raid members felt that it would be so easy to achieve victory.

Even if they defeated Ibra-Habura, there was no guarantee that there wouldn"t be another raid boss waiting. According to Shiroe"s interpretation of the dungeon layout, you could reach Ibra-Habura"s lair by going the long way from the eastern pa.s.sageway. Once Ibra-Habura fell into danger, "4th of the garden" Tarutauruga would definitely rush over.

It was only an optimistic speculation that Ruseato and Tarutauruga could not destroy the iron gates. They should a.s.sume that it would buy them some time, but would eventually fall. And if it did, they couldn"t attempt this again since the gate would be destroyed.

That"s the situation. Even though Demiqas and the other Adventurers could resp.a.w.n, the situation would keep on changing. The same opportunity would not come twice. The members of Silver Sword were tense as they ran down the corridor.

(d.a.m.n it!)

But this was to be expected.

There was no way to predict all the possibilities. Even grade-schoolers knew this. There were so many uncertainties in this plan and anything could happen. Like waking up on a Sunday morning to eat breakfast while watching TV. How many times could things go just the way you wanted? Things not going your way was the norm in the real world.

The alternate world of Elder Tales lured you into letting down your guard and forgetting about uncertainties. You thought that this was just a game, thinking everything would go just as you planned. Because you could do that, it created the illusion that everything you did would be successful.

He was beaten badly by Shiroe.

Demiqas knew. This world where things didn"t go your way was their reality. And he knew because he fell for the illusion. He was tricked by the game-like appearance he saw in his tiny world. His journey here was the same. But he had warned himself to not let his guard down. But his wariness dripped away slowly like water flowing from a tap and he underestimated this world again.

(I wasn"t careful and failed in this dull place. I was taking it lightly and failed... Because I underestimated that bunch of people, that"s why I failed.)

Demiqas remembered the skinny lady with her hands on her hips looking at him.

An unhappy face, she was probably looking down at Demiqas. That couldn"t be helped. Demiqas had hurt the People of the Land deeply. He didn"t kill anyone, but he had treated them with violence, traded them like commodity and worked them like slaves. Of course he would be hated. The only reason stopping them from seeking revenge was his physical prowess.

That woman was thin like chicken ribs, lacking s.e.x appeal. When Demiqas glared at her with his fierce eyes, she would say with a mocking smile. "If you think you are the master just by saying it then just kill me." That was her favorite phrase. "If you can"t kill me then get out of the way, don"t get in the way of my ch.o.r.es." She scolded him.

Demiqas was utterly defeated.

People of the Land died when they were killed. They knew this very well, but they lived on valiantly using this one life they had. They used what little they had to leave their mark on this world. Demiqas" life seemed so cheap in contrast.

Demiqas underestimated this alternate world.

He lost to Shiroe because he thought this was just a game.

Before he could learn from his errors, he lost against the powerless People of the Land.

He lost to Silver Sword too. He was defeated when they met for the first time in that bar, and he was floored over and over again, leaving Brigandia in a dire state.

And now, he lost to the raid bosses. There might be a way to salvage this, but he lost to William as a guild master. Even after that crushing defeat, there were still 20 odd gaming nerds willing to follow William.

Demiqas had nothing left to lose.

The white corridor made from stone bricks came to an end abruptly.

The tall ceiling had reached the new height of a 6 story building. The giant spherical s.p.a.ce before them was shaped like an egg 30m in diameter.

The walls were made from yellow stones with bright orange stripes. Stairs several meters wide along the walls spiraled down into the pit. Puddles of blue waters were scattered all over. The vast s.p.a.ce had surprisingly bright colors, illuminated by white lights.

"This smell..."

"Ah ah, hot spring festival."

Naotsugu answered Shiroe in a way that even Demiqas understood. This was the smell of sulfur. The stones had all been soaked in various chemicals.

The group descended down the stairs spiraling round the edge of the pit. At the bottom lay the sleeping giant snake Ibra-Habura.

This was probably the raid boss" standby mode.

As they planned, Naotsugu leapt off from the end of the stairs and charged at the great serpent.

The support was minimal, but they didn"t have time to make complete preparations. Naotsugu headed in without complete preparations.

Naotsugu attacked with the support of Tetora"s reactive heal and Vuorinen"s healing over time. Demiqas couldn"t see any hesitation in his action, an excellent move.

Demiqas bent slightly and jumped off like a spring, flying through the air. The members of Silver Sword also joined the fray.

It became a chaotic battle immediately.

The opening at the corner of the pit was probably the "answer". At the deepest end of this entrance was the finish line. But there were no "convenient" gates blocking the entrance to block off any pursuers. They had to take down "3rd of the garden" Ibra-Habura here. And they needed to do that before "4th of the garden" Tarutauruga arrived.

The distance attack team probably lost their cool, shooting ice arrow spells prematurely.

Demiqas cursed at their incompetence, but Naotsugu just barely managed to draw Ibra-Habura"s attention.

A fire storm appeared before his eyes, feeling more like a natural disaster than fighting a monster. Naotsugu used Anchor Howl and became a st.u.r.dy suit of armor, swinging his sword to aggravate his foe. In the short time the fight had gone on the amount of hate the tank drew from the monster was still unstable, Demiqas had already learned that. He understood how much the attackers wanted to deal damage as soon as possible, but being too hasty might pull in too much hate and lead to tragedy.

"Fortress stance! Let me test the performance of my new armor and shield!"

Naotsugu braced himself and leaned forward, as though as he was holding up a wall with his back. Blue aura jettisoned from his heels, this was the defensive skill used by Guardians. He blocked the enemies" strikes with his shield while attacking with his sword. This skill traded mobility for a boost in defense, a skill not available to Monks like Demiqas.

But Demiqas had skills Naotsugu lacked too, which were wings known as mobility.

"Ora ora ora! Aura Saber!"

Demiqas launched a downward flying kick from midair.

The attack followed a path similar to the slash of a giant axe, hitting the scales of the burning snake. It must have some effect. Aura Saber ignored defense ratings and damaged the opponent directly. The Energy Protection spell of the Druids reduced flame damage significantly, so Demiqas wouldn"t lose too much health as he attacked.

Demiqas dodged the tail of "3rd of the garden" Ibra-Habura, which was the size of a mini bus, with his Phantom Step. He leapt into the air with afterimages trailing behind him and unleashed a Wyvern Kick.

Wyvern Kick again.

Another Wyvern Kick.

The sole of his Storm a.s.sault Sabaton Boots, which seemed to be cut directly from heavy armor, sent mind numbing shocks to the scalp of his head. If he were to do this in Susukino, the abandoned buildings would crumple into a mountain of debris. Not just Demiqas. As Demiqas flew by in a blur of green, Federico was also striking with his flaming blade repeatedly, surrounding Ibra-Habura with the other melee fighters, like midgets around a giant.

Suddenly, Demiqas" feet emitted a silvery glow.

This was Shiroe"s buffing spell Keen Edge.

(That b.a.s.t.a.r.d!)

Demiqas snapped his tongue in displeasure. He wanted to spit, but his mouth was dry because of the immense heat emitted by the giant snake. Demiqas attacked Ibra-Habura mouth to vent his anger with Tiger Echo Fist. It had low accuracy, but he couldn"t miss when the size of the raid boss was so big.

The slithery eyes of the reptile focused on Demiqas, filled with killing intent.

"Wide area attack, fall back!"

The melee warriors left the front lines on William"s command. But Demiqas remained behind like a guardian statue, crossing his arms in front of his face. Demiqas wanted to take the hit straight on.

Without any hesitation or regret, Demiqas expressed his will in his own way.

Demiqas didn"t move an inch as the flame vortex spewed by Ibra-Habura encircled him.

Naotsugu watched the sea of flames coming at him. This was different from what he saw through his monitor when playing the game. It felt like as if the poisonous flame was sticking onto him and swallowing him whole.

But even in this h.e.l.lish scene, Naotsugu maintained his stance leaning forward with his eyes barely open.

He felt hot with the flame roasting him. But the sensation was on par with lying naked on asphalt under the bright summer sun. It hurt, but was bearable.

Naotsugu observed that the flames. .h.i.t him in waves, and took a deep breath as one wave subsided. He held his breath as if he were diving in water. He was doing this to prevent damage to his lungs, but it seemed like he wouldn"t be hurt lethally even if he breathed some of the fire in.

(That arrogant Monk isn"t bad in a fight.)

Naotsugu was covered by Tetora"s reactive heal, Vuorinen"s health regeneration and Toko"s damage negation shield. These spells were known as cla.s.sic healing magic. The wide area attack, Merciless Purgatory Feast, was strong. The damage negation shield of a Kannagi could cancel out 6000 points of damage. Together with the reactive heal of 900 points, the damage seemed too low. Naotsugu wouldn"t be surprised if the hit just now pushed him to the edge of death.

Demiqas shared the brunt of the damage with Naotsugu.

He probably used Cover Ring, a skill which allowed you to share the damage taken with teammates nearby. Demiqas the Monk had higher resistance to elemental attacks and health than Naotsugu. By spreading out the damage this way, Naotsugu would be able to stay on the frontlines. Naotsugu had a newfound respect for Demiqas.

"Alright, here I go! Taunting Blow!"

Naotsugu attacked to aggravate Ibra-Habura.

The giant flaming serpent was terrifying. The enormous head b.u.t.ted with a force which rivaled a heavy truck, the wide open mouth was as intimidating as heavy construction machinery. It closed in with the speed of an out of control train, making your legs stiffen and vision narrow.

But Naotsugu shook off the pressure and cracked a smile.

He was pushing himself, he had no spare strength to smile at all.

But having nothing to spare was hard to explain. You didn"t really feel that you were running on empty, but it did seem like you had nothing left. Even if you had a 3 day weekend, you still couldn"t find the effort to do your ch.o.r.es. Even during the h.e.l.lish period when you were so busy you had to sleep in the office, you could still find the strength to find a particular brand of pudding in the convenience store. That"s how it was.

That"s why he still had the spare energy to smile. He could squeeze one out even if he was running on empty.

Naotsugu held on to this belief and swung his blade.

Pulling in hate with his roar, adopting a defensive stance with his shield, he refused to back down.

And he kept on smiling. That"s how Naotsugu was when he took on the role of the main tank in a raid group.

"Bring it on!"

Everyone should have noticed Naotsugu"s shout. William gave instructions from the back, "Maintain damage output and shift to the left!"

Naotsugu"s smile deepened. As expected, William got it.

It had been more than 3 weeks since they invaded Abyss Shaft. They could build on their mutual understanding during this period of time. Naotsugu understood how William thought. William should be able to understand Naotsugu"s intentions as well.

Naotsugu"s body was bathed in recovery spells repeatedly, pushing his. .h.i.t points up.

Demiqas was doing a great job, but his health had fallen below 30%. Unlike Demiqas who was brought in like a relief pitcher in baseball, Naotsugu had no time to rest. Sharp scales were fired at Naotsugu repeatedly. To reduce damage and tank the next big attack, replenishing Naotsugu"s health was the basics in ensuring the safety of the group. Naotsugu accepted their a.s.sistance without hesitation.

In the midst of the fierce battle, Naotsugu thought about the old days.

That was a fun place to play in, compared to this alternate world. Naotsugu served as the main tank for the Debauchery Tea Party, so he had experience with raids. In fact, Debauchery Tea Party was a group that went for raids at an insane rate because of Kanami"s nature. She treated the raids as just an obstacle blocking their way. They went to challenge raids in overseas servers because she wanted to see new sceneries, what a joke.

"Hey, get over here!"

His new Armor of Silver Oath was really dependable. It was st.u.r.dy with all parts connected tightly. There were no loose pieces hanging around. The Gaze of Lionheart shield was excellent too. It provided better cushion against the shock to his wrist. He could keep on fighting with such equipment in hand. If he shifted his shield in the way of the bright spots in his vision, he could even push back the attack from Ibra-Habura"s tail. He could feel the increase in defensive power.

"Do you even lift? Bring it on festival!"

Naotsugu roared with brute force.

"Whoa. Mr. Naotsugu, you are fired up!"

Tetora suddenly approached and chatted casually.

Naotsugu leaned even more to protect Tetora from the flames shouting "Leave this to me!" Tetora pulled herself up onto Naotsugu"s shoulder and stood facing the arena. She spoke with a clear voice.

"Everyone! How"s your fighting spirit?"

The battle was still intense, so no one gave a definite answer to Tetora. But everyone could see her. This was obvious as they would see Naotsugu who was tanking the fierce attack of "3rd of the garden" Ibra-Habura when they attacked Ibra-Habura. Tetora was speaking to everyone on the battlefield while standing on Naotsugu"s shoulders.

A wave of clashing sounds filled the hall. That was the best they could do to respond to the question of this pet.i.te idol. Swords and axes rose and fell, frost and lightning rained down on the monster.

Tetora was satisfied with the sound, made a taunting expression and raised the wand in her right hand into the sky.

"Alright, let’s fight together! Work hard everyone! Go, go!"

Tetora"s courageous and loud voice could make you forget that you were in the underground. The sound reverberated through the air and reached out to her comrades.

Aurora lights with the colors of the rainbow appeared above them. The curtain of light shimmered, shooting stars flew out and pleasing music could be heard. This was the Cleric"s special spell Aurora Heal. It was meant to be used for raids, with a wide enough range to cover a hundred Adventurers with its healing light.

"What a great view festival!"

"Of course, I am an angel after all!"

The Cleric was all smiles as she spun rapidly and shot out healing spells like arrows. The speed and skill were even better than the healers of Silver Sword due to Shiroe"s support, an excellent raider.

Naotsugu used this opportunity to attack.

Everything was going well so far. As Shiroe had expected, the hit points of "3rd of the garden" Ibra-Habura was less than that of "7th of the garden" Ruseato. It also lacked alternate forms and means to recover health. It only had wide area attacks and the "characteristic" of sapping the hit points of everyone in the zone.

But the team already knew this, and has equipped anti-heat equipment from their bags and cast the appropriate anti-elemental spells. Even though "3rd of the garden" Ibra-Habura had a lot of hit points, they had already managed to grind half of it away. They should be able to win if they kept up this pace.

(But we can"t let our guard down.)

Naotsugu watched the movements of the flaming snake while paying attention to the surrounding situation.

"Incoming!"

"I got it covered!"

Naotsugu wasn"t telling that to Tetora alone. Everyone else understood his intentions too.

He was playing the role of a shield. Naotsugu"s confidence was mandatory for the main tank of a raid.

"We can win this time." "We should be able to pull this off." If you approached a problem with such a mentality, it didn"t guarantee victory. If it was so easy to win, there will be no need for any of Shiroe"s stratagems. But if your mind was full of thoughts like "We are going to lose", "Let"s give up", you would really lose. That"s how a raid went.

If you wanted to inspire your teammates, gimmicks such as shouting were acceptable.

The hand on his shoulder took away the heat from the fire, the soft touch spread through his body. This was Tetora"s Minor Heal. In order to release the full potential of the Cleric, she made her way to the center of the flame vortex, supporting Naotsugu with her sunny words.

Tetora understood too. Their nonsensical dialogue could turn into everybody"s strength. Naotsugu understood very well and was in a good mood. He didn"t squeeze a smile out to calm the others, but was really smiling from his heart.

"Have you fallen for me, Mr. Naotsugu?"

"Absolutely not!"

"Isn"t this the place where all sorts of flags are raised?"

"Your inopportune words mess up the mood!"

Naotsugu blocked the spear-like attack of the tail as he playfully deflected Tetora"s question. He already knew the answer and felt anxious about it. Naotsugu wanted to respond to Tetora"s gentle feelings and snuck a glance at her.

"I have something to report to Mr. Naotsugu."

"I"m busy right now!"

"If I don"t say it now, I will miss the chance to tell you."

Tetora fidgeted her body, her clothes rubbing on her skin loudly while the battle raged on. Naotsugu knocked away the flying debris of sulfuric rocks with his arms and legs and said, "What is it?"

"Actually, I have joined Log Horizon."

"Eh?"

Naotsugu was no longer glancing sideways, he had turned around to face her.

He could see the confidence oozing from Tetora"s face and flushed cheeks.

"Lying festival."

"It"s true."

"Why?"

"I want to play with Naotsugu some more." She giggled as she cast Heal continuously, the self-proclaimed idol was in a great mood. But she hit Naotsugu"s flank with her wand like a cat toying around every time she cast a spell, which irritated him.

"Anyway, who gave you permission?"

"Mr. Shiroe did."

"What have you done Shiroe?"

But they had to stop fooling around. Ibra-Habura stood upright like a theme park attraction, opening its mouth and taking a deep breath. It sucked in air and fire noisily. This was the preparatory movement of the wide area a.s.sault Merciless Purgatory Feast it used earlier.

"Incoming!"

"Melees pull back! Federico stay and keep debuffing, damage reduction!"

Naotsugu and William shouted at the same time.

The formation changed once again. The melee fighters withdrew like an ebbing tide.

Pulling back from the firestorm would minimize the damage taken. Minimizing damage not only made the job of the healers easier, it also aided in conserving MP.

But the formation was in disarray.

The Summoner Azalea in the 4th party fell down even though there was nothing to trip him, and was shouting something. Naotsugu couldn"t hear it. William issued a speedy instruction in response: "d.i.n.kuron, behind you!"

While their formation was still a mess, a new battle had begun.

There were two ways leading into this arena. One of them was the white granite pa.s.sage where Naotsugu and the others had entered from. Another was the cave at the bottom of the pit.

A blue giant wearing barbaric furs had emerged from that cave. "4th of the garden" Tarutauruga had joined the fray.

It would be a lie to say they didn"t panic.

This was expected after the painful experience they had gone through. But they snapped out of that moment of stiffness with a shout from William.

The Guardian d.i.n.kuron, the pride of Silver Sword, rushed out like a bullet, taking on the frost giant with Castle of Stone. The t.i.tan swung his club, which was several meters wide, at the elf warrior, who took the hit as if it were nothing. He stood his ground, marking the entrance of the lair as his territory. He had no wasted movement, the skill of a raider who had gone through hundreds of raids.

Shiroe adjusted his gla.s.ses that had slipped because of his intense movement and wiped the sweat on his brow. The second change of event was within his expectations.

"7th of the garden Ruseato" was unable to break through the iron gates.

But the 2 raid bosses on the east and west side of Ruseato, Ibra-Habura and Tarutauruga, could enter that arena as well as move into each other"s base.

Even if they nullified Ruseato, the flaming snake Ibra-Habura and the frost giant Tarutauruga allying together was a given. Normally, this would be an instant failure. There were no full raids that could withstand the fury of 2 raid bosses at the same time. Their combined efforts were overwhelming.

But was that really so?

After Shiroe resp.a.w.ned, he drew up a plan with this point in mind.

Shiroe and Silver Sword were wiped out in the battle at the arena because their formation was broken by the surprise attack of the other bosses. a.n.a.lyzing from the victims" stand point, Ibra-Habura"s wide area flaming attack coincided with the frost giant Tarutauruga"s freezing wide area attack. Just one of these attacks was enough to kill off the defensively weak rear guard, so it was no surprise they were wiped out when both attacked at the same time.

But could their tank take the special attack from just one of them?

Shiroe still remembered the battle with Ruseato, and he felt that another raid boss in the same zone wouldn"t overwhelm Ruseato"s attack prowess by much. It might be more devastating, but not twice as powerful. Shiroe concluded that it was possible to fend off the attack for either Ibra-Habura or Tarutauruga.

Shiroe deduced that they could hold off both raid bosses if their range of damage didn"t overlap. The battle plan was based on this theory.

In this underground lair with just enough s.p.a.ce for the raid bosses to move, Naotsugu was holding off Ibra-Habura in the southwest corner. Tarutauruga"s attack from the northeast corner was defended by the Guardian from Silver Sword, d.i.n.kuron.

The two shield warriors adjusted their position to keep the wide area attacks at bay.

It was a challenge to adjust their position. The healers had to rush between both fronts to support the tanks. But if they were too far apart the healing would lag behind. Although it was safer to have a bigger distance so the wide area damage wouldn"t overlap, they would be out of the range of the healers.

If they maintained the distance to support either side, there were no s.p.a.ces which were "not in range of either boss wide area attack". For the magic and ranged attackers, they had to be wary of wide area attacks from either side, adjusting their position constantly.

When William heard Shiroe"s plan he smiled and answered,

"We can win this, Mr. Shiroe."

Determined to prove his words, William attacked with blinding speed, his arrows drawing a continuous line between his bow and the target. And his commands were issued as fast as his arrows.

Shiroe was also giving everything he got in this fight.

Now was not the time to hold back.

They were fending off the terrifying attacks of these 2 raid bosses. But only because of d.i.n.kuron"s Castle of Stone. He did not use it earlier to save it for this moment. To take control of the fight, the two tanks would require the support of healing spells, meaning that the 6 healers in the group would be draining their MP at an alarming rate. The members had been holding back since they knew this might happen, but if they were too stingy with their support the vanguards would die. With the battle hanging on a thread, the death of the tank meant the collapse of the frontline and the inevitable fate of being wiped out.

The hope of clearing this zone would extinguish along with their deaths.

"Federico, debuff attack power and attack range."

"Understood!"

"Tetora, increase healing rate."

"I can"t increase anymore!"

"I will help you... Force Step!"

Shiroe cast a special support spell on her. It reduced the cool down time for all spells Tetora had. The reduction was less than 20%, but the effect was significant. Aurora Heal had a cool down of 600 seconds. With Force Step, she could cast it again after 480 seconds. The MP usage would be even more intense, but Shiroe countered this with Mana Siphon. This was a MP management skill which allowed Enchanters to share their MP with others.

A normal combat party could simply recover MP by resting. That"s why people often underestimated the value of an Enchanter specializing in MP management.

But Shiroe liked this uncommon specialty and had been building his character around this.

He felt light headed with the loss of MP, but he continued to attack, calculate, and supply MP. He could strengthen the recovery powers of healers like Tetora and Vuorinen. He could help offensive characters like Federico improve their attacking powers too. As he took in the situation of the battlefield, Shiroe"s mind focused on the minute details.

"Right here!"

Vuorinen stuck his hand into a puddle that smelled of sulfur and chanted a long spell. It was a special summon available to Druids. A light floated up from his fur gauntlet, rising into the sky. The green light suddenly materialized into a tree. Only Druids with mastery over nature and fairies could form a contract to summon "Secret of Life" after clearing a high level raid.

"4th party, rally to me!"

The mages rushed under the shade of the tree before William"s shout even finished.

The well-known summon "Secret of Life" was a skill which conjured a magical tree. By staying under the shade of that tree, you would be bathed in green light and recover HP gradually. The recovery rate was less than the healing spells of Druids, but the long healing period provided a big boost to the raid group as a whole.

Shiroe was calculating.

Just like that time he showed Minori, Shiroe was processing the information of the battle and looking into the future. Behind his gla.s.ses, his eyes gazed further ahead in time as he calculated.

Twenty four people was 4 times the number of Minori"s 6 men party. By increasing the number 4 times, the capabilities and combinations of their actions increased manyfold. He a.n.a.lyzed, chose, sc.r.a.pped, and combined all these possibilities, "reading" them.

Reading every attack and heal of his group mates.

The waves of overlapping debuffs reduced the threat of the enemy. The invisible amount of hate acc.u.mulated and the feasible actions they could take.

The constantly changing hit points of his comrades were like equalizer panels in Shiroe"s eyes.

He could perceive the ripples in the ever decreasing battle timeline and a.n.a.lyzed each small segment.

"Naotsugu, speed up!"

"Okay!"

"Mr. Bolognese, pull back!"

"By your command."

Each action formed single "words".

When they were connected, they formed a purposeful "essay".

Shiroe could see Naotsugu"s face in his mind. He could also see Tetora"s smile and William"s smug face. The faces of Federico, Vuorinen, Demiqas, and all other members of Silver Sword appeared too.

Shiroe nodded.

Shiroe finally understood what William meant.

The battle became a "story" in Shiroe"s hand.

It was a marching song that inspired wounded hearts to soldier on.

Shiroe was also touched by William"s secrets. That was a feeling that encompa.s.sed Shiroe during his days in the Tea Party, a nostalgic and peaceful feeling.

Shiroe held his White Staff of the Wings of Ruins and chanted his spells, executing the plan he devised through his "Full Control Encounter". Karma Drive spliced through the air like a giant bird towards Ibra-Habura, leaving a myriad of flashing symbols in its wake.

(15%... 16%... 18%...)

Shiroe bit his lips and concentrated.

Vuorinen"s summon, "Secret of Life" was a good move. The spell recovered more than 30% of hit points for 10 people.

The wide area attack Merciless Purgatory Feast of the flaming snake still had a cool down time of 180 seconds. Vuorinen could counter with Life Burst and Mercy Rain. Next one would be at 360 seconds. Naotsugu could use Castle of Stone again after his cooldown was finished. 540 seconds later would be Tetora"s Aurora Heal.

As he concentrated, the world became a blur as he "read" the ending.

"3rd of the garden" Ibra-Habura could fall before the 720 seconds mark. Shiroe"s Karma Drive allowed comrades who dealt critical hits to the flaming serpent to recover MP. If they maintained the current pace, they could deliver the final blow to Ibra-Habura before the 700th second mark.

They could then turn their full attention to the frost giant Tarutauruga.

Taking the remaining MP into consideration, there was no guarantee they would win the next battle, but there was still a chance of victory.

Even though they were walking on thin ice, it was still possible.

To put the plan into action was the reason for Shiroe"s existence.

To accomplish this, he had to calculate until the very end. Shiroe entrusted his overheating heart into the freezer.

"Please maintain damage output at the current level."

"You heard him, Black Heart Gla.s.ses has spoken! Give it your all, defeat the enemy! Don"t show any mercy!!"

The moment William issued this order, an ominous black object fell into the center of the pit.

Drip.

Drip.

The black ma.s.s rose from the ground, turning into humanoid silhouettes wielding weapons.

Shadow warriors... Minions sp.a.w.ned from the body of "7th of the garden" Ruseato. Their combat prowess was a far cry from Ruseato, but they could match up with several Adventurers easily.

Shiroe suppressed his urge to scream and raised his head to look up. He could see a darkness spreading out from the pa.s.sageway onto the ceiling. It fell from the ceiling like droplets of oil and morphed into shadow warriors.

Ruseato couldn"t get past the iron gates.

But the dark minions he sp.a.w.ned were able to slip through the gaps just like Shiroe"s group did, following them into this battlefield.

This development was not totally beyond Shiroe"s expectations.

The shadow warriors were minions sp.a.w.ned from "7th of the garden" Ruseato. He predicted that they would pester the raid group once the battle began. He only envisioned the need to clean up the handful of shadow warriors that sp.a.w.ned during their initial attack, not the immense darkness spreading on the ceiling, the number of shadows was too many.

... The number of shadow warriors that sp.a.w.ned was equivalent to the number of people damaging black Ruseato.

Shiroe was the one who found out about this.

For this battle, they had taken care of all the shadow warriors who followed them before starting their attack on "3rd of the garden" Ibra-Habura. If that were the case, Ruseato should have zero minions.

Since Shiroe"s group had moved on, there shouldn"t be anyone dealing damage to Ruseato. There shouldn"t be any shadow warriors sp.a.w.ning from Ruseato. The reason so many shadow warriors were created...

Shiroe realized the only explanation.

Ruseato pierced his body with his own halberd.

A shadow warrior sp.a.w.ned because of the damage.

The single shadow warrior and Ruseato did damage to the black armor, sp.a.w.ning two more minions. Rinse and repeat. By sacrificing itself, Ruseato fulfilled its potential of raising the army that was flowing in from the pa.s.sageway.

"Vanguard!"

Shiroe reacted before he finished his thoughts, screaming his instructions.

Just a bit more. No need for 700 seconds, they could take down Ibra-Habura in 600 seconds. They would have the manpower to spare then. (I have to buy time,) Shiroe thought. (How much time did we take moving from the arena to this place? "7th of the garden" Ruseato sp.a.w.ns a batch of shadow warriors in about 200 seconds. At this rate, how many minions have sp.a.w.ned? 31. At most 63...) He came up with the answer immediately. The latter number would be hopeless, but the former number left a small chance of survival. Shiroe had to do this, even though he felt sorry, he still shouted,

"Attack and kite them away..."

This was like a suicide mission. Getting the herd of shadow warriors to chase you while escaping their wrath. The Silver Sword member Junzo was about to respond, but a stubborn raider rushed out before he did.

"Kyaaahhhh! Out of my way! Phantom Step! Wyvern Kick! Ahhhhhh!!! Taunting Shout!"

Demiqas double jumped in the air as if he were leaping off invisible platforms. He flew in the air like a rocket, spinning as he shouted. That was the provocation skill available to the warrior cla.s.ses. For an instant, Shiroe saw that all the shadow warriors were focusing on Demiqas.

All members of the raid group including Shiroe saw the long haired Monk when he stopped for an instant. Demiqas seemed to be looking at Shiroe furiously. Shiroe lost his balance when he lost sight of Demiqas because of his fast movements.

Shiroe didn"t know what was happening as he floated in the air, feeling overwhelming speed as he moved backwards.

"...!"

Naotsugu was definitely yelling. But Shiroe couldn"t hear him as the scenery in front grew distant.

Shiroe seemed to be moving at an amazing speed within this large hall. Like being in a giant dryer machine, he rapidly experienced sudden acceleration and deceleration.

A shadow warrior appeared before him, ready to swing its battle scythe at the surprised Shiroe. But Shiroe"s vision spun as if he had a hangover. The view before him disappeared because of the huge, heinous and dark silhouette of a greave.

"Irritating! Phantom Step!"

Demiqas leapt into the air, leaving the enemies swarming him behind.

Demiqas grabbed Shiroe by the back of his neck as he flew all over the place.

"What are you-?"

"Silence, f.u.c.king gla.s.ses! Wyvern Kick!"

The blood splattering on his face was warm and smelled like rust, but it calmed Shiroe down.

Was this Demiqas" vengeance against Shiroe by messing up the raid? Or did Demiqas have some plan in mind? Shiroe was not sure. Demiqas was grabbing Shiroe by the back of his neck, similar to a hunter holding its prey.

(But this situation. Isn"t too bad...?)

If he looked at it from another angle, Shiroe was like a cannon attached to Demiqas.

With this in mind, there was only one thing to do. Shiroe cast his weak Enchanter attack spells in all directions.

Demiqas should be using Drag Move on one of the minions, but he grabbed Shiroe for some reason and was dragging him all over the place. Maybe he was simply using his level 90 plus wrist strength to carry Shiroe like some sort of cargo. It was possible with the abnormal physical ability of Adventurers. Both scenarios were possible.

But the important thing was that they were pulling the shadow warriors away from the raid group.

"Go to the northeast pa.s.sageway."

"Shut it, stop nagging instructions."

"Mind Bolt!"

"You d.a.m.n ink bottle!"

Demiqas" att.i.tude remained hostile, but he changed his bearings.

He kicked the faceless shadows and broke through, rushing towards the pa.s.sageway while being targeted by countless foes. Shiroe organized the information through his shaking vision. He could see about 20 minions. Including those out of his view, there should be about 30. If Demiqas stopped and was supported with healing, he could last for 15 seconds. If he made do without support, he would only survive half that time. Shiroe found it meaningless to calculate how long he would last, but he knew the answer the moment he started playing Elder Tales. He would be dead in 3 seconds.

"Hey Shiroe!"

As a shadow attacked with a low stance, its head expanded and exploded like a watermelon.

That should be William who dealt the final blow.

"It"s meaningless to support here, focus on Ibra-Habura."

"Listen, Black Heart..."

"William! Defeat the enemy!"

His voice reached the proud guild master, but Shiroe was not sure how William would think of it. William looked at Shiroe again with concern and shouted, "All parties focus your attack on Ibra-Habura! Sorcerers! Don"t hold anything back, throw everything you have at it!"

The scenery melted before his eyes as Shiroe was moved at top speed, dodging the club of the frost giant Tarutauruga.

The friction Shiroe felt on the back of his neck made him itch. He noticed the encroaching white film near his feet.

"Tarutauruga"s White Night. It will reduce movement speed, use fire..."

"Not my problem! Lynx Tumbling!"

Demiqas ignored Shiroe"s warning, moving ahead while mocking the freezing spell. Lynx Tumbling gave Demiqas the agility of a feline, and he ran on top of the club dashing for the frost giant"s wrist. He sprinted for the shoulder next, aiming for new heights. Tarutauruga, who breathed out white mist because of his freezing aura, was kicked by Demiqas in the face as he accelerated.

Demiqas moved with a speed similar to a roller coaster with its safety features removed. It would probably send all its riders to the hospital on its first day of operation.

Loop, tornado, slalom. The invisible threads known as hate bound dozens of shadows as Demiqas led them on a dramatic high speed chase.

Shiroe heard shouting behind him. He couldn"t make out what they were saying. Shiroe thought that they were words of encouragement. They should be supportive words from his fellow raiders in Silver Sword as he leapt into the jaws of death.

The noise of the raid battle subsided as they entered the dark pa.s.sageway. They would need to fight on for another 580 seconds. After that, they would need to rescue d.i.n.kuron and engage the frost giant.

That"s why the 2 of them traveling hastily in the dark corridors could not relax. Shiroe kept on casting his spells with negligible attack power.

Astral Bind and Nightmare Sphere would hinder the movement of the shadows for a few seconds. He couldn"t target all of them, but he needed to keep pressuring their pursuers. If he let up, Demiqas, who was carrying Shiroe, would lose a lot of hit points. Not just hit points, Demiqas" MP was dropping rapidly, the price he paid for breaking away forcefully. They were lucky to have made it to this pa.s.sageway. The two of them were still alive as they moved through the dark corridor.

"Don"t use Wyvern Kick for the time being."

Demiqas did not respond.

They could see the shadow warriors about 30m away from them. Shiroe had given up casting magic outside the effective range, focusing on supporting Demiqas with magic instead. In this situation, mobility was more important than attack power. Demiqas dragged Shiroe in the darkness as Shiroe concentrated on his Enchanting spells.

Shiroe didn"t understand why Demiqas brought him along.

The kiting strategy was working great so far, but Demiqas probably didn"t plan all of this.

Shiroe didn"t understand the irrational thinking of this brute and didn"t agree with it.

Even after raiding together for so long, their hate and suspicion for each other remained strong.

Demiqas used violence on the People of the Land in the city of Susukino.

It didn"t mean only Demiqas was at fault. In the confusion of the Catastrophe, he probably thought that this world was still a game. Demiqas was probably driven by fear when he created all the trouble. The guild Brigandia was notorious when Elder Tales was still a game, a gathering of ruffians. From an outsider"s view, the power struggle within the guild might be the cause of their extreme actions.

Shiroe felt there were reasons why they acted that way and understood their thought process. But he was still unable to accept it.

Demiqas abused the People of the Land and violated their rights. He even took part in human trafficking.

And he stalked Serara, causing her much distress.

Shiroe didn"t have such a fetish. He could not understand and was unable to forgive.

What a disagreeable man. That"s how Shiroe felt about Demiqas.

A lot of time had pa.s.sed as he thought about this.

Shiroe saw the dark pa.s.sageway in his view. He wasn"t sure how many shadow warriors there were, but he felt that it was unwise to be too far away. Demiqas taunted and attacked them relentlessly just now. It was unlikely for the minions to forget their hate, but it would be prudent to play it safe. The raid would fail if the shadow warriors returned to the hall. Even now, they did not know if they had pulled all the shadow warriors away.

"Stop, we are too far away. Wait for a while."

But Demiqas didn"t seem to hear him and continued running.

Shiroe got angry and yelled several times for Demiqas to stop before Demiqas complied. Shiroe was displeased with Demiqas" action and started to protest.

"What are you thinking? Even if you keep on running..."

Shiroe was thrown into the corridor ahead before he could finish, stopping only when his back hit a wall. As Shiroe nursed his wrist Demiqas glared at Shiroe and spoke.

"Hey, Enchanter. Say my name."

Driven by anger, Shiroe thought "How about calling him Dental Care?" He took a deep breath, lifted his head to look at Demiqas, and chose silence.

This was the first time Shiroe looked Demiqas right in his eyes, and he was at a loss for words.

Demiqas approached Shiroe and leaned forward with a serious and determined expression. Demiqas" eyes were full of resolve, there was something he wouldn"t back down from.

Shiroe wanted to accuse him of bringing up such a stupid topic at such a critical juncture, but dropped this idea when he saw Demiqas" face.

Just like William"s wish that could not be compromised, everyone else had something similar.

It was the same for Shiroe too. That was why he did not join any guild for so long.

Even Demiqas had such feelings.

Time pa.s.sed by slowly as Shiroe thought. He realized the anger in his heart was similar to self-loathing. Shiroe who felt helpless during the Catastrophe and didn"t do anything met Demiqas who felt helpless and resorted to violence. Demiqas became an outlet for Shiroe to vent his frustration.

Demiqas did some unforgivable things. Shiroe needed to rescue Serara. But it was hard to say whether Shiroe had the right to punish Demiqas. Shiroe was just Shiroe, Shiroe was not the law.

(Even if I had the right to pa.s.s judgment... Robbing someone of their name is unforgivable.)

Shiroe realized he had stubbornly refused to address Demiqas by his name.

He thought that he was different from this brute, not recognizing him as a fellow human being.

That"s the att.i.tude Shiroe had taken.

"Demiqas."

"Yeah."

"... Demiqas, I despise you."

"Me too, Log Horizon"s Shiroe."

Shiroe and Demiqas had come to terms.

They agreed to disagree.

"That"s why..." Shiroe words were interrupted abruptly.

The brute placed his hand on Shiroe"s chest and sent him flying. Shiroe rolled along the corridor like trash once again. Shiroe curled his body up and rolled, reaching the goal, a cold steel door, like a soccer ball.

"You can wait for your death here, Shiroe. I am still busy with these guys."

Demiqas started running again without giving Shiroe a chance to respond. Green flashes could be seen in the dark corridor shooting into the distance like a meteor.

Several thoughts Shiroe was unable to articulate overlapped each other as Shiroe was left alone in the darkness.

Behind the door was a dazzling garden.

Gears that were several dozen times Shiroe"s height turned slowly. These gears were connected to the elevator through an intricate system, controlling the circulation system.

The purpose of this vast s.p.a.ce was clear with a glance.

On the production line that looked like it was designed by Escher, an amazing amount of gold was being moved.

It was a giant mechanism with gears and pistons, controlling the flow of gold coins.

A white pavement placed between the gaps of the machinery led into the depths of the hall. The path was filled with flowers and greenery. As Shiroe moved ahead, he would sometimes cross a small arch bridge, other times he would pa.s.s by a pond full of gold.

This garden was the vortex of gold Shiroe expected to find.

The sound of numerous bells ringing made Shiroe turn his head. A series of chains tilted an iron chest the size of a bus forward. The crisp sound of millions of coins formed a metallic melody as coins flowed out from the iron chest.

He had no other words besides amazing to describe this sight.

The path meandered around the operations of the machinery. Getting just one bag of gold from the conveyor belt would double Shiroe"s wealth. He thought about how much gold was in this garden, but realized that it was impossible to tell.

There was more gold here than he could imagine.

Shiroe didn"t think that the contract he brought along was weak.

But it might pale in comparison. If it were Shiroe from last year, he probably would have run away. But he was different now. Shiroe came to the depths of Palm and entered Abyss Shaft with firm re