Han Seo-hyeon and I held our breath as we saw the conquest team pass by us and enter the corridor.
They passed right next to us, but fortunately, we weren’t detected by anyone. From then on, we slowly began to follow them. Since not being detected was important, we kept quite a distance.
But we didn’t lose sight of them. My eyes were on the support team. To be precise, on those three people.
Han Seo-hyeon carefully spoke to me after we hid in a safe place once again.
“Three people snuck out secretly.”
The conquest team people probably don’t even dream of it, but sand that Han Seo-hyeon had spread was hidden in every corner of this entire ice palace. Sand that wasn’t even properly visible, hidden between shadows, became perfect CCTVs.
Thanks to that, I was receiving their movements and conversations in real-time through Han Seo-hyeon.
The conquest team people were too focused on what was ahead to notice three members of the support team slipping away. Well, it seems they hid their absence by momentarily using mana. It’s understandable they didn’t notice.
I wanted to see those guys directly with my eyes, but I couldn’t go out for fear of being detected.
“What are they doing after coming out?”
“They say they’re starting now.”
Just what are they planning to start? Whatever it is, I don’t think it’ll be good. I drew up mana in my body to be able to jump out at any time and waited for Han Seo-hyeon’s next words.
At that moment, Han Seo-hyeon grabbed his eyes and suddenly fell forward.
“Huk!”
“What’s wrong?”
At my words, Han Seo-hyeon only trembled without speaking. I grabbed Han Seo-hyeon’s body and pulled. His pupils with black flames burning were shaking weirdly.
“Seo-hyeon! Are you okay?”
I called Han Seo-hyeon several times, but there was no answer from Han Seo-hyeon. Damn, I rummaged through my backpack while biting my lip.
There’s no external wound, what is this? Why is he suddenly like this? Did someone touch the sand? I took out a potion from the bag and put it to Han Seo-hyeon’s mouth.
At that moment, Ray spoke in my mind.
—Illusions have been spread around this area.
Illusions?
I frowned. To my eyes, nothing looked different from just before.
—Don’t you have mental defense?
Ah, right. Indomitable Will. An S-grade passive skill, no less. I had forgotten about it because I rarely get affected by mental skills, but it seems illusions don’t work on me either since they also interfere with my mind.
What kind of illusion is he seeing to be so out of it? Even after drinking all the potion, Han Seo-hyeon still showed no signs of coming to his senses.
Well, potions deal with external wounds after all.
When I gathered and shot lightning, Han Seo-hyeon’s body trembled. This is no good either. Just as I was thinking that, Han Seo-hyeon’s eyes slowly began to turn towards my face.
“Huk, huk.”
“Are you coming to your senses a bit?”
Han Seo-hyeon nodded while still trembling.
“Boss, Boss…”
“What?”
“C-can’t you see what’s around us?”
“What?”
“Right now, m-monsters are filling our surroundings!”
Han Seo-hyeon, gripping his staff, drew up mana. Black sand filled our surroundings. The sharp sand soon began to destroy the surroundings.
Aha.
I grabbed Han Seo-hyeon’s face.
“Get a hold of yourself. Whatever you’re seeing, it’s an illusion. There’s nothing around us.”
“What? B-but…”
“Do you believe me? No, rather close your eyes. That would be better.”
“Ugh, if I close my eyes, uh, ugh. The sound…”
Han Seo-hyeon closed his eyes while trembling. It’s better not to see the monsters after all. Is it true that chuunibyou kids have weak mentality? They act all cool about death and whatnot.
Fortunately, Han Seo-hyeon with his eyes closed didn’t notice my gaze.
Having barely accepted that everything was an illusion, Han Seo-hyeon’s trembling gradually got better. He still flinched occasionally saying he heard ‘sounds’, but.
“It seems the entire mansion has come alive. The monsters that appeared before my eyes looked really terrifying… Oh, but you said this is all fake, right? Then is what those people are fighting also fake?”
“What are you talking about?”
Han Seo-hyeon explained the situation to me.
That the conquest team finally encountered a humanoid monster thought to be this ice palace’s boss monster in the banquet hall earlier.
That they’re in battle now.
But if the mansion ‘waking up’ itself was an illusion, there’s a high chance that battle is fake too.
I immediately realized their plan.
“Damn, they’re trying to wear them out.”
I jumped to my feet.
“Those guys, where are they?”
“I-I don’t know. I lost track of them for a moment when I was caught by the illusion too. Ah, I’ll try to find them with the sand.”
“You find out where those guys are. I’ll stop them for now. First of all, don’t forget that everything you see is an illusion. Except for people, okay?”
Alone, it’s impossible for me to conquer this Gate or deal with those villains from the Top even if I die and come back to life.
It means it’s over if Yoo Seon-je and Kim Dae-gwon get worn out.
I moved my body along the corridor.
Bang!
Pung!
Noisy sounds greeted me.
I saw people pouring all sorts of attacks towards empty air in the banquet hall. I raised my voice and shouted:
“Hey, that’s an illusion. Stop! There’s nothing in front of you!”
I said that, but no one reacted to my voice. It seems my voice doesn’t even reach them.
“No, don’t waste your strength there!”
I went close and shouted at everyone, but no one listened to me.
“It’s an illusion! You idiots, it’s all an illusion!”
It seems I can’t wake these people up with sound.
I have no choice.
I walked to Yoo Seon-je’s side. As if no one could see me, no one looked at me.
I grabbed Yoo Seon-je’s collar and shouted:
“Don’t waste your strength on thin air, you bastard!”
Only then did Yoo Seon-je’s eyes begin to look at me as if he had come to his senses.
“Who…”
I threw Yoo Seon-je aside and immediately headed for Kim Dae-gwon. Kim Dae-gwon, not daring to approach closely, decided to pour a shower of water.
Splash!
“Huk!”
At my water shower, Kim Dae-gwon looked around and opened his mouth. I also sprinkled water on the other people.
“What’s going on?”
“You’ve all been fooled. It’s all an illusion. Look, there’s nothing there.”
Yoo Seon-je and Kim Dae-gwon quickly realized something was strange. It seems the illusion was still visible to people with weak mentality, but as the two strongest S-rank hunters stopped, they soon seemed to understand the situation and quietly looked at me.
“What’s this?”
A voice was heard from the ceiling.
“This wasn’t in the plan.”
A man who hid his face with a black shadow. Seeing him use illusions, it’s certain.
“Trickster.”
“Someone who knows me? Ah, this is troublesome.”
Trickster laughed at my words. Troublesome indeed. Who would have thought they’d approach after draining Kim Dae-gwon and Yoo Seon-je’s strength in this way.
“How much mana do you have left?”
At my words, people’s expressions weren’t very good. Yoo Seon-je glared at me with a crumpled face.
Alright, judging by that expression, it seems their strength is completely drained. What should I do, as I was pondering that.
“Huk!”
Kim Dae-gwon clutched his heart. The black shadow that was attached behind him.
“Oh, my?”
The skin instantly rolled into the body and all the organs inside the body spilled out.
It’s Cube, the Assembler’s doing.
Kim Dae-gwon died like that. They took advantage of the moment he was confused by the illusion. There was no time to block it.
Cube, who had taken down Kim Dae-gwon, moved towards the support team behind, ignoring me.
I took out an ice spear and aimed at him, but. He was faster in pulling the body of the support team member in front of him.
Once again, the support team member whose ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ were reversed died without being able to do anything. It was the same for the combat team standing in front of him. They seemed to be caught in Trickster’s illusion again and screamed looking at the air. In between, Trickster holding a sword lightly swung his body.
Each time, a life was extinguished.
Kwak, kwak!
I repeatedly stabbed ice spears to avoid them, but Cube avoided the ice spears each time by pulling people or hiding behind them. He even threw people with my ice spears.
Lee Hye-won, who belatedly came to her senses, clung to him, but this time Trickster stepped up. Trickster’s clone pushed Lee Hye-won.
“Ugh!”
A dagger that Trickster’s clone had somehow stuck in was lodged in Lee Hye-won’s calf. Yoo Seon-je drew up lightning, but lightning wasn’t good for such a melee.
“Kyahaha!”
At that moment, laughter was heard from outside the mansion.
“Ah.”
Feeling ominous, I threw my gaze outside.
Gemini…
All the porters were being killed. And all the food they had brought was burning. To think they would even target the porters. Biting my lip, I said:
“You won’t be able to get out either if this Gate isn’t conquered, right?”
I don’t understand why they’re doing this.
Are those three saying they’ve decided to burn their lives here with Yoo Seon-je?
“Who says that? That we’ll die here?”
At that moment, Trickster’s clone grabs a man. It was a young-faced man wearing the support team’s robe.
“Aaaaah!”
Why that man?
At first I thought Trickster would kill that man, but no.
“Goodbye everyone!”
Trickster teleported to the outside where his ‘clone’ was, taking that man with him.
Trickster’s talent is illusion. He can not only draw others into illusions, but also create clones with illusions to enable short-range teleportation.
But…
‘Even with that ability, he shouldn’t be able to go outside.’
Trickster’s teleport is only possible between clones and clones, within a certain distance.
Lee Hye-won, the team leader who belatedly came to her senses, shouted:
“The support team member that man just took away! His ability is escape!”
At those words, lightning struck in my head.
Escape.
A talent that allows you to flee to a safe place you’ve designated, no matter where you are.
Trickster didn’t need to conquer at all. He must have had a plan to just ruin the conquest here and ‘escape’.
Seol Rok-jin must have told him all this.
I realized all this belatedly, but it was already too late.
The Top members had already disappeared with the man who had the escape talent.
“Fuck.”
A curse involuntarily came out.
* * *
Kim Dae-gwon was dead.
All the porters had died, and all we had left were a few support team members, Lee Hye-won, and Yoo Seon-je.
Conquering an S-rank, and a stage where all power is concentrated in the boss, with this number of people.
If it were a stage where a small number of dog packs came out, the conquest would have been easier. Because Han Seo-hyeon boasts tremendous power in the keyword of a battle of attrition with weak ones.
But if the enemy is a small number of strong ones like this, not only Han Seo-hyeon but I too won’t be of much help.
But we can’t just stay like this.
I came to my senses.
“B-by the way, who are you?”
Lee Hye-won, the team leader, belatedly asked me.
“Yeah, who are you?”
Yoo Seon-je, standing crookedly, was the same.
“Haah… First of all, as you can see from the situation, I’m not your enemy.”
“I can’t trust you even if you say you’re not an enemy.”
Originally, I was planning to save these guys secretly. I sighed and pulled out a suitable excuse.
“I’m from the Awakener Association.”
It’s an organization that becomes corrupt and collapses covered in filth after just a few years, but at this point in time, the Awakener Association’s reputation isn’t that bad.
“The Awakener Association?”
“Yes. I’m an agent chasing the Top.”
“What’s your name?”
“It’s Smith.”
“Ha! You expect us to believe that?”
It doesn’t matter if you don’t believe it. I shrugged my shoulders looking at Lee Hye-won’s face. Lee Hye-won looked at my face and let out a deep sigh.
“…I guess it doesn’t matter in this situation.”
The lie didn’t work perfectly, but I succeeded in removing suspicion.
I calmly continued speaking.
“I infiltrated after receiving intelligence that Top villains were trying to ruin this conquest. Indeed, that intelligence wasn’t wrong.”
“What’s the use of it not being wrong! When things have turned out like this…”
There was despair in Lee Hye-won’s voice as she said that. She looks incredibly solid on the outside, but it seems her mental state isn’t very good.
—That’s normal in the first place! You’re about to die here, your side is excessively calm!
“We can’t die here. So let’s try to conquer this ice palace somehow.”
There’s only one way for us to survive.
Somehow conquering this Gate.