Published at 25th of March 2019 07:17:00 PM Chapter 20

Chapter 20 - The Returners Promotion Battle (6)

The Killdra Mouse leaped into the air with its mouth wide open, trying not to

miss even a drop of Desirs blood .

[Wind Bullet . ]

Romantica seized the opportunity . Wordlessly, she quickly formed a Wind

Bullet and shot it straight into the mouses belly . A large crack soundedbut

there was something off about the sound .

The exoskeleton covering the rats body had definitely broken, but the mouse

hadnt died . Either the exoskeleton was stronger than shed thought, or her

nerves had broken her concentration . Either way, the plan had failed . The

Killdra Mouse fell back down and retreated into the torrent of rats . It was

impossible to get to it now .

Suddenly, Pram sped past Romantica .

Pram!?

Faster than Romantica or Desir could react, Pram dove into the rolling mass of

rats, and thousands of rodents immediately began ravaging Prams skin . But it

wasn't enough to break Prams concentration .

The Killdra Mouse couldnt pass up the smell of blood . It moved quickly

through the swarm . With his keen eyesight, Pram spotted the demon as it made

its way towards him . Haap! He stabbed at it, his sword splitting the wave of

rats like a beam .

Squeeee . . . eeeeak . A silver light pierced through the dark mass of rodents .

The grotesque sound of skewered flesh echoed out . The Killdra Mouse, pierced

by Prams rapier, shivered and went limp . The rodent swarm, which had

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previously operated like a well-oiled machine, suddenly devolved into an

incoherent mess . Squeak? Squeeeak?

As if theyd just woken from a dream, the rats looked around for a moment,

dazed . But when their eyes landed on the gigantic humans next to them, they

scattered back into the forest like a retreating tide .

Survival quest complete . You have defeated the Killdra Mouse . Survival

success .

Its over . Pram breathed out and collapsed on the spot .

Desir flicked away the remaining rats clambering on Prams shoulders . Good

job, Pram .

This much . . . is nothing .

Everything had returned to normal, as if nothing had even happened . The ear-

splitting sound of rats was nowhere to be heard . The rain, indifferent to the

fierce battle that had just taken place, poured relentlessly on their faces and

bodies .

Cold . Romantica muttered, her entire body soaked to the bone . She looked

like a soggy rat .

Desir smiled, and pointed northwest . It should be a bit better over there . The

thunder rumbled, and the clock tower, far to the northwest, cast a long shadow

on the ground .

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Art From Official LN

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The quest objective has been revealed . You already possess knowledge of this

place . The quest description has been altered to account for this .

The Privius Clock Tower is a large-scale magic device containing the highest

level of dark magic . Each hour, it will summon a demon that can summon other

demons . The summoned demons will each have unique characteristics

depending on when they are summoned .

The final quest has been revealed .

[Quest objective: Stop the clock tower . ]

At the top of the clock tower lies the clocks power source . Destroy the power

source, and the clock tower will stop .

The sharp ring of a sword slash rang out, and the frozen Killdra Mouse

shattered into pieces . Blood and meat danced together in a macabre waltz as its

corpse fell to the ground . Ajest, cold and indifferent, flicked the blood off her

sword .

You have defeated the Killdra Mouse . Survival success .

The rats had been surrounding the Blue Moon party, pushing in from all sides .

But after the boss rodent perished, they stopped in their tracks, and soon

scattered; their cowardly natures restored themselves after being freed from

the control of the Killdra Mouse .

Were alive! We won! Excited cheers rang out from the group .

Ajest looked around . There had been ten party members, including herself .

That number had been reduced to eight . Two eliminated .

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Overall, out of the 30 participants in this quest, over 10 had been eliminated

more than a third . The Blue Moon party had put up a decent fight . . . but Ajests

mood had soured, though nobody noticed the change in her emotions because

of her indifferent expression .

Percival walked toward Ajest . We have the lead now . Almost half of the 18

survivors are in our party . Mathematically, the remaining survivors could only

be small parties of three to five people . Once we take care of the other parties,

were guaranteed to rank first .

The rain was still falling . The water soaked their bodies, washing away the

sweat . It was a refreshing feeling after their long fight against the rats . Ajests

silver hair blew in the wind . It was a weak north wind, blowing in with the rain .

One couldnt even feel it without paying attention .

At that moment, Ajests eyes flashed open .

[Telbricsas shield of ice protect us . ]

Magic formulas formed in front of Ajest at an incredible speed . Within a matter

of seconds, a transparent pillar of ice emerged in front of Percival . As soon as it

reached full height, the ice pillar shattered and fell over .

Wha, what was that just now? Percivals voice shook .

Sniper . There was no trace of any emotion in her voice, but Ajest also felt

some shock . It was because there was barely any gap between the detection

magicthe windand the snipe . If she hadnt noticed the detection magic,

Percival would have been eliminated right there .

There shouldnt be any mages here capable of casting this quickly . . . More

accurately, there was nobody with that level of skill among the freshmen,

herself excluded . Regardless of her expectations, the important thing was that a

high-level wind mage was targeting them . And no matter how skilled her Alpha

Class teammates were, a sniper of this level was incredibly dangerous . Ajest

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commanded the party members standing behind her . Enemy . Tankers in front .

Wind mages, disrupt the air currents .

Her team moved into the defensive formation, following Ajests orders . The

tankers stood in front, shields out . The mages stood behind them, disrupting

the air and preparing to counterattack .

. . . But no more attacks came . The enemy had likely realized that sniping was

pointless without the element of surprise . So Ajests party kept waiting, but to

no avail .

Leader? Theyre not sniping us . . .

Hold formation .

They couldnt release the formation just because the enemy had stopped

sniping . The sniper would blow away their heads if the Blue Moon party

lowered their guard for even a second .

Do not relax . Advance north . Ajest pointed in the direction the bullet had

come from .

Mages capable of casting detection spells, cast them every 100 meters .

The Blue Moon party advanced, their nerves stretched tight . The rain fell, the

wind howled . For the vulnerable party, the weather conditions couldnt be any

worse .

Ajest bit her lip . Ive failed .

From the third floor of the clock tower, Romantica looked out the window at

the forest below, eyes furrowed in frustration . Desir stood next to her . It

doesnt matter . I didnt expect the snipe to work as long as Ajest was there .

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What? You told me to snipe them knowing it wouldnt work? Romantica

scowled and puffed up her cheeks .

Yes . To tell them that we have a sniper on our side . Theyll have to spend every

moment looking out for a snipe as they move, and theyll have to constantly use

detection magic to prepare for it . That alone should be a huge mental burden

for them .

Romantica released the air from her cheeks, but she still wasn't convinced .

Since the snipe failed, theyve found our location .

And that is the core of the plan .

Romantica raised an eyebrow . What?

Desir spoke again . Snipe every party, not just the Blue Moon party . Let them

know our location .

Romanticas shrill voice berated him . Did you hit your head? Desir smiled in

response .

Their objective was to lower the number of survivors below ten, whatever it

took . Of course, since the Blue Moon party held the majority, it was impossible

to avoid an eventual conflict with them . There was no way his group could win

against the Blue Moon party in a direct confrontation . But a melees a different

story .

A melee?

We make every party fight at the same time, right here, in this clock tower .

That was the best option for their party, considering their small number . Right

now, the Blue Moon party has an absolute advantage . But what would happen if

every party gathers here? Theres no way the other survivors will fight each

other when theres such a powerful group sitting right there . Theyll team up

against the overwhelming enemy .

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Desir paused to breathe, then continued . When that melee happens, well

balance them out . Well take out any enemies if we have the chance . If we see

one side winning, well tip the scales toward the other side . Well slowly reduce

the number of survivors down to nine .

In other words, we make them work for us, Pram concluded .

How scummy of you, Desir .

Desir raised an eyebrow at Romanticas insult, and spoke with a smirk . What

matters is that we win, right?

Pram folded his arms . But if we use that strategy, itll be so unfair for the other

parties . After coming all the way here while defending themselves at the same

time, theyll be stuck in a huge melee . Itll truly be hell for them .

Wouldnt it be heaven for us? A peculiar twinkle flashed in Desirs eyes .

Romantica shivered . He was a master at tormenting others . A demon in human

form .

Desir clapped his hands . Well, thats just the way it is . Our job right now is

simple: keep sniping every party to tell them our location . Tell them their

enemies are right here, in this clock tower .

Romantica moved to the window . She spoke as she cast her detection magic

silently . I dont know if theyll come even if I keep shooting them like this .

What other choice do they have? This place is the quest objective .

After all, everyone had to come to Privius Clock Tower to clear the quest .

Desirs party was simply reminding them of that fact, with bullets instead of

words .

Now, let the mud fight begin . Desir clapped .

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The sound of a bullet was lost in the wind .