After absorbing 10 marbles, Riakis unleashed the instant-death ability Malicious Hiatus. If you didn't escape it in time, no matter how much effort you put into developing your character, you would die. In the game, the given time was 45 minutes. One feature was that, regarding your location, you would be pulled to the center no matter what
Voom!
Without even being able to adjust to the darkness in front of me, I felt the sensation of being pulled by a force with my entire body
"Bjorn...! What... is... this...?!" For some reason, I heard Missha's voice at half speed.
So I spoke at double speed. "Don't worry, we're not going to die right away."
"What... does that... m-!" Missha shouted slowly, but her sentence was incomplete.
It was a perfect silence, as if my very sense of hearing had been lost. Of course, that moment didn't last long.
[All characters within the radius will move to the center of evil.]
When I opened my eyes, there was light.
"Bjorn!" He could also hear sound normally, and besides Missha, many people were visible and murmuring.
"Where am I...?"
"W-what the hell! I was clearly running away!"
It was a decent number of 200 scouts. I checked a spot behind Missha, who was clinging to me with an anxious look. Those bearing the Dzarwi clan emblem were quickly assembling into formation
Had their number already decreased so much from 50...?
There were just over 20 people. Eleven died during the three-hour confrontation with Riakis, but more power was lost in less than five minutes. What on earth happened in that brief moment? Well, it wasn't hard to guess.
"Hey! If you know what happened..."
"Shut up, scum." A voice erupted in rage at a scout's question. "Because of scum like you... Do you know how many people have died?! If you come any closer, I'll attack you immediately!"
In fact, the Dzarwi clan had united and was on high alert to prevent anyone from approaching.
The explorers were perplexed by this. "Why is this our fault?"
"If you hadn't taken our team in the first place, this wouldn't have happened!"
"I've heard that the great clans sweat to the guild and the royal family to fill their duty in case of emergency. We can discuss right and wrong later, but for now we must father all our forces..."
"Please let me in! I wasn't even involved in that in the first place! If you ask me to pay more for protection, I'll pay..."
Without knowing what situation they had landed in, all the explorers were shouting different things. They probably knew that being abandoned by those guys mean they had no chance of survival.
But... the will of the Dzarwi clan was unyielding. "Be grateful I haven't killed you yet, trash."
"W-what kind of selfishness is that?! Are you telling us to go and die?!"
"So you heard me correctly."
«... What? Bastards! Do you think we will stay still?» He was the man who caused the turmoil in the vanguard. Many scouts had sympathized with Jack Fletcher's shout, but the clan simply laughed in their faces.
«And what are you going to do?»
«Well, we'll join forces to-»
«I'm warning you now, but don't expect them to shake us like before. If we wanted, we could burn garbage like you on the spot».
This was not an empty lantern. The situation had changed compared to before. The Dzarwi had reformed into a truly dense formation, in contrast to their scattered appearance when confronted by Riakis. From the looks of it, they were ready to cast magic at any moment.
That's when the explorers realized their situation. «Damn!»
«Do you think we're going to die without you?»
A human man who looked six feet tall opened his mouth to the crowd. «I am aware of this phenomenon».
«You are?»
«N-not the details. But if we don't get out of here in time, we'll all die. It was written in an old book».
«... Is it true?» When Jack gave him a suspicious look, a woman stepped forward in place of the shy man.
He shouted: «I can guarantee it!».
Jack stared at her. «A fairy?»
«I've been teaming up with this guy for over a year and I've been through a lot of amazing things. He is a mysterious person. He really knows everything. I have no doubt that his words will save us».
Jack's expression changed. «If it is the words of a fairy... it is worth listening to them. Look, how do we get out of this place?»
«Not a great strategy! I heard you can escape if you go straight about three miles in any direction...»
Surprisingly, what that human man said was true. The problem was that the moment you left that place where there was light, the Riakis clones appeared from the darkness.
«I've heard there will be monsters, but if we all work together, I'm sure we can do it!».
«Hmm, there's definitely a point», Jack reflected.
Lie. If it had been that easy, the clan bastards would have jumped in first instead of seriously arguing among themselves with such sober faces.
«Bjorn, what are you going to do?»
«What?»
«If a fairy is willing to guarantee it, then that person must have something special.»
Oh really? In my eyes, he just looks like an asshole...
«Don't get carried away by things like that and stand firm», I told Missha.
«Okay!»
Anyway, things developed quickly after that. When Jack made up his mind and started shaking the crowd again, public opinion moved slowly. «Even with the fairy's guarantee, the man's words could be false. However. Instead of sitting here and waiting for death, I would put my faith in him!»
«Yes, it's dying here or dying there!»
«I don't think they're going to help us anyway, do we have any other options?»
«There are many of us, so surely something will happen!»
«But no matter how much I think about it, I don't think it's going to be that easy...».
At first there were many skeptics, but as people gathered, the fear of being left behind grew.
Jack called: «I'll ask you one last time! If anyone wants to join us, please leave now!».
More than 100 explorers gathered. The remaining ones were about 40, including Missha and me.
Jack looked over the crowd, saw me and started talking. «Hey, is your name Biagron, son of Yandere?».
«...It's Bjorn, son of Yandel».
«Hmm, right? Anyway, won't you join us?»
Why are you bothering me again? Isn't it obvious since I'm standing here?
I responded with a shrug.
«Stupid, like a barbarian. You will regret this».
What the fuck? And what was this? Why add that shit at the end when all he had to do was go his own way? I didn't understand that mentality, but I always gave back what I received, so I gave him some advice. «The dying scum has spoken. End your ramblings and simply enter your grave. That is better for humanity and the planet as a whole».
«W-what?»
«Do you want to fight me? Then come for me. I'll break that empty head». When I stepped forward with my mace, the scoundrel turned his head quickly, even though there were hundreds of scouts behind him. He then muttered to himself as he left. «Wow, I was saying that to help you...»
Jack said to the others: «No one else seems to join us, so let's go! We can't afford to waste any more time here».
Incidents or not, more than half of the people disappeared in the dark. No, a situation like this should be described as voluntarily walking towards danger.
Anyway, once they were gone, Missha leaned close to my side and whispered: «Bjorn, what are we going to do?»
«Why do you always ask me that?»
«That's because... every word you say is correct. I trust you».
«I see.»
Thanks for that, but Missha was wrong. My decisions were not correct. How could a simple human know that? I only chose the one that seemed most likely at the time the problem occurred. So, in that spirit...
Step.
I headed towards the Dzarwi clan, who were in the middle of an argument.
By now, they should also be aware of how screwed they are.
The time had finally come to make a bet that, in my opinion, would have the highest success rate, based on several reasons.
As I approached, the clan stopped me. «Stop, Barbarian. Come closer and....»
Coincidentally, the one who screamed was someone familiar to us. «H-brother...»
«Half idiot? Why are you...?»
A sudden reunion. It was clear that there would not be a touching reunion of brothers, so I smiled with satisfaction and pointed between the two. «How long without seeing each other».
«... What? So long without seeing each other?» Taylon, Missha's older brother, frowned.
True. We weren't that close. So while he was bewildered, I immediately brought it up. «So, has the Orc Hero essence already come out?»
«Well, we were lucky...»
Oh, so you were lucky.
«Wait, how do you know that?»
Seeing Taylon looking at me with horrified eyes, I smiled. The bet was successful, at least half-heartedly.
***
Iraj McGrain, the deputy head of the Dzarwi clan, thought: «We are screwed».
There had been a total of 27 deaths, a figure equivalent to 20% of Dzarwi's total workforce. I had no idea how long it would take to reset that figure.
Well, there's no guarantee we'll come back alive either.
He opened his eyes and looked at the members' faces. A total of 23 clan members had survived. Looking only at the number, about half of the troops were alive, but in reality they were not.
He asked his lieutenant: «What exactly is the current staff?».
«Three priests, six magicians and twelve long-range supporters... and two hand-to-hand fighters», the report continued in a miserable voice.
It had to be. «Only two melee warriors...».
«Misproportioned» was not enough to describe the distribution of people. When the mutiny broke out, the unsupported warriors were nearly annihilated.
«It remains a relief», the report added. «If it weren't for your judgment, we wouldn't have had time to reorganize like this-«.
«That's something you'll only know when we get back alive». McGrain calmed his breathing. As soon as he judged that it was impossible to end the revolt, he gave the order to let Riakis absorb the dark sphere. As a result, they were able to reduce damage and buy time.
Yes, time... we only buy time.
«Look, Sir McGrain! What are you going to do now? You won't give up, will you?»
«I'm thinking.»
«Then you should think quickly. If you've studied even a little about Chaos Lord Riakis, you know we don't have much time left».
Hearing the wizard speak in a cutting voice, McGrain sighed.
«May the blessing of the twilight star be with you...». The priest who prayed while drawing the holy cross was better, but if McGrain turned against him, it was clear that he would suffer the consequences, even if he returned alive.
Think, how can I come back alive with as many as possible?
McGrain pondered and pondered. What was the best thing you could do in the current situation?
«Sir, the explorers are forming a group. It seems like they are trying to get out of this place on their own».
«It's the first good news in a long time. Leave them», McGrain ordered.
«Excuse me?»
«They will serve as bait». As he decided to fully utilize the positive variables, he thought hard about how best to use the escape route, how to divide his troops while they were moving, and which formation would be most effective. There was no response. «According to the instructions, I made sure others know the formation when we move. We can leave at any time».
For now, they had done all they could, but assuming luck was on their side, at least half would die. The lack of warriors was too fatal. Two people couldn't properly clear the path, even though they were a swordsman and a lancer, professional warriors of defense. In other words, there was no scout in the guardian position.
We have to pave the way at the most crucial moment with just these two men.
Things would have gone much better if there had been only one scout in the guardian position...
"Sir, the scouts have left."
"Quickly, make a decision!"
Seeing that the clan members were staring at him, McGrain closed his eyes tightly.
"The number exceeds one hundred," the magician pressed. "Unless we move while they attract the lightest attention—"
"I know." There was no time. A decision had to be made quickly. McGrain finally opened his mouth, which had been closed.
"That's why I told you! I'll clear the way!" shouted a barbarian. It was as if he knew McGrain's worries, worries that no one else in the room seemed to understand.
McGrain asked the lieutenant, almost mesmerized, "Hey, who's that guy over there?"
"I've heard a little bit; apparently he's a teammate of Karlstein's little sister. You don't have to worry about it..."
"That's for me to decide, so you answer."
The lieutenant quickly replied, "I don't know how that man appeared it out... But he's asking for the essence of an Orc Hero."
"The essence of an Orc Hero?"
"Yes. He said that he could pave the way just with that."
After activating one of his abilities, Survival Instinct, McGrain looked back at the barbarian. Then he murmured, "This is the first time I've seen someone glow so brightly."
The power that had saved him from numerous crises was speaking. This man was worth listening to.