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Late at night.

Johan, riding in a carriage and accompanied by knights, arrived at Ruden Village in Count Ekarshi’s Territory after two full days of travel.

Perhaps news of a potential dungeon had spread widely, as the village’s atmosphere was quite unsettling. It might also have been due to the impending rain on a dark night.

“Are you from the Public Affairs Office?”

As the carriage entered the village, a guard at the entrance politely asked.

“Yes.”

The knight leading the way nodded. The guard immediately moved to clear the barricade blocking the path.

“Thank you.”

The guard seemed to have grown quite fond of this village, as his words were filled with earnestness.

Johan entered the village along with the knights from the Public Affairs Office. The atmosphere inside the village was also far from normal. Everything had come to a halt due to the appearance of the dungeon.

As Johan stepped into the village, he slowly took in his surroundings. The reservoir had dried up, and the well had run dry. The fields were barren, cracked earth stretching desolately in every direction.

An old man sat at the entrance. Silently. Even his deeply wrinkled face exuded an air of desolation.

‘Something feels off.’

Johan frowned at the sight, feeling an unusual dryness. Even the air seemed arid.

It resembled a landscape where life was slowly fading rather than a living village.

“Harsen Archmage, am I the only one who feels this way?”

The first-rate knight assigned to escort Johan spoke. He too seemed to sense the village’s unsettling atmosphere.

“Yes. It certainly appears there’s a dungeon.”

All dungeons share common characteristics. The land is parched, life is decaying, and the air is murky.

A hungry landscape. That was precisely how the village they had just entered looked.

“We’ve arrived. Up ahead is the Village Chief’s house.”

Johan got down from the carriage. The Village Chief’s house, visible atop a hill, wasn’t particularly large, but it was more formal than the other homes.

As he walked up the slope, he spotted a small-framed figure. A bearded elder with striking white hair greeted him.

“You’ve come. I am Haden, the Village Chief of Ruden in Count Ekarshi’s Territory.”

Village Chief Haden bowed deeply. He seemed intimidated by the nobles and public officials from the Empire.

“Where is the location where the dungeon appeared?”

Johan asked. The Village Chief struggled to straighten his back and pointed his hand in the direction.

“It’s not far. If you go straight through the north gate of the village, you’ll find a mountain path. Even just going there, you’ll feel that something is amiss.”

Johan nodded as he observed the Village Chief, who spoke cautiously.

“Let’s confirm it right now. Can you guide us?”

“Yes, of course. Hadu?”

The Village Chief called out for someone, looking back. A young man appeared. He looked like he could be his son.

“This is my son, Hadu. He will guide you.”

“I’m Hadu. I know the mountain paths well.”

“Good.”

Johan nodded and turned away. Hadu looked a bit dazed for a moment, then quickly realized he was being signaled to follow.

“What about the carriage?” a knight asked.

“With a dungeon in front, we can’t take the carriage. Let’s leave it behind.”

Johan continued gazing in the direction of the dungeon.

“Hadu, can you ride a horse?”

“Yes. I’ve had to go to the city often, so I can ride.”

“That’s a relief. Let’s set off right away.”

*

As they ascended the mountain path to the north of the village, the ominous energy deepened. They remained on guard, knowing that demon beasts might leap out at any moment.

“There it is.”

Hadu pointed toward a mass of black fog gathering in the distance. A negative aura. It was identical to the characteristics of an unmanaged dungeon.

“Hadu, you can go back. From here on, we’ll handle it ourselves.”

“Yes.”

Having sent the Village Chief’s son back, Johan spoke to the knight as they moved forward.

“It looks like it will take some time.”

The knight nodded, a grim expression plastered on his face.

“Indeed. At this rate, we might have a flood at any moment. We can’t leave it be.”

If they merely checked and returned, a flood would strike, leaving the village in ruins. That would complicate future tasks.

“Let’s go deeper.”

Johan, accompanied by the knights, entered the mountain path, where the black fog was rising. A sense of negative energy crawled up their necks.

As Johan and the knights moved along the path, they soon discovered the demon beasts lurking like shadows.

Sharp claws scraped against the rocks, emitting a chilling sound, and green eyes glowed in the darkness.

“Just as I thought. There are demon beasts.”

Tension filled the air as the knights who dismounted carefully drew their swords. The clanging of armor echoed in the night.

“Grrr?”

Hearing the noise, the demon beasts turned their gazes toward them in unison. Johan slowly began channeling his magical power.

“Harsen Archmage, please conserve your mana. We’ll take care of it ourselves.”

Though Johan didn’t need to conserve his mana by nature, he decided to listen to the knights here. There was no need to draw the demon beasts’ attention by using magic unnecessarily.

“Kiyaaah!”

“Large beast!”

As the demon beasts charged, the knights formed a line and began swinging their swords. Amidst the black fog, blades made of mana surged.

Slash!

The demon beasts’ necks were neatly severed. The various colored Mana Blades moved without pause.

Though there were quite a few of them, low-grade demon beasts stood no chance against five elite knights.

“All cleaned up.”

“Let’s get closer.”

Johan and the knights strolled through the black fog, entering deeper into the area where negative energy abounded.

“What is this…”

“Just as I thought.”

“It’s unusual.”

A crack from which the black fog was emanating appeared. Inside was filled with darkness. Nothing could be seen.

However, even if it couldn’t be seen, Johan felt it. A presence. Something was writhing inside.

“It’s right before a flood.”

“It’s beyond what we can handle by ourselves.”

“It would be wise to evacuate the villagers.”

The knights voiced their opinions. It was a good judgment call. The size of the crack in the dungeon was abnormal.

Apologies to Count Ekarshi, but a portion of the territory would need to be designated as a no-entry zone.

“Then let’s go.”

Just as Johan mounted his horse again, the All-Flow Perception suddenly sensed something. Instinctively, he maxed out the Shadow Flow Array.

Suddenly!

A sharply honed dagger stopped right in front of Johan’s eyes.

But not for the knights.

“Graah!”

“What, what’s going on!”

“Aaaah…!”

The knights’ cries echoed as they failed to dodge the daggers due to the black fog.

“D-disease!”

“Aaah!! My arm…!”

“I can’t feel my leg…!”

The knights’ bodies stiffened and fell into a state of combat inability. It was because the dagger was coated with an unknown poison.

“A sneak attack!”

Johan quickly turned his head. Nothing was visible through the black fog.

“Anyone who can move, shout out!”

He raised his voice towards the direction the knights had been. But there was no response. In less than a minute, they’d been rendered unable to fight, suggesting it was a potent toxin.

‘I knew something like this would happen, but I didn’t expect it to begin when inspecting a dungeon.’

Who ordered such reckless actions? Cassis and Fedelian were both unscrupulous idiots, so it wouldn’t be strange if either had made this mess.

Were they shadows? Or hyenas? From the way they fought, they didn’t seem to be the Black Knights.

“……”

Johan soon discerned that his opponents were hyenas. The dagger used had a familiar shape.

“Hyenas, is it? Show yourselves.”

Johan scanned the surroundings with a sharp gaze, waiting for the hyenas. An oppressive killing intent filled the air. These were not ordinary hyenas.

“You’re quite perceptive. How did you guess it was us?”

The hyenas emerged from the darkness, activating their Mana Blades as they approached slowly. There were ten in total.

“There were others who used such daggers.”

Johan deliberately prompted conversation while steadily gathering his magic. This was the entrance to the dungeon. Escaping was the priority.

The lead hyena grinned with a smirk.

“If you’re thinking of running away, give it up. You can consider it a zero chance.”

The hyena thrust its dagger forward. Just as it said, Johan had little chance of fleeing here.

Being at the dungeon’s entrance restricted visibility, and all the opponents were at least first-rate in skill.

It was either annihilation or his own demise. It was one or the other.

‘It would be nice to be able to capture them, but that’s impossible.’

As hyenas skilled at fleeing, their skill level could not be dismissed. No matter how much of an Archmage Johan was, there was little he could do.

“Begin!”

Before the hyena’s words even finished, the daggers flew. Dozens of blades surged toward Johan.

The mana of the Shadow Flow Array spread like threads. The incoming daggers halted mid-air and cracked apart. But there was little time to relish this.

The hyenas’ Mana Blades surged in unison. With a cold expression, Johan stomped the ground.

Thwack!

As he slipped through a gap, three Mana Blades sliced through the air. Soon after, the next attack came. Once more, it was a Mana Blade. Johan gritted his teeth tightly and twisted his waist.

Swish!

The blades sped toward him with incredible force.

A dagger flew toward him. He didn’t care. Suddenly! Just as he expected, the dagger couldn’t pierce through the Shadow Flow Array. Johan activated the Mana Enhancement Technique to bolster his physical abilities.

As he swiftly widened the distance, the hyenas’ eyes widened.

“A mage with such physical abilities?”

“Focus! He’s an Archmage!”

But their shock was brief. Realizing quickly, the hyenas re-formed their ranks.

“Charge!”

Maybe they were determined not to allow Johan time to use magic, as they immediately surged forward. Hyenas shot forward like arrows.

Swords poured down without gaps from up close. Each gripped by Mana Blades. If the numbers were fewer, he might have managed to block them, but it was impossible to capture ten threads of Shadow Flow Array with so many blades.

He poured as much power as possible. The Shadow Flow Array solidified. Mana Blades approached, ready to break through the wrapped threads around Johan. But he had bought enough time.

“Distortion Sphere.”

Johan moved his hand. A swirling sphere of magic violently trembled in his palm. He directed it. The Distortion Sphere moved as his arm guided it, sucking in the nearby hyenas.

Ka-boom!

“Graaah…!”

“Aaaah!!”

The violently spinning Distortion Sphere tore through the hyenas, sweeping across the ground without leaving any trace behind but red blood.

“He’s an Archmage! Don’t let your guard down!”

As two hyenas were killed in an instant, they retreated into the black fog, realizing they couldn’t deal with Johan using normal means.

Johan, scanning the black fog, spoke.

“Cassis must be really angry, huh?”

There was no answer. But Johan didn’t stop speaking.

“That stupid bastard can’t tell the difference between public and private matters and is causing a fuss.”

Frustration filled his voice. It was understandable. Here he was on an important mission like dungeon reconnaissance, and they had sent hyenas after him.

“Following a foolish master is also a sin. Due to the oath, there’s nothing I’ll be able to do during interrogation, so I’ll just kill you all.”

Johan drew his mana to its limits. A black sphere bloomed at his fingertips. A Point of Rupture. The powerful magic behind its violent rotation whirled around him.

At that moment.

“Kiyaaah!”

“Grrrraaah!”

“Gyaaaah!”

With eerie shrieks, something began pouring out from the crack of the dungeon. Monsters filled with malice and hostility surged in long waves.

They were demon beasts, eager to tear apart flesh and drink blood.

It was a flood.