Surviving in a Frozen Dark Fantasy as a Genius Mage - Chapter 41

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Mordor

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Surviving the Frozen Dark Fantasy as a Genius Mage ◈

Chapter 41: Prisoner's Tower

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“Phew.”

“T-that was... a Lightning spell...”

“Now I understand why they call Lightning the strongest element in a fight against people...”

“Hey! Are you trying to turn me into a grilled elf too?!”

Even monsters that would have taken a long time to kill, or risked injuries if we only had warriors and Scouts, went down easily.

Everyone, from my party members to the other groups, stared in shock at the power of my new spell.

I felt the same way.

“...”

Ignoring Elena's complaints, I still shivered at the thrilling sensation of lightning lingering in my palm.

‘Lightning Arrow really is on another level.’

If Bolt only became a useful utility spell when combined with a conductor, Lightning Arrow was incredibly powerful on its own. Fast, strong, and lethal. It finally showed what the element of Lightning could really do.

‘If Lightning Arrow is this strong, how much stronger are Chain Lightning, Thunderbolt, Thunderstorm, and Lightning Nova?’

Fuck, I wanted to learn stronger spells.

I wanted to expand my vessel and increase my spell uses.

The same thrill and excitement I had felt when I first learned magic in that rural village surged through my chest.

Thump. Thump.

Filled with the urge to improve, I quickly Memorized Lightning Arrow onto a sheet of White Parchment.

The dark elves might attack if they thought I had run out of spells.

Not that they could do much with the elf mage's party here.

“Mr. Gimlius, are you all right?”

[Heal]

“Urgh. Thank you, Daisy.”

Daisy healed Gimlius's serious wound.

“Get that light out of here before I cut your head off.”

The two dark elves recoiled from the light of Divine Power.

That used one Heal.

Shining Light was still active, but Daisy had one use of each spell remaining. Two uses total.

As for me...

[Ice Spike] [1]

[Frost Burst] [0]

[Magic Missile] [2]

[Arcane Barrier] [1]

[Lightning Arrow] [1]

[Rising Water Jet] [1]

That was what I had left.

‘It'd be best to save the White Parchment if I can.’

‘But I still have two more sheets if it comes to that.’

The Jailer was a powerful monster, so there weren't many of them.

Originally, I had planned to discuss things with the other parties who entered this place, receive food from them, use my spells to kill Jailers, then Memorize again the next day and keep clearing them slowly.

But...

Did I really need to do that with this much firepower?

“Hey. How long are you going to stand there and watch?”

I looked at the male and female dark elves.

I was speaking to Elrond, the elf mage, as well.

“If we're working together to escape this outer dimension, then start doing something. Don't leave everything to the mercenaries.”

“Hmm...”

Elrond fell into thought.

“We haven't agreed to anything yet.”

The dark elf with tied silver hair, Darnen, replied coolly and held out her hand toward the dead Jailer.

“Dominus tuus vocat.”

As a chilling wave of magic spread out, the Jailer's fingers twitched.

“W-what is that?!”

“Wasn't it dead?!”

The Jailer rose again.

“Everyone, calm down. That's her spell.”

Animate Dead.

Low-level dark mages could only control zombies or skeletons.

That alone was dangerous, but as a fourth-floor Expedition Party member, Darnen had revived a dead Jailer without even using a catalyst.

“...”

As if she intended to join the battle herself, Darnen moved forward with the Jailer zombie leading the way.

Boom! Boom!

From that point on, everything moved quickly and smoothly.

Uoooooh!

The Jailer zombie alone could fight a living Jailer one-on-one.

While it held the enemy back, the rest of us ganged up on it. Then Darnen revived the dead Jailer, increasing our forces again.

“That's truly terrifying...”

“Is that necromancy? It's super convenient!”

Everyone except Elena, whose eyes sparkled, either despised or feared the dark magic.

“Controlling empty shells without even souls. How utterly disgusting.”

Elrond's reaction was especially sharp.

That was the common way of thinking among the people of this world.

‘Who cares? She's reassuring to have on our side.’

Of course, I was a modern man who loved Diablo 2 summon necromancers.

It didn't bother me.

The exploration went smoothly.

Elrond also proved to be quite skilled.

As befitted an elf, he threw small seeds as catalysts and cast earth spells. Vines sprouted from the seeds and rapidly grew, blocking the attacks of a Jailer firing a ballista from across a narrow bridge.

“Slow.”

With a small crossbow and a dagger, Drian blinded both of the Jailer's eyes. He circled it, causing excessive bleeding, then brought it down with ease.

Once we truly began fighting together, we broke through the prison district in no time.

Most of that contribution came from Darnen, the fourth-floor dark elf dark mage.

‘I should've become a dark mage too!’

* * *

An ordinary mage might have been curious about this mysterious place, a dungeon within the Labyrinth.

Not me.

‘Other than being cut off from the world, there's nothing special about a first-floor outer dimension.’

I already knew most of it from the setting guide.

“Hmph. Is this all?”

The ruthlessly efficient dark elf mage seemed to feel the same way.

After crushing the first floor, we entered the Blood Cave on the second floor.

“Ugh!”

“Bleurgh!”

It was a revolting place, its walls and ceiling writhing as if alive, with blood up to our ankles.

The prisoners we had seen earlier were impaled on spikes or hanging from the ceiling. The stench was enough to rival the Salt Cave.

Pssht! Pssht!

“I can't believe perfume is useful again.”

Monsters like Flesh Humans, Bloodwater Golems, and Blood Pact Beasts appeared on the second floor.

Still, we cleared the area as easily as before.

Blood was water too.

Elrond shone again by casting a spell that summoned plants which absorbed enormous amounts of moisture.

The monsters weren't the problem.

We had to watch out for traps.

As expected of a Secret Dungeon, its traps were more dangerous and malicious than those in ordinary Labyrinths.

A coin appeared.

[Heads/Tails]

‘Heads.’

[Heads]

“Watch out...!”

Even though I had guessed the coin correctly, the floor of blood and flesh split apart just as I was about to speak, and tentacles burst from it.

Aaaah!

Fate, altered by the coin.

Instead of Hans, the poor Scout from the elf mage's party became the victim.

“Haha. Serves you right.”

Drian laughed at the sight.

He had clearly known a trap would appear and said nothing.

“You bastard!”

I thought a little camaraderie had formed as we fought together, but I had underestimated the vicious nature of those Dark Kkanps.

I barely stopped another bloodbath from breaking out.

“...”

Darnen silently revived one of the prisoners' corpses and sent it forward.

It looked like she wanted to prevent further casualties, but after what had just happened, nobody viewed her actions favorably.

‘Getting lumped together with your evil kin is the same in games and here.’

Splash.

As we continued exploring, we finally found the stairs to the third floor.

I gripped my staff and spoke to my companions.

“It's coming.”

A sinister cry and the sound of flapping wings reached my ears.

It was time for the Prisoner's Tower's mid-boss to appear.

Caw! Caw!

Just as expected.

Something hung upside down from the high ceiling, hidden in darkness.

Daisy shone a light on it, revealing its form.

It was a monster made from horribly twisted human and bird shapes fused together.

Huge, rough black feathers covered its body, but on closer inspection, they weren't feathers. They were wings stitched together from hardened blood and scraps of leather.

Whenever it fluttered its wings, raven feathers showered down with the stench of rotten blood.

Its back was even more disgusting.

Veined limbs of different sizes hung from its back, writhing grotesquely like spider legs. Each limb clenched and unclenched its fingers and toes in the empty air.

Caw. Caw.

Three or four unfocused human eyes were embedded asymmetrically in the skin that protruded like a bird's beak, staring down at us.

It was the Jailer Captain, the Prisoner's Tower's mid-boss.

“My face... where did my face go? My arm... where did my arm go? Ah, there it is...”

The Jailer Captain muttered in a creaking voice and spread its wings wide.

Before it could begin its pattern, I quickly cast a spell.

[Rising Water Jet]

[Lightning Arrow]

The conductor combo that would make the Lightning spell hit harder.

Kwoooong!

The instant a jet of water surged from the ground, a black shadow kicked off the floor, leaving an afterimage behind.

A coin spun into view.

[Heads/Tails]

‘Heads.’

[Tails]

Fuck.

Cawww!

The Jailer Captain nimbly flapped its wings and avoided Rising Water Jet.

Crackle!

But it couldn't avoid the Lightning Arrow I fired, which struck it square in the chest.

Kikikikik!

Still, it was a mid-boss. Its magic resistance was high enough that it didn't die immediately.

‘If it had only been hit by Rising Water Jet, I would've finished it!’

Instead, it stared at me with sinister eyes.

“An arm... give me... an arm.”

Fuck, that pattern...!

Just as I tried to retreat with my companions, another coin appeared.

Spin.

[Heads/Tails]

‘Heads.’

[Heads]

This time, the coin succeeded.

Drian, who had been watching for an opening, flinched and kicked one of the slave warriors accompanying him.

“Huh?”

A sacrificial mark appeared in a sinister light. Then, with a horrible crunch, the slave warrior's arm vanished as if erased.

“Aaaaaah!”

“Oh, good!”

The grotesque part was that an arm wearing a sleeve sprouted from the raven man's back.

It was Body Theft, the Jailer Captain's unique skill. In some ways, it was more troublesome than the boss itself.

It was an unavoidable attack that had to claim someone.

“This fucking...!”

Hans fired his crossbow, and vines summoned by the elf mage shot forward.

But restored by the sacrifice, the Jailer Captain took the crossbow bolt and avoided the deadly spell.

It was smarter than the monsters found in ordinary Labyrinths.

‘It still has time before its next pattern!’

Just as I prepared another spell, Darnen shattered a black gem and chanted.

Whoooosh!

Black flames burst across the raven man's body as it flew through the air.

Kyaaaaaaah!

The Jailer Captain screamed in pain, but it seemed to instinctively know it was finished if it fell to the ground. It struggled to endure while remaining airborne.

‘Not happening.’

[Magic Missile]

The two Magic Missiles I fired struck the blazing raven man's wings.

When it fell, I called out to Elena.

“Elena!”

“Leave it to me...!”

Darnen spoke first.

“Throw the corpse.”

“Y-yes!”

An unharmed warrior from the dark elf side hurled the prisoner corpse Darnen had stopped controlling.

Darnen chanted again.

[Touch of Decay]

[Whisper of Weakness]

As the curses took hold, the prisoner's corpse exploded.

Kwoooong!!!

Blood, flesh, and bone fragments scattered in every direction.

That spell was...

‘Corpse Explosion!’

The raven man was slammed into the wall like a desecrated effigy, coughed up blood, and lowered its head.

I had dealt some damage, but the mid-boss had been killed absurdly easily.

By a single dark mage.

“What was that...?”

“Terrifying power...”

Everyone was stunned once more by that horrific destruction.

I was too, carried by the excellent bus driver.

‘Dark mages are fucking broken!’

‘She really has the power to clear this place alone!’

“Haha, did you see it? The glorious and great power of our people.”

“Hic, aahhh...!”

“Stop crying, lowborn.”

Drian spoke to the slave warrior who had lost an arm and was writhing in pain.

‘Is he insane? He sacrificed the guy himself.’

Normally, the slave warrior would have obeyed Drian, but someone who suddenly lost an arm wouldn't accept that easily.

“Shut up! My arm! My arm...!”

The man cursed through blood and tears.

“Your arm? Want me to take your head too?”

“...”

Violence was the more immediate threat.

The slave warrior forced down his painful groans and rage when the dark elf assassin's blade was suddenly at his neck.

“B-bandages...”

Another slave warrior, his companion, hurried over to administer first aid.

I spoke before they could.

“Daisy. Heal that person.”

“Huh? Ah, okay!”

Daisy was startled that I wanted her to heal people who could become enemies later, but she healed him anyway.

“T-thank you...”

“Why waste a Heal on him?!”

“Hmm...”

Elena, Gimlius, and the elf party didn't understand, but I shook my head.

“Only the boss room is left. We can refill our spells now.”

‘Besides... I might be able to use him if things go wrong.’

I remembered the betrayal-filled look in the slave warrior's eyes.

“We did most of the work, so we'll take the loot.”

The two dark elves held up the item that appeared where the Jailer Captain had disappeared.

It was a cloak of black feathers.

A magic item.

Night Crow's Cloak.

It drew the hostility of ravens, but slightly increased movement speed and granted stealth in darkness.

“Wait. We need to settle my contribution for confusing it and damaging it with my spells.”

“Arrogant lowborn. Darnen could've handled it alone without the likes of you.”

“You don't know that. Besides, we healed your companion.”

That was partly why I had Daisy use Heal.

I pointed at the slave warrior who had lost his arm.

“Who asked you to...”

Drian immediately argued back, but Darnen nodded.

“Fine. I'll pay what that's worth.”

“Darnen!”

She was a rational dark elf with Faith.

She probably believed they wouldn't have killed it so easily without my spells.

“...”

Drian gritted his teeth, clearly dissatisfied with the decision. Soon, though, he gave a grim smile and nodded.

He was probably thinking of killing us all if it came to that.

But did he think I'd let that happen?

“No. I want the division done here and now. We don't know what might happen later.”

“Very well.”

Darnen tossed me an old book marked with strange symbols.

“We retrieved it from the well earlier.”

Nasihira's Grimoire.

It would yield either nothing or new magical knowledge.

When opened, it had a random chance to grant a new spell suited to the user's affinity and level.

By coincidence, this was the item I had been after in this Secret Dungeon.

Hmm, I hadn't expected her to hand it over so readily...

‘They said her generosity was as big as her tits, and they weren't wrong!’

“Is that not enough?”

“No. It's plenty.”

I looked away after glancing at the chest that stood out even beneath her robes and tight leather clothes.

Anyway, nice.

I'd open it later when we reached a city.

Humming to myself, I put away Nasihira's Grimoire.

Splash. Splash.

After dealing with the mid-boss, we stopped before the stairs to the third floor.

Beyond the heavy iron door, flanked by lifelike statues, waited this dungeon's boss.

“Are we going in like this?”

In a game, if there was a cliché or a troll, someone would probably say something like, “Come on, this is enough. Let's just go in.”

But this was reality.

“Of course not. Let's refill our spells before entering.”

We only had one life. The Labyrinth was a place where carelessness got you killed, and even caution couldn't save you from bad luck.

Worn out from repeated battles and drained of spells, we all returned to the first floor to rest and Memorize.

We kept a strict watch in case of an ambush, but nothing happened.

After restoring our stamina and spells, we gathered in front of the boss room once again.

Boom! Boom!

When the Jailer zombies' duration expired, Darnen revived them again.

We had also prepared plenty of first-floor prisoner corpses for Corpse Explosion.

We drank the Holy Water Daisy had brought in advance, in case of curses or panic. Following the strategy I had explained, we also prepared incendiary materials like black firebombs to target the creature's weakness to fire.

“Wait. Let's wait a little longer and enter around five in the morning.”

“Do we really need to go that far?”

“I want to.”

“...Fine.”

Just in case, I filled my spells to the limit and prepared for battle at five in the morning, so that even if I used them all, I could refill them again an hour later.

‘Perfect.’

After carefully reviewing everything as a veteran player, I concluded that with this much firepower and preparation, we could kill the Prisoner's Tower's boss, the Eternal Guardian, in an instant.

‘The dark elves and the Kkanps might fight each other in the middle of it.’

‘If that happens, we can kill the boss, grab the loot, and run.’

‘Even if that guy shows up...’

My plan was perfect.

But the Labyrinth was always a fucked-up, mysterious place that exceeded every Expedition Party member's expectations.

Creeeak!

The instant we opened the door, a chill ran down my spine.

‘Something's wrong.’

An unpleasant, ominous feeling washed over me, like I had left home with the gas stove burning.

[Heads/Tails]

Fuck, and why was a coin appearing?

I shouted.