WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Mordor

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Surviving the Frozen Dark Fantasy as a Genius Mage ◈

Chapter 78: A Monster Worthy of a Monster

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No matter how skilled you were, TRPGs and dungeon crawls were fundamentally shitty games ruled by luck.

Of all the plans I had considered for killing it, this one had the highest chance of success.

‘There are other methods, but the odds are too low.’

Of course, this was reality, not a game where I could restart.

An experienced Expedition Party member and mage always needed a backup plan.

-What if we fail to summon a powerful monster?

-Then I'll use the dice to temporarily block its vision.

We would use Oldimara’s Dice to block the Watcher’s vision, focus-fire it with powerful spells, then either attack or flee.

It was risky, but I had a backup plan.

-Good. Let's do it.

The Watcher was immune to all magic.

It used its magic eye to erase spells before they could reach it.

That ability would be our greatest obstacle.

‘What if the Watcher looks at me while I'm opening the dimensional gate?’

‘We're finished!’

The key to this plan was for the bait to draw the Watcher’s gaze away while I opened a dimensional gate and summoned a powerful monster, forcing mutual destruction.

‘But neither part will be easy.’

The Watcher was cautious even among Floor Masters.

Iromis had injured it with a spell before, so it would likely approach through its monsters or familiars.

In the end, the people serving as bait had to endure countless monsters and lure out the Watcher, while the suicide squad, including me, had to break through the wave and attack it from behind.

‘The mid-floor Priest and Iromis have already been seen by the Watcher, so they can't come with us!’

If our two strongest fighters joined us, the Watcher would surely become even more wary.

That was the conclusion.

"I need people who can break through the wave and protect me while I open the dimensional gate."

My companions and I weren't enough.

"Understood. I'll select the right people."

Fortunately, there were hundreds of Expedition Party members here with all kinds of abilities.

We worked out the details as quickly as possible.

At six in the morning, the casters, including Daisy, Iromis, and me, used Memorize.

[Mystic Dimensional Gate][2] [Charge][2] [Chain Lightning][2] [Lightning Arrow][2] [Water Mist][3]

[Frost Burst][3] [Arcane Barrier][2] [Ice Spear][3] [Rising Water Jet][3]

-Huff, huff...

-What the hell have those bastards been doing this whole time!? Do they think being fourth- and fifth-floor Expedition Party members makes them special!?

Though we had been fighting back-to-back, a life-or-death situation soon brought out everyone’s selfishness.

Among those holding back the wave, some began hanging back or pulling away while watching for an opening.

‘If we split apart already, we're done for.’

Watching them, I made a decision.

Our chances would only rise if everyone did their best in their own position.

We shared our plan with the other Expedition Party members.

-Damn it, is that really possible?

Naturally, some objected.

But we had our backs against the wall.

This hopeless situation, where there seemed to be no other way, instead brought everyone together.

-...It's better than all of us dying! Let's do it!

-Uooooooo!

[Ian’s strategy has brought everyone together.]

* * *

Aberrant Pig Warriors, Pig Knights, plaster statues of servants and maids, Infected Archers, Face-Stealing Spores, and more.

Squeeeeeeal!

Monsters still poured from the Emerald Forest beneath its pale light.

"So we've got to break through all that..."

Elena glared at them, slung an arm around my shoulders, and burned with fighting spirit.

"Don't worry, Ian. I'll protect a frail little thing like you."

"Fuck..."

Gimlius's beard trembled as he drank from an unidentified metal flask, then found his courage again.

"Heh heh. All dwarves die eventually. Let's give it a try!"

The dwarf bastard was drinking again.

Well, it was a crisis, so I'd let it slide.

"..."

Daisy prayed silently while Hans fiddled with his crossbow.

As we checked our equipment and stretched, those who would strike at the Floor Master from behind gathered beside us.

"Looking forward to working with you, Magic Tower mage."

Aside from Iromis and the Priestess, Kadega was the most famous dark mage. Known as the Dark Hand, they were a fourth-floor Expedition Party member accompanied by three party members.

"I'm Ulric! Leave the front to me!"

A massive, tattooed barbarian and four party members.

That made thirteen of us in total.

‘Too many people might draw the Watcher’s attention, so this is just right.’

I looked around.

"..."

Out of all these people, there wasn't a single dark elf.

Fuck, dark elves really were predictably unreliable.

Thinking of dark elves reminded me of someone.

‘Darnen.’

‘Wouldn't she have helped us if she were here?’

If only she had been here, we wouldn't have needed such a troublesome method...

Sigh. What was the point of looking for someone who wasn't here?

As I thought that, the forest beyond us stirred, and a strange cry rang out.

Oooooooo!

The Expedition Party members looked up, but it wasn't visible in the sky.

"It's not there!"

A wandering mage who had scouted the air with a bat-like familiar shouted.

"It's hiding in the forest!"

At that moment, a tattooed woman spoke.

She was a Shaman who followed her group's peculiar faith, neither a benevolent god nor a dark god.

"Ah!"

‘Looks like she planted Eyes of the Earth.’

The Watcher had just detected and destroyed them.

Boom! Boom!

The sound of trees falling came from beyond the forest.

Whoosh!

As the Floor Master drew closer, the Labyrinth’s darkness deepened and the torches dimmed.

Even the magical flames lit by fire mages couldn't drive all that darkness away.

At the same time...

Squeeeeeeal!

Strange things leaped out from among the monsters crawling out of the forest.

"Wh-What is that!?"

"It's the thing that mage mentioned earlier!"

They were living, moving tentacles that the Watcher used like familiars.

Each tentacle wasn't particularly powerful on its own.

But when they joined with the charging monsters, it created a nightmare.

Slash!

"Urk!"

A tentacle sprang up beneath the feet of a warrior stabbing an Aberrant Pig with a spear.

Its ever-changing movements blocked his view. In an instant, the Aberrant Pig seized him by the ankle. He fell below the wall, where he was devoured.

"Aaaaaah!"

Several Expedition Party members were sacrificed like that.

And that wasn't all.

"J-Jaini!?"

Creak! Creak!

Not monster shadows, but human shadows appeared beyond the forest.

Expedition Party members who had died in the wave had returned.

Their heads were twisted one hundred and eighty degrees, and tentacles hung from their entire bodies.

"Don't get close! They're already monsters!"

‘Infected Adventurers.’

They were weaker than when they were alive, but still terrifying monsters.

I wanted to help them, but there was nothing we could do here.

"..."

The Priestess of the Golden Lion Clan met my gaze, nodded, and recited a prayer.

Blessing.

A power far stronger than Daisy’s surged forth.

Striking.

A god’s power entered our weapons, sharpening their edges and surrounding them with the power of light.

Veil of Light.

Our resistance and vitality rose sharply for a short time.

"May Lu’s protection be with you."

After blessing us, the Priestess’s eyes widened as she drew a holy relic from her robes.

"In Lu’s name! Let the wicked be destroyed!"

A tremendous light burst out around her.

‘Turn Undead.’

Grrraaaah...

Countless undead touched by that light turned to ash.

Consiste!

At the same time, Iromis used the most powerful spell he possessed.

Whoooooosh!

A blizzard rose beyond the forest, while Frost Rays and ice orbs swept away the monsters.

‘Damn, that’s intense!’

"Now!"

"Run!"

The suicide squad and I charged through the opening.

* * *

Turn Undead and Iromis’s powerful spell had cleared a path, but only briefly.

Thududududud!

Squeeeeeeal!

The rampaging Labyrinth.

No one knew where they kept crawling out from, but the monsters quickly filled the gap and rushed us.

"Come on, you bastards! Fuck!"

Elena, Gimlius, and the vanguards from other parties smashed in their heads.

With the fifth-floor Priest’s Blessing, everyone felt light enough to fly.

[Charge]

[Chain Lightning]

Crackle!

The twelve members of the suicide squad, including my companions and me, began cutting a path through.

"Hup!"

The plan was simple.

First, we would run through the forest and get as far from the Watcher as possible.

Then, when it was drawn toward the Expedition Party members gathered in the clearing, we would strike from behind.

Easy to say, fucking hard to do.

We had to break through hundreds, perhaps over a thousand monsters in the process.

"My mother's protection is with me!!!"

An enormous battle cry drowned out even the monsters’ roars as an axe spun like a whirlwind.

The heads and limbs of the monsters caught in its destructive path were torn apart in a storm of gore.

Roooooar!

Ulric’s barbarian party displayed exceptional skill.

Made entirely of warriors, they carved a path through with extraordinary courage and momentum.

Crunch! Crack!

Whenever a strange light flashed over Ulric’s body, the projectiles fired by the monsters bounced away.

Elena widened her eyes as she smashed in the head of a plaster maid statue.

"What’s that!?"

"It must be the power of Grace!"

It was an ability called Shell of Wind’s Protection.

"That’s fucking awesome..."

Monsters raged in every direction, their blood, flesh, and entrails soaking the ground.

I was thoroughly protected, but the fighting spirit, battle lust, and burning vitality of the warriors around me made my own blood run hot.

‘When, when is it...’

As we broke through the wave, a signal finally came through the communication device I had received from Iromis.

-The Watcher has appeared.

Booooom!

A great commotion erupted from the clearing by the wall.

The Floor Master had finally appeared.

"Let's go!"

"Oooh!"

We crossed the brush we had put between ourselves and the Watcher to get behind it.

But the way back wasn't easy.

"My strength..."

First, the Priestess’s powerful protection had run out.

On top of that, everyone was exhausted from breaking through the monsters.

We had gathered only elites with both courage and skill, yet casualties began to mount.

[Heads/Tails]

[Heads/Tails]

Coins spun on all sides.

Tremble. Tremble.

Thud.

One of the arrows fired by an Infected Archer hiding in the tangled vines, through sheer bad luck, lodged precisely in the gap of one of Ulric’s party members’ helmets.

...

Their eyeball burst, and the arrow pierced their brain.

They died instantly without even being able to scream.

"Altmaaaaan!!!"

Boom!

Squeeeeeeal!

"You fucking..."

A chain thrown by an Aberrant Pig caught one of Kadega’s party members.

Before anyone could do anything, he was dragged away, buried beneath monsters, crushed alive, and torn apart.

"Aaaaaah!"

I couldn't flip a coin or help him.

"Grrk!"

[Frost Burst]

[Arcane Barrier]

[Heads]

[Success]

[Gimlius evades the enemy’s attack.]

[Heads/Tails]

[Failure]

[Elena is injured.]

Just keeping myself and my companions alive was already overwhelming.

"...Jerry wasn't the kind of friend who should have fallen here."

"Altman. I will remember your honorable death."

Still, thanks to their sacrifices, we managed to get behind the Floor Master.

Rustle.

Beyond the thick brush...

"Stop. We'll be detected if we get any closer."

The elf archer from Kadega’s party, covered in blood, caught his breath before speaking.

His Grace allowed him to see through obstacles.

"What do you think, Mage Ian?"

"We'll perform the ritual here."

After looking around, I took out White Parchment and prepared to open the dimensional gate.

"Hold them back!!!"

The remaining people formed a defensive formation around me and began holding off the monsters.

This was where the dark mage Kadega showed their worth.

"Fine."

Kadega crushed a disgusting catalyst and cast an evil spell.

Grrrrrr...

Animate Dead.

The dead monsters around us rose as zombies and blocked the charging monsters.

That wasn't all.

"Wall of remains."

Bone fragments Kadega took from their bag moved as if they had wills of their own, building a wall around us.

It was the dark mage spell Bone Wall.

There was a vast difference between Kadega and Darnen, but even this was more than enough for a sturdy wall.

‘Phew.’

Booooom!

Things were already a complete mess around us, but tremendous crashes and explosions echoed from the clearing, where the others were directly fighting the Floor Master.

I swallowed nervously.

Summoning a powerful monster wasn't automatically enough.

An intelligent monster like a lich would try to avoid fighting the Watcher.

‘We'd be lucky if it doesn't side with the Watcher and beat the shit out of us.’

‘Something fairly stupid, with strong instinctive urges.’

Of course, that didn't mean I could summon exactly what I wanted.

Damn it. No matter how thoroughly I planned, this part still had to be left to that fucking luck.

"..."

I took out Oldimara’s Dice.

I already knew what wish to make.

I couldn't wish for only monsters to emerge from the dimensional gate, or for it to summon a monster stronger than me.

The first could increase the chance of summoning a monster, but it couldn't raise the upper limit. As for the second, the dice itself would become fixed on monsters, and with this contrarian item’s nature, there was a high chance something mediocre would emerge.

Then...

[Make every dimensional gate I open from now on extremely unstable.]

This was the way to go.

‘Even with the same wish, the wording matters!’

After making the wish, I threw the dice.

[20]

The highest number appeared.

At the same time, I felt the chilling gaze of some enormous being watching me once more.

"...This is!"

Kadega, the fourth-floor Expedition Party member who commanded familiars, noticed what was happening and stared at me in alarm.

Good.

The first step was complete.

[Mystic Dimensional Gate]

I opened the dimensional gate.

Crackle!

Contrary to my expectations, the warped portal spat out only a single stone.

"...Damn it."

Everyone’s expressions darkened, but I smiled.

‘Good!’

What emerged from the dimensional gate wasn't the usual small pebble, but a huge rock the size of a human head.

‘The unstable dimensional gate... it’s working properly.’

After using up all the dimensional gate spells I had Memorized, I consumed the White Parchment Iromis gave me and opened another dimensional gate.

[You use White Parchment.]

[You engrave the Mystic Dimensional Gate spell.]

[Heads/Tails]

[Success]

[Success]

Every time a coin appeared after I opened a dimensional gate, it came up successful.

A slightly larger rock, cleaner cloth, a larger Mana Stone, a goblin, and other assorted things emerged.

Crackle!

When I opened the fifth dimensional gate, a suspicious-looking shield radiating mana popped out.

"Urk! H-Hey! Are you sure this can really work!?"

"Fuck! I shouldn't have followed you into this!"

"Shut up, you idiots! Are you saying you don't trust Ian now!?"

"...Mm."

As I kept failing, anxiety spread through the people around me.

"Aaaagh!"

[Heal]

It was only natural.

Even at this very moment, my companions were being injured and dying.

‘Fuck.’

Phew.

I didn't show it, but I felt the same way.

‘Will you all just shut up!?’

Kyaaaaaah!

My palms were sweating with anxiety.

At any moment, the claws on the hands and feet of those monsters raging around us could take me, Daisy, Elena, Hans, or Gimlius.

Damn it, should I have used the dice I had saved for backup one more time?

At this rate, we'd suffer casualties for nothing.

‘Should I just target the Watcher directly now?’

In such extreme circumstances, bad thoughts led to more bad thoughts.

White Parchment.

I had two sheets left from the ones Iromis gave me.

Please...

Then my desperation soon turned into joy.

[Heads/Tails]

‘Heads.’

[Failure]

‘It finally failed!’

The coin that appeared when I tried to open the dimensional gate had failed.

From what I had experienced so far, the coins seemed to have a kind of correction value. Great luck was followed by great misfortune.

‘That shield from earlier is obviously a valuable magic item.’

‘What if all the success weighting from before turns into misfortune here?’

As if it were taking back all the luck I had received, the dimensional gate shook violently and grew larger and larger.

Crackle!

A dazzling dimensional gate as large as a giant.

A foul stench reached my nose.

Then came the sound of massive footsteps.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

As a Dungeon of Death veteran, I could infer what was about to emerge from those signs alone.

It was...

"Th-That’s...!"

‘An Ogre!’

An Ogre.

A terrifying rank-three monster called the Tyrant of the Forest.

Screeeech!

I screamed inwardly.

‘I did it!’

Gacha genius... no, summoner Ian had done it again!

"Oooh!"

"Crazy... He really did it! He really...!"

An indescribably terrifying being emerged from the dimensional gate, yet the people who had summoned it were strangely delighted.

‘But it isn't entirely on our side!’

"Everyone, move!!!"

Coming to my senses, I shouted at my rejoicing companions.

"...!"

"R-Right!"

Kadega released a burst of black smoke, and as soon as we fled, a massive monster emerged from the portal.

Boom! Boom!

Grrrrrr...

The Ogre sniffed the air and glanced toward us as we ran.

Then it realized there was something more threatening beyond us...

──────────!!!

It began charging toward the Floor Master.

Boom! Boom boom boom!

Smashing everything in its path.

Letting out a roar that seemed to shake heaven and earth.

[Ian has summoned an Ogre!]

[Kraaaaaah!]

Footnotes:

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