A message appeared without the slightest warning.
The Gate had suddenly closed, and the demonic beasts had grown tremendously stronger.
Because I had heard about it from Aris, I could guess what this situation was.
‘So this is probably the Collapse of the Rift, the Displacement of the Fissure.’
No, fuck.
They say this is something that might happen once every few thousand years.
And I hit the jackpot on only my second time entering a Gate in my life?
‘Even Rachel struggled, and Aris didn’t seem too pleased either.’
Could I get out of here safely?
For a brief moment, such anxious thoughts crossed my mind, but—
“Brother, did I ever tell you? When you saved me back then, I had only just begun my journey.”
“When I first came here, I was merely one of the Magic Tower’s countless promising talents.”
“Thanks to everything I learned from you, those things aren’t even worth a single punch now.”
“Traveling with you, this body has truly become a great, great, great archmage!”
Seeing the two women step forward to protect me, my anxiety melted away like snow.
‘Ah, right…’
I had forgotten for a moment—they were veterans who had already conquered the Tower to its very end.
Besides, hadn’t I seen their strength with my own eyes?
I became confident that I could survive here.
Perhaps that was why.
Even as the black oxen, enlarged in an instant, stood on two legs looking down at me, I felt no fear.
The only thought that came to mind was an idle appreciation for how nice the axes they held looked.
‘I’m scary, even to myself. My guts have gone missing like I got a shot of adrenaline.’
If someone skilled acted this way, it would be composure, but for someone with all stats at 1, it’s just bravado.
With my abilities, I probably wouldn’t even withstand the wind pressure of that axe and would die torn to pieces.
Even knowing that, my mouth freely provoked the creature.
“What are you looking at? Want me to boil you some ox-head soup?”
“Moooooo!”
A thunderous cry befitting its massive frame.
It raised its axe high with a menacing air, as if it would strike down at any moment.
Seeing that sight, a laugh naturally escaped me.
“I have something to fall back on. Why are you doing this?”
Soon, its pupils dilated.
Shhk—
The black ox, still holding its axe, was split cleanly in half and died.
“I can’t lose either.”
Soon, all the surrounding black oxen were engulfed in flames and vanished by Aris’s magic.
【You have slain 100 A-grade demonic beasts for the first time in this dimension.】
【You have acquired Elixir x1.】
【Elixir—Capable of healing all injuries.】
Oh, an Elixir.
I’ll put this to good use later.
“Let’s move to the safe zone for now.”
“Wait, wouldn’t it be better to quickly take down the Boss while we’re at full strength and finish this?”
“That’s right, Brother. Now that the rift has collapsed, the safe zone has probably vanished anyway.”
“No… I get that Aris is like that, but Rachel, you were a Hero. Are you going to abandon the dying people?”
Surely, many people would be gathered in the safe zone.
Because that was where the Gate, the only escape route, had been.
Even though I knew this place had a rule that no one could leave until the Boss was killed.
They would be knocking on the Gate door, holding on to a faint sliver of hope, begging to be saved.
“I want to save them.”
Of course, it wasn’t out of a hero complex or a desire for rewards.
It was simply that the aggro I’d receive after getting out of here would be burdensome.
A great disaster occurred at the Gate!
Only three survivors.
But two of them are familiars.
Anyone could tell I’d draw a ton of aggro.
That was why I made this choice.
“…You make that kind of choice again. Thinking of others before yourself. Sometimes I think you’re crazier than a mage.”
“As expected of a choice befitting Brother. I, the Hero, only have eyes for you—I’m ashamed of myself.”
What misunderstanding were these girls under?
There was no time to correct them, so we ran toward where the people were gathered for now.
The sky was still clear, and the wind blew refreshingly.
The earth stretched out infinitely.
Only one thing had changed.
“Uh… w-wait…”
“Fuck! What the hell is this situation all of a sudden!”
“Run! We have to get to the safe zone!!”
The positions of prey and predator had switched.
The black oxen, which had only been taking beatings helplessly, were now bipedal axemen charging to crack open the Hunters’ heads.
Screams echoed from everywhere.
“Thank you for saving us.”
“I’ll never forget this grace!”
We could save the Hunters nearby, but we couldn’t help those far away.
It pained my heart, but it couldn’t be helped.
No matter how strong these girls were, they couldn’t save everyone.
“Aris, Brother’s safety is the top priority.”
“Of course. I’ve already completed thirty-seven different barrier protocols!”
…Or had I?
***
Anyway, we arrived at the safe zone quickly.
Inside, countless people were gathered as expected.
“The Gate won’t open. What do we do, Mom…”
“I-is this really okay?”
“Where’s the staff! Get the staff out here!”
People fallen into chaos.
The only thing protecting them was an exceedingly thin barrier.
The Archmage Aris diagnosed the barrier’s condition with just a glance.
“It won’t hold for long. Five minutes at most.”
“Is it possible to reinforce or repair it?”
“Who do you think I am? Of course it’s possible!”
With a snap of her fingers, a brilliant light appeared on the barrier.
“There, done. I even cast automatic defense magic on it, so it’ll be safe for months now.”
At a glance, the barrier had visibly thickened.
On top of that, the demonic beasts clinging to it were even bounced off.
Truly efficient.
“This should do it, right?”
“Yeah, thanks.”
Now that the people’s safety was more or less guaranteed, it should be fine to go catch the Boss.
Just as we were about to head back out before anyone noticed—
Beep—!
A whistle sound came from somewhere.
“It’s still dangerous outside! You can’t go out!”
Running from the direction of the sound was a woman wearing a vest that read “Safety Agent.”
Her face looked familiar—it was the person who had handed us name tags earlier.
“You people with the blurry faces! Stop trying to go outside the fence!”
Thanks to her shouting as her black twin-tails fluttered, every gaze was fixed on us.
Damn, I’ve drawn aggro.
“Run!”
“Yes!”
“Yeah!”
Our faces were obscured by perception-inhibiting magic anyway.
Even if we drew aggro, as long as we weren’t caught on camera, no one would recognize us.
And so we jumped the fence and ran outside.
Even if the black oxen had moved away from the barrier.
I hadn’t thought she would come chasing us when she was still in the vicinity.
“Stop right there! Even if it looks like a temporary lull right now, it’s still dangerous!”
The safety agent kept chasing us.
Had she gone blind? It seemed she couldn’t see the black oxen dropping dead all around her.
“Brother, what should we do?”
“We’re just wasting our strength worrying about her for no reason.”
We could go faster if we wanted to,
but then that safety agent would die immediately.
She was already quite far from the safe zone,
and there were many black oxen around.
“Can’t be helped. We can’t just leave someone who ran through danger trying to save us to die.”
Since it’s come to this, it would be better to take her with us.
“S-stop!”
Look at that tenacity, gasping for breath yet never giving up until the very end.
If we took her back to the safe zone, she’d probably keep chasing us.
She seemed to have some conviction as a safety agent—I should respect that.
“If you go like this… I’ll get disciplinary action from the Association staff!”
Ah, what.
So that was the reason?
I stopped in my tracks because it was so absurd.
‘You mean you risked your life chasing us because you were afraid of getting disciplined?’
Well, as a safety agent, that made sense.
If things went wrong, she could get fired.
Safety agents sounded strong by name alone, but in reality, it was a job for Hunters who struggled with hunting.
Because strong people all aimed to become Hunters, rather than take up such a hard job.
But that didn’t mean they should be looked down upon.
They had broken through a competition rate of thousands to one to sit in this position.
“I can’t get fired. So please cooperate.”
If you had to make an analogy, the head of a snake.
Safety agents were the strongest among the weak.
“If you come quietly, I won’t have to use force.”
But what to do about this.
Our girls are the strongest among the strong.
“Hup…!”
She was subdued by Rachel in an instant.
Perhaps embarrassed, she was draped over a shoulder like luggage, not saying a word.
“With this level of skill, what safety are you going to protect?”
“P-please, I’m begging you, keep this a secret from the people.”
“Why should I?”
“B-but… if this gets out, I’ll get fired.”
The woman’s face had gone pale, her expression on the verge of tears.
“Fine, I won’t tell.”
“R-really…?”
“In exchange, tell me your name.”
“My name is Han Yujin… but why my name all of a sudden…?”
“To file a complaint that a safety agent was subdued too easily.”
“Eek!!”
Teasing her was more fun than I thought.
But I should stop now.
The Boss, “Lucius,” was slowly coming into view.
“Brother, could you hold onto her for a moment?”
“Be careful—stray magic might come flying.”
His appearance wasn’t much different from a human’s.
If there was one unique difference, it was the large horn growing from his forehead.
From his body emanated a dangerous aura obvious at a glance.
Rachel and Aris also put away their smiles and raised their weapons.
“I’ll handle this alone, so Aris, please protect Brother.”
“What are you talking about? You stay put. The whole reason we came here was to test my abilities, remember?”
Were they really going to fight even in this situation?
Fortunately, Lucius wasn’t paying attention to us.
He was looking elsewhere.
‘…Huh?’
At the end of that gaze, a woman was kneeling on one knee.
She had deep silver hair and wore armor radiating a blue aura.
Even though it had been three years, I recognized her at a glance.
‘Why is Yu Seolhwa here?’
I froze at this unexpected reunion.