The early part of the dungeon was not particularly difficult.
Poison Outer Wolves with poisonous mushrooms growing from their bodies and packs of Steel Bugs appeared to block their path, but every battle ended in an instant.
Poison Outer Wolves were mutated variants of ordinary Outer Wolves and could spew poison, but unlike their ordinary counterparts, they did not travel in packs.
Steel Bugs possessed formidable defenses, but those defenses were only troublesome for Level 1 players. Against Level 2 Mana users, they were of little use.
“Wow. I suppose it really is a dungeon. Even the Mana Stones are much purer here.”
After finishing off the last Steel Bug with his slender twin swords, Luke pointed toward a gleaming blue Mana Stone.
“There has to be something like this to make all this trouble worthwhile. Of course, what we’re really after is something much bigger.”
At one mercenary’s words, Lucy nodded.
“Right. So please make sure the distribution is handled properly, just as we agreed beforehand.”
The distribution Lucy mentioned referred to the loot they would acquire from this point onward.
Unlike ordinary dungeons, Raid Dungeons produced Mana Stones, Artifacts, and Skill Books at a higher frequency.
All of that loot would be distributed according to each group’s contributions.
“Don’t worry. I’m not careless about things like that.”
Disputes within a team almost always began with the distribution of rewards, so Colton was firm on that point as well.
For a while, it seemed as though they would proceed through the dungeon without any problems.
Then the dungeon gradually began revealing its vicious nature.
“Mutated Outer Wolf ahead!”
“Multiple Steel Bugs detected at four o’clock!”
“Additional Steel Bugs approaching from six o’clock!”
The battle began without warning.
Even so, the team members calmly responded to the monsters’ ambush and split up as though they had planned it beforehand.
Aiden, supported by Jun, handled the Poison Outer Wolves in front, while Colton’s mercenary company and the two Adventurers dealt with the Steel Bugs at four and six o’clock.
The battle ended safely.
While the other mercenaries collected the loot, Colton approached Jun with a somewhat bewildered expression.
“I never realized Detection Magic…… could be this convenient.”
Jun’s assistance had played a major role in the battle they had just fought.
‘Studying so hard was worth it.’
[Scan(Scan)].
It was a Detection Magic spell Jun had learned over the past fifteen days.
Thanks to it, Jun had detected the monsters’ ambush in advance and warned the team.
The team members had immediately formed up and prepared themselves for the approaching battle.
But even a spell like this had drawbacks.
“Hey. Is your Mana all right?”
“We appreciate the help, but it would be a problem if you ran out of Mana later and turned into dead weight!”
For a mere 3rd-Circle spell, it consumed more Mana than most offensive magic.
More importantly, its effective range was narrower than expected, which meant it had to be cast frequently.
Naturally, neither issue mattered to Jun, who possessed [Mana Incarnate].
“Don’t worry about that. I have my own method.”
Of course, he could not tell them the truth.
Jun had therefore prepared an alternative explanation for situations like this.
“What’s that?”
Everyone’s attention focused on the ring Jun held out.
A purple gemstone glittered upon it.
The elegantly crafted ring clearly did not look like an ordinary piece of jewelry.
Especially when worn by a Mage.
“An Artifact?”
Jun nodded at Colton’s question.
“It can store Mana. Its absorption efficiency is quite good as well, so I’m not going to collapse just because I use [Scan] a few times.”
Naturally, that was a lie.
It was nothing more than an ordinary ring Jun had obtained when they robbed the goblins’ storehouse.
It was merely an alibi to conceal the existence of [Mana Incarnate].
“Well, if that’s the case…….”
“Ahem. We’ll be counting on you from here on too.”
“Come on, let’s gather the loot.”
Jun’s plan worked better than expected, and the mercenaries soon began collecting materials from the monsters that had turned ashen after death.
Jun followed them from the rear when Aiden quietly approached him.
“Senior.”
“Yeah?”
“If you had a method like that, why didn’t you use it before?”
“Because these people are only going to be with us for this operation.”
“Ah……?”
Artifacts were fundamentally expensive.
There was a reason Jun had been able to equip Aiden while failing to buy any equipment for himself.
Money.
To mercenaries operating in the 1st Tier, an Artifact was expensive enough to make their eyes turn with greed.
Expensive enough that murdering some unaffiliated Low-Rank Mage and making the problem disappear could seem worthwhile.
“B-but even so, between fellow mercenaries…….”
“It happened to me.”
“What?”
“I’ve experienced it myself.”
Jun had not developed such deep distrust toward other people in only a year for no reason.
He had used this same trick once before.
At the time, he had passed off a necklace as an Artifact, only to nearly have his throat cut while he slept.
It had not even been a real Artifact.
It had been nothing more than a cheap necklace he bought off the street.
“…….”
“Rather than invite that kind of trouble, it’s easier to live as a Mage who’s unimpressive enough not to threaten anyone but useful enough to keep around. At least until I establish myself.”
There was a simple reason Jun was willing to use the trick again now.
Everyone gathered here operated in the 2nd Tier.
To them, Artifacts were certainly expensive, but not so rare that they could expect never to see one in their lifetime.
“……Living really is difficult.”
“This is the kind of place where someone will rob you blind just for walking down the street. You have no choice but to adapt.”
The gloomy mood lingered only briefly before another battle swept it away.
“Fairies!”
“There are Wood Ents with them!”
“Careful! Don’t take their attacks head-on! They’ll break straight through your shields!”
They were not made from solid rock like the Golem Jun had encountered in the forest, but Wood Ents—wooden giants inhabited by Fairies—were not monsters one could underestimate.
‘Their basic specs are lower than a Golem’s, but…….’
The characteristics of this dungeon made them much stronger.
The Fairies of the forest strengthened the wooden bodies of the Ents.
Worse still, Fairies possessed the absurd trait of Physical Damage Immunity.
“Hey, Mage! Time to earn your keep!”
That meant it was Jun’s turn, as he could use magic rather than physical attacks.
‘I’ve been earning my keep this entire time.’
Jun grumbled inwardly at Colton’s shout and immediately began casting.
‘In that case…… I might as well try one of the new spells.’
[Enchantment-Type: Elemental Armory(Elemental armoury)]
[Enchanted Attribute: Electricity]
Jun’s Mana spread in every direction, and an Enchantment spell settled over the weapons of the team members fighting at the front.
CRACKLE—!
“W-what the hell?!”
“My weapon’s sparking……!”
The mercenaries, who had naturally expected Jun to kill the Fairies with offensive magic, fell into confusion.
Then Aiden’s shout reached them from the front.
“Don’t panic! Keep fighting! It’s Enchantment Magic!”
“Damn it! Tell us that sooner!”
While the Warriors at the front held back the Wood Ents with their shields, the others circled around both sides and began hunting the Fairies in the rear.
Once their weapons imbued with electricity proved effective against the Fairies, the mercenaries rampaged through them like fish released into water.
Aside from their Physical Damage Immunity, Fairies were little more than moths.
CRASH——!!
As the Fairies fell one after another, the enhanced Wood Ents gradually lost their power as well and eventually collapsed beneath the mercenaries’ relentless assault.
“Phew. You surprised me, Mage. You can do something like that too?”
Once the battle had ended and everyone was cleaning up, Colton looked at Jun with renewed interest.
Detection Magic was something any Low-Rank Mage could learn.
Its only real disadvantage was that despite its usefulness, they could not afford to cast it often.
But the Enchantment Magic Jun had just used was different.
A spell capable of affecting this many people at once did not look ordinary.
“The spell he just used really is 3rd-Circle Magic. It’s simply an unusually difficult spell, so most 3rd-Circle Mages don’t favor it. They tend to think it’s better to solve the problem themselves than spend time doing something like that for their companions. And demonstrating their own strength is one way of increasing their value.”
It was Lucy, one of the twin Adventurers, who answered Colton’s question.
‘Oh, she knows about it.’
Just as Lucy had said, the spell Jun had used was exceptionally difficult.
He had purchased the Spellbook through Chloe before the Goblin Lord subjugation, but only recently had he become proficient enough to use it properly.
“Hmm…….”
Lucy calmly studied Jun while twirling a strand of her gleaming hair around one finger.
“How much Mana does the Artifact have left?”
“After that spell, it’s down to about seventy percent. It’ll take roughly ten hours to refill completely.”
“By simple calculation, that should let you keep going for more than a week.”
“Assuming there aren’t too many situations where I have to step in.”
“That’s an excellent Artifact. But…….”
Lucy lowered her head as though considering something.
Beside her, Colton cleared his throat.
“Ahem! Anyway, you’re clearly pulling your weight. Just keep doing what you’re doing, Mage.”
Perhaps remembering the harsh remarks he had made when they first met, Colton awkwardly walked over, patted Jun on the shoulder, and was about to leave when Lucy stopped him.
“Team Leader. How far have we progressed through the dungeon?”
“Hard to say. At this pace…… thanks to our Mage here, I’d estimate about three days.”
Ordinarily, far more dangers would arise during battles.
Had they not been able to prepare for the earlier ambush precisely because of Jun’s Detection Magic?
Battles like that normally resulted in injuries.
And injuries naturally delayed the dungeon exploration.
This time, however, there had been almost no such delays.
“Even if it means slowing down our Clear speed a little, I think we should conserve the Mage’s Mana. Finishing quickly and earning greater rewards would certainly be nice…… but this is still a Conquest Operation.”
She meant that they should preserve Jun’s Mana in case something unexpected occurred.
Colton apparently found Lucy’s argument persuasive and quickly agreed.
“Well, she has a point. We never know when we might need you again. So that’s how we’ll do it, Mage.”
“……I appreciate the consideration.”
Once the discussion ended, Aiden approached Jun.
“Senior, fortunately, things seem to be going somewhat smoothly.”
It was something Aiden could say precisely because he knew at least part of Jun’s secret.
However—
“Senior?”
“…….”
Jun’s expression was not particularly bright.
His instincts were telling him that things were not going smoothly at all.
‘Why is no one saying anything about that Hidden Piece?’
As someone who considered himself a veteran player, Jun knew about many of the Hidden Pieces scattered throughout <Blackout>.
But that did not mean Jun monopolized all knowledge about them.
Several hundred years had already passed since the Empire first discovered Blackout.
Naturally, the people of this world had learned about various Hidden Pieces as well.
And the particular Hidden Piece Jun was thinking of had even been officially documented by the Imperial Family.
‘The Imperial Family wouldn’t have authorized this operation without properly verifying everything. So why?’
His unease continued to grow.
It was so intense that it could not even be compared to the ominous feeling he had experienced before the White Whale Mercenary Company was annihilated during the goblin subjugation.
His heart gradually began beating faster.
Jun tried to understand the source of the feeling from the thoroughly analytical perspective of a Mage.
The cause of this unease had to exist somewhere within his memories.
And that line of thought finally allowed him to realize it.
The source of his unease.
It came from the discrepancy between the game and reality.
“Damn it.”
“Senior?”
SQUEAK……
A peculiar sound came from a weed being crushed beneath someone’s foot.
That sound—
The one that had been irritating Jun ever since shortly after they entered this dungeon—
was what had been constantly feeding his unease.
“Aiden.”
“……Yes.”
Perhaps sensing something unusual in Jun’s voice, Aiden listened intently.
“I don’t think…… this Conquest Operation is going to be easy.”
The first day of dungeon exploration passed without any major danger.
While they were preparing camp, Jun approached Colton, who was chatting with his companions.
“Heh, so back then…… Hmm? Well, if it isn’t our Mage. What brings you over?”
Perhaps Jun’s performance had left a deep impression on him, because Colton no longer spoke sharply toward him.
Instead, he even greeted Jun with a friendly smile.
An incompetent Mage was someone to avoid, but if the opposite was true, it was always beneficial to establish a connection.
“Judging by the way you’re talking to me now, I suppose I’ve been doing my share.”
“Hmm? Ah, hahaha! That’s right. In all my life, I’ve never seen another Low-Rank Mage like you. So, what did you want to talk about?”
“I came to discuss the distribution between our groups.”
“Oh…….”
The friendliness immediately vanished from Colton’s face, replaced by the cold expression of a mercenary captain determined to secure his own interests.
“At this point, I think the White Whale Mercenary Company has proven that we aren’t merely being carried along. What do you think?”
“Well, I’m still not sure about that pretty companion of yours…… but you, Mage? I won’t deny that you’re doing the work of at least three people.”
“Then naturally, our share of the profits should be reassessed.”
“Hmm…….”
Colton stroked his chin and fell into thought.
Originally, the White Whale Mercenary Company led by Jun had been treated almost like dead weight.
As a result, they had been excluded from any claim to the most important piece of loot—the Skill Book.
Jun was now demanding the right to obtain it.
“Well…… It’s true that you’re doing the work of roughly three people. But whether that puts you on the same level as my mercenary company or those Adventurers over there? I’m not sure.”
Jun clicked his tongue inwardly.
He immediately understood what Colton meant.
The mercenaries were fighting at the very front and killing the greatest number of monsters, so their superior contribution was understandable.
But Jun was even falling behind the Adventurers in terms of Contribution Score.
‘Tsk. Damn Adventurer buff.’
In terms of raw combat ability, the Adventurers were hardly different from Colton’s mercenaries.
But Adventurers possessed a special ability of their own.
The Divine Authority of Hermetes, the Goddess of Adventure.
“Because of [Pilgrim’s Dawn]…….”
Remarkably, gods genuinely existed in this world.
They could not be seen directly with one’s own eyes, but their believers were granted Divine Authority.
The Divine Authority of Hermetes was simple.
It showed Adventurers the path they needed to take.
Or it detected danger.
Even hearing that much was enough to understand how absurdly useful the ability was.
‘Even in the game, you normally didn’t get a Minimap unless you had a map item. But things changed if there was an Adventurer in the party.’
In <Blackout>, having an Adventurer in the party generated a Minimap that displayed the shortest route toward the dungeon’s Clear objective.
Of course, it was not quite as convenient as it sounded.
The Divine Authority could only be used once per day.
And that single use had to be spent on one of two options—either finding the path or detecting danger.
Furthermore, the ability could only manifest under the theme of an ‘adventure.’
‘Still, in a dungeon like this, it probably cuts the Clear time down severalfold.’
That was why, despite helping the team in numerous ways, Jun still fell slightly short of the Adventurers’ contribution.
Colton might be a mercenary who was highly sensitive to profit, but he was also fulfilling his role as Team Leader by properly separating personal feelings from business.
Jun quickly abandoned his demand.
It had never been his real objective in the first place.
“Then let me revise my request. I want the right to conduct an independent exploration.”