Chapter 18: 18

Red Haired Mage (2)

The Kobolds trembled against the binding magic. As Artis approached, they could only scream in fear.

“You bastard!”

“Save me!”

There was a big gap between their action and words. Ryu Han-bin smiled.

“You’re begging for your life, huh.”

“These monsters’ language is the same as ours.”

Just like the other dungeon monsters, the Kobolds were speaking the crude Coulin language, preventing any lapses in communication. Artis sat in front of the Kobolds.

“Where the hell did you monsters come from?”

The Kobolds snorted.

“Huh?!”

“What made you think we’ll tell you?!”

Despite their initial replies, they didn’t have the features of heroes who were courageous and fearless.

“If we talk, we’ll be killed!”

“We won’t die if we don’t talk!”

Han-bin didn’t know whether to call the Kobolds stupid or clever. They weren’t far from the truth. They didn’t intend to keep the monsters alive after the interrogation. Artis reached out his right hand.

“Yeah, I didn’t think it would be that easy.”

A crack quietly echoed through the forest as he broke one of the Kobolds’ fingers.

“Keeek!”

The Kobold screamed in pain, but Artis remained merciless. He gave the Kobold a cold smile as he continued with the interrogation.

“Do you feel like answering now?”

“A broken finger is better than a broken neck!”

“Fingers are fine! There are still nine left!”

Apart from their vocabulary, it seemed to have enough intellect to judge their situation. Han-bin took Kobold’s intelligence evaluation to the next level. Artis shook his head.

“That wasn’t enough, then?”

Artis began to cast a magic spell.

“Paralyze!”

The Kobolds became as stiff as a rock. Even their eyelids were paralyzed, making it impossible to close their eyes.

“Fire Finger.”

Artis’s index finger was engulfed in flames. He stabbed it directly into the Kobold’s eyeball.

“This should work well.”

The Kobolds stuck their tongue out and began to drool like a dehydrated, rabid dog.

“W-wait a second!”

Artis did not stop. He stretched out his finger and got rid of the monster’s eyeballs. A grim scream rang as the scent of burning flesh filled the air.

“Arrgghhh!”

It was a brutal sight to behold, but Han-bin had no problem witnessing it.

“That must hurt a ton.”

He had killed Demon Dogs in all sorts of ways over the years. Watching what Artis did was normal compared to what he had to do to survive. The Kobold, who lost an eye, screamed in pain and finally broke down as it shook violently.

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“We are from the field!”

The other Kobold also confessed after witnessing the brutal ways of Artis.

“It’s a wide field! Very, very spacious!”

Artis laughed, “Speak honestly. There’s no way you can get into this deep forest at your level, right?”

“We killed everyone in our path!”

“Yes! We are strong!”

Artis aimed his fiery finger at the remaining eyeball.

“Two eyeballs, perhaps?”

“Ah! He couldn’t be fooled!”

“This is bad! We have to confess!”

Han-bin shook his head. Although they were quite intelligent, monsters were always going to be monsters.

“Stop fooling me. Lies as stupid as that won’t—“

The Kobolds cut his words off.

“A great man led us here!”

“He is a really great man. Very, very great!”

Artis frowned.

“A great man?”

What he wanted was the location of the new dungeon. Based on the Kobolds’ reactions, however, it seemed more likely that they actually escaped from the dungeon on the Efen Plain and came here with someone’s help.

“What do you mean by a great man?”

“He is so—”

The Kobolds stopped in their tracks.

“Ouugh!”

“Cough!”

The Kobolds began to tremble both at the same time before finally succumbing to death. Han-bin turned to Artis who looked just as confused as he was. They didn’t commit suicide. They were killed by someone or something.

“Is this Mind Suppression magic?”

Mind Suppression was a Level-60 magic spell that could instantly kill its target upon trying to reveal a secret.

A gloomy voice could be heard speaking from behind the fences.

“Ah, hell. I’ve worked so hard on this. Who caused this mess?”

* * *

As the owner of the voice began to approach them, dark shadows were cast over the earth, which turned the lands into ice. Looking at the source of the shadows, Ryu Han-bin became puzzled. A skeleton was walking towards them. It wore a rather expensive-looking rag that had gold and precious stones embedded all over it.

“What is that?”

He wasn’t impressed by the walking skeleton. When he was in the rocky mountain, he also met the skeletal Demon Dog. It wasn’t surprising to see other versions of it.

On the other hand, Artis was turning pale.

“L-lich! How could such a monster be in this forest?”

“Lich?”

Han-bin activated the search function.

[Race: Lich. Mage lv. 72]

[This monster has turned itself into an undead to maintain the magic of life. Its skeletal body will continue to be restored to its original state unless it’s completely destroyed. It is recommended to use Aura-based, Mana-based, Prana-based, or Force-based attacks against it.]

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Only then did he feel the need to put up his guard a little.

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“… Level 72?”

The Lich opened its mouth, revealing his empty eyeholes, “No human ever comes around here, so how did you two just appear and ruined everything?”

The duo looked at each other as they had a conversation based solely on their body language.

“This is making me angry.”

Artis immediately stretched his hands forward and chanted a spell.

“Ignition Blast!”

A ray of incinerating flames burst forth towards the Lich. Ignition Blast was a Level-35 magic spell and was the strongest destruction spell he could use. An explosion took place as soon as it hit the Lich.

Boom!

Without seeing the results, Artis turned around and pushed Han-bin, who was standing around with a blank look on his face.

“What are you doing? Hurry up and run away!”

The opponent was a monster that had turned into a Lich—the ultimate state of corruption which gave even the top mages trouble in controlling. A level 36 Mage would never dare challenge such a high-level monster. Not even Artis’s strongest spell could cause a scratch on the Lich. They had to run while they still had a chance.

“Hmm? Oh yeah…”

In a daze, Han-bin also started running. Just as the duo tried to run towards the wooden fences, a somber voice entered their ears.

“The Dark Veil, Dome of Dooms.”

Woooooong!

The grounds shook as a black veil rose from the ground. In an instant, a spherical void covered the entire Kobold cottage.

“A barrier!”

Artis tried to fire a magic attack against the black barrier. They had to destroy the walls somehow if they wanted to get through.

“Fireball! Lightning Bolt! Ice Ring!”

Bang! Bang! Boom!

The veil remained undamaged. As they kept on trying to create an escape route, the giggling skeleton revealed itself.

“It’s annoying to go after those who run away.”

The ashen-faced Artis turned to face the Lich and to take a closer look.

“Ah…”

The Lich gave them a cold look as he pointed at them with his bony finger.

“It’s time to take the price that must be paid for meddling in my business.”

* * *

Artis cast spells with each swing of his staff. Fire and lightning struck the Lich nonstop. However, his Mana was being depleted quickly, causing him to feel dizzy.

“Ugh…”

With a groan, he stared at the rising smoke within the dome. He was becoming more and more desperate.

“Nothing works against it…”

The Lich remained in good shape. Despite all the magic he cast, he couldn’t even touch the hem of its clothes. All of the magic had been neutralized by a powerful anti-magic field.

“Do you think that magic works? Paralyze.” The Lich chuckled.

A flash of light blinded them and paralyzed Artis. Gritting his teeth, he resisted against its effects using his Mana.

“Aaaaaaagh!”

He successfully lifted the paralysis magic.

Paralyze wasn’t a high-level magic spell. Artis could resist it if he gave it his all. The Lich pretended to click a tongue that wasn’t even there.

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“Looks like you had to expend even more Mana to free yourself from paralysis.”

Without wasting another second, it began intermediate-level spells such as Flame Rays, Lightning Chains, and Ice Tornado, all of which flew towards Artis.

Bang! Baaaang! Baaaaang!

Artis immediately raised a Mana shield to prevent the attacks from hitting. He kept groaning and grunting as the spells collided.

“Ugh! Ugh!”

It was only intermediate-level magic. He was fully capable of stopping each of the spells, but it depleted even more of his Mana. The Lich merely desired to toy around and make Artis expend all of his Mana, and the reason was clear as to why.

“Damn! Is he trying to capture us?”

Trembling, Artis glanced at Ryu Han-bin.

“… What should I do now?”

At that time, Ryu Han-bin was also having a similar problem as Artis.

“What should I do…”

The opponent was a powerful level 72 monster. Artis, a mere level 36 mage, had no chance of winning.

“I have no choice but to deal with it.”

If he showed his strength, however, Artis would find out who he really was. He thought about it as much as he could before reaching a decision.

“If that guy passes out, I’ll step forward.”

The Lich looked as if it was trying to capture Artis, anyway.

“He won’t be killed. That wouldn’t be a problem. It might just hurt a little.”

* * *

Meanwhile, Artis was looking back and forth at the Lich and Han-bin with anxious eyes.

“If this continues, both of us will die…”

His internal conflict became visible on his handsome face, but it didn’t last long.

“… If so, then I’ll just save Eric!”

Artis rose up with determination.

He spoke to Ryu Han-bin with a solemn tone.

“I’m sorry, Eric. I’ve been deceiving you.”

“What?”

Han-bin became slightly confused.

What kind of a sudden secret confession was this?

But Artis was serious.

“I will protect you. I promised to protect you.”

Promises must be kept even if it meant revealing his greatest secret. Artis was determined. His red eyes began to turn golden.

“I can’t beat that Lich even if I do this, but…”

His irises turned vertical and cat-like.

“I can at least give Eric a chance to escape!”

Woosh! Woosh! Woosh!

A series of winds blew as Artis’s whole body was engulfed by a red light. The light expanded and took on a non-human form. The shape of Artis was no longer visible. In his stead stood a gigantic body that measured over 10 meters. Scales covered its entirety and had four thick and powerful legs that looked almost as durable as pillars of stones. The tail, reminiscent of a girder, was connected to a red-winged back leading to a long neck and a large reptile-shaped head.

“Gaaaaaaarwwwrrrrrr!

Ryu Han-bin could only utter one word as he looked at the gigantic being before him.

“…Dragon?”

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