The Rebirth of the Hero’s Party’s Archmage Chapter 23

Episode 23

“What’s your name?”

“Rain.”

“Hmph, I said he made people feel bad from the first moment, but he was a guy who lived up to his name! “He’s like this little shower boy.”

“Actually my name is Sun.”

“What? Do not lie! “If you take off the dog tag, everything comes out, right?”

As I entered the depths of the Red Mountains while bickering with Archer Rem, there were fewer and fewer people and I began to hear horrifying cries.

Two pre-purchased potions were jingling from the belt on his waist, and he was holding a staff in his hand.

Bart told him not to be afraid because he would protect him, but the reason Lane was silent was not because of tension, but because of a terrible sense of déjà vu.

“… … .”

The scorching heat of the Red Mountains and the presence of party members constantly talking next to you… … Suddenly, the back of the warrior party passed before my eyes and my heart ached.

“Brother, today is your first time as an adventurer, right?”

“huh.”

“Are you familiar with the habits of rat spiders?”

I didn’t understand it.

It is a body that once captured the ‘old things’ that served the Lords of the Abyss. I didn’t feel the need to know information about monsters left on the continent.

“You just need to know that they are divided into a ruling class and a ruled class.”

Bart said.

According to their explanation, Rat-Spider is divided into queen, army, and workers.

“Workers are harmful birds that gnaw on trees, but they are busy running away when they see humans. “It is only the military class that attacks humans.”

“What about the queen?”

“They form a colony and give orders to the rat-spiders under them. They say that catching a queen is like catching a thousand rat-spiders.”

Then Rem, who was expertly walking ahead and tracing the traces of the Rat Spider hidden in the bushes, snorted.

“Don’t even think about catching it. It can only be captured by advanced adventurers like Bart and me in a party. “It doesn’t come out to the ground in the first place.”

Yeah, I don’t plan on catching it.

Of course, this was before I found out the reward for subjugating Queen Rat-Spider.

* * *

Rat-Spider is a being that is large in size and has a creepy appearance.

As the name suggests, it has the head of a mouse and the body of a spider.

But there was something more insidious than mice and more inciting to man’s primal revulsion than spiders.

“Ryaaap!”

The ax blade sharply tore through the air, cutting the monster’s flesh and causing a bloody storm.

Nettle liquid… … !

Nettle liquid… … !

Then, the sound flew, dragging its long tail, and when the sound ended, the arrow hit the rat right between the eyes, causing deathly convulsions.

“Wow, this is my 12th!”

As soon as they arrived at the hunting ground that Rem had known, Bart and Rem slaughtered the Rat-Spider with fierce force, and their skills were extraordinary even by Rin’s standards.

“Bart, there are many other adventurers! “Don’t even think about resting!”

“Know!”

Perhaps because adventurers are a group that originally shares information, the hunting ground was crowded with other adventurer parties, spaced approximately 50 meters apart.

─Wow, how much is this?

─Money can be copied?!

Sitting down under the shade of a tree, yawning lazily and watching the scene was extremely boring.

“Am I really sure I don’t have to fight? “Let’s split the profits by a quarter.”

Sammy, an acolyte, was leaning against a tree, reading the Bible, and smiling.

“yes. You can light a fire later when you go camping. Please make drinking water.”

“That’s the end?”

“In the first place, when you two recruited the brothers into the party, they had no intention of having you fight.”

“What are you talking about?”

Lane responded harshly and lay down on the grass with his paws on the back of his head. It’s so hot I feel like I’m dying, really.

“Like I said at the beginning, the two of you just wanted to help. “He said that to me before too.”

Sammy said he needed to earn money to take the priesthood exam, and when two people heard about his situation at a bar, they reluctantly let him into the party.

“I already earned the money to take the exam, but I keep doing this. “When I stay with you two, I can feel the love of the gods.”

Is that it?

Are you saying they are people who help others? Are you a good person? Just like Rista did.

– Let’s go, Lynn.

Now that I think about it, the smile he made earlier when he trusted Bart seemed similar to Rista… … wait for a sec.

“Sammy, do you know anything about Tureina?”

“How can you not know him?”

“Has Tureina been labeled a heretic by the church?”

Heresy… … That was when Sammy tilted her head and narrowed her eyebrows as if she remembered something.

─Quaaaah!

As a desperate scream rang out, the adventurers’ exciting movements stopped at the same time.

Coo… … The earth shakes under the heavy weight. The eyes of the adventurers who stared at the source of the sound were extremely dilated due to tension.

Something big and scary was approaching, and an adventurer was screaming in pain, crushed in its blood-soaked mouth.

“W-what?!”

“Me, crazy!”

big.

It’s also crazy big.

I thought it was roughly the size of an adult man, but that guy was twice as tall as Bart.

“W-Queen? On the ground?”

The adventurers in Sanjeonsujeon felt cold sweat soaking their hands and feet. The inexperienced adventurers backed away and ran away screaming.

“no! “Don’t show your back!”

Bart, a silver-level adventurer, shouted urgently.

“The Rat-Spider is a monster whose level of danger changes when it is under the Queen’s control and when it is not.”

It is written like this in the 『Adventure Record』 of the great adventurer Ryuthim.

“Normally, they are nothing more than a ragtag group, but as their nickname ‘army’ suggests, when the commander—the queen—is nearby, they transform into a murderous group that moves with more precision than the mechanical devices of demi-humans (Dwarfs).”

The Queen’s emblem was engraved in the eyes of the rat-spiders, and they began to emit a bloody phosphorescent light.

It seems that the chick adventurers didn’t see those eyes or heard Bart’s voice.

Rat-spiders attacked the fleeing adventurers and sunk their teeth deep into the flesh of their necks.

“This is why chicks… … !”

Rem uncorked the gourd he was wearing on his belt and poured every last drop into his mouth.

Lane, who was standing up and checking the situation, ended up whistling without realizing it.

‘Alcohol, Keyes’ archery… … ?’

Needless to say, the basis of intoxication is intoxication.

The power of the archery techniques that can be used changes depending on the intensity of the intoxication, and drinking the entire bottle immediately increases the power to just before the limit.

However, the risk is also certain, and there is a risk of vomiting or becoming unconscious during battle.

‘It’s fun. ‘Let’s take a look at your skills, shall we?’

And in an instant, three arrows hit the bowstring.

Nettle liquid… … !

Each of them flew strangely, fluttering, and pierced the head of the rat spider that was attacking the adventurers.

“Stop dazing, get up and fight! “If you don’t want to be left behind!”

As Rem shouted, the adventurers, pissed at death’s door, grabbed their weapons with trembling fingers.

“Rem, there’s no point in trying to catch those idiots. “We must catch the queen.”

“I know! Sammy! Treat those chicks! Lane, you protect Sammy!”

“Oh, I understand!”

Before Sammy could respond, Rem fired five arrows at the same time, aimed them at the queen, and flicked the string.

Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo… … !

Each arrow flew upward, to the right, to the left, and downward in a parabola… … Surprisingly, the impact point was the same.

‘Keys’ simultaneous impact shots… … !’

It was a shooting method now widely known as the secret art of a drunkard. The Queen, her left eye pupil crushed, let out her scream in pain.

“Grrrrrr… … !”

“Grrrrrr… … !”

Dozens, if not hundreds, of rat-spiders followed the queen’s orders and rushed towards Rem.

“Hmm!”

However, there was one giant who crashed head-on into that wave of flesh, and that was Bart. With a single blow of the axe, more than a dozen rat spiders were chopped into pieces, scattering flesh and fresh blood.

And Rem’s arrow flew through the gap that opened between the ax strikes, piercing the heads of the rat spiders.

When the road finally opened, Bart grabbed the double-edged ax with both hands for the first time and took a big leap off the ground.

“Wow, that’s amazing!”

“As expected, Jet Black Bart!”

“Why is that monster still at silver level?”

The leg strength that propelled his entire body, clad in plate armor, so high was truly enormous.

With all his might, Bart brought the ax blade down vertically on the top of the queen’s head. Gravity from the massive weight added strength to Bart’s slash.

Everyone expected that the slash would end the queen’s life, but… … The ax, which seemed like it would tear through the tough leather and crush the skull, stopped high in the air.

‘That… … ?’

While Bart sensed with a warrior’s intuition that something was amiss, Lane urgently shouted, feeling a familiar chill running down his spine.

“Bart! damage! Throw away the ax! “If you get hit by that, you die!”

As soon as Bart heard those words, he released his hand from the ax and rolled his body to the side.

It was a breathtaking moment.

Bubbles bubbled up from the cut surface where the ax blade had torn, and a blue-black miasma poured forward.

Rumbling… … !

The jet-black ax that Bart was proud of liquefied, black water dripped down onto the ground, and the plants touched by the smoke withered.

On the other hand, the queen’s wounds were healing quickly.

“What is that? Ultra-fast playback… … ?”

For the first time, a light of astonishment, not tension, spread through Rem’s eyes as she blinked blankly.

And the Queen attacked Bart, who had lost his weapon and was defenseless.

Bart avoided being bitten by grabbing the queen’s mouth with both iron-clad hands, but the superiority and inferiority in strength was clear.

“Uh, ahhh…” … !”

Bart let out a painful groan as the armor caved in and his arm bones broke.

“Bart!”

Rem dodged the Rat Spiders’ attacks and fired arrow after arrow at the queen, but it was no use.

With the sole intention of killing Bart, the queen pushed her jaws closer and closer to Bart, ignoring the arrows that were piercing her body.

‘That’s definitely… … .’

At that time, for a more serious reason, Lane’s face became melancholy and his fingertips were freezing.

‘It’s dark poison… … That unpleasant cold and disgusting stench.’

I can’t help but notice.

Dark poison is a poison that erodes the soul, and is the terrifying power of the old abyss used by masters of black magic.

The reason why Friede, the shaman of the Fire Dragon, who was the greatest priest of the time, was included in the hero’s party.

The reason why Grand Wizard Rin had to enter a dormant state with the magic of Lord Sogye Daeban.

Wasn’t it all because of the danger of that poison? Then, there is a possibility that there is a master-level warlock nearby who strengthened the queen… … .

‘You mean black magic that strengthens monsters? ‘There are remnants of the black church remaining in the world?’

Lane took a quick breath and asked Sammy, who was treating an adventurer whose neck had been bitten by memorizing scriptures.

“How much is it… … ?”

“yes?”

“How much is that?… … !”

There was no need to intervene in this situation now. There was no one to criticize for not intervening.

I just wanted to run away.

If nothing else, I didn’t want to fight with a being that wields dark poison. As the intense trauma was eating away at my brain, my breathing became heavier.

“Oh, it’s probably worth about twenty gold coins! As I mentioned earlier, it has the same effect as rescuing a thousand animals, and it is difficult to catch because it is deep underground… … “If it’s the way it is!”

This body is not yet complete.

If I have to write the Lord’s Sub-Gyedae Ban again due to one mistake… … So, if I were to wake up in a different world again… … .

When my thoughts reached that point, I shuddered.

“Twenty coins, okay, twenty coins…” … !”

The only reason I am interfering here now is for the money I need. If you divide that by 1/4, you have more than enough to get books from the black market.

‘This action is neither out of altruism nor out of loyalty to the party… … .’

Just money, for me.

The archmage rationalized his actions that way and moistened his dry mouth with dry saliva.

In fact, what made it happen was Bart’s smile and Sammy’s voice crossing in my head.

– As I said at the beginning, the two of you just wanted to help your brother.

It’s not because I’m thankful.

It’s just because I feel like my dreams will be disturbed for no reason if a fool like that dies before me.

“… … Establishment of a magic square, 4 stars.”

fantasy,