Needless to say, sealing my active skills was one of the worst penalties out there. However, it was better than being blind like James Calla.
I wish I had lost the use of an arm like old Didi.
This penalty reduced my combat power to the point that even losing an arm would leave me better, but I had no choice but to endure it. What could I do when this was the destination the dice had assigned me? I just had to hope the rolls were so bad on his side too.
Also... except for my penalty, this isn't so bad.
Soul Extraction was a very complicated attack pattern, especially for special ability users and mages. Since they were capable of dealing powerful damage, they would have dealt many final blows in their lives, but Soul Extraction forced them to fight alone, without a first line to back them up as usual.
I guess they've all lived kind lives, right?
Both priests survived safely. The mages were all awake except one, and the only unconscious special ability user was Akurava.
The fact that most of our wizards have been in the Magic Tower for a long time must have worked in our favor.
At this rate, I considered the tactic a success. Although we had been through all kinds of hardships together as a team, I had no way of knowing what kind of life these people had led before.
Step. Step.
The sound of firm footsteps echoed in the ice cave. As we moved as far away from the entrance to the Glacier's Eye as possible, I felt a movement on one of my shoulders.
«Sir...»
«You're awake...» Feeling deeply relieved, I carefully left Erwen on the floor. He stumbled a little, but since he found balance, it seemed that the sanction that had been applied to him had not affected his legs. «How are you? Does something hurt?»
«I don't know...» Erwen looked a little dazed. Had something happened to him inside? I wasn't sure but I didn't investigate. The first thing to do was find out what type of sanction he had received.
Damn sea.
As I experimented with random penalties in order from bad to good, it didn't take me long to let out a deep sigh.
The Octave, huh?
Unfortunately, Erwen was also unlucky.
[Erwen Fornacci di Tersia's entire resource recovery is now limited].
Their resources could not be recovered. Simply put, she would only be able to consume his MP or energy. I couldn't replace it.
«Unless you have to protect yourself, conserve your strength as much as possible.»
«Ok... I'm sorry.
«Why do you feel it? It's bad luck, that's all. I'm glad you woke up».
Anyway, as more time passed, the unconscious ones began to wake up one by one.
«I have caused you problems. Now I will walk alone». Fortunately, Melend Kaislan received a weak penalty.
«Ugh...! Why is this...?» Ravien was restricted from using weapons, so his body shook as if he received an electric shock every time he put his hand on his sword.
«Um... why doesn't anyone talk?» Tsuon Irivan, a goalkeeper on Team Two, had lost his hearing.
«It was... a terrible place». Akurava, meanwhile, was white as a sheet.
Two people now...
When twenty-five minutes had passed since Soul Extraction was activated, only two people remained: Amelia and Team Two wizard McKelly Rayothers.
«Please be strong...»
As the clock ticked, the crew cast anxious glances at the two people who were still sleeping. I also felt like it was going to scare me.
Why doesn't this woman wake up?
He hadn't died there. If he had, his heart would have stopped by now.
Thump, thump.
My own heart continued to tighten tighter and tighter as the seconds passed.
«Mr. McKelly, there's only one minute left. Please be strong...»
«Mm....» Amelia finally opened her eyes.
«Emily... Maldita sea.»
The other never did.
***
We had eighteen survivors, but the number capable of fighting was much smaller. Many of the crew, including me, had received significant penalties. In truth, it was safe to say that our firepower had been reduced by more than half.
I wonder how the other side is doing.
Since happiness was said to be relative, the same was true of misfortune.
[The Cariathea Glacier Wizard gains new power in proportion to the total number of souls absorbed].
Thirty minutes had already passed, which meant that Phase Two was over. I wondered how many people had survived on the enemy side and what penalties the survivors had received.
Actually, I would like all the bastards who survived to die fighting the boss... Tsk, but that can't realistically happen, right?
Cariathea didn't chase you beyond Glacier Eye, and we had been fighting Noark and the Order of the Rose at the summit. He didn't know how many people had woken up, but he was sure that everyone had already escaped from Glacier's Eye.
Dragon hunter... I wonder what happened to him.
He had killed the ancient dragon elder who had served as leader of the dragon tribe, after all. Even then, he had only narrowly succeeded, so there was a chance that the version of the ancient dragon that appeared thanks to Soul Depletion had defeated him, even at half power. Nor would he have fought the ancient ancient dragon alone. The number of people he had killed must have been in the thousands.
No wait.
As I thought about the dragon slayer, my body stiffened.
Damn, then Dwalkie would have been there too.
Understanding that the Dragon Slayer was able to see Dwalkie filled me with a sudden wave of resentment. At the same time, the following thought came to mind: the people who appeared in my imagination might also have been precious to someone else.
...Is it because of Soul Extraction? I'm thinking too much.
I cut that train of thought there and opened my eyes.
¡Whoosh!
There was a fire nearby radiating heat. The priest kneeling in front of her continued reciting a prayer, the others listened and participated in a moment of silence. This was the positive side of our current situation: at least now we could afford to hold a funeral for our dead comrades. The flames created by the mages instantly melted his flesh and skin, and the remaining bones were enchanted with distortion magic and crushed by the warriors to store in bags. We hoped this would at least provide comfort to the grieving families they left behind.
With this, the brief funeral came to an end. The burning flames went out and my body, momentarily hot, was cooled by the wind. Now was the time to return to reality.
«...Yandel, what will you do now?»
As soon as Kaislan asked me, the entire crew looked towards me. I had only informed them of my plan to a certain extent: that those who first awakened from Soul Extraction would drag the others away and flee. Afterwards there were no instructions.
«If we continue to extend the distance, maybe we can hold out until the deadline». Seeing how stony his expression was as he said this, it seemed like Kaislan already knew what he was thinking. That's probably why he mentioned it first, to make it easier for me to explain it to him. «But Yandel, you would know. Even if we flee, it will be a dead end».
One of the crew members shuddered at Kaislan's words and raised her voice. «A dead end? What do you mean? I thought we were all safe now».
«I thought you said we could hold out until the closing date? It's not enough? What are you worried about?»
I felt bad for those who thought it was all over, but we still hadn't overcome the biggest obstacle. If we had, I wouldn't have called it a gamble.
Kaislan gave me a silent look and I let out a sad laugh before stepping forward. No matter how capable Kaislan was, he couldn't foist this on him too. «We are not going to run away. No, to be more exact, we cannot flee».
When I finished speaking, the crew's eyes widened. They were full of amazement and questions.
".Because?"
«The enemy that appeared behind us back there was the Order of the Rose».
«Are you saying we won't be able to get rid of them?»
«No, it's not that».
«Then why...»
No one seemed to understand me, so I continued. The essential thing was the following: the palace would already have an excuse prepared for us to return alive. Maybe something went wrong with the main unit so they couldn't come rescue us. Still, they would claim that they were glad we survived. As if hiding their heads in the sand, they would try to hide the elephant in the room. And we should ignore it too, it was our only way out.
«Ignore it? What do you mean?
«If we pretended not to realize that we were abandoned, the palace would not resort to extreme measures». I may have been a coward, but that had been my original plan. «But we can't use that method anymore. The moment the Order of the Rose reports the events that occurred here, the palace will definitely try to get rid of any possible future complications.»
«...They could try to negotiate to keep us quiet instead.»
Hmm, yeah, that's a possibility, but...
«Do you really think they will?»
There was no response. Someone posed a new question. «And? If we're not going to die here, shouldn't we do everything we can to at least get to the city?». It was Futa Rickerburn of the Duchy of Kealunus.
There was something incredibly funny about that statement. «I didn't expect to hear you say something like that when you gave up earlier, saying it was all useless».
«Well, you dragged us all here by the neck. Do you think I'll give up here after all that hard work?»
True, he even cut off his arm with the determination to cross Glacier's Eye. It would be unfair to die like this. I chuckled. «It was a compliment, so don't get so touchy-feely. And I never said we were going to give up».
«Ah...» He took a step back.
«Don't worry too much», I said. «There is a way».
«A way?»
«Yeah. If no one comes back alive, who would know? What happened in this place, that is».
Of course, there might be suspicions, but as I knew intimately, there was a difference between assumptions and physical evidence.
«I suggest we kill both Noark and the Order of the Rose».
From now on, we were the ones who had to bury the elephant in the room. So would we try to flee or fight once again? The consensus on that came sooner than I expected.
«I... don't know what the right decision is».
«Haha, there's no reason to stress about it. Everything we have experienced so far has also been life or death.»
«But in all those moments, he was the one who made the decision.»
«Bjorn Yandel, I will trust your decision. That's my decision».
«I am with you too. Although it may seem silly to you, leaving things to yourself is easier for someone like me».
Once the squad made a decision, everything became clear. We scoured the cave, placing detection spells in various locations and casting distortion magic to hunt monsters and grow our food supply.
«Is this... pretty good?»
The monster meat was surprisingly edible. Although some parts were so bad that they couldn't even be considered food.
«Aside from the flavor, this is a waste. We could sell the leftovers for good money.»
«We have no choice. We have to lighten our load as much as possible now...»
The expensive remains obtained with distortion magic were discarded with teary eyes. Although we had to carry comrades who had a hard time moving, we couldn't afford to take those things with us.
We spent half the day killing monsters and wandering around the cave.
«Lord Yandel! Lord Yandel!» Magician Marrone, from team five, hurried to run towards me. There was only one reason he did this.
«Did the detection spell activate?»
«Y-Yes! Did it!»
The news that Marrone brought me could broadly be classified into three categories.
First, good news. «It was the Order of the Rose. And there were only ten». The Order of the Rose had been significantly reduced. It seemed like they had suffered considerable damage since they made a living killing.
«How are those who remain?»
«Um, good...» The second was neutral news. «Four appear to be in poor condition and are being taken away by their companions. One was just limping».
Just as a third of our expedition team had been hit with significant sanctions, they seemed to have suffered significantly as well. I figured this meant we were tied in terms of luck. Well, it was too early to say anything for sure since we didn't know how they were.
«Um... anyway, that's not the important part!» The long-awaited third category was bad news. And not just any bad news, but news that could be the worst. «I don't know how or why, but they're traveling with Noark!»
The water and oil had come together.