Chapter 86: Five Stars 1
TL/Editor: Raei
Schedule: 5/Week Wed-Sun
Illustrations: Posted in discord.
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Charlotte seemed to have an insatiable thirst for knowledge, befitting a mage.
Despite High Mage Antenor pleading at the entrance to Charlotte's laboratory, begging to observe the Shaman together, she ignored him.
She insisted it was her specimen, under the terms of our agreement.
The moment we reached the safe zone, guards who recognized us hurriedly opened the gates, their faces filled with relief as if they'd seen a savior.
In just a day, from the mages to the guards, their expressions had become quite pitiable.
The door to the lab opened, and we were led in like cattle to a slaughterhouse.
All the while, Han Se-ah continued to stream, resolutely bearing the resentment of her viewers.
"Good to see you, Hanna! I have so much to discuss!"
"Oh, really...?"
I brushed past Han Se-ah, who pleaded with tear-filled eyes until the very end.
Dealing with Charlotte was much easier than dealing with Antenor.
As far as chatter was concerned, she was about 0.2 Antenors.
Plus, Charlotte was a beauty, which was always pleasant to the eyes.
"So, Roland. You have a proposal?"
"Our leader went to the old man Antenor as well. The Knights Division asked us to guide them to the 20th floor. We said no, but they wouldn't have made this request to our party alone."
"The Knights Division... Is that all?"
"The nobles of the capital seem to be intervening, so both the Adventurer's Guild and the city's nobility have been hiring mercenaries in large numbers. The Magic Tower hasn't made a move yet, but..."
"If it's the Magic Tower, they'll show interest soon. Word will spread soon that I'm studying a variant of the Orc Shaman."
Once Antenor made a scene in front of Charlotte's lab, rumors would spread like wildfire.
Charlotte seemed aware of this, her lips pursed in mild irritation.
While Antenor wouldn't directly overpower her with his position, he could be a nuisance.
It would be ridiculous for word not to get out about a High Mage knocking on her door, practically on his knees.
The guards would certainly talk, and the mages in charge of the crystal ball would be hard-pressed to keep quiet.
"Alright. It's slightly better to deal with just Antenor than having the entire Magic Tower swarm us... I suppose we have no other option."
Charlotte reluctantly agreed just as a timely knock resounded.
As Charlotte reluctantly nodded in agreement, there was a timely knock at the door.
Entering was a visibly exhausted Han Se-ah and a beaming Antenor.
I'm not sure what they discussed, but it seems a new quest notification has popped up.
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Raei Translations
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Once the conversation began, the quest started moving fast, like it was caught in a raging current.
Dozens of members of the Rebecca Mercenaries hired by the Adventurer's Guild were scouring the 20th floor.
Adventurers, hired by nobles who noticed the Knights' intervention, also reached the 20th floor.
Antenor's assistant mages started searching the forest as well.
...Poor guys, they've been tormented in the lab and now they're made to do manual labor.
"Orcs!"
"Any shamans? Is there a shaman?"
"Damn, they grabbed the shaman and ran!"
"Let it go! It's just a normal shaman, its color is faint!"
It even felt like there were more people than orcs on the 20th floor.
For every orc our party encountered during our exploration, we met three adventurers.
Weve already run into familiar faces numerous times in the forest.
Still, the mass of people wasn't concerning.
Our party had a player, after all.
[Why did the Orc Shaman keep a prisoner? Is it because of the suspicious altar in the forest?]
After the conversation with Antenor, the updated quest window directly instructed us to find the forest's altar.
When Han Se-ah, feeling encouraged, told the party she detected strange magic, everyone believed and followed her without a second thought.
They remembered her doing the same when hunting the Full Moon Wolf, holding her staff high and tracing the magic.
With the woods now filled with adventurers and mercenaries, she diligently led the way, frequently checking the quest window and mini-map.
[Why did the Orc Shaman keep a prisoner? Is it because of the suspicious altar in the forest?]
[In the depths of the forest, a major battle is happening near the suspicious altar. And there]
As Han Se-ah, with her staff held high, moved forward, the quest window updated.
At the same moment, Grace sensed something.
"There's a massive battle up ahead. The numbers seem unusually high It looks like there are even more than the orc tribe we saw last time."
"Damn, the other adventurers must've found something."
-It hasn't even been a day
-Seeing the quest window update, isn't it progressing even without you? Whoever finds it first wins, I guess.
-Lol will the window update when someone tries to steal the last hit as well?
-Looks like we'll need to rely on luck to complete this damn game
-Better mark the location for at least one reset.
While we were swiftly heading toward the altar after reading the quest window, the other adventurers have already taken the lead.
The viewers were stunned by their extraordinary speed.
If even Han Se-ah fails the time attack, it would be impossible for the viewers.
Of course, some were speculating that the early appearance of adventurers is a predetermined step in the storyline, just like a forced defeat.
But the crucial point remains: others got there before we did.
Gradually, the commotion drew closer, loud enough for me to hear.
Pushing past Han Se-ah and Grace, I dashed forward.
The long forest ended, revealing an abruptly open view the darkening woods hinting at something unusual.
Then, right before us, a pyramid.
...A pyramid?
"What the... what's that?"
"The altar is incredibly huge?!"
A large stone structure resembling a Mayan pyramid more than an Egyptian one stood before us.
I hadn't expected the altar to be like this.
The Mayan pyramid, suddenly rises from the dark forest, orcs pouring out from its peak.
The party members, unprepared for the sight, were stunned by its colossal size and the great number of orcs while Han Se-ah and I were simply astounded by the blatantly ripped-off design.
Tattoo-covered orc warriors rushing down the stone steps of such a grand pyramid who could have imagined?
"Hey! Can you help us out? We want nothing to do with the rewards, please!
While we were taken aback by the sight of the pyramid, an adventurer party battling orcs on the open ground in front of the pyramid noticed us.
Two tanks, one spear user, and one archer quite a capable party considering there were only four of them, holding off a seemingly endless stream of orcs without a mage or a priest.
Of course, they were only managing to hold their ground.
They were slowly getting surrounded and it was looking more dangerous by the minute.
-This scene feels like something from a horror movie.
-Are those orcs or zombies?
-Damn, this quest is so chaotic LOL.
-Is there a Pharaoh Orc inside?
The viewers were typing in the chat, half in awe of the countless orc numbers.
From a single orc tribe consisting of dozens, now, at this altar, the number seemed to have surged to hundreds, maybe even thousands.
Still, it wasn't just a scheme by the game company to troll players, as one by one, other adventurers and mercenaries began rushing out of the forest surrounding the pyramid.
With such a large gathering of orcs causing an uproar, even without scouts, anyone within several hundred meters would likely hear and come running.
And among those drawn by the ruckus, there werent just adventurers from the 20th floor.
Hahaha! Orcs sprouting from such an unfamiliar structure? How fascinating!
A 5 mage who had reached the 43rd floor even before receiving the star buffs.
Antenor, a High Mage of the Magic Tower, whose prowess in battle was unmatched, made his entrance.
The moment I heard Antenor's voice echoing in the air, I got the feeling:
Ah, this must be a kind of event cutscene.
Guess players aren't expected to defeat all these orcs on their own.
Excited by the anomaly on the 20th floor, Antenor gathered mana like a madman, and the darkness of the forest deepened even more.
The looming clouds above the pyramid felt as if the wicked Demon King himself was descending.
"Get down! Or hide behind the trees!"
"What is that crazy old man doing?!"
As the storm clouds, filled with darkness and lightning, enveloped the pyramid, the adventurers, driven by panic, began retreating from the altar.
Many of them had descended to the 20th floor for the promise of rewards and commissions, but there were very few priests present to protect them.
Fortunately, in our group, we had Han Se-ah, who could use shield magic, and Irene, who specialized in protective shields.
Without needing to communicate, both of them instinctively came together and began casting their protective skills.
A vivid blue mana shield enveloped our party, and a brilliant white barrier formed from divine energy extended, even reaching far enough to cover the adventurer party that was fighting off the orcs at the front.
The orcs were pushed back, tumbling over each other, due to the divine shield.
"Th, thank you."
"Lightniiiiing!"
Before Irene could respond to the grateful warrior's words, the world was suddenly bathed in a blinding white light.
A massive bolt of lightning, rivaling the size of the pyramid, struck down, incinerating the orcs and melting the stone steps of the pyramid.
It was followed by a deafening screech.
As the thunderous roar shook the earth, something abruptly drummed against the protective shields.
Debris was flying around like bullets: the aftermath of a lightning bolt that descended from the heavens.
-If that's magic, then what is my party using...?
-Can we use that too if we level up?
-If that is a 5, then what the hell is 6 Roland? Can he survive that?
-No way Irene can be that strong, there must be a huge difference in abilities even within the same star grade.
There was nothing left of the horde of orcs.
They had completely melted away.
The adventurers who fled at the sight of the dark clouds were sent tumbling through the forest like bowling pins due to the aftershock.
"Damn it, I'm going first!
"Roland?"
Then, I charged towards the sizzling pyramid.
Because I saw something red dart in on all fours, amidst the flashing blaze.
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