Chapter 15 - The Onslaught of Raid Parties (3)

　　"A fork in the road," Roman observed. "In this case, it’s best we split into two teams."

　　"Is that wise?" Cain questioned. "It could be dangerous."

　　When a corridor forked like this, one path likely led to the second room and the other to the third. Splitting up would leave them vulnerable to an ambush.

　　"It will be fine," Roman assured him. "If we light new torches before entering, the monsters will be hesitant to attack."

　　"I suppose that would work," Cain conceded. "We still have plenty of torches left."

　　They had started with nine. At a rate of one per corridor, they had more than enough for a seven-room dungeon.

　　"I’m worried about Sit," Cain admitted, glancing at their silent leader, "but as long as the torchlight holds, a direct assault is unlikely. Let’s do it."

　　Sit was still lost in his own world. Roman nodded and lit a new torch from the old one.

　　As fresh light bloomed in the darkness, he and Cain took one each.

　　"I’ll go with Roman," Gorden announced. "Cain, you take care of Sit."

　　"Don’t worry about us. You just keep Roman safe," Cain replied. "With Sit like this, we’re counting on him to get us through."

　　"I’m an old man; my mind isn’t as sharp as it used to be," Roman said with a dismissive wave. "Don’t flatter me." He and Gorden headed down the left corridor.

　　Cain watched them go before clapping Sit on the shoulder. "Come on. Our turn."

　　Sit didn’t respond.

　　"Let’s go," Cain urged, gently guiding Sit to follow him down the right-hand path.

* * *

　　[Roman and Gorden have entered the corridor leading to the 2nd room.]

　　[Sit and Cain have entered the corridor leading to the 3rd room.]

　　On the dungeon monitor, Taehyun watched the raid party split up. Under normal circumstances, with their priest dead, such a move would be unthinkable. But they were putting their faith in the power of their torches.

　　"An attack while the torch gauge is active has a 60% higher chance of failure," Riel recited. "As experienced raiders, they are well aware of this."

　　"What is your next move, Master?" she asked, her tone one of genuine curiosity.

　　Taehyun’s eyes remained fixed on the screen for a long moment before he began moving his soldiers from the fourth room. "They’re moving just as I predicted. No… this is even better."

　　"In what way?"

　　"In their situation, even with a torch, splitting up is a desperate gamble. It means they must have some kind of insurance."

　　"What do you mean?"

　　"That mage," Taehyun said, his gaze turning icy. "Roman."

　　"He just chose to abandon his comrades."

　　There was no way any ‘insurance’ he had would extend to Cain and Sit’s group. Roman had to have known that before making the call. Splitting them up meant he didn’t care if something happened to the other pair.

　　[Roman]

　　[Rank: D (Intermediate)]

　　[Level: 12]

　　[Class: Mage]

　　[Title: Cowardly Survivor]

　　[Affiliation: Erden]

　　[Stress: 25/100]

　　[Status: Relaxed.]

　　[Relationship with Comrades: Cain (None), Gorden (None), Mirna (None), Sit (None)]

　　The Cowardly Survivor title, and every relationship listed as None… Does that mean he never cared about them at all?

　　It was a shocking revelation. They were supposed to be a fixed team, a band of comrades. He never would have guessed one of them was a complete sociopath, treating them with pure, calculated pretense.

　　He must have a history of abandoning his allies whenever things get dangerous.

　　For Taehyun, this was a gift. A man willing to sacrifice his teammates must be supremely confident in his own ability to clear the dungeon with just one other person.

　　Unfortunately for him, what awaited them in the fourth room were two Intermediate Minotaurs, now promoted to Frenzied Shield Bearers.

　　He thinks he’s making the most logical choice, but he’s just made the worst possible mistake. Four of them would have struggled against my minotaurs. He’s planning to face them with just two.

　　It was Roman’s blunder, a fatal oversight born from his unfamiliarity with the Intermediate Minotaur. Taehyun checked the gauge on Kane’s torch and positioned his soldiers accordingly. For now, I’ll leave Roman and Gorden be, he decided. I need to see how they plan to squirm their way out of this. Gorden seems completely in the dark, too, so I’m curious to see how this plays out. Unlike when he’d first become a Dungeon Master, Taehyun now found himself anticipating the raiders’ reactions, a game master watching his players stumble through a deadly maze.

　　[Kane’s Torch item gauge has 40% remaining.]

　　Kane and Sheet were already halfway down the corridor. Noticing the passage curving slightly ahead, Kane quickened his pace, but the curve wasn’t the only change. The path on the right leads to the third room, Taehyun noted. Unlike the corridor to the second room, this one is a bit longer. As the torch’s gauge steadily dwindled, the soldiers he’d positioned in the corridor closed in on the pair. When the gauge dropped below five percent, Taehyun gave the order.

　　[Torch item gauge is at 0%.]

　　[The torchlight is extinguished.]

　　Now! Attack!

　　The moment the torchlight vanished, a barrage of attacks from the Rogue Goblins and Mage Imps erupted from the darkness. A startled Kane fumbled for another torch, but the sudden onslaught of monsters made it impossible. He was forced to abandon the catatonic Sheet and fight for his life.

　　[Elite Low-Rank Rogue Goblin’s Pierce skill has pierced Warrior Kane’s thigh.]

　　[Elite Low-Rank Rogue Goblin’s Dagger Throw skill has struck Warrior Kane’s left wrist.]

　　[Elite Low-Rank Mage Imp’s Fireball has struck Warrior Kane’s left leg.]

　　It was a losing battle from the start. Outnumbered, he was quickly overwhelmed and rendered unable to fight.

　　[You have won the battle.]

　　[The Elite Low-Rank Rogue Goblins’ combat experience has increased slightly.]

　　[The Elite Low-Rank Mage Imps’ combat experience has increased slightly.]

　　[Loyalty has increased by 1.]

　　As Kane collapsed, a victory message appeared. Sheet, who had been in no state to fight, was completely ignored by the System.

　　"…So this was your plan all along," Riel murmured, her voice filled with admiration.

　　"Yes," Taehyun explained, his tone matter-of-fact, as if he had known this would be the outcome. "They expected the torch to run out near the end of the corridor. But this passage was longer than they anticipated, throwing off their timing. That moment of uncertainty was the perfect opportunity to strike."

　　Standing beside him, Riel was deeply impressed. Her estimation of his potential soared. He sees details even I failed to calculate. Most Dungeon Masters would overlook something so minor… Master Taehyun is clearly more than just exceptionally focused. Whenever it came to thwarting a raid, Taehyun became a completely different person.

　　[B-rank Named Supporter, Riel of Healing, is impressed by the Master’s wisdom.]

　　[Loyalty has increased by 1.]

　　[Affection has increased by 1.]

　　Riel’s loyalty and affection rose once more. Taehyun, oblivious to the notifications as usual, was about to finish off Kane and Sheet.

　　"Oh, just a moment, Master," Riel interjected. "Have you considered capturing them?"

　　"We can capture raiders?" he asked, surprised.

　　"Yes. You simply killed them during the first raid, but from now on, it will be necessary to capture some. It offers several advantages, such as torturing them for information about other raiders or their exclusive items, or even forcibly converting them into soldiers for Balak."

　　"I’m certainly short on information, but… torture?" The suggestion made him recoil, and for a moment, the old Taehyun resurfaced. "That’s a bit much."

　　"You’ve already killed the Bolton party and their priest, yet you hesitate over this?" Riel’s logic was cold and sharp.

　　"Hah… Fine, I get it," he sighed. "But what do you mean by forcibly converting them?"

　　"There are several outcomes for captured raiders," she explained calmly. "One is to use certain items or torture to forcibly change their allegiance to the dungeon. Other methods include recruiting them through dialogue or by offering them conditions. In the case of female raiders, you can also enslave them to use as… playthings."

　　"Slavery is out of the question," he said firmly. "But you’re saying they can be repurposed as manpower or soldiers."

　　"That’s right. If I may ask, why are you so reluctant to take slaves?" Riel asked, her eyes clear and innocent.

　　Taehyun broke into a cold sweat. "W-Well, it’s just… slavery, playthings… It’s just not right, you know?"

　　"What isn’t? Oh, do you mean to say that raiders are so worthless they don’t even deserve the mercy of being used as playthings?"

　　"That’s not it."

　　"If not that… Ah. Perhaps you desire my nightly services instead?"

　　At the completely unexpected remark, Taehyun froze.

　　"Until now, you seemed preoccupied with managing the dungeon, so I refrained from mentioning it," she continued, her tone as polite as ever. "But as your Supporter, I am also able to help you relieve your carnal desires. Please call for me anytime you need me at night."

　　A Supporter’s duty was to be of utmost service to their Dungeon Master. Riel, who had internalized this rule to her very core, spoke of such matters without a hint of reservation.

　　Wasn’t that supposed to be dependent on her affection level? Don’t tell me by affection, she just means… affection?! It was a Supporter’s duty to obey any order. If Taehyun commanded her to kill herself, she would do it without hesitation. An absolute, coercive force bound her to him. Unaware of this fundamental rule, Taehyun was utterly flustered.

　　Come to think of it, I’ve never really given Riel a serious order. Th-Then does that mean…?

　　A cascade of wild fantasies flooded his mind, but he quickly shook his head, banishing them. This is not the time for that.

　　For now, he captured the incapacitated Kane and Sheet. Though still hesitant, he knew that if Riel was right, he could certainly obtain valuable information from them.

　　[Roman and Gorden have entered the second room.]

　　Meanwhile, Roman and Gorden had passed through their corridor without incident and arrived at the second room.

　　Alright. Let’s see how you get through this, Taehyun thought, his gaze fixed on Roman, who had already proven to be full of surprises.

* * *

　　"It seems the path split. We must have arrived in different rooms," Roman observed.

　　"It seems so. I feel uneasy for some reason," Gorden grumbled.

　　"Gorden, you worry too much," Roman scoffed. "No matter how shaken Sheet was, this is just a D-rank dungeon. I’m sure they got through just fine."

　　"You’re probably right. Hmph." Gorden, whose anxiety was at odds with his massive frame, turned away, mollified by Roman’s reassurance.

　　This lumbering oaf is so easy to manipulate, Roman thought with a smirk. He’d known Gorden since the early days of the Arden Guild, and the man was as simple-minded as he was large. He was a competent shield bearer, but that was the extent of his usefulness. Socially, he was a hot-headed, easygoing man who cared only for his next drink and was utterly clueless about raid strategy. Nothing more, nothing less.

　　Looks like it’s time to leave this group, too. The pay was decent and the team worked well enough, so I stayed for a while, but they’ve hit their limit. He had initially been drawn to the Arden Guild because his comrades were all reasonably experienced in D-rank dungeons, but he could see the writing on the wall. Roman’s pattern was always the same: whenever a party faced a crisis, he would abandon his comrades, survive alone, and move on to the next group. This time would be no different.

　　If I put Gorden at the front and use one or two of the magic scrolls I secretly brought, I should be able to clear a new D-rank dungeon on my own. A new D-rank dungeon wouldn’t even have a boss monster. Plus, the 2nd-circle magic scrolls he’d pocketed contained spells he had yet to learn. As long as another Minotaur didn’t show up, clearing the rest of the dungeon would be simple.

* * *