Returner of the Colosseum

Episode 20 . The other side of the light (1)

[The match starts in 2 seconds.]

inside a small room.

A total of ten players, including me, were seated.

‘One knight, two swordsmen, one spearman, one warrior, one assassin, and one archer. Are the other two wizards?’

As befits the players participating in the co-main event, everyone’s momentum was extraordinary.

One of them looked particularly strong.

[The match starts in 1 second.]

Fortunately, this match is a group mission.

There is no reason to fight them, so the stronger the players involved, the better the chances of winning the match.

‘At least it doesn’t look like a bomb.’

In that sense, team luck was not bad.

[Start the match!]

At the same time as the game start call was delayed, one player stepped forward. It was a knight that I was especially strong at.

“My nickname is Kale. He is a knight and has played 17 battles in total. I was granted the qualifications of a contender. This game is a group story mission. Unity is very important. So I think we need to pick a captain to lead this match, what do you guys think?”

A heavy bass sound echoed through the room. There was power in every word.

“agree.”

“I agree.”

“I agree too.”

Although it is still in the lower leagues, all of them are veterans who have played several matches. The situation was judged quickly. When everyone agreed, the election of the captain began.

“Tell me each of your nicknames, skills, and history.”

At Cale’s words, each member took turns introducing themselves.

“My nickname is Shuusaku. played 16 matches Infiltration and assassination are his specialties.”

said the assassin holding the dagger.

“Go Gun-moo. I played 11 matches. Scouting and sniping are her specialties.”

said the man holding the bow.

“I am Brandt. I survived 12 battles, and I’m not particularly good at anything other than fighting.”

said the man holding the bayonet.

“Hey Gavin. Likewise, I fought 12 battles, and I specialize in many-on-one combat and escort.”

A middle-aged man holding a longsword said.

“This is the schedule. He survived 14 battles, and his specialty is one-on-one. Please take good care of me.”

The man holding the spear said.

“It’s Dorothy. He fought 9 battles, and he handles fire magic especially well.”

said the woman holding the wand.

“Cheer, I’m Eden Hawk. This is the 12th match. It sounds like it will be a fun game. Except for not fighting, everything is good.”

said the Viking, who was carrying a huge axe.

“My name is Elrond. I fought 8 battles, and spirit magic is my specialty.”

A lower spirit appeared above the head of the woman wearing the robe.

The other one was a spirit sage.

This could be said to be the perfect combination for a party.

Finally, it was my turn to turn around.

“This is Ren. I fought 2 battles, and my specialties are information gathering, escorting factors, assassination, and many-on-one combat.”

Everyone around me burst into laughter at my words.

“Running a co-main event in just two matches? Is it named?”

“Ah, I’ve heard of the nickname Ren. He’s the player who made his first achievement in the Red Flag battle a while ago.”

“Ohh, this is the first time I’ve seen Name. Even our Trainer Angel talked a lot about the author.”

Eyes gathering towards me.

I felt like there was some misunderstanding.

Your expression will change abruptly if you know that my home planet is Earth.

Because there are no names on Earth.

‘I shouldn’t have to talk about it.’

The knight and Cale also smiled with satisfaction as if they were satisfied with the members.

“My specialty is command, command, and tactical operation. I don’t think everyone has ever been taught command and command theory, so could I possibly take command of this match?”

Everyone nodded their heads at Cale’s words.

It’s not bad.

No, on the contrary, it could be said to be the best.

He is the only contender among those present, and he has the most experience.

Of course, it’s not as much as me who experienced the first round, but in the first place, I was blind from the second half of the lower league.

I didn’t have much experience other than personal PvP.

It was because there were too many restrictions to run in group battles or story missions while blind.

“Then I will be the party leader of this party from now on. I will give you a mission one by one according to your specialty, so please follow along.”

Cale gave each person a role.

The time limit is 48 hours.

Among them, we decided to have a preparation stage before the mission for 24 hours.

Shuusaku, an assassin, decided to investigate the intrusion into the Castle of Aden Macha, which was occupied by the Church of Light, and Go Gun-mu, an archer, decided to escort sacrifices inside the castle and investigate the escape route to the safety zone.

Tirnernog, where Aden Macha is located, is a star system with extremely developed magic.

So Dorothy, the wizard, decides to move with Shuusaku to check if there are any magic traps, and Elrond, the spirits, checks the parts that are difficult to move due to surveillance with spirits.

Gevin, a swordsman, follows and escorts Go Geon-moo, who is vulnerable to close combat.

Brandt, Eden Hawk, and Wee Il-jeong decided to travel around Aden Mach to gather useful information.

“I want everyone to thoroughly carry out the instructions given. In 24 hours, we will meet again here. Report it through the status window in between.”

As Cale gave each one a task, the ten players started to move at the same time.

We are the bodies that come in for a mission.

There was no need for friendship.

When I came out, I saw a shabby residential area.

The starting point is a slum on the outskirts of Adenmacha.

I decided to look around this place once.

‘There aren’t many people on the street.’

Even though it was long after dawn, the streets were very quiet.

Garbage was scattered randomly on the street, and soldiers who seemed to belong to the Church of Light were roaming about.

Every time I met them, I hid myself in a nearby secluded alley, waited for them to pass by, and then came out repeatedly.

[Time limit until destruction of the relic: 41:55:12]

Six hours have passed since the game started.

‘It’s wider than I thought. I don’t think I’ll have time to go looking for pieces of the mask.’

I’ve played many games against the background of the Tirnernog system, but Adenmaha was the first.

Before returning, Ryan’s trainer Angel posted a sniper post saying that the mask piece was somewhere in the forest east of Aden Macha.

The location of the safety zone, where the sacrifice must be escorted, is also toward the end of the forest east of Aden Macha.

It seemed that finding the mask piece would have to be postponed until after the sacrifice was safely rescued.

For now, the mission comes first.

When I opened the status window for the interim report, there were several messages.

―Shuusaku: Arrive at the feudal castle. Moving to Area A-1.

―Dorothy: Check the alarm magic in the third hallway in A-1 area.

―Dorothy: Check the alarm magic in the 1st hallway in Area A-2.

―Dorothy: Check the alarm magic in the 2nd and 3rd hallways of the A-2 area.

―Shuusaku: Area A-2 doesn’t have many troops, but it has a lot of alarm magic. Seems like an escape route rather than an intrusion route.

―Kale: Go Gunmu, move to Area A-2 and check if it is suitable for an escape route.

-Go Gun-moo: Yes. Go to Area A-2.

The message window was filled with only messages from the intrusion and escape teams. The situation where the information collection team did not upload anything.

‘Depending on how you approach information, useful things can look useless.’

It was obvious that he was just wandering around Aden Mach.

―Ren: Interim report. Aden Macha is an oval shape measuring 8 kilometers in width and 5 kilometers in length. There are no people on the streets, and there are guards everywhere. The number of guards he met during one round was 317. Except for the star, there is no separate inspection. There is one castle gate in the east, west, south, and north, and each gate is guarded by one knight and ten guards. There are many alleys, but there are not many dead ends, so it is easy to escape.

When I posted the information I had gathered so far, a reply came right away.

-Keil: You worked hard. to suffer a little more.

Seeing Cale’s reply, I sighed.

Information was essential to the success of the mission.

However, it is difficult to expect useful information from other information collectors.

In the end, I had no choice but to suffer more.

[Time limit until destruction of the relic: 30:15:17]

It was quite chilly at night.

I got almost all the information I could get from walking around the streets.

That’s why I was currently hiding on the roof of a bar with a lot of people in Aden Macha and listening.

“damn. What the hell is the kingdom doing? Two weeks have passed since Aden Mach was occupied, and there is no news.”

“Shh, lower your voice. Because someone might hear it.”

“Listen if you want to. In order to destroy evil, the Church of Light reluctantly occupied Aden Macha? That’s not even funny. How can they cry out for goodness, who often kill innocent people for being heretical?”

“Hey, you’re so excited. please stay calm Don’t you know how many people have been dragged away for talking like that lately? Yesterday, Lucia, who lives on Rose Street, was also taken away.”

“No, why is that child? Isn’t that child so kind that one would believe that he was an angel born in the human world!”

“that is······.”

‘Tsk.’

I listened, but didn’t find anything useful.

It’s just that people’s antipathy towards the Church of Light is severe.

It would be better to listen to the conversations of the guards patrolling rather than the bar.

―Shuusaku: Checking Area C-7. There is only one alarm magic and seven guards. If you start with an ambush, it’s probably best as an invasion route. Due to special circumstances, the boundary suddenly became severe.

-Keil: I see. Have you seen Go Gun-moo and Gavin? The two have not been contacted for 2 hours. Please check to see if you have been detained.

-Dorothy: I see.

-Go Gun-moo: Oh, I’m sorry. After searching for a good escape route, I was late to contact you.

-Kale: It’s okay. Where’s the new escape route?

―Go Geon-moo: This is the B-2 area. There was a side road that people don’t often pass by right next to it, and when you come out of it, you’re straight to the back gate of the lord’s castle.

-Kale: It’s good. Good work. If you don’t know, suffer a little more.

-Go Gun-moo: Old.

In the message window, only the intrusion and escape teams are still active.

I said, ‘No information from the bar.’ Leaving only that briefly, he headed towards the guards.

Soon it will be past midnight.

If we didn’t get useful information even here, there might be no point in collecting information anymore.

‘I wish I could get something.’

Thinking of that, I hid near the main street where many guards passed by, but I couldn’t get much useful information from the guards either.

“Hey, Kobe. did you hear the news? I heard Emmett had a good time with the b*tch you mentioned this morning.”

“what? What about Hoelun? how?”

“It seems that the magician who was familiar with Emmet cast a spell on him. I heard you changed into the exact same look as her husband? This is why black magic is good.”

“hehehe, I’ll have to ask him to do it too.”

It’s just pointless chatter.

‘In the end, it’s a joke.’

The 24 hours given to me were almost over.

After overhearing their conversation for a while, I sighed and straightened up to move to the starting point.

It was then.

“Oh, by the way, the saintess came from the church this afternoon. So the priests told me not to go anywhere near the lord castle for the time being. In particular, he told me to be careful if I met a woman with red hair and wearing a white robe. Didn’t they come with religious relics and threaten to sacrifice those who come near the lord’s castle for no reason?”

‘Holy relic!’

I hurriedly opened the message window.

―Ren: It is said that the saintess went into the lord castle this afternoon with the holy relic. Its distinctive feature is its red hair and pure white robes. Find the location of the saintess.

―Cale: This is really valuable information. Shuusaku, can you tell me where the saintess is?

―Shuusaku: It has already been identified. I went to the dungeon where the sacrifice was supposed to be, then moved to the banquet hall inside the lord castle and still hasn’t come out.

-Keil: I see. Please keep working hard.

Fortunately, the location of the sacrifice was also found on the intrusion team side.

In addition, since he had just identified the location of the sacred object, he could say that he had achieved all of the minimum conditions for carrying out the mission.

[Time limit until destruction of the relic: 24:35:42]

Thanks to that, my steps toward the safe house were very light.

“Everyone suffered a lot. Thanks to this, I was able to figure out the location of the holy relics and sacrifices, and I was able to determine an approximate intrusion route and an escape route. Until 12 hours remain after the description of the operation…”

A small room for 8 people. Cale was explaining the upcoming schedule to us.

But somewhere, the smell of perfume came rushing in.

It was the direction where Goh Kun-moo and Gavin were.

‘I didn’t smell like this when we first met.’

Tsk.

In the meantime, you seem to have been hanging out with a woman.

“After that, after taking a break, we will execute the operation when the time limit is 12 hours, so you know that.”

“yes.”

“We divide into two groups and invade the lord castle. Me, Dorothy, Gavin, Goh Kun-moo, and Ren are the Relic Destroyers. And Shuusaku, Brandt, Elrond, Wei Il-jeong, and Eden Hawk are the sacrificial rescue team. Shuusaku will lead the sacrificial rescue team.”

Shuusaku slightly raised the dagger he was holding in reverse.

Cale nodded slightly towards Shuusaku and pointed to a spot on the map.

“This way, infiltrate into Area C-7 at the same time, and at the fork in Area C-4, the Sacrificial Rescue Team moves to the dungeon, and our Relic Destroyer Team moves toward the inner banquet hall.”

“All right.”

“The location of the holy object is expected to be in the internal banquet hall with a high probability. However, it is still unclear whether the location of the sacrifice is in the dungeon. It is only assumed to be there. That’s why, Shuusaku, your role is very important.”

Shuusaku opened his mouth at Cale’s words.

“I will do my best.”

“What are the expected difficulties in moving there?”

It was the Elemental Weaver, Elrond, who opened his mouth to Cale’s question.

“There were not as many troops there as I thought. When we checked in front of it, we only saw two men with their limbs cut off and being dragged in a stunned state, but strangely, there are no soldiers guarding the front.”

Cale crossed his arms at her answer.

“The possibility of a trap is high enough. But I can’t help but confirm that. It was said that the saintess had visited there, so the possibility is high. If you go to the dungeon and don’t secure the sacrifice, you will join us.”

Shuusaku nodded at Cale’s words.

“After that, escape through the side road next to Area B-2. If you go out there, you will immediately come out through the back gate of Yeongju Castle, and then you will run straight to the north gate and get out.”

“Aren’t you an alumni?”

In response to Dorothy’s question, Cale pointed to one side of the map.

“In terms of distance, East Gate is closer to the safety zone, but after Goh Gun-moo investigated, he said it was a hilly road with a slope. However, if you go through the North Gate, you will be able to arrive faster because it is still flat.”

Cale rolled up the map he had opened and put it in his chest.

“Since we have roughly explained the operation, we will take a break for the next 12 hours. The sun will set in 12 hours. Then the operation is executed.”

“All right.”

Other personnel answered and headed to a corner of the room. It seemed like he was trying to close his eyes even a little before executing the operation.

I left the room assigned as the starting point.

This is because it is so narrow that it is not suitable for all 10 people to rest.

It happened that there was a place I had looked at in advance, so I headed there and lay down comfortably.

‘Go Gunmu and Gavin?’

Other than me, there were people who came out of the starting point.

The two of them clung to each other, exchanging something in low voices, and then quickly headed somewhere.

Due to the distance, I couldn’t hear what the conversation was about.

‘It must have been the first time we’ve seen each other today, but did we become close during that time?’

Anxiety creeped in.

This is because when a map like this comes out as a mission, there are quite a few guys who covet women with their eyes turned upside down.

No matter how it is, it’s a strategy soon, so you’re not going to embrace a woman again, are you?

Please don’t think so much.

This is because every single such small action can affect the mission.

[Time limit until destruction of the relic: 11:59:37]

It became a dark night with no moonlight as it was covered by clouds.

After escaping from the starting point, we succeeded in arriving at the entrance to the castle without anyone noticing through the alley we had looked at before.

Cale, who covered his armor with a black robe, opened his mouth.

“Everyone.”

He made eye contact with each one and pounded his heart twice with his fist.

“Let’s begin.”

Starting with Cale’s words, we quickly ran to the lord’s castle.

It was the beginning of a true mission.