The Developer Reborn As Archmage

Darya dashed forward, phasing through the complicated mess of prediction dots before her. She passed straight through the hat man and two other guards who were halfway ready to pull their own weapons. She didn’t have a lot of leeway.

Two.

She snuck close to Ikaro as much as possible and placed her hand right next to the dagger box on his waist. She couldn’t use mana without a Manacer, and skills weren’t going to solve this problem quickly.

Three.

As she waited for the last second with her hand hovering over the dagger box, she saw prediction dots burst from Seris’s wand, already beginning to form the shield bubble that would shortly cover her and Nerima.

The last half a second came like a wave, people settling into their predictions as the monochrome world faded. Darya snatched the box with singular focus, watching from the corner of her eye as the hat man swung his sword in three random directions, looking for her. He found her right as she opened the box and grabbed the dagger.

“You! Attack! intruders! attack!” the man yelled at his guards, charging forward.

Darya gripped the hilt of the dagger, making it glow bright orange. Ikaro was making his own move. To the surprise of everyone nearby, he swung his giant arm, and it landed squarely on a guard’s torso, sending the man flying into a distant wall.

[Vainfall: Terminate Twice]

The hat man’s sword went through Darya along with his arm. She stepped aside, phasing through him to the back while slashing slowly across his back with the dagger.

One. Marked.

Using the same momentum, she slashed across the arm of the nearest guard. Prediction dots began splashing in the form of blood.

Two.

Next, she found herself in a position where she could cut both the woman in the red dress and another guard. The woman was beginning to use mana.

Looks like she must’ve been a mage. I did think something was off about her.

She was gathering purple mana on her forearms. It wouldn’t matter. Darya sliced across her upper body, watching the dots bounce off the sharp edge.

Three. She’s done.

The last half a second jolted the world around her, letting things catch up in a flicker like a light bulb. The monochrome world returned with the next activation right away.

Darya rotated on her heel while crouching, slashing across the stomach of the guard next to the woman.

Four. What else.

The other guards were behind Ikaro.

[Skill: Wind Step]

-20 SP • 8s Cooldown

[view more]

The dash got her across, phasing through everyone nearby. She went through Ikaro and emerged on the other side facing two guards. They were both frozen, looking up at Ikaro, who had just been turning towards them after sending one flying.

Five. Last ones.

Darya slid between them and stabbed the one on her right through a gap in his armor. Pulling the dagger out while leaping towards the other, she managed to get it an inch away from the man’s exposed shoulder joint.

Six. The rest is manual.

She drove the dagger into the shoulder as she passed. Everything caught up to the prediction dots, and the color returned. Ikaro’s second swing sent the two guards she stabbed flying. They slid across the stone floor before they even had a chance to notice the dagger wounds.

Darya heard the woman let out a scream, falling backwards from the impact. The man lost his grip on his sword, tripping on his own feet right next to Ikaro.

The incarnation of the Eternal Demoness returned, split into several ghosts, and started chasing all the targets that Darya marked. The ghosts flickered and became more real when she tightened her grip on the dagger, giving it whatever mana she had.

“Sarka! jump out!” Darya yelled. Ikaro turned to her like a bulldog getting the whiff of a steak. He was still looking for people to hit. The seer flung helplessly over his shoulder, bleeding from under his helmet.

He needs to see Seris soon. Whatever’s left of him, at least.

Everyone haunted by the Eternal Demoness was glued to the ground with terror. Darya hurriedly pointed at the bookshelf where their exit was. “Open that! Go!” she urged Ikaro.

Sarka suddenly remembered the plan. Ikaro’s angry demeanor faded, replaced with a more determined one. He took off towards the bookshelf with the seer, heavy footsteps hammering the stone floor.

He crashed into the bookshelf shoulder-first. Seris grabbed Nerima inside the shield bubble. Darya didn’t waste time engaging all the enemies now that their exit was secured. She kept a tight grip on the dagger, watching the Eternal Demoness torment some of the guards. The mage woman was on the floor, gasping for air, and the hat man was bleeding on the stone floor from the slash, while frozen in fear, staring at the malevolent spirit hovering over him.

Ikaro slapped the broken bookshelf away, sending it flying off to the side. The corridor behind it was just as she saw it. Large enough to fit everyone except Ikaro. Drakva hadn’t planned to escape the dungeon with his favourite fighter.

Have to get Sarka back right away. We can’t stay here for longer.

The Eternal Demoness claimed one weakened guard while her alters flickered. Darya was running out of Mana.

“Seris! shield here!” Darya yelled as she ran and slid towards the corridor. Seris dragged Nerima there just in time. Darya grabbed Ikaro’s hand while Seris blasted in the opposite direction with a mana shield again.

“I’m out of mana! Sarka! You need to get out right now!” Darya announced as she grabbed Ikaro’s hand. “Sarka! Put the Seer down!”

“Princess…yo…have…to…escape!” Sarka said, looking lazily at the door. More people were on the way.

“Not leaving without you! Hurry!” Darya slammed her fist into Ikaro’s arm. He did as he was told and placed the bloodied Seer on the ground as gently as he could. Darya hoisted him upright and laid him in a sitting position against the wall. She hadn’t had the time to take a look at him, but it was obvious he’d been beaten badly.

Can’t even tell if he’s alive or not. He better be.

“What happens when the druid wakes up with the ring?” Seris asked, panting as she hauled Nerima up onto her back. She wasn’t built to carry such a weight.

“Knock him out right away. Do you have something?” Darya looked at the dagger. It was already glowing dimmer with her lack of mana.

Seris nodded, poking Ikaro’s side with her wand.

More of Drakva’s guards came pouring in, having heard the loud commotion inside. Spells bounced off the mana shield, degrading it while they watched. Darya grabbed the soulstone ring from her pocket and put it on Ikaro’s little finger. Ikaro burst with Sarka’s purple mana while the ring glowed pale red. The two energy ripples passed each other as souls swapped.

Ikaro’s eyes glowed red. His fingers curled, and muscles tensed. As slow and stupid as he seemed, Ikaro seemed to be regaining his body alarmingly fast. “Seris now!” Darya yelled, grabbing the ring before the little finger could close into a fist.

Seris drew a quick cross symbol on Ikaro’s skin with the tip of the wand and pushed in. Green mana burst from her forearm like a flood. Ikaro’s pale red mana spread across him to counter, but Seris was already in. Ikaro straightened as if struck by lightning. His giant body went tense, and he fell sideways like a statue.

“It won’t hold for long!” Seris said, beginning to drag Nerima into the corridor.

“I’ll take her; you take the Seer,” Darya said, quickly grabbing Nerima by the waist. Nerima was too shocked to speak, but she quickly let go of Seris and wrapped her small hands around Darya.

Seris quickly picked up the Seer by the arms like a grain bag on her back. Darya pushed the treasure bag into the corridor, grabbing it by the strap. She couldn’t carry both the mermaid and the bag at once. She had to drag one.

“Princess! I’m detecting at least fifty mana signatures heading this way!” Sarka said urgently.

“Let’s go! run! run!” Darya said, hauling everything into the corridor. Seris went first, grabbing one strap of the bag as she carried the Seer. Darya caught up to her as they left the shield bubble behind. It wasn’t going to hold against the increasingly heavier spells landing on it.

If Ikaro wakes up, it won’t hold at all.

She just imagined the giant druid coming face-first at her through the corridor like a fish. Not even Terminate could solve that problem.

“Have to get out of the corridor fast. We’re sitting ducks in here!” Darya panted.

She could still get rid of any guards or mages following them with whatever combination of Skills and Terminate that she wanted to, but Nerima and Seris were in the line of fire. This was as hairy as it could get.

“How long is this tunnel? You know?” Seris asked with a wheeze.

“Shouldn’t be too long; don’t think about it. Come!” Darya replied, dragging the bag harder. “You have enough mana for another shield?”

“Y-yes, barely,”

“What awaits us on the other side, Princess?” Sarka asked.

“About to find out. Hopefully, an escape carriage. At least it should open onto a road. Seris, the first one you see, is trapped in a shield bubble. I’ll deal with anyone you trap in with us.”

“Alright.” Seris dragged her feet, trying to hoist the Seer.

“Sarka, do you feel any mana from the Seer?”

“I do; it is faint. They were beating him when I got there,” Sarka said. Nerima’s hands tightened around Darya.

“I see the end of the tunnel; it’s really far, but,” Seris moved ahead. “The light, it looks blue like it’s the sky? where—”

“Sky?” Darya asked, squinting her eyes at the distant pinhole of light. The corridor was unnaturally straight for the exit to be visible from where they were.

“We may be heading towards the other side of the mountains, princess!” Sarka said.

Darya remembered the mountain range against which the Colosseum was constructed. If the corridor really opened horizontally to the sky, that could only mean one thing.

“Don’t tell me it’s a fucking cliff!” Darya panted.

“Hopefully, the orc has a better plan than a suicide tunnel!” Sarka said.

“What? A balloon? wings? or a rope ladder?” Seris asked with a scoff. “All the things we can’t deal with right now!”

“Guess we’ll find out.” Darya looked ahead. “Hurry.”

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!