The Wizard Has A Biochip

Approximately thirty hours had passed since we decided to split up.

Given the distances each group had to travel, even Lyra and her team, who had chosen the region considered the most difficult, should have already returned.

But they had not appeared.

When we combined that with the violent tremors that had shaken the Subterranean World...

The concern began to grow.

We waited.

After three hours.

Finally, Lyra and Selene appeared.

But they were not well.

The two of them were exhausted.

The region they had chosen was almost twenty kilometers below the surface and had been heavily affected by the earthquakes.

The underground passages had collapsed at several points.

If Lyra had not primarily studied those strange wand spells used in curses and blessings, they might not have even been able to find a route back.

Even so, they had managed to return.

Of the five teams sent to that region...

Only four had returned.

The meaning was obvious.

We were all beginning to accept the possibility that we had lost two companions during our very first expedition into the Subterranean World.

Then I heard desperate footsteps.

— Someone is coming!

I turned my head.

I immediately recognized the mana fluctuation.

Monak.

The Pseudo-Mage specialized in fire.

But he was completely different from when he had left.

His robe was torn.

His thin body was covered in wounds.

Blood ran from several parts of his body.

And there was something even worse.

Dark smoke emanated from the wounds, surrounding the flesh around them with a black coloration.

— Monak!

Some of those present took a step forward.

I also became alert.

For an instant, his appearance was so grotesque that, if I had not recognized his mana signature, I probably would have thought he was some disguised enemy.

Half of his face was destroyed.

A curse arrow had struck his face.

The flesh around the wound produced a low crackling sound, as if it were slowly being corroded by an extremely powerful acid.

Monak staggered.

But he did not fall.

He had reached this place practically sustained only by his own willpower.

— I... came back...

His voice was weak.

Some companions immediately tried to approach.

— Let us help you!

Monak raised his hand.

— No.

Everyone stopped.

— I said no.

His expression was extremely cautious.

Even in that state, he did not allow anyone to touch his body.

I narrowed my eyes.

I immediately understood.

It was not simply pride.

It was distrust.

We still had not established enough trust among the members of that expedition.

Monak probably did not want any secrets hidden inside his body to fall into someone else’s hands.

And, in that world...

I could not blame him.

Hidden in a corner, Monak finally began treating his wounds.

He did not allow anyone to approach.

Even seriously injured, he remained suspicious of everyone around him.

I watched from a distance as he took some healing materials from his own belongings and quickly treated his most serious wounds. The process was not pretty.

The black smoke continued emerging from some of the wounds, and the flesh around them remained dark in color.

Even so, Monak managed to stabilize his condition.

After some time, he returned to the group.

His expression was grim.

He seemed to already know that he would be questioned.

Lyra was the first to ask:

— What happened?

Monak took a deep breath.

— We were pursued by three Pseudo-Mages and an advanced Level 3 Acolyte.

The surroundings became silent.

Even I became a little more serious.

Three Pseudo-Mages.

And a Level 3 Acolyte.

It was not a formation that could be ignored.

Lyra lowered her eyes for a few moments.

She seemed to be mentally calculating the possibilities.

If she had been the one to encounter that enemy group...

Perhaps she would not have been able to escape with only a few injuries.

The fact that Monak was still alive meant that he possessed enough abilities to preserve his own life in an extremely unfavorable situation.

Then Lyra turned her attention to Ruby.

— And you? What was the strength of the enemies you encountered?

Ruby answered naturally:

— We encountered two. A Pseudo-Mage and a standard Level 3 Acolyte.

She pointed at the corpse.

— We created a plan to separate the two. We lured the Pseudo-Mage away and ambushed the Acolyte when she was alone.

Ruby then smiled.

— George and I cooperated to kill her.

I remained silent.

Technically, she was not lying.

We really had cooperated.

But I noticed something amusing.

The moment Ruby mentioned my name, practically everyone ignored my participation.

I could not blame them.

To them, I was a Level 2 Acolyte with less than ten points of mana and only a few spells.

The idea of someone like me directly participating in a battle between Level 3 Acolytes simply seemed absurd.

If they knew what I had actually done in that battle...

Perhaps their expressions would have been quite different.

It was at that moment that Monak finally noticed the female corpse beside Ruby’s feet.

His eyes widened.

— This woman!

His voice suddenly rose.

— She... she was among the four who attacked us!

Everyone looked at him.

Monak pointed at the corpse.

— After Adrian and I separated and fled in different directions, two Pseudo-Mages went after me.

— This girl and another Pseudo-Mage pursued Adrian.

He clenched his teeth.

— I only managed to escape after an extremely difficult battle.

His explanation was somewhat vague.

But no one pressed him.

In fact, I could imagine what had probably happened.

Monak realized that the situation was hopeless.

So he decided to flee alone.

Dividing the pursuers was a perfectly rational way to increase his own chances of survival.

Some might consider that abandonment.

But, in that world...

Who could really judge him?

If I were in a situation where staying beside another person meant dying together with them, I would probably do exactly the same thing.

Adrian had failed to escape.

That was a cruel consequence.

But in the end, it was also his responsibility.

He had accepted a Red Mission without possessing a truly safe way to preserve his own life.

After gathering the information brought back by the two teams, Lyra finally managed to form an approximate picture of the enemies.

Three Pseudo-Mages.

The first followed the path of bloodline mages.

His bloodline was extremely dangerous: the Shadow Cobra.

The second followed the path of summoner mages, probably a subclass of dark priests.

His specialty consisted of using wands to create miracles with frightening combat power.

The third was an elemental mage.

His main affinity was Wind.

I remained silent as I listened.

Three enemies.

Three different paths.

And all of them seemed quite dangerous.

.

.

.

.

.

When we finally returned to the Kar-Dur Magic Tower, we brought with us the information obtained during the mission.

We also handed over the enemy Acolyte’s corpse.

Official Mage Pretel received the reports.

And, after verifying the information, distributed the corresponding rewards.

Monak also received his share.

Despite being ambushed on the way back and nearly losing his life, he had managed to return and complete the mission.

As for Ruby...

She received something different.

A special reward directly from the hands of Official Mage Pretel.

But no one found out exactly what she received.

The distribution was carried out in absolute secrecy.

When we were about to leave, Pretel finally spoke.

His voice was low and carried a pressure that made all of us stop.

— Little Acolytes...

He looked at us one by one.

— Do not make the mistake of believing that you are veterans simply because you managed to survive a single journey into the Subterranean World.

— On the next mission, the difficulty will be even greater.

— The frequency of enemy attacks will increase. You will encounter much more dangerous situations.

— Only those who are cautious and prepared will be able to live for a long time.

— Therefore, make the most of the few days of rest you have been given.

Pretel smiled strangely.

— Otherwise, perhaps you will not be so lucky on the next journey.

— Ah, and one more thing.

Pretel raised the reports we had handed over.

— The information you brought back is useful.

— I will hand it over to the hunting team.

— I guarantee that those who attacked you will not have a peaceful journey back to their own base.

— Hahahaha...

When I heard that, I finally understood.

There was something hidden behind that entire mission.

We were not simply a group sent to explore.

We were part of a strategy.

And at that moment, I began to understand why there were some teams composed almost entirely of veterans.

We were the bait.

The new teams were sent to explore dangerous regions and, inevitably, ended up attracting the attention of outlaw Acolytes.

When those enemies bit the bait and revealed their positions...

The real predators appeared.

Rustil’s team, that rogue who fought using two daggers, probably served precisely that role.

I looked at Monak.

His face was partially deformed by the effects of the curse.

Even so, his eyes were filled with hatred.

He clenched his right fist.

Then a savage smile slowly appeared on his face.

...

1535 Words

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