Editor 68

The Queen’s Garden (5)

Arthur was the first to draw his sword.

“All right then, Ishiel and I will cover you and get you inside, Ray? Chel will stand guard outside.”

“That’s right. I’ll open the circle after getting as close to the ‘Master Clock’ as possible. I’ll burn everything within the circle, so just take care of the ones outside it. Got it?”

Chel, curious about Cleio’s unusually proactive attitude, quickly figured out the reason.

“You always hold back, but now you just don’t care about anything because you want to lie in bed. Ray, you really are an easy person to read.”

“Yeah, I just want to soak in hot water and sleep for thirty-six hours.”

Cleio opened his wallet in advance and took out a few pieces of magic ore bronze and cast iron, dividing them between both pockets. He couldn’t make the same mistake as with Barg.

He also carefully checked the remaining ether.

‘I should be fine to fire off two big shots.’

.

.

.

Shwooook!

Shaaak!

A sword aura, twice the length of the blade, flashed sharply.

Arthur’s clear strike cut through three thorny stems at once.

The monster’s bodily fluids burst out into the hot, humid air.

Above his head, the massive frond of a palm tree swung like a scythe.

Kaang! Kakakakakang!

Ishiel, who had cut the vine grabbing her ankle, soared up and slashed the frond above Arthur’s head.

Inside the greenhouse, it felt like a nightmare jungle.

There were so many monsters packed in that it was impossible to check all their names.

[Promise] also overloaded. Instead of searching for weak points, they decided to quickly cut through the encroaching branches as they advanced.

Arthur, who was in the lead, shouted.

“We can’t get any farther! There are thick roots ahead! Ray, can you break the clock?”

“Yeah! Both of you, come to me now!”

With [Perception] on, his sense of distance became precise.

Thanks to Arthur and Ishiel’s hard-fought progress, the exact center of the greenhouse was finally within circle range.

The two, fighting off clinging branches and vines, bravely drew closer.

Cleio opened the circle.

The formula he recalled wasn’t [Defense]. You couldn’t cast [Spear of Achilles] with [Defense] on.

It was impossible for Cleio, as he was now, to double-cast such a massive spell.

So he had to drive back the monsters with overwhelming force to create a chance to cast his spell.

Ishiel and Arthur stood back to back behind Cleio.

Their body heat, raised from breaking through the greenhouse, could be felt even through several layers of clothing. The stench of blood and the acid from the monsters clogged his nose.

He had to finish quickly.

Cleio took out a piece of magic ore cast iron from his pocket and tossed it upward. Before the monster’s branches could snatch it, he raised his wand high.

A magic circle combining four formulas—[Attribute Amplification], [Ignition], [Tracking], [Acceleration]—rose from the floor, where the monsters’ roots writhed.

Cleio’s voice, wrung out with the last of his strength, rang out inside the greenhouse glass.

“[Armed angels! With fearless assault, pursue them to the ends of the sky! Let the chaos of flame await their fall!]2)”

It was an incantation recited to surely finish the monsters.

Within that radiant light, the cast iron thrown into the air resonated with the incantation and shattered into countless fragments.

Empowered by [Attribute Amplification] and [Ignition], they burst forth like sparks from smelting iron in the dark greenhouse.

‘It’s exactly like what I saw in the spellbook!’

Magic ore cast iron, when used with [Ignition], scatters like sparks, emitting heat and light. The ore itself possessed the fire attribute. He didn’t know why, just memorized it.

Scarlet flames charged through the monster stems rushing to devour Cleio, Arthur, and Ishiel.

No longer could the tough stems harm the three.

Kugugugugugu!

Sssssss!

[Tracking] gave the sparks direction.

With [Perception] heightened to the extreme, the trajectories of thousands of sparks were engraved in his senses. This level of fine control made it a spell combination rarely used.

But for Cleio, borrowing the power of ‘Promise,’ it was no challenge.

The fire of the cast iron wouldn’t extinguish until the enemy was neutralized. The small but powerful iron flames burrowed into the stems of monsters within the circle.

The feather-shaped embers of light were relentless pursuers. The scarlet flames were reflected in the greenhouse’s hazy glass.

It was a magnificent sight.

Clack.

Arthur lowered the tip of his sword to the floor. The gesture was like a kind of respect for the great magic.

No more attacks were needed.

Every monster within the circle, from ceiling to underground, was wrapped in the pursuing fire and dying.

“This magic is…”

“It’s [Fire of the Principality Angel].”

Cleio, who had wiped away a sudden nosebleed with the back of his hand, quickly took magic ore bronze from his pocket.

His ether was now nearly depleted.

It was time for the last spell.

Just as he prepared [Spear of Achilles] again—

Clang! Crash!

A rush of cold air swept in.

The back wall of the greenhouse shattered beyond the monsters.

There was no time to figure out what happened.

Either way, breaking the Master Clock would dispel the ‘Remembered World.’ Rather than waste time assessing the situation, Cleio tried to raise a spell again.

Sssssst!

A long, reptilian tentacle shot out at incredible speed, attacking Cleio.

“Ray!”

Arthur, urgently pushing Cleio aside, cut through the tentacle.

Cleio, who had no athletic ability at all, rolled helplessly across the floor.

“Ugh!”

The ashes left by the dead plant monsters hadn’t yet disappeared from the floor.

Rolling through them, Cleio was a mess. His mouth filled with fishy-tasting dust.

The magic ore bronze flew far from his hand, and he twisted his wrist, which still clutched the wand tightly even as he fell. Cleio reflexively clutched his injured wrist.

Right in front of him, a snake-tail-like thing writhed, oozing purplish blood.

A stench like rotting lake water and grass exploded out.

‘Why is there an animal-type monster in the “Queen’s Garden”?’

This hadn’t happened in the previous manuscript.

His back began to tremble. Cleio tried not to panic and quickly activated [Detachment].

He braced for overload. His head buzzed, and the nosebleed that had stopped surged up into his throat.

At the same time, a forced calm quieted his pounding heart.

Kukukung!

Chel must have done something; the sound of magic ore exploding continued.

Chaechaechaeng! Clang!

All the greenhouse glass shattered. Sharp shards rained down as if to pierce the three of them.

Cleio instinctively raised a defensive barrier.

Chaechaechaechaeng!

Glass fragments endlessly battered the outside of the hemispherical shield.

Arthur shouted.

“I hear Chel’s voice. She says there’s a monster mass in the lake! Ishiel, protect Ray!”

“Understood!”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Arthur leapt over the plant monsters’ branches and roots and ran outside the greenhouse.

Cleio, unable to stop him, turned pale.

‘No, you can’t!’

His view opened up beyond the broken, twisted greenhouse wall.

From the shallow lake behind the greenhouse, a mass of brown and green tentacles was crawling out.

[Lake Ilyeong (泥?).

—Classification: Monster

—Level: 7]

Srrrrr— Srrrr—

It was like watching a slow-motion video. [Perception] and [Detachment] stretched the flow of time to the limit.

The golden light of ‘Promise’ seeped into the middle of the monster mass in the lake. That must be the weak point, but knowing didn’t mean you could catch it at this level!

‘A level 7 monster! What is this! What the hell is this!’

The first dungeon’s difficulty was abnormally high.

If Cleio hadn’t come, who knows what would have happened to Arthur fighting the level 7 ‘Lake Ilyeong.’

‘Arthur has a common skill, but it’s new and won’t help much! What is with this manuscript!’

That unheard-of mass of tentacles would have been deadly even for advanced knights, not the level 3 or 4 knights who’d entered so far.

Arthur, bloodied again despite the healing, kicked off the ground and drove a golden sword aura into the center of the tentacle mass.

Split in two by Beg’s sword, the tentacles flared and tried to seize Arthur’s limbs.

Arthur’s speed was always faster than the monsters.

But the mucus and blood sprayed by the tentacles stained Chel’s and Arthur’s exposed skin red.

Their skin began to shrivel as if burned.

The two, unfazed by pain, fought the monster fiercely, but couldn’t last long.

Tentacles kept appearing from the water. It looked like a mass of water worms.

Arthur was ahead, but even Chel, dragging one leg, never retreated from her position.

Above her head, as she cut the reaching tentacles, a new message appeared: [Level 4 Swordsman].

“Wow! My level went up! Instead of just feeling it in my head, here you see the message. Haha, maybe it means I’m supposed to kill you all!”

Clutching a sword stained with purplish blood, Chel hacked off the still half-submerged tentacle mass and leapt into the lake.

Kukwakwaang!

Chwaaaaa!

The monster’s momentum decreased.

In that gap, Ishiel tried to help the fallen Cleio up, but could only get him sitting.

Cleio, sprawled with his legs out, turned his head to the ceiling above and to the right.

Even now, the iron lattice casting the clock’s shadow was undamaged.

‘I have to break that…!’

The defensive magic formula was slowly fading.

Despite Arthur’s and Chel’s struggles, the grotesquely sprawling monsters surged back into the broken greenhouse.

Shuddering as if electrocuted, the monsters repeatedly crashed into the barrier.

“Ishiel. The [Defense] magic is about to go out. While I cast the spell to break the clock, hold them off for me.”

“…Leave it to me.”

Cleio took out a piece of magic ore bronze from his pocket. The barrier had used up almost all his ether.

‘But I have no choice.’

As the defensive magic lost its light, the monsters writhed, trying to envelop Ishiel and Cleio.

Shunk!

Sssst!

Ishiel, slashing sword auras around Cleio, cut off every single monster tip without missing.

Her speed was frightening, but there were always more tendrils than she could cut.

Ishiel’s clothes were ripped, and monster venom soaked her exposed shoulder.

Ssssss—!

Clenching her teeth, Ishiel gripped her sword in the other hand and finally hacked off the tentacles.

Cleio activated the magic formulas for [Attribute Amplification], [Throw], and [Acceleration]. A delicate formula rose from the floor.

“[He who brings uncountable calamities is enraged, so let the sharp bronze spear fall!]3)”

His throat, blocked with blood and hoarse with fatigue, made the incantation quiet. But ether faithfully carried out the mage’s declaration.

The bronze fragment, barely thrown due to his weakness, wobbled dangerously, then soared high, leaving a golden trail.

Tududuk!

Ishiel, endlessly cutting down the pressing tentacles, glanced back to check Cleio’s safety.

The frail boy, soaked in his own blood, was gazing upward.

The triple magic circles rising from the floor glowed like garlands, swirling around the boy.

At that moment, Ishiel Kishion was seized by an entirely inappropriate sentiment.

‘This boy’s magic… isn’t it too beautiful?’

Even though it possessed such overwhelming power.

Shweeeeeek—

Kukwakwakwaang!

There is only one spear falling from that great height.

The bronze blade shattered the ceiling’s ‘Master Clock’ and embedded itself in the center of the greenhouse floor.

At the same time, a tremendous amount of ether was drained.

Tududuk.

Cleio’s lap was stained anew with bright red blood.

Promise displayed the expected warning.

[—Insufficient ether remaining.]

The dungeon’s message and Promise’s strings tangled in confusion.

[—The ‘Master Clock’ of the ‘Remembered World’ has stopped. The ‘Queen’s Garden’ has lost temporal simultaneity.

—Reward: ‘Cape Coat of the Summer Greenhouse’ … ]

[? The user’s narrative intervention level has increased.

? The cumulative narrative intervention ratio is now confirmed: 23.1%

—Due to the increase in narrative intervention, the viewing error for bound items has been improved.]

His head rang like a bell from ether depletion. So much blood flowed that his front was soaked.

From Cleio’s limp hand, only ‘Promise’ shone hotly. It felt like his fingers were burning.

[—‘Cleio’s Promise’ is now completely bound to the user.

—In any world, ‘Cleio’s Promise’ will remain with the user. This declaration is irreversible.]

‘Cleio…?’

Ishiel caught Cleio as he collapsed.

Cleio didn’t even register the collapse of the ‘Remembered World’ or the chaos as the world fell apart.

His vision went dark.

2) Paradise Lost, John Milton, adapted.

3) Iliad, Homer, adapted.