The Pied Piper.
His name was Crown.
'A court musician, a court jester, and a court magician of the Lake Kingdom, right?'
His responsibilities were numerous. I scoffed inwardly.
This man was not that great of an NPC in the game.
Even when he occasionally intruded on the battlefield, he didn't directly engage in combat. He simply commanded monsters or debuffed the players' side.
But, there was one scene that I clearly remembered.
The final stage of this game.
He appeared in the first room of the last dungeon leading to the final boss.
But, without any combat ability of his own and given the strength of our party at the final stage, he was no significant opponent.
A few sword thrusts and he fell.
'Yes, these white-masked guys were those guys who appeared with him back then.'
These masked troops were his subordinates who appeared with the Pied Piper in the final stage.
But just like him, they were nothing special by the time of the final stage.
The later part of the game had far stronger and more terrifying enemies. I didn't pay much attention to this man and his minions.
But now - that enemy was blocking our way.
'And what did he say to me?'
Did he call me a player, just now?
Does this man understand this world's 'system'?
There were too many questions, but I asked the most urgent one first.
"Why are you opposing us? Can you tell us the reason?"
From the hands of the white-masked troops surrounding us, crossbows and bows sparkled.
They were drawn taut, ready to shoot at any moment.
Regardless of backstory, our priority was to avoid this immediate crisis.
To my surprise, Crown responded to my question.
"Your party is corrupting this city, trying to uncover the secrets of the kingdom. You don't even know the terrible darkness sleeping inside... I'm just trying to stop it."
Crown's voice grew heavier.
"We are the last defense force protecting the kingdom, the remaining remnants of the Lake Kingdom."
The men in white masks introduced themselves thusly.
"We are the Nightcrawlers."
Nightcrawlers.
Creeping through the night, they said.
"Anyone who tries to touch the darkness of this city, we will purge. You are merely our next targets."
As Crown raised his hand, the Nightcrawlers pulled their ranged weapons even tighter.
The moment that hand fell, a barrage of attacks would rain upon us.
'Dangerous!'
Completely surrounded and outclassed in level and gear.
If we take this volley, someone will die, or in the worst case, we could be wiped out.
'Time to play the cards I have!'
I widened my eyes.
It was time to use the new skill I had obtained without sparing.
[I use Command's Eye.]
["Please lock eyes with the skill target."]
The world around me slowed down for a moment.
In the midst of the bluish interface unique to skill usage, I looked around, locking eyes with each of the foes pointing weapons at us.
[Target Detected: 12 entities]
["Please state your command."]
The command shouldn't be too difficult. If it were, the skill's success rate would decrease.
It also couldn't be something highly stressful, like telling them to kill each other. That would surely increase their chances of resistance.
So, a simple command that could also help us escape!
"All of you..."
I stretched out my hand and shouted,
"Turn around!"
[Command Difficulty: Very Easy]
[Comparing your Intelligence stat with the target's Magic Power stat.]
[Determining success rate. Rolling for resistance...]
Next moment, a bluish flash burst from my eyes.
[Judgement Complete!]
>Successful: 7 entities
>Failed: 5 entities
[Executing forced command.]
Ugh!
I coughed up blood. It felt as though my Magic Power had been completely drained, a heaviness settling in my chest.
Such a powerful backlash for issuing such a simple command.
But my adversaries were all high-level NPCs, over ten of them. This level of recoil was perhaps expected.
Five resisted, but the command successfully affected more than half, seven in total.
Snap!
More than half of the encircling Nightcrawler squad members obediently turned around.
Crown, who had just been about to give the firing command, grumbled in disbelief.
"What the hell is this?"
The rest of the Nightcrawler squad also showed confusion at their colleagues' strange behavior.
Seizing this opportunity, I shouted,
"Run!"
My startled party members seemed to regain their composure at my voice. I pointed towards the center of the open field.
"Escape to the teleport gate!"
Beyond the bonfire, in the corner of the field.
A familiar pile of stones.
A teleport gate. If we could just get there, we could retreat safely outside the dungeon!
"I'll clear the way!"
Lucas was the first to charge.
Thump! Bam!
Lucas, swinging his fist and scabbard at the confused Nightcrawler squad member, opened up a path and ran.
Damien, Jupiter, and I immediately followed, with Evangeline bringing up the rear.
"Mind control, huh? This is getting quite interesting...!"
Crown shouted sharply.
"Fire, shoot! Don't let them get away!"
The ones unaffected by the command fired first, with the others regaining their senses a beat later, steadying themselves and raising their weapons.
Thud Thud Thud!
Arrows rained down like a storm. Watching the incoming volley of arrows, I shouted,
"Evangeline!"
"Leave it to me!"
With that, Evangeline hoisted her shield overhead and leaped into the air.
Ping! Ping-ping! Ting!
Evangeline managed to deflect the hail of arrows coming her way using her shield. If the shield wasn't enough, she swung her cavalry spear to clear the rest.
"Ha!"
Evangeline laughed triumphantly. Oh, she was good, our darling!
Then, I noticed a cannon aiming at us from afar, its fuse already lit. Desperation seized me, and I cried out,
"Damien!"
"Yes!"
Instead of his magic gun, Damien took out his crossbow.
In such a pressing situation, a crossbow with no recoil was far easier to handle than the powerful but unwieldy magic gun.
Boom-!
The cannon fired, and almost simultaneously, Damien shot his crossbow skyward.
Whoosh!
Damien managed to snipe the flying cannonball.
The arrow from his crossbow pierced the center of the cannonball with pinpoint accuracy, and
Crack-!
The cannonball exploded in mid-air.
It was an impossible feat, but Damien pulled it off effortlessly.
'We've got plenty of cheat characters here!'
I twisted my lips into a half-smile. The situation was still nerve-racking, but I could see a clear path to break through.
The teleport gate was now within reach.
If we could activate it, we could safely retreat and prepare for a counterattack!
Just then...
"That won't do."
I heard Crown's faint murmur.
"Stop them."
"Yes."
Turning around, I saw two NPCs standing by Crown's side, their hands outstretched.
Roar-!
Vast magic power swelled from their fingertips. I gritted my teeth.
"A wizard...!"
The next moment, the magic fired from their hands raced toward us.
One spell was wind, the other fire.
These two elements, when combined, would cause an updraft, greatly increasing their destructive power.
If hit directly, the combined spell would obliterate everything in its path, far more powerful than a mere cannonball.
If we fall, we die.
"Damn it!"
Almost in sync with my exclamation,
"Huuh!"
Jupiter spun around, a spark jumping from her monocle.
Flash-!
Crack-!
Lightning shot from Jupiter's hands.
She used the lightning in her left hand to stop the fire, and the one in her right to stop the wind.
The two spells were neutralized by Jupiter's magic before they could combine and amplify each other's power.
"Cough!"
Taking on the brunt of two wizards' spells, Jupiter coughed up blood. My eyes widened in shock.
"Jupiter!"
"Cough...! I can't hold it much longer, Your Highness! Hurry...!"
Whirl! Whirl...!
As the whirlwind and flames intensified, Jupiter's lightning began to falter.
Blood not only flowed from Jupiter's mouth but also her eyes and nose. I shouted at the NPC guarding the teleport gate.
"Damn it, clear the path, now!"
"Yes!"
Lucas brandished his sword fiercely, driving away the NPC guarding the teleport gate.
I rushed to place my hand on the teleport gate and activate it.
'Hurry, hurry!' I thought desperately.
A mound of rocks surged upwards, swirling into formation, and ultimately creating a magic portal.
[Teleport Gate]
- Please select a destination.
> Backyard of the Lord's Mansion
> Lakeside Pier
> The Dried Sewer
> Hidden Alley
> Northern Fortress
In haste, I chose the Backyard of the Lord's Mansion.
Whee-ing!
With a magical sound of operation, the gate opened.
Damien, supporting Jupiter, went into the gate first.
Following behind, I pushed myself into the gate while glaring back.
The legion in white masks - the Nightcrawlers stopped attacking, as if realizing they could not stop us.
They just stood still, watching us.
Among them, Crown was leaning back, staring at me.
I could not decipher what was going on behind the masked face.
The laughing face carved into the mask was simply unnerving.
"You're on my list, you flute-blowing son of a bitch."
It was a cliché line of third-rate villains, but I couldn't help it.
"I'll be back to take care of you."
Gritting my teeth and pointing my index finger, I threw myself into the gate.
Behind me, I saw Lucas and Evangeline rush in.
As I was sucked into the magic passage where the teleportation started, I touched my aching forehead.
Another enemy has emerged.
***
[Free Exploration Finished!]
[Level-up Characters]
- Ash(EX) Lv.22 (↑2)
- Lucas(SSR) Lv.36 (↑1)
- Evangeline(SSR) Lv.38
- Jupiter(SR) Lv.40 (↑1)
- Damien(N) Lv.30
[Deceased and Injured Characters]
- Jupiter(SR) : Severely injured
[Acquired Equipment]
- Screaming Robe(SR)
[Acquired Items]
- Gargoyle Legion's Magic Stones: 72
- Gargoyle Golden Magic Core(SR) : 1
- Golden Armor Fragments : 5
- Golden Room Key : 1