Active skills sealed.
It's one of the worst penalties, no need to elaborate.
Well, it's still better than being blind like Jas Kala.
'I'd rather have lost an arm like Didi...'
It was a penalty that significantly reduced my combat power, to the point where I thought losing an arm would have been more advantageous.
But it couldn't be helped.
That's the roll of the dice I got.
I could only hope that they got screwed over too.
'Besides... it's not that bad, except for my penalty.'
The [Soul Extraction] phase was quite tricky.
I had stumbled a bit, but I managed to regain my balance, so it seed like I didn't lose any limbs.
It was especially difficult for mages and ability users. They were damage dealers, so they must have landed the final blow on many enemies. Now they had to fight alone, without their tanks.
But...
"How are you feeling? Any injuries?"
'Thankfully, they're all good people.'
"I-I don't know..."
Both priests were safe.
Erwen seed a bit dazed.
Three out of the four mages had woken up, and only Akuraba was still unconscious among the ability users.
Did sothing happen inside?
I didn't pry.
I had to figure out their penalties first.
'Maybe the mages who spent a lot of ti in the Mage Tower were more resistant to the ntal attack.'
'Damn it.'
We were lucky, considering the circumstances.
We had been on the sa expedition, but I didn't know anything about their past lives.
I continued testing the penalties, and then I sighed deeply.
Thud, thud.
My heavy footsteps echoed through the ice cave.
We were moving away from the entrance of the Eye of the Glacier, and then I felt a movent on my shoulder.
"Mister..."
"You're awake..."
I gently lowered Erwen to the ground, feeling a wave of relief.
'Eighth...'
Unfortunately, Erwen was also unlucky.
「Erwen Fornachi di Tersia's resource recovery is restricted.」
All resource recovery disabled.
In other words, she could only consu MP and Spirit Power, but couldn't replenish them.
"...Conserve your energy unless it's absolutely necessary."
"Y-yes... I'm sorry..."
"Don't apologize. It's not your fault. I'm just glad you're awake."
As ti passed, the other mbers woke up one by one.
"I apologize for the burden. I can walk now."
lend Kaislan had received a minor penalty.
"Ugh...! What the...?"
Raviyen touched her sword and flinched, as if she had been electrocuted. She had received a weapon restriction penalty.
"Um... why isn't anyone talking?"
Tsuon Iribun, the archer from the 5th Team, had lost his hearing.
And...
"That was... a horrible place."
Akuraba's face was pale with fear.
'Two left...'
Twenty-five minutes had passed since the [Soul Extraction] phase began, and only two mbers were still unconscious.
Alia and Mckelly Leyaders, the mage from the 2nd Team.
"Please wake up..."
The team mbers looked at them with anxious expressions.
I was also worried.
'Why isn't she waking up...?'
She wasn't dead.
Her heart was still beating.
Thump, thump.
The tension was unbearable.
And then...
"Mckelly, there's only one minute left. Please wake up..."
One minute until the end of the [Soul Extraction] phase.
"Hmm..."
"...Emily!"
Alia finally opened her eyes.
And...
"...Damn it."
The other one didn't.
________________________
Eighteen survivors.
But the number of those who could fight was much lower.
Many of us, including myself, had received significant penalties. Our combat power had been reduced by more than half.
But...
'What about them?'
Just like happiness is relative,
So is misfortune.
「The Glacier Witch, Kariadaea, gains new powers proportional to the number of souls absorbed.」
Thirty minutes had passed, and the second phase had ended.
How many of them had survived? And what penalties had they received?
'I hope they all died fighting the boss monster...'
Well, that's not going to happen.
Kariadaea doesn't chase her enemies outside the Eye of the Glacier.
They must have escaped by now.
'Dragonslayer... I wonder what happened to him.'
Maybe he's dead.
He was the one who killed the Dragonkin elder.
He had only won because he ambushed her. If they had fought in a normal situation, he would have lost.
Well, I'm being biased.
'Wait a minute...'
I suddenly freeze as I'm thinking about the Dragonslayer.
'Damn it, then Dwarkey must have appeared in his illusion too!'
I feel a surge of disgust.
And then I realize...
The people who appeared in my illusion... they were all precious to soone.
I open my eyes.
Crackle!
A warm fire.
A priest kneels before the flas, praying.
The other mbers stand in silence, their heads bowed.
It's a small comfort.
We have ti to mourn our fallen comrade.
Crack, crack, crack!
The flas, fueled by the mages' magic, consu the flesh and bones.
The remaining bones are enchanted with Distortion magic and crushed into powder, stored in pouches.
A small comfort for the bereaved families.
"..."
The short funeral ends.
The fire dies down, and the warmth fades away.
It's ti to face reality.
"...Yandel, what are we going to do now?"
Kaislan asks, and everyone looks at .
My plan only covered up to this point.
Escape the Eye of the Glacier after waking up from [Soul Extraction].
I didn't give them any further instructions.
But...
"If we create enough distance, we might be able to survive until the labyrinth closes."
Kaislan's expression is grim, even as he suggests a hopeful plan.
He must have guessed my thoughts.
That's why he brought it up first.
To make it easier for to speak.
"But Yandel, you know... even if we escape, it's a dead end."
"D-dead end? What do you an? We're safe now, aren't we?"
One of the explorers asks, his voice trembling.
"You said we could survive until the labyrinth closes! What else is there to worry about?"
I'm sorry to break it to them, but we haven't crossed the final hurdle yet.
That's why I called it a 'gamble'.
"..."
Kaislan looks at , and I smile wryly.
He's competent, but I can't leave this to him.
"We're not running. Or rather, we can't run."
My words stun the explorers.
Their eyes are filled with shock and confusion.
"...Why?"
The reason is simple.
"The enemies who attacked us from behind were the Rose Knights."
"You're saying we can't escape them?"
"No, that's not it."
"Then what do you an...?"
They don't seem to understand, so I continue.
The royal family has a prepared excuse.
They'll say sothing happened to the main force, that they couldn't rescue us.
They'll pretend everything is fine.
And...
Our only hope is to play along.
"Play along? What do you an?"
"If we pretend we don't know we've been abandoned, the royal family won't resort to extre asures."
It's a cowardly plan, but it's all I have.
"But we can't use that thod anymore."
"..."
"The mont the Rose Knights reported the incident, the royal family decided to eliminate us."
"...Maybe they'll try to negotiate with us to silence us."
Hmm, that's a possibility.
But...
"Do you really think so?"
There's no answer.
Soone asks another question.
"So what are we going to do? We have to escape this place if we don't want to die here."
It's Puta Rikerburn, the explorer from the Keallunus family.
I'm surprised, but also amused.
"I didn't expect you to say that. You were so pessimistic before."
"You dragged us all the way here. Do you think I'm going to give up after all that?"
"Don't be so sensitive. It was a complint. And I never said we were giving up."
"Ah..."
He realizes his mistake, and I continue.
"Don't worry. I have a plan."
"A plan?"
"Yes. If no one survives, who will know what happened here?"
They might suspect us, but suspicion is different from evidence.
That's why...
"We're going to kill them all. Noark and the Rose Knights."
From now on, we have to cover the sky with our hands.
_______________________
Escape?
Or fight?
The decision was made quickly.
"I... I don't know what the right choice is."
"Haha, it's nothing new. It's always been like this."
"But he always made a decision."
"I trust Bjorn Yandel's judgnt. That's my choice."
"I agree. It might seem cowardly, but it's easier for to follow soone else's lead."
Once the expedition force reached a consensus, everything beca clear.
We wandered through the cave, setting up detection magic and hunting monsters for food.
"This... actually tastes good."
Monster at wasn't bad.
Well, so of them were inedible, but most were surprisingly palatable.
"I'd rather sell these byproducts. They're worth a fortune."
"It can't be helped. We have to travel light."
We reluctantly discarded the valuable byproducts we had obtained through Distortion magic.
We couldn't afford to carry extra weight when we had to carry our injured comrades.
Half a day later.
"Yandel! Yandel!"
Marone, the mage from the 5th Team, rushes towards .
She only acts like this when...
"Did the detection magic activate?"
"Yes, yes...! It did!"
Her news could be categorized into three types.
First, the good news.
"It was the Rose Knights! Only seven of them!"
Their numbers had decreased significantly.
They must have suffered heavy casualties.
"How were they doing?"
"Well..."
Second, the ambiguous news.
"They all looked fine... maybe one of them was limping slightly?"
Unlike our expedition force, where a third of the mbers had received significant penalties, they seed to have been lucky.
Well, we couldn't be sure yet.
"A-anyway, that's not the important part!"
And finally, the bad news.
The worst possible news.
"I-I don't know why, but... they're moving with Noark!"
Oil and water had mixed.
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