Chapter 28: 28 Monster waves. 

The sky is calm, with a blazing orange hue that slowly turns darker every second pass. Jin whose belly is filled staring at the new quest that popped out earlier at noon. He pondered what had actually cost Nina this time since he already saved her mother once.

“No choice but to ask them directly!”.

Luckily, the two of them have been staying at his father’s mansion since yesterday. He was oblivious to the reason, but that could wait until later because there is a pressing matter that Jin needs to deal with fast.

Jin pulled the door and walked down the empty hallway. The air was thick and heavy, filling his entire mind with a sense of urgency. He looked around and found not a single soul in sight.

When he turned to the right, he bumped into one of the maid who was in distress.

“I am truly sorry. Young master?!”.

“What happened? Why did the place seem desolate?”.

“Um, earlier, your lordship received news that a monster wave was being detected in the south area, coming from the Dark Forest.”

“Monster Wave?!”.

As the name says, a Monster Wave is a large-scale invasion by monster hordes. They tend to raze everything that blocks their advanced path, burning it to ashes. This kind of event usually happens within a dungeon that has been left behind for years, accumulating many monsters inside.

However, this time, it happened in the Dark Forest, the most dangerous place on the continent. That place is also called a field dungeon for its complex maze of forest formation, a house for strong monsters roaming around, and last but not least, the place where the Evil God is sealed.

“Did father and mother also join the fray?” Jin asked further, to which the maid answered with a silent nod.

“…Um, young master?! Pardon me, but there is something I must do”.

“Ah, Sorry, you may leave!”.

The maid-servant bowed her head before walking away toward the end of the hallway. Jin averted his gaze and resumed his plan to visit Iris’ room.

As soon as he arrived at the door, he planned to knock, but the door itself was blasted open, revealing Iris, who was ready with her adventure outfit and bow, stood startled seeing Jin.

“Mrs. Iris?!”.

“Jin, what are you doing here?”.

A subtle awkward moment shrouded both of them before Iris shook her head to return to the task at hand. She closed the door and opened her mouth in a hurry.

“I’m sorry, Jin. But I have something to do”.

“Wait, Iris! Is this about the Monster wave?”.

Iris’ body stiffened as her eyes opened wide, hearing the word from Jin. She didn’t know how the information leaked, but it was also not a time for staying longer in the place; as a Gold-rank adventurer, Iris had a responsibility to protect the people and town as adventurers.

“Yes, I will be going now. Can you please take care of Nina while I am gone?”.

This situation turned out much better than it looked, and to think, Iris was the one who made the suggestion first.

“Okay, I will protect her!”.

Iris tilted her head and seemed to wonder what kind of serious atmosphere the boy was in. He had just been assigned to play with her daughter, but it put her mind at ease that Jin cared about her daughter as much as she did. Unconsciously, her stern gaze loosened, and her lips parted away, showing her charming smile.

“Thank you so much! Jin, after this, spare some of your time?. I have something to talk about, just the two of us!”.

“Eh? What do you mean?”.

Before Jin got an answer, Iris’s figure had dashed away, leaving him dazed and staring at her fluttering golden tail, which had disappeared from his sight. He glanced at the window and saw her running figure.

“Talk between us?”. Jin shook his head to dismiss his unnecessary thoughts and face the matter at hand.

However, despite everything proceeding smoothly, Jin still couldn’t grasp the immense discomfort that gnawed at his consciousness even now after seeing Iris’ figure disappear from the window above.

“Well, for now, I must take some precautions!”.

Jin runs toward his room and gets everything ready; he is wearing an adventure outfit, a bracelet with weapons loaded inside, and some provisions. He didn’t know that changing his clothes and getting back to a place in the same mansion could be this time-consuming.

Once he reached Iris’ room, Jin knocked on the door several times and shouted his name.

“Nina, I have come to play!”.

“…”.

“Nina?! Is she asleep?”.

He waited for a while before a chill ran down his skin, and dread washed over the blood on his face. Jin slammed the door open, and a gust of cold wind slammed to his face as he saw Nina, who was unconscious. A robed person was capturing her.

In an instant, his battle-hardened instinct kicked in. Jin summoned his Katan and cloaked his body in a green aura before lunging forward, ready to slash the opponent at any time.

[Elemental enhancement]

However, the man has prepared everything, as a black magic circle appears on every side of the room, above, below, and on both sides. From the magic circles, black miasma with corrosive attributes appears. It oozes like mud before it transforms into dozens of hands and shoots toward Jin’s body, restraining him.

“Kuh! Shit! Wake up, Nina! Who are you bastard?”.

“Khihiahahaha, to think that you still keep your spirit when facing me. As expected from the son of two famous adventurers”. An eerie smile hidden beneath those oversized robes crawled an intense goosebumps on Jin’s skin.

“Shut up! Release the kid this instant!”.

“Sorry, but this was the direct order from the above. I can’t do that, so goodbye!”.

“No, wait!”.

Jin’s emerald eyes flashed for a moment as he captured a faint black trace that stretched outside the window that would guide him toward the man. He focused his mind and commanded mana and the air around him to gather at his side.

[Sky Ruler: A title befitting someone who trains in Wind magic and Mana manipulation to a Transcendence state. Effect: Gain full control over the air and Mana in the atmosphere and can cast any spell in an instant as the person wants it]

A swirling wind began to form before it condensed into a single giant wind ball, ready to burst.

“Scatter!”.

*Boom, a sonic blast shattered every glass in the place as a hundredth of sharp slashes from compressed winds, tore apart everything that was within sight. The bed, closet, drawer, wall, and even the magic circles, there is nothing that can escape its wrath.

The commotion he caused attracted the attention of a servant who passed the hallway and soon hurriedly opened the door to see the wrecked room, and her young master was holding a weapon.

“…Yo, young master. …What is happening?”. Her words stammered as she couldn’t believe what was actually happening.

“I’m sorry about all of this! There is a man who kidnapped Nina. I will chase after him. I’m truly sorry, but please take care of the room!”.

Jin jumped off the second floor toward the garden on the side of the mansion. He scanned and utilized his eyes’ abilities, and he found the black trace still lingering in the atmosphere.

“I will save you, Nina!”.

*****

After arriving on the battlefield, Iris, who stood on top of the walls looking down on the knight army and Adventurer that stayed at the frontlines, shuddered upon hearing a loud howl from a beast that shook the land and air.

“Aah!”.

Iris closed both of her sensitive ears from the intense dizziness that assaulted her mind. She and the others also felt the aftereffects as they kneeled, clutching their heads.

The howl subsided, replaced by a rumbling buzz caused by the vibrating ground, which told of the incoming conflicts.

“Archer and mage prepare!”.

Lord Midnight issued his command, prompting Iris, who wielded a bow, to take an arrow and pull the string back. The same was true for the mage, who prepared their staff in front and began to cast their elemental magic.

From the green horizon appeared a growling howl from a group of monsters carrying thick dust that rose to the atmosphere.

*Gyaak!

Beasts and monsters marched forward one by one, approaching the barricade of walls built using earth magic. As the beast, who ran faster than others, arrived near the barricade, Iris and the other archer pointed their bow above.

“Release the arrows!”.

A command echoed; Iris and the other archers released the arrows as they made a parabola path before raining down on the beast and monsters below.

“Mage force attack!”.

The command came from a red-haired woman who stood imposingly in front of the mage corps, her hair fluttering gently while she cast dozens of fireballs that rained down on the approaching enemies.

Rainbow-colored magic began to blast the incoming horde to bits, and it raised another dust cloud that blocked the vanguard’s vision. Even though the bombardment had finished, the monster that seemed desperate about something jumped from the smoke, and it was time for the vanguard to act.

“Knights, protect the last line! Adventure, let’s exterminate the monster!” Ryan’s loud and clear command echoed throughout the battlefield, and the Adventurer responded with an excited shout about the free material the monster had given them.

“Charge!”.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep