Chapter 13

Chapter 13. Raid Leader

***

"That thing is a mirror."

My voice cut through the air of the forest.

The Hunters of Group C, who had been backing away in terror, all looked at me at once.

Their eyes held doubt, confusion, and desperation, as if they wanted to grasp even a straw.

"A mirror...?"

"Are you sure?"

"I arrived first and watched the groups ahead fight."

Given the circumstances, it was not a lie.

I really had watched from up in a tree.

I jerked my chin toward the Mirror Golem.

"That thing does not reflect magic. It absorbs it. Then it amplifies it and sends it back. You saw the scorch marks on the ground, right? It ate fire magic and spat it back out."

"Absorbs it? Then we cannot use magic at all?"

The Hunter holding a staff asked with a tearful expression.

To a mage, being forbidden from using magic was no different from a death sentence.

"No. I am saying not to fire blindly. If you do not know the pattern, you will destroy yourselves."

The murmuring grew louder.

Everyone had grasped the situation, but because they did not know the solution, they were floundering.

Physical attacks bounced off, and magic was absorbed. From a rookie's point of view, it was nothing short of a wailing wall.

I turned my gaze to Lee Seong-chan.

He was silently tightening the straps on his shields.

He did not look like he had any intention of running away. He simply seemed unable to calculate how to fight.

He had leadership, but he lacked experience and information.

'I just need to take the wheel.'

I steadied my breathing and spoke in a quiet but clear voice.

"May I take command?"

There was a brief silence, but no opposition.

"Please do, Mr. Do-jin."

Lee Seong-chan was the first to bow his head.

The other Hunters agreed one after another.

Command had passed to me.

"Good. I will organize the raid party."

A familiar sensation awakened.

The memory of commanding hundreds of raids as Blade Guild's vice-captain before my regression.

A tactical map was quickly drawn inside my head.

***

"There is one basic principle. Aggro distribution."

I drew a simple formation diagram on the ground with a branch.

"It is strong, but it is slow. And once it chooses a target, it has the habit of chasing them persistently. We need to use that."

I took out my smartphone.

I opened the [Hunter Messenger] app and created a group chat.

In an instant, the five survivors of Group C were invited.

[Glass Shard]

Tank: Paladin (main aggro)

Strikers: Warrior A, Warrior B (physical impact / balance disruption)

Ranger: Archer C (vision obstruction / joint attacks)

Support: Mage D (trigger induction)

"I sent it by text. Check it."

Everyone stared down at their phones as if spellbound.

Specific and systematic role division.

I had included action guidelines down to the second.

"The golem's surface is like reinforced glass. When it has no scratches at all, it is close to physically immune. But once it starts to crack, it crumbles all at once."

I pointed at the exact center of the golem's chest.

"Its weak point is the core inside its chest. Normally, it is covered by armor, but the moment it absorbs magic, the armor opens for heat dissipation."

Lee Seong-chan let out a sound of realization.

"Ah, so we deliberately make it cast absorption, force the armor open, and then strike the core... Is that it?"

"Exactly. However, the magic has to be fired at minimum output. If it gets full, it fires Breath, but if you feed it just enough to register, it will just open its armor."

He understood quickly.

Well, the explanation was easy.

The eyes of the Hunters around me changed.

It probably felt as if a door had appeared in a wall that had seemed impossible to break through.

The moment fear turns into certainty, a rabble becomes a team.

"From now on, move only on my signal. Acting on your own means annihilation. Understood?"

Everyone nodded at once.

"We begin in five minutes. Check your equipment."

The Hunters each maintained their weapons and prepared for the raid.

After a moment, Lee Seong-chan approached me.

"Mr. Do-jin... I was a little surprised."

"At what?"

"Your strategy briefing. That was the sort of briefing an active professional Hunter would give. Could you perhaps..."

He narrowed his eyes and stared at me.

"This is not your first time, is it? Have you worked as a Hunter somewhere?"

"I have just read a lot of strategy posts on the community boards."

"Come on, that is a lie. You can get a raid party like this from community boards? I am on my third attempt, and my legs are still shaking."

He laughed amiably.

But behind that laugh was serious respect.

"I do not usually praise people unless they deserve it... but I can feel it from you, Mr. Do-jin."

"Feel what?"

"The qualities of an S-rank."

"Not at all."

"No! You are too modest."

An S-rank Hunter.

It was not a title given simply because someone had high combat power.

An eye for reading the battlefield, the command ability to lead comrades as brothers-in-arms rather than chess pieces, and the boldness not to break before a crisis.

Only when all of that came together could someone reach that level.

Lee Seong-chan knew that instinctively.

Because he, too, possessed those qualities.

'Why do I not remember this man?'

I had never heard or seen his name before my regression, but maybe back then, he had died in an accident or been buried before he could ever see the light.

But this life might be different.

"You are overpraising me. Please get ready."

"Yes, sir! Just leave it to me. When it comes to taking hits, I will do it perfectly."

Lee Seong-chan patted his shields reassuringly and returned to his position.

I stepped back and quietly called Airi.

"Airi. Limit my skill output to 2%."

[Confirmed. Setting Limit.]

If I stepped in at full power, the strategy would lose its meaning.

They had to grow.

If they could not overcome even this much, this would be where they ended.

***

"We are entering."

At my signal, Lee Seong-chan stepped forward.

He took a deep breath and tightened his grip on his shields.

"Grant me the strength to protect my comrades!! [Aegis's Protection]!"

WOOONG—!

White particles of light condensed over the wooden shield.

It was not simple Aura.

It was unique energy mixed with divine power.

The light spread outward and formed a translucent dome-shaped energy field.

An advanced skill that possessed not only defensive power, but also elasticity that softened and repelled physical impacts.

'He has the fundamentals.'

That skill was a blessed talent for a tank.

But sharpening talent took effort.

Breaking through the trap zone had not been luck.

"Look over here, you lump of metal!"

Lee Seong-chan shouted and threw his shield.

No, rather than saying he threw it, it would be more accurate to say he fired the energy field.

PAANG—

A white disc of light flew out as it spun.

The sound of it slicing through the air was sharp.

Its trajectory reminded me of the shield throw of a superhero film protagonist.

BOOM!

It struck the Mirror Golem square in the face.

A heavy impact.

The giant that had been lowering its head reacted.

Grooooo—!

A tearing sound like twisting metal.

The thing raised its head.

A tiny scratch had appeared on its once-smooth facial surface.

The damage was minimal, but the aggro had definitely been drawn.

THUD! THUD!

The golem turned its body toward Lee Seong-chan.

The ground shook.

Its right arm bent like a whip, then slammed down toward Lee Seong-chan.

"It is coming."

My low instruction reached them like radio communication.

Lee Seong-chan raised his auxiliary shield.

[Aegis's Protection] overlapped.

KABOOOM!

A shockwave burst out.

Lee Seong-chan's feet dug into the ground.

But he was not pushed back.

Two legs endured through clenched teeth.

The muscles in his arms bulged as if his veins were about to burst.

"Gaaaaah! It hurts like hell! But I can handle it!"

Lee Seong-chan screamed.

Excellent.

If the tank holds, the damage dealers dance.

"Enter, strikers."

At my hand signal, the two warriors who had been hiding shot out.

Left and right blind spots.

One carried a war hammer, and the other a mace.

I had made them switch to weapons that crushed instead of weapons that cut.

Because mirrors were not cut. They were broken.

THUD! WHACK!

Dull impacts burst out one after another.

They struck the golem's knee joints and ankles.

The sound of shattering glass rang out.

Spiderweb-like cracks spread across the smooth white outer shell.

"Grooo..."

The golem staggered.

The unexpected blows sent it into confusion.

Its movement paused as it calculated whether to strike the tank in front of it or catch the rats attacking its legs.

"Grooooo—!"

The enraged golem raised both arms high above its head.

An expected pattern. Phase 2.

The motion that prepared the wide-area tremor, [Earthquake], which devastated the surroundings.

If the strikers took that head-on, their bones would be crushed.

But I calmly measured the timing.

"It has taken the bait. Begin."

No sooner had the order fallen than a sharp sound burst from the rear.

FWIP—

The ranger fired the arrow she had already set to her bowstring.

The target was the golem's face.

The mana pouch attached to the arrowhead struck it squarely between the brows.

PAANG—

[Fog Shot]

Thick white fog swallowed the golem's head.

With its vision blocked, the golem did not panic and slammed its fists down as planned.

KABOOOM!

The ground flipped as if an earthquake had occurred.

The shockwave stretched out in every direction.

The power was tremendous, but the point of impact was absurdly off.

It pounded empty air, no, bare ground where no one stood.

Lee Seong-chan and the strikers had already thrown themselves into a safe zone before the tremor even began.

Watching the giant flail in the fog, the corners of my lips lifted.

'Everyone survived, no injuries.'

Perfect.

Lee Seong-chan's tanking, the strikers' impacts, and the ranger's support.

It was a rhythm as if they had coordinated dozens of times.

Now only the finish remained.

"Mage, get ready."

"Y-Yes!"

The female mage beside me raised her staff.

Her fingertips were trembling.

A blue chill slowly gathered at the end of the staff.

The problem was her breathing.

It was short and rough.

Because of that, the wave of her mana was also swaying unstably.

If she fired like that, she would miss.

If her luck was bad, she could provoke the golem for no reason.

"Relax."

I quietly approached her.

Then I lightly placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You need to loosen up."

"B-But!"

She flinched and looked up at me.

Her pupils were shaking.

I lowered my voice further.

"Do not push your mana out with force."

"......"

"Exhale it as thinly as possible. Lightly, like breathing."

I looked at the end of her staff and continued speaking.

"A 1st Circle Ice Bolt is enough."

I had seen cases like this countless times before my regression.

Back when I taught rookie mages in the guild.

People whose breathing collapsed before their mana did.

You must not scold people like that.

They become more rushed.

They grip harder.

And in the end, they make the mana explode.

"Now."

Without taking my hand off her shoulder, I said,

"Breathe out first."

"Hoo... Hoo..."

"Good."

Little by little, the trembling diminished.

"And the hand holding the staff."

I pointed briefly toward her wrist.

"Do not grip it tightly. Hold it lightly."

Through my hand, I guided the minute flow of mana.

Her trembling subsided.

Once her breathing stabilized, the mana gathered at the end of the staff became clear and transparent.

"...There!"

Pshk.

A pathetically small ice arrow flew out.

Its speed was slow too.

But the golem's body was so large that there was no chance of missing.

Tap.

The shard of ice touched the golem's chest.

Damage: zero.

But the thing's "mirror" attribute reacted immediately.

Sensing a magical attack, it activated its absorption mechanism in order to reflect it.

Sssss.

The golem's surface rippled.

Its grayish body was dyed cold blue in an instant.

Then, to discharge it, the chest armor began to clatter open.

Creeeak—

The thick armor plates spread left and right.

Inside them, a mana core emitting a crimson light revealed itself.

Its heart.

"Good, it opened!"

Everyone cheered.

Lee Seong-chan adjusted his grip on his shield and prepared to charge.

"Huh?"

The ranger's startled voice rang out.

"It is... covering its core!"

"What?"

"D-Damn it!"

The golem's movement was strange.

Before the armor could finish opening, it lifted its left arm and blocked its chest.

As if protecting the core.

Learning ability? Or evolution?

It was a pattern that could not be seen in an ordinary Mirror Golem.

'A named individual?'

No.

For something released on an exam site, its intelligence was too high.

It was definitely a custom summoned creature that had been tuned.

I did not know who that thing's master was, but they had to be a real sick bastard.

If it covered the core with its arm, then no matter how hard we hit it, only the arm would break, and the core would remain safe.

There was no angle for a decisive blow.

The Hunters faltered in panic.

Taking advantage of that opening, the golem amplified its mana.

Preparing to discharge.

Its plan was to keep the core covered and pour mana out through the exhaust ports on its back.

If that detonated, an omnidirectional shockwave would occur.

Lee Seong-chan and the warriors nearby would be swept away.

"W-What do we do?!"

The faces of the Hunters around me began to go pale.

There was no time to dodge.

'Well, look at this.'

An unexpected variable.

That actually made it more interesting.

But it was only at this level that it could be called an exam, was it not?

It was my turn to step in.

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