“A Siege Mission?”

Merlin was perplexed at the sudden mention of a siege, but then he recalled the conversation he overheard between Hanma and Adol. He also had a feeling that he’d heard something similar when he passed by the east boundary gate.

“I want to participate… do I need to return to the village?”

That wasn’t necessary. To the east of where he stood, about five kilometers away, a large group of monsters was gathered and beginning to mobilize.

“Those are…”

Since he was perched on the tall tower, Merlin was able to see the group of monsters. Even if he didn’t reinforce his sight with internal energy, his basic vision was still sharp. If it were only one or two mobs, Merlin might have had some trouble discerning them, but this was an entire corps of monsters, so he recognized them without any difficulty. Furthermore, among the gathered monsters, there were some that were the size of entire homes. After momentarily hesitating, Merlin realized that the monsters were heading towards Starting.

“I see. They’re not spawning near the village walls but moving towards them. DIO really is quite different from other games.”

As he muttered to himself, Merlin took out his bow and arrow. He had about sixty arrows on him.

Ping!

After releasing the drawn bowstring, an arrow shot into the air and soared in a neat parabola before falling into the large body of water. Merlin gauged that the maximum distance the arrow could fly was 110 meters; however, 60 meters was the maximum distance wherein he could accurately hit his target.

“Hmm, I didn’t think the range would be too long, but it’s quite short. It seems I won’t be able to attack them atop this tower.”

Merlin then tried to imbue the bow and arrows with his internal energy, but he soon found that the relatively poor quality of the wooden bow and arrows didn’t improve by much. Merlin was able to increase the range where he could hit targets to around 150 meters, so he did see some improvement, but the reservoir itself was 300 meters in length and width, so he wasn’t able to shoot beyond the limits of the reservoir.

“The range of this bow is terrible. I don’t want to blame everything on the quality of the gear, but… dang. I don’t even feel any pressure when I draw the bowstring….”

If he could stand on the 50-meter-tall tower and shoot beyond the limits of the reservoir, he’d be in quite an advantageous position. With the 300-meter-long body of water surrounding him and his spot 50 meters above the surface of the water, there was no better location for a sharpshooter. His enemies would have no chance against him.

“But my range is too short… I guess it can’t be helped.”

Complaining under his breath, Merlin jumped off the tower. This wasn’t something he would do in real life. Even if he landed in the water, he was still 50 meters above the surface. Jumping from this height was like jumping with a bungee cord in real life. If someone were to look down from a height of 50 meters, they would feel a sense of fear and dizziness, no matter how courageous they were.

However, Merlin didn’t feel any fear, which he found to be interesting. He thought, ‘Fear of heights comes from one’s physical body rather than one’s mind, right?’

“Well, I don’t have to leave the water entirely. If I were to battle, I would have a greater advantage in the water rather than on land.”

Having thought this far, Merlin placed himself about 20 meters within the boundary of the reservoir. He didn’t stand on the surface of the water because although he possessed the water attribute and affinity, standing atop the water would be a waste of his strength. Moreover, it wouldn’t help him in carrying out his ‘strategy,’ which he had just come up with. Instead of standing, Merlin decided to keep the lower half of his body within the water. He strung the quiver of arrows around him and raised his bow.

“Let’s see. My internal energy is… huh? 80 points? It increased this much already?”

His first planetary Golden Core held 20 years of internal energy, which meant he had 40 points in total. As such, the increase to 80 points was substantial. Other than constantly circulating his qi, Merlin hadn’t done any particular training, so he was left dumbfounded by the sudden increase.

“Damn. Since I have 20 points in magic power, I guess I’ve already reached my limit of 100 points. I thought I’d have some room for growth and improvement for a while, but I guess that’s not the case.”

Merlin had low expectations because he didn’t know how advanced he was in the Golden Pill Immortal Technique. He was currently in Level 7 of the Golden Pill Immortal Technique and had already opened up his first planetary Golden Core. Outside of his main core, the first planetary core operated as a whirlpool of internal energy, so it could quickly whip up and recover internal energy. This was what allowed Merlin to quickly progress to a single cycle. The only reason why his development was stunted was that Merlin was constantly feeding his internal energy to his spirit, but since he had fully rested while studying his magic, his internal energy had recovered at a rapid pace.

“I need to take the Level 3 test soon.”

As he said this, Merlin took out an arrow and placed it on his bowstring before drawing it back. The monsters had now reached a nearby location. It appeared as if they were programmed to start their offensive after they arrived at Starting, so they didn’t seem to notice Merlin’s presence.

“Let’s start with one.”

Bam!

The arrow shot forward and struck a bear directly in its eye, going straight through the Cram Bear’s eyes and brain. Instantly, the Cram Bear crumpled onto the ground. The surrounding monsters looked around in surprise after the unexpected attack, but Merlin had already released five additional arrows at that point.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Five or so monsters lifelessly crumpled to the ground as arrows pierced their body’s weakest points, such as their eyes and mouths. Though they had relatively high life points, Merlin’s attacks weren’t normal.

Boom!

The sound of an explosion rang out as a troll’s head exploded.

“Huh…?”

An orc deflected an oncoming arrow and was about to dash towards where the projectile came from, but it quickly fell to the ground and spat out blood. This was the effect of Qi Deviation, the aftereffect of being struck by the arrow.

Bam!

The sudden attack had caught the monsters off guard, but they soon got into formation and prepared for a counterattack. The [Warrior] class monsters lifted their respective weapons and started deflecting the oncoming arrows, and soon, a giant monster’s shadow passed by the others’ heads.

“Foolish being!”

“Huh? They can speak?!”

Though dumbfounded by the realization that the monsters could speak, Merlin calmly shot an arrow at the incoming enemy. The monster was like the tyrannosaurus that he had fought before, but this one had a hexagon-shaped magic circle on its forehead. It was a [Warrior] class tyrannosaurus mage.

Whoosh!

The arrow Merlin let loose moments ago was incinerated in an instant, and a wave of flames approached him, emanating immense heat. It wasn’t just a simple wave of fire; the heat from these flames could easily melt through an iron shield at first contact. 

“Ugh…!”

Merlin let out a whimper. Despite the short time it took to cast the wave of flames, their destructive quality was massive. Moreover, the flames rapidly rushed forward and covered a vast area, so there was no way for Merlin to avoid the attack. However, at the moment the fire reached him, the surrounding water rushed up to cover his body.

Bam!

As if a giant hand had grabbed onto him, Merlin moved 50 meters across the water in an instant. The speed at which he moved was over 300 kilometers per hour, so he effortlessly avoided the flame attack.

Bam!

The flames crashed onto the surface of the water and created a large amount of steam, which blurred the entire region. As it had expected its attack to hit its target, the tyrannosaurus mage was momentarily stupefied that its mark had disappeared, and it surveyed its surroundings. At that moment, an arrow flew towards one of its eyes.

“This cretin!”

The mage smoothly defended against the attack by putting up a magic barrier. This magic barrier was already at a level where it could withstand a barrage of low to mid-level projectile attacks, so a single arrow wasn’t an issue. However, Merlin’s arrow wasn’t just an ordinary arrow.

Boom!

“Ugh!”

The tyrannosaurus mage teetered. While it didn’t sustain a severe injury, the arrow had successfully punctured a hole through its magic barrier and hit him. Another arrow soon followed, taking advantage of the newfound opening. The arrow attack was precise as if it had been calculated down to the centimeter.

Bam!

Although it lost an eye, the tyrannosaurus mage was still a physically imposing and developed dinosaur, so it put aside its pain and rushed towards Merlin.

“Assist the leader!”

“Roar!”

Soon, ten other dinosaurs from various species followed after their mage leader into the reservoir. They had rushed in thinking that the reservoir was only a meter deep. After all, didn’t their enemy, Merlin, only have his lower body underwater?

Yet, their assumption proved to be wrong. The reservoir’s depth was 50 meters. Even though the dinosaurs were much larger than humans, they were still not tall enough to keep their heads above the surface while touching the floor of the reservoir. Meanwhile, Merlin watched the scene comfortably from the safety of the water.

“Hook, line, and sinker~! Eleven enemies in a single casting! What luck!”

Boosting his speed, Merlin navigated around the sharp teeth of the tyrannosaurus mage and moved towards its tail. He then stuck onto the tyrannosaurus mage’s back, an area that was difficult for the tyrannosaurus to reach. With that, he ‘plunged’ the tyrannosaurus mage into the water.

“What…?”

An unexpected freefall would cause anyone to feel bewildered. It was like expecting another step on a staircase when there wasn’t one. The tyrannosaurus mage expected to place its feet on firm ground when it jumped into the reservoir, but it didn’t feel anything. Furthermore, Merlin had utilized his water attribute to eliminate the friction and buoyancy of the water, so the tyrannosaurus mage was essentially sent into freefall. 

Bam!

The tyrannosaurus mage fell 50 meters and hit the stone flooring headfirst. It was a masterful strategy that employed Merlin’s water attribute. The monsters wouldn’t be put in danger just from falling into the water, so Merlin had come up with the idea of displacing all the water around the rushing tyrannosaurus mage. In other words, the tyrannosaurus mage didn’t just fall into the water; it had freefallen 50 meters onto the reservoir’s floor, much like falling off a cliff. 

“Next!”

Utilizing his booster, Merlin quickly approached the other dinosaurs that had followed after their leader. His first target was a triceratops who’d unassumingly fallen into the water; it was promptly dropped to the reservoir floor. Next was a raptor, then a pachycephalosaurus. It was an eclectic bunch of dinosaurs, and it looked as if one had stepped into a dinosaur exhibit within a large museum.

Bam! Bam! Crack!

Though the dinosaurs tried to defend themselves, their movements were slowed by the water, and once Merlin grabbed ahold of them, they were almost instantaneously dropped at speeds of 300 kilometers per hour and didn’t have time to respond. Within the water, Merlin was like a whole new being.

Bam! Bam! Boom! Boom! Boom!

All eleven dinosaur-species monsters dropped to their deaths. A few of the monsters tried to swim upward after having their bodies smashed against the reservoir’s floor, but Merlin soon dealt with them. He utilized his Great Strength Vajra Hand to attack the weak points of the monsters and send them down onto the floor once more. Since dinosaurs had to breathe, they could only muster a fight for a finite amount of time before drowning. 

After drowning the eleven dinosaur-species monsters, Merlin went back up to the surface to welcome the next wave. Yet, Merlin had underestimated the monsters’ intelligence.

Boom!

Merlin was instantly hit by a fireball once he reached the surface, and a giant frog was preparing to launch another one. The fireball was easily big enough to contain two large adult males. Merlin realized that the frog was inhaling a massive amount of air to launch another fireball. However, he was currently flying through the air from being struck by the initial fireball attack, so he was essentially defenseless. Soon, the second fireball flew toward him.

Boom!

Merlin swung his right hand and pressurized the air. This was a movement at the peak of his hand skill. Yet, his Great Strength Vajra Hand was optimized for brute-force crushing or pushing, not for focused attacking, so the effect of his hand movement was not very efficient. If his internal force hadn’t recovered while he was learning his magic spells earlier, Merlin would have already fallen and died in battle.

“I call upon you… scorching red heat wave, lightning of judgment….”

“I will send out a freezing wave. This is my wish….”

“Eek! Gear 1!”

Amongst the attacking monsters, Merlin noticed the presence of two fairies. This caused him to instantly swap out his simple attire for his robe, opening his inventory to take out the bow and arrow he had placed inside moments ago. Although Merlin didn’t have much battle experience, he knew he couldn’t contend against fairies in terms of magic. 

Ping! Ping!

With only one second in between them, two arrows shot toward the fairies. The arrows were enchanted to cause Qi Deviation to their targets.

Bam! Clank!

The first arrow landed squarely on a palm-sized fairy, but the second arrow was stopped by the sudden appearance of a sword. Then, the second fairy completed its chant, and the spell materialized.

“Ice Prison! Become imprisoned within!”

Whoosh.

Before Merlin’s body hit the surface of the water, he was entrapped in a block of ice. Though it was called a prison, the attacking principle seemed to be more focused on asphyxiating the target. Yet, Merlin was able to slip outside the ice block. He had ‘melted’ into the ice and fallen straight through into the water.

“What?”

The fairy that had cast the spell squinted its eyes and frowned at the unexpected scene. It could understand how a target could avoid the attack, but it couldn’t comprehend how a target could escape after being confined. 

“What shall we do, corps leader? It seems the enemy is quick in the water, so if we carpet bomb the water with spells-”

“Forget it.”

“Huh?”

Hearing its subordinate’s confused response, the second leader of the Forest of Despair, Sungmuk, calmly spoke up.

“You all should proceed with the plan to attack the east gate. I’ll take care of this enemy.”

“Really? But you don’t have to trouble yourself. He seems like a Level 7 or 8 user, so it won’t take us long to dispatch him….”

“No, I’ll be the one that catches him. He’s quite agile in the water. It’ll take some time.”

“Then… very well, sir.”

“Good. Then, [Attack the Gate].”

As soon as the formal order was given, the monster corps that had momentarily stopped in its tracks continued to move forward. Despite eleven dinosaur-species monsters perishing, that was a minuscule amount compared to the overall number of monsters in the corps. Though they were the advanced party, they were still 1,000 monsters strong.

Rumble.

One thousand monsters. In the modern era, most people had only read about the number of soldiers in textbooks, so a vast majority would feel that a large force needed to have 10,000 or even 100,000 soldiers. However, in reality, a 1,000-member corps was a force to be reckoned with. If there were 30 people in one classroom, it would take 33 classrooms to make up 1,000 people. Thus, 1,000 individuals were similar in size to an entire school. Envision 1,000 students in one area- would it look like a small number?

Moreover, these 1,000 beings were monsters, not humans. Their average size was much larger than the average human, and some were as big as a modern house. Although their numbers might not look too menacing since they were walking across a large, open field, if they were placed in a small area, their movements would be like a rippling tsunami. 

“Woah! After seeing them up close, it seems like there’s a lot more than I expected. Dang, I was foolish. I can’t believe I instigated a fight… ugh.”

As he talked to himself, Merlin suddenly threw up some blood. It seemed that he’d received some internal damage from the frog’s initial fireball attack.

“I almost died. Man, these monsters are tough.”

Luckily, Merlin hadn’t been critically injured. Since his life force wasn’t low, he’d be able to sustain a few injuries before his status became critical.

Rumble…!