Vol 4: Chapter 23
It was after midnight according to my body clock. That’s when I commenced my operation.
I was on the roof of the building where the Levs were being kept prisoners. As expected, even bars seemed to be closing up shop. So there was a silent atmosphere in the underground city. It’s as if the original silence of the mountain had been restored before it was dug into a city by the underground humans.
I had already called out to all 12 who were imprisoned in the cells and finished explaining what was going to happen next. It seems that the master sergeant’s approval led the crew members to trust me.
But there was one problem. To escape, we have no choice but to pass by the military building. The building is lit up throughout the night. So it’s highly likely that 12 people moving in a group will be found out.
Therefore, I prepared a solution.
(Now, time to raise the operation start signal.)
I looked across the huge dome. Located exactly in the opposite direction of the entrance I came in from was a huge warehouse with a large stockpile of mica mushrooms.
From the fact that mica mushrooms are cultivated on the roof of each building, they are not of rare value. Therefore, anyone can go in and out of the warehouse, and there are no lookouts.
The only problem was that there was a liquor store next to it. The liquor store was so tightly guarded that I almost felt sorry for the mica mushrooms. There were no lookouts at the store, but a huge iron door stood firm with an imposing lock.
(The distance is 260 meters. No wind… well, it’s natural since we’re underground.)
I activated【Fire Magic】on my right hand to create a fireball similar in size to a basketball. The fireball was a bit too bright to look directly at it, so I immediately aimed my right hand towards the mica mushroom warehouse.
(Smaller, smaller, smaller…)
The fireball was condensed into a smaller size, but its heat intensity increased dramatically instead.
In the “Labyrinth of Fear”, when Non-san was taken hostage and I was unable to attack Leon — I wished I could have used magic in a way like “precision shooting”.
After repeated trial and error, although it is far from “precision”, I still succeeded in implementing “longer distance” and “shrinking” in【Fire Magic】.
The fireball was now about the size of a ping-pong ball. And then I added a spin to it.
「Go.」
The【Mana Control ★★★★】which I learned from Miss Eva was still active in me.
This is a skill in order for manipulating the mana within the body, that is, adjusting the amount of mana that can be put into the magic, but I realized that it can also be used to control magic after it has been activated.
The fireball that was shot flew into the mica mushroom warehouse in a straight line.
I had already piled up highly combustible wood and dry grass, which I procured from the outside, at the warehouse beforehand.
Noon-like brightness illuminated the underground city—followed by a thunderous roar of an explosion.
Immediately after that, as if the sound of the explosion was a lie, the warehouse burned quietly. But after a while, the lights in the houses were turned on. People got out into the street in their nightwear, especially the people who lived near the warehouse. They stirred into a commotion when they saw the fire.
An emergency bell rang.
I watched underground soldiers, who seemed like night sentries, rushing out of the military building.
(Everything is going according to plan!)
I entered the building from the roof and headed for the master sergeant’s cell first.
「——Master Sergeant, please wake up.」
「I am awake. Did you cause the commotion outside?」
「Yes. I will free you now.」
I used the mithril dagger to pry open the lock. Thank you very much, Berserker-like Border Earl! This dagger is super useful.
The iron door opened with a squeak. And the sergeant master sergeant stepped out, wearing a weathered military uniform.
「You…?」The sergeant master seemed surprised to see me.
「What’s wrong?」
「No, sorry. You are younger than I expected.」
「Yes, I’m self-aware of that. But let’s hurry for now.」
Then we freed the remaining 11 crew members from their cells. It seems that only two soldiers were stationed in this building today, both of whom were dozing—not even aware of the turmoil outside.
It was good that everyone was able to keep their cool.
「Please be quiet and move silently.」I whispered to the others.
The two prison guards were sitting on chairs in a small room beside the entrance and taking a nap. Faint light from a magic lamp was shining into the corridor from the slightly ajar door.
As I took the lead and moved forward, the master sergeant turned around and nodded to his companions, and everyone returned a nod.
(It’s unexpectedly loud.)
It doesn’t bother me when I’m alone, but the sound of 12 people’s clothes rustling is jarring. They probably noticed it as well.
The master sergeant passed by me and went outside. Followed by the 2nd person, 3rd and so on…
When it was the 8th person’s turn, I was startled. The young man who was slightly trembling, panicked when he saw the light shining through the ajar door, and tried to jump over it.
He lost his balance when landing and was about to fall face first.
Ah…….
Everyone’s mouths popped open—but I slipped in and caught him from falling.
There was silence… Everyone was holding their breath.
And then, they exhaled.
「A-Ah, u-umm, I…」
「Shhh.」
When I closed the man’s mouth with my hand, everyone else closed their mouths as well.
As silence descended again, everyone’s eyes turned to the prison guard’s room.
Fortunately, that didn’t wake up the guards.
After we left the building, I heard voices from a distance saying, “Is it an attack?”, “No, it’s a fire.” We have to go through the back streets after this. The military building seems to be deserted, so there should be no problem. I took the lead until the point where directions were not needed.
After going up the stairs attached to the wall, there will be a hidden door leading to the outside.
「Please go straight ahead. Hurry up.」
I sent the master sergeant to the stairs on the wall. The reason I decided to stay at the back was that it would be a problem if somebody fell down like before.
The 8th person, the young man who was shaking and trembling, ran with all his might. He seems to be okay now.
After the 12th person passed ahead, it was time for me to go too.
However–
「Huh!?」
I felt a killing intent directed towards me.
At a moment’s judgement, I swung my dagger and deflected something heavy that flew towards me. …What was that!? I couldn’t even follow it with my eyes.
The heavy impact when deflecting with my dagger made my hand numb.
I didn’t even have to wonder who it was…
There was only one person in this underground city who could do this.
A woman wearing a hood and holding a pipe in her mouth stood there.
She carried a scimitar in each hand. A two-sword style user.
