Into the Creations 1104

Chapter 1104 – 1104. Dark Moon

I, who was walking ahead, raised my hand. The squad’s movement stopped.

I felt like I had heard a strange sound.

I activated my mana rod and sent mana to my ears. My hearing was enhanced. It wasn’t magic, just simple physical enhancement through mana. Compared to magic, the effect was weaker, but it had the advantage of being easy to use in a hurry.

Drip, drip.

It was the sound of water droplets falling. My face immediately crumpled as I made my judgment.

“Damn it. It’s raining.”

“Raining? Really?”

“Ugh. What’s with this all of a sudden?”

“I never thought I’d have to wear rain gear in a real battle.”

“Haa.”

Annoyed reactions popped up here and there.

Among the training situations we had experienced, the most annoying situation was when something fell from the sky. Our clothes became damp with moisture, and if our uniforms got wet, they felt like straitjackets. Our vision narrowed, and the sounds became noisy. The rain gear was stuffy, and the ground was muddy. Even the strange fishy smell that slowly rose up.

“We should be grateful that it’s not snow or hail.”

It was summer now, but on the day the Dark Moon rose, it wouldn’t be strange for snow to fall in the middle of summer.

I put on my rain gear. It was thin, but as soon as I put it on, I felt like I couldn’t breathe.

My stopped feet began to move again. Soon, heavy rain poured down.

“Be careful not to slip and move. Especially, manage your radios well so they don’t get wet. They shouldn’t break easily, but you never know.”

“Got it.”

We walked silently and arrived at the mountainside. I checked the number of personnel and decided to take a break. Originally, I was going to carry out the mission right away without a break, but I changed my plan due to the heavy rain. The mountains in the rain consume twice as much stamina. We needed a break.

‘I’m also the weakest in terms of stamina among the first squad.’

I leaned my back against a suitable tree and opened the canteen I had brought, taking sips of water. I opened my astral and expanded my senses. I wanted to figure out the location of Instructor Venus, who might be chasing us.

‘…I don’t know. I don’t even know which direction he is, let alone his exact location. It’s not just because of the rain. There’s a more fundamental reason. Instructor Venus is much stronger than me.’

“Number 211.”

Someone called me. It was hard to distinguish voices in the rain. When I turned my gaze, it was Number 31. Before I could open my mouth, Number 31 raised his hand and pointed to the sky. My head reflexively turned upwards.

About 30 meters away in the sky, a monster was flapping its wings. I narrowed my eyes and examined the monster’s shape more closely. Wings and an appearance similar to a bat. And a body made of stone.

“…It’s a gargoyle, a level 2 monster.”

I said it out loud on purpose. The kids who were resting jumped up from their seats and picked up their rifles. Dealing with gargoyles was not part of the mission. Avoiding them was the best option.

‘…It’s also found us and is getting closer. We can’t avoid a fight.’

Information about gargoyles in the ‘Dark Moon’ game came to mind.

The characteristics of a level 2 monster, the gargoyle, were that its skin was as hard as stone and that it could fly.

‘Bullets won’t work. It’s probably even stronger since it’s been affected by the Dark Moon. The gargoyle’s attack methods are claws and teeth. Even if it flies, its only means of attack is close combat.’

The gargoyle had no choice but to come down to attack us.

‘There’s no need to waste bullets. I’ll aim for a counter when the gargoyle comes down. Since it’s raining, I can easily catch it if I use ice magic.’

Blocking the gargoyle’s attack would be enough with barrier magic. If I deployed a level 2 barrier, it would easily block one of the gargoyle’s attacks.

Just as I was about to open my mouth to explain a simple plan to the squad members to catch the gargoyle, I felt the flow of mana nearby. I was late to react because I was thinking about how to deal with the gargoyle.

“Ice Arrow.”

Along with Number 31’s clear voice, the level 2 magic, Ice Arrow, flew towards the gargoyle. The ice stalactite, as thick as my forearm, hit the gargoyle’s body accurately.

Crack!

The Ice Arrow exploded. Instead of heat, cold air covered the gargoyle’s body. The heavy rain that was pouring down without a break instantly froze due to the cold. The gargoyle, whose body had hardened from the ice, could not fly and fell to the ground.

The gargoyle’s frozen body shattered. Unlike its skin made of stone, the inside was full of blood and flesh. After confirming the gargoyle’s death, I sighed.

“…Number 31.”

“Why?”

“Why did you suddenly fire an Ice Arrow?”

“I judged that Ice Arrow was appropriate. Because it’s raining. Fire Arrow is too noticeable.”

“No, that’s not it. I’m asking why you attacked suddenly. You’re not the only one here right now.”

“…That’s true. I’ll tell you before attacking next time.”

“Please do.”

I ended it by asking again.

It was a good thing that the monster that appeared was a gargoyle. What if a monster stronger than a gargoyle had appeared, and Number 31 had attacked recklessly? Just thinking about it was terrible.

We were moving as a squad now, so I hoped that individuals would refrain from impulsive actions.

We left the gargoyle’s corpse behind and headed towards the top of the mountain.

As I walked ahead, I thought about Number 31’s magic.

‘…Number 31’s mana movement was a little different from usual. The casting speed was also much faster. Moreover, the power of the Ice Arrow was almost level 3.’

It was obvious that the cause was the black moon floating in the sky.

‘Ordinary humans don’t receive positive effects from the Dark Moon. At most, they just feel uplifted.’

That was also a rare case. When the Dark Moon rose, it was common to feel depressed and have a vague fear.

‘Number 31 isn’t a black magician… The reason why she’s affected by the Dark Moon is… a factor. It’s certain that she has a special factor.’

After making my judgment, I clicked my tongue inwardly.

I tried not to get involved with Number 31, but in my head, I was speculating about her.

‘I have no choice but to admit it. As a magician, Number 31 is an interesting human.’

There was a lot to learn from Number 31. The way she handled mana, how she created formulas, and so on.

‘The Ice Arrow just now was also interesting. Originally, arrow types are piercing, but she changed part of the formula to explode the cold air.’

It was similar to the level 3 magic, Ice Ball.

The other squad members who hadn’t reached level 2 just thought it was Number 31’s magic and moved on, but I didn’t.

My feet stopped.

I cleared my mind and focused on the front.

There was a wooden fence 50 meters away. It was a flimsy wooden fence that looked like it had been roughly set up. And inside, there was also a roughly made wooden house.

It was a goblin village. They had intelligence similar to that of a young child, so they made things like fences and houses and settled down. The goblins who had survived for a long time also used simple strategies. They would dip wooden spears in poisonous weeds and swing them.

I raised my hand and signaled to the squad members.

Everyone picked up their guns and activated their magic.

“Silence.”

Level 1 non-attribute magic. It eliminated the surrounding sounds. It also eliminated footsteps and breathing sounds. At level 1, it couldn’t eliminate loud sounds like gunshots, but it was a different story if the guns were equipped with silencers.

The surroundings became quiet in an instant due to Silence.

‘This is crazy. Even the surrounding rain sounds have disappeared.’

I swallowed a hollow laugh. The squad members couldn’t control magic as meticulously as I could.

‘Isn’t this the same as letting the enemies know that we’re here?’

If there was a place where the sound of rain suddenly disappeared when the sound of rain was heard everywhere, it was obvious that attention would be drawn to it.

‘Considering that the opponent is a goblin, I guess it doesn’t matter.’

First, I ordered the squad members to wait and went on a reconnaissance mission myself. I circled around the fence, eliminating the sounds of my body except for the sound of the rain. I checked the size of the village and the weak points of the fence.

‘About 70 of them, I guess. Goblins reproduce quickly, so let’s assume 100. A hobgoblin is probably the leader.’

Swoosh.

A huge sound of water was heard. I raised my head and looked at the back of the goblin village. There was a waterfall flowing that didn’t fit the top of the mountain. The direction of the waterfall was the opposite of where the 667 unit was located.

I looked around for a moment.

‘According to the game, it’s the Blena Mountains. It’s a perfect place to conduct experiments that shouldn’t be known since people don’t come and go.’

The scenery was so outstanding that I was amazed even though it was dark at night.

I compared the terrain in the game with the real terrain and drew a map in my head. This might be helpful later.

I went to where the squad members were waiting and sent a hand signal. The squad members followed behind me, guarding all sides.

We infiltrated through the weak part of the fence that I had seen in advance.

It was successful. There was no commotion in the goblin village. We walked through the silence and darkness and began to kill the goblins.

When the trigger was pulled, the bullet flew silently and pierced the goblin’s body. Goblins, who were weak even among level 1 monsters, could not block or deflect bullets.

Even though we had killed more than 70 of them, the goblin village was quiet. The situation was going smoothly.

‘The only thing left is that building in the center.’

It was crude like other goblin buildings, but it was large and decorated with animal bones and bird feathers.

‘I’ll go in first.’

I sent a hand signal and went inside.

A goblin with red skin, not green, was lying down and sleeping in the center of the building. Hobgoblins were larger than ordinary goblins and had red skin.

‘As expected, it’s a hobgoblin, but… it’s too big even though it’s big.’

It was 3 meters tall and had a bulging belly. Its arms and legs were also muscular. It barely filled the house. If it was a little bigger, the house would have collapsed.

‘It’s mutated due to the influence of the Dark Moon.’

I quietly assessed the situation. The giant hobgoblin was fast asleep. Rainwater was dripping down from the crude ceiling. Thanks to that, the hobgoblin’s body was also wet.

‘It’s best for me to handle it here. The sound can’t be heard because of Silence, and it can’t be seen because of the building. If I hide the mana fluctuations as much as possible, even Number 31’s senses won’t be able to tell what magic I used.’

I opened my astral and used 12 mana rods and the ability to generate electricity.

A bright blue current flickered over my right hand. The current became more and more intense over time. After a few seconds, my hand was invisible due to the current.

Level 3 magic, Lightning Grab.

I grabbed the hobgoblin’s shoulder. The current that had gathered in my hand flowed through the hobgoblin’s body.

The hobgoblin’s eyes flashed open.

“Kueeeeeeeek!”

The hobgoblin screamed strangely and raised its upper body. The building’s ceiling broke in less than a second.

I reflexively used a fleeting moment.

‘…Damn it. Something went wrong. Normally, it should have been electrocuted to death, let alone move.’

The cause was found in my game knowledge.

Monsters mutated by the Dark Moon become what are commonly called elite monsters and gain at least one and up to five or more traits. In the game, the traits were kindly displayed above the monster’s head, but this was reality. There was no such thing.

‘Since the hobgoblin is a low-level monster, I thought it would only have one trait, gigantification…’

The attack didn’t work properly.

‘There are two suspicious traits. Magic resistance and elemental resistance.’

Magic resistance was a 50% reduction in magic damage, and elemental resistance was a 90% reduction in damage from a specific element.

‘It’s magic resistance…! If it was elemental resistance and electricity didn’t work, it would have calmly gotten up and counterattacked without being in pain…’

Of all things, it was magic resistance.

‘…Damn it. I’m reminded of what I said to Number 31 earlier.’

I was so ashamed of my own arrogance that my face was burning. If I had used magic at the same time as the other squad members from the beginning, the result would have been different.

The hobgoblin’s large fist swung.

I quickly created a formula and activated magic.

A barrier blocked the fist. Clang! The level 2 barrier broke so easily that it was ridiculous, and my body broke through the wooden wall and flew backwards. I rolled on the muddy ground. Fortunately, the barrier absorbed most of the impact, so there was almost no damage compared to how loudly I flew. My mouth was torn, and I had some minor bruises all over my body.

“The hobgoblin has mutated! Scatter and use ice magic!!”

I shouted to the squad members who were panicking as I jumped up.