For a split second, Irene was stunned. Those pale violet eyes… the more she looked, the more familiar they seemed.
They looked just like Helga’s—the girl who always gifted her “special hometown cucumbers.”
“Right—Master Galhai, don’t use high-level magic attacks! The ‘Eye of Surveillance’ from the Central White Tower will detect it!”
Irene looked toward the White Tower at the town center and warned, “If the Tower notices us, we’ll draw the hatred of all the magical beasts in the city. Our only option then would be to run—there’d be no other choice!”
Unexpectedly, Master Galhai simply nodded. A deep, suppressed voice replied,
“…I know. No need to worry.”
You know?
Irene’s curiosity about this so-called “Master Galhai” only deepened!
A sage hiding in a border region, whose voice suggested considerable age, yet unknown to the world—yet he seemed very familiar with the city of Endymion—
Masaka…?!
“You… don’t tell me you’re—”
Irene’s voice, normally calm and cool, now trembled with excitement, startling Helga.
Could it be her disguise had been discovered?!
She had been extra cautious not to use her signature Starlight Magic, sticking only to common spells any decent mage would know. Even so, Irene figured it out?!
While Helga nervously pondered how to explain and maybe apologize before smoothing things over and sticking close again—
“One of the legendary Seven Heroes who opposed the Sorcerer King?!”
What?
Helga froze. Her hand nearly slipped, and she almost torched herself.
Irene lowered her voice, speaking in hushed tones, “Surely, you’re one of the Seven Heroes who survived into the present day. You must’ve sensed the unstable magic currents in Endymion and came to investigate, am I right?”
Irene had studied her history well. She knew the tale of the Sorcerer King from a thousand years ago and her seven arch-enemies—not dwarfs, no, but bitter rivals.
Those seven were known as the “Seven Heroes.” Though they fought repeatedly against the Sorcerer King, who tried to conquer the continent, they were constantly defeated.
They lost again and again, yet still kept fighting. That was the best way to describe them.
But since the Sorcerer King was the villain, the records naturally painted the Seven Heroes as noble figures!
“No, I’m not Cardain…”
One of the Seven Heroes, the Sage, was named Cardain.
Irene nodded gravely. The more the other denied it, the more convinced she became!
It’s precisely because this person is one of the legendary heroes that she has such overwhelming magic power! That’s why she’s gone through all this trouble to hide her identity and infiltrate the Sorcerer King’s city!
Irene didn’t press for more. Someone like this sneaking into the city had their own reasons.
Maybe the wheels of fate are already turning! And being in the company of a legendary hero… This must be a quest of epic proportions!
Just thinking about it made her heart burn with excitement.
As a transmigrator, of course I dream of fantasy-filled adventures in another world! I think I might already be living an epic tale!
“I understand.”
—But why had rumors of the “Book of Law” suddenly started circulating?
There was an eighty percent chance that something had changed here—something outsiders didn’t know! It was said that before the Sorcerer King was smitten by divine judgment, she left behind a prophecy of resurrection.
What if that prophecy was real?!
Irene’s imagination began filling in the blanks, and in her head, she had already drafted a novel-length scenario tens of thousands of words long. Her blood was pumping with anticipation.
Looking into Irene’s sparkling golden eyes, Helga was utterly baffled.
What exactly do you “understand”? I don’t understand anything at all!
She wanted to explain, but the monsters didn’t give her a chance. Several armored knights lunged toward her. Helga had no choice but to fight back with area-limited magic.
Her talent, Magic Reflux, activated flawlessly, making her casting speed lightning fast.
With Irene at my back… this must be what “security” feels like! There’s nothing to fear now!
Once we get through this, I’ll come clean with Irene. She’ll understand. Then we can go eat grilled meat together.
Over these two and a half years, I’ve basically become “Irene-shaped.” Without her, I can’t even cast spells properly.
We’re going to win this!
Helga was instantly fired up, unleashing Chain Lightning and Fireball Gatlings like magic was free. From Irene’s perspective, Helga looked like a manic octopus. The swarm of armored knights couldn’t even get close, further solidifying Irene’s belief—
This mysterious master is absolutely a legendary hero!
This casting speed and destructive power—only Helga ever came close to that level!
No doubt about it—a hero, terrifyingly powerful.
Meanwhile, the frontline battle was also going surprisingly well.
Technically, even though Irene had drawn the aggro of most armored knights, the red-armored knight up ahead was still guarded by an elite escort, so it shouldn’t have been easy to breach.
And yet… somehow, the escort knights clumsily collided with each other during their charge.
Link and Mario immediately leapt past them, each landing a critical strike that instantly felled the red knight—the core of the group.
As that knight collapsed, the rest of the armored enemies dissolved like phantoms, not even leaving behind a single shard of armor. It was as if everything that had happened was just a dream.
Froya’s face turned grim. She murmured under her breath, “Endymion really is a strange place… Those armored knights were just magical constructs. Makes me wonder how powerful the Sorcerer King must be, being the ruler of this city.”
Helga added, “Yeah… I’m afraid that’s a realm I could never reach, not even if I spent my whole life.”
Even though this was her second visit to Endymion, Helga was still left in awe by the city crafted by the Sorcerer King.
But it was such a shame… Just as she was on the verge of achieving her grand ambition, the Sorcerer King lost everything to divine judgment.
No idea if her soul can ever find peace.
After the fierce battle at the city gate, Irene led the group deeper into the city.
At this moment, she was leaning against a wall, whispering an explanation to everyone: “Shh, see that? Those little guys up ahead with three eyes are called Tri-Eyed Fiends. They’re a very weak type of magical creature. Even in groups, they don’t pose much of a threat. But we mustn’t alert them—we need to go around them…”
Before Irene could finish her sentence, a blur passed by her side—Froya had already rushed forward and smacked the creature dead with a single slap.
Irene’s brain froze on the spot.
Froya brushed the dust off her hands and frowned. “What’s wrong with that look? Didn’t you say they were very weak monsters? Killing them just helps us move faster. Why would we go out of our way to avoid such weak things?”
Irene held her forehead and sighed deeply. “Great, get ready to run.”
Froya: “?”
“These Tri-Eyed Fiends may be weak, but they share a collective consciousness. Do you know what that means?”
Froya’s smile vanished.
It meant that their entire group had just been detected—by all the Tri-Eyed Fiends in the area!
“T-This isn’t that big a deal, right? You said yourself they’re weak even in swarms—so we’ll just kill them all when they come!” Knowing she’d seriously messed up, Froya forced an awkward smile and tried to explain herself to the others.
Irene shook her head helplessly. “The magical creatures in this city exist in symbiotic relationships, and they’re very ‘friendly and enthusiastic’ toward outsiders. Wanna guess how many friends the Tri-Eyed Fiend is bringing to play with us?”
Froya had nothing to say now. Her little face darkened. “If I may ask—what’s the aggro radius of these magical creatures?”
Irene smiled sweetly. “…Pretty much a ‘till-death-do-us-part’ range.”
Just as she said that, everyone felt the ground begin to tremble!
Howls and roars echoed from every direction—“Awooo!” “Mrrrow!”—and as they looked behind, a black tide of magical creatures was surging toward them!
Helga quickly offered, “Since it’s a do-or-die chase anyway, how about I just cast a few large-scale spells and wipe them out here?”
“No!” Irene immediately rejected the idea.
“If we use large-scale magic, the mana surge will be detected by the Central White Tower’s Eye of Surveillance. After that, we’ll have every magical creature in the city hunting us down, and we can forget about moving forward ever again!”
“No magic, no problem, right? But being chased constantly is still annoying. Why don’t we just physically wipe them out?”
Redwolf stepped forward with his greatsword on his shoulder, but the moment he glanced at the horde of magical creatures, he immediately shut up.
Froya’s face turned pale. “With that many… even if we could win by hacking them down one by one, we’d be too exhausted to keep going afterward.”
Irene asked, “Then do we just fight while running?”
“No, there’s another way! If someone stays behind to hold them off, the rest of us can continue forward!”
Froya made the decision.
Redwolf and his team immediately volunteered to cover the retreat, but Froya firmly rejected the offer: “Captain Redwolf, your team is the main fighting force on this mission. If you stay back, how are the rest of us supposed to proceed?”
Rely on Irene’s guards? Aside from that older man with A-rank strength, the rest were all C- and D-rank nobodies—not exactly reliable in a fight.
Besides, she still needed Irene to guide them. Leaving her people behind wasn’t an option either.
And it’s not like they were obligated to follow Froya’s commands. So, under the circumstances, there was only one choice—
“Lilisa, you’ll stay and cover our retreat!”
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