Roana couldn’t understand what Jace was saying.
‘Standing behind me? Who?’
She turned around. And then she had no choice but to gasp sharply.
‘H-how…?!’
At first, she thought it might be a joke—but it wasn’t.
There really was someone standing behind her.
A man with crimson eyes that sent chills down her spine just from looking at them.
The very same man who had subdued her, wielding that mithril sword.
“What, were there multiple passwords? I was hoping to sneak in quietly. Too bad.”
Roana’s pupils trembled as if an earthquake had struck.
Her face twisted in shock, completely unaware, and Ian smiled faintly at her expression.
“Anyway, thanks for guiding me here. Now, rest.”
Sshhk—!
Before she knew it, a pale blue sword flashed before her eyes.
That was the last thing she ever saw in this world.
[You have discovered the Dark Mage’s hideout.]
[The quest ‘Appearance of the Undead’ has been updated.]
[New quest ‘The Dark Mage’ has been triggered.]
<The Dark Mage>
Objective: Eliminate the Dark Mage (1/?)
—You have learned of the Dark Mage’s existence. The recent undead appearances may be connected to them.
Reward: Contribution-based rewards, Territory Security +20
Killing Roana had changed the quest.
To obtain this quest normally, one would have to infiltrate, interrogate, threaten, or even negotiate with a captured Dark Mage to extract information about their allies.
Only then would the quest be unlocked.
‘But I didn’t want to waste time.’
Ian wasn’t sure how long it would take to persuade or manipulate her.
It could take a day, several days, or—if luck was bad—it might not work at all.
It all depended on the personality of the captured Dark Mage.
‘If I wasted too much time, the other Dark Mages might notice and relocate their hideout.’
So, Ian chose to let her escape on her own, leading him straight to their hideout.
The key was making her believe she had genuinely escaped.
The prison warden played a crucial role in this.
‘The warden did an excellent job.’
Thanks to the note Ian had delivered through a soldier, the plan succeeded.
The message instructed the warden to guide Roana to the back gate, making her think she was escaping while actually leading her into a trap.
And the warden executed it flawlessly.
He didn’t even need to do much—just stationed most of the guards at the front gate, leaving only a few at the back.
Naturally, Roana avoided the heavily guarded areas and slipped out through the rear.
‘She never even realized it was a trap.’
From start to finish, she had been dancing in the palm of Ian’s hand.
WEEEEEEEEEE—!
Then, a loud noise echoed through the corridor.
More precisely, it came from behind the door—an alarm spell signaling an intruder.
And then—
GRRRRRRR—!
A wall suddenly rose behind Ian, cutting off his retreat.
“You planned to sneak in and pick us off one by one, didn’t you? Too bad.”
The Dark Mage inside the door sounded relaxed—and for good reason.
“Even if you use Aura, this door is protected by magic. Not only that, but my comrades now know of your intrusion, and your escape route is gone.”
The steel door was reinforced with layers of protective spells.
They had prepared for intruders, reinforcing the entrance to block any unauthorized entry.
It was a door that wouldn’t budge even under powerful magic, buying enough time for reinforcements to arrive.
“Kuhaha! Did you fancy yourself a hero? How foolish to step in here alone. Despair! You will die the most painful death imaginable.”
The Dark Mage laughed, already imagining Ian begging for his life—and later, begging for death.
But—
“Oh? I’m not sure I’ll be showing you the despair you want.”
Instead of reacting with fear, Ian simply got to work.
Huuuuuum—!
A bluish haze rose from Ian’s sword like heat waves—
KWAANG!
—before he swung it with full force at the steel door.
The door’s protective magic instantly reacted, blocking his strike.
Multiple layers of shield spells unfolded, firmly repelling his attack.
‘No wonder the Dark Mage is so confident.’
Honestly, Ian hadn’t expected it to be this sturdy.
‘But how long can it hold?’
Still, it wasn’t completely impenetrable.
No matter how unbreakable a defensive spell seemed, it was still magic.
And all magic had a weak point.
‘Let’s see who wins.’
Ian swung his sword again, pouring his full strength into each strike.
KWAANG!
“A pointless effort.”
The Dark Mage watched with amusement.
‘Not here.’
KWAANG!
“Wasting your energy, I see.”
He thought Ian’s struggle was meaningless.
KWAANG!
“Why don’t you just sit still?”
‘Not here either.’
Regardless, Ian ignored him, fully focused on his task.
The Dark Mage watched like he was observing a trapped animal desperately trying to escape.
After a while of relentless strikes, Ian suddenly smirked.
“Found it.”
‘Found what?’ Before the question could even form—
BANG BANG BANG! KWAANG! BANG!
Ian suddenly began slashing at one specific spot with terrifying speed.
“Giving up already?”
The Dark Mage sneered, watching with a mocking expression.
Was he swinging wildly out of frustration? Or was this a last-ditch effort?
Whatever it was, it didn’t matter.
The moment this fool had stepped in here, thinking himself some kind of hero, his fate had been sealed.
“Why not just wait quietly? You’re destined to have your heart ripped out and become one of our undead puppets anyway.”
He would be tortured alive for days, a plaything to relieve the boredom of Dark Mages hiding in the middle of nowhere.
After they had their fun, he’d be turned into an undead, doomed to serve as a living shield.
KWAANG!
But then—why?
KWAANG!
Why was cold sweat dripping down his forehead?
KWAANG!
Why was a creeping sense of dread rising in the back of his mind?
He soon found out.
CRACK—!
“…!”
A uneasy sound struck the man’s ears.
That ominous noise came from the steel door.
The magic that had been enduring Ian’s relentless strikes was now cracking like a spiderweb.
“W-what the…?!”
The man’s face twisted in shock.
In contrast, Ian remained utterly indifferent, focused solely on finishing what he had started.
Like a wild boar charging forward without hesitation, his sword never faltered.
With each strike, the cracks expanded, spreading like a fractured pane of glass.
And then—
CRASH!
Finally, unable to hold any longer, the protective magic shattered like glass.
The spell broke far too easily, and without its magical reinforcement, the steel door was sliced apart as effortlessly as a knife through butter.
The man watched the scene unfold in real time, his face frozen in disbelief.
“H-how…?!”
No matter how intricate the magic, anything crafted by humans had a weakness—and magical items were no exception.
Of course, only someone like Ian, who had spent years mastering Meta Pangaea, could detect such a flaw.
It required distinguishing the faintest of sounds.
What Ian had done was precisely that—finding the one vulnerable point in the spell.
“What was it you said earlier?”
Ian’s crimson gaze locked onto the man, glinting sharply.
“Excruciating!”
Dark energy began seeping from the man’s mouth, swirling like black smoke.
To an untrained eye, it might have looked like dark fumes rising rather than white.
The creeping black energy suddenly shot toward Ian at terrifying speed.
A curse spell designed to inflict sudden, excruciating pain.
Even the most hardened warriors would drop to their knees from the unbearable agony.
‘I can’t afford to get hit by that.’
Not that he ever intended to.
Yet Ian didn’t dodge.
Because he saw no need to.
Swish—!
A single, precise slash of his mithril sword was enough to dispel the incoming curse midair.
“W-what kind of…?!”
The man stared in disbelief as his magic was effortlessly nullified.
“H-how?!”
But he had no time to dwell on it.
Ian didn’t grant him even a second to think.
Fwoosh!
“…!”
Ian’s figure vanished from the man’s sight in an instant.
Literally in the blink of an eye, he reappeared right in front of him.
Thunk!
“Ghk—!”
“Something about my heart, was it?”
Ian’s blade pierced clean through the man’s left chest before being yanked free.
‘M-my mana…!’
The pain of being stabbed was one thing, but something far worse pained the man.
His mana was rapidly draining from his body.
“…! …!”
The agony was beyond words—an indescribable torment.
If a mere graze would have been excruciating, then having his heart skewered was pure hell.
The fact that he wasn’t dead yet was his true misfortune.
“H-hurts… P-please… Just… kill me…!”
The pain was so unbearable that the man clutched at Ian’s pant leg, begging for death.
“Should’ve kept your mouth shut.”
Ian had deliberately avoided a fatal strike—just to prolong the suffering.
This was the price for running his mouth without considering the consequences.
“P-please…!”
“Get those filthy hands off me.”
Thud!
Ian kicked the grasping hand away.
He wanted the man to die in despair, drowning in agony.
He had no more interest in him.
Not just because of that, though.
The sound of rushing footsteps echoed from deeper inside the cave.
“Perfect timing.”
An unwelcome guest was about to be greeted by the horde coming to drive him out.
Deep Within the Cave
In a spacious chamber, an elderly man in black robes sat in a chair.
Boom! Boom!
The cave trembled from the violent commotion outside.
Pebbles rained down, scattering over the old man’s head and the book in his lap.
“The disturbance outside persists.”
Annoyed, he brushed off the debris and closed his book.
“It seems the intruder is putting up more resistance than expected.”
“Tch. Incompetent fools. Ten of them can’t even capture one trespasser?”
“Either the intruder who stumbled in here is unexpectedly skilled… or they’re toying with us.”
“Could be both.”
Either way, it made sense.
No weakling would dare step foot in these cursed lands.
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