The Nightmare of the Labyrinth③
The thing that materialized before the corpse of Arkatara-tekto was a spider-like monster.
Compared to the enormous Arkatara-tekto, this spider monster was relatively small.
Entirely black in coloration, with a white pattern on its back.
The pattern resembled a skull—unnerving in appearance.
Of its eight legs, the front two were larger than the others, shaped like scythes.
Eight red eyes fixed upon the observer.
Their gaze caused an involuntary shiver.
The subordinates in front were clearly shaken.
Despite having instructed them to remain ready for any eventuality.
This was unavoidable.
It would be unreasonable to expect composure after such a creature appeared suddenly.
The monster stood as if a sovereign, dominating the space.
Merely staring at its form induced trembling from fear.
As reported.
No need for assessment. One glance was enough to understand.
That entity was beyond our capacity to handle.
"O-ohh?!"
A strange groan came from beside me. Lord Ronant stood rigid, eyes wide, trembling violently.
Could it be? Even someone of his caliber... overcome by fear?
The aura emanating from that monster was not trivial.
Likely possessing a suppression-type skill. Yet even so, Lord Ronant—of his strength—should not have failed to resist.
"Lord Ronant?"
"What... what is this? Unbelievable. Impossible. What is this? What is this?"
"Lord Ronant!?!"
"A-ah. Forgive me."
"What occurred?"
"That monster... it maintains an impossibly high volume of skill activation simultaneously, in its natural state. Impossible."
Lord Ronant sees the skill effects being activated by the monster—effects invisible to me.
Lord Ronant mutters under his breath—his mental state cannot be described as normal.
Not clearly panicked by fear, yet the situation is dire.
The spider monster, calm moments ago, now radiates visible anger.
Bad.
The opponent is fully committed.
The soldiers, reacting to that anger, instinctively raise their weapons.
No good.
In this state, no alliance is possible.
Sudden, intrusive discomfort.
Is this—identification?
Who?
Could it be... that monster is identifying us?
Impossible.
No monster has ever been known to use identification.
To verify, activate the identification stone.
The result leaves him speechless.
Staggering stats.
An overwhelming number of skills.
This outcome is unwinnable.
“Ngh!?”
It appears Lord Ronant also activated the鉴定 stone at nearly the same time as I did.
A sound of shock escapes his mouth.
"Th-That's the Apex of Arcane Mastery!?"
Among the skills possessed by the creature Edé Saine, Lord Ronant seems to have focused on one in particular.
Indeed, such a skill has never been heard of, nor seen.
No—there is more.
Edé Saine possesses several skills unlike any previously observed.
Even those skills I have seen before are mostly of higher tier.
Yet my astonishment did not end there.
While scanning through the skills one by one,
the鉴定 result suddenly vanishes, replaced by the message: 'Identification has been disrupted.'
Disrupted?
I have never heard of such a thing being possible.
"P-Please wait! Let me see more! Show me more!"
"Lord Ronant! Regain your composure!"
Shouting at the increasingly erratic Lord Ronant.
At the same time, a cry rises.
"Retreat! There is no chance of victory! Immediate retreat!" But the shout came far too late.
The eight at the front fell.
No one understood what had happened.
Ede Saine appeared to have done nothing.
He simply stood there, looking at them.
And yet, eight soldiers collapsed without warning.
What skill was that?
Unable to verify all skills, the nature of the effect remained unknown.
But uncertainty did not halt the situation.
Ede Saine proceeded with an odd action.
He began peeling off his own skin.
The soldiers faltered at the grotesque sight.
One soldier, unable to bear seeing a comrade fall, charged at Ede Saine.
The sword never reached its target.
His body was caught mid-motion, twisted into a hook shape against a wall of earth jutting from the ground.
Wait.
Aeartha’s skill list contained no Earth Magic.
There was Abyss Magic—unknown, unverified—but all other magics should have been accounted for.
Earth Magic should not have been among them.
“Impossible!? To construct magic from nothing, without using a skill!?”
Lord Ronant shouts.
Can such a thing be done?
No. The greatest human mage is displaying such agitation.
It is not something ordinary people can achieve.
There is no time for hesitation.
All cards must be played.
If all are used and the crisis is overcome, it would be considered fortunate.
Summoning.
My Summoning skill level is 4.
I can summon four creatures to this location.
Using these four, I must buy time for the soldiers to retreat.
How long can I buy against that abomination?
The summoned creatures manifest.
A bird-like kirekoku.
A turtle-like rocktartle.
A tiger-like febeloot.
A water dragon, suiten.
Normally, these would be too valuable to discard as pawns.
Sorry.
Go!
As the summoned creatures charge forward, I call again for the soldiers to retreat.