Back when Isaac had told his students and subordinates about the emergency protocol, he had let them know about three different threat-levels which matched three alerts - the yellow, orange and red ones, respectively. Amongst these, the yellow alert was a somewhat special existence, as it was only an option while both Isaac and the one who would be about to sound the alarm were in the dungeon. Everywhere else, only two levels of alert were accessible.
To set the yellow alert in motion, only one ingredient was necessary: a small vial filled with Isaac’s blood. He had given one to each of his people, but because they felt that it would be overkill for every single one of them to carry a vial with them at all times, they had decided to only take along one per group. Jakk and Mina were the ones who were currently in possession of a vial each, and the latter was in a pinch.
Mostly due to nervousness and bad luck, she had taken far too long to rummage through her backpack and still had yet to find the vial! The longer it took, the more perturbed she became, which didn’t exactly help either. Thankfully, after Averin’s valiant rescue, both her psyche stabilized and her misfortune came to an end - her hand finally found what she had been looking for.
As quickly as possible, she threw the vial on the floor, shattering it in the process. Isaac had made doubly sure that the containers for his blood wouldn’t be all too durable - sturdy enough to survive a ride in a backpack, but not enough to resist a strong collision with a hard surface. Thanks to this, Mina didn’t have to waste any time to open the vial.
When the opponents that were cornering her and Averin first saw her taking out something unknown, they braced themselves for the impact of an explosive or poison of some kind, only to scoff at her when her throw completely missed them.
But as soon as they took a look at what the mysterious item was, their smiles froze, replaced with utter terror. They weren’t idiots, they had seen a god’s blood many times before and they knew exactly what was about to happen…
Sure enough, once the blood touched the floor, the entire dungeon tremored in rage, causing a few of the assailants to trip over, incapable of maintaining their balance due to this unforeseen event. As the students had been long since prepared, they weren’t taken by surprise and used this short respite to distance themselves a bit, successfully regrouping in the process.
Having his plans so blatantly disrupted, Asim’s face contorted in annoyance.
“Everyone who’s still unoccupied, prepare to deal with the incoming monsters!”
Up to this point, not all of the figures had managed to join the battle, as there had simply been no opportunity or space to do so. Normally, they would have been excited at the chance to show off, but now, they were slightly antsy and nervous. Back when the gods were still allowed to enter the dungeon, whenever their presence was noticed, they got attacked by special variants that were specifically spawned to deal with the divine intruders, to make them stay for good. Such outstanding hospitality!
Even though most of the black robed figures were already at Level 3, as some regular monsters on this floor reached Level 2, their special variants could possibly rival them. Even worse was that their enemies’ numbers would be overwhelming.
The students weren’t any better off. All the walls of the room that they had fled to broke open, revealing entirely black skinned and black furred Minotaurs, which were at least a meter taller than their normal versions. They even spawned with massive clubs and swords made out of a dark, unknown metal.
Kalin couldn’t help but gulp nervously, yet at the same time, he was oddly calm. Even the madly roaring monsters didn’t worry him too much. After all, wasn’t this all a part of Isaac’s plan? Surely, he wouldn’t let them come to real harm.
-----
The blue-eyed cloaked figure had finally managed to arrive in the vicinity, when the sudden tremors of the dungeon made her widen her eyes in surprise. This was the first time that she had ever witnessed such an event, and she had no clue what was going on. Oh well, in any case, it didn’t matter. Only the safety of her kin was truly of importance!
Just moments ago, she had rushed past four people that were embroiled in conflict, two of which had worn black robes… but it had nothing to do with her. Humans preying upon each other wasn’t anything new to her, such scenes were a dime a dozen.
A moment later, however, her thoughts started to change drastically.
Not far away, two groups opposed each other, one clad fully in black, the other wearing all kinds of regular adventuring gear. That was beside the point, however. What caught her eye was the lovely Chienthrope girl who was cradling a heavily wounded Jack Bird variant in her arms, shielding him from harm while eyeing both her surroundings and the enemy faction cautiously. It was plain to see that she cared for the monster and handled him very gently.
Disbelief and happiness overcame the cloaked figure at this sight, causing her to stop in her tracks to observe exactly what was going on in more detail.
‘Her behaviour makes it clear that she cares for one of my kin. Nay… the entire group does!?’
The Jack Bird variant was kept in the center of the group. These protective actions of the Raccoon Person, the human and the Chienthrope girl caused a spark of hope to ignite in the cloaked figure’s heart. At the same time, it made it obvious who she would need to oppose. She momentarily felt a twinge of guilt for having left those two women to their own devices. With what she was now aware of, they should belong to this group of potential allies as well. Speaking of, why did the two women feel familiar? Had she met them somewhere before…?
When she noticed the unusual Minotaurs emerging from the walls, her brows furrowed.
‘This is the first time that I’ve seen these. Since when are the monsters here this strong? Could it be related to the strange tremors?’
Of course, she ignored the black robed group’s plight as they were surrounded by powerful monsters on all sides. After making an educated guess, she was relatively sure that they would be capable of standing their ground, albeit with difficulty. Erasing the scraps that would make it through wouldn’t be difficult. What worried her was that her potential allies were also about to be besieged, and there was no escape route!
‘Alright, it’s time for me to intervene.’
Before she could even get moving and attempt to save them, an unfamiliar voice suddenly sounded from right next to her, making her jolt away in surprise.
“Thanks, but leave this mess to me.”
For a moment, she could see a tall handsome man clad in adventuring gear to her left, respectfully smirking at her. She could only barely make out that when his eyes refocused on the same scene that she had been observing, they grew cold from rage. Then, he was gone, as if he had never existed.
‘What was that!? How come I didn’t notice this guy before he said something?’
While her mind still spun with far more questions than answers, all of a sudden, she caught sight of the mysterious man again - this time, he was right in front of the group that she meant to protect. With movements as elegant as a dance, as efficient as the very incarnation of slaughter and so fast and precise that she had to exert a bit of effort to keep up with them, all 16 of the black Minotaurs that had surrounded the students lost their heads. Before the first body could even hit the floor, he had already returned to his initial position, acting as a barrier between the black robed assailants and the group of adventurers.
The expressions of the four lit up at his appearance, while the Chienthrope girl cried out excitedly.
“Milord!”
After taking a quick glance at them, the man turned around again. With a smile as saintly as it was frightening, he shook his head and unhurriedly walked towards the attackers.
“Did you really think you could kill my students in my absence? It seems like a lesson in humility is in order.”
-----
‘Isn’t that our prime target, Isaac Blackshaw? What is he doing here!? How did he just appear out of nowhere?’
Even though Asim was taken aback by the sudden changes, he soon suppressed all of these distracting thoughts, as he wouldn’t be able to come up with a satisfying answer to these questions anyway. What truly mattered was that even Isaac had appeared - so if he managed to eliminate him and to complete the mission successfully as well, then he would be lauded to no end.
‘He should still be a Level 2… or maybe he has reached Level 3 already. If our prognoses are accurate, then my men should be able to deal with him.’
In his zeal, he conveniently and subconsciously overlooked the power that his target had just portrayed. His mind justified it like this: Asim was also capable of slaying these beasts, albeit in a far less refined manner. But the essence still remained the same - Isaac hadn’t done anything that he couldn’t do.
“Kill him!”
At his command, the six black robed figures that weren’t tied up in a battle with the surrounding monsters bolted at Isaac with a speed that far surpassed the one of his relaxed steps in their direction. Their target’s words? They didn’t pay them any heed. Even the man that had been sent flying by Averin cautiously joined the battle. He had just used a High Potion, so even though he wasn’t fully recovered yet, he was convinced that he could be of some help.
Assured that everything would be dealt with now that he had left the unexpected surprise guest to seven Level 3’s, Asim focused on supporting the rest of his team, slaying black Minotaurs as quickly as possible. The faster the monsters were dealt with, the faster more of his men would be free to complete their mission. While he was confident that Isaac’s demise was already inevitable, his students still needed to be overpowered as well.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
‘Strange, why is it so quiet?’
Right when he was confused by the lack of any sounds of battle coming from the direction that his prime target was advancing from, repeated THUDs entered Asim’s ears. Once he dealt with his opponent and got a chance to look at the situation, what greeted him were the decapitated bodies of his seven subordinates. Their heads had already hit the floor, but their bodies were still in the process of falling. Not-so-slowly but surely, the fountains of blood were painting the surroundings in red.
In their midst, completely untouched by the abundant shower of vital fluids, Isaac calmly took his steps and looked straight at Asim. The closer he got, the brighter his smile became, until it seemed to eclipse the entirety of the room.
Shell-shocked by what he had just seen, Asim’s back began to be covered in cold sweat and he subconsciously took a few steps backwards. He finally acknowledged the truth that he had refused to face before - this man was stronger than him, in all aspects… despite Asim being a Level 4! It was ridiculous, as by all accounts, he shouldn’t have reached this point yet. But he undoubtedly did.
The faces of the few men and women that now had the opportunity to interfere thanks to the earlier efforts of their leader first grew pale, then determined. After noticing the resolution in each other’s eyes, they subtly nodded and coordinately charged at Isaac as fast as they could, their weapons at the ready. Asim’s heart stung as he watched his fellow familia members make their choice, but thanks to them, his troubled expression returned to an unwavering one.
‘I will never forget your sacrifice!’
-----
When he saw the new group of fools rushing towards him like moths to a flame, Isaac chuckled, partly out of irrepressible anger, partly out of amusement. Did they really think that they stood a chance?
Moments later, however, his expression shifted as he noticed a peculiar development.
Ever since he had arrived at the scene, he had kept his Eyes of Hermes activated, therefore massive movements and changes in the surrounding mana couldn’t escape his senses. Just now, he had perceived all seven of the beheaded bodies focusing all of their mana into the area around their hearts, until the rest of their bodies were completely sucked dry. The temperature in their vicinity increased massively and rapidly, and their chests expanded. As for the worst part? They were scattered all around him, surrounding him in a prison of his own making.
Although the phenomenon was magical in nature and only somewhat reminiscent of what he had encountered back in his old world, Isaac quickly put the pieces together.
‘So these guys are all actually suicide bombers and whatever mechanism that has been implanted in them will also be triggered by their deaths.’
The easiest way to escape this situation would be to simply teleport away… but as he had more than just one alternative, he didn’t bother wasting his AP. After all, it just wasn’t necessary.
With a small but sly smirk, he quickly tapped all of the bodies with his feet, storing them inside of his inventory, sealing them in exactly the same state that they had been in when they entered it.
The people in the approaching group almost fell over in shock when the explosions that they had banked on didn’t occur and the corpses of their friends simply disappeared. Nevertheless, they didn’t stop their advance and only became even more determined to take out this unfathomable enemy in front of them. This wasn’t only because of their willingness to sacrifice themselves, rather, it was because they had no other way out of this.
Before they had even gotten close to him, they had already activated the mechanisms hidden in their chests, quickly feeling all of their strength leave their bodies. They didn’t have any choice now, as there was no way for them to turn back time. Either they would succeed, or they would embarrass their cause! With the very last of their strength, they catapulted themselves towards Isaac from all directions. This charge would be their last, but also their most glorious one. Or at least that was what they were hoping for.
What unsettled them was the calm look on their opponent’s face and his curious ability to make their friends’ corpses vanish into thin air. But… they weren’t dead yet. He couldn’t possibly do the same to them, right!?
Only after he was sure that he had successfully determined where exactly the explosive mechanism was located did Isaac move at his top speed… and store all of the about-to-explode black robed assailants in his inventory.
He would have been a fool if, during his own system’s creation, he had followed in the footsteps of most of the systems that he had read about in his old world. An inventory that wasn’t capable of storing living beings? What kind of idiocy was that? Not wanting to repeat the mistakes of others, he had chosen to make his inventory entirely different.
It wasn’t just a simple space-based storage, rather, it was a storage which could perfectly ‘pause’ any entity’s state of being. Neither time nor space, nor anything else that was a part of existence, would be capable of affecting whatever entered his inventory. Living creatures wouldn’t experience anything at all either, as even their thoughts would be ‘frozen’. In fact, if Isaac ever wanted to save a handful of AP, then he could always just store every person that he wanted to teleport in his inventory only to release them again once he arrived at his destination.
This was where his various self-imposed restrictions that weren’t already a part of the system came into play yet again. Storing the people close to him would make him feel like they were his ‘possessions’, which in turn would lead to him being slightly uncomfortable, to put it mildly. Additionally, he wasn’t truly hurting for AP, so he could afford minor expenses in an effort to make his life more pleasant. Wasn’t that exactly why he had bought all of those toiletries?
As for storing living beings that were his enemies? Obviously, he had no qualms about that.
Did the inventory have limits? Technically, no. But as it would be a very boring journey if he solved everything by simply adding all of his troubles into his inventory, he chose to not rely on it too much. But why did he do so now? Wasn’t what he just did basically taking the easy and boring route?
Yes, but he had already had another plan at the ready, which would have resulted in him getting nothing more than a couple of scratches but surviving easily nonetheless. The reason why he didn’t choose to go through with it was simple. He had had a sudden but great idea.
‘I can just use these guys as explosives and chuck them at my enemies.’
… he had collected magical suicide bombers to use them as disposable grenades.
-----
‘What… just happened!?’
A look of abject confusion and horror had spread on Asim’s face. He couldn’t believe what he had witnessed. His companions, even though they had chosen to perform the ultimate sacrifice… had disappeared without a trace, leaving their enemy unscathed. This was unprecedented!
It was only when he heard the sound of eerily obtrusive, unhurried footsteps that he was brought back to a reality just as grim as his doubt-induced fears.
Still, he was a veteran of many battles, so he would never allow such a feeling to fully control him. Defiantly, he grinded his teeth, desperately trying to deduce what he had borne witness to. Thankfully, it only took him a fraction of a second to remember a certain detail, causing his eyes to light up in excitement.
‘He needed to touch their bodies to perform his weird Magic! That’s it!!’
Asim was sure that he could at least keep his distance from Isaac for a minute if he gave his best, so this was all the opportunity that he needed. He had long since abandoned any thoughts of escaping, as he knew that he didn’t stand a chance because his enemy was quite a bit faster than him - in the end, he would be caught up with. So the only other option was to somehow combust his life in an effort to kill Isaac. Before, he hadn’t thought that it would be possible, but now, he felt like he had a great shot. If he managed to stay just far enough away for his enemy to be incapable of reaching him and close enough to keep him in the blast radius…
Unhesitatingly, he activated the mechanism in his chest, staring intently at Isaac who was still walking towards him. Now, only about ten meters separated them.
Seeing his foe frown made a refreshed smirk appear on Asim’s lips, but it only lasted until he heard the man’s next words. The beads of cold sweat on his back turned into an effervescent stream.
“I need you alive, so I can’t allow your explosion shenanigans.”
When the enemy suddenly accelerated, he was almost too fast for Asim to keep up with him.
The key word was ‘almost’. A smug grin was plastered on his face as he managed to bolt away utilizing his top speed, certain that he would be able to keep this up until his life came to an end.
Just fractions of a second later, he suddenly felt a heavy impact on the left side of his body. He forcefully ground to a halt - he had smashed directly against the wall. Asim had been so focused on Isaac that he had completely failed to notice that his opponent had maneuvered him into a position which would inevitably lead him to collide with the wall… should be barrel there directly, that is.
A slightly flabbergasted expression appeared on Isaac’s face and he muttered to himself while making his way next to the disoriented victim of his small trick.
“I expected to corner him, but not like this. What kind of retard runs straight into a wall?”
These words hurt the black robed man’s pride greatly, but that was the least of his worries. He didn’t even get a chance to retort or to move a single muscle. With a perfectly aimed chop, Isaac knocked the man unconscious.
During the time when the corpses had been about to explode, he had observed that only after absolutely all of the mana in the respective body had been accumulated in the mechanism did it start the self-detonation process. Thanks to his superb mana detection, he could clearly see that, with the current speed that Asim’s body was being deprived of mana, it would still take at least tens of seconds until he would bloom in a violent way. Because of this detail, he guessed that the higher a person’s Magic stat was, the longer it would take for an explosion to take place - but obviously, it would also be far more powerful.
In any case, the predicted time was more than enough. A few seconds later, Isaac had already cut out the mechanism with surgical precision. It had been moderately difficult, because it had been located right next to the heart, but with his impeccable control, it hadn’t been a big deal. The pain awoke the non-anaesthetised patient, but without paying any attention to the shock and disbelief on his face, Isaac put the heavily wounded man into his inventory before chucking the mechanism far away, right into the midst of the prolonged battle between the black Minotaurs and the rest of the assailants.
The moment that the connection between Asim and the device had been cut, Isaac had noticed that it had started to heat up, so his original plan of defusing it to study it in-depth wouldn’t work, for now. While he could store it, he also wanted to test it. Although it would be a shame to lose all of these other lovely explosives, he was sure that there would be plenty more where this group came from. But although these suicidal fanatics were an interesting novelty, he wouldn’t go out of his way to gather them. He himself could easily do as much damage as any of their explosives, in a way more targeted and controlled manner. Still, disposable weapons were meant to be used, so while he still had spares that he didn’t really need for his ‘collection’, he could spare himself some exertion by making use of them. Also, it felt ironic to take care of his enemies by utilizing their own weapons. The look on their faces as the devious means they had relied on spelled their doom made a genuinely refreshed smile play across Isaac’s lips.
Meanwhile, the blue-eyed cloaked figure couldn’t help but shiver at everything that she had witnessed. The massive explosion swallowing tens of humans and an even bigger number of monsters didn’t manage to reach her, only the resulting shockwave battered her a little, causing her cloak to flutter.
This entire time, she had been effortlessly taking care of all of the black Minotaurs that had tried to attack her, showcasing a speed that far, far surpassed Isaac’s. Nonetheless, his benevolent and at the end even happy smile as he slaughtered his own kind left her deeply rattled. She wasn’t a greenhorn and had seen many a slaughter. She had even shed a lot of blood herself. Never before, though, had she seen anyone who behaved like him. The stark contrast between his expressions and his actions was far too unnatural.
‘... what a scary man…’