Chapter 1104

〈Chapter 1104〉 The Dark Moon

As I walked ahead, I raised my hand. The squad’s movement came to a halt.

I felt like I heard an unusual sound.

I activated the Mana Circuit and channeled mana into my ears—enhancing my hearing. This isn’t magic; it’s just basic Body Enhancement through mana. It may not be as effective as magic, but it’s easy to use in a pinch.

Drip… drip-drip.

The sound of water droplets falling. My expression immediately soured.

“Damn. It’s gonna rain.”

“It’s raining? For real?”

“Ah, what now?”

“No way we’d have to wear rain gear in combat…”

“Haa…”

Groans of irritation erupted from all around.

Among the training scenarios we’ve endured, nothing is more annoying than when something falls from Heaven. Clothes get damp and sticky, uniforms soak up water and feel like straightjackets. Vision narrows, sounds become muffled. Rain gear feels suffocating, and the ground turns muddy. And don’t forget that strange fishy smell that creeps in.

“At least we don’t have snow or hail—we should be grateful for small mercies.”

Even though it’s summer, on days when the Dark Moon appears, even snow in the middle of summer wouldn’t raise eyebrows.

We put on our rain gear—it was thin, but as soon as we slipped it on, it felt like breathing through a sock.

Our halted steps began moving again, and soon enough, torrential rain poured down.

“Be careful not to slip. Keep the radios dry. They’re pretty durable, but better safe than sorry.”

“Got it.”

Silently, we trudged onward until we reached halfway up the mountain. After assessing the team, I decided to take a break. Originally, we were supposed to push forward without stopping, but the heavy rain forced us to change plans. Moving through a rainy mountain consumes twice the stamina. A rest was necessary.

‘And out of everyone in Squad 1, I’m probably the weakest physically…’

Leaning against a sturdy tree, I unscrewed my canteen and took small sips of water. I opened my Astral senses, expanding my perception to pinpoint Instructor Venus’s location. I wanted to know where she was lurking.

‘…Nope, can’t sense her. Not only do I have no idea where she is, I can’t even tell which direction. It’s not just because of the rain. There’s a deeper reason. Instructor Venus is far stronger than me.’

“211.”

Someone called my name. Through the rain, it was hard to distinguish voices. Turning my head, I saw Cadet 31. Before I could respond, they pointed upward. Instinctively, I tilted my head skyward.

About 30 meters above, a Monster flapped its wings. Narrowing my eyes, I scrutinized its form—a bat-like creature with stony skin.

“…It’s a Gargoyle. A Grade 2 Monster.”

I said it aloud. The others, who had been resting, sprang to their feet, rifles in hand. Dealing with the Gargoyle wasn’t part of the mission. Avoidance would be best.

‘But it’s spotted us and is closing in. Combat is unavoidable.’

Information about gargoyles in the “Dark Moon” game surfaced in my mind.

Grade 2 Monsters, gargoyles are known for their rock-hard skin and ability to fly.

‘Bullets won’t penetrate. They’ve likely grown stronger under the influence of the Dark Moon, making them even tougher. Gargoyles attack using claws and teeth. Despite flying, their only method of offense is close-range combat.’

To attack us, the gargoyle must descend.

‘There’s no need to waste bullets. When the gargoyle dives down, we’ll counter. With this rain, Ice Magic will make short work of it.’

Barrier Magic will suffice to block the gargoyle’s assault. The 2nd-grade Barrier I’ve set up…


If it comes to blocking a single attack from a gargoyle, that will be easy.

Just as I was about to explain a simple strategy to the squad members for catching the gargoyle, I sensed the flow of mana nearby. My reaction was delayed as I was pondering the countermeasures against gargoyles.

“Ice Arrow.”

With 31’s clean voice, the second-level magic Ice Arrow flew towards the gargoyle. The icicle as thick as my forearm struck the gargoyle’s body accurately.

Zzzang!

The Ice Arrow exploded. Instead of heat, cold covered the gargoyle’s body. The relentless downpour instantly froze due to the cold. The gargoyle, its body frozen stiff, fell to the ground unable to fly.

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

“…31.”

“What?”

“Why did you suddenly launch an Ice Arrow?”

“I judged it appropriate since it’s raining. Fire Arrow would’ve been too conspicuous.”

“No, I’m asking why you attacked suddenly. We’re not alone here, you know.”

“…That’s true. Next time, I’ll announce before attacking.”

“Thanks.”

I ended it with another reminder.

Thankfully, the monster that appeared was just a gargoyle. If a stronger monster had shown up and 31 had attacked recklessly… Just thinking about it was terrifying.

Since we’re moving in squads now, I’d appreciate it if individuals could refrain from sudden actions.

Leaving the gargoyle’s corpse behind, we headed towards the mountaintop.

While walking at the front, I thought about 31’s magic.

‘…The movement of mana felt a bit different from the usual 31. The casting speed was much faster, and the power of the Ice Arrow was almost on par with a third-level spell.’

The cause is obviously the black moon floating in the sky.

‘An ordinary human doesn’t receive positive influence from the Dark Moon. At most, their mood might slightly elevate.’

Even that’s a special case. Usually, when the Dark Moon appears, people feel depressed and vague fear.

’31 isn’t a dark mage… so the reason she’s affected by the Dark Moon… must be the factor. She definitely possesses some special factor.’

Having reached this conclusion, I clicked my tongue inwardly.

I tried to avoid getting involved with 31, yet my mind kept speculating about her.

‘I can’t help but admit it. As a magician, 31 is an interesting person.’

There was much to learn from her. The way she handled mana, how she created incantations…

‘The Ice Arrow just now was intriguing too. Originally, arrow-type spells are penetration-based, but she modified part of the incantation to explode with cold.’

It was similar to the third-level magic Ice Ball.

Other squad members who hadn’t reached the second level simply accepted it as 31’s magic, but not me.

My feet stopped.

I cleared away distractions and focused on the front.

At a distance of 50 meters, there was a fence. A shoddy one, hastily put together. And inside, there were makeshift wooden houses.

A goblin village. With intelligence comparable to children, they build such fences and homes and settle down. Older goblins even employ basic strategies. They coat their wooden spears with poison from toxic herbs and swing them around.

I raised my hand and signaled the squad members.

Everyone armed themselves with guns and activated their magic.

“Silence.”

A first-level non-elemental magic. It eliminated surrounding sounds, including footsteps and breathing. Though at the first level, it couldn’t suppress large sounds like gunshots, but with silencers equipped on the guns, things changed.

Due to Silence, the surroundings became tranquil in an instant.

‘Hmm… Even the sound of rain has disappeared.’

I suppressed a hollow laugh. The squad members couldn’t control the magic as delicately as I could.

‘By doing this, aren’t we practically telling the enemies we’re here?’

If the sound of rain is heard everywhere and then suddenly disappears in one spot, it’s obvious that attention will be drawn there.

‘But considering the opponent is goblins, it probably doesn’t matter much.’

First, I ordered the squad members to wait and went on reconnaissance myself. Eliminating all sounds except the rain, I circled the fence, confirming the size of the village and the weak points of the fence.

‘Roughly 70 or so? Goblins reproduce quickly, so let’s estimate generously at 100. There’s likely a hobgoblin as the leader.’

Gurgle gurgle gurgle.

A massive sound of water reached my ears. I looked up to see behind the goblin village. A mountain…


At the summit, there was a waterfall that didn’t quite fit. The direction of the waterfall was opposite to where the 667th squad was located.

I briefly looked around.

“If this follows the game’s lore, it must be the Brena Mountain Range. Since it’s a place where people don’t pass through, it’s perfect for conducting experiments that shouldn’t be discovered.”

Even though the scenery was hard to see due to the night, it was still breathtaking enough to make me gasp in admiration.

I compared the terrain from the game with reality and mentally mapped it out. This might come in handy later.

After heading to where the squad members were waiting, I signaled them. The squad members kept watch on all sides as they followed behind me.

We infiltrated through the loose part of the wooden fence I had scouted beforehand.

It was successful. There wasn’t any commotion in the goblin village. We began silently eliminating the goblins as we walked through silence and darkness.

When I pulled the trigger, bullets flew soundlessly, piercing the goblins’ bodies. Goblins, being weak even among Tier 1 monsters, couldn’t block or deflect the bullets.

Despite killing over seventy, the goblin village remained eerily quiet. Things were going smoothly.

“Only the building at the center remains.”

Though crude like the other goblin structures, it was larger and elaborately decorated with animal bones and bird feathers.

“I’ll go in first.”

I sent a signal and entered.

A goblin with red skin instead of green was sleeping in the center of the building. Hobgoblins are larger than regular goblins and have red skin.

“Expected a hobgoblin, but damn…isn’t it way too big?”

Standing at nearly 3 meters tall with a protruding belly and muscular limbs, its body almost completely filled the house. If it were any bigger, the house would’ve collapsed.

“It must’ve mutated due to the Dark Moon.”

I quietly surveyed the situation. The giant hobgoblin was deeply asleep. Rainwater dripped from the poorly constructed ceiling, soaking its body.

“This one is best handled by me. With Silence, no sound will escape, and the building blocks the view. If I hide my mana fluctuations carefully, even Squad 31 wouldn’t detect what magic I use.”

I activated Astral and used the skill that generates electricity through 12 mana rods.

A bright blue current sparked above my right hand. As time passed, the current grew stronger until my hand was completely obscured by it after a few seconds.

Level 3 Magic: Lightning Grab.

I gripped the hobgoblin’s shoulder. The electric current surged through its body.

The hobgoblin suddenly opened its eyes.

“KREEEEEEEEEEK!”

Letting out an eerie scream, the hobgoblin sat up. The building’s ceiling couldn’t hold for even a second and shattered.

I instinctively used Flash Step.

“…Damn it. That’s wrong. Normally, it should’ve been paralyzed by the shock, let alone move.”

I found the cause in my game knowledge.

Monsters mutated through the Dark Moon become what’s commonly known as Elite Monsters, gaining anywhere from one to five special traits. In the game, these traits conveniently appear above the monster’s head, but this is reality. No such thing exists here.

“I assumed the hobgoblin, being a low-tier monster, would only have one trait—enlargement…”

My attack didn’t land properly.

“The two likely traits are Magic Resistance and Attribute Resistance.”

Magic Resistance reduces magical damage by 50%, while Attribute Resistance decreases specific elemental damage by 90%.

“It’s Magic Resistance…! If it were Attribute Resistance, the hobgoblin wouldn’t have calmly risen and counterattacked without showing any signs of pain…”

Of all things, it had to be Magic Resistance…

“…Shit. What I told No. 31 comes to mind.”

I felt so embarrassed by my own arrogance that my face burned. If I had used magic simultaneously with the other squad members from the start, the outcome would’ve been different.

The hobgoblin swung its massive fist.

In an instant, I cast a spell by weaving the talismans.

A Barrier blocked the creature’s punch. CLANG! Ridiculously, the Level 2 Barrier shattered instantly, and my body was hurled backward, breaking through the wooden wall. Thanks to the barrier absorbing most of the impact, the damage was minimal despite the dramatic flight—I only suffered a torn cheek and some minor bruises.

“The hobgoblin has mutated! Spread out and use freezing barrier magic!!”

I shouted at the startled squad members as I quickly stood up.