CH. 175: Start of The Invasion
It was already dark when the mission started. Our first wave of workers has already arrived to the mysterious ruines with Foresight in the front lines while Hiro remained in the back for support. He's activated invisibility spells when needed and throw area recognition spells to inspect the area. However, it seemed like those ruines were truly abandoned with no one or nothing guarding them.
The worker teams and Hiro finally made it to the main mausoleum after a thorough investigation filled with treasure hunting and looting. Needless to say that the sub-buildings surrounding the main one were filled with treasures, gold and ancient artifacts.
It was a trap to lure those greedy workers into a treasure hunt with no prize, maze with just dead ends, a death filled with despair and sorrow. Hiro knew all this, since he shared Akira's memories. He knew that this entire madness was plotted by Demiurge and approved by Ainz himself, a lure to kill those workers, establish an alliance with Baharuth, come out as the independent state of Nazzarick, and by the same occasion, kill the rising star Hiro.
Hiro had no intention of dying, nor let his friends die, for now. His mission was simple, rescue Arche, while putting a show for Akira, then leave with all his friends. But if Arche is already dead, then, he wouldn't mind striking the core of that miserable Tomb.
"Hey Hiro, We're heading for the main mausoleum. Let's not waste any other second." Termite said, indicating that they're leaving the ruined building they're already in.
Hiro looks at all the treasure chests surrounding them, "Aren't you atleast going to retrieve this gold?" He asked. Hiro would carry anything of whatsoever size in his infinite imaginary space, hence that question. But the team didn't have the same ressources as him, leading to dumbfounded expressions.
"Hahaha I hope you're kidding." Imina says, laughing.
"Brother, it would take the world's strongest man to carry that gold in and out of these ruines without collapsing." Roberdyck joked.
"We'll come back to pick up what we can when we return from the main course. But for now, we still have a lot to explore." Termite explained.
Having comprehended the situation, Hiro and the team leave the building and walk the stairs up towards the main building, meeting in their way the old man of Dragon Hunt who interacts with the workers team –Hiro excluded– just like in the anime.
They arrive eventually to the meeting position with all other workers groups, all having found the same treasures as Foresight or even more, all blinded by greed which is gonna be the last sin they'll ever commit in this life.
Having settled for what to do next, Dragon Hunt will remain at the surface to protect the entrance to the mausoleum while patrolling the ruines meanwhile the 3 worker teams with Hiro dive into the underground of the Mausoleum.
In other words, Nazzarick, Floor 0.
During the way, the only monsters they encountered were skeletons, easy kills. But after finding a cross way with three different paths, the groups had to separate.
The monsters started getting more equipped and stronger as time moved on, from simple skeletons to elder liches that can cast Rank 1 spells. It's in these kind of situations that Arche's presence was more needed than ever. Termite was starting to belive that coming on this mission without a mage was a not so good idea, but they had to time to find a mage and form him properly on such short notice, so no remorse. Also, Hiro was there for help so surely it wouldn't be that bad.
And as they progressed they could hear screams of terror and agony from afar, those shouts of pain were familiar but unfamiliar at the same time. It was the suffering of the other workers, put on display for the others to hear, broadcasted across the maze of Nazzarick's Floor 0 to empower the monsters and weaken the intruders.
Ainz was watching as Foresight progressed... The only group of workers still alive at this point. Not even Dragon Hunt were exception, the poor group of workers got demolished by the Pleiade Battle Maids at the surface. Each group had a more devastating ending than the other.
"I–I think we should head back for now..." Termite proposes.
"Yeah I agree, I heard some screams, it's making me worry about the others." Imina said.
For them to reach this current level, Roberdyck had to use plenty of mental enhancement spells such as [Heart of Tiger] so that his friends could endure the despair they went through up tuning now.
"If you say so... Then, Let's get back." Roberdyck agrees.
Hiro just goes with the flow.
They turn around to make their escape. However, as soon as they do so, a magic circle appears below their feet, on ground.
'This is it! Where they get teleported to the Arena !' Hiro mumbled in his mind.
Hiro quickly pulled his arm forward and chanted, "Cancel magic!" A canceling type of magic emitted around his area to try and stop the teleportation.
However, unexpected, his magic broke.
"WHAT?!" He shouts in stupeur. And in the next moment, Hiro is left alone there, Foresight was teleported, just like in the anime, to the Floor 4 of Nazzarick: The Arena.
Hiro looks at this terrified. He tried to change the future, to rewrite the fate of Foresight, but it couldn't be altered.
The plot was following its normal path and no one could stop it. The only one capable of defying the plot armor itself was Akira, a power he had not blessed Hiro with.
Meaning that if he wanted to see Foresigjt again, he'd better get to Floor 4 quickly. Or, alternatively, find a teleportation trap.
He couldn't use teleportation because he didn't know where the 4th floor was. The light novel never explained the geometry of the Nazzarick Underground System meaning he could end up anywhere and take hours before finding the Arena, too late.
And now, he was about to enter Floor 1, guarded by the most powerful entity of the Underground...
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