Chapter 98

"Xynthia, what are you standing there for? Use your divine magic quickly!" Gordon shouted, his hands moving swiftly as he began to prepare a spell.

"Ah... Oh!" Xynthia nodded reflexively, raising the holy symbol in her hand and chanting the incantation.

"Evardra!"

The long battle had ingrained the steps of casting divine magic into her instincts. In just a couple of breaths, a pale pink light shot out from the holy symbol of Evardra, which bore the image of a traveler's backpack, and instantly submerged into Kara's body. Just as her dagger had pierced through Ronald's heartguard, breaking the skin and penetrating the flesh, Kara was horrified to find that she could not advance any further. Her entire body felt as if it were encased in cement, completely immobile.

Xynthia's use of the Human Hold spell almost saved Ronald's life at the last moment. The captain of the Lucky Coins took the opportunity to leap backward, putting some distance between himself and Kara, then picked up the long spear he had placed on the ground.

"It's still a bit slow. If Xynthia had listened to me and acted together from the start, Ronald wouldn't have been injured," Gordon shook his head. Then he laughed self-deprecatingly, realizing that his obsession with a flawless run in games had resurfaced.

While Ronald was talking to the injured Kara, Gordon had been cautious and used the Eye of Truth and Warning given to him by Ioun to scan the surroundings.

Encountering an injured woman in this perilous ruin made Gordon instinctively feel something was amiss. Ronald and the others had lowered their guard because they knew Kara, but to Gordon, she was just an unknown stranger, so he remained vigilant.

The result was shocking. Through the Eye of Truth and Warning, Gordon discovered that there were about twenty people, armed with various weapons and harboring ill intentions, hiding around the ruins. They were concealed by a sophisticated illusion array, so neither the scout Plum nor the ranger Sera, who were skilled in reconnaissance, had noticed anything wrong.

Now Gordon understood. The injured Kara was just a trap, and they were the targeted prey.

The endless wealth in the Danzer Ruins attracted adventurers to swarm in. However, the large number of adventurers also attracted another kind of ruthless individuals.

You could call them murderers, robbers, the scum of mercenaries, or the dregs of adventurers.

Venturing deep into the Danzer Ruins was highly profitable but also risky. It was easier to ambush the adventurers on the inevitable paths and rob them.

The Lucky Coins encountered a group that specialized in robbing other adventurers.

After assessing the strength of both sides, Gordon found that apart from a spellcaster who could use the illusion array, the others were all warriors below level five. For Gordon, who possessed area-of-effect spells, these people were only good for gaining experience.

So Gordon began to plan a counterattack.

He used a message spell to inform Xynthia of his plan—only the female cleric could be notified, as Ronald was too far away for the zero-level spell to reach him. The enchanted items that could send messages were enhanced by arrays and runes to increase the spell's range.

Unfortunately, Gordon overestimated his influence on Xynthia. The female cleric did not fully follow his orders. She started using divine magic as soon as Gordon fired the Melf's Acid Arrow. It wasn't until Gordon exposed the hidden positions in the illusion array and three of the enemies were killed that she reacted.

"Damn it, kill them, rob them!" A mage holding a sapphire staff stood on a boulder, his face twisted, and he shouted madly, directing his subordinates to attack.

After being exposed, the caster of the illusion array no longer wanted to waste energy maintaining it. He waved his hand, dispelling the array, and prepared to use the numerical advantage to secure victory.

The members of the Lucky Coins, except for Gordon and Ronald, were still unclear about what was happening. However, their long years of adventuring had made them alert and well-trained—when someone charges at you with weapons, do you need to think? Of course, you fight first.

The bard Gregor's slender fingers plucked the mandolin, and the melodious tune accompanied his elegant voice, echoing in the cold ruins.

Gordon felt a surge of strength and courage, as if the enemies before him were mere clay pigeons that could be easily swept away. This was the effect of the bard's third-level spell, "Heroism."

For a mage, this was nothing special, but for a melee fighter like Gragor Shortbeard, it was like a shot of adrenaline.

"Moradin!"

The dwarf shield guardian shouted the name of his patron deity and charged forward, intercepting the four enemies at the front.

"Hehe, enjoy your last flight!" Gragor chuckled, not waiting for the enemies to react, and swung his massive tower shield, which was almost as tall as he was, smashing it forward.

The air disturbance caused by the shield's rapid movement made the four warriors panic. The whistling wind was still in their ears when they were knocked into the air.

"Home run." That was the only term Gordon could think of for the dwarf's strike.

The four warriors, screaming and flailing their limbs in the air, didn't have time to experience the feeling of their bodies shattering upon impact with the ground. Four arrows, swift as black lightning, flew through the air, hitting their targets with the precision of a guided shot. The arrows pierced the vulnerable necks of the four warriors, who had no armor to protect them, and blood spurted out.

The four arrows accurately hit their throats.

When they landed, only four corpses remained.

"Big Beard, well done!" Sera's lively voice rang out.

"Don't get too excited, girl, there are still many enemies to deal with." The dwarf shield guardian pulled out his black single-edged battle axe and charged toward the next enemy.

Gragor knocked the enemies into the air, and Sera took advantage of their unbalanced state in mid-air to shoot them down. The two worked seamlessly together, showcasing the seasoned experience of the Lucky Coins.

While the dwarf and the ranger were dealing with the four warriors, the enemy's leader, the mage, also took action. He pointed his staff at Ronald, who had just picked up his long spear but was hindered by his chest wound.

The sapphire at the tip of the staff aimed at Ronald and emitted a cold light. The air around them rapidly cooled, and frost formed on the ground in front of the staff, making a "crackling" sound.

A staff is an essential tool for mages, not only providing various buffs but also storing many spells for easy access, similar to a magic wand but more powerful.

Such a useful item naturally comes with a high cost. Many mages only accumulate enough materials to craft a staff after reaching the fourth or even fifth level of spellcasting. Gordon had been considering crafting a staff for himself, but due to various tasks and a lack of suitable materials, he had put it off.

However, he didn't expect to encounter a mage with a staff as soon as he entered the Danzer Ruins.

Gordon's spell was just completed, and he pointed directly at Ronald. He originally intended to cast the spell on himself, as survival is the top priority for a mage in battle. But seeing Ronald in danger and with Xynthia, who held a shield, protecting him, and knowing that the enemies had no other means to threaten him besides spells, Gordon immediately changed the target of his spell to Ronald, who was about to be attacked.

"Protection from Energy Damage, selected energy: Ice."

A layer of ice-blue circular shield suddenly appeared around Ronald, emitting a cold aura that enveloped his entire body.

Just as Gordon's spell was completed, a thick ice spike shot out from the mage's staff.

"Third-level evocation spell, Ice Cone... No, a regular Ice Cone isn't this large or long..." Gordon's eyelids twitched, and a sense of foreboding rose in his heart. He glanced at the enemy's sapphire staff and blurted out, "Mazendrin's Staff, Spell Power!"

He quickly shouted, "Ronald, get out of the way!"

Gordon didn't expect that the Mazendrin's Staff, which was famous in "Ancient Epochs," would appear in this world.

This staff was invented by an NPC mage named Mazendrin. Ordinary staffs are usually made from a single type of wood, but Mazendrin used a special method to mix black pine, eucalyptus, and water fir to create a new type of staff. Combined with unique runes, it could provide four daily uses of the "Spell Power" feat for any spell stored in the staff below the fifth level.

Gordon's Melf's Acid Arrow wand was based on and improved upon the techniques used to create the Mazendrin's Staff.

Due to its practicality, countless players who had learned the staff crafting skill flocked to Mazendrin's home to learn the technique. For a period, until the second expansion of "Ancient Epochs" was released, the Mazendrin's Staff was popular among mage players.

Gordon remembered that he had a Mazendrin's Staff in his game storage, which had accompanied him from level 8 to level 13 as a memento.

As players' average levels increased and a fatal flaw in the Mazendrin's Staff was discovered, this once-popular staff, which every mage had, gradually faded from view.

Gordon didn't expect to see this classic staff again in another world, and it was in the hands of an enemy.

But now wasn't the time to reminisce about the past.

The thick ice cone, enveloped in a cold aura, shot straight toward Ronald. The streamlined cone tore through the air, emitting a sharp whistle, as if it would pierce Ronald's body in the next breath...