"Do you know any other Tier-2 spells?"
"I only know Gust, Barrier, and Stone Wall…"
Huh. All spells Rei already knew.
They really were classics.
When Iz had selected these spells before, she had also said they were the most classic and commonly used spells.
And in actual combat, that certainly seemed to be the case.
Bang!
The Eight-Flea was frozen in place.
A moment later, Rei's Impact Pillar erupted upward from within the frozen lake, violently piercing through the monster's body from below.
Watching that thing hop around nonstop had been seriously annoying.
While casually chatting with the Level 4 mage, Rei had also killed nine King-tier monsters along the way.
Meanwhile, the four spells he had just created were rapidly increasing their proficiency levels through combat.
"Careful!"
The Observer suddenly shouted!
Whoosh!
A black pillar blasted toward him from the distance!
[Repulsion Wind Blast]
One wind blast struck himself.
Another blasted forward.
At the same time, two barriers instantly formed along the pillar's inevitable path!
CRASH—BOOM!
The moment the barriers made contact—
They shattered instantly!
Rei had no intention of taking the attack head-on.
At the fastest possible speed, he completed an evasive maneuver. With Wind Blast and Ice Shards propelling him, he instantly created a massive distance between himself and the attack.
Rei had no interest in fancy micro-maneuvering.
When dodging skills—
The farther away you got, the better.
At the same time, Rei turned his gaze toward the Observer.
Within the Observer's "Field of Vision," one received bonuses to eyesight, perception, attention, and other senses.
He had heard that a Level 5 Observer could even completely share everything within their vision.
But even the current field bonus allowed Rei to see—
A jet-black monster.
Its four legs resembled thick tree roots planted into the earth as it marched heavily toward them.
"Fourth-tier… King-rank… Rootfoot King."
Can this even be defended anymore?
The monsters appearing were becoming more and more ridiculous.
First it was third-tier King-rank monsters.
Now a fourth-tier King-rank had appeared.
Was a Nation-Destroyer-class monster going to show up next?
As the name implied, a Nation-Destroyer monster was capable of wiping out an entire country.
Some weaker kingdoms couldn't even find a solution to deal with a fourth-tier Nation-Destroyer monster, even after mobilizing their entire nation.
Under normal circumstances, a third-tier King-rank monster already possessed enough power to destroy Rhein Town.
The only reason the town had held on until now was because powerful adventurers had gathered here due to the monster tide.
Or rather—
It was mainly because Rei was here.
Rei could tell.
The attack had been aimed directly at him.
These beasts in the monster tide seemed to have chosen him as their target.
The Rootfoot King clasped its hands together.
Another enormous black cylindrical pillar formed between its arms.
It lifted the pillar overhead—
BOOM!
The cylinder shot forward like a cannonball, flying straight toward Rei again!
Damn it!
Is it really only targeting me?!
Wind Blast erupted!
A burst of explosive acceleration propelled Rei forward—
And he dodged the attack again!
The monster was still far away, more than one kilometer from him.
If he didn't advance, he'd simply remain here and wait to be attacked.
But if he moved forward…
Rei looked down.
The ground below was already filled with monster corpses.
Bodies covered the entire battlefield.
There were still a few third-tier King-rank monsters left unresolved, staring at him like predators ready to pounce.
It was obvious.
Their target—
Was him.
No…
At this point, he should run.
This was no longer a level of force that Rhein Town could resist.
He couldn't exactly sacrifice himself heroically just so this town could win, could he?
Those people slacking off over there hadn't really done much anyway.
The only reason he had stayed earlier was because he was worried that assassins might threaten his safety.
But now a fourth-tier King-rank monster was already threatening his life.
Especially after seeing how his Barrier had shattered like paper from a single hit.
That alone made it clear—
His defensive methods simply couldn't withstand that level of attack.
If he failed to dodge even once…
He would probably die.
"Um… Observer-big sister."
Rei smiled awkwardly, a hint of apology on his face.
"I really can't hold out anymore."
Although he hadn't done anything wrong, once he left…
A lot of people here might die.
Thinking about that still made Rei feel a little guilty.
"Rise—Formation!"
However—
The voice that answered Rei did not belong to the Observer.
Instead, an aged voice echoed from below!
At the very center of Rhein Town, a brilliant pillar of light shot into the sky!
A massive magic formation appeared, reflected across the heavens!
Wait—what?!
There really is one?!
Rei had actually been half-skeptical about the claim that Iz had left a magic formation behind.
It had sounded like something they might say just to persuade him to stay.
But—
There actually was one!
Damn!
The magic formation in the sky rotated slowly like an enormous millstone.
Turning.
Operating.
A heavy pressure descended!
A deep rumbling explosion echoed from behind him!
Rei turned his head—
And saw the land behind him had been compressed downward, as if crushed by a gigantic hydraulic press.
The Rootfoot King that had been holding the black pillar…
From a distance, it looked like it had been flattened into something as thin as paper against the ground.
The entire battlefield looked as though a giant had stepped on it.
Everything had been crushed flat like sheets of paper.
"…Damn."
That powerful?
No wonder everyone had been willing to hold the line.
If it were him and he saw an enemy like that approaching, he would have run as far away as possible.
Since such a defensive magic formation existed—
Then things were safe.
Even a fourth-tier King-rank monster could be killed instantly.
Still, to be safe, Rei approached the Observer and asked:
"Observer-big sister, how long can this formation last?"
"An entire day. Any monster that appears within three kilometers outside Rhein Town will be suppressed by the Terminal Gravity Field."
Oh…
So that's how it was.
Meaning there had never really been any life-threatening danger.
Rei wiped his forehead.
He had even broken out in quite a bit of cold sweat earlier.
Turns out it was just a false alarm.
From here on out, they could simply wait here and safely ride out the rest of the battle.
He had heard that Observers recorded every adventurer's kills and would distribute rewards based on their contribution to the monster hunt.
Considering how many he had killed…
The reward should be pretty generous, right?
Apparently the rewards were provided by the kingdom, so they probably wouldn't go back on their word.
Heh.
Pari kept saying something about "ominous fortune bringing supreme luck."
But this didn't seem that dangerous.
Wait—actually, the assassin almost killing him earlier did count as pretty dangerous…
But thinking about it, it wasn't that bad.
After all, the Observer had given him a warning in advance.
Since he'd been transported to another world, how could he avoid encountering at least a little danger?
Thinking carefully…
That seemed to be the only dangerous moment he had experienced since arriving.
Iz asking him to fight that giant serpent didn't count—because that had been staged.
Other than that, thanks to his cautious nature…
Everything had always been very safe.
Almost being assassinated was barely within an acceptable level of danger.
Looks like Pari's divination was pretty accurate.
So if the bad luck had already passed…
What kind of supreme good fortune was waiting next?
Just thinking about it made him feel a little excited.
Thump.
But suddenly—
Rei felt his heart tighten.
A wave of tension spread through his chest.
What was going on?
Why did he suddenly feel like this?
The surrounding atmosphere had become abnormally quiet.
So quiet it almost felt like the effect of his Deafness Potion hadn't worn off yet.
Everyone's eyes—
Were fixed on the distance.
Rei followed their gaze and looked far away.
And what he saw this time…
Was a "female human."
She had a long, whip-like tail trailing behind her.
In one hand, she was gripping someone's hair—
Holding up a severed head.
Those heads…
Belonged to the Level 5 adventurers.
"Tch—damn… adventurers."
"Even when dying, they had to be so stubborn."
A massive wound ran across her abdomen, black blood slowly flowing from it.
The wound was filled with deep black runes, which seemed to be preventing it from healing.
She spat a mouthful of black saliva onto the ground beside her.
The moment it landed—
It was crushed flat against the earth.
As thin as paper.
She was standing inside the gravity field.
Yet she hadn't been flattened.
An overwhelming pressure radiated from her.
Rei could barely breathe.
With a single glance, it was obvious—
This creature was on a completely different level from the monsters before.
Fifth tier?
But what rank within the fifth tier?
She had killed those Level 5 adventurers, which meant she was at least…
King-rank?
Rei refused to believe that four Level 5 adventurers working together could be killed by a same-tier Lord-rank monster.
He looked toward the Observer.
But the Observer's eyes were wide open in shock.
She didn't say a word.
Run.
Rei made the decision instantly.
He turned around and fled without hesitation.
He absolutely could not fight that thing.
Wind Blast erupted!
Ice Shards propelled him to maximum speed!
He ran—
For his life.