Chapter 20: The Dark Shaman, Donecolint
Zzzzing—
"…!"
The air trembled violently. Through my blurred vision, I saw the tip of a sword barely stopped by a pair of daggers. If that block had been even a second slower, the blade would have run me through.
I let out a shaky breath, pressing a hand to my chest to steady myself. Then I turned my gaze toward the one who had intervened.
Someone with dual daggers crossed to intercept the watcher’s sword.
A lean, masked figure.
Could it be Fenry Chaser herself…?
No, it wasn’t her. Other masked figures, with similar builds, appeared behind the watcher and launched their own attacks.
If it had been Fenry, she wouldn’t have brought backup.
There were three in total.
These were the Black Rose mercenaries sent by Fenry to protect me.
“…What the hell!?”
The watcher was clearly startled by the ambush. But being a skilled knight, he quickly recovered and adjusted his stance.
His face hardened as he surveyed the area, then a chilling glow emanated from his body—he was beginning to unleash the power of a four-star knight.
The Black Rose mercenary standing in front of me responded in kind, their body flickering with a red aura.
KAKAKAKANG—!
The sound of their clash rang out like a thunderous explosion, rattling my eardrums. Rainwater and shards of stone scattered violently as the two forces collided, forcing me to stagger backward.
Their movements were so fast, I could barely follow the fight with my eyes. Two blurs of light, colliding and rebounding over and over again.
Is this what a four-star knight is capable of?
Then what kind of monsters must those above five stars be?
I spat out the grit that had gotten into my mouth, already calculating my escape.
The other two Black Rose mercenaries joined the fight, forcing the watcher into a defensive position. Bit by bit, they pushed him farther away, giving me some breathing room.
He no longer had the luxury to focus on me.
Not that I had much time to relax either.
[“Ten minutes.”]
I heard it loud and clear.
The countdown had started. I had ten minutes—no, nine minutes now—before the Black Rose mercenaries disappeared like smoke, leaving me to fend off an enraged four-star knight on my own.
It wasn’t every day you got to witness a four-star battle up close, but this was hardly the kind of experience I wanted when my life was on the line.
Where is it? Where the hell is it!?
I glanced briefly at the unconscious mercenaries and Ben, then shifted my gaze to the roaring magical flame.
Even under the pouring rain, the magical fire refused to go out, and black smoke billowed from it.
Following the trail of smoke, I set off at a sprint.
Moments later, my eyes lit up as I spotted what I was searching for. I bolted with everything I had.
Found it!
A massive rock, almost the size of a small mountain.
Among the hundreds—no, thousands—of holes riddling its surface, several were drawing in the black smoke.
It was absorbing the air, sucking in everything around it.
I knew exactly what this meant.
There was only one phenomenon that could cause this.
The ancient glyph.
The curse of the Razor Wind, powered by an ancient force. The reason the deadly windstorm had stopped earlier was because the glyph was absorbing air to prepare for the next blast.
That smoke trail—it led directly to the source of the glyph’s power.
Without hesitation, I slid into one of the largest holes, letting myself be pulled downward.
“Ow! Ow! Dammit!”
Sharp pain shot through me as I slid deeper.
The inner surface of the rock was rough and full of tiny pits, scraping my skin with every movement—like being dragged across volcanic rock.
But now wasn’t the time to worry about scrapes and bruises.
Seven minutes left.
The hole wasn’t particularly deep, and I quickly landed at the bottom. I covered my nose with a damp cloth—the thick black smoke was acrid, stinging my nostrils like tear gas.
I scanned my surroundings.
The space resembled an ant nest, with tunnels and holes branching out in all directions. Some of the holes allowed faint light to seep in, so it wasn’t completely dark.
I nodded to myself.
“Not bad.”
The maze-like structure, the rain constantly washing away any traces, and the ever-present curse of the Razor Wind—this was the perfect environment to disappear.
Inside this enclosed space, the curse would only grow more intense. Anyone caught in the wind would likely die instantly, their skulls crushed from the pressure.
Even the most skilled tracker would struggle to find me here.
Will he follow me inside?
Night would soon fall.
Once the light vanished, the watcher would have to navigate the maze while dodging the relentless wind. No easy feat, even for him.
But if the watcher was as devoted to Kamel as I feared, he wouldn’t stop until he found me.
Six minutes left.
The plan was simple: hide as deeply as possible.
No matter how powerful the watcher was, he wouldn’t be able to withstand the constant onslaught of the curse inside this confined space.
Sooner or later, he’d be forced to retreat.
“Whew….”
I exhaled slowly, taking in the twisted maze of tunnels around me.
Beyond this point, the unknown awaited. But one thing was certain—this was now a deadly game of hide-and-seek.
If I got caught, I was dead.
The only way to survive was to run as far as possible and find a place to hide.
I chose a direction and began sprinting, using the acrid smoke as my guide.
There was still time left.
If I could locate the ancient glyph’s exact position, I might gain an edge.
The tunnels blurred as I ran, moving faster than any ordinary human could.
Five minutes left.
The path kept branching—first into two tunnels, then three, then five. I didn’t hesitate. I followed the smoke trail, moving without rest.
Three minutes left.
My lungs burned, and I was gasping for air, but I couldn’t stop.
I had to keep moving.
Finally, the tunnels stopped branching, leaving a single, narrow path. As I pressed on, the walls closed in around me, forcing me to crouch, then crawl.
The space grew tighter and tighter, until it became pitch black.
A normal person might have panicked—but somehow, I remained strangely calm.
If it gets any narrower, I’ll have to turn back.
Being trapped in a dead end would mean certain death.
But turning back carried its own risks—if I ran into the watcher, it was game over.
Please… just a little further.
I crawled forward, my heart pounding in my chest.
Finally, the ten minutes were up.
The Black Rose mercenaries would have left by now, and the watcher would be on the move.
There was no turning back now.
Whatever lay at the end of this path would determine my fate.
And then—
“Huh?”
A glimmer of white light appeared beyond the narrow tunnel.
Could it be a way out?
Or… the location of the ancient glyph?
Hope surged through me, and I pushed forward with renewed strength.
“Khah!”
I burst through the narrow opening, tumbling down into a wide, open space.
Quickly regaining my footing, I scanned my surroundings.
I had landed in a vast cavern, large enough to rival a schoolyard.
Several tunnels lined the opposite walls, and a strong wind flowed steadily through them, all converging toward the center of the cavern.
There, atop a high stone altar, hovered a golden glyph, shimmering with ancient power.
The glyph was devouring the wind, absorbing every gust that entered the cavern.
Is that…?
There was no doubt.
This was the Ancient glyph—one of the rare inscribed artifacts that bestowed its owner with immense power.
And its rightful owner was none other than Donecolint, the dark shaman.
Donecolint was one of the elder shamans, feared across battlefields for his devastating ability—Siren’s Scream—a mental curse that struck terror into the hearts of soldiers.
The glyph before me was the source of his power.
To claim it, all I had to do was break through the barrier surrounding the altar and make contact with the glyph.
Of course, it came at a risk.
The barrier wasn’t just decorative—it was designed to unleash the full force of the glyph’s power on anyone who tried to breach it.
Failing would mean more than just death—it would mean being torn apart, body and soul.
Even Donecolint had needed two weeks to break through this barrier.
Could I withstand it?
There was only one way to find out.
If things got too dangerous, I could always retreat.
But staying here too long was just as dangerous. I didn’t know where the watcher was, and if I stayed in this open space, I’d be exposed.
I needed to move—fast.
Just as I prepared to approach the altar, I noticed something strange.
A black rope encircled the barrier, lined with small bells. Despite the gusting wind, the bells remained silent.
It was an eerie sight—completely out of place.
This looks like… shamanic work.
The realization hit me like a slap.
Wait a second… Donecolint… wasn’t he recruited around this time?
Kamel’s first external recruit after becoming lord of Blyer had been Donecolint.
And Donecolint was…
I stared at the black rope with growing dread.
The rightful owner of the glyph.
That meant Donecolint had already completed his ritual.
The rope and bells weren’t a seal—they were part of Donecolint’s ritual to unlock the glyph.
“No way… you’ve got to be kidding me.”
I shook my head with a nervous laugh, but my instincts screamed at me to run.
BOOM!
“SHIT!!!!”
The ground exploded beneath me as a giant stone hand smashed into the spot where I had been standing.
I cursed louder than ever before.
This was no ordinary situation.
Not only had I stumbled into Donecolint’s glyph ritual, but I had also arrived at the worst possible time.
As if this damn novel had thrown me into the story just to mess with me.
I turned around, and there he was—a frail old man draped in tattered rags, waving his staff at me.
Donecolint.
BOOM! BOOM!
Massive stone hands pounded the ground like hammers, chasing after me as I rolled and dodged.
“YOU DAMNED BUG!”
“……”
A bug, huh?
Sure, there’s a parasite in my heart, but that’s not exactly my fault, now is it?
I dashed toward the nearest tunnel, diving inside to escape the relentless attacks.
With Donecolint in play, my plans were falling apart.
If the watcher showed up now, this would turn into a total disaster. But regardless of what happened, the outcome was clear:
Get captured, or die.
As I crawled deeper into the tunnel, I came to an abrupt halt.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
A dead end.
The tunnel was blocked.
I let out a bitter laugh, shaking my head.
At that moment—
“Gah! Aaargh!”
One of the stone hands grabbed my leg and yanked me into the air.