Chapter 11
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Chapter 11: The Dark Thunder Ruins
The next morning, the team led by the Queen of Storms cast aside their usual caution and charged recklessly ahead. The four elite members, averaging level 19, strayed from their original path. They first detoured to wipe out goblins occupying a spring, then slaughtered cat demons hoarding medicinal herbs, and finally drove minotaurs guarding ore veins into panicked retreat.
Normally, the team would rest after such battles. But this time, Fina pushed onward without pause, marching relentlessly until they reached a vast ruin.
“This is the Dark Thunder Ruins!” Midi’s eyes sharpened.
After the great fire in Gran Forest, the Dark Thunder Ruins became a deadly zone crawling with undead and horrors, a place adventurers dreaded.
Yet in Arad Calendar 984, it held no zombies or skeletons—only cat demons ruled here. The strongest was the Cat Demon King “Gardener Rul,” level 20, flanked by level 19 minotaur Behemoths, Poison Cat Demon Kings spewing toxic mist, and curse-weaving dark cat demons.
Alongside goblin underlings, the ruins now resembled a heightened Flame Challenge.
Monsters had reshaped the terrain, making it easy to defend but hard to assault. Conversely, sealing the entrance would trap those inside like rats. For skilled assassins, it was prime hunting grounds.
In his past life, assassins had ambushed here.
Now, Midi would turn it into their tomb.
“Ready? What comes next is unlike anything before,” the black-haired youth asked pointedly, glancing at Fina, Sigmund, and Lilian.
The Queen of Storms kept her casual smile, while the gunslinger and cleric nodded solemnly. Yet beneath their calm, simmered a mix of tension and thrill.
They were in top form—exactly the mettle needed for the future Hawk Brigade’s core.
“Good. Let’s meet this battle head-on.” Midi strode into the ruins first.
Soon, the boom of Fina’s trademark explosions echoed through the crumbling walls.
Outside, shadows pooled beneath the dense forest canopy.
A level 25 transmuter lay hidden in bushes, stifling a bored yawn.
His duty: prevent cheating and protect noble brats—Dean Lind’s repeated orders. But he knew he was just the decoy. A level 30 expert lurked unseen, only intervening in true emergencies.
“Stuck babysitting Hamilton’s precious heir,” he grumbled. Midi’s anti-assassin tactics had worn him thin.
Three days of monotony dulled his alertness. He didn’t notice the shadow creeping over him.
Slender hands emerged—dark-purple nails, a matte-black dagger.
The blade pierced his neck, severing his spine, silencing him mid-grumble. A five-level gap meant nothing when ambush trumped vigilance.
The assassin’s “Heavenly Execution” left no room for struggle.
She stepped into the light—a petite dark elf with icy eyes. Level 30.
“Belmar Duchy’s watchers? Pathetic.” She nudged the corpse with her boot.
Two more shadows joined her: a level 30 gunner, level 31 Battle Mage, and a level 35 sword soul whose crimson-stained blade told of the academy’s fallen “hidden expert.”
“Our mission,” the sword soul intoned, “is to kill two: Fina Hamilton, the red-haired girl, and Midi Asreks, the black-haired boy. The rest are insects—crush them if convenient. Understood?”
“Yes!” Three voices answered low.
As Midi predicted, the assassins once again chose the ruins as their hunting ground.
The four left a Battle Mage with strong firepower and mobility to block the ruins’ exit, while the remaining three scattered inside to search for targets.
To the Sword Soul leader, these low-level students who hadn’t even undergone transmutation posed no threat – especially after clearing an entire monster horde. Only the employer’s generous payment and influence justified deploying backbone forces like himself.
But having taken action, the Blood Blade Thieves Guild’s eighth-ranked killer resolved to finish this cleanly.
"What’s this?" The Sword Soul froze mid-step.
Far too many monsters remained for a "cleared" area. Though roaring sounds had echoed outside, inside he found barely any slain creatures – just enraged goblins swarming the ruins, Cat Demons circling destroyed nests, and Minotaurs rampaging with massive axes.
The four academy students had vanished. Instead, the high-level assassins now struggled to move undetected through this chaotic sea of monsters.
"Trap!" The Sword Soul’s heart clenched. How dared these level 20 Prey scheme against him? Rage flooded the undefeated killer.
BOOM! An explosion shook the ruins’ entrance.
"First." Midi wiped blood from his face.
The black-haired boy glanced at the fallen Battle Mage. Before pleas could form, his blade flashed – separating head from body. The severed head rolled across stone, shock and anger frozen on its face, before settling against a wall.
Lure assassins in. Trap them. Execute. Simple strategy – except for one challenge: hiding from monsters.
Normal adventurers couldn’t evade detection here. Unless… they became monsters themselves.
Midi’s potion formula – adapted from future lover Mist Sorceress Alice’s research – used local monster parts to create perfect environmental disguises. Though common knowledge in later years of mutation, currently only he knew this trick.
Using gathered materials from multiple ruins, Midi brewed the camouflage spray. Then came the easy part: agitate monsters like disturbing hornets, apply potion, then ambush near the entrance.
The assassins walked right past their prey. Midi’s team struck together, eliminating the level 31 Battle Mage guard.
Now controlling the battlefield, they could flee… or counterattack.
For the future Queen of Magic, only one choice existed.
"Eye for eye! Tooth for tooth! Double payback!" The red-haired girl’s smile turned fierce. "I expected honor from the Sais family during trials. Since they want war – war they’ll get!"
Midi nodded silently. Heat pulsed through his left arm as he charged after that crimson streak into the ruins.
