King's Attack

King cackled as the creatures he commanded tore through the civilians of Isle City.

“Kakakakaka!”

He bent backwards.

“A world without destructive vermin such as you! What a wonderful future we’ll live in. And for good reason. When a species such as you vermin crowds Eldoria, invading any space you can while taking anything you can—then you folks are dangerous! You need to be exterminated from this planet! Swear on the Goddess’ name!”

King raised his hand and covered his face. He needed to hide his excitement.

“Are you watching, my queen? This is only the first step in our journey for peace. I hope you are entertained!”

Once he said that, something happened.

As King continued bending backwards, he saw something.

Something quick. And sharp.

“Hm?”

It was an arrow!

“Hck!”

And it flew straight to the mage’s forehead.

King stood up straight. He ripped the arrow out of his head.

“Oh my. What have we here?”

Apparently, it was another attack.

An army of rocks was heading in his direction at an alarming speed.

The veins on King’s temple pulsed with anger.

“Shadow Body.”

Casting that spell, King’s body dematerialized, though the image of him was still there.

The mighty rocks whizzed through King as clouds of smoke appeared where the rocks should’ve connected.

“Shadow Boxer.”

With those words, King’s shadow pried itself off the ground and stood like a human. With the moonlight casting long shadows, the dark figure stood tall—its eyes were balls of purple.

Is it strong? King didn’t know, nor did he care to.

“It seems I have a group of assassins after me. Find them,” King commanded.

The Shadow Boxer bowed. It understood what needed to be done.

Then it ran off in the direction King pointed to.

“A mage, huh?”

The archer who shot at him wasn’t anything to worry about. But a mage, on the other hand…

“They need to go…”

<TAI’S POV>

Standing on top of a roof, I held onto Ophelia’s hand as she launched a Rock Volley spell right at the mage who called himself King.

Once she cast her spell, we took cover. Can’t have this guy see us after all. We don’t know what kind of power he has.

But once I saw the rocks phase through his body, I clenched my fist.

What spell did he just cast? And how much mana does this guy have?

And the big question. Can he do it again?

If so, we’re in trouble.

“It’s just as you said, boy,” Cici told me. “The invader is at the southern gate.”

It was something I told the group down in the sewers.

Since I’m in the world of a novel and hanging around with the female leads of the story, there was a good chance that if we ran to the southern gate, we’d meet the guy who caused the invasion.

Because if he didn’t show up, it’d make the plot boring and fall flat. The stakes wouldn’t be there. And that’s the last thing an author wants in their story.

Thankfully, I used that knowledge to my advantage. It’s almost like a cheat.

Cici slid down the roof and safely climbed down to the street.

“We need to move,” she said. “Let’s meet up with the others and proceed with the plan.”

Ophelia and I nodded.

“Right.”

We met with the group and ran down a narrow street on the outskirts of the city. We needed time to observe King’s moves. We also needed him alone.

Because the plan was to beat him.

For a level 6 healer in a party of beginner adventurers, it sounds crazy. When we were in the sewers, everyone thought I was insane.

And I don’t blame them. I mean, facing off against the mighty mage who can revive all these extinct animals? It’d be a death sentence.

At least from an outside perspective.

But I had some knowledge about this world. Knowledge that only I knew.

And it was that this world originated from a light novel series.

Emphasis on the series.

As well as the fact that the final boss of the series will be the Lich Queen.

Not King.

Meaning that he can be beaten! And considering that he’s the first villain of the series, he’s got to be the easiest one!

We just need to figure out his weakness. Or a flaw in his plan.

Once we know that, we’ll win.