Week 2 (4)

The whispering tree, Sibilbark.

A high-risk entity on the same level as Ursus, but while Ursus is a monster that causes simple, spec-heavy mutations focused on raw power, this bastard has what's called a 'gimmick' built in.

Valerie, exposed to its 'Whisper,' started to stagger.

"You okay?"

"Ugh, fuck... what the hell is it babbling?"

She groaned, clutching her head.

That's Sibilbark's main gimmick.

The moment combat starts, it forces a judgment on the entire ally team, and sprinkles the 'Whisper' debuff on any mercenaries who fail the check.

Kali raised the staff she was holding and pointed it toward the enemy.

And in the next instant, a sinister, murky poison sprayed out from its tip. Magic, as expected.

The poison splashed onto its roots and stems, and some of its countless eyes blinked before letting out a "chiiik" sound, spewing steam as they melted away.

As if in agony, its Whisper crawled even more fiercely around their ears.

She shook her head vigorously as if trying to shake off the Whisper, then Valerie gripped her dagger in reverse grip and charged in.

As the black shadow sliced smoothly across its tough bark, a massive scar was carved into Sibilbark's stem.

The eyes clinging to it like barnacles burst, spewing sticky fluid.

Even without her passive [Swiftness] active, Valerie's base Power Dice of 3 make her raw firepower undeniably strong at this point.

However, Valerie's [Breakthrough] comes with 'Advance.'

In this game, you can't claim the back row when the front is empty, so Kali, who was holding position, automatically shifts to mid-row.

Yep, that's how it goes.

Valerie's style—mixing rows and fighting however she pleases in exchange for massive base firepower—puts a burden on back-row caster management.

It wouldn't be a big deal with a dedicated mid-row mercenary, but in this situation, it's even worse.

In that sense, my judgment was that [Schneiden]—which has 'Penetration' properties and can snag minimum bleed damage—is the most appropriate skill for Ray to use.

I don't know if a thing like that even has blood, but in the game, it works on anything without high bleed resistance anyway.

Having taken non-negligible damage from the trio's consecutive attacks, its branches began to tremble.

Then, with a disgusting sound, it vomited seeds from its stem.

They grew in an embarrassingly instant "sprout," soon wriggling their roots to walk on their own.

Looking more like insects infected by cordyceps than plants, these bizarre monsters approached with movements that stirred visceral disgust.

I involuntarily took mental damage and hesitated, but to these battle-hardened mercenaries, this was nothing—they just clicked their tongues in annoyance.

This time, even Ray fell to the Whisper, clutching his head and twisting in agony.

Resisting the Whisper it sprays every turn is ultimately just luck.

The shitty thing about Sibilbark is there's no efficient way to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠counter its gimmick even if you know it.

Because it's all down to luck from the start.

With her brow furrowed in disgust, Valerie moved again.

The effect of its gimmick debuff 'Whisper' is simple.

At the start of your action, roll a Difficulty 10 judgment die; fail, and you get the status keyword 'Confusion' that makes you attack a random ally that turn.

Following the whispering voice seems to bring pleasure, relieving stress, but succeeding and shaking it off racks up stress instead.

In this mode, since it's Desire, maybe it's spewing dirty talk or something.

Anyway, she failed the judgment this time, but no problem.

I don't believe in luck by default.

I'd half-assumed it'd go this way in my head.

My plan was to free up Kali—who wasn't at risk of friendly fire from the Whisper—by using [Maintenance] to self-buff and return to mid-row.

Not attacking means the Whisper's Confusion is meaningless, obviously.

"Ugh, cut it out already..."

At that moment, Valerie smacked her temple.

Judging by her grinding teeth, she looked seriously tormented.

The whole space felt filled with that damn 'Whisper.'

Before Desire amps up out of control, we need to take this bastard down fast.

But this time, things didn't go as planned.

Dodging like pros, you annoying little shits.

With our party's firepower front-loaded, I planned to clear the field fast with AoE damage and poison, but they slipped past with their single Evasion Die.

Statistically bullshit, but didn't I say it? I don't trust luck.

Had to think up the next plan quick.

Ray, already dazed from the Whisper, staggered from the seed's sudden attack.

It can't deal much physical damage, but Sibilbark's summoned trash mobs splash non-negligible stress—er, Desire damage on hit.

Ray's Desire is creeping into dangerous territory...

But Ray nailed the enemy properly.

Grabbing the blade with his iron gauntlet and smashing with the pommel—a concise motion.

That alone burst the head of one of the frantically wriggling seeds.

Even so, Ray—who'd smashed it satisfyingly—panted, still looking confused.

That's why I hate this fucking tree.

Unlike Life Tokens, which you can recover periodically, Desire (mental stamina) has very limited recovery options, so it fucks not just the current fight but the long-term expedition.

At least we'd crammed poison and damage into its weakest first turn.

Even without further hits after that, it was already dying on its own.

Just drag out the turns, and it'll die to poison.

The problem? The massive Desire damage it'll spray before then is a huge pain in the ass.

So, what needs doing is simple.

It all happened in a flash.

Valerie's eyes, tormented by the intensifying Whisper, changed in an instant, and she whipped out her flintlock from its holster.

And well—bang.

Firepower doesn't lie, huh.

Smoke curled from the barrel, and the bullet lodged dead-center in its grotesque, eye-covered stem successfully put Sibilbark down.

At the same time, the maddening mutterings cut off abruptly.

In the brief silence that followed, I let out a sigh of relief.

Sure, if she'd whiffed the judgment, that insane firepower would've turned on us—kinda chilling to think about—but success is success.

Last turn, being up front meant she couldn't reach Sibilbark in mid-row with melee, but back in mid-row, she could [Breakthrough] or [Shooting] right into its chest either way.

If this shot hadn't done it, I'd planned to use Kali's [Nerve Stimulant] to grant an extra turn to an ally and finish it for sure, but no need.

"Jeez, what kinda fucked-up shit is this place."

Clearly mentally drained, Valerie grumbled, knees on the ground and back hunched.

Yeah, a dead tree trunk crammed with eyeballs peeking from the bark is straight-up nightmare fuel.

Even if we didn't have time to dwell during combat, seeing its wilted, lifeless corpse now stirs unavoidable disgust.

Kali looked pretty shocked too, face blank.

Spotting her, Valerie flashed a teasing grin even now.

"How 'bout it, Doc? Told ya I'd kill it for ya."

Kali snorted a laugh at the joke and thunked the end of her Oleander Staff on the ground.

"Definitely a weird one, even for a dungeon. Oh yeah—Valerie-ssi, did you hear something just now? You looked like you were suffering."

"Yeah, that... kept hearing shit like it's licking my ears, babbling nonsense. What, Doc didn't hear it?"

"Nope. Some sweet-talking noise that was kinda unpleasant, but not that bad. Maybe it doesn't affect people with strong willpower?"

"What? Ha, no way. That's bullshit. Hey, you sayin' my mental game's weak?"

As the two bickered over nothing, I approached Ray, who'd been quiet for a while now.

With his Desire stacked to 78, from here on, we really gotta manage Ray's Desire with everything we've got.

I got close to check his status, but even right in front of him, he showed no sign of noticing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me.

"Uh... hey, Ray-ssi?"

So, I tapped his shoulder.

Just that.

"Eek, eeeeek♥"

—Ray's back arched like a bow.

...Never thought I'd use words like that on a real person.