Concluding the Seven Circles
I pulled the unused **Support Revival Scroll** from my inventory for the first time in this session.
Bringing two supporters around was too obvious. I decided to revive Black Eagle later outside the village and brought Arsia back first.
“I’m sorry, Master.”
Arsia apologized to me the moment she revived. It seemed she thought she had failed because she couldn’t stop the Death Knight.
But that wasn’t her fault at all.
I had been too confident in how well she had held up before, and that overconfidence was what had gotten us wiped out this time.
I shook my head and made space for her beside me.
“Are you okay? Did it hurt?”
Even though Arsia was a homunculus, she experienced taste, smell, and touch just like humans.
So of course she should have felt pain.
“It does hurt, but the pain sensation in the game is set low enough that I can endure it.”
That was good.
At first I had picked her up without thinking, just because she had good stats and was a tank.
But as we got to know each other better, I started to feel uncomfortable hiding her small body behind me.
If she had been taking the pain for me, I should have changed our fighting style right away.
‘No. I think we have to change it eventually.’
The gap between our fighting style and the Death Knight had become painfully obvious during this battle.
We would never win if we kept using the same method.
Our battle had been extremely simple.
Arsia would hold her shield up to block the enemy’s approach, while Black Eagle would block the enemy’s vision or ambush to help her.
And I would cast powerful magic from behind to deal massive damage.
To be honest, it was so basic that you couldn’t even call it a tactic.
But because of our equipment, this method had worked until now.
Now I realized it had its limits against a Death Knight that Arsia couldn’t easily stick to.
‘We have too many gaps between our attacks.’
The reason was that the main DPS, me, was a caster.
While I was casting, the only way to keep the enemy in check was Black Eagle’s body check.
Against a named Death Knight, that simply wasn’t enough.
As a result, the enemy in free state happily hammered Arsia’s shield.
No matter how strong Arsia was, she couldn’t keep blocking the Death Knight’s sword energy forever.
The defensive line collapsed as a matter of course.
‘Honestly, Arsia’s defense is good enough to block the Death Knight at least once for sure.’
If I had had even one more support DPS to ease her burden while I cast, this method alone might have been enough.
But I couldn’t bring in new people for the Genesis Quest, so I couldn’t count on that.
In the end, I had to change our formation with the members we had.
‘There are three ways I can think of.’
It wasn’t complicated.
Just changing the members’ styles.
The first was to use mostly low-circle magic to reduce casting time and increase burst damage.
The second was to treat Black Eagle as an active combatant rather than just a support.
The third was to have Arsia not just swing her shield but also use her sword to deal damage directly.
Each had clear pros and cons.
The first one was basically nerfing myself, so changing Black Eagle and Arsia would be the most efficient.
Of course it wasn’t easy.
“Still, let’s try it for now.”
“Understood.”
After thinking for a long time with Arsia, I finally made my decision.
I decided to do some practice and recover experience points while fine-tuning the style.
* * *
Second battle against Death Knight Pascal.
It took over an hour just to recover the experience points I lost from death.
Thanks to that I was able to roughly shape the new fighting style.
But soon I realized it still wasn’t enough.
**You have died. Please challenge again after recovering experience points.**
I died even faster than in the first attempt.
Was it because my whole body had been torn apart and my fear had stacked up?
Or because my limbs had been severed and my guts had burned?
My hands and feet trembled after revival, and my body refused to obey my commands.
I gripped the edge of the fountain in the village square, gritted my teeth, and spat out curses in frustration.
“Fuck! How am I supposed to catch this?”
This strategy had been active participation from both Arsia and Black Eagle.
But Black Eagle had been useless against the Death Knight.
He died in just one minute.
Arsia, who had switched to medium shield + one-handed sword after that, didn’t even swing her blade before the Death Knight broke through continuously.
I died in three minutes, and Arsia followed me one minute later.
“Haa… haa… Calm down. Calm down.”
After a while, as the pain faded, I steadied my breathing and clenched my trembling fist.
“I’m sorry.”
“No. You don’t need to apologize. This is my problem, not yours.”
I revived Arsia again. She apologized repeatedly.
I told her I was fine and patted her shoulder, then sorted my thoughts quietly.
What was the biggest problem in this battle?
‘Black Eagle dying too quickly.’
Even though he didn’t deal much direct damage, his support role had been huge for us.
In short, for us to keep this fighting style, Black Eagle had to survive for a long time.
‘Should I make armor for him?’
Arsia and I were already wearing the best equipment available at our level, so upgrading our gear was hard.
But Black Eagle still had room.
Moreover, this was the game, not reality.
Light yet tough metal was everywhere, as long as it wasn’t too heavy for a bird.
“Well, let’s try something.”
“Yes.”
The plan was set. Now all that remained was to act.
‘Don’t get anxious. If you do, nothing will work.’
I had to achieve a goal even after experiencing death hundreds of times.
I steeled my mind, thinking this was just the trial to reach the seventh circle.
* * *
Third battle against Death Knight Pascal.
“Kyuak! Damn it!”
**You have died. Please challenge again after recovering experience points.**
I had equipped some armor, but there wasn’t much I could put on a flying eagle.
Just chest armor to protect chest and back, a helmet for beak and head, and shoes with blades.
I couldn’t touch the wings, so I left them bare.
Eventually that unprotected part was cut off, and Black Eagle fell.
He died first again.
‘Still not bad.’
Even though it was hastily made, the armored parts had held up at least minimally.
Thanks to that, Black Eagle’s survival time increased, and the battle time almost doubled.
And seeing the Death Knight’s movements clearly was a hopeful result.
* * *
Fifth battle against Death Knight Pascal.
As Black Eagle and Arsia grew used to the new style, proper exchanges became possible.
It was a huge jump from the first and second battles where they had died in one swing.
But… the gap was still hard to close.
**This is…**
So I thought we couldn’t do it this way, and in the fifth battle I brought a special tactic.
Arsia shouldn’t just protect me, and Black Eagle shouldn’t just help her.
The defensive line shouldn’t break. So I thought, “What if we just make the enemy unable to attack me?”
**What a joke. Were you a circus performer?**
The Death Knight stared at the air and laughed.
“Were you that flustered?”
I smirked at the monster.
**Undead like me find this hilarious. Maybe I should just change my path?**
The reason was simple.
I was flying through the air.
Double casting was possible from the seventh circle.
I was still only sixth circle, so using Fly Magic meant I couldn’t cast anything else.
That wasn’t something I could do on my own.
So how did I fly?
– Flap! Flap!
Simple.
I just had to hang onto Black Eagle, the giant eagle.
His wingbeats were fast enough to carry me through the sky.
I tied a rope around my waist, Black Eagle lifted it, and we flew with our chests pressed against the ceiling of the tower.
“You heard that? Human bomber?”
I became one with Black Eagle and challenged the Death Knight.
‘That’s good.’
Although the appearance was weird, the start of the battle had gone well.
To fight flying opponents, the Death Knight had to jump, but jumps had gaps.
The flight time after jumping was limited, so continuous attacks were hard.
As long as I dodged the one-hit, Arsia would automatically create space with her hit-and-run style.
“Haha! Die! Die!”
I was overflowing with revenge and cast magic like a real human bomber.
But…
After about ten minutes of battle, our plan had a problem.
– Cluck! Cluck!
“Eh? Uh…”
Black Eagle was starting to slow down.
– Thud.
Later his altitude kept dropping.
In the end Black Eagle couldn’t fly anymore and gently set me down.
**From below, you look welcome.**
“Ah, hello.”
And the Death Knight’s sword energy greeted me as I landed face down.
“Kyuak!”
Through this battle I learned one thing.
Straightforward methods were better than trickery.
* * *
Seventh battle against Death Knight Pascal.
Forty minutes of battle, Death Knight HP damage at 55%.
Almost 100% of the total damage I dealt came from my magic.
This time Arsia finally dealt over 20%.
She had been defending and dealing steady damage.
**You have died. Please challenge again after recovering experience points.**
“Hah!”
This time it felt good.
We read each other’s eyes and backed up without words.
I even dodged the Death Knight’s attacks with my thick mage body over a dozen times.
Repeated battles with death and revival against a strong opponent made my combat ability grow rapidly.
“Not bad.”
Pain had become a little familiar too.
I no longer shrank in fear.
Even if one arm was cut off, I could keep casting.
Of course the pain wasn’t gone.
It was just that I had gotten used to it.
* * *
Ninth battle against Death Knight Pascal.
Twenty-five minutes of battle, Death Knight HP damage at 45%.
This time I changed the formation.
Before, Arsia had always stood in front of me.
This time she fought beside me.
I judged that Black Eagle alone wasn’t enough to distract the Death Knight’s attention.
Being a mage and stepping forward was against Chronicle Online rules.
But the result was good.
‘Battle time shortened, but damage per minute was overwhelming.’
The biggest problem had been casting magic while dodging attacks with my slow body.
After twenty-five minutes I thought we had enough proof.
Now I could fully read the Death Knight’s movements.
That was the hopeful result of accumulated battle experience.
But even with haste and strength buffs, my body couldn’t keep up.
‘Let me change my item setting to focus on casting speed.’
So I challenged myself to be a dodgy evasion mage I would never normally play.
* * *
Eleventh battle against Death Knight Pascal.
Sixty-two minutes of battle, Death Knight HP damage at 84%.
The evasion mage challenge raised survival rate a lot and eased the party’s burden, but damage per hour dropped.
Although we lost…
I gained complete conviction from this battle.
If I kept challenging, I would definitely defeat him.
“I thought finishing at level 200 would end it, but I got caught off guard.”
After taking off my game headset, I stood up and stretched.
This was the end of the eleventh challenge and the session limit.
But next time I logged in, I would definitely clear the seventh step of the Genesis Quest.
“What? The world feels slow.”
“Because you’ve experienced countless deaths and revivals others can’t. It’s natural that your perception changes.”
“You too?”
“I don’t know. But…”
I waited for the next words from Arsia, who was staring at my palm.
“I have grown stronger. My physical abilities are the same as yesterday, but I feel much stronger. This is the strength that experience brings.”
It sounded new, but Arsia’s answer didn’t sound like a homunculus at all.
If she kept experiencing things as time passed, she would become human.
“Hmm?”
Was it because I was staring at her silently?
She blinked, then said something completely out of place.
“Is it heat?”
“Then…”
“Shut up.”
I threw the cookie jar on the shelf to change the topic.
Arsia’s gaze turned to the cookies, so I decided to take a quick nap to adjust my condition.
“You don’t have to worry about the front lines. Just rest.”
“Yes, understood.”
* * *
Time passed, and the next day arrived.
When the session limit lifted, I logged back in with a serious heart and continued yesterday’s work.
Twelfth battle, Death Knight HP damage 75%.
Thirteenth battle, Death Knight HP damage 85%.
Fourteenth battle, Death Knight HP damage 91%.
Fifteenth battle, Death Knight HP damage 89%.
Sixteenth battle, Death Knight HP damage 93%.
Seventeenth battle, Death Knight HP damage 98%.
The first round had been time spent adapting.
After that was time accumulating battle experience.
I didn’t feel bored.
I could feel myself growing stronger step by step.
“Time to stop.”
And the eighteenth battle against Death Knight Pascal.
The battle lasted 102 minutes, fifteen minutes longer than the seventeenth, as if I had been cautious.
**Not bad.**
Death Knight HP damage… finally reached 100%.
**Genesis Quest Step 7 cleared.**
I had successfully defeated the named monster Death Knight Pascal.
“Uwaaaah!”
Looking up at the ceiling of the grand arena, the tower floor one, I clenched both fists and cheered.
That was it.
Now I was the archmage of the seventh circle, and Arsia was the Aura Master.