Chapter 274: Defense (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 274: Defense (4)
Once I came to my senses, the first thing I did was apologize. "Wizard, sorry about earlier."
Hans J, who had almost been strangled to death by a teammate during a battle, looked dubious but accepted the apology at face value. He was well aware that a division in this group right now could endanger his own life. "...Since you apologized, I won't comment any further on this matter."
When the wizard accepted my apology, Patzran stepped forward to help clear the air as well. "Bjorn Yandel, I don't blame you. It's not like I can't understand how you're feeling. To be honest, Sir Aulock was tactless earlier."
"Patzran, what do you mean by tactless? I only said what needed to be said."
"...But the way you said it wasn't great." Surprisingly, Patzran took my side.
Well, how could you tell someone desperately searching for their comrade to give up since they were clearly dead already? What kind of barbarian wouldn't get angry after hearing something like that?
"Ahem, let's stop talking about this now."
"Yes, I think that would be for the best."
I subconsciously gnashed my teeth in irritation, which ended the conversation. I had a feeling that was a good thing, though. If we talked about this any longer, we'd likely end up having a repeat of earlier.
"Then what will you do?" At some point, Patzran had started speaking casually to me again, but I didn't nitpick since I messed up earlier too.
"As I said, we will rest here until the barrier disappears."
"After that?"
"We will find a better spot and hold out there. Just like Raven suggested."
"I see. Okay."
Once our rough plans for the future were decided, everyone laid their tired bodies on the ground to replenish their stamina.
"God's protection will soon end."
"I see. Good job. Everyone, get up."
Time passed and after Destruction of Evil was lifted, we searched the area as planned and found a suitable spot to set up base. We had a cliff at our backs, making it a spot where we'd only need to worry about defending ourselves on three sides.
"Behel—aaah!"
We fended off the monsters from there. Despite my concerns, we didn't run into anything too dangerous. Since the event had been activated on the highest difficulty level, I had been picturing an even worse scenario, but the wizards were performing great.
"Bertia Sevnu Hellhavens!"
To be more exact, Hans J's performance was great. Of course, wizards normally shined in battles of numbers, and Raven was also doing her job.
[Hans Aulock has cast the rank-5 attack spell Chain Lightning.]
However, you couldn't compare her performance to Hans J's.
Chhhhhh. Puff!
Each time a spell was cast, at least a dozen rank-five monsters either died or fainted.
He can cast Chain Lightning in fifteen seconds? Who is this guy?
Momentarily stunned by the explosive high-level magic, I soon learned something surprising from Patzran, who was fighting alongside me. "Oh, you didn't know? Aulock is a rank-four wizard from the School of Benocton."
Benocton was a school that primarily focused on the study of elemental magic, and it seemed he was a rank-four wizard in a rather high position there.
No wonder his equipment looked expensive.
When I learned that he was a more skilled wizard than I thought, I worried that might have annoying implications in the future but ultimately decided to think about that later.
Yeah, what's he going to do to me if he gets mad? I'm a noble. I'm high status too.
"Ersina, cast a barrier."
"Okay."
Anyway, Hans J's performance was one thing, but if I had to choose the MVP of this siege event, it would have to be the priestess.
[Lairin Ersina has cast Destruction of Evil.]
Without her, we would have had no time to rest.
"Whoa, Mister. Come over here. I put my sleeping bag here."
"Thanks."
Whenever we started to run out of strength while fighting off the monsters, we immediately activated a barrier and replenished our stamina and bottomed-out MP. After some recovery, the barrier was lifted and the hunt resumed. We had been repeating this for about four hours when the time finally came.
[The second Fury of the Sea has begun.]
The second wave began.
Pitter, patter.
Rain started to fall from the sky in drops that soon turned into powerful streams of water.
Shaaaaaa!
A strong downpour not unlike the ones that fell during monsoon season began.
"...Rain?"
Everyone was bewildered by the change in the weather—they'd experienced rain in the city, but never in the labyrinth. Of course, having been active on the sixth floor for a long time, Patzran's team was different.
"Why, at a time like this...?" They weren't affected by the rain itself.
"This will make things harder."
They clicked their tongues and frowned. Everyone knew just how dangerous it was to deal with rain in the labyrinth. The rain itself obstructed your vision, while the rainwater ran down your eyelids and made it difficult to concentrate. Also, because of the cold temperature, long-term exposure could lead to hypothermia, and it became easier to drop weapons when your hands were wet. There wasn't a single good thing about it.
"What a headache..."
Everyone sighed at their shit luck, but not me. The reason was simple. I knew this had nothing to do with luck.
It'll be here in about thirty minutes.
The fact that it had begun to rain was evidence that the second wave had begun. The mini-boss would appear soon. This particular guy's MO was to target the area with the most people.
"Everyone, don't fan out too much and stick together!"
After I gave out instructions, we spent our time fighting monsters and adjusting to the new climate.
Shaaaaaa!
Rain in the labyrinth was something I had never experienced before, either.
It's much more troublesome than I expected.
The ground was slippery, and in some places, you sunk thanks to the mud. While that alone was already distracting in a lot of ways, the water-attribute monsters took to the change in climate like fish in, well, water, slashing at us without pause.
Squeeze!
In case I dropped the mace, I made sure to keep a tight grip and swing it several times harder than usual. Time passed and just as I was getting used to fighting in the rain, a great big lizard appeared in front of us.
When I learned that he was a more skilled wizard than I thought, I worried that might have annoying implications in the future but ultimately decided to think about that later.
Yeah, what's he going to do to me if he gets mad? I'm a noble. I'm high status too.
"Ersina, cast a barrier."
"Okay."
Anyway, Hans J's performance was one thing, but if I had to choose the MVP of this siege event, it would have to be the priestess.
[Lairin Ersina has cast Destruction of Evil.]
Without her, we would have had no time to rest.
"Whoa, Mister. Come over here. I put my sleeping bag here."
"Thanks."
Whenever we started to run out of strength while fighting off the monsters, we immediately activated a barrier and replenished our stamina and bottomed-out MP. After some recovery, the barrier was lifted and the hunt resumed. We had been repeating this for about four hours when the time finally came.
[The second Fury of the Sea has begun.]
The second wave began.
Pitter, patter.
Rain started to fall from the sky in drops that soon turned into powerful streams of water.
Shaaaaaa!
A strong downpour not unlike the ones that fell during monsoon season began.
"...Rain?"
Everyone was bewildered by the change in the weather—they'd experienced rain in the city, but never in the labyrinth. Of course, having been active on the sixth floor for a long time, Patzran's team was different.
"Why, at a time like this...?" They weren't affected by the rain itself.
"This will make things harder."
They clicked their tongues and frowned. Everyone knew just how dangerous it was to deal with rain in the labyrinth. The rain itself obstructed your vision, while the rainwater ran down your eyelids and made it difficult to concentrate. Also, because of the cold temperature, long-term exposure could lead to hypothermia, and it became easier to drop weapons when your hands were wet. There wasn't a single good thing about it.
"What a headache..."
Everyone sighed at their shit luck, but not me. The reason was simple. I knew this had nothing to do with luck.
It'll be here in about thirty minutes.
The fact that it had begun to rain was evidence that the second wave had begun. The mini-boss would appear soon. This particular guy's MO was to target the area with the most people.
"Everyone, don't fan out too much and stick together!"
After I gave out instructions, we spent our time fighting monsters and adjusting to the new climate.
Shaaaaaa!
Rain in the labyrinth was something I had never experienced before, either.
It's much more troublesome than I expected.
The ground was slippery, and in some places, you sunk thanks to the mud. While that alone was already distracting in a lot of ways, the water-attribute monsters took to the change in climate like fish in, well, water, slashing at us without pause.
Squeeze!
In case I dropped the mace, I made sure to keep a tight grip and swing it several times harder than usual. Time passed and just as I was getting used to fighting in the rain, a great big lizard appeared in front of us.
"M-Mr. Yandel! There! Over there!"
"Kwohhh!" It was a Guano Sea Serpent, a rank-four monster that had moss-covered scales, a plump tail, and walked on four legs. Its defining feature was Stench.
[You have been exposed to Stench. All effects that deal sustained damage are doubled, and you are immune to Purification while in Stench's range.]
This was the passive skill that had acted as my foundational essence when I was building a Witch Doctor.
Gag! Gag...!
As one would expect from a monster that was colloquially referred to as the Poop Lizard, everyone started retching the moment it appeared.
What kind of smell...?
The stench was strong enough to make even a barbarian with a strong stomach feel faint. I held my breath and fought hard to keep my focus. To start, it was a rank-four monster like the Siren Queen, but this situation was already completely different.
...I should be careful not to make any mistakes along the way.
Monsters flooded our surroundings. And unlike the Queen, who needed summoned monsters to show off her strength, this guy was strong all on his own. We'd have to distribute our forces. I quickly split the group into two. "Patzran, Ainar. Don't worry about things on this end and focus on standing your ground!"
As the close-range damager and frontline fighter, the two of them marked the trash mobs on either side of us. Just in case, I told Hans J and Mr. Bear to focus on taking down the hordes of monsters too, rather than on the boss battle.
"Everyone, get behind me!" The rest of us formed a kind of attack squad. Our goal was to kill this bastard while the trash mob squad held out.
"Kwohhh!" After testing the waters from a distance, the monster charged at us, the horns on its forehead angled forward. When I received the charge with my shield, the battle began in earnest. The fight itself wasn't anything out of the ordinary.
[Guano Sea Serpent has cast Plague of the Sea.]
Erwen and Raven ran interference, taking out the self-destructive elemental it tried to summon.
Pop!
Well, when the elemental exploded and spattered blood everywhere, it did give me a status effect.
[You have been infected by Scurvy. All healing effects are reduced by half and you will receive continuous Poison damage.]
However, that much could be dealt with by the priestess' heals.
[Guano Sea Serpent has cast Origin of the Deep Sea.]
[Guano Sea Serpent has cast Sink.]
[Guano Sea Serpent has cast Rainmaking Ritual.]
This guy's other attack patterns weren't all that different, either—some magical, some with divine power.
"Behelaaah!"
With the stubborn body of a barbarian at the helm, we weathered the attacks just like that and the battle continued. Of course, there may have been no major incidents, but that didn't mean it was all smooth sailing.
"M-Mr. Yandel! You have to avoid that!"
The Guano Sea Serpent was famous for its great stamina. So naturally, as the battle dragged on, there were several close calls.
[Erwen Fornacci di Tersia has exceeded her damage threshold. Elementalization has been deactivated.]
Toward the end, Erwen suffered an injury and was rendered incapable of combat. Having used half-heals throughout the entire battle, the priestess' divine power was practically exhausted. But that was nothing to worry about now since we managed to take it down.
[You have defeated a Guano Sea Serpent. EXP +6]
In the end, even Hans J joined the attack squad and fired off a lightning spell. With that, the monster's massive body staggered and fell, and soon scattered into particles of light.
"D-Did we get rid—huh?"
Everyone tilted their heads in sync.
"H-Huh?! M-Mr. Yandel!"
"It's an essence!"
An essence had dropped.
Rank-four monsters weren't common, even on the sixth floor. They only appeared if you took your boat far into the ocean, and even then there weren't many of them so it was impossible to hunt dozens of them a day like you could with rank-five monsters. In other words, that was how tough it was to acquire their essences.
"It's been a while since I've seen a rank-four essence." A light appeared in Patzran's eyes, as he was a veteran of the sixth floor.
Geez, it's not even his essence. And man, why did this one have to come out?
I clicked my tongue in disappointment and took a moment to shake off my regrets. This essence didn't suit anyone in my clan, but the price of the essence itself wasn't so bad. It'd make us a lot of money if we sold it.
"Raven, store the essence in a Magic Vial."
"Ah, right!" At my instruction, Raven quickly moved to pull out a Magic Vial from the sub-space.
Just as she was about to place the essence inside, Patzran stepped forward and stopped her. "Wait, shouldn't you first ask if anyone wants to claim it?"
I hadn't expected that since their team was otherwise just a priestess and a wizard. The only one of them who could even make a bid was Patzran.
"I'm only asking this just in case, but you're not assuming we don't get a share, are you?"
Oh, so that's what you were getting at. Yeah, there's no way a swordsman would want to take an essence like this.
"Don't worry. The essence will be sold and the funds will be split evenly based on the number of people."
"Hmm, if you say so." When I finally told him what he wanted to hear, Patzran backed off without another word. That ended the distribution problem.
"Um, I'm going to store it now, then." Raven did a final check-in, Magic Vial in hand, and everyone nodded. And that was when it happened.
"Anyway, the rain has stopped."
"That's a pretty big coincidence. It's possible the Guano Sea Serpent had something to do with the rain."
I absentmindedly raised my head at Patzran's and Hans J's conversation and completely froze. The Guano Sea Serpent had been defeated and the rain had stopped. None of that was a problem anymore, but...
"Wait... what's that? It looks like it's getting closer..."
Through the dark clouds that were only just starting to roll back, a flying shadow swooped down, spewing out flames.
"I-It's a Drake!"
God damn it.
Swearing inwardly, I shouted, "Prepare for battle!"
The scumbags were here.
"M-Mr. Yandel! There! Over there!"
"Kwohhh!" It was a Guano Sea Serpent, a rank-four monster that had moss-covered scales, a plump tail, and walked on four legs. Its defining feature was Stench.
[You have been exposed to Stench. All effects that deal sustained damage are doubled, and you are immune to Purification while in Stench's range.]
This was the passive skill that had acted as my foundational essence when I was building a Witch Doctor.
Gag! Gag...!
As one would expect from a monster that was colloquially referred to as the Poop Lizard, everyone started retching the moment it appeared.
What kind of smell...?
The stench was strong enough to make even a barbarian with a strong stomach feel faint. I held my breath and fought hard to keep my focus. To start, it was a rank-four monster like the Siren Queen, but this situation was already completely different.
...I should be careful not to make any mistakes along the way.
Monsters flooded our surroundings. And unlike the Queen, who needed summoned monsters to show off her strength, this guy was strong all on his own. We'd have to distribute our forces. I quickly split the group into two. "Patzran, Ainar. Don't worry about things on this end and focus on standing your ground!"
As the close-range damager and frontline fighter, the two of them marked the trash mobs on either side of us. Just in case, I told Hans J and Mr. Bear to focus on taking down the hordes of monsters too, rather than on the boss battle.
"Everyone, get behind me!" The rest of us formed a kind of attack squad. Our goal was to kill this bastard while the trash mob squad held out.
"Kwohhh!" After testing the waters from a distance, the monster charged at us, the horns on its forehead angled forward. When I received the charge with my shield, the battle began in earnest. The fight itself wasn't anything out of the ordinary.
[Guano Sea Serpent has cast Plague of the Sea.]
Erwen and Raven ran interference, taking out the self-destructive elemental it tried to summon.
Pop!
Well, when the elemental exploded and spattered blood everywhere, it did give me a status effect.
[You have been infected by Scurvy. All healing effects are reduced by half and you will receive continuous Poison damage.]
However, that much could be dealt with by the priestess' heals.
[Guano Sea Serpent has cast Origin of the Deep Sea.]
[Guano Sea Serpent has cast Sink.]
[Guano Sea Serpent has cast Rainmaking Ritual.]
This guy's other attack patterns weren't all that different, either—some magical, some with divine power.
"Behelaaah!"
With the stubborn body of a barbarian at the helm, we weathered the attacks just like that and the battle continued. Of course, there may have been no major incidents, but that didn't mean it was all smooth sailing.
"M-Mr. Yandel! You have to avoid that!"
The Guano Sea Serpent was famous for its great stamina. So naturally, as the battle dragged on, there were several close calls.
[Erwen Fornacci di Tersia has exceeded her damage threshold. Elementalization has been deactivated.]
Toward the end, Erwen suffered an injury and was rendered incapable of combat. Having used half-heals throughout the entire battle, the priestess' divine power was practically exhausted. But that was nothing to worry about now since we managed to take it down.
[You have defeated a Guano Sea Serpent. EXP +6]
In the end, even Hans J joined the attack squad and fired off a lightning spell. With that, the monster's massive body staggered and fell, and soon scattered into particles of light.
"D-Did we get rid—huh?"
Everyone tilted their heads in sync.
"H-Huh?! M-Mr. Yandel!"
"It's an essence!"
An essence had dropped.
Rank-four monsters weren't common, even on the sixth floor. They only appeared if you took your boat far into the ocean, and even then there weren't many of them so it was impossible to hunt dozens of them a day like you could with rank-five monsters. In other words, that was how tough it was to acquire their essences.
"It's been a while since I've seen a rank-four essence." A light appeared in Patzran's eyes, as he was a veteran of the sixth floor.
Geez, it's not even his essence. And man, why did this one have to come out?
I clicked my tongue in disappointment and took a moment to shake off my regrets. This essence didn't suit anyone in my clan, but the price of the essence itself wasn't so bad. It'd make us a lot of money if we sold it.
"Raven, store the essence in a Magic Vial."
"Ah, right!" At my instruction, Raven quickly moved to pull out a Magic Vial from the sub-space.
Just as she was about to place the essence inside, Patzran stepped forward and stopped her. "Wait, shouldn't you first ask if anyone wants to claim it?"
I hadn't expected that since their team was otherwise just a priestess and a wizard. The only one of them who could even make a bid was Patzran.
"I'm only asking this just in case, but you're not assuming we don't get a share, are you?"
Oh, so that's what you were getting at. Yeah, there's no way a swordsman would want to take an essence like this.
"Don't worry. The essence will be sold and the funds will be split evenly based on the number of people."
"Hmm, if you say so." When I finally told him what he wanted to hear, Patzran backed off without another word. That ended the distribution problem.
"Um, I'm going to store it now, then." Raven did a final check-in, Magic Vial in hand, and everyone nodded. And that was when it happened.
"Anyway, the rain has stopped."
"That's a pretty big coincidence. It's possible the Guano Sea Serpent had something to do with the rain."
I absentmindedly raised my head at Patzran's and Hans J's conversation and completely froze. The Guano Sea Serpent had been defeated and the rain had stopped. None of that was a problem anymore, but...
"Wait... what's that? It looks like it's getting closer..."
Through the dark clouds that were only just starting to roll back, a flying shadow swooped down, spewing out flames.
"I-It's a Drake!"
God damn it.
Swearing inwardly, I shouted, "Prepare for battle!"
The scumbags were here.