4 – A Strange Party of Warriors (4)
Smack! Crack! Smack!
The sound of a harsh impact echoed throughout the dungeon. The culprit behind the sound was a crazed woman who was swinging her whip with such intensity that sweat was dripping off her.
“hahahahaha, try to be a little more passionate! You can move more vigorously, can’t you? I’m whipping so hard!”
Right away it was Letisia, the spirit mage of our party. The spirits, struck by her whip, were diligently manifesting their power to deal with the gigantic monitor lizards appearing before us.
Whack! Crack!!
“Kyahahahaha~♥ Crush them all!”
Letisia’s expression was soaked in ecstasy. Although it may seem like she was tormenting the spirits for her own pleasure… In truth, there was a reason why she was ruthlessly wielding her whip like that.
＜Character Information＞
◈Name: Letisia
◈Occupation: Spirit Mage
◈Stats
[Power: 85] [Agility: 185]
[Stamina: 193] [Intellect: 50]
[Magic Power: 737] [Divine: 0]
◈ Possessed Traits
[Spirit Summoning Lv.7] [Whip Mastery – Spirit Enhancement Lv.9] [Sixth Sense Lv.5] [Spirit Possession Lv.5] [Magic Circulation Lv.4] [Magic Recovery Lv.6] [Contractor of the Spirit King Lv.??] [Physical Resistance Lv.5]
Letisia was also an extraordinary spec as a member of the scammer character party that I had chosen. Although her strength stat was low, it didn’t matter since she was a spirit mage and her magic power was almost at a warrior level. It really doesn’t make any sense.
Anyway, the trait to take notice of here was “Whip Mastery – Spirit Enhancement.”
This was the reason why that sadistic patient could legitimately whip the spirits. The more she whipped them, the stronger the spirits became, and if she whipped them a hundred times, she could even draw out their latent powers.
So, with Letisia wielding her whip, even though the four great spirits she summoned may seem ordinary or common elsewhere, they became equivalent to high-ranking spirits that were envied by many.
‘… But anyway, the Archmage also has one higher than the high-ranking spirit.’
The fact that she is the “Contractor of the Spirit King” is not just for show. In fact, she is the one whose body the Spirit King has contracted. However, Letitia herself seems reluctant to call him, as it seemed serious magic consumption.
Letitia worked hard, whipping and dealing with the monitor lizards that came out. Seeing her like that, Ser Aria said, “Oh, I’ve never seen a monitor lizard before… It’s huge, but it seems to have low magic resistance!”
Just as Ser Aria said, the monitor lizard… as the name meaning ‘king lizard’ suggested, it was a huge demonic lizard.
They were monsters that had extremely large physical strength and high physical resistance due to their big size and tough skin, but their biggest weakness was that their magic resistance was close to zero.
So to characters who use magic stats as their main weapon, the monitor lizards were monsters with only a lot of HP, like sandbags. Letitia was the only person in our party who could play that role with magic. “Allen was diligent in his investigation. He knew exactly that the monitor lizards were coming out in this area.”
Fortunately, Frey was impressed and this somewhat instilled trust in my argument.
Then, Erin chuckled and said, “You worked hard on a shabby topic ♡ Are you finally trying to become a somewhat useful human?”
“… That’s about right.”
“hahahahaha, that’s great!”
From Noble mtl dot com
Ser-Aria burst out laughing and took out a bottle of alcohol. Seeing this, I stopped her.
“No, you can’t.”
“What?”
I almost shut my mouth in fear from her sudden cold voice and gaze. It’s dangerous to prevent an alcoholic from drinking alcohol.
However, I had a valid reason, and if I explain it, even this crazy alcoholic would understand.
“Next is your turn to fight. We need a powerful long-range sniper in the next area, and you’re the only one.”
“Oh…”
As expected, I immediately relaxed my expression and voice, as there was indeed a valid reason. She looked at me with slightly pleading eyes and alternated her gaze between me and the bottle of alcohol.
“Just one sip…”
She seemed truly mad for alcohol. Her expression was as if she would collapse any moment if she didn’t drink, so I had no choice but to allow it.
That’s what she said. She was the best at hitting the target while drunk… I could only hope that she would do well.
“…Alright.”
“Thank you, Allen!”
Ser-Aria, who expressed gratitude to me, casually opened the bottle with her thumb and drank heavily.
“Hey! Just one sip!?”
“hahahahaha! Since I didn’t open my mouth, it’s just one sip!”
This impulsive girl…
“…You have to do well. Otherwise, everything becomes dangerous.”
Since she had already taken a sip, there was nothing to be done, but I had to give her a warning like this. Upon hearing that, Ser-Aria laughed lightly and said,
“Then everyone’s lives depend on the shaky aim of this drunken archer!”
“…And you drink knowing that?”
“Of course!”
Crazy b*tch.
However, that thought lasted only for a moment. Soon after Serra-Aria grabbed the arrow, her thoughts changed slightly.
Serra-Aria placed the arrow on the bowstring. And then, her expression changed. It made me wonder if she was truly drunk… But suddenly, she started pulling the string of the arrow she had just placed.
“Hey, Aria! Not here, the next, next area!”
“Huh? …hahahahaha! Right, I said the next one!”
…Can I really believe this?
Monitor lizards and ten arrows or swords won’t pierce through efficiently. Leticia is burdened here, so it’s better for her to rest in the next area.
“hehehe, I guess this is all.”
Rhetesia, who had been working hard to defeat the spirits, had suddenly finished off all the monitor lizards. She smiled and looked at the spirits.
“You were all a little useful this time ♥”
“Gruu…”
“Creak…”
The spirits made a subtle expression, not knowing whether they should be pleased or displeased by her praise, and slowly disappeared.
I’m not sure whether I should pity their situation or consider them fortunate for meeting such an excellent contractor, whether it be in terms of magic or support.
Regardless, I casually offered a few words to Rhetesia, who had worked so hard.
“Thank you for your hard work, Rhetesia.”
“I wonder what to do after this. How should we handle the next area?”
Suddenly returning to normal, I felt a sense of discomfort that was no joke.
Feeling impressed in many ways, I responded to Leticia’s question.
“Aria should do it. The monsters…they’re weak against long-range attacks.”
“I see. I couldn’t find such information. You’ve really done your research diligently.”
“Um…”
Let’s pretend for now.
“But if it’s long-range shooting, my spirits can also do it.”
Leticia looked at me with eyes that seemed to want to swing her whip even more.
Don’t look at me with those eyes. It’s scary… Truly.
“…It’s a creature with thin skin but high magical resistance.”
“Hmm, it’s an efficient choice. Allen’s command seems to be like this.”
Leticia said calmly and stepped back. I wondered what the phrase “like this” meant, but considering the nuance, it didn’t seem like such a bad evaluation.
Thankfully, if that’s the case, it’s fortunate.
Before she knew it, they passed through the Monitor Lizard’s territory and entered the area that was promised to Ser-Aria. As soon as she saw the creatures there, she nodded her head.
“Huh, now I understand why they told me to deal with it!”
“He couldn’t resist and drank again….”
Oh well, as long as I shoot well with my bow, it’ll be fine.
Just like Serena quickly understood, the other party members also seemed to understand why it’s better for a long-range sniper to handle it.
The abundant creature in this area is called Blitz Wing Lizard. It sounds like a grand name, but it’s simply a winged lizard.
Zap!!
The problem is just how ridiculously fast they are. They must have given it such a name because it’s as fast as lightning. There aren’t many skilled enough to accurately hit those flying around like that.
However, here we have an archer who is part of the hero’s party. Despite having had a lot to drink… he seems confident, so it should be fine. They chose mobility and high magic resistance, but in return, these guys have thin leather armor, making them weak against physical attacks.
“To be more efficient in our strategy…”
“Rogue.”
“…Why?”
“If there’s anything Ariah misses, you handle it with your dagger.”
“…Ah, I see… So I’m in charge of quick eliminations.”
“Hmm?”
“…I can only do things like that… Yeah, it’s a perfect role.”
…This is going to be tough.
However, it seemed there was no time to calm matters down at the moment. The guys already seemed prepared to attack.
“Kwieeak!!”
Blitz-winged lizards flew towards us in unison, claws outstretched. Although they may seem simple-minded, their speed is relentless and their claws exceptionally sharp. A single graze could be disastrous…
Whoosh!!
“…Ah, geez.”
I could have died just like that. The reaction time was even faster than I imagined, but my body moved on its own. When I looked to the side, Erin was pulling me away.
“You dummy~♡ Why didn’t you dodge? Do you want to die?”
“T-Thanks.”
I really need to find a way to increase my agility stat quickly…
“Aria! Shoot now!”
“I got it~!”
The most helpless moment in an aggressive strategy that starts steeply flying and attacking is right after the attack has failed. With both light and shield down, to dodge the counterattack of the opponent is the only way, but it’s not easy to move because of the acceleration due to the strength.
Of course, as they are monsters, they deftly escaped with strange movements, but we are also very sharp shooters.
-Royal Archers, Serra-aria activate [Thousand Thunder Arrows].
Thousand Thunder Arrows is a skill that when one arrow is shot, it splits into several hundred arrows by magic. It doesn’t weaken the power, but rather becomes stronger and shows tremendous killing power.
“Huh?”
But what happens if we use that here in such a narrow space? As I watched the sight of hundreds of arrows falling from the sky, I quickly shouted, “Hey!! If you use that here, we’ll all getting hit!”
“hahahahaha! Don’t worry, Allen,” Ser-Aria said with a sly smile, as if she knows what I’m worried about. “I won first place in the village for hitting an apple in a drunken state, remember?”
In that moment, I was momentarily stunned by her confident smile, and then hundreds of arrows struck the Blitz Wing Lizard with pinpoint accuracy.
“Queeek!” “Kweeekkk!!”
It was an amazing sight. Without a single missed shot, all the arrows penetrated the wings and bodies of the numerous lizards. It was so perfect that Ser-Aria’s request for me to cover her missed attack was a pointless one.
Behind Ser-Aria’s smiling face, piles of Blitz Wing Lizard corpses lay. Seeing this, she
“Ha ha, how about it! Drinking alcohol feels good, right?”
“…I can’t help but be amazed.”
“Ha ha! That’s right, that’s right!”
Cer-Aria laughed happily and took the bottle of alcohol back to his mouth. We could hear the sound of the alcohol gurgling down his throat.
“This is ridiculous.”
I definitely feel that way as I watch this absurd scene. If things go on like this, someday…I might become useless and thrown away.
There was a party member who drank alcohol like this and showed off such archery skills. It wasn’t like I was lagging behind the other party members by much either.
Objectively speaking, I was still the most useless one. If I could show some good strategy in this dungeon, it would be fine for me to lead for a while after this dungeon…but that might also become unnecessary someday.
To prevent being kicked out before gathering enough strength, and to be able to leave whenever I can’t stand it in this party full of mentally ill people…
‘The fastest and most thorough search possible is necessary.’
Finding the hidden pieces and becoming stronger was the most important.
Fortunately, there was something worth obtaining in the dungeon of Lizard Road.
There was a hidden item that could be obtained early on in the boss room.
Since they would likely be facing the boss, Lizard Road, they could probably find it relatively easily.
“So, Allen.”
“Yeah?”
“What’s next?”
Finally, with Ser-Aria’s question, the surroundings came into focus. Everyone was waiting for my orders.
“… It’s more efficient to fight together rather than going alone. It’s an area where Lizardmen’s lair is formed, so they will come out with various weapons.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah. So, um… “
I spoke with a bit of confidence.
“I hope you can move according to my instructions.”
If this is a game and it has been implemented in reality, I could provide almost perfect strategies. And there were people here who could perfectly execute those strategies.
So…
“Okay.”
“You’ve been doing well so far, so let Allen handle this dungeon until the end.”
“If a rookie makes a mistake, we’ll have a hard time sailing, right~♡”