Chapter 38: There is Something Wrong with This Game - A016 – Strategy

After that, the party continued their exploration.

During that time, it was mostly Kazu who went ahead alone and slashed the Ghouls and the Greater Ghouls, without caring about the other 3 party members.

Kazu who got his weapon buffed with Aspersio and endowed with Holy element became natural bane to the undeads. He also drank an STR Potion beforehand, raising his STR stat further by 10%.

"SONIC BLOW!"

PAK! PAK! PAK! PAK! PAK! PAK! PAK! PAK!

-4500 -4640 -4360 -4550 -4700 -6700! -4420 -4610

With his agility, it was just a simple matter of hacking and slashing the undead while unscathed. He doesn't even need Rena-cchi's healing support. It's just that, from time to time he sometimes stole glances at the trio girls, showing a proud expression.

"Got 38k of damage, that's a new record!"

It could be seen that he was quite proud of the result of the damage. From the current trend, 38k damage certainly is a very high standard. Unfortunately, Emilia and Rena-cchi's reactions were a bit cold. They just sighed helplessly.

'Kazu-kun / Kazu-cchi, that's way too pretentious...'

Besides, it was just a Ghoul with rotten flesh. Its DEF is just like paper, of course the damage would be high.

While Kazu went "Hyahha!" on the front line, they weren't idle either.

Emilia silently used her arrows to fire support, occasionally killing any enemies that escaped Kazu's attack. Meanwhile, Rena-cchi was busy maintaining Ruach and Magnificat, recasting the two spells every time they would expire.

Ruach is their main source of light. After they continued further into the dungeon, there were several torches on the wall that still intact. Those torches were lit by mysterious fire that seems fueled with unknown means, enough to illuminate the place. But even so, it would be much more convincing if the place was brighter.

Magnificat is a party buff that doubling their MP regen, and indirectly, also affects STA regen. This is essential to the party to ensure they can use spells and skills without worrying their MP and STA would dry。

Only Hecate who was free and had nothing to do... because her teammate was too excellent.

Kazu hogged all the enemies by himself, and Emilia took the leftover off. Before she know it, the situation developed naturally in this direction. Nothing was left for Hecate to kill.

"Congratulations, Kazu. That was amazing."

But at least, she had to say some praise words to Kazu, even if it was just perfunctory.

'Even a pig can fly if praised well.'

From her eyes, she can see that Kazu just want to show off. It was a normal behavior of a youthful boy to do that, especially there are three girls in the party. Perhaps, this situation looked like a harem party from Kazu's view.

That's why, he wants to act cool.

And sure enough, when Hecate congratulates him, Kazu looked very happy. This can be clearly seen from his wagging tail and perked up ears. Kazu is a Beastkin, more specifically, the Werewolf race. But right now, he looked more like a big dog instead.

♠♠♠

A few minutes later, the party arrived at the stairs leading to B2F.

"Wait, let me see the situation first."

Emilia quietly head down while inside Kazu's Presence Concealment's range. Using the skill Hawk Eye, she took a glance at enemies in the room at the end of the corridor.

With the record function, she recorded her vision then send the video to the party via PM and retreated.

And what waiting for them was another set of undead enemies.

[⁂][Ghoul - Lv96] (×6) - HP8400-10600

[⁂][Greater Ghoul - Lv105] (×7) - HP20150-22700

[⁂][Wraith - Lv107] (×8) - HP26100-28000

[⁂][Banshee - Lv110] (×9) - HP25300-27700

[⁂][Dullahan - Lv118] (×1) - HP45000

Other than Ghouls like in the previous floor, there are 3 more type of enemies.

Wraith, looked like a skeleton wearing black robe that looked like its entirety made of mists. Banshee, looked like wrinkled old woman with white unkempt hair. They floats in the air and pass through walls while letting out some indescribable creepy voice.

Dullahan looked like a regular black armored knight, except, there is no head inside the helm.

If the Ghouls were from ordinary foot soldiers (Warrior), this Dullahan should be from a Knight. Then, Wraiths and Banshees should be from Wizards and Witches.

♠♠♠

Looking at the enemies, Kazu couldn't help but frowned.

"Ah, this is quite troublesome, isn't it?"

Wraiths and Banshees. As incorporeal monsters, they can easily pass through walls and floors, making them easily do sneak attack. And since their body were just mist, normal physical attacks would be no harm to them.

Thankfully, Kazu's daggers and Emilia's arrow has been enchanted by Holy power and would be enough to damage them. But, their sneak attack is still a considerable threat. Not to mention, they can use magic and inflict various bad status.

And then, there is a Dullahan, an elite monster.

Unlike Ghoul's rotten flesh, the Dullahan's armor looked very sturdy. From the looks of it, Emilia's arrows wouldn't be able to penetrate it. And if Kazu hit that armor with his daggers, the blade would probably chipped and its durability would drop.

...

After summarizing various information, the party began to develop a strategy.

"The only way to damage it is by attacking the gap in the armor, like its joints. This role should be for Kazu-kun."

Using one of her arrow, Emilia created a drawing in the floor, explaining her overall tactics.

"At the same time, I will try to knock off that helm off. How is that, can you do it, Kazu-kun?"

"A little problem, though. Stealth doesn't work in front of insects, undeads, and demons."

Kazu shook his head.

Those three types of monsters have their own way of detection that renders Stealth skill useless. The undeads seems able to detect the living thing regardless of Stealth is active or not. It would be suicide if Kazu goes there normally.

"I would be dead from the Wraiths before I can reach the Dullahan."

Hearing his words, Emilia helplessly sighed.

In the side, Rena-cchi then said with confidence.

"No need to worry. Leave it to my Turn Undead."

"Indeed, using that is also the way."

Emilia considered Rena-cchi's suggestion carefully.

Turn Undead is a Priest's attack spell exclusive to kill demons and undeads. Moreover, it is an AOE type spell that affects multiple enemies at once. If Rena-cchi used this spell on the Dullahan, the nearby Wraiths and Banshees also got affected.

The insta-death factor is a bit unreliable, but a few casts should be enough to wipe out the mobs.

"Though, since Dullahan is an elite monster, insta-death wouldn't work. But, it will still take the damage."

"Yes, I think 8-9 casts are needed. I need someone to protect me during that time."

Rena-cchi's glance moved from Emilia to Kazu.

But Kazu only shrugged.

"No problem... or that's what I wanted to say. This... will probably not be easy."

There would be sneak attacks from Wraiths and Banshees, not to mention the Dullahan itself seems very strong at close quarter combat. Turn Undead have 1.2 min cooldown before it can be recast. Nine times means she requires a total of 10-15 minutes.

Protecting Rena from them during that time will be extremely hard!

Kazu said wryly.

"I am just a poor Shadow Assassin. I can't pull the Wraiths, and my DEF is not enough to tank that Dullahan."

"So, it's impossible after all? What a bummer... I thought it was a good idea."

Hearing his reply, Rena-cchi became disappointed. But, she realized that Kazu was right.

Kazu is a Shadow Assassin which has high AGI, excels at fast and sneak attack. His racial trait, Werewolf augmented his AGI stat and increased his speed further. In addition, his racial traits give him a certain perception to gauge the enemy strength. With that trait, he can identify whether his foe is weaker or stronger than him.

In exchange, his VIT is low, making him fragile that comparable to spellcaster classes. A single blow from the Dullahan's sword could decimate his HP in an instant.

It would be unreasonable to give him the role of a puller or a tanker.

♠♠♠

But, when it seems like they were out of idea, Hecate let out a voice.

"Is it finally my turn?"

"Oh, Hecate-chan? You have a good idea?"

Emilia asked curiously.

In that instant, everyone's attention turned to the loli, wondering what the solution she would give. Unexpectedly, she only gave a vague answer, without telling the specific details.

"I have a way. But, only if you let me participate."

As she said that, her gaze moved towards Kazu and Emilia.

Up until now, the enemies were wiped clean by them. At first, Hecate had no objection to this. Since she can take it easy and didn't have to waste her precious spells to kill these lowlife monsters, why not?

But somehow, the situation persisted for so long, that makes her feel wrong. Eventually, she couldn't help but think.

'What am I doing here? Does my presence here is necessary?'

It was supposed to be a dungeon exploration, but it somehow ended up being a dungeon picnic.

In that case, why would she bother spending gems to buy spell scrolls if she couldn't use them even once?

"I am quite strong, you know? But it seems I only treated as a mascot."

Hecate said in a serious tone. But, no matter how serious she was, the difference of expression was hard to tell that it ended up looking adorable in the eyes of others.

Looking at Hecate's face, Rena-cchi even had to resist the urge to cuddle her, while making indescribable perverted face.

"Aaah, the angry Hecate-cchi is also cyute~ ♥"

Hecate could only ignore this weirdo for the time being.

Meanwhile, Kazu and Emilia became awkward at her stare.

They were embarrassed about the fact that they forgot themselves earlier. Usually, the party was just Emilia, Kazu, and Rena-cchi, 3 person party. Kazu being wild during battle was their normal routine, and their cooperation was maturely developed.

Hence, when Hecate joins the party, she ended up being left behind.

Now that they think about it, this loli is still one of the Genesis Seven Stars. Moreover, her level is higher, or more like, the highest in the guild. There is no way she would be weak.

It would be a loss if they didn't let her contribute.

"Ah, of course. That's a given."

"Ehem... Okay, then. So, what are you going to do?"

Emilia tried to smoothen the situation by asking a question.

Regarding that question, Hecate expressionlessly answered. Her hands swiped through the air, seemingly manipulated something in her game interface.

"You need a puller, right? I'll take that role."

An Archwitch became a puller?

A puller is someone who takes the role to pull the aggro of the monsters, usually in conjunction with the tanker role. Normally, only players with high HP and DEF such as Knights or Crusaders who would take this role. This is because they had to take the beating of many monsters at the same time.

A spellcaster class who had low HP dared to take such role?

This is definitely unusual.

Hearing her answer, Emilia became dumbfounded for a second. But after looking at Hecate's confident expression, Emilia decided to not say more and trust her decision.

"Then, Kazu-kun and I will deal with the Dullahan. Rena, I leave the support to you."

"Ai yo! Come here everyone, I'll buff you up!"

The strategy meeting has concluded.

Immediately after Rena-cchi done with her buff, the party went down to B2F.