In our initial move, we managed to ambush the boss and take out one of its eyes. This brought both advantages and disadvantages to our party. The advantage, of course, was the limitation in its field of vision due to becoming one-eyed. Since the bullet had hit its left eye, the creature could only see in its front and right sides. As a result, Jigoro and the others constantly maneuvered to its left side, making Nkelphor’s situation increasingly difficult.
“Dieeeeeeeee!!!”
On the other hand, the downside was that Nkelphor had gone berserk from the get-go. Without showing any signs of the arrogance or composure typical of strong foes, he was foaming at the mouth and radiating sheer killing intent as he rampaged. It was really scary!
I had orchestrated the plan to inflict minor injuries on him, but due to my unintentional provocation, he was going berserk, so I’d say it was more of a plus-one minus-one situation. Even now, he used the two front claws of his four legs to scratch and struck everyone with his densely feathered wings.
“Hahahaaah! Great, great!”
“Shhh!… Nuh, I can’t cut through if I don’t step in deeper.”
“Waaah! That was close!”
Jigoro appeared to be having a great time while deftly handling the monster’s claws; Genjuro seemed somewhat dissatisfied as his sword swings failed to cut through the feathers. Ruby was almost crushed by the wings as she narrowly managed to evade them. It was remarkable that they could hold their own against such a powerful opponent.
“Ms. No. 18! Now’s the time!”
“Alright!”
While the three of them were engaged in close combat, Iris and No. 18 moved into Nkelphor’s blind spot. Iris then tossed an item she had created with her [Alchemy] skill, while No. 18 took aim at the head area and opened fire.
“Ugh! Crafty, aren’t you… cough cough Is this… poison?!”
Iris had thrown a smoke bomb filled with poison, which we had developed through a combination of [Alchemy] and [Mixing]. Over the course of our adventures, we had fought various monsters with different types of poison. Extracting poison from materials and collecting toxic plants had been an ongoing effort for both Iris and me, but this was the result of our tireless experimentation. Its duration was short, but this poison had now proven effective even against this field boss.
“Not finished!”
“What’s… this?!”
Furthermore, what Iris threw was a Birdlime ball made from the weft silk of the Big Poison Spider; this material was initially considered a subpar material in Shio’s bow-crafting quest. However, it was precisely the stickiness of that birdlime ball that had been optimized to its full potential.
Iris’s Birdlime ball hit Nkelphor’s leg, successfully immobilizing him, although it was true that, during a previous test with Jigoro, he had been able to forcibly tear it apart using his sheer strength. Therefore, it was possible for Nkelphor to break free from the Birdlime ball’s restraint.
“He’s stopped!”
“Ugh!”
“Ha!”
Nevertheless, the fact remained that even temporarily immobilizing the monster was advantageous. A large, motionless monster made an ideal target for our strong vanguard warriors. Jigoro’s punches, Genjiro’s sword slashes, and Ruby’s dagger attacks all inflicted significant damage.
“Geeaaah! Don’t underestimate me, you earthworms! Fire Lance!”
However, Nkelphor couldn’t remain a punching bag forever. He forcefully broke free from the Birdlime’s restraint and, while keeping Jigoro and the others at bay with his wings, he unleashed a spell. His evolved skill of [Flame Magic] meant that his Fire Lance packed a powerful punch.
It was on par with my own magic. After all, he was a level 59 boss monster. He seemed to be able to generate significant firepower, whether up close or at a distance. Iris, who hadn’t completely overcome her [Fire Weakness] would undoubtedly suffer a great amount of damage if she took a direct hit.
“No. 18, stay behind me! Cut-off!”
Iris’s countermeasure, on the other hand, involved ripping off her own tentacle and hurling it toward the Fire Lance. Nkelphor’s Fire Lance merely incinerated the severed tentacle in mid-air before disappearing.
This was a result of Iris gaining a new skill, [Self-Amputation] by evolving into a Big Roper Craftsman. It appeared that members of the Roper race could voluntarily detach their tentacles, much like a lizard’s tail, once they surpassed level 40. This process seemed to sap their health, but it was not a significant issue at the moment.
In the first place, Iris had a lot of tentacles—too many to count—and even if a few were severed, it would only cause minimal damage to her. Furthermore, when using the [Self-Amputation] skill, the decrease in her health could be controlled. So, Iris’s health had hardly decreased at all.
“Nuuhhh! How infuriating!”
The vanguard was constantly moving around, deflecting attacks and dodging, while the rearguard was gradually but surely chipping away at Nkelphor’s health by hindering his actions and direct long-range attacks.
“However, they lack decisiveness,”
These were my thoughts as I watched the battle of my comrades from high above. The Tarrasque probably had the upper hand in terms of pure attack and defense, but Nkelphor had the advantage in adaptability. He was able to use both dense attacks that kept the three in the vanguard from moving freely and magic that could distract the rear guard.
Conversely, if Karl and I were to join the battle, the situation would quickly shift in our favor. We needed to deal with the boss’s entourage as soon as possible. However, that seemed difficult.
“Gyaaa!”
“Geeegyaaah!”
That’s because the coordination between the Harpy Leaders and the Harpy Priest turned out to be more troublesome than I had anticipated. The Harpy Priest played the role of a commander, staying a bit farther away to provide healing and support, while the remaining three harpy leaders circled around us, firing magic.
“Gruoaahhh!”
Karl grew increasingly frustrated, and so he attempted to charge the Harpy Priest for the umpteenth time, but the priest continued to evade him relentlessly. Karl could fly at a considerable speed thanks to the power his massive frame provided, but compared to the Harpies, he lacked agility. So, when they zigzagged, he couldn’t catch up.
“Gieeeh!”
“Geegyoooo!”
“Eiiy, annoying! Crescent Magic Circle Activation, Magic Shield!”
As Karl became fixated on the Harpy Priest, the three Harpy Leaders gathered and launched an attack against me. I had faced many outnumbered battles before, but this was an aerial battle. So, I had to defend not only from the front, back, left, and right but also from above and below. It was a first-time experience for me, so I did my best to protect myself.
“Gah!? Grrrrrrr!”
When Karl realized that I was surrounded, he hurried back to drive them away. This repetitive exchange continued, leading to a fruitless back-and-forth.
“What a nuisance… Are they here just to keep us occupied?”
Nkelphor’s orders were originally to force us down to the ground, but it seemed the Harpy Priest had changed tactics. In contrast to the ground battle, they lacked the firepower to defeat both Karl and me. If it had been just one of us, it might have been a different story, but discussing hypothetical scenarios was futile.
“All right, now that we understand that, let’s change our approach. Karl, protect me.”
“Grrrr!”
Up until now, I had been at the mercy of the Harpy Priest. The lack of a clear strategy on my part was likely the cause. I had probably become overconfident after the success of the initial ambush. I need to reflect on that.
Since the opponent’s main strength was in the air, I shouldn’t employ a forceful approach. In that case, let’s make sure to defeat each harpy one by one.
“Let’s try out the new skill… Activate [Eyes of Chaos and Death].”
Red light flickered in my three eye sockets. If I gazed at the enemy with this, it should have an effect. In fact, the figure of the harpy with red feathers, whom I was looking at, was gradually darkening.
However, it seemed that the darkness was only apparent to me. The harpies and Karl showed no reaction at all. How scary it was for the person being watched to not be able to perceive that the likelihood of being cursed or instantly killed was gradually increasing.
“Well, let’s give it a try. Instant death.”
I cast an instant death spell using [Witchcraft] on the Harpy Leader whose feather color has turned black. However, it continued to fly around as usual. Hmm, it seemed like the spell had been resisted. Magic that could fail based on probability was frustrating, especially when the magic power used went to waste.
“How about this, then? Slow Death.”
“Gyah!?”
Next, I used a death spell that took a little time but was difficult to resist. The Harpy Leader I had targeted emitted a surprised cry. Alright, this time it worked!
If a slow death occurs, a countdown timer appears within the target’s field of vision, indicating the remaining time until instant death. During this grace period, the player can prevent their demise by using curative items for ailments. However, our enemies are monsters, and there is no escape from that impending death.
“I suppose we can ignore that one. Now…let’s aim for that green one.”
I fixed my gaze on the next chosen target; it was a Harpy Leader with green feathers. Once again, its feathers began to darken within my vision. Confirming the gradual transformation, I decided to employ a spell I hadn’t yet used against an enemy.
“Now, what will happen? Reverse.”
The spell I cast was a form of [Curse] that reversed everything—front, back, left, right, up, and down. Isn’t this the perfect spell one could use against aerial enemies?
“Gya!? Gyogye gyaaaaaaaa!?”
As expected, the Harpy Leader I chose lost all sense of direction and appeared to be in a state of panic. Its agile and graceful movements were replaced by a flailing descent through the air as if it was drowning.
“Gooooooh!”
“Geeh…!”
With the Harpy Leader now defenseless and vulnerable, Karl had no reason to let this opportunity slip through his claws. He engulfed the plummeting Harpy Leader as though he were savoring the sweet taste of retribution.
“Gahyu…!”
Ah, it seemed that my slow death spell had finally taken effect on that other harpy. Now, only one Harpy Leader and that Harpy Priest remained, one for each of us. With this turn of events, the tide had shifted in our favor. Should we swiftly eliminate them both?
“Karl, deal with the remaining Harpy Leader… the one with the blue feathers. I’ll take care of the Harpy Priest!”
“Goooooooooh!”
With a resounding roar that conveyed his readiness, Karl charged straight toward the last Harpy Leader. To an observer, it was a scene that perfectly embodied the art of hunting
“Gyogyaaaa!”
However, the Harpy Leader was fully aware that a direct confrontation would spell defeat and it maintained a strategic distance from Karl and engaged in magic counterattacks. Whether this was due to its understanding that there was no escaping at this point or perhaps out of loyalty to Nkelphor, it mattered little to me. All I wanted was for this encounter to be over and to gain some experience points.
“You’ve made me work for it, haven’t you, Harpy-kun? Let me repay the favor.”
As I spoke, I extended my third and fourth arms from the sleeves of my robe, carrying my large scythe. The Harpy Priest, who thought I was going to engage it in close combat, hastily tried to put some distance between us.
“It’s futile… Short Teleport!”
“Gah!?”
“Followed by Great slash!”
I used [Space-Time Magic] to maneuver behind the Harpy Priest, and with a sense of astonishment freezing its movements, I delivered the martial technique of my [Scythe Mastery]. It was a wide swing, but I managed to land a direct hit by exploiting that opening.
“Guh… Gyeaaah!”
Perhaps it felt a sense of impending danger after taking the brunt of my attack, as the Harpy Priest immediately began to flee. It probably intended to escape and then use [Healing Magic] to recover. However, I wouldn’t allow that. I had a spell to prevent that from happening.
“You’re not getting away! Holy Ring!”
“Gyoh!?”
The shining ring of light created by [Holy Magic] ensnared the Harpy Priest. Now, there was no escape.
“It’s over! Triple Slash!”
“Gyaaaaaah…!”
I severed the head of the Harpy Priest with a well-aimed triple slash. It was a convenient martial technique for someone as weak as me, as it allowed for an instant kill without depleting my energy.
“Guon!”
“Ooh, Karl. Is that delicious?”
“Gurgh!”
Karl, who was devouring the Harpy Leader with a loud crunching sound, approached me. Hmm; It seemed like our business here was settled. Now, it was time to head to the ground and support the others!
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