Chapter 189: Running From Four to Five Part 2
Chapter 189: Running From Four to Five Part 2
You could say that I could have taken some caffeine in order to give myself some boost, but since we have no way of knowing how it will go on the seventh day, I need to save some of it for the big day.
「So? How did returning to sanity went? You managed to succeed?」
「Well, I did the best I could, but unfortunately……」
「Ahaha, Ufufu……」
Ahh, I see. The results was all smiles.
Rust was sitting in the corner of the room, looking and behaving unusually quiet for herself. There was also that big, idiot-like smile plastered to her face at all times. It was the kind of smile that would even put a baby’s one to shame, and kids are known for smiling genuinely at everything and everyone, since they are not aware of the harsh reality of the real world.
「No, really now, it was much worse yesterday, please believe me…… She was spouting some nonsense all the time about going on a muscle-strengthening journey to make absolutely sure that she would not die before the sequel to Nephilim Hollow comes out.」
Look, I can definitely understand the feeling, but I can’t really say that I have ever experienced it for myself. So I cannot really relate to her all that much. I don’t really look forward to any game releases, mainly because I keep my enthusiasm in check until the reviews are finally in.
And that she wanted to become strong? Good luck with that, you’ll need a whole lot of mental fortitude not to go crazy from waiting until the game gets delivered to you after its premiere.
「You think she’ll be of any use to us in such state?」
「It’s okay. She was practicing all this time in VR for a day like that to come around. Both here in ShanFro and some previous games that she played…… So no need to worry about her.」
I guess that all-smiles Rust gets a pass for now, but the one that I am really concerned about is in fact Mold.
When I asked him that he only replied with a somewhat ambiguous smile…… Well, in the long run it does not matter all that much. We are all players here, and since dying is of no real consequence, we can die during the boss fights without reservations.
「The place we shall be heading towards will be the Lulilas’s South Tower…… The one housing the boss that nullifies all ranged-attacks.」
However, it’s not like I was sure about that property of the boss. After all, it was Rust who happened to witness it with her own eyes. We could technically sacrifice one run just to see if it was indeed like that, but first and foremost goal was still getting rid of the boss. That goal remains unchanged.
「We’re dealing with a ‘Barnacle’ and ‘Fishmen Couple’ here. And since we do not have a valid strategy fleshed out, it’s going to be hard determining the damage, as well as the aggro. This is going to be once heck of a fight here.」
It’s not that we cannot create an effective tank for the upcoming boss fights. It’s about the resource consumption. So many items are needed for tanking effectively that you cannot really allow yourself to waste them on mid-tier bosses.
We do have the possible last resort strategy of tanking: someone would just run around and collect aggro, while Emul strapped to their head would keep shooting his magic. But as far as I am concerned, I would like to avoid having to turn to that strategy if we could help it.
「Besides, I would like to avoid having to get Emul involved in those fights as much as possible.」
It’s simply way too dangerous.
「Alright, let’s go beat ourselves some boss, shall we? Come on now, Rust, I need you to come back to me, get your sh*t together. We have work to do.」
「The air is so delicious!」
「………」
Is it really going to be okay?
Let us review what we know before the operation begins.
The provisional name ‘Snail’ has the potential ability to nullify all ranged attacks, no matter if they are normal attack or skill.
In order to succeed in this battle close ranged attacks are a necessity, that is why Yours Truly, Sanraku, is going to be in charge of the attacking as well as aggro management.
Waiting at the distance is going to be Rust, who will also look out for an opportunity to get up close and personal with the snail, so that she can dish out some bow damage from close range.
In this setting Mold will work as a support for Rust. And since it would be quite troublesome if the boss started to focus him during the fight, Mold should stay away and avoid any combat actions himself, instead focusing solely on casting buffs and debuffs.
「We shall call this operation…… ‘Shell digging’.」
「Even though we are not really sure if it’s a snail or not……」
「Mold, those are mere details. You don’t have to worry about them too much, because that is not how we roll in here, okay?」
Anyways, Team Nephilim Hollow, ready to roll out! Each one of us grabs a hold of our weapons and we invade the inside of one of the remaining towers.
「………」
「I see, so it’s actually a ‘Snail’. Who would have thought?」
No, no, no. Sure thing, Clione also seemed humanoid to me until it did not show its true colors. Apparently all of the bosses in here are pretending to be humanoid in shape.
Hey, I mean, I once fought a giant robot dressed up as a Japanese samurai. But this here was quite the opposite. This monster looked pretty much like the Western knight. Although it was covered in barnacles and seashells, what stood out the most here was the fact that it had a giant snail in place where its head should normally be.
I was also trying to imagine how this thing would look like without its shell, but no matter how I was trying to wrap my head around it……
「Ammonite…… At least that’s how I see it.」
「Rust was betting on nautilus, or maybe a snail. Ammonite was also there, but she did not wanted to say it for certain without a decisive proof. 」
「There are many strange things that could be pointed out here, but…… Oh well, like interpersonal skills are going to be of any use against humanoid monsters.」
As for the weapon the boss was wielding, it looked pretty much like a rapier, but it was spiral in shape and covered in a whole bunch of shell-like thorns…… Also, there was a cutlass in its other hand, clearly made for being used by humans. Upon seeing us the boss assumed the battle position.
Two sword user, huh? This is going to be fun, Ammonite Knight. There is certainly something romantic in dual wielding two different types of weapons. However, no matter a normal opponent, player or a boss monster, I won’t let anyone to outclass me when it comes to dual wielding.
「Just like we have discussed before, I’ll be in charge of taking this guy down.」
「Are you alright? It might not be an Evasion Tank, but still its defensive power……」
I know that it was a point of concern, but still I replied with a smile on my face:
「Compared to the Wezaemon, who was almost impossible to overcome, those things are nothing.」
Now then, let us start the hunt.