Chapter 142: Best Tactic (1/2)
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You have completed Grit Castle!
Difficulty: Normal
Number of Participants: 5 | Average Level of Participants: 37
Rewards: 5 000 Talys, Petrification Antidote x3.
Note: Monetary rewards will be given to every member and the rest will be given to the party leader.
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You will automatically be transported outside in one minute.
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Rakna saw the potions appear in his Item Box and they were transported out of the Dungeon after collecting the item dropped by Mae upon her death. When they reappeared in the desert in front of the castle, they looked at each other before focusing on the small dagger in Rakna's hands.
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Designation: Blade/Dagger
Name: Fang of the Gorgon
Rarity: Blue
Attack power: +120
Durability: 100%
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Perks:
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- Petrification Blade: With every hit, the weapon will drain a silver of mana from the wielder and turn whatever it touched into stone if their resistance allows it.
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- Gorgon's Hiss: If this blade is stabbing someone, they will have to pass an END and INT check and in case of failing, they will become paralyzed.
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Rakna twirled the knife between his fingers with a hum and tossed the weapon to Nyx. ”You can have this. Allan aside, you're the only one who doesn't have a proper melee weapon. You might as well take this one.”
The former goddess caught the weapon and expertly wielded it with a nod. ”Thank you,” she said and stored the dagger.
”So, we go back in now?” Allan said. For some reason, he was oddly impatient to confront the lamia again. It had been fun fighting her. ”How do we deal with the angels this time around?”
”Hm,” Rakna mused. ”Let's do it this way; we'll go in and I'll send my shadow wolves to keep all of them in check. Then, we'll position ourselves back-to-back in a circle. I'll order my wolves to set up a blind spot and then we'll close our eyes. Normally, the angels should rush at us from the blind spot, and their trajectory will be obvious to us.”
”In that case, it will be easy to hit them back without looking at them. I will act as your sensor and warn you whenever there's an angel in range. You'll just have to attack forward at full strength.”
”Also, Ganymede,” the therian added as he looked at the star entity. ”You're good to go. We don't need your help anymore,” he said and the manifested legend's eyes flickered briefly. He responded with a nod and Rakna cut the link with his magic, effectively dispelling the constellation. He would have to research his Star Monarch more thoroughly later on.
”So, are you ready?” He asked and they all nodded before going inside the castle again. This time, Rakna selected the hard difficulty. They easily defeated the sentinel statues outside and opened the doors of the castle. They then proceeded to enact their plan.
Rakna summoned his wolves and spread them all over the Dungeon. Then, he purposefully made them ignore a certain direction. To test his tactic, he put himself first. He closed his eyes and he carefully listened to the air fluctuations as well as the minute spikes of soul power coming from the living statues.
In this way, he was able to cut apart the Skulking Angels with Sonata. Every time he hit, he would have the feeling of slashing flesh but when he opened his eyes, they would always appear as nothing more than pieces of stone.
Following that first attempt, they all spent the next hour or so baiting the angels and dispatching them one by one. Compared to the normal difficulty, they just had a slightly higher level as well as a higher speed but nothing too dangerous.
After completing the first floor and collecting their spoils, which were much less precious than during the first try, they went on to challenge the other floors and there was nothing for them to fear. They were already back to the Boss floor in a mere hour.
When they saw Mae again, she was still wearing the green dress Flavia had given her. It seemed that she was able to keep it as her own from one Dungeon run to another. She smiled happily when she saw them again and asked one more time for a duel.
”I will win this time,” she declared as she faced Allan for the second time.
”Heh, we'll see that,” Allan retorted and started the fight. They both were already familiar with the other's capabilities so their battle began with a close combat bout enhanced by wind magic.
The two of them grinned at each other as fists and palms clashed, sometimes breaking through and sometimes deflecting. After reaching a stalemate, they began to use more and more magic and thanks to the increase in difficulty, Mae had access to more mana and spells.
She summoned the same giant snake from earlier as well as a winged one. The two of them began to charge a wind spell and Allan was forced to hastily use his void dome. He wouldn't be able to dodge both spells and his wormhole could only stop one while his shell was near its limit.
When darkness fell around him, he felt his agility increase and rapidly made his way to where his opponent was located. He threw a punch from behind her but his attack never landed as a wall of snakes abruptly blocked his blow.