Vol 4 Chapter 4.1 (2/2)

KyII!!?

The Gryphons body recoiled sideways, and the place where Kakurastroked was hollowed out greatly.

While the Gryphon was. .h.i.t by Kakura, which unleashed its slas.h.i.+ng attack power as if to cut up the enemy, it wasnt the end for the Gryphon.

GRUUU

Even if a normal living thing who had received that blow would have their internal organs destroyed, the Gryphon only raised a menacing growl.

Rather than the sound come from receiving damage, it was a cry that one could feel an annoying vexation from.

s.h.i.+n! Are you okay?!

Rionne shouted from the rear of the Gryphon.

No problem here! Dont come to the front because of the heavy barrage!

s.h.i.+n shouted back.

The strength of the ice spears released by its wings was higher than what a half-baked weapon could produce. Even though the intensity had declined over time, the ice spears still pierced through the orichalc.u.m paved road like the tentacles of Gilslay. In some cases, there was also a possibility that they could not be defended against with Muspelm.

If the main body is made of ice, then how about this?

s.h.i.+n, who was dodging the Gryphons attack, took out a card and tossed it to the sky while shouting,

Release Flare Burst!

The card was torn and a bluish-white sphere was summoned in response to s.h.i.+ns shout.

What he threw to the sky was a shot from the front, because the possibility of it being dodged was high.

KyUAA!?

Did it feel the magic power in the sphere? The Gryphon raised a voice of caution. Ice spears which came flying toward the sphere were repelled, and the sign of breath forming could be seen in its mouth.

In the short time after it was launched, heat rays were fired from the sphere. Although s.h.i.+n could also attack the Gryphon himself at the same time as he tossed the sphere, the effect of the magic may have weakened when s.h.i.+n approached.

Therefore, s.h.i.+n materialized 4 one-handed knives made of orichalc.u.m, gripped them between his fingers and threw them.

If it was a synchronized attack from the top and the front, lowering the possibility of either being evaded.

s.h.i.+n?

Rionne was watching s.h.i.+ns movements, but expressed her doubt.

It was mostly because the knives s.h.i.+n threw were greatly off the mark.

KyUIII!!

The Gryphon probably also thought he missed the mark. It repelled only two of them which came flying by its wings, and a breath was fired toward the approaching heat ray from the sky.

The snow-white breath collided with the bluish-white heat rays, offsetting each other. The power of the attacks were almost equal, neither one of them overwhelmed the other one-sidedly.

However, that state was only for an instant. The knives which were thrown in the wrong direction changed trajectory and pierced the stomach and the wing of the Gryphon.

GyUA!

The power of its breath diminished along with the scream.

Then, the heat ray overcame the breath and hit the Gryphon directly.

GIIIIIIIIIIII!?

The Gryphons squeal reverberated through the sky of Kalkia.

Its left wing which it had promptly used as a s.h.i.+eld was almost evaporated, and the left side of the Gryphons face was also burned hideously.

From the wing, which was mostly missing, and from the burnt skin, blue steam spouted out.

What on earth was that just now

Rionne, who saw the knives whose trajectory changed at almost a right angle to pierce the Gryphon, muttered in a dumbfound state.

What s.h.i.+n had done was called a throwing technique and wind combination skill Trick Throw; it was a skill that made the trajectory of the thrown weapon go toward the target.

In this world where skills were extremely scarce, it may have been unusual for her.

In that timing, theres no way I could miss!

In that single chance, s.h.i.+n attacked the Gryphon which received damage and lost its balance.

As the breath was not usable as a result of half of its face being burnt, a barrage of ice spears came from its single wing; it was the ideal situation to come close.

This time it wont go like a while ago!

s.h.i.+n put upKakura against a blow by the right forefoot of the Gryphon.

The Gryphons ice talons burst open together with a roaring sound. The flying ice spears which changed into ice debris were easy to deal with if one knew how to handle them.

As the attack of the forefoot was flicked away, if he turned around to the right side of the collapsed Gryphons face, the ice spears didnt show any effect.

There, s.h.i.+n brandished his Kakura.

Enchant Fire

Along with s.h.i.+ns mutter, Kakura was enveloped in flames.

Leaving a red trace in the air, Kakura struck on the Gryphons body directly.

With a thunderous sound that resembled an explosion, the Gryphon slid sideways for about 5 mels. The Gryphons talons sc.r.a.ped off the orichalc.u.m pavement, and claw marks were carved on the ground. Though the talons seemed to break easily due to s.h.i.+ns attack, the strength of the ice talons were higher than a thin layer of orichalc.u.m.

On the body where s.h.i.+n hit, some kind of burnt traces remained. Blue steam also grandly leaked from there, as the wound had not burnt completely.

Its HP condition decreased decently. That steam, is it different from bleeding and magic leakage?

s.h.i.+n thought while seeing the HP gauge of the Gryphon.

In case of the bleeding state, it should be the same as a poison; the HP should decrease intermittently. However, the Gryphon had not received any more damage than what s.h.i.+n had dealt.

Isnt it an abnormal state?

Some of the monsters at boss cla.s.s often had special attack methods.

In case of the golem group it was hand throwing, in the spector group it was summoning followers, the ability that reflected each of their characteristics were typical. Of course, there were exceptions among them, too.

What he could imagine from the steam gus.h.i.+ng out from the wound was an ability of the type that takes time, and changes the environment to one where the boss could fight more easily. This was like a Black Spirit*; many of the monsters which mainly composed of magic attacks had it. (T/N1: Black Spirit is as it sounds like, an RPG monster which is a Spirit)(T/N2: When it says it, it talks about the ability to change the environment)

*Shoom*!

The state of s.h.i.+n and the Gryphon glaring at each other was probably to determine for a good opportunity.

From the blind spot of the Gryphon, Rionne again prepared with Muspelm and jumped out.

KyUI?

The attention of the Gryphon seemed to completely point toward s.h.i.+n, it wasnt able to cope with the surprise attack.

Rionne jumped onto the back of the Gryphon again, and exercised Tyrant Beat. Leaving a trail of orange color, Muspelm was slammed against the Gryphon.

GyII!

The Gryphon which couldnt bear it, screamed at Rionne who attacked mainly on the left half of its body which was badly burned.

s.h.i.+n drew the attention of the Gryphon from the front without interfering with Rionne.

Rionne! I dont know whether theres any effect from the steam coming out from the wound! Dont let it touch you!

Got it!

Rionne utilized the length of Muspelms blade, wielding the sword skillfully so as to not touch the steam.

However, as time pa.s.sed by, Rionnes movement became too dull to keep up. If one looked closely, the blue steam was clinging to Rionnes body before she was aware of it.

There was an indication of speed drop when he checked Rionnes status.

Its a debuff system, huh?

s.h.i.+n, who had a bad hunch, immediately released cancellation of the weakening magic.

Cure All!

Though Cure was sufficient if its a single abnormal state, s.h.i.+n chose the most effective skill he had just in case.

The ability of the enemy whose effect he couldnt identify, he knew it from experience that it was good to be extra wary. The moment when Rionne had her movement back, she jumped off from the back of the Gryphon. Then the Gryphon waved its wing toward Rionne who was mid-air.

Rionne prevented a direct hit by using Muspelm as a s.h.i.+eld. However, it was impossible for her to completely block the power in the air, and she was sent flying.

Rionne forcibly fixed her posture while mid-air and as she landed the ground was whittled down. Sparks scattered on the paved road and on Muspelm.

Such power from only being hit by a wing, huh?

A m.u.f.fled voice leaked from Rionnes mouth.

Even though Muspelm became a s.h.i.+eld, she was sent flying for about 10 mels by the Gryphon. Even if there was almost no damage, the burden on her body was immeasurable.

Ill get its attention! Go into a building for a moment!

s.h.i.+n shouted and invoked flame system magic skill Smoke Bomb.

A black globe appeared in the air and rushed toward the Gryphon.

KyUA!

Though the Gryphon only had a single wing, it still intercepted the black globe well.

When the widely scattered ice spears touched the globe, the black smoke was dispersed grandly with a Puff sound.

GRURURU

Did it get cautious over the black smoke covering its surroundings? The Gryphon raised its voice and growled. Without a slight break, a strong wind swept along with a wind noise.

From s.h.i.+ns point of view, it seemed that the Gryphon had spread its wing and caused the wind. However, the black smoke generated by the smoke bomb was not affected by the wind. So no matter how much the Gryphon flapped its wing, the black smoke didnt clear up.

KyUIII!

The Gryphon cried as it got irritated.

The black smoke of Smoke Bomb could obstruct both the sense of smell and sight. So it seemed both were effective. It obviously lost sight of s.h.i.+n and Rionne as the ice spears were shot in the wrong directions.

s.h.i.+n fended off the flying ice spears occasionally, and joined with Rionne in the shade of a building. After making sure the wall wouldnt easily be broken thanks to its thickness, he checked on Rionnes condition.

Are you okay?

Yeah, my hands are a bit numb, but Im all right. But Im sorry, my attacks dont seem to deal effective damage to that guy.

During neither the first nor the second time, Rionnes attacks couldnt deal proper damage to the Gryphon.

Power was achieved with skill, so the Gryphon probably had greater defensive power than the combination of Rionnes STR and Muspelms attack power.

Since I came here, I havent been anything other than a burden.

Rionne put power in her hands gripping the hilt of Muspelm, which touched the ground and made a clattering sound.

s.h.i.+n then revealed one of his cards to Rionne whose face distorted in frustration.

Its also possible to increase the physical ability by Enchant, but what will you do?

Please do. When Im aimed at by that guy, Id like to make sure that it wont interfere with you, s.h.i.+n.

Rionne hesitated slightly, but relaxed her shoulders and lowered her head.

Ill raise your physical strength and robustness. Please be careful as sensation related to muscle strength can change significantly. Here I go, Enchant Double Strike !

After adding a cautionary note concerning the rise in ability, s.h.i.+n activated Enchant.

A silver light shone over Rionnes head, and faded out after it covered her body for a moment. This was the effect when an ability is more than doubled.

I feel light

In the state resulting fromEnchant, Rionne lifted Muspelm and said so.

The enormous metal Muspelm felt like a twig.

I think you should have realized it, but you cannot treat a weapon the usual way when in a strengthened state. The swing speed is too fast and causes a gap in self-image and senses. Therefore, when trying to strike down a long-distance attack of an enemy, swinging to the sky happens quite often.

Enchant was very excellent in battle. However, it was a type of skill that only applied to the player, and not the weapon, such that there was an adverse effect.

In the game era, there were two things which caused numerous accidents.

First was as s.h.i.+n said; because of a s.h.i.+ft in timing, neither attack nor defense could be performed satisfactorily. Second, one couldnt stop at the place they thought when their AGI raised, and self-destruct by cras.h.i.+ng into a monster.

Also in the game era, if Enchant was applied in an unfamiliar state, it was said that it was better not to apply anything when it came to fighting power.

The reason why s.h.i.+n hadnt suggested this when they came to Kalkia, was because such risks were taken into account.

Though the rate of increase of the stats depended on the value of the conjurers INT, it was s.h.i.+n who applied Enchant to Rionne. The effect wasnt ordinary.

Nevertheless, s.h.i.+n has yet to acquire the ability which let him adjust Enchants rate of increase, Naturally he didnt have the time to train and master it in Kalkia.

Now you can dodge the ice spears as much as possible, probably using Muspelm as a s.h.i.+eld. Dont try to strike it down unskillfully.

s.h.i.+n didnt forget to remind her a couple more times, so she wouldnt do anything incompetent.

If she focused only on defense, there would be fewer odd mistakes, too.

Indeed, this is great. Its like holding Muspelm like a wooden sword. I may get intoxicated with this feeling of omnipotence.

While swinging Muspelm up and down, Rionne said with an eager expression.

Even s.h.i.+n understood that she would charge recklessly if he didnt give her a warning.