8
"Hou. It's indeed unlike anything thus far."
"What is it like now?"
"The magic beasts inside are waiting to ambush us. Looks like they've sensed us getting close."
"Hee. You can even tell that much huh."
"<Deploy (Parshoot)>!"
Lecan readied <Shield of Wolkan> on his left hand.
"Those magic beasts are crowding around the entrance. Opening up a space behind them."
"I see."
"I'm gonna rush in headlong and get behind them. You go in after a breath."
"Got it."
At this point, they just can't afford to falter at the possibility of Grace Gear. Gotta grasp the initiative and strike first.
Lecan crouched down, putting his body and weight behind the shield, then he charged inside.
A sword swung by a magic beast hit his shield, but he paid it no heed and kept running. The White Spectres were crowding a tight spot, but Lecan's charge with enough momentum behind it easily got him through the gaps between these beasts, knocking away their shoulders and arms in the process.
He broke through the magic beasts, colliding with them along the way. Something hit his back, but the damage was not significant.
Lecan ran to the back of the room while knocking magic beasts away and kicked on the wall to jump and turn around as his body grazed the low ceiling, then he cut off a <Red Body> who was opening its mouth to attack.
He beat down a <Red Body> to the left with his shield just as he was landing. Then immediately right after he landed he jumped to the right, hurling himself into a <Red Body> to send it flying, then he <Puncture>d the throat of a <Black Body> in the middle. As he swung his sword to the side, the magic beast's head fell down in a weird angle. Its holes-for-eyes looked as if they had a tinge of bewilderment on them.
A magic hit him on the left side, but <Necklace of Intuador> blocked it.
Arios who rushed in the room a breath after Lecan cut down a <Black Body> from behind. And unusually enough, his slashing attempt at the second <Black Body> was stopped by the black armored rind around its neck. Then the other <Black Body> turned at Arios.
Now that it's come to this, they've got to eliminate all <Black Body> first before dealing with the <Red Body>.
<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka .com >
Arios could have handled three <Black Body> at once if he just had enough room, but he can't completely dodge every attack in a confined space like this. And Arios is nowhere near as resilient as Lecan. He can't stop moving and just bear the brunt of damage while fighting back.
Lecan struck the right ankle of the middle one, the <Black Body> that was about to hit Arios, from behind. Then he leaped to the left to dodge the right <Black Body> that was swinging down its hammer as he was attacking and knocked the back head of the left <Black Body> with <Shield of Wolkan>.
Magic attack unleashed by the three remaining <Red Body> landed at the same time, flaring up a blue colored light as the <Necklace of Intuador>'s barrier stopped them. A moment after the blue flame vanished, the left <Black Body>'s lost its head.
Arios went for the middle <Black Body> that was attempting to get up.
Lecan crushed the right <Black Body>'s right arm with <Sword of Rusk> before its down swinging hammer could smash his head. As a result, the hammer missed its target and crushed the <Black Body>'s own right knee into pieces instead.
Another volley of magic attack was concentrated on Lecan. Lecan paid it no mind and Punctured the right <Black Body>.
At that point the middle <Black Body>'s head fell to Arios.
Magic attack from the three magic beasts landed at the same time and got mostly ignored.
By this point, victory was only a matter of time.
"Forgive me. I have been a burden to you master."
"Can't be helped with this cramped space."
"It would have been best if Lecan-dono could focus on <Red Body> while I dealt with <Black Body>."
Arios can block magic damage by making clever use of his light armor, but Lecan and his <Necklace of Intuador> is far more suited against <Red Body>. And as long as there is enough space, Arios can lead five <Black Body> around in for a while unharmed. It's too bad that they can't use that tactic.
Lecan himself personally doesn't feel comfortable relying fully on the necklace to block magic attack. He will relent if it's needed in a breakthrough battle like this, but Lecan's strength won't grow if he keeps doing that forever.
"For the time being, we got no choice but to use this tactic. We can further revise it after repeated tries."
"Yes, that is indeed sound."
At the end of the day, they got through six more rooms and conquered floor 90's boss room.
On the 28th the following day, they fought in eight normal rooms before challenging floor 91's boss room, they prevailed despite suffering some damage and went down another floor.
They procured eight Grace Gear in two days.
The two returned to <Rafin's Rock Terrace Inn> in exhaustion.
Now that they've gotten to floor 92, they can work together with <Grindam>.
Battle should prove far easier with more people.
Additionally, Lecan was curious about depth-walker adventurers' fighting styles.
Especially in how mages handle themselves.
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