Chapter 166
After defeating the swarm of Spartoi and Demon Spirits, Iris and Shiitake eagerly got to work harvesting the drops. There was a rumor—though it wasn't based on any reliable information—that rare drops were more likely to appear when harvested by a crafting-class player, so I left the job to the two of them. It was only a rumor, and there were no proper statistics to support it.
This time, to avoid arguments over distribution later, we decided to divide the items evenly, with any leftovers becoming property of the clan. It would be foolish to quarrel over something so trivial, and it's important to settle these matters properly from the start.
"Oh? What's this?"
"There's something over here too!"
The two of them suddenly cried out loudly while harvesting. It seemed they had obtained some unusual items. What in the world had dropped?
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Black Fire Quality: Average Rarity: R (Rare-class)
Dark sparks sometimes left behind by souls that have become undead.
It cannot be extinguished by ordinary means.
The stronger the lingering attachment, the more vigorously it burns.
Gather and bind them.
Pockmarked Dragon Fang Quality: Poor Rarity: R (Rare-class)
A battered dragon fang riddled with countless holes.
Its deterioration is severe, making it unsuitable for use as a weapon.
It no longer retains any elemental affinity, so it is impossible to tell which dragon it came from.
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'Black Fire' was a drop from the Demon Spirit harvested by Shiitake, while the 'Pockmarked Dragon Fang' came from the Spartoi harvested by Iris. We obtained only one of each, and all the rest were magic stones. It was a little disappointing that none of the weapons used by the Spartoi dropped.
Even so, both items were difficult to figure out how to use. The reasons for that difficulty, however, were completely opposite.
The 'Pockmarked Dragon Fang' was difficult because it had so many possible uses. Even as it was, if it couldn't be used as a weapon, it might become an ornament. And by combining it with 【Alchemy】, we might be able to improve its quality enough to make it suitable for use as a weapon. Dragon fangs could also be used as materials for 【Alchemy】 or 【Potion Making】, so we could crush it into powder and use it as medicine.
The 'Black Fire,' on the other hand, was far too mysterious to know how to use. There were almost no clues, such as whether it could be used as a material for something. According to the one sentence that might—or might not—count as a hint, it seemed we were supposed to gather them. In other words, we needed to collect the rare drops.
What would happen once we gathered them, or what would they become? I had absolutely no idea, but the fact remained that we wouldn't learn anything if we didn't collect them. If we had the opportunity, we'd gather them.
"Genjuro, how is everyone's stamina?"
"Indeed. Izam's 【Soul Arts】 have restored most of it."
"But our remaining items have fallen below half."
"The enemies will probably get stronger from here on, so our pace through the area will slow down."
The battle earlier had dragged on for quite a while, all things considered. The frontliners had been afflicted with the Fear status ailment several times.
The only ones who hadn't been affected were Jigoro and the others who had reached level 50. Every other frontliner had suffered from it. Those with lower levels seemed more likely to be affected. It was the same as my 【Abyssal Aura】.
There was also a possibility that enemies stronger than the Spartoi would appear. If so, perhaps fully preparing resistance to Fear—or being level 50 or higher—was the minimum requirement for conquering the Black Death Ice Forest.
"We can return with my Base Teleport, but let's slow our pace. It's not as if we absolutely have to conquer the area today."
"We've collected some rare items, so this counts as a passing grade, right?"
"But don't you want to at least find out what kind of opponent the boss here is?"
Just as we were settling on moving a little farther without overexerting ourselves before heading back, Jigoro cut in. No, wait—he was obviously planning to let the momentum carry him straight into the boss! I had to put a stop to that.
"If possible, we can head toward it. But we're only scouting. We are not challenging the boss. Under those conditions, I have no objection."
"Tch. Fine, I get it."
"Does anyone else object? ... Doesn't look like it. Then let's get going."
No one voiced an objection. And so we decided to continue exploring, and if we reached somewhere that looked like the boss area, scout it before returning. That was the plan.
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Your 【Soul Arts】 level has increased.
You learned the new spells Sleep Heal and Fear Heal.
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They were all groups of ten or more undead, and each group invariably included Spartoi. As a result, we were forced to struggle quite a bit during the first half. However, once the damage accumulated and my 【Soul Arts】 level rose, the situation changed completely.
It was all thanks to the power of Fear Heal. As its name suggested, the spell cured Fear. Thanks to it, whenever someone entered a state of Fear, I could treat them and keep things under control. Thus, we were able to continue at almost the same pace as before.
"We've used up quite a lot of items."
"Yeah. If we run into a powerful enemy, we can probably fight only one more battle."
Even when we were progressing smoothly, that didn't mean we could avoid using consumables. They kept dwindling little by little, and our margin for error was disappearing. If we had to fight an enemy that was certain to give us trouble, we could manage one battle at most.
"Let's go a little farther. If there's nothing there, we'll head back. We've filled in the map, and we can always return to the same place. There's no need to push ourselves..."
"Wait! Something's coming!"
Just as I was thinking it was about time to head back, Ruby warned us to be alert. The timing was unfortunate, but it was also true that we could fight one more battle. Once we defeated whoever was approaching, we'd call it a day.
"There are five of them! They're fast! They'll be out any second!"
As soon as Ruby spoke, five human silhouettes burst from the depths of the forest. They all looked like Spartoi, but the one in front was different in appearance. Put simply, its equipment was of a much higher quality. It was probably a higher species. Time for 【Appraisal】!
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Race: Spartoi Leader Lv. 62
Job: Servant Commander Lv. 2
Skills: 【Brute Strength】
【Dragon Swordsmanship】
【Dragon Shieldsmanship】
【Armor Technique】
【Vitality Enhancement】
【Strength Enhancement】
【Defense Enhancement】
【Agility Enhancement】
【Fear Aura】
【Status Ailment Immunity】
【Light-Attribute Vulnerability】
【Dragon Factor】
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"The strong one is a Spartoi Leader, level 62! It's higher-level than us!"
"Nice! Now this is getting me fired up!"
As soon as I briefly explained the Spartoi Leader to Jigoro, he flashed a wide grin. Ah, the battle maniac's switch had been flipped. He probably wasn't going to listen to anything anyone said now.
"Jigoro, hold them off. You can kill it if you want."
"That's more like it!"
In that case, I might as well leave it to him. Honestly, I thought Jigoro was at a disadvantage. Still, while he held the leader back, we would defeat the other Spartoi.
The enemy was higher-level, but Jigoro wasn't likely to be killed instantly. He was, however, highly likely to be affected by 【Fear Aura】. I had to keep an eye on both the level-40 members and Jigoro, but this was my chance to show what I could do!
"Kanna and Raga, charge in and split the enemies up. Everyone else, proceed as usual."
"Roger!"
Returning their usual reply, Kanna and Raga charged as one, horse and rider. The four Spartoi were split into two pairs.
"GROOOOOOOOAAAR!!"
Kar slammed into one of them and immediately mounted it. The Spartoi had just as much trouble responding to a surprise attack from above.
Thanks to Kar's overwhelming size, the Spartoi pinned beneath it could do nothing but struggle. It somehow defended itself against Kar's claws with its sword and shield, but it was futile. Just as before, it would end with Kar crushing it to death. After repeating this assault so many times, we had it down to an art. As expected of a Dragon!
"Hmph! Toji!"
"Sure, sure. Sei?"
"Leave it to me!"
"I'm here too!"
Beside the Spartoi being trampled by Kar, four of our companions were overwhelming another. Eiji knocked its weapon away with his shield, Toji's sword shaved away at its bones, Sei's staff pounded it mercilessly, and Nanako's magic steadily dealt damage.
Their teamwork was excellent as well. In particular, the way they constantly made sure only one person at a time was within the range of 【Fear Aura】 was extremely helpful. It saved me a great deal of trouble. Oh, Kanna and Raga had joined up with them. It would only be a matter of time before this one fell too.
"We can do this! Yah!"
"Nice one, Shifune!"
"Nnngh!"
"That was a good hit, Moss-san!"
"I can't let myself fall behind."
The remaining two were being thoroughly beaten by everyone else. Genjuro toyed with them using three swords, and the others attacked whenever an opening appeared. Genjuro had almost completely sealed off their ability to attack, so we could do whatever we wanted.
"Holy Ray!"
"Another cast! Hmm, this is easy..."
"Yeah, it is..."
The rear-line members were able to attack calmly thanks to the frontliners' performance. That was because there were few dangerous moments, and Genjuro was drawing all the aggro for himself.
There was one exception, however. One member of the rear line was keeping track of the entire battle while frantically firing off spells.
"Fear Heal. Fear Heal over there too. Activate magic circle, Purification. Reapplying Light Enchantment... Hm, Holy Shield!"
That would be me. Even when things were going in our favor, preventing anyone from becoming afflicted with Fear was difficult. Since I was the only one who could cure it, I had to treat someone every single time they succumbed to Fear.
In addition, we were imbuing our weapons with the Light attribute so we could deal damage to undead efficiently. I sometimes worked attack magic into the rotation as well, so I had far too much to do. It was getting pretty rough.
"Hahahaha! Take that, take that, take that!"
Jigoro had been the first to charge in, and he was fighting the Spartoi Leader while roaring with laughter. Fist and sword clashed, and kicks were knocked aside by a shield. Neither side yielded an inch as they pummeled each other head-on.
The fact that the Spartoi Leader could trade blows with Jigoro was probably thanks to its high stats and evolved Skills. Even so, Jigoro was the one constantly pressing the attack. Crushing an opponent with fighting technique regardless of their level was so absurd that it could only be described as a real-life cheat.
"Even this... Ngh!?"
"Fear Heal."
"Thanks!"
The fight still wasn't over. That was because Jigoro had refused to give even an inch, causing him to enter the Fear state again and again. I cured him with Fear Heal each time, but the status ailment occasionally interrupted his attacks. As a result, he seemed to keep missing his chances to land a devastating blow.
The Fear status ailment seemed to be more troublesome than I had expected. Still, unlike NPCs, the players weren't truly afraid. Even if their avatars were intimidated, their minds—the players—remained ready for battle. It was something that could hardly happen in reality, which was exactly what made it so interesting.
"Right here!"
"Gack..."
At last, Jigoro's powerful fist caught the Spartoi Leader in the face. It was a clean hit, sending the leader flying backward. Its HP dropped sharply, falling below ten percent. The activation condition had been met!
"Jigoro! It gets stronger with 【Dragon Factor】! Watch out!"
"Got it, bro!"
"Gagagagagagaga!"
As if roaring, the Spartoi Leader rose to its feet, clacking its jagged teeth together. Then it charged at Jigoro. The speed of its advance and the sharpness of its sword were on an entirely different level from before. Whoa, I could barely see it!
"You're fast! But that alone won't be enough to beat me!"
Jigoro smiled as he dodged the sword and drove a kick into the leader's exposed torso. The Spartoi Leader counterattacked, but Jigoro dodged again and struck it in the face with a backfist. Was that some kind of counterattack strategy? How could he even do that...?
"Gagag!"
"Oh, crap..."
Despite powering up, the Spartoi Leader had continued to be pummeled. After Jigoro somehow blocked the attack with his shield, the Spartoi Leader seized the opening and used a martial skill. Jigoro's stance was broken. The Spartoi Leader used another martial skill and unleashed a full-powered thrust at the defenseless Jigoro.
"Not so fast! Take this!"
But it was pointless. Instead of trying to recover his broken stance, Jigoro quickly crouched toward the ground and dodged the thrust. Then a kick too vicious to be called a leg sweep struck the Spartoi Leader's knee. It couldn't evade during the brief recovery lag after using its martial skill, and the kick shattered its knee. The Spartoi Leader collapsed face-first onto the ground.
"This ends it!"
"Ga..."
Jigoro stomped on the head of the Spartoi Leader as it crawled helplessly on the ground. Its HP hit zero, and it stopped moving. Thus, Jigoro had defeated the powerful Spartoi Leader.