Chapter 62
I've taken a break. Good grief, tents really are convenient. Monsters might destroy them, but they let us log out in relative safety.
On top of that, Iris's tent has been dyed in a camouflage pattern and fitted with disguising features like a ghillie suit to conceal it among the grass and trees. The chances of it being found by players, let alone monsters, must be pretty low.
Now, leaving Jigoro to concentrate on his kata practice, let's examine the new martial skills I acquired this time. The 【Staff】's Mana Gathering Circle and 【Scythe Arts】' Great Slash.
First, the Mana Gathering Circle is, in simple terms, the area version of Meditation. When I am neither moving nor casting a spell, this martial skill creates a circle centered on me that gathers mana from the surroundings within a radius equal to 0.1 meters times the 【Staff】 Skill level.
Since it can also restore the mana of allies within its area, I've made a habit of using it during every short break since acquiring it. Powerful magic and martial skills invariably consume huge amounts of mana, so you can never have too much.
As for the 【Scythe Arts】' Great Slash, this was also an enhanced version of Slash. The swing is larger and more powerful, but the opening after using it is longer.
But I can use it now. If I use Short Teleport immediately after activating it, I can move anywhere within my field of vision.
In fact, I carried out ambushes with my scythe many times while leveling 【Spatial Magic】. As role-playing goes, I would rather not charge in and hit things directly, but this is an expedition with people close to me, so it should be fine.
【Scythe Arts】 won't be my main Skill. It is more like a dagger a mage keeps tucked away for close quarters.
That covers the new elements. Now all that's left is to wait for the other three to return.
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Everyone returned at the scheduled time. Not to praise myself, but they're all remarkably punctual. It's a good thing, though.
Our climb was reaching its climax, but the enemies were increasing at the same time. Birds that had attacked us alone until now were sometimes coming at us in groups. We were even encountering birds that seemed to be meant to form flocks! These were the ones that attacked us as soon as we neared the summit and entered an open area covered only in short grass and scattered stones!
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Race: Vulture Lv. 15–19
Job: None
Skills: 【Claws】
【Beak】
【Physical Enhancement】
【Agility Enhancement】
【Gluttony】
【Flight】
【Coordination】
Race: Big Vulture Lv. 23
Job: Flock Leader Lv. 3
Skills: 【Claws】
【Beak】
【Physical Enhancement】
【Strength Enhancement】
【Agility Enhancement】
【Gluttony】
【Flight】
【Command】
【Coordination】
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"This feels like we're being sky-buried!"
"Stop talking and keep moving!"
It was a huge flock of Vultures led by a Big Vulture! There had to be dozens of them!
The Vultures were even larger than I had imagined, taking turns pecking us with their beaks and scratching us with the talons on their feet. We fought back, but whenever we hit one, another immediately took its place, so we couldn't finish any of them off.
"Damn! My magic's been sealed!"
Because they attacked us intermittently, even I couldn't find an opening to use magic! How troublesome! I kept swinging my scythe to deal with them, but even that wasn't enough. We were steadily taking damage.
Besides, I wasn't a melee Job, so even when I hit them, my attacks lacked power and couldn't finish them off. Still, the scythe seemed to be serving its purpose as a deterrent. The only reason I've survived this long is thanks to it. A melee weapon for self-defense really is important!
"Gaaaaah! You damn pests!"
Ah, Jigoro's snapped. Golden lightning and crimson flames burst from his entire body. This was Jigoro the Blaze Bolt Berserk Ogre's trump-card Race Skill, 【Blaze Bolt Incarnation】. It was something like my 【Abyssal Aura】.
As you can see, its effect was to wrap his body in lightning and flames. In exchange for making his attack power absurdly high, once used, it could not be activated again for eight in-game hours, and it consumed enormous amounts of mana. It was a Skill meant solely for short, decisive battles.
The lightning Jigoro scattered and the flames he sent billowing upward wiped out the Vultures wholesale. Ah, the Big Vulture died too.
And that's the end of them. Well, I suppose it was inevitable... but we have a boss battle coming up, you know? Are you aware of that?
――――――――――
You won the battle.
Your 【Scythe Arts】 Skill level has increased.
Your 【Intelligence Enhancement】 Skill level has increased.
Your 【Mental Enhancement】 Skill level has increased.
Your 【Health Recovery Speed Increase】 Skill level has increased.
Your 【Mana Recovery Speed Increase】 Skill level has increased.
――――――――――
Oh, my Skills leveled up. The stat-enhancement and recovery-speed Skills are still new, so they level up easily. I'll keep raising them as much as possible.
"Now, let's start looting."
"There are so many. This is going to be tedious."
"But that also means there's a high chance of getting a rare drop."
"Indeed. Shall we divide up the work?"
"Ahh, that felt good!"
Of course it did. Anyone who rampaged that spectacularly would feel refreshed. The other four of us, myself included, could only smile wryly as we watched Jigoro begin looting the corpses in high spirits.
As for the results, mixed in with the huge quantity of feathers were a couple of things that appeared to be rare drops. These were them!
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Vulture Stomach Quality: Fair Rarity: R (Rare Grade)
The stomach of a Vulture, known for eating carrion.
It is extremely durable and used for things such as bag linings and canteens.
Big Vulture Gallstone Quality: Good Rarity: S (Special Grade)
A stone taken from the Big Vulture that leads a flock of Vultures. A rare curiosity.
It has no special powers, but it should sell for a decent price to a collector.
――――――――――
What kind of bizarre items are these!? I can understand using a stomach as a substitute for a canteen, since apparently that was common long ago. But a gallstone? And there are actually people who want these?
Well, collectors have all kinds of tastes. The problem is that we can't go sell it... I suppose it will be condemned to gather dust?
Having somehow defeated that irritating flock, we were probably around the ninth-tenths mark. A giant boulder that seemed significant sat at the summit, but I couldn't see the boss. Maybe it would appear if we approached.
I called everyone over and used the Mana Gathering Circle to restore our mana before resuming the climb. Now, what kind of opponent would the boss be? A bird-type monster, as expected?
We climbed cautiously for an hour. We had several battles, but none were against Vultures, so we weren't troubled and eventually reached the summit. And there I saw it: a colossal tree on the far side of the mountain, rising high enough to pierce the clouds!
"Oh..."
I was struck by an inexpressible sense of wonder and could do nothing but let out an awed breath. The others were the same.
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You have entered the Field Boss Area.
――――――――――
...If I had facial muscles and skin, I would have grimaced spectacularly. Talk about being inconsiderate! Let me bask in the afterglow of the scenery for a little longer!
Keeeeyaaaaaa!
With the sound of great wings beating powerfully, a single bird descended from the sky. It was only one bird, but it was quite large. For now, I used 【Appraisal】.
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Race: Twin-Headed Wind Eagle Lv. 35
Job: Lord of the Mountain Lv. 5
Skills: 【Claws】
【Beak】
【Windstorm Magic】
【Physical Enhancement】
【Strength Enhancement】
【Intelligence Enhancement】
【Defense Enhancement】
【Agility Enhancement】
【Flight】
【Intimidation】
【Command】
【Coordination】
【Wind Resistance】
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A Twin-Headed Wind Eagle. A monstrous bird with four wings and two heads. Since it is the boss of the mountain, the Job Lord of the Mountain appears in its status.
Its many stat-enhancement Skills were obvious once I used 【Appraisal】. It could apparently use magic as well, though only wind magic. However, even if it was only one type, it was an evolved Skill: 【Windstorm Magic】. We absolutely could not let our guard down. An all-rounder leaning toward melee combat, I supposed.
More noteworthy was 【Wind Resistance】, which I had never seen before. This was the first individual I had encountered with resistance to an element as a Skill. Perhaps enemies like this would no longer be unusual from now on.
"Kyeeeeeee!"
"I'm not losing in a shouting match! GRAAAAAAAAAH!"
The Twin-Headed Wind Eagle's 【Intimidation】 and Jigoro's 【Roar】 clashed. The Eagle was higher level, but Jigoro's Skill was superior in quality because he had evolved it. In a contest between level and quality, quality won.
"Kiii!?"
"Here I go..."
"Wait!"
The Twin-Headed Wind Eagle had certainly flinched. However, there was no sign of it falling, nor had its flight been impaired in the slightest.
I had a very bad feeling and stopped Jigoro. He halted just before charging when I called out to him. The fact that he stopped without complaint at a moment like that meant he must trust me.
"Kiii!"
"Just as I thought! Holy Shield!"
The Twin-Headed Wind Eagle, which should have been stunned by 【Roar】, cast magic for some reason. My bad feeling had been correct. I stopped it with Holy Shield, the hardest spell I currently had, which I had prepared from the start.
"What's going on?"
"It definitely got hit by 【Roar】, didn't it?"
Jigoro and Ruby looked at me as if demanding an explanation. I hedged with the words, 'It's only a guess,' before explaining my theory.
"The two heads probably each had their own stun check. We should assume Jigoro's 【Roar】 only hit one of them."
An enemy with two heads, each possessing an independent mind and its own checks. That was my suspicion. In other words, if one head flinched, the other could cover for it, or one could focus on melee attacks while the other concentrated on magic.
"I see. So they cover each other's openings?"
"It's only a theory, though."
"Th-that's a troublesome opponent!"
Indeed, Iris was exactly right.
"And this may still be the better situation. We should deal as much damage as possible while we can."
We had fought monsters worthy of being called bosses many times before. Among them, the only boss whose Skills had gone to waste was 'Obsession with the Moon.' We should assume that the Twin-Headed Wind Eagle would make full use of its Skills as well.
"Two heads, two minds, but one body. Let's overwhelm it with more attacks than it can handle. Everyone, keep firing ranged attacks!"
"Tch! Guess we have no choice!"
"Here I go!"
We began our ranged assault. Jigoro repeatedly used martial skills that launched punches and kicks, 【Fist】 and 【Kicks】, which he normally never used at all. Iris was tossing throwing items one after another in addition to using martial skills.
"Ho ho! There is something delightful about firing off flying slashes!"
"You're having fun, Grandpa!"
"Holy Shield! I'm glad you're enjoying yourself!"
Genjuro and Ruby were also firing off their respective projectile-type martial skills. I focused on defending against the enemy's attacks while leaving offense to the other four.
That was because our party had no dedicated tank. Until now, Jigoro and Genjuro had generally rampaged on the front line, Ruby had caused distractions, and Iris and I had responded flexibly.
In other words, we had been relying on the two of them for our combat power. But when the two who took such pleasure in fighting on the front line couldn't move up as they were now, our defenses became thin. We had found a new problem to address. I only wish we'd found it before the boss battle!
"Kikii!"
"Kyeee!"
However, our saturation-attack strategy appeared to be tremendously effective. The Twin-Headed Wind Eagle could not evade the attacks raining down on it from below. Nor could its Wind Wall defend against the heavy attacks from Jigoro and Genjuro. Its damage steadily accumulated.
Kiiiiiiiiii!
"So it begins!"
When its remaining health dropped below half, both heads of the Twin-Headed Wind Eagle raised their voices toward the sky. If my prediction was correct, this was where the life-or-death struggle would begin!
"Izaam! They're really coming! From the southwest!"
Ruby was, as expected, the first to notice. I turned southwest and saw the birds we had encountered on this mountain approaching us in flocks, regardless of their Race.
"Change formation. Iris and Genjuro, stay close and protect me! Jigoro and Ruby, protect each other's backs!"
"Sure thing!"
"Understood!"
"Very well!"
"Got it!"
All right, everything up to this point was only the preliminary battle. Let's give it everything we've got!