VOLUME 1
Chapter 3: Team Battle
Part 8
A little while later.
In a forest clearing, Jun and Eri were surrounded by five members of the Crimson Scarf Knight a.s.sociation.
Though they were trying to make it to the nearest way out of the forest, they had been ambushed.
Their four front line fighters came in from each cardinal direction to surround the two of them, with Shiroko, her arms folded, a black magician, shortly behind them.
“Because of you traitors, I had to deal with a lot of problems. &h.e.l.lip; Eri, even before, I never really liked you.”
Shiroko looked rather unsightly.
“Since it’s a good opportunity, I’ll allow you to thoroughly try and send a comeback my way. I’ll make it so that you won’t be able to leave the inn without being scared.”
“This isn’t a joke. I’m gonna leave the island. &h.e.l.lip; This is definitely a good opportunity. If we defeat you here, soon, you’ll end up not being able to leave the town for fear of us standing in your way. .”
“Hey&h.e.l.lip; but we’re still full of vigor. The two of us will face off with you five. We should be able to win.”
Jun shrugged his shoulders.
“Don’t be so unconfident. Jun, you’ll win.”
“Still, it’ll be difficult with five enemies.”
“Didn’t you say that you were stronger than all of the Crimson Scarf Knight a.s.sociation’s members combined?”
“Of all things, you’re bringing up that here&h.e.l.lip;”
With a smile, Eri responded, “Prove what you claimed to me.”
There wasn’t any chance of winning here. However, she had also thought that while struggling during the battle with those monsters. Right now though, she thought they could win if she continued supporting Jun with Maximum Heal&h.e.l.lip;
“Don’t even cast any spells. Eri, it’ll all fall in place. The front line fighters have knockback gauntlets.”
Eri smacked her lips.
Magicians were weak in hand-to-hand combat even when the conditions favored them. White magicians wore better armor than other back line fighters, but moving or being moved while casting a spell would interrupt the incantation.
This kind of unexpected forced moving could be caused by some monsters that had what was known as knockback capabilities. Knockback gauntlets allowed the person who equipped them to cause more knockback upon attacking. Regardless of the damage dealt from an attack, it would stop any spell incantation.
Knockback gauntlets were a relatively low rarity quest rewards and therefore rather easy to obtain.
However, many items taking up the gauntlet slot increased damage output. Normally, front line fighters would not make use of knockback in favor of increased damage. Since knockback gauntlets did not have defense boosts, tanks would not wear them either.
Basically, normal group battles and raids prioritized increasing everybody’s damage. Knockback gauntlets then, would have only been a hindrance. Eri remembered that the Crimson Scarf Knight a.s.sociation didn’t have many of that item.
However, as for preparing them specifically for the purpose of PKing&h.e.l.lip;
“Collecting items through doing quests&h.e.l.lip; haven’t you thought of that?”
“In any case, you started that thing with Kasumi. If you kneel down and apologize right now, I’ll let you and Kasumi come back to the guild.”
“This isn’t a joke.”
Eri, with a sarcastic smile, grabbed Jun’s arm.
“Hey!”
“Don’t abandon us darlings, Kasumi and me.”
“&h.e.l.lip; You&h.e.l.lip;”
With just her eyes, Eri told Jun, who had glared at her without knowing her plan, what to do.
Sure enough, somehow, her message was sent.
Jun shook his head bitterly and look up towards Shiroko.
“Hmm, what are you trying to do? Are you saying that you’ll be in Sky World the whole time? Just for now is okay. Three more months is fine too. I’m even okay with it another half a year. However, one year? Two years? Are you trying to say that you’re going to live out your entire lifespan in Sky World?”
“Eventually, somebody’s going to do something about it. Until then, we should sit tight. In the meantime, it would be great if we could all become friends. But even then, you’ll do as you please to tear up our relationships. That I can’t allow. You’ve already done too much and the guild ended up all jumbled and disorganized.”
With a teasing att.i.tude, Eri said, “Hasn’t everybody gotten tired of mindlessly following you, Shiroko-san?”
“They’re all annoying and in a state of hysteria. I don’t know why they’re doing that.”
“&h.e.l.lip; Right, in the end, you’re just doing as you please. You show no remorse.”
“Nope. Never.”
“Well then&h.e.l.lip; Fine.”
Suddenly, Shiroko raised her hand.
The front line fighters in all directions prepared their weapons.
They came. Eri whispered, “sorry” to Jun.
“You have to work hard for just a bit longer.”
“Nope, it’s fine.”
Jun separated himself from Eri and readied his greatsword&h.e.l.lip;
He slashed at the front line fighter on his left. At the same time, Eri rolled nearby.
The front line fighter that Jun and Eri were near was a magic swordsman, like Jun.
However, her weapon was not a greatsword like Jun’s, but a longspear.
When Jun swept his greatsword at the Crimson Scarf Knight a.s.sociation magic swordsman’s spear, she turned and met his attack with one of her own just by shifting her body weight. Eri, her body low to the ground having rolled near Jun the moment before, got up in a group of bushes&h.e.l.lip;
“Kasumi!”
“Hi!”
A figure flew out from the bushes.
It was Kasumi wielding her shortsword.
The two of them, through their communication with their stones, knew that she was approaching them. It was for this reason Eri had dared to go to such an open s.p.a.ce, risking falling into a trap. She had prolonged their conversation in order to buy time for Kasumi to arrive. Then, while their enemies were shocked by this turn of events, Kasumi rushed out as her trump card.
“This is a three v. five battle!”
“Let’s go!”
Kasumi fiercely slashed at the other three front line fighters. She cut them up, shielding herself after every hit with her shortsword. Turning her shield at the spear-wielder, she defeated her with a bandit warrior’s axe.
“Hey, this guy’s moving like this&h.e.l.lip;”
Kasumi made quick work of the three girl warriors who had been watching in shock with her quick movements and sharp sword.
Kasumi was using a rarity 6 quest reward, n.o.ble Blade, for her shortsword, replacing her previous rarity 2 red sword. This was her first time using it. Though it was a high-grade item that could not be obtained on this island, it was not just the weapon change that allowed her to overwhelm her three opponents.
(Kasumi, you did well. You’ve gone far.)
Those were the fruits of that week of training.
Through seeing all of her opponent’s movements, her own movements became much more precise and accurate. Since she was no longer relying on the system to make these judgments for her, she managed to discover holes in the system.
Just to be sure, Jun drove the each and every fault of automatic fighting into Kasumi’s head. At the time, Eri thought that there was no point in doing so&h.e.l.lip;
Kasumi Yukasaki, however, had a very impressive memory.
She could memorize complex attack patterns in just one try. Aand she could remember the appropriate counterstrategies very quickly after being taught them as well. She could do it all rather naturally, and she always persevered in her training.
Eri thought her to be obedient.
Since she was very obedient, innocent, diligent, and energetic, she could absorb all of the techniques and information from Jun.
So now, Kasumi’s ability blossomed.
In the face of a three to one numerical disadvantage, not even yielding a little bit against her despised Crimson Scarf Knight a.s.sociation’s elite members, she got in the zone and zipped around freely.
“Shoot! What an idiot!”
Shiroko hastily began an attack spell incantation.
“I won’t let you!”
However, Eri was casting her spell faster than Shiroko.
Stun. The white magician’s stun, though a bit long to cast, was better than the magic swordsman’s Quick Stun. Its reach was excellent, and it was efficient MP-wise. It was the more suitable of the two to restrain enemies. Though it did have a weakness in that it attracted more enmity, enmity played no role in player-to-player combat.
Shiroko’s spell casting was interrupted by Eri’s spell.
Smacking her lips, the leader of the Crimson Scarf Knight a.s.sociation scowled at Eri.
“Us fellow back line fighters should get along well.”
Smiling cheerfully, Eri began casting yet another stun.