After eating, we chat about our travels, but around the time when it’s pretty much digested, we start having a strategy meeting about the seventy-first floor.
I say strategy meeting, but we don’t have a grand plan or anything. We only have two ideas, wait and see how they act first, or an all out attack as soon as we start fighting.
“We really should go all out right from the start., I don’t think they’ll go down easily, but I think there’s merit to it.”
Says Rurika.
I guess it’s easy to have negative feelings and think we won’t take them down if we don’t fight with all we have, but fights with strong monsters tend to be drawn out. If anything, it’s rarer for them to go down to the first attack.
“I think all out is good!”
Eliana agrees, even though I’m pretty sure she didn’t really think about it, but no one objects.
“But who will attack? We can’t all charge in, right?”
“We should focus on Chris’ spirit magic, Sora’s spells, and Hikari’s Projectile Slash. And Sera and I can throw knives, I guess. Mia and Kaina can be ready for a counterattack.”
This sounds like a compromise, because when Chris uses spirit magic, there’s always the danger of it catching everyone fighting up close.
When it gets to be that powerful, it has a wide area of effect, save for a few exceptions.
Of course, that area of effect can be tuned, depending on the user, but messing with it too much will bring the power down.
Although for me it’s easy, because I have skills like Parallel Thinking and Magic Energy Control.
After talking it over, we decide that we’ll buy time with long range attacks until Chris’ spirit magic is ready.
I want to cast Appraisal on them, but sometimes it doesn’t work when the target is far away, so I’ll do that if the hellhound doesn’t go down to that first strike.
The problem is what the hellhound will do if it doesn’t go down. Will it get mad and charge forward? Summon other monsters?
If it summons a lot of monsters, I can use Provoke to draw aggro while the others take them down one at a time, but am I going to be able to hold them?
Kaina can guard too, but this really is a party that’s mostly about attacking.
Rurika and the others can handle them one on one, unless the hellhounds are really agile, but it might be tricky when they are fighting multiple ones at the same time.
According to Hikari, they won’t lose to a hellhound so soon if it’s one on one, even if it’s fast.
She says that four legged monsters tend to have a higher variety of attacks, but the basic moves aren’t all that different.
I don’t really understand that.
When I tilt my head, she says she’ll teach me later. That’s kind of troubling, because of how strict she is.
She’s not going to do anything that could kill me, but I know how tough she can be.
Once things are mostly decided, they start doing mock battles, centered around Kaina so she can get used to her new arm.
The rest of us have tea with Eliana. Well, I’m having tea, the others are having the sweets they bought in Fors.
Eliana likes them a lot, and she stuffs her small mouth to the point where she chokes.
No one’s going to take them from you, so you can take it easy.
Mia then starts talking about the sweets, and I’m assuming she heard that from the person that sold them. Eliana listens with a serious expression.
“Are there things as good as this in other towns?”
“I guess it varies. Also, a girl called Ryuryu recommended this store to us.”
“Ah, the girl that keeps being bothered by the beast king.”
I guess that’s how Eliana sees her. She’s not wrong.
“What are you going to do, Sora?”
“Raise the level of the Blacksmith skill, I guess. If I can get it higher, I’ll be able to strengthen equipment too. It won’t be ready in time for this dungeon, but we still have a lot of work ahead of us.”
I can make a new knife with Alchemy, and attach magic. By using Combine, I can attach Lightning Magic too.
Fire is stronger from the point of view of raw power alone, but Lightning can numb the targets too.
I’m going to be making a few of those, because I don’t see the limit of my Item Box. If I don’t use them, they can just stay there. And if the time comes, I can use them all at once.
I guess I’ll have to buy more ore. Should I just put out a quest with the merchant or adventurer guild?
Although there would have to be a fixed deadline, because we’re not staying in one place for very long.
I think it would be easy to gather in a town near a mine, but a bit difficult in places where the means to obtain it are limited.
I can get there quickly with Transfer, but I would have to make sure I can Transfer to that place first. My maximum MP goes down with each magic item I make, so eventually, I won’t be able to use a lot of magic related skills.
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Thank you for the update and Merry Christmas!
Thanks for the treat.