Rank 1

Snictura’s raid in Arta’s secret base was divided into three phases.

The first phase involved restoring the laboratory devices while all MP was sealed.

During this phase, Snictura fought only with basic attacks and passives, and the standard strategy was to simply endure no matter what.

That said, killing Snictura during that phase wasn’t impossible. If every raid member had the proper equipment and passive abilities, they could still damage a Level-one monster even without MP.

Anyway.

Once the laboratory restoration was complete, the second phase began. During that phase, the ranged damage dealers could use the small amount of MP that gradually returned to chip away at Snictura. The key was keeping Snictura pinned in the center so it couldn’t regain access to its skills.

Of course, we made a major mistake in this regard during the raid. But, moving on…

The final stage was much more straightforward. Once Snictura had been gradually bled dry, Flash Before Death, its second passive, would activate and mark the start of its berserk phase.

Here, you just have to survive. Flash Before Death grants a massive physical bonus until the end of the battle, but it’s a skill where health constantly drains in proportion to its duration.

As long as we endured, the raid would be a success.

“My mana is rising!”

“My divine power too!”

In a normal Snictura raid, there is no phase where everyone’s resources are recovered like this.

After all, Snictura was not the main boss of Arta’s secret base.

We had to defeat Snictura, accept the follow-up quest, defeat the boss on the Island of the End, and return to the laboratory. Once that was done, the quest would give us two choices: accept the reward and end things there, or challenge Arta, who had transformed into a machine monster and was actually the true final boss.

If you chose the second option, the raid would begin again in this laboratory, and this field effect would come into play.

[Field Effect: Core of the Earth is applied.]

[The Origin of Earth bestows all authorities. All resources you possess have been restored to 100%.]

The MP, which had been reduced to 0 to keep Snictura trapped in the center of the room, immediately began to recover.

No, was “recover” really the right word?

[Character has cast Gigantification].

I could clearly feel the restraints on my body being released, but I didn’t sense any of my MP being drained.

It was the power of the field effect. Since our resources were fixed at 100%, they weren’t being consumed at all.

[The character has used Wild Burst].

[The character’s threat level temporarily triples, and their physical stats increase in proportion to that value.]

As I grew in size and let out a massive battle cry, Snictura’s eyes finally locked onto me. Until then, its aggro had been fluctuating wildly. I suppose level-one monsters always have high threat thresholds.

“…Damn, that’s chilling.”

Seeing Snictura completely unrestrained made my heart clench.

“Sven Parav! Heal Beleg!”

“Y-Yes…”

“Everyone else, fall back! Erwin! That goes for you too!”

“Huh…?”

“Release [Spirit Form] immediately, fall back, and use [Focused Shot]!”

“Everyone except Erwin, use every defensive ability you have! Don’t hold back!”

[While concentrating, all damage received is absorbed through soul power.]

Since her MP would no longer be consumed, Erwin was basically immune to damage for the rest of the raid. Still, that didn’t mean she belonged on the frontline. Damage wasn’t the only danger here. She could still be stunned, confused, thrown back, knocked unconscious, or disabled in any number of other ways. Even if attacks could no longer hurt her directly, there were still plenty of ways for Snictura to take her out of the fight.

Sssh

As we adjusted our formation, Snictura seemed to be evaluating things on its side as well. It stood there for a moment, almost bewildered by the sudden rush of power, before finally moving.

It started off lightly…………….

[Snictura has cast Seed of Destruction.]

[One random character within range is targeted and hit with an unavoidable strike.]

It was the same basic attack skill that had turned Beleg into a living corpse in one hit. However, even if the same fist was coming at you, there was a world of difference between bracing for the blow and being struck without warning.

[Alluva Raven has cast :Level 3 Support Magic Mana Barrier.]

[Meland Kaislan has cast Defensive Stance].

[Lilith Marone has cast Level 4 Summoning Magic [Anti-Magic Stone]].

[The magic resistance of all characters within range…]

“Cough…!”

“Mr. Kaislan…!”

“I-I am alright…”

Explorers at our level all had at least one defensive ability to keep themselves alive, and we weren’t foolish enough to fall for the same thing twice.
Of course, even then, each hit still landed heavily, as expected of a Level 1 monster’s basic attack. But…
[Sven Parav has cast [Prayer of Protection]].
[30% of the damage received by the prayer’s target is converted into divine power.]
[Sven Parav has cast [Rising Moon Spring]].
[Summons a totem that periodically emits healing waves.]
[Sven Parav has cast Area Heal].
No matter how much of a ‘Paladin’ he was, with infinite Divine Power, he was no less than a ‘High Priest.’

The problem was me, standing at the very front.

[Snictura has cast Poison Jet]

I was showered in poison while my poison immunity bonus was gone.

[Snictura has cast [Shape Transformation]]

The snake’s body then expanded in an instant, growing so large that trying to maintain distance from it became pointless.

[Snictura has cast Life Drain]]

[Absorbs the life force of all characters within range]

At times, it transformed into other Level 1 monsters and used their specific abilities.

[Snictura has cast Immortal Will]

[Natural regeneration temporarily increases by +1,000]

From what I could see, the small amount of HP that we had managed to shave off had already been fully restored. But that only sharpened my focus on the fight.

Just as I expected.

One shot.

[Erwin Fornacci di Tersia is casting Focused Shot.]

This battle would be decided by a single shot.
***

Focused Shot was an active skill gained from consuming the essence of the Level 4 monster, Ritcanon.

Strictly speaking, Focused Shot was not the graduation essence for that skill line. A far stronger version existed among the higher-ranking essences, and Focused Shot was merely the stepping stone needed to reach it.

However, just as you wouldn’t care what you bought if you had infinite money…

“If MP is infinite, there’s no reason to care about the skill’s Level.”

Of course, that was only when looking at damage.

“The important thing is the time required to reach that damage…”

How long would we have to wait?

How long would the casting need to continue before it could kill a rank-one monster in one shot?

Honestly, I couldn’t say for sure. Even after all the trials and tribulations I’d faced in the game, I’d never encountered a situation like this.

‘Well, whatever.’

We just have to gather as much power as possible. If that doesn’t work, then it was never meant to be.

[Erwin Fornacci di Tercia is casting Focused Shot].

She absolutely could not release the bowstring early.

The key to this plan was bypassing Snictura’s Flash Before Death phase entirely. If we failed to finish it with a single decisive blow, it would go berserk, and in such a cramped space, none of us would survive.

Right. So…

“Uaaaaaaaagh…!”

Let’s endure.

As much as I possibly can.

No, with everything I have, as if my life depends on it.

[Snictura has cast [Death Sentence]]

[Erwin Fornacci di Tersia is casting [Focused Shot].]

I blocked what could be blocked.

[Defense successful.]

[Aegis’s Barrier absorbs all damage.]

And for what could not be blocked, I simply took the hits.

[Snictura has cast [Deadly Poisoning].]

[The character’s life force is below 40%. The poison’s effect increases fourfold.]

[Erwin Fornacci di Tersia is casting [Focused Shot].]

Even though its efficiency was atrocious, and even though I normally did not use it because I had not yet consumed its linked essence, I used that skill anyway.

[The character has cast [Transcendence].]

[The next skill used will be enhanced.]

[You have cast Soul Dive. While active, your maximum soul power is reduced by 80%, but Natural Regeneration is greatly increased.]

Honestly, the boost to Natural Regeneration looked excellent when judged purely by numbers, but because of the penalty that came with using it, leaving it inactive was usually the better choice. Until I obtained a later skill that scaled based on how low my soul power was, Soul Dive was more useful as something I didn’t activate.

But…

“My MP is overflowing, so why not?”

This was not the time to be picky.

I had to use everything I could to endure—

“Huh”

By the time I noticed, darkness had swallowed everything around me. Not in a metaphorical sense, but literally. On top of that, every sound had vanished too, as though my hearing had been stripped away.

What is going on?

It didn’t take long to realize what was happening. In the darkness, I saw glowing red threads.

“Dammit.”

Red threads stretched out in all directions, each one connected to a curled-up monster.

Ogre, Vol-Herchan, Deep Sea Giant, Storm Gush… As for that mess of a form, it was most likely the combo essence I had made on the first underground floor.

Anyway.

That was not important.

I knew what this effect was. It belonged to Cryptid, a Level one monster.

Just like the Knight of Hatred in the Blood Tinted Castle, which could occasionally lower your level, Cryptid was another monster capable of ruining a character and turning them into a failed build.

[Snictura has cast [Omen of Corruption].]

[After a short time, one of the character’s essences will be permanently corrupted.]

This fucking…

It used this now?

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