The team fought the Queen Spider five times the next day; the last attempt was a particularly good run, but unfortunately, they still could not claim victory. After Stephanie had started paying attention to the main thread and cutting it, the two Tanks died much less often and the Attacker became much more mobile.
On the last run, the Attacker had finally gotten his dual blades through the Queen Spider’s soft abdomen, causing the gel-like fluids inside to gush out. The Attacker had tried to keep up the momentum, but then countless little Spiders rained down from the webs above, as if to save its Queen. The Attacker had been crushed by the avalanche of Spiders and finished off by the Queen Spider, then the two Tanks had been killed as well, unable to deal with all the little Spiders. In the end, Stephanie had been the only one left alive.
“Damn it!” The Attacker man shouted in frustration the team was back to the Guild. The two Tanks, spooked by the man’s behavior, slowly stepped away.
“…We were so close, too. But enough moping — we either get it tomorrow, or we don’t. I’m confident that we can win, so long as we survive those little Spiders. Now, let us discuss.”
Stephanie looked just as disappointed as the others, but once back at the Guild, she instantly switched gears and called the two Tanks to brainstorm plans for the next day. The two Tanks and the Attacker sat down at one of the Guild’s round tables.
“…What?”
Stephanie was a little surprised when the Attacker sat down without saying a word, but she sat down herself and said sarcastically,
“…Oh, nothing. I thought you were about to leave, is all.”
The Attacker clicked his tongue and proceeded to say,
“Nah, I’m staying. That guy’s told me to behave myself, so yeah…”
“Mister Tsutomu did!?”
“What? No, not him. Sova.”
“Oh… All right, then. Let us get started.”
Stephanie had considered having him apologize first, but in the end did not want him to become uncooperative again, so she proceeded on with the party’s meeting immediately. First, she instructed the two Tanks to use <<Combat Cry>> when the small Spiders appeared, and also split up so that the enemies would not flock to one place. The plan also included Stephanie and the Attacker splitting up, working to wipe out the little Spiders in two groups at once.
She then suggested to the Attacker various ways to deal with the little Spiders and cut the main thread, most of which he was receptive to, to her surprise.
[Not that he’s mentioned him, this man does resemble Sova in some aspects…] Stephanie thought as she looked at the Attacker.
Sova, back when he had started out, also had the same attitude as this Attacker. How the former had recently started accepting the Tanks, and how the latter’s behavior was getting now, were also similar.
The Attacker, though still impolite, had clearly had a change of attitude. Stephanie was curious as to exactly what Sova had done to him, but refrained from asking; after the evaluative meeting, she returned to the Clan House together with her party members.
In the Clan House’s Dining Hall, Stephanie sat down to eat while spinning her skill shots around under her chair; at one point, someone called her from behind,
“…Hey, what’re you up to?”
“Oh, hello, Sova. I was thinking I’d look for you after finishing my meal here.”
Sova looked at Stephanie, suspicious about how she had energy spheres spinning under her chair, then pulled an unfriendly face and took a seat opposite of her.
These two were on fairly friendly terms, having entered Ealdred Crow at around the same time period. Bittman was as well, in fact, but the greater age difference had made it so that he was not as close of a friend.
“How’s that guy been doing?”
“That guy, who?”
“You know, the Dualblader. Is he doing his job properly now?”
“Oh, that was considerate of you, Sova. You have my thanks.”
Stephanie’s indifferent reply prompted Sova to turn away in exasperation.
“It’s because our guest’s asked me to. That Dualblader’s been looking down on the Tanks, and he thought I could do something about that, and stuff.”
“Our guest… you mean Mister Tsutomu!?”
“Y-yeah.”
Though surprised by Stephanie’s suddenly leaning forward, Sova nodded, then narrowed his eyes in disinterest upon seeing the former looking quite happy while sitting back down.
Back when the three-role composition had been introduced, Sova had been antipathic toward Tanks, what with them taking so long to defeat even one monster, and especially the Heavy Knights and such moving so slowly, making exploration harder than it should be for the rest.
He used to wonder why he had to care about such useless people, and had only shown respect to Tanks more skilled and experienced than him, such as Bittman and Garm.
Sova, being one of the best Attackers one could find anywhere, had a fair share of influence within the Clan. Eventually, however, his attitude toward Tanks had softened after going through the Canyons with a team that had adopted the three-role composition and seeing how useful it could be. As he had discovered, having a Tank made it easier for him to kill monsters and greatly reduced his workload as an Attacker.
“Your efforts have been very helpful. Thank you, Sova.”
“Tch, it just pissed me off, seeing that guy act like I used to. Just know that I wasn’t doing it for anyone, not our guest, not you.”
“That man does resemble you a little bit, Sova. ‘I’m a Dualblader, you know!’ and stuff,” Stephanie mimicked the man’s voice, complete with putting her hands on her hips.
“Hey, bug off.”
Sova rested his elbows on the table and turned away.
In a way, Stephanie’s claim was correct; Sova’s was a Swordfighter, a relatively high-performance Job even for Attackers, and he was quite proud to be one, especially since it was the same Job as the Scarlet Devil Squad’s Clan Leader, whom he deeply respected.
The Clan Leader of Scarlet Devil Squad was a master of various weapon types and had a brilliant fighting style. From how his weapons turned red from his enemies’ blood and his unique skill, which granted extreme heating properties to his blades, he had gained the nickname of Crimson Spellblader.
But as of now, the Scarlet Devil Squad had yet to adopt the three-role composition. Sova had been quite dissatisfied by the fact that, while the person he respected skillfully fought without anyone’s help, he’d had to start relying on Tanks. Fortunately, he had managed to keep it from getting in the way of his work.
“So you’ll be done with training tomorrow, right? The main party’s replacement Healer’s been getting a lot of praise from Rook these past three weeks. The assessment’s still coming up, so you might get demoted next month, you know,” Sova replied to Stephanie with a sarcastic utterance, having suddenly felt like dampening her mood.
“Please, don’t worry. I won’t lose.”
“Oh yeah?”
Sova, knowing that the mention of demotion used to cause Stephanie to visibly lose confidence, would invoke the word whenever he was at a conversational disadvantage. Now, however, Stephanie was convinced that she would not lose her spot, since she had seen that the other Healer was still only as good as she had been three weeks ago, having gone to check out the Monitor several times.
“Well, we’ll be going down to the infamous layer sixty-five soon. Better be prepared for it,” Sova said and gave Stephanie a semi-threatening look, seeing how the latter had changed so much over the past three weeks, before leaving the Dining Hall as if running away.
Stephanie tilted her head, confused as to what was up with him.
――▽▽――
“Now then, let us be on our way.”
Today was the last day of training. Stephanie, after one last meeting with her party members in front of layer twenty-nine’s Black Gate, proceeded onward to layer thirty.
They arrived at the now-familiar dimly-lit cave. Stephanie intercepted the Queen Spider’s surprise attack from above with <<Air Blades>>, then immediately cast <<Protect>> for the three others.
Stephanie, granting buffs to the Attacker as well this time around, kept herself in a position where she could see all party members. The Attacker focused on attacking one of the fallen Queen Spider’s hind legs, successfully cutting off the tip of it.
Stephanie, glad that things were off to a good start, cast <<Air Blade>> and severed the main thread, then turned to Dorssia, who was just about done using <<Combat Cry>>. The latter looked quite perfectly calm, successfully dodging the monster’s binding silk this time.
“<<Enchant Blood>>.”
Rigas applied an enchantment to his short sword, then carefully approached the Queen Spider as it went after Dorssia. The recommended procedure was to leave most of the damage-dealing to the Attacker, while the others kept the offense to a minimum; Rigas wholeheartedly agreed to that.
Rigas, in an attempt to help Dorssia, swung at one of the Spider’s legs, but the monster dodged it by lifting the targeted leg up. Still, since Rigas had swung deliberately, he did not lose his balance after the attack missed.
“Orah!”
The Attacker, on the other hand, had little issue landing his swings, being relatively skilled among people of his level range. This time managing only a shallow cut, he clicked his tongue before repeatedly slashing some more.
“<<Heal>>.”
Stephanie, while keeping an eye on her party and the Queen Spider, restored Dorssia’s wounds while the latter kept herself alive by blocking the monster’s leg attacks with her unreliable shield. The remaining duration of <<Protect>>, the Tanks’ conditions, whether or not the main thread was intact — Stephanie issued her orders in accordance to those observed factors.
“Rigas, use <<Combat Cry>>!”
“<<Combat Cry>>.”
Rigas pulled the Queen Spider’s aggro in Dorssia’s stead, switching in with her. Stephanie first shot a <<Protect>> to Dorssia as the letter caught her breath, and then cast the buff for the two others as well.
[Hmm, I can see it quite well today…]
Stephanie, easily seeing where the Spider’s main thread was, despite it being so thin that it had required her to look so hard before, cut it with <<Air Blade>> and turned to confirm her party’s conditions.
Even without a full view, she had some idea of her allies’ and the Queen Spider’s positions, and how they were doing. As of now, all support skills were in effect and would not be running out soon. Thinking it was time to be more aggressive, Stephanie lightly gripped her staff and called the name of another skill,
“<<Haste>>.”
The buff was for the Attacker. Up until now, Stephanie had avoided maintaining <<Haste>> during battle, what with its effect changing the target’s bodily sensations when it kicked in and ran out, unlike <<Protect>>.
Considering her current capabilities, however, she was confident that she could handle the addition of <<Haste>> now. The Tanks had improved a great deal and now required less healing, and the Attacker was cooperative at long last, which meant Stephanie had more breathing room, too.
The Attacker, hit by <<Haste>> just as he stopped running, was momentarily surprised by the speed but otherwise smoothly turned to the Queen Spider while the monster had its attention on the Tanks. His body lighter than usual, he proceeded to cut at the Queen Spider’s white legs.
With the slashes aimed at the joints, the Spider’s second hind leg started to come off more and more, and was eventually severed completely. The monster briefly lost balance, the moment at which Rigas decided to follow up with an attack, swinging his short sword horizontally like an axe at another one of its legs. The hit only managed a shallow wound, but the effect of <<Enchant Blood>> healed some bruises on Rigas’ arm.
The battle continued without incident, and the team eventually severed four of the monster’s eight legs. Stephanie had managed to keep the two support skills up all the way throughout, and cut apart the main thread whenever she saw it, too. She had not forgotten to direct the Tanks properly, either, with her ordering one to switch into the focus whenever the other looked to be tired.
And although the two Tanks still got hit with occasional critical attacks, Stephanie never panicked in response, casting <<High Heal>> on them whenever they needed it. Her perception had greatly sharpened, and she was always calm. She was even aware, in a corner of her eyes, from where Tsutomu was watching them as he levitated high above.
The Queen Spider was now kept standing with half its legs — two front, two back, all yet to be injured. The Attacker turned to Stephanie and pointed to the Queen Spider’s abdomen. The latter nodded silently, checked the main thread, then cut it with <<Air Blade>>.
The Queen Spider tried to zip up with its main thread to avoid the Attacker, but just before then, the thread had already been severed.
“Orah!”
The Attacker leaped up, his swords in hand, and stabbed the sides of the Queen Spider’s fat abdomen. Then he sliced it open, kicked it up, and backed away.
“Wait!”
Just as he was about to attack again, however, Stephanie called for him to stop, the latter having felt a disturbance from the webs above. Stephanie proceeded to cast <<Protect>> to her three allies, and then <<Haste>> for the Attacker, despite the effects being nowhere near over.
The Attacker, upon being called, looked around for a moment before clicking his tongue and moving away from the Queen Spider. Not even a moment later, the webs above tore open, the little Spiders on it flooding down as if to cover the Queen Spider.
“You two!”
“<<Combat Cry>>!”
“<<Combat Cry>>.”
The two Tanks, pulling the aggro of the little spiders, split up. Stephanie pointed at the Attacker, reminding him what to do before she herself rushed to the group of small Spiders that were gathering around Dorssia.
“…I’m in heaven.”
The ecstatic expression on Dorssia’s face almost made Stephanie clutch her head, but she did not have time for that; instead, she waved her staff, casting <<Air Blade>> to do away with the little Spiders. She also glanced at Rigas’ side at one point, but they seemed to be having no trouble, so she proceeded to focus on the enemies in front of her.
But then, the Queen Spider came stomping into the fray, knocking Dorssia off her feet and pinning her against the wall. Rigas was not done with the little ones on his side yet, so he could not help her out. Stephanie decided to step in, shooting <<Air Blades>> at the Queen Spider.
The cuts caused the Queen Spider’s guts to leak out its abdomen’s sides. The team was now a step away from victory — Stephanie focused on buying some more time, shooting another <<Air Blade>>.
She then uncorked a vial of Blue Potion in her left hand, held it in her mouth, kicked away one of the approaching small Spiders like a ball… and then stepped on it. The monster’s fluids splashed on Stephanie’s black stockings, but she did not seem to mind as she discarded the now-empty vial. Another wave of Spiders approached, with the Queen Spider watching over the scene.
“<<Air Blade>>.”
Stephanie, while using her bladed wind shots to keep the Queen Spider at bay, also fended off the little Spiders. One of them tried jumping at her face; she promptly grabbed it and threw it at the other Spiders. She proceeded to trample them to death, as if she was the Queen Spider herself.
“<<Combat Cry>>!!”
With the Spiders on Rigas’ side now wiped up, he used <<Combat Cry>> to generate aggro on the Queen Spider. The Attacker started picking off the remaining Spider minions, one by one.
Stephanie cast another round of support skills for the party, then checked how they were doing. Rigas, currently facing the Queen Spider, was not too heavily injured. Stephanie cast <<Heal>> on Rigas, then proceeded to help peel Dorssia away from the wall. The latter had been bitten by the Spiders three times… but she looked quite satisfied, so Stephanie did not worry for her.
All in all, the little Spiders were now almost all gone, leaving only the Queen Spider as the active threat.
“<<Air Blade>>.”
The Queen Spider’s hairs were sensitive to fluctuations in the air; with <<Air Blade>> being a sharp, compressed mass of wind, it was easily detected despite not being visible to the naked eye. Currently without its main thread intact, however, the Queen Spider had to instead jump up to dodge the attack.
But the Attacker had been waiting for it to do just that — he stabbed the monster’s spinneret, rendering it completely unusable.
With the Queen Spider weakened and staggering, Rigas proceeded to stab it with his short sword, while Stephanie cut it more with <<Air Blades>>.
In the end, the Queen Spider stumbled, rolled over, curled its legs, and stopped moving altogether. As the monster’s body began emitting light particles, the cave was filled with four echoing voices of cheer.
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