[Arc 4] Chapter 50: Curse Corpse Collection

Mira's PoV:

It's been two hours since the Raid Event started. I'm currently watching the battle from a safe distance with Percel, our Raid leader chosen in haste, and trying to recover from the exhaustion from my last bout with that freaking gecko.

"How's the situation?" - Mira

"Hmm...we are close to breaking the fourth bar..." responded Percel, probably using his Identification-type skill to peek at the gecko's stats.

A Raid Enemy like the gecko is special. It has high stats and multiple HP gauges, and each time one of those bars are emptied, the Raid Enemy will fully recover its SP and MP, while gaining an increase to all its other stats, plus going into a "Rage Mode" for a few moments after the HP gauge breaks. 

The gecko has 5 HP gauges, each being worth around 1.000 HP each. Its stats should be around the same amount, and that's from the start. Despite the difference in stats, we have not had any casualties. 

One of the reasons comes from the gecko's immaturity. It can't distinguish the people who are acting as distractions and bait and those who are acting as attackers. It does not even look at the healers like Noire, nor does it bother to save its MP and SP for the right moments. It just blasts out its biggest and deadliest skills the moment it has the energy to do so, without even thinking about potential self-stun or other negative effects its attacks may come with as a price for its deadly attack power.

Due to that, Percel grouped us into attack groups and resting groups so we could steadily whittle away the gecko's HP without getting killed ourselves due to MP- and/or SP shortage. There should be other people besides me who are taking a break to recover their MP, SP, and fatigue.

"You think it may stun itself again like an idiot?" - Mira

"Hmm, I would say no. Low INT or not, losing two HP gauges due to the same mistake will make you aware of the risks that attack comes with." - Percel

The "attack" was a wall of grey wind that the dragon produced with the breath from the three heads that the gecko has. The attack range and power are incredible, but the motion it must take before releasing it is obvious, and it will stop moving for a little while after that happens. Honestly, it's an attack whose only worth is its power and should rather be used to demolish buildings than against moving targets.

Right now the gecko is using simple Curse-type skills to enhance its limbs. A smart move, as its big body is one heck of a weapon in itself. Its scales alone are so tough that I can't cut through them without using Airgetám enhancement abilities.

Honestly, it's because of these scales that the fight has dragged out for so long. Only I, Grangron with his blunt attacks (his fists), and the Holy attribute attacks used by the other knights of Percel's group have been able to damage this big lizard during these last few hours. Still not sure why Holy is so effective against this dragon...

Seeing that my MP and SP had recovered enough, I left Percel and ran towards the gecko. Using the buildings destroyed by the gecko's rampage as covers, I reached the middle of the battlefield without catching the gecko's attention. Grangron was attacking the gecko but left as I closed in. Percel must have told him I was coming to take his place with [Fartalk].

The gecko noticed that Grangron tried to retreat and attacked in the hope of stopping him, but it was right at that moment that I jumped off from the building I had climbed on and attacked the nearest of the gecko's three necks with my Star Fall art, complemented with all the sword-enhancing skills I had access to.

Star Fall is an art that increases the attack of a downward slash. And it also has a secret effect of "increasing the damage depending on the length of the slash". And the "length of the slash" can be altered by, for example, jumping down from a building. 

My greatsword cut through the solid scales on the gecko's neck and left a wide gap there. I don't get why, but this thing doesn't seem to bleed, which is a bonus for me as I don't have the desire to be bathed in gunk like that.

The gecko isn't as lucky. The electricity and the holy powers of Airgetám coursed through it from the wound, making it rampage on the spot. I would have been crushed had I not used [Flash Step] to run away.

The fourth HP gauge is broken! Keep your guard up!

Percel's orders rung inside my head through his [Fartalk] skill. I turned my attention to the gecko to prepare against its revenge attack in its Beast Mode...but it didn't happen. 

The gecko was just standing stiff like a statue. It's not moving its eyes, nor is it trashing around from the pain anymore. This is a bad thing. My gut's telling me that.

Then, something...eerie happened to the gecko. Its skin...it started melting. "Is it molting," was my first thought, but then I saw that even parts of its flesh were melting off it along with the scales.

A pool of melted meat was forming underneath the gecko's feet. The gecko itself had turned into something closer to a zombie than anything. 

"Is this...supposed to be a final form or something...?" I heard someone ask in confusion. I have to agree with whoever that is. It looks more than half-dead-crap!

*Crash!*

The half-melted gecko struck with its front leg and destroyed the ground. I fled before getting caught up in the attack and threw a [Crystal Spear] I've created while watching the gecko transforming. A spear made with [Spirit Crystal], can be packed with energy by feeding more MP to it.

"[Crystal Bomb]!" - Mira

The moment the spear pierced the gecko, I took cover behind some debris and detonated the spear. This may turn messy, but it's better than trying to cut that melted gunk-gecko...hmm?

There is no splash? No flying pieces of rotten meat? Nothing at all? Not even a wound!?

Everyone, the Mirror Imitation has gained some damage-negation ability! Stay on your guard! Magic-group, be ready for long-range bombardment on my signal!

Percel's commands rung in my head, and I agree with them. I zigzagged between the debris to get some distance from the gecko, and after a minute to ensure people had gotten enough distance from it, magic spells were thrown at the rotting gecko. 

After the dust settled, the gecko...was standing no worse for wear than before. Except it's melting, but that joke's getting old, so I don't need to remind...hmm? The wound on its left-most neck that I made before...it's recovered? I could have sworn it was still there before I threw the [Crystal Spear]...

Getting a bad feeling about this, I used my [Identification] skill to take a peek at the gecko's stats again.

-?! Percel! The gecko ain't taking damage from our attacks anymore! Rather, it's recovering! 

Wh-what did you say!?

I contacted Percel with my own [Fartalk] skill. This gecko's new ability ain't something as tame as "damage negation". The lack of damage from our attacks, the gecko's recovered neck, and the fact that its HP is full despite the fact it should have lost at least 4-or-5 HP from that strange status condition, from these points, it's safe to say that it either has incredible recovery-abilities or somehow recovers from our attacks now instead of being damaged.

And I'm leaning toward the latter, and more unreasonable, idea. I mean, after 10 seconds, I Identified the gecko again and saw its HP had turned into 1.004/1.005...

...everyone, try to stall for time! This thing should die on its own as long as we don't...ah.

Percel's commands were cut short when the gecko...started to bite its middle neck with its left- and right heads.

That's cheating!! The fact that it can heal from damage is too big of a cheat already, but that you can recover from the damage you're inflicting on yourself is way too rule-breaking!!

Did it get smarter from having its brain melt? Wait, I did feel like my own brain was melting during the lessons in the adventurer school...

Tch, just fire anything you have at that thing, one person at a time! But stay clear of close combat. The melted flesh seems to have erosive traits.

Percel gave his commands in a probable attempt of wanting to find some sort of weakness in the dragon's abilities. We can't see its skills after all, even with Percel's high-leveled Identification-type skill, so we're forced to fight in the blind. 

And..., "erosive traits"? I glanced at the rotten pool at the gecko's pool...and saw the pieces of debris that were in the pool was gradually getting smaller with fumes coming from where the rotten meat-water was touching...

SCARY!! That's too scary! Close-combat is dangerous. Close-combat is heresy!! Ugh, I feel like I just stabbed my own heart there in my confusion...

People started to attack the gecko in turn, using different methods in the hope the gecko would take some damage in some sort of strange way.

The result: complete failure. 

I even used the Force Shot skill to send Airgetám-created phantom swords with the Holy attribute, but no luck. And they worked so well before!

People were getting frustrated over the lack of progress, and the pool of melted meat was gradually spreading. Is the self-damaging also part of recovering the meat that's melted off its body or..., damn, if that's true, it's really gotten smarter! And while it will take some time, won't this mean that the whole event area will be covered in that rotten goop!?

The other people must have had the same idea, as they were climbing the ruined buildings so to escape the pool of rotten meat. Luckily, the gecko hasn't gotten enough brains to think of destroying the buildings...or maybe it figured that everything will melt eventually so it's sticking to its current plan. 

"...!? *Pained roar*!!" - Curse Corpse Collection: Dahaka Faker

Eh? Did something work? Against the gecko? Who! Who is today's hero!?

"Eh? It worked?" - Noire

"...you!? Out of all people, you!?" - Mira

From one of the other buildings, I could hear the voice of a fallen celestial I know-

"Eh, yes..." - Noire

"How!? Just what did you do!?" - Mira

"Well, this bow," started Noire and showed the black bow she had started to use after the mystery mansion incident. "It lets me create special arrows that have the special effects of my skills and magic, even if it takes time. So I tried out every arrow I had created, and, well..., the Heal spell arrow worked...I guess?" 

"......HEALING!! This thing recovers from attacks, but healing damages it!!" - Mira

Hearing my shout, people changed from offensive magic to the recovery-type. And the gecko...is taking tons of damage! The gecko is trashing around in pain like its high defensive stats are a lie...

"Ah, recovery magic isn't affected by stats, are they?" - Mira

"They are not...but the strongest recovery spells have a short range." - Noire

She's right. And even worse, the gecko's trashing is destroying the few remaining buildings we can stand on. Jet and his Birdkin friends could take some people to the air, but not everyone...

"Hey, Noire. You don't have any arrows loaded with big healing spells in that quiver of yours, do you?" - Mira

"No way I would. If anything, I would give the arrows the effect of attack-type spells. Especially after hearing that we were going to act independently from each other during this Festival-or-whatever. " - Noire

Yeah, that's logical-, NOT! Try to earn some points on the social scale by saving some wounded contenders or something!

"Can't you prepare a super-healing arrow or something right now?" - Mira

"I would have done it already if I could! But the ring that creates this bow's special arrows takes hours for even simple spells, and it's not possible to craft a Rune Arrow in this situation!" - Noire

Useless! And nobody better start with "but you are more useless since you can't use healing magic at all", or else I'll shoot them with a Force Shot-powered greatsword...

"Noire, I think I have an idea. Give me a hand." - Mira

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Percel's PoV:

The battle's tide has changed yet again. Or so it looks like at first glance.

The Dahaka Faker is steadily losing HP from the onslaught of healing spells. However, despite all the punishment it has suffered, its HP does not go below 800. Its self-recovery powers, or better said, its damage-reversing powers and its self-harming actions are allowing it to recover more HP than we can extinguish. 

It may have another hidden ability that improves its attack strength, improves the rate of healing from the damage-reversing ability, or simply improving the attack power of its jaws that are currently trying to crush its middle neck.

Everyone is trying their best to surpass the dragon...the wretched Curse Creature's recovery abilities in their own way, but we lack a finisher. Something that can heal, and by that I mean "damage", the beast enough that it loses consciousness or something else that makes it stop biting its neck for recovery. 

...I have no other choice, do I? I have to reveal my secret...reveal that spear...

"Force Shot!" - Mira

Right as I was about to mount Krudrin, my trusty partner that used to live in the Water-Knot, a voice I know well was heard. Then, several silver lights struck the Dahaka Faker with incredible speed. The foul creature did not even act as if it had noticed it had been attacked, so it was no healing-type skill or spell.

I looked at Mira, who was standing on a building along with Noire, as she put her hand toward the Dahaka Faker and shouted in a loud voice:

"[Magic Weapon] release! Greater Holy Heal! Greater Holy Rejuvenation!" - Mira

Several divine lights emerged from the body of the Dahaka Faker, from where those silver lights had struck it...wait just a moment! Greater Holy Heal!? That is a spell that you can only obtain by having both [Holy Magic] and [Recovery Magic] at Lv.40 or higher, not to even start about the difficult requirements to learn the spell!

And Greater Holy Rejuvenation is one step above that again! I've heard only rumors, but you need to have [Holy Magic] at Lv.50, as well as the evolved [Miracle Magic] skill, if you want to learn this spell. Only the highest people of the cloth that have trained themselves in the art of healing magic should be able to attain that spell, and that Mira did it just like that!?

No...Mira said something about "[Magic Weapon]" before using those great spells. It's a skill that belongs to a different Knight class than my own, not that I know someone with that class myself,  but the rumors say that you can store a spell into a weapon and release it for devastating close-range damage as you strike the enemy with the "charged" weapon...

No way...is it Noire? A celestial is more likely to learn Holy spells, but for someone of her youth to have mastered it already...

And that Mira, did she use those phantasmal swords as projectiles? No, that is impossible. Phantasmal swords created by skills do not have the "substance" that is required for the usage of skills like [Magic Weapon]. If there exists such a skill, it would be able to create any weapon then.

No, she must have sacrificed some from her rumored "collection". That is a tough decision, knowing her personality. 

The Dahaka Faker's roar forced me back to the present. The Holy magic had done wonders. The remaining 800+ HP of the Curse Creature had evaporated like water in the desert, and it died without much fanfare. The pool of melted flesh disappeared alongside the beast, and soon after, a System Message appeared to tell us that the Raid was over...hmm?

There are problems with the return? Did something happen to the city where we would be transported to? And...a World Message...!? What is this!? Is this a joke? No...considering its contents, this is far from any joke...

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Skill List:

Title List:

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Kigal-Note/Extra Skills: [Percival – Knight of the Grail]

Description:

[Percival - Knight of the Grail] is a member of the Divine Knight series of Extra Skills, a set of skills that can only be obtained in the kingdom of Avalar, and is strictly regulated on who is allowed to obtain it, and the other members of this series, by the government of Avalar. It is therefore most commonly seen as the skill of one of Avalar's Royal Knights.

The skill itself is separated into two abilities: one based on a legendary weapon that also exists physically on Terra Sol, and an ability related to the legend behind the knight from a different world who was chosen as inspiration for this Extra skill, just as with all the other Divine Knight series skills.

Percival's first ability is related to the Lance of Longinus. It grants the user's attacks with a spear a damage multiplication based on the user's positive Karma Value, an enhancement of three attributes, as well as resistance-negation abilities. It is said that the user of this skill can destroy a fortified fortress wall with one strike. Notably, this effect is unlocked at full power from the start, as compared to other skills of similar nature who have their effects reduced due to too low skill levels. 

The second ability is said to be related to the otherwordly knight's quest of discovering the Holy Grail in that world. In honor of that story, the second ability is similar to the Holy Grail item, a chalice that purifies any liquid and transforms it into an incredible recovery potion. Percival replicates this by letting them recover their allies' HP, MP, and SP in the same fashion as the liquid of the Holy Grail does, but the user of this Extra Skill cannot use this recovery effect on themselves. 

Mira's comment: Damn, if I only had this skill-!