Episode 33.2-3

That night Lecan didn't drink much and went to bed after a light meal for dinner.

Arios once said that Lecan would choose the most optimal actions in battle.

However, that only works if there are enough times to observe enemy's movements. And reading complex movements is only meaningful when he's up against above a certain number of foes at once.

Enemies on floor 120 don't give any time to read their movements. And there's ever only two of them.

The enemy yesterday got its attack reach Lecan before he could recite the activation spell.

Even the physical-oriented beasts move and attack at incredible speed. Lecan managed to cast <Barrier> in succession today, but it took his all to maintain them. It probably wouldn't go so well were he up against sword-wielding magic beasts.

This is true even against common variants. Today's tactic wouldn't work against the stairway room's <Guardians>.

Against speedy opponents, it's best if he holds a shield on his left hand and attacks with a sword in his right hand. However, Lecan barely manages to kill current enemies by swinging the <Power Sword> with all his strength in both hands. He can't defeat them with one hand. Even if he could, it would be in a protracted battle. And a protracted battle is disadvantageous for their side.

Perhaps he should just use <Bow of Yelvitz> right from the get go. Piercing magic-casting magic beasts' throats should disable their magic. But those beasts are still capable of physical attacks, and most importantly, accurately hitting the throat 50 steps away is a tall order. Also, the other party won't sit still either.

After thinking things through, relying on <Barrier> tactic has its limit. He'll get himself in crisis right away if the <Barrier> ever goes down in the midst of battle.

One thing he's thankful of is Arios's magic blocking jewel. He can rest easy letting Arios intercept the enemies.

"Alright. Let's go with that."

Lecan decided to turn around and go back to the starting point.

<Shield of Wolkan> on left hand. <Power Sword> in his right.

He may not be able to kill those beasts in one hit with just one hand, it's inevitable. They're not gonna proceed deeper down if he's afraid of that.

He thought of letting Arios go ahead, but decided against it.

Even Arios can't possibly deal with two of those beasts at once.

"Hold it."

What if they went to the left and right instead of attacking right away. That would result in a one-on-one fight. That'll make things easier. They never tried this tactic before since Lecan had no idea Arios has ways to defend against magic. But now that he knows, there's no harm in trying.

Looking back, Lecan is too obsessed with swift strike strategy since floor 100. The enemies are indeed powerful enough to kill them in one hit if their attacks connect. Their Grace Gear are a threat too. But the way he approaches combat is getting constricted due to his obsession with swift strikes.

That might have been the optimal method up until floor 120. But they know now that there are deeper floors. No telling how much further the dungeon goes after 120. They've gotta expand the ways they deal with combats if they want to get through upcoming battles.

For one thing, he's got to fully trust Arios. Lecan ended up devising up tactics where he would take the brunt of magic beasts' attack first because he couldn't. But he should let go of that preconception from now on.

"Alright. Let's go with that."

Once he was able to decide on his next move, Lecan enjoyed a good sleep that night.

<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka.com >

The following day, Lecan and Arios went in the inner passage to floor 120 <Guardians>'s room.

"We're coming straight for the <Guardians>?"

"Yea."

"Are you going first Lecan-dono?"

"Whichever's fine."

"Yes?"

"Guess that's not good huh. I'm going first."

"Yes. Should I go in right after. Or should I wait a bit."

"Do as you wish."

"Yes?"

Arios stared at Lecan's face.

"Have you, perhaps, given up on setting up a <Barrier> first strategy?"

"Yea. I'll put up one when I need one."

But he adopted the <Barrier> first tactic because he couldn't do that in time, yet Arios didn't bring that up.

"Are we done with swift striking then?"

"Yea. We're gonna observe enemy's tendency."

"What if the enemy uses the rush strategy on us?"

"Decide on the spot what you're gonna do. I'll do the same."

"Understood."

"Let's make one thing clear. I'll go around the right toward my target. You take the left."

"Understood. It's finally back to Lecan-dono-like."

"Yeah?"

"Yes. By the way, please tell me what our targets have on them."

"Longsword to the right. Short spear to the left. Left got bigger mana."

"Got it."

"<Deploy>!"

As Lecan deployed <Shield of Wolkan>, he recalled one thing he ought to ask Arios.

"Oh yeah, whenever <Necklace of Intuador> blocks a magic attack, it consumes mana to form a barrier. Can't do that no more once it runs out of its stored mana. What about that jewel of yours."

"I believe it has the same mechanism. Apparently it consume all of its mana if it blocks two, three powerful magic attacks."

"How many large magic stones is that?"

"Who knows? Ah, but if I recall it right, one large magic stone is enough to refill it full from empty."

"Really."

The amount of mana large magic stones carry can vary a lot. Average mages can shoot around five to six strong magic. However, each and every magic attacks shot out by <Armored> on this floor is extremely powerful.

(I should probably regard Arios's jewel.)

(Can only defend against magic attacks twice at most.)

(Meaning chain battles are not a good idea.)

"How many times can <Necklace of Intuador> defend against magic attack?"

"Beats me. The thing never ran out of mana. Even if it did, I'd just refill it."

"So you have that kind of ability as well. I've been thinking, Lecan-dono, your very existence itself is cheating."

"We're entering."

Lecan got in the room.

Followed by Arios.