Chapter 360 - 354 : A Maiden’s Heart

"[Fireball]. [Manaball]."

Seeing as the last two Guardian Golems were literally on their last legs, Xue Yan cast a simple fireball spell to finish off one and used the basic [Elementalist] skill, [Manaball], for another.

-378 (???/??? ???)

-456 (???/??? ???)

This was the first time she had used this spell since she became a level 4 [Elementalist] and it just so happened to be used to finish off a level 9 Elite monster. But even though it was her first time, the damage was still worth taking a look at.

[Manaball] was the basic skill for all [Elementalists] but once they choose their elemental path after level 0, they rarely use this spell. It was instead replaced by the elemental variation of their path. In the case of a fire [Elementalist], this would be the [Fireball]. The advantage of the elemental variation was that it also caused elemental magical damage to the opponent. Simply put, the new skill would experience a qualitative change and could deal more damage against a certain kind of enemy, unlike the basic skill that just dealt base damage. But against another kind of enemy, the elemental variation might deal less damage than the basic spell.

A good example would be the everyday matter in Black Grill's Cave. Against a Rock Golem, the [Manaball] spell would undoubtedly deal less damage than the [Fireball] spell but more than the [Waterball] spell and even more than the [Earthball] spell. This was because those two elements just happened to be the ones that a Rock Golem has resistance to but the fire element happened to be its bane.

Against neutral monsters though[1], an elemental variation was much better than the original [Manaball] as it had a few special features that made it stronger. This was the reason why the spell [Manaball] was usually abandoned by [Elementalists] once they learn their elemental variation.

"I'm done." Xue Yan turned around and said with a smile as she glanced at Sato.

Arriving at this place had made her recall the first time they were here. Back then, Xue Yan was a lot weaker than she was now and the 3 Guardian Golems were tough opponents for the 7 of them. She has almost died at the hands of one of them but was safely pulled out of the way by Sato. That action of his had left a mark in her maiden life and became a part of her memories. 

Now, Xue Yan was stronger than before and also more capable of taking on these monsters without any problem. It was because of this, as well as her recollection of the past, that made her decide to battle the Guardian Golems alone; saying it was because she needed to get accustomed to her strength was nothing more than an excuse she gave to the others.

"Alright." Sato nodded at her before proceeding with the rest of the team towards the spot.

To prevent any external interference, the rest of the team had hidden 50 metres away from the battlefield. At this range, they were outside of the Guardian Golems' sensory range and didn't need to be worried about getting spotted.

'Little Snow is acting strange. She's been smiling more often than usual.'

While everyone else nonchalantly walked forward, Lu Zhen stared at Xue Yan in thought.

If they were to mention those who knew Xue Yan best among the 6 of them, then the answer would undoubtedly be Lu Zhen. He had noticed that this cousin of his, who was the type of beauty that kept a cold facade no matter the situation, had recently started smiling more often.

When it came to reading women, Lu Zhen wasn't exactly the one you would call for this but he still noticed that his cousin seemed to be acting differently. While he didn't know the reason why, Lu Zhen felt that it might have a bit to do with her personal matters and not Sato, so he didn't think too much about him. The idea of even relating Xue Yan's actions with Sato never crossed his mind. Instead, Lu Zhen felt that he should let his cousin enjoy this feeling since she pretty much had a not-so-nice childhood.

As everyone got close to the remains of the 3 Guardian Golems, golden light dots similar to fireflies, exit the rubble left behind from the collapse of each Guardian Golems. In the end, the light dots grouped themselves into seven and conglomerated in the bodies of the 7 players. This was the 'entry ticket' into the 9th floor's Exit gate.

The previous time they were, because the strength of the monsters was more than theirs, Sato had brought up the idea of running past the monsters and heading into the Exit gate. In the end, while they did manage to draw the Guardian Golems away from the Exit gate, they had failed to pass through it as the gate had a prerequisite for its usage; the Guardian Golems had to be eliminated. After their death, or destruction, gold-coloured light dots would flee from the remains of the Golems into the bodies of the players involved in the battle, granting them access into the Exit gate.

While Sato and the others didn't participate in the battle, they were in a party system with Xue Yan. So, not only was the Experience points from the Guardian Golems shared amongst them, but they also received the recognition of the golden dots.

As the crew walked towards the Exit gate, Xue Yan glanced at Sato once more as she felt a strange sensation in her heart. Because of the formation the team used to move, Sato didn't notice anything out of the ordinary and neither did anyone. Xue Yan was behind and Sato was in front so most would usually mistake her action as her simply staring ahead. At that point in time, maybe it was due to her dwelling too much in her memories, but Xue Yan felt that Sato looked good. Moving along that line of thought, she suddenly felt that it would be nice if they were a lot closer.

'*sigh* What's wrong with me? After we are done slaying the Kobold King, we will all take our different paths. At that time, what being friends with him, I might not even be able to see him again. We will probably return to our status as strangers.'

As she thought up to hear, Xue Yan sighed internally while a slight feeling of discomfort sprouted in her heart.