Seeker 208

Test

Chapter 208. Rough Welcome

Numerous will-o'-the-wisps appeared all over the hall. 

Their number far exceeded 10, but it was not quite 20. 

They appeared in positions surrounding us, clustering in groups of four at four locations, front, back, left, and right. 

The distance wasn't very close, as they were about several dozen steps away. 

As soon as they appeared, they transformed into monsters.

Many turned into Flame Skulls, while a few became Hellhounds. 

Wait a minute. Is this an abrupt welcome with this many monsters?

"Good grief, what a rough welcome right away." 

Yusefia-san, as she cloaked herself in dark magic.

Her decisiveness was admirable.

"Kazane-san, Yuzuki, we need to use magic attacks too!"

"Understood!"

I, along with Kazane-san and Yuzuki, began to enhance our magic power.

We temporarily put Griffin's instructions on hold.

The majority of the monsters that appeared were Flame Skulls. 

They also quickly adorned themselves with red magical energy.

Among the group of monsters, there were only 4 Hellhounds. 

One each in front, back, left, and right groups.

So, in total, 16 monsters appeared.

The Hellhounds in the front, back, left, and right all started charging toward us. 

While there was some distance between us, they would reach the range of their fire breath attack, [Fire Breath], in seconds.

Yusefia-san seemed calm, but with this number and situation, things didn't look good.

No matter what, we had to do something.

"I'll take care of the front. Roar, dark thunder—[Dark Thunder]!"

A dark magic energy sphere was released from Yusefia-san's hand, heading forward. 

It swiftly passed the running Hellhounds toward her and struck 3 Flame Skulls ahead with dark lightning.

"We'll handle the left Flame Skulls! [Stone Shower]!"

"Got it! [Wind Storm]!"

"Roger! [Explosion]!"

The three of us also launched magical attacks at 3 Flame Skulls grouped on the left side.

A shower of stones, a storm of wind blades, and an explosion all pierced the monsters simultaneously.

However, a moment later, multiple fireballs flew from the right and rear.

"Ugh!"

"Kuh!"

For some reason, the fireballs were concentrated on Kazane-san and me.

We got hit by 2 or 3 of them, which weren't fatal but would surely leave us with burns.

It appeared Yuzuki was also hit by 1, but she didn't seem to be harmed.

Upon closer inspection, 3 Flame Skulls in the front and the three on the left had all disappeared and transformed into magic stones. 

There was no sign of fireballs coming from those directions. 

By taking the initiative and eliminating them, we managed to prevent some damage.

However, without time to catch our breath, 4 Hellhounds had come very close.

Yusefia-san, wielding her slender sword, was sprinting toward one of them at astonishing speed.

Upon seeing this, I grabbed my spear and turned on my heel to dash forward.

"Griffon, take the left Hellhound! Kazane-san, handle the one on the right! The rest, use your judgment!"

"Kwaah, kwaah!"

"Alright!"

"Understood!"

That was the extent of my instructions. 

As a warrior, my focus was on the task at hand. 

I turned toward the Hellhound behind me and saw it opening its mouth, spewing out intense flames. 

There was almost no room for evasion, and I had no intention to do so.

"Roar!"

I shouted and held my shield before me, charging straight into Hellhound's flames. 

The flames weren't something my shield could entirely defend against. 

My whole body felt hot, and I suffered some burns, but it wasn't the kind of attack that would be fatal with one or two hits.

As I pushed through the flames, I found the massive Hellhound right before me. 

I infused my skill's radiance into my right hand and thrust my spear.

"[Three Strikes]!"

The rapid thrusts of my spear pierced through the hound, which had a body like a horse. 

In the next moment, Hellhound dissipated like an illusion, turning into a magic stone.

More fireballs started flying around. 

I got hit by one, suffering another direct hit. 

The consecutive hits were taking their toll, but I wasn't in a critical condition yet.

In front of me, where I had just defeated the Hellhound, 3 Flame Skulls floated a bit farther away. 

My next target candidate was probably those 3. 

It seemed like they had been hit by Yuzuki's [Explosion] earlier, but being fire-element monsters, they hadn't gone down in one hit. 

However, they appeared to have taken significant damage, making them vulnerable to another attack.

I increased my magic power in preparation for a follow-up magical attack and quickly assessed the overall situation. 

Kazane-san and Griffon had just taken down their respective Hellhounds.

Yusefia-san had already dealt with 1 Hellhound and eliminated 3 more Flame Skulls with her second [Dark Thunder].

In other words, only the three Flame Skulls before me remained. 

It seemed like we were close to victory. 

My [Stone Shower] would probably be faster than their next round of fireballs.

But before I could make a move, Yuzuki spoke up.

"If one hit won't do. Then here's another—[Explosion]!"

Just slightly faster than my [Stone Shower], Yuzuki's explosive magic erupted more. 

With this attack, the last 3 Flame Skulls turned into black mist and vanished, transforming into three magic stones.

Oh, I see. 

So that's how it goes. 

When you focus on your battle and set aside giving orders, you might miss your companions' actions based on calculations.

Well, in any case, it's best not to waste any unnecessary MP. 

I glanced around, confirming that the enemies had been completely defeated, and then canceled my magic activation. 

I let out a sigh of relief.