Capítulo 24: The Unexpected

Kamou was already prepared to utilize her support skills, spinning her staff before deepening her step, "Cast: Retaliatory Barrier!"

A personal barrier manifested around each of the two on the offense, covering their uniforms in a subtle, translucent armor of hexagonal light.

As he met his designated target in battle, he danced around it for a few attacks, utilizing successive [Blink Steps] as he got a feel for how it attacks; it swung at him with its muscular, unnaturally lengthy arms, bearing curved claws that seemed to be formed from forcefully lengthened bones.

By the air pressure released by each wild swing, and the result of which as their hands carved through the tough material of the tracks, he knew a single hit could be dangerous to take.

"Cast: Dark Edge!"

Engulfing his twin daggers in a coating of malicious darkness, he spun around into a swift attack from the Crawler's blind spot, lacerating its back with a variety of rapid slashes.

"RAAAGH–!" The Defect howled in pain, going for a retaliatory strike.

–The counterattack coming from the creature was fast enough and done in such an animalistic, unpredictable way as it contorted its elbow to do so made him unable to evade it in time.

Raising his arms to brace for the attack, it came with surprisingly little impact, and no pain. Even more surprising, there was no prompt appearing for him detailing a loss of health points.

"[Retaliatory Barrier]" he realized then what the spell was that Kamou amplified him with.

Not only did it completely shield him from the attack, but the damage was instead bounced back to the Crawler, causing an unseen impact to blow it back a few meters.

Nice save! He thought.

Though the barrier itself seemed to only be meant to guard against one attack as it shattered into many particles the moment after–it was enough.

It was definitely apparent that something one level higher, despite being a non-RFB, was still a challenge. After narrowly avoiding another hit, he returned the attempted attack with a swift slash to its forearm, slicing it as blood sprayed from the Defect's wound.

"Alright…Guess it's time to try "that" then," he muttered to himself.

Glancing back to see that Myung-Hee was just about done handling the Crawler left to her with Kamou aiding her, he took in a breath, switching his grip on one of his daggers so that he could clench his fist properly.

"Cast: Breaker Fist!"

[Spirit -200. Remaining Spirit: 2400/2600.]

–It was as if the [Strength] stat in his fist had multiplied, focusing only on his fist as it felt like a coating of unseen flames heated his knuckles up to a burning, yet painless degree.

With a thrust of his fist, using a [Blink Step] to position himself just in front of the Crawler, he slammed his radiant fist directly against the surface of its face with a resounding THUD. The impact caused the force to ripple through the lengthy body of the large Defect before its pale face was shattered and ripped apart by the potent clash of his knuckles against its form.

[Cooldown Remaining: 3 Minutes.]

"A cooldown…?" He mumbled, looking at his fist.

I guess it is a pretty powerful ability, he thought.

["End Crawler" Defeated | EXP+ 100. Current EXP: 1000/2000.]

[Daily Quest: Defeat Three "End Crawler" | 1 / 3]

At the same time, Myung-Hee carved through the Defect she battled against, bisecting it straight down the middle, from its head to its rear with a forceful slash that released a small current of air.

["End Crawler" Defeated | EXP+ 100. Current EXP: 1100/2000.]

[Daily Quest: Defeat Three "End Crawler" | 2 / 3]

For a moment, he was confused by the second prompt of the End Crawler, but quickly realized.

Oh, right. As a party, we share the spoils of battle. Pretty convenient, he thought.

"That's two down," Myung-Hee said, wiping a bit of Crawler blood that splashed onto her cheek.

"Three more to go," Kamou finished for her.

Though what crawled out of the Crawler nest was certainly not a normal one, by any means; it dwarfed the previous two they had just slew.

[Enemy Identified: "End Crawler" | Level 14]

"Level fourteen…?" He muttered in surprise.

Myung-Hee kept her claymore raised as her brunette, neat locks swayed, "How the hell did it get like that?"

"It must've hunted a lot of people…" Kamou answered, rejoining beside the two.

Unlike the other Crawlers, the enormous, higher-leveled one that crawled from its nest displayed multiple sets of arms that went from either being frighteningly thin or bulging with muscularity.

Trailing from behind it, a tail made of intertwined, melted-together arms swayed side-to-side.

Down the middle of its face, a crack gave sight to dozens of eyeballs inhabiting the innards of its face as if wearing a mask.

"Alright, then…I think this one is going to require a bit of teamwork," he said, holding his daggers up.

"Ya' don't say?" Myung-Hee responded.

"Be careful!" Kamou warned them, spinning her staff, "Cast: Haste! Caste: Strength!"

Both of the buff spells enveloped the two at the vanguard who prepared to meet the giant Crawler head-on.

The moment they seemed ready for combat, the colossal Defect began to rapidly crawl towards them, utilizing its many arms like a centipede. It was a harrowing orchestra of stomps, shifting towards them as its body wiggled in a disgusting fashion while its plethora of eyes bounced with each step it took.

"AAA–!"

Unleashing [War Cry], Myung-Hee's yell filled the tracks as the Defect's complete attention drove to her, carving its way towards her as its aggressive movements dug up the ground in its path.

"I'm gonna need a bit of help, Kamou!" Myung-Hee said with an anxious smile as she prepared herself for the unbridled wrath of the overleveled Crawler.

"Right…!" Kamou once again held her mystical staff high, "Cast: Divine Bubble!"

Surrounding the warrior-class woman in a translucent sphere of protective light, the defensive-spell gave Myung-Hee the confidence she needed to properly meet the creature head-on.

He didn't need to be told a single word to be told what the plan was–it was similar to what they had done against the dungeon boss previously, but it was also his experience as an MMORPG player that made him familiar with party tactics.

While Myung-Hee was strong offensively, the warrior class shined in its tanking abilities–touting a high constitution stat and the ability to draw the focus of enemies. As an assassin, Jeong-Hui filled the empty space: offensively, he was unmatched.

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