"In the Thick of Battle" Fal had cleared a significant portion of the obstacles in Finn's path, allowing him to reach Valletta directly with
"In the Thick of Battle"
Fal had cleared a significant portion of the obstacles in Finn's path, allowing him to reach Valletta directly with his dual spears.
In Orario, the most readily apparent indicator of a hero's potential is the possession of rare skills or magic.
While the common understanding in Orario is that level suppress is absolute, this is largely because top-tier adventurers almost invariably possess magic or skills.
However, it's not impossible for those with the potential to become true heroes to transcend their level and defeat mediocre adventurers of higher levels.
Finn, for instance, using the "Fortia Spear" and entering a frenzied state, could even defeat Ottar, who eschewed the use of skills and magic.
Even after enduring countless applications of "Shaldo," Finn still displayed the combat prowess to completely overpower the Level 5 Valletta.
Valletta held a grotesquely shaped long sword, clearly another cursed weapon.
But even with such a powerful weapon, Valletta was completely dominated by the weakened Finn.
His two spears moved like predatory vipers, each thrust more terrifying than a venomous fang.
Valletta struggled to parry Finn's spears, and she owed her continued survival to the fact that "Shaldo" was still in effect. Otherwise, she would have been defeated long ago.
She couldn't help but curse inwardly. Her plan had been so perfect: to lure the members of the Loki Familia to Level 24.
With her magic, the assassination guild and their cursed weapons, and most importantly, the Fallen Sprite fragment that had matured, she had been certain that she could finally bury the hateful Finn for good.
She would then fulfill her long-held desire for revenge, the Fallen Sprite would obtain the Sword Princess, and the elimination of the Loki Familia's elite members would remove a significant obstacle from Enyo's plans.
Everything had been going so well, until Drake's unexpected appearance had thrown everything into disarray.
Fal's breath attack, comparable in power to an ultra-long incantation spell, had instantly reversed the entire battlefield's momentum.
Drake and the others were pressing their attack against the Fallen Sprite, forcing Valletta to face Finn alone.
Her ally, the red-haired woman, had far simpler motivations. For her, the only thing that mattered was fighting Ais.
"Wind!"
Ais thrust her Sword. Although the red-haired woman raised her greatsword to deflect Ais's attack,
the emerald-green energy flowing from the blade acted like a cutting blade itself, shredding the red-haired woman's arm bracer and sleeve to pieces.
Circular wounds appeared on the red-haired woman's arm, and blood spurted out dramatically. However, in the blink of an eye, the wounds had completely healed.
Ais frowned. Her speed-based fighting style was being particularly hampered by "Shaldo."
In her previous attack, she had used the maximum output of "Ariel," yet the result had only been shallow wounds on the red-haired woman.
Ais understood why she hadn't managed to overpower her opponent. "Shaldo" wasn't the primary reason. The most crucial factor was that she hadn't unleashed her full power.
This wasn't because Ais didn't want to defeat her opponent, but because her skill hadn't activated.
Skill: [Avenger]
• Activation: Free
• Against Monster-type: High-area attack power enhancement
• Against Dragon-type: Ultra-area attack power enhancement
• The stronger the feeling of hatred, the greater the effect
Although she knew that her opponent was no longer human, and that she consumed magic stones like an enhanced monster, Ais still couldn't bring herself to treat her opponent as a monster, and therefore hadn't activated the power of [Avenger].
Drake had done some research, and he understood that the activation conditions for skills that targeted specific opponents weren't based on objective facts but on subjective perception. In other words, they were activated based on the adventurer's own understanding of the situation.
It was like what many people joked about with certain ultimate-level Digimon: if I say it's a dragon, then it's a dragon; if I want to counter someone, then I can counter them!
As for why Drake had bothered to research this, it was because he also possessed a skill called [Dragon Slayer].
Drake had diligently studied self-hypnosis, which was why he was now able to keep the [Dragon Slayer] skill constantly active.
"Long, scales, and it uses magic. It's definitely a dragon-type!" This was Drake's judgment of the Fallen Sprite, and immediately afterward, [Dragon Slayer] activated.
When he had first mastered this skill of designating something as a dragon, Drake had felt a little awkward, but now he had become quite adept at it.
Drake grabbed two tentacles that were reaching towards him, and flames spread along the tentacles. However, the Fallen Sprite simply severed the tentacles itself and then launched a short incantation spell at Drake.
The Fallen Sprite had learned its lesson. The current situation didn't allow it to chant ultra-long incantation spells, so it was now constantly using the more convenient short incantation spells.
But even the power of short incantation spells, when used by the Fallen Sprite, was exceptionally potent.
An ice spear materialized in mid-air and then shot directly at Drake, but it was intercepted by Tione using her twin blades.
Gareth executed a leaping strike, his battle-axe cleaving through the petals and leaves that were shielding the Fallen Sprite's female form.
Tsubaki leaped from behind him, launching her warhammer directly at the Fallen Sprite.
The warhammer struck the Fallen Sprite's face with a resounding impact, completely distorting its beautiful features.
Tsubaki caught the returning warhammer with a dissatisfied expression. Under normal circumstances, a full-power throw from her would have pulverized the opponent, but the results were far from satisfactory.
"Finn, are you almost done yet?"
Finn didn't respond, but the red glow in his eyes intensified, and his attacks became even more ferocious.
Valletta continued to retreat, soon reaching the edge of her magic circle. Just as it seemed that Finn was about to force her out of the boundary's range, she suddenly let out a smug smile.
Valletta leaped high into the air, and a group of robed figures surrounded her. This time, however, they were not wielding cursed weapons but magic swords, and they were already activated.
As the saying goes, your enemy knows you best. Just as Finn understood Valletta's "Shaldo," Valletta also clearly understood the strengths and weaknesses of Finn's "Berserk Magic Spear."
After all, "Berserk Magic Spear" was a berserk magic; as Finn's fighting spirit increased, his judgment would inevitably decrease.
Although Finn had several other spells that could compensate for this weakness, it was undoubtedly an exploitable flaw.
Therefore, Valletta had meticulously designed this trap for him.
More than a dozen magic swords fired simultaneously, unleashing a barrage of various spells towards Finn.
Valletta watched the explosions and the clouds of smoke caused by the massive magical onslaught, shouting, "That shorty isn't so easy to defeat! Keep attacking, don't stop!"
The robed figures obeyed Valletta's orders without hesitation, launching a second wave of attacks at the location of the explosions.
"An attack like this, even a Hero wouldn't be able to withstand it."
Valletta didn't understand the concept of a "minor character's boastful flag," but upon hearing her subordinates' words, she suddenly felt a sense of foreboding.
From within the flames and smoke, a figure suddenly burst forth—it was Finn, somewhat battered but far from defeated.
However, Finn was merely slightly disheveled.
Seeing Finn wielding his dual spears and slaughtering her subordinates, Valletta couldn't help but feel a surge of fear.
"Don't come any closer!"
That was the Dark Faction's way: to plot and scheme from the shadows. When forced onto the battlefield, they only revealed their inherent cowardice.
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