Chapter 57: A Team with Better Harmony
The group quickly dealt with all the Rock Armour Beasts on the periphery and arrived at the deepest part of the cave.
"Where's that Rock Armour Beast King?" Eric asked curiously, looking at the empty cave. His voice echoed off the stone walls, seeming louder than intended in the sudden silence.
"Don't be careless, it's nearby!"
Kurtz stared intently at the red dot on the magic circle, which showed that the Rock Armour Beast King was near them. As soon as he finished speaking, a "rock" suddenly pounced down from the cliff face.
It was a colossal creature, nearly five meters long, several times the size of an ordinary Rock Armour Beast, and its scales had turned a yellowish-grey like stone.
The camouflage was so perfect that even Kurtz's enhanced detection had barely distinguished it from the cave wall. No wonder they hadn't noticed it immediately.
"Get back!" Somo roared, holding his battle-axe across his chest, and managed to withstand the Beast King's pounce. The impact drove him back several steps, his boots scraping against stone as he fought to maintain his footing.
Norn seized the opportunity to slash at its abdomen with his sword, but only managed to produce a shower of sparks on its scales.
"No good! Its abdomen is also protected by scales!"
"Let me try!" Eric cast a spell from the rear, conjuring a Light Arrow comparable to a long spear.
The Light Arrow shot out rapidly, but just as it hit the Rock Armour Beast King, it was swatted into the wall by a flick of its tail, causing an explosion.
Such a violent explosion made Kurtz's eyebrows twitch. Dust and debris rained down from the ceiling, small rocks clattering around their feet.
If this caused a collapse, they would have nowhere to escape.
The Beast King, having swatted away Eric's attack, opened its large mouth and quickly charged towards them, intending to bite. Saliva dripped from its massive jaws, sizzling where it hit the stone floor.
Crack!
An ice wall suddenly rose in front of them; it was Kurtz who had acted.
The Beast King crashed into the ice wall, but despite the fierce impact, the ice wall remained unmoved. After trying to bite and ram it without success, the Rock Armour Beast King could only shake its head and retreat a few steps. Frost began forming around its snout from the magical cold.
"Idiot." Serie had appeared behind Eric at some point.
"In such a small space, you're pouring all your magic into destructive power. Do you want to cause a collapse and bury yourself?"
Eric rubbed his head, feeling utterly ashamed by Serie's criticism. He could feel the heat of embarrassment creeping up his neck.
"I-I'm sorry!"
"Try again. This time, aim to pierce through this beast, not blow it to smithereens!"
"Oh, oh, okay!"
Eric nodded quickly. It was rare for Serie to be willing to guide him, so he naturally didn't dare slack off. However, he wished her attitude could be as gentle as Kurtz's. The elf's sharp words always made him feel like a scolded child.
At the same time, Kurtz took the opportunity to cast a vine spell, wrapping around the Beast King's hind legs to create an opening for the others.
Norn leapt up, a Light Arrow appearing in his hand, the most basic Light Arrow spell.
This time, he learned from Eric's mistake, focusing all the Light Arrow's power into penetration. A Light Arrow accurately pierced through the Beast King's eyelid and into its left eye.
The creature's roar of pain echoed through the cave, nearly deafening in the confined space.
Norn's attack wasn't over. While the Beast King was still crying out in pain and before it went berserk, he struck again with his sword, directly blinding its remaining right eye as well.
Kurtz nodded secretly, seeing Norn's series of actions.
To combine magic and warrior skills, so ideally, if he were to continue researching, he might actually develop something similar to a magic swordsman's technique. The potential was clearly there, waiting to be explored.
It's a pity Norn's ambitions don't lie there!
Seeing Norn's successful attack, Somo immediately followed up, swinging his battle-axe in a wide arc, delivering an upward slash that split open the Beast King's abdomen, exposing it to everyone and creating an attack opportunity.
Blood sprayed in a crimson arc, painting the cave wall behind the creature.
"Now that's teamwork!" Serie nodded slightly. "It's finally looking decent."
Then she raised her hand and shot out several Light Arrows. It turned out that some stray Rock Armour Beasts had appeared from somewhere in the distance, attempting a sneak attack, but Serie had discovered them, pinning their entire bodies firmly against the rock wall.
Her casual efficiency made the precision strikes look almost effortless.
"But you're too slow!" Serie came to Eric's side, looking at him coldly.
"Your teammates have created the best attack opportunity for you, but your spell-casting speed is too slow. Faster!"
Eric felt immense pressure, but he didn't waste the opportunity created by the two of them. A Light Spear shot out rapidly, directly tearing a large gash in the Rock Armour Beast King's body.
This time, his magic was focused and controlled, piercing cleanly through without risking cave-in.
The creature naturally couldn't withstand such severe injuries.
Thus, the battle ended.
"The haul isn't bad." Somo tallied the spoils of war.
"These scales should be enough to complete the mission." He ran his fingers over the intact scales, testing their thickness and durability.
Norn wiped the blood from his sword, beginning to maintain it with a whetstone he carried. The rhythmic scraping sound provided a calming counterpoint to the aftermath of battle.
"It's a good thing we had Kurtz's ice wall; otherwise, we wouldn't have known how to stop that thing if it charged straight at us!"
"Indeed! That thing reminded me of the dragon's charge."
Somo shuddered. Although the dragon's charge wasn't directed at him back then, just watching it was enough to inspire fear.
A terrifying creature, like a small mountain radiating high temperatures, charged at you. Anyone else would have succumbed to the pressure and fled in disarray.
Only Kurtz and Serie possessed the strength to withstand it.
"While your teamwork is decent, there's still room for improvement." Kurtz walked over to them.
"Norn, you were actually a bit too aggressive. You should let Somo handle the main damage output, and you can focus on restraining and manoeuvring."
"Hmm, that's true." Norn nodded.
This time, apart from his final blow, he indeed didn't deal as much damage as Somo. The dwarf's raw power was simply better suited for breaking through heavy defences.
After all, the dwarf's physical strength was evident, giving him an advantage against creatures with strong defences.
"I think you also have areas to improve," Serie suddenly appeared between them. "Your vine's strength is too low; that beast almost broke free just now."
"Is that so? But the result was still good."
"A good outcome cannot gloss over defects in the process." Her tone carried the weight of someone who had witnessed countless battles over the centuries.
"It's rare to hear you say something so profound."
"Don't change the subject." Serie's face puffed up slightly, clearly displeased with Kurtz's comment.
"Don't worry, I know what you mean."
Kurtz extended his hand, and a magic circle unfolded. A thick vine burst forth from the ground. He tapped the vine's surface, and it actually made a "thump-thump-thump" sound, like tapping stone.
"Hmm? What is this?"
"An improved version of Vine Entanglement. What do you think?"
"The hardness is certainly enough, but isn't the magic consumption higher?" Serie examined the vine with professional interest, noting how the magical energy had been woven into its very structure.
Serie immediately saw the drawback of Kurtz's improved magic: it would increase magic consumption beyond the original amount.
This applied to both increased numbers of Light Arrows and defensive spells.
"Yes, that's why I didn't use it just now. After all, we're not the main characters here!"
Killing the Rock Armour Beast King wasn't difficult; he and Serie could easily deal with it with one big spell each.
However, this time, the primary purpose was to train the team's ability to cooperate. Watching his teammates grow stronger felt more satisfying than simply overwhelming their enemies with raw power.
And to refine Eric's magical combat skills.
Now it seemed that while Eric's magic was improving rapidly, he still lacked experience. Just casting explosive magic in such a small cave was enough for Kurtz to lecture him for an entire day.
"I see."
Seeing that Kurtz had his own considerations, Serie said no more.
Unbeknownst to her, the man who once had extremely shallow combat experience had now become a powerful magic user. The transformation still surprised her sometimes, though she'd never admit it aloud.
Time really flies!
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