『As expected, it's not taking much damage at all.』
Will's muttered voice echoed in my mind as he watched the White Serpent seemingly unaffected by the barrage of attack magic from Rain-san and Lucre.
『No—it's definitely accumulating damage bit by bit. It's frustrating, but we have no choice but to keep chipping away with magic. Selma-san, since the magic sword attack wasn't very effective either, I'll join Will in supporting the rear guard.』
The White Serpent's physiology rendered physical attacks largely ineffective.
I'd hoped the magic sword would work, but the earlier strike had proven otherwise.
We were now fully shifting to a magic-focused battle.
『Understood. Everyone heard Orun, right? From here on it's a war of attrition. Don't let your focus slip!』
『『『『Roger!!!!』』』』
The battle plan had solidified to some extent.
I touched the ground with my left hand, constructed the spell formula, and channeled mana into the earth.
Then I canceled [Seal Release: Culmination] and switched to [Seal Release: Fifth Layer Restoration Quintuple].
As Selma-san said—this was now a war of endurance.
I still had work to do, so I couldn't afford to tire out early.
By holding back from close combat against the White Serpent, Rain-san and Lucre were able to increase the density of their attacks.
I began placing [Amplification Chain Raise Repeat] along their lines of fire.
At the same time, Will and I equipped several magic-stone accessories and started cutting down the low shrubs.
The White Serpent's magic allowed it to freely manipulate and interfere with plants.
Just as it had instantly grown a giant tree earlier, it could also sprout new vegetation. Beyond that, the low shrubs in the boss area sometimes moved autonomously like living creatures with wills of their own.
To prevent that, we cleared out the obstructive trees while we still had the leeway.
The White Serpent we'd fought with the *Golden Dawn* had slithered freely across the ground in all directions.
Its sheer size alone had been threatening—but the current one, like a snake in winter hibernation, remained almost completely stationary at the center of the boss area.
Perhaps because of the cold environment, it wasn't even counterattacking much with magic.
Despite taking steady damage from magic, its lack of movement meant the strategy of lowering the boss area's temperature had been a resounding success.
I couldn't thank the Silver Moon Rabbit of the Night Sky's magic development team enough for creating those magical tools.
—But I didn't believe this opponent would let us finish it so easily.
For a while the battle had been completely one-sided, but suddenly the White Serpent let out a "Shaa"—a sound like a threatening hiss—and its scales began taking on a bluish tint.
I'd considered this as one possibility, but it seemed the serpent had adapted to the cold environment.
Its scales darkened to a deep blue, and as if the stillness had been a lie, its massive body moved with speed disproportionate to its size—charging straight toward Rain-san.
This was why I'd told Will before entering the boss area that this enemy was "a different breed."
Unlike normal magical beasts, the White Serpent didn't prioritize targeting magic stones.
Magic stones weren't meaningless to it, but it targeted rear-line spellcasters far more often than Defenders wearing them.
Physical attacks barely worked, and magic stone aggro control was ineffective.
For Defenders, this made the White Serpent one of the most difficult magical beasts to fight.
Whether this behavior was unique to the White Serpent or if future floor bosses would also ignore conventional aggro management would only become clear when facing the ninety-fourth floor's boss.
For front-liners like Will and me—who had reached the deep layers—dealing with the serpent's charge was no problem.
That was precisely why it targeted the rear guard, who struggled with close combat.
Spellcasters often annihilated enemies before they could close in, leaving close-range combat to the front line. As a result, their experience in melee was limited.
So the decision to charge the rear guard was correct.
But—White Serpent.
You're underestimating Rain-san way too much.
『Rain, need backup?』
Seeing the White Serpent heading for Rain-san, Selma-san asked via telepathy—her tone showed no panic.
『Just maintain the buffs. I'll draw it in, so everyone prepare your attacks. Oh, and Lucre—stand by with water magic please.』
Despite the approaching serpent, Rain-san replied with complete calm and nonchalance.
As the distance between Rain-san and the White Serpent narrowed, she lightly tapped the ground with her staff.
Immediately, the earth around her rose—random stone pillars erupted like obstacles, blocking the serpent's path.
Against a quadrupedal magical beast, those pillars might have stopped a charge.
But the ground-crawling White Serpent slipped through them with ease.
Unfazed by the pillars, the serpent finally reached right in front of Rain-san and opened its jaws wide.
Its upper and lower jaws clamped down from both sides—attempting to swallow her whole.
The next instant, a massive explosion rang out inside the serpent's mouth.
Thin smoke rose from its open jaws. The White Serpent writhed in clear pain.
"Was my magic delicious?"
Rain-san—now standing atop one of the stone pillars—spoke to the serpent, which had finally taken visible damage.
The moment it locked eyes on her and hissed, its tail whipped toward the pillar she stood on at a speed impossible for an ordinary person to react to.
But Rain-san was no ordinary person—she was a seasoned explorer who had reached the deep layers.
With Selma-san's buffs, reading that attack was easy for her.
"Close—but no. Over here."
She had already moved to another stone pillar and taunted the serpent.
Perhaps this individual was short-tempered—the serpent's rage intensified. It used magic to sprout numerous vine-like plants around Rain-san.
A massive number of vines lashed toward her.
『Lucre—water!』
Seeing the vines appear, Rain-san called to Lucre via telepathy while raising a mana barrier around herself.
Multiple magic circles appeared above her head—water bullets rained down.
Even soaked, the vines showed no sign of slowing—so I used [Gravity Manipulation] to hinder their movement.
『Orun-kun, thanks!』
Rain-san sent me a word of thanks when she noticed.
Then—
"[Blizzard Extreme Cold]"
Rain-san activated the spell. White mist—far denser with mana than what the earlier white daggers had produced—enveloped the area around her.
The vines that had been about to reach her froze solid, unable to close the distance.
"Hehe. Sorry, snake-san. Looks like you missed me again."
Rain-san taunted the serpent once more after effortlessly dealing with its attack.
Deliberately drawing its aggro toward herself.
The White Serpent let out another "Shaa"—this time sounding more like furious rage than a mere threat—and charged at Rain-san with a headbutt at even greater speed than before.
Right before the headbutt could connect, Rain-san activated [Space Leap] and teleported to another location.
Magic activates only after constructing a spell formula and channeling mana into it.
Constructing formulas and channeling mana are things anyone can do.
However—proficiency in different types of spell formulas varies greatly between people.
Some struggle with support magic formulas but excel at attack magic. Others are strong in fire-based attack magic but weak in water-based.
There are rare individuals with no particular strengths or weaknesses across categories—but they're the exception.
From what I know, besides myself, only Grandpa and Aneli from the former Hero Party fall into that minority.
In most cases, everyone has their specialty.
For Selma-san it's support magic. For Lucre it's recovery magic.
And Rain-san?
Attack magic?
No—not quite.
She is what's called a Unique Spellcaster—a prodigy of magic.
Unique Spellcasters are fundamentally the same as those like me who have no particular weaknesses.
But there is one massive difference.
They possess such extraordinary aptitude in one specific type of magic—known as their Unique Magic—that no one else can come close.
Examples of such aptitude include: "constructing formulas in an instant without any time delay" or "affecting a range far beyond what magic should be capable of."
Rain-san's Unique Magic is [Space Leap].
Among all magic, this one is said to have the most difficult spell formula construction—even experienced users struggle with it, yet she can complete it in an instant.
That said—because she is a Unique Spellcaster, she apparently suffered terribly in the past and rarely uses [Space Leap].
In this White Serpent battle—where the rear guard was especially vulnerable—we'd asked her to temporarily take on a Defender-like role, which led to us lifting the restriction on [Space Leap].
Even then, the conditions were strict: she could only teleport herself, and only within a few meters of her current position.
『Everyone—now!』
Rain-san's voice rang in our heads just as the White Serpent slammed its head into the now-empty stone pillar.
We didn't miss the opening.
「「「[Heaven's Thunder Hammer Mjölnir]!!」」」
"Chaotic Edge!"
"Heaven Flash!"
Rain-san, Lucre, and Selma-san unleashed grand-class magic. Will sent his chaotic slash. I fired my jet-black slash.
All of us struck the White Serpent simultaneously.