Vol. 13 - Ch. 751 - The Unstoppable Firepower of 2nd Party

"Wow, what a lovely sight. Truly, there's nothing more picturesque than an altar crowded with monsters, right?"

A monotonous voice, mingled in it was a weary tone, escaped out of Nico. 

Not that it was unexpected. At present, Eden's two parties were currently exploring «Twilight Altar Dungeon». First was our usual leading vanguard party, filled with I, Lana, Ester, Karua, and Sierra, while the second party consisted of Rika, Shizu, Rina, Lacritta, and Nico.

Twilight altar dungeon had no such thing as monsters increasing when they appeared in waves even if multiple parties challenged it together. The monster numbers were fixed per wave—only 10 monsters per wave in floor 1~19, 15 per wave in floor 20~39, and 20 per wave in floor 40~49.

The only change was the monster's enhanced stats multiplied by the number of parties.

We'd started from 1st floor—the second party hadn't unlocked shortcut aka teleportation circles after all—and blitzed through all the way to 40th floor. A glazed look dyed Nico's eyes when she saw 20 monsters coming out all at once.

Uh-huh, she really ought to trust more on our strength. If anything, the fact that they're appearing in wholesale made it even more perfect for us.

"Prepare the ranged attacks! Tanks, get them into one place!"

I issued my command to the two parties. 

Everyone, saving Lacritta, was the holder of an advanced job. Tabasa-senpai was currently managing «Arc-Arcadia» for the promotion trial we'd talked about, so unfortunately she wasn't here. 

Lacritta and Sierra, our tanks, promptly took the vanguard and unleashed their skill, bringing the group of monsters into one spot. 

"I will pull in right—«Taunt»!"

"T-Then, I will have left. —Pon! Curious noise from a curious drum! «BON-BON-BON»!"

With precise hands, Sierra grouped the monsters in right to the central spot. Lacritta followed after her, using her aggro drawing skills. I'd no idea how or what made it work but as soon as Lacritta had invoked her skill, her two-handed metal «Tower Shield» suddenly echoed a drumming noise as if someone was clapping their hands against a small drum. 

As monsters from the left and right side converged together, drawing toward the two tanks, the latter gradually backstepped. 

The setup was complete. Time for a clean sweep!

"Mages. Begin your work! Rina, use your unique skill!"

"A one-shot annihilation, is it? «All-Out Attack»!"

Rina's unique skill should last until the appearance of the field boss at 5th wave, so I had it promptly activated, enhancing the might of everyone's «Skill» and «Spells».

"Blast them to your heart's content! «Thunderbolt»!"

"Face the mighty blade! —«Parallel Slash - Crimson Blaze Sword Bloom»! «Parallel Slash - Moon Swipe in Snow and Ice»!"

"Finally something for me! «Shining sacred Saber»! «Rise of Sacred Tree»!"

"Impressive that you've survived Lana-sama's attack, but this is the end. —«Multi Burst»! «Judgement Shot»! «Death Shot»! My bullets shall take care of the rest."

"Please refrain from using all your skills at once, Shizu-san! At least keep some as backup while others go into cooldown. If not, you'd have nothing left for the next waves. Even more so this floor has five waves—«Ranged Converging Shot»!"

"Heh, everyone are pumped up, aren't they? I don't have that firepower, but I should do my best atleast—«Triple Burst»! «Quick Shot»!"

At the prompt, everyone from the 2nd party—Rina, Shizu, Rika, and Nico—hurled their ranged attack. Since our party had no one with ranged attack, the 2nd party was a huge addition with their destructive attacks.

"At least 80% of the monsters have been annihilated!"

"It's our time, vanguard! Let's gooo—«Sonic Sword»!"

"Understood! «Spear Charge»!"

"Yaa! «Force Sonic»!"

Only a few survived the onslaught, and even then the leftovers were in tatters. I swiftly had our frontliners take the central stage to deal with them. 

Before long, we'd been greeted by 5th wave, but that, too, didn't last against our firepower. Even the Greater Demon was merely a fodder, and disappeared leaving behind a wooden chest. What a cheapskate!

"This is pretty great anti-legion for sure~."

This was my evaluation of the 2nd party I had. Neither of the fights felt any challenging despite the monsters having enhanced stats. If anything, they'd even felt much easier than our first run. 

Strange... well, or perhaps not. The 2nd party had so many legion busters skills after all. We're done in a fraction compared to how long it took us last time, and neither needed a big patch for their HP.

Then again, it was an expected outcome with 9 out of 10 members being holders of advanced jobs as well.

Lacritta was the only member still missing one, so I was a bit worried about her. Though she was pulling her weight exceptionally well, but—I glanced at her. She was looking up to everyone, her eyes brimming with an envious look while muttering something to herself. 

"Haa... they're all so strong. I wish I could reach that height soon."

"Sorry, Lacritta. It's going to be a bit while until I can arrange «Advanced Job Ascension Ticket». Just wait a while more."

"Huh? Ah! Zephyr-san?! Did I perhaps say it out loud?! Um, yes, It's alright! I can wait! There's no problem!"

Noticing that her whispers didn't go unnoticed, Lacritta hurriedly explained herself. She might've tried to make it out as if it didn't matter, but those whispers must've been her true feelings.

Hopefully her wait wouldn't be long. As soon as we've become adept in clearing advanced dungeons, there would be no shortage of those tickets. The drop was whooping 3% there after all.

The reason I'd bring this team was not just for their strength—however still a major reason—but also to help advanced job members in leveling. 

But then why did I bring in Lacritta when Rika existed? The main point was Rika wasn't just a tank. She was a tank and attacker. Unlike pure tanks like Sierra, Rika couldn't handle an entire horde. Plus, the rare boss «Bumor»'s unique skill was a challenge for her, so I'd wanted another tank in the party.

Considering all that, I'd asked Lacritta to join us. There was an option of Pamela too, but we're fighting a horde. An evasive tank was just a bad matchup against them. 

Besides, I, too, couldn't wait to have another advanced job tank with a shield. She was definitely going to have a spot in the next batch. After all, even putting everything together, she would be one of the members of the 2nd party to follow after us in Advanced Dungeons. 

In particular, the lineup I had thought of was Tabasa-senpai, Lacritta, Rika, Rina, and Shizu. Tabasa-senpai would be replacing Nico. Well, it was still scheduled to change in case we acquired multiple tickets than expected. Once we'd firmed our steps, I was going to bring Nico for us to the grind. Hehehe, that might be a parade of drops then!

"Aaah!? Why am I suddenly feeling chills all over?!"

At the corner of my vision, Nico appeared to be shivering, but I was too lost in my plans to notice that. 

The two-party exploration wrapped for the day at the 40th floor. The next day, we all immediately took to the shortcut, and resumed the exploration for the rest of the floors. Before that, we cleared the 40th floor again, but alas, cheapstake Greater Demon once again vanished after dropping another wooden chest. Seriously, who in the right would even want it?!

We continued to advance, breaking through the hordes one after another, and eventually made it to the 48th floor. 

"Hmm, everyone has been healed. Shall we continue?"

"I agree. We've only been hurling our attacks from distance. These monsters didn’t even make us sweat."

"Hehe. This is what they called incredible efficiency."

Rina appeared perplexed as she informed the status of her party. I replied with a puffed chest, for this was the fruit of effort from «Dungeon Activity» players.

"Dungeons are all about efficiency! is a lie. If anything, having fun is what makes or breaks the dungeons. Of course, this dungeon is an exception! The gloomy vibes here are the complete opposite of having fun, with little to zilch variation. That's why you bring in big guns to take the annihilation route for this dungeon, which is more fun!"

"Really, more fun? Why does it feel that's not the case."

"Fufu, this is the usual Zephyr-san, isn't he?"

Sierra and Rina showered me with their envious gazes. Sierra wasn't giving me the usual stare, so this must be her way of praising me, no?

With all the chill and fun, we'd soon cleared the 49th floor without breaking into sweat once again, and made it to the boss room. 

It was still before lunch. We really made it so soon, huh. 

Hehe, but that's also within expectation. And that's why I'd brought in all the «Flute» Eden had! 

It was time to pay the rare boss a many visit.