Chapter 375 - The White Lingering Dream, Swaying in Slumber - Part 4
The biggest problem in this White Throne subjugation battle is the immense burden on us, who have to operate at full capacity at all times to take down the countless turrets with our small team.
It's not about the effort involved, but simply that our MP (resources) won't last.
Of course, everyone in our squad brought mana potions, but considering their minuscule effect, Arcadia's potions are nothing more than a safety net.
Therefore, under normal circumstances, our mana wouldn't keep up. That goes without saying for Sora, who is managing [Scareless] while creating and controlling magic swords at full power, and I, too, am rapidly depleting my MP gauge by keeping [Fatal Leak] constantly active.
As for Lux, she seems to have abandoned the idea of freely manipulating the magic swords like Sora, adopting a shoot-and-dissipate style. Because of the loss from firing and then dispelling, her MP will likely be depleted soon as well.
And that's where our senior (junior), the boy clad in black, comes in.
The ability of Tetra's Terror Armament, [Per-Fe Grim, True Theory: Shadow Cloth Looking Up to Black Wings], is Dominion of Darkness.
It sounds incredibly cool, which is all well and good, but the retort 'so what kind of ability does it have?' is unavoidable—however, it's impossible to give an answer to that.
That's because among the five currently confirmed Terror Armaments, including my own [Angalta, Hypothetical Theory: Wedge-Armor Singing of the King's Road], that black shroud is the only one whose information has not been made public at all.
According to its wielder—
"It's kind of a mess of sophistry and broad interpretations, you know."
"Oh?"
"Because of that, I'm honestly just using it while scratching my head."
"I see…?"
"That's why I haven't released the info. It would mean spreading uncertain information, and if my own interpretation gets muddled, it might interfere with my ability to use it."
"………………O-oh, I see."
"Haru, that was a textbook monotone response."
—And that was that.
Detailed information about that black shroud is a complete unknown. Bits and pieces of its abilities, like generating a mysterious darkness field or draining Luck status, have been confirmed, but the origin of these phenomena and their exact effects remain a mystery.
Well, it's fitting for him, and I think it's cool that it's mysterious. It's perfectly normal to keep your personal build information secret, especially since there's PvP. And when you can perform a feat that no one else can replicate, like he's doing now—well, no one can complain about that.
"—…Alright, that should hold for a hundred seconds, at least!"
With the final turret split in two, my role for the first round is complete. Clear time was just under ninety seconds, a decent score with a bit of a buffer.
I'll need to be wary of performance degradation due to fatigue and waning concentration… but judging from the excitement below, a phase transition will likely occur soon.
When that happens, the anti-air specialist will be off duty for a while. In other words, as long as I get a 'refill,' there won't be any problems.
Between the continuous cost of [Fatal Leak] and the small cost of [Aqua] required for each use of [Rocket], I can manage one round with about 80% of my max MP.
And as for that refill, an express delivery was already on its way.
—The power of [Per-Fe Grim, True Theory: Shadow Cloth Looking Up to Black Wings] is Dominion of Darkness. While prefacing that the details were classified, Tetra said the image was 'The Power of Darkness = to Swallow'.
For example, the residual mana overflowing in space from over a hundred players firing off skills and magic.
For example, the vast battlefield itself, by spreading his shadow across it.
For example—using the magic swords of [Cradle of Sword-Craft], which are connected to Sora's mana by an invisible path, as an antenna to reach… us party members.
The 'darkness' he commands swallows all equally and shares it.
In short, Tetra's most crucial mission in this White Throne subjugation battle is…
"Hah—this is broken."
…to connect an endless fount of mana to me, Sora, and Lux—the members who are pouring out resources while ignoring the rate of consumption.
A buff icon lit up below my status bar, and a darkness like the night sky flowed out of the antenna in my right hand. It traveled along the sand sword, and Tetra's shadow hand seeped into my avatar—my nearly depleted MP gauge was instantly fully charged.
And not just mine, but the gauges of all the members I could see.
Apparently, there are a ton of restrictions, but for an individual to possess a means of instantly refilling the MP of multiple people is beyond abnormal. The existence of a single person with this lawless power can erase the words 'war of attrition' from his side's dictionary by half.
Unlike HP, for which there is the option of healing magic, there are currently almost no means of recovering MP in Arcadia aside from potions.
Its rarity is exceptional—the utility of this ability alone is enough to convince the world that it's no wonder he was made a ranker.
The faint tone of the alarm. A tune announcing the second forced teleport after the start of the battle.
I can't exactly expect a safe and sound landing if I get hit by that while flying or falling. So, to avoid crashing into the ground and dying, I returned to the surface by following a path paved with [Bullets].
As soon as I landed, I was met with an avalanche of praise and other comments from those around me, to which I responded with a noncommittal "Oh, it was nothing," while… looking up to see the unchanging majesty of the 'White'.
…No, I guess it's not unchanging.
"Your complexion seems to be a little sooty… Now, how many more times will it be?"
Two times, three times, or perhaps even more.
Our morale and fuel (MP) are literally infinite. As for my stamina (HP), it's at my standard one-time ratio, which is to say, I'm broadcasting in my stable 10% fixed [Crown Crown] style, but…
—Things are just starting to get fun. I'll stick with you for as long as it takes, you monster.
"Second round, here it comes!"
From somewhere, a precautionary warning was shouted. And then, the second time since the battle began, the third time since our encounter, the teleportation (gimmick) activated… and the 'White Throne', which had yet to show any significant movement, continued to stir up the small figures.
The battle was proceeding smoothly. But its progress was not visible.
For all we knew, we might not have even reached one percent yet. The large-scale raid battle against the 'White Throne' with no end in sight—had only just begun.
Maybe about 4 percent done. Note that the difficulty changes with progress. This does not mean there are 96 more chapters.