kscans

Chapter 480 - The Raid Boss Battle on Cat Island

"Push them back!"

"Ice attacks are working! Chill it with everything you've got!"

"My pet needs healing, pleas... Gyaaah!! Piyokichi!"

About ten minutes had passed since the battle began against the raid boss Chariot, a giant beetle, in the jungle of what was commonly known as Cat Island.

The clans participating in the fight were the renowned tamer clans, "Cats are God," "Cretaceous," and "Highway Star." Parfait's clan, "Mont Blanc," had joined them.

Being major clans, they had a decent number of members, but their party composition was undeniably skewed. That said, the pets' abilities were incredibly diverse, so the clans covered each other's weaknesses and, for the moment, were pressing the advantage.

Since it was their first time fighting this raid boss, they had no idea what actions Chariot would take, so they fought cautiously. They even had an analysis team observing Chariot's movements from unreachable spots or while mounted on flying pets.

Parfait, being relatively new to the game, couldn't fight on the front lines. Her equipment was decent enough, but due to her stats and skills, she could neither withstand Chariot's attacks nor deal any significant damage. So, she watched the battle alongside the analysis team.

The other members of her clan were contributing in their own ways. Those who could use magic for long-range attacks were firing spells from the rear, trying to chip away at the boss's health, even if just a little. Among them, Abel, who was equipped as a sorcerer, was making a significant impact.

"Whoa, this sorcerer gear Ren-neesan put together is insane!"

Abel had not only started the game recently but also logged in infrequently, so both his stats and skills were low, making him weaker than anyone else here. Despite this, his curse magic was as potent as that of a top-tier player.

The essence of curse magic lies in its debuff effects. Normally, the stronger the opponent, the more its effects are mitigated, rendering it less effective. But Abel’s curses were lowering Chariot’s stats as if there was no mitigation at all.

The attack-lowering debuff wasn't a flat value but a percentage. With almost no mitigation, he was reducing Chariot's attack power by about thirty percent.

He was also inflicting a slip damage effect that gradually chipped away at its HP, and this too was dealing a considerable amount of damage.

Seeing Abel happy about being useful, Parfait, who was currently doing nothing, responded to his words.

"For some reason, Instructor Ren really loves curses, doesn't she. A curse-loving romance story enthusiast, it gives me this image of her pulling strings behind the scenes... I wonder if there are any dramatic manga-like developments where she takes down her rivals?"

"Nah, that's not it. I've been in Ren-neesan's room before, and she's not doing anything like cursing people. She just seems to like objects with sordid histories and collects a lot of them. It was a bit traumatic, but it's a good memory now. It's supposed to be a good memory."

"You're just trying to convince yourself... Though I guess with Instructor Ren's beauty, she could probably do anything without resorting to curses."

"Maybe so. Whoops, the debuff is wearing off. I'm gonna go reapply it!"

Abel moved a short distance from Parfait, approached Chariot, and cast his curse magic.

No debuff has a permanent effect. They always need to be reapplied. The curse magic Abel could use at the moment lasted for about a minute, so he was reapplying it with plenty of time to spare before it wore off.

Abel returned quickly, but after a moment of thought, he spoke up.

"Aren't you going to do anything, Parfait?"

"I want to, but there's nothing I can do..."

Parfait could also perform long-range attacks. Her weapon, Beelzebub, was a transforming type that could switch between a sword and a rifle, so she could have tried. But she didn't.

The rifle dealt physical damage. The real Beelzebub would fire magic bullets, but Parfait's was a replica and could only deal physical damage. There was no way it would do any damage to Chariot, which clearly had high defense. It would be a waste of effort to even try shooting.

When she explained this, Abel nodded in understanding.

"I could hit it with a defense-lowering debuff, but Orion-san and the others are using their pets for magic attacks. So I guess you're just observing, Parfait. Well, that's fine once in a while, isn't it?"

It seemed Orion and the others had some expectations for her, but in the end, there was nothing she could do. In fact, it looked like Orion's group could defeat Chariot on their own.

Orion's divine cat, Bastet, was particularly active as a main attacker. It possessed an attack method unavailable to normal players, creating clones of itself to cast four identical spells simultaneously. What's more, the power wasn't just quadrupled. There seemed to be a synergistic effect, making it about sixteen times stronger. It had drawn so much of Chariot's hate that it had been targeted, creating a dangerous situation.

Seeing this for the first time, Orion herself cried out in surprise, "What is that?!" The other players said this was the consequence of her always keeping Bastet hidden instead of using it regularly.

Many other members besides Orion were also playing crucial roles.

Deeger, riding his Quetzalcoatlus, was skillfully disrupting Chariot's attacks from the sky. He wasn't dealing damage, but by interfering with the enemy's attacks, he was limiting their range, which was another highly valuable contribution.

One of Chariot's attacks was a horn swing, and the way he disrupted it to reduce its power and range, despite this being his first encounter with the boss, was nothing short of masterful. Everyone respected him as a player who had been around since the Genesis era.

Highway Star, led by Rhadia, was wiping out the insect-type monsters that Chariot periodically summoned with what could only be described as instant kills, creating a situation where everyone could focus on the battle with Chariot.

At first, Parfait had thought about taking down those slightly weaker monsters, but Rhadia's group had such high search capabilities that she couldn't even get a hit in.

Abel, of course, as well as Natsu and Ginny, were chipping away at its health with magic attacks. Meanwhile, the strategic trio of Chris, Rick, and Wilnel were with the analysis team, analyzing Chariot's attack patterns.

"Is the horn swing random? It's powerful, but it leaves a big opening afterward, so I'd rather it used it."

"It might be a reaction to a certain attack, something like a counter. What do you think?"

"...Just as you predicted, Chris-san. It uses the horn swing after being hit by a hundred ice-attribute attacks. If we signal from here, it should be easier for Deeger-san to disrupt it, I think."

"Alright, in that case, let's use a signal smoke bomb like Orion-san. Chris, you were given some smoke bombs, right?"

"Yes, I have them."

"Wilnel, can you count the ice-attribute attacks? I want to throw the smoke bomb just before the swing comes."

"Leave it to me. I recently learned a spell called Eagle Eye, so grasping the state of the battle is my specialty. When I give the signal, Chris-san, please throw the smoke bomb."

"Understood. I'll throw it as soon as you give the word."

Feeling a little sad that they seemed poised to win even without her, Parfait began to think hard about what she could do.

If this keeps up, I'll just be leeching, getting loot without doing anything. I have to think of something to do.

She thought and thought, but nothing came to mind. As she was doing so, Chariot's HP dropped to nearly one-tenth of its total.

There was a chance it might unleash a suspicious attack at the very end, like Lancelot the Elder Griffon did when they fought it, but there was no sign of that for now. She thought about jumping in if something happened, but what could she do when she couldn't even deal damage?

It also seemed unlikely that a situation would arise where she would need to save someone from her position, where she could quickly hide among the jungle trees. After all, they had specifically lured Chariot to this battlefield to ensure such a situation wouldn't be necessary.

Everything was perfectly prepared for this battle. Parfait had no opportunity to fight, and Chariot's HP bar was about to be depleted.

The moment everyone thought they had won, a loud noise echoed. It was a strange sound, one they had never heard before. The closest thing to it would be the sound of a jet plane. And it was getting closer.

Parfait and the analysis team turned their heads toward the sound, but everyone just looked puzzled.

"A sonic boom...?"

As Wilnel muttered this, her expression immediately changed to one of alarm, and she raised her voice.

"Everyone! Get away, now! It could be dangerous!"

It was unclear if Wilnel's words reached them, but Chris, reacting to her shout, immediately threw a smoke bomb signaling an evacuation. It burst in the air above Chariot.

The players on the front line looked up, wondering what was happening. It was then that they finally noticed the strange sound approaching, and they began looking around while still fighting Chariot, trying to figure out what was going on.

"I don't know what's happening, but everyone, run!"

At Orion's command, even the members who had been trying to push through to the end immediately left the area.

Perhaps intending to act as the rear guard, or maybe wanting to see what would happen, Deeger remained alone in the sky on his Quetzalcoatlus.

Deeger fixed his gaze in the direction of the sound.

An instant later, something appeared with a deafening roar and blew Deeger away. Its speed was clearly abnormal, fast enough to create wind pressure on the ground below.

Despite the speed, Parfait's excellent kinetic vision allowed her to see what had happened. A single dragon had sent Deeger flying.

And on that dragon's back was a person who appeared to be a woman, wearing a clown mask. It was undoubtedly the other raid boss, Garland, and the clown.

Despite the appearance of what was clearly a powerful enemy, Parfait felt a little thrill of joy. "Maybe I can fight this one," she thought, and gripped the hilt of Beelzebub's scabbard.