Ding!
> You have activated skill: Monarch's Aegis.
- 25% of your max Mana has been withdrawn.
[Argh... Yeah tell me about it, I feel dizzy.]
Kaelen slightly staggered and pinched his brows, but that was only for a brief moment as he soon regained his equilibrium.
[This, in addition to having kept the Creator's Eye active for so long and those two big attacks, I've really used up a lot of Mana.]
Tap...
MP: 20
[... Tch, will I have no other choice but to do that?]
He wondered, glancing at Veylith in the distance, who had already began executing the remaining Goblins and Kobolds, taking advantage of their panick.
Step... Step...
He took a few steps, studying the dome that encircled them as he did so.
[Good, I am its point of origin so it moves when I do.]
He breathed a sigh of relief, he had feared that the dome would be stationary.
Tap...
>Active Effect:
-Summons a radiant shield that absorbs damage equal to 150% of the user's Max Mana for 10 seconds.
-While active, enemies striking the shieldtake 10% reflected damage and are afflicted with [Falter], reducing their Accuracy by 20%.
[This is good, but I wonder, since I can move around, can the shield be used offensively?]
[Or does it only repel attacks?]
[Welp it doesn't matter since it only lasts for ten seconds anyway, but what happens to this dome then?]
He quickly pondered.
[...]
[Sigh... There's a subskill that I can't use yet, what a bummer.]
Tap...
-Monsters with a level lower than the user's by 5 or more are affected by [Sovereign's Will] within the shield's radius.
[I'm currently at level 5 so... Unless it works on corpses then it's a useless subskill for now.]
[But...]
A wide smirk distorted his pinkish lips.
Tap...
>Resistance Effect:
- Monsters immune to subjugation instead suffer a 30% reduction in Attack Power and Defense.
[This is one of the reasons why I love this skill so much!]
His smirk turned into a wide grin.
[And as for the other reason...]
Tap...
>Special Trait:
-[Regal Empowerment]: For every ally within the shield's radius, increase in their ATK by 10%, the shield's durability by 10% and the CRIT chance by 5%.
"Haha... This is so broken."
He muttered under his breath and finally raised his gaze to the members of his Decadon who'd been staring at him with puzzled expressions.
From their point of view, he'd just been poking and staring into thin air whilst smiling as though he'd lost his mind.
[Ah, that's right... NPCs don't have Status Windows.]
He cleared his throat in an attempt to wash away his embarrassment.
"Sorry I've kept you waiting, right?"
He stretched out his hand once more.
■■ Monarch's Aegis: Regal Empowerment.■■
Uwooong!
[!!],[!!]
They all flinched, a sudden surge of strength welling up inside of them, coursing through every fibre of their being.
[You feel that? It's the ultimate buff!]
He grinned and coiled his legs, his right hand clenching tightly to the metal shaft of a new spear he'd retrieved from his pocket dimension.
"... Let's go!!"
They all charged at full speed, their blades screaming at them to quench their thirst for blood.
Clang! Clang!
[Looks like they've regrouped, Veylith is already having a hard time with those two.]
<□ Goblin — LV. 10
Class: Magic Swordsman LV. 9□>
<□ Kobold — LV. 10
Class: Arcane Assasin LV. 8□>
He narrowed his eyes, but Veylith had already slaughtered about twelve of them during the confusion, so about twenty now remained.
"... What a monstrous girl."
He couldn't help but remark as he watched her hold her own against two powerful foes.
She looked to be in her element in fact, as her sickle launched an attack, her fundo parried another, her chain dazzling fluidly like the blades of a propeller.
But perhaps it would have been a different story if the Goblin and Kobold were equipped with weapons suitable for their respective classes?
A mere stick would never allow for the skill of a Swordsman to blossom, nor would shards of sharp rock replace the daggers of an assassin.
Thud! Thud!
Noticing the oncoming Decadon, the monsters that had been too afraid to intervene in the high-octane battle between Veylith and their leaders, began hurling rocks and other projectiles at Kaelen's group.
Ding!
> 10% of the shield's damage has been reflected back to the enemy!
> [Falter] has been activated!
Ding!
> Warning: Shield will dissipate soon!
- 3...2...1.
[...]
[The dome is still there...]
... But it was now without its tangibility.
"Attack!!!"
He roared with all that his lungs would permit, and the members of his Decadon began slaughtering their prey.
Ta! Ta!
Kaelen darted past them and went straight to where Veylith was, the silhouette of the Goblin Swordsman flickering in his eyes.
Fwosh!
He thrusted his spear.
[!!]
"Kakaki! "
The Goblin Swordsman, with his back against a boulder, was facing two impending attacks, one a spiked fundo that was aimed at the side of his temple, and the other, a spear's tip, threatening to impale his abdomen.
"Kakakka!! "
The Goblin growled, and instead of evading or parrying, he pointed his wooden stick down and struck the earth with all his might.
Rumble! Crack!
[!!],[!!]
Two stone pillars — about the Goblin's height —broke through the earth and parried the attacks in his stead.
Ta!
Kaelen immediately took a leap backward and commanded that Veylith do the same.
[Damn it, I was hoping we could kill them before it got to this.]
He mused, the dying screams of Goblins and Kobolds alike echoing at the base of the mountain.
[Elemental magic... I set it so that one can only cast elemental spells once they reach level ten...]
[It's only first circle magic, but as weak as I am now...]
[However...]
"Be careful Veylith, they can cast spells as you've seen."
She nodded and adopted a new battle stance, her chain tightly wrapped around both of her arms — the rest of its length draped across her shoulders like a bridge at the back of her neck.
Her weapons, the sickle and morning star-shaped fundo, dangled and swayed on either of her ankles.
She was quick to adapt, because long range weapons are essentially useless against spellcasters, its much better to attack head-on.
[... It looks like they're not immune to the Resistance Effect debuff?!]
He bore his pearly-white teeth, the pink in his eyes glowing a shade darker.
[Haha! I was scared they would be.]
"... Is my luck stat really at 0?"
He coiled his legs like springs, the tip of his spear like a Sakura petal bathed in twilight.
"Let's go, Veylith!"
They both lunged, Veylith at the Kobold and Kaelen at the Goblin.
"Khikhahaka! "
The Goblin shouted and tapped its stick on the earth once more.
"..."
"Fuuu..."
Kaelen could tell instinctively, where the magicules were gathering beneath his feet, and...
Ta!
Rumble!
... He ceased his charge and performed a deft sidestep, avoiding the stone pillar that threatened to skewer him.
But he wasted no motion, pivoting his ankles and twisting his waist, rotating his entire body.
Slash!
He sliced off the pillar's pointed tip, before leaping in the air.
"Here, you can have it back!"
Pow!
He performed a spinning heel kick and struck the base of its conical shape, sending the tip hurtling toward its owner, the Goblin.
Crash!!
The Goblin instantly parried the attack, but as the dust settled, he noticed Kaelen charging towards him once more.
"Kakaka! "
The Goblin sprung forth more pillars but they all posed no threat to Kaelen and his Mana Sensitivity, and he continued zigzagging toward the Goblin.
"Khik!!! "
The Goblin lost its temper —as is befitting a feral creature —and tightly clenched the stick it held, stones gathering on its wooden surface.
Crackle!
The stick, now layered with stones, ignited in the bright blue hues of Mana.
Fwosh!
The Goblin swung it like a bat.
■■ Mana Burst! ■■
Kaelen thrusted his spear and it collided with the Goblin's stick, resulting in a vibrant explosion of...
BOOOOM!
...Mana.
The intense battle between Kaelen, Veylith, the Goblin and Kobold endured for about twenty minutes.
And the other Homonculi could only watch, not daring to even join, how could they, Knowing they would only get in the way.
So they just sat there, mesmerized by the vibrant sparks caused by weapons clashing, the shockwaves spreading through the air and the tremors beneath their feet.