Chapter 57: A Team Growing in Sync
The party quickly cleared out the beasts in the outer parts of the cave and made their way to the deepest chamber.
"Where's the leader?" Eirik asked, looking at the empty cavern.
"Don't let your guard down! It's nearby!"
Rhodes's eyes were fixed on the red dot on his magic circle, which showed that the Rock-Scale Beast king was right on top of them. Just as he spoke, a "rock" suddenly leaped down from the cliff wall.
It was a massive creature, nearly five meters long, several times the size of a normal Rock-Scale Beast. Its scales had even taken on the grayish-yellow color of stone, which was why they hadn't spotted it at first.
"Get back!" Somme roared, bracing his battle-axe against his chest, managing to hold off the beast king's pounce. Norne seized the opportunity and slashed at its abdomen, but his sword just scraped against the scales, sending a shower of sparks.
"It's no good! Its abdomen is also protected by scales!"
"Let me try!" Eirik cast a spell from the rear, a light arrow that was as large as a spear. The arrow shot forward, but just as it was about to hit, the beast king swatted it away with its tail, sending it crashing into the wall with a massive explosion.
The force of the blast made Rhodes wince. If it had caused a cave-in, they would have been trapped.
Having dealt with Eirik's attack, the beast king opened its massive jaws and lunged at them.
CRACK!
A wall of ice suddenly rose in front of them. Rhodes had intervened. The beast king slammed into the wall, but it held firm. After trying to bite and ram its way through, the beast king had no choice but to shake its head and retreat a few steps.
"You idiot," Serie said. She had, at some point, appeared behind Eirik. "In such a small space, you're pouring all your mana into destructive power. Are you trying to bring the cave down on our heads?"
Eirik scratched his head, ashamed. "I-I'm sorry!"
"Try again. This time, focus on piercing the beast, not blowing it to bits."
"O-okay! I will!"
Eirik nodded quickly. It was rare for Serie to offer him guidance, and he didn't want to waste the opportunity. Though he did wish her attitude was a bit gentler, like Mr. Rhodes's.
Meanwhile, Rhodes had taken the opportunity to cast a vine spell, ensnaring the beast king's hind legs and creating an opening for the others.
Norne leaped into the air, a light arrow materializing in his hand. He had learned his lesson from Eirik. He focused all the arrow's power into piercing, and it shot forward, accurately penetrating the beast king's eyelid and into its left eye. And he wasn't finished. Before the beast king could even react, he struck again with his sword, blinding its other eye.
Seeing this series of attacks, Rhodes nodded to himself. To be able to so seamlessly combine magic and swordplay... if Norne were to continue down this path, he might just invent something akin to a spellsword. But alas, that was not his goal.
With Norne's successful attack, Somme followed up. He swung his battle-axe in a wide arc, a powerful uppercut that sliced open the beast king's abdomen, exposing its vulnerable insides.
"Now that's what I call teamwork," Serie said with a slight nod. "You're finally starting to look like a proper team."
She then raised her hand and fired off a few light arrows. A few straggler beasts had, at some point, tried to launch a sneak attack, but she had spotted them and pinned them to the cave wall.
"But you're too slow," she said, coming over to Eirik and giving him a cold look. "Your teammates created the perfect opportunity for you, but you were too slow to cast your spell. Faster."
Eirik was feeling the pressure, but he didn't waste the opening the others had created for him. A spear of light shot forward, blowing a massive hole in the beast king's side. An injury so severe was something not even the beast king could withstand. And with that, the battle was over.
"A decent haul," Somme said, taking stock of their spoils. "These scales should be enough."
Norne wiped the blood from his sword and began to sharpen it with a whetstone he carried with him. "It's a good thing we had Mr. Rhodes's ice wall. I had no idea how we were going to block that charge."
"I agree! That thing reminded me of the dragon," Somme said, still a little shaken. He hadn't been the one to take the dragon's charge, but just watching it had been enough to inspire fear. A mountain of a creature, radiating intense heat, charging at you... anyone else would have run for their lives. Only Mr. Rhodes and Serie had the strength to stand up to it.
"Your teamwork was decent, but there's still room for improvement," Rhodes said, walking over to them. "Norne, you were a bit too aggressive. You should let Somme be the main damage dealer, and you can focus on support and flanking."
"Yes, you're right," Norne nodded. Other than his final blow, he hadn't dealt as much damage as Somme. The dwarf's superior strength was a clear advantage against such a heavily armored creature.
"I think you also have room for improvement," Serie suddenly said, appearing in their midst. "Your vines are too weak. The beast nearly broke free just now."
"Is that so? But the end result was still good."
"A flawed process is not excused by a good outcome."
"It's rare to hear such profound words from you."
"Don't change the subject," Serie said, her cheeks puffing out, clearly a little annoyed at his comment.
"Relax, I know what you mean," he said. He extended his hand, and a thick vine, as hard as a rock, burst from the ground. He rapped his knuckles against it, and it made a sound like knocking on stone. "What do you think of this improved version of my vine-wrap spell?"
"The hardness is sufficient, but doesn't it consume more mana?" Serie could see the downside of his modified spells at a glance. Whether it was the increased number of light arrows or the strengthened defensive magic, they all came at a higher mana cost.
"Yes. That's why I didn't use it just now. We weren't the main event, after all."
Killing the beast king wouldn't have been difficult. He and Serie could have each used one of their ultimate moves and been done with it. But this had been about training the team's coordination and, on a side note, improving Eirik's combat skills. And now it was clear that while Eirik's magic had improved rapidly, he still lacked experience. The mere fact that he had used an explosive spell in such a small cave was enough to warrant a day-long lecture from Rhodes.
"I see." Seeing that he had his own reasons, Serie said nothing more. The man who had once been so inexperienced in battle had now become a powerful mage. Time really did fly.
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