Chapter 51: Clearing the Floor 11 Boss! Tracking Magic?
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Kanade's current gear was top-tier, and her level had stabilized enough to keep pace with the elite players. Combined with her innate combat instincts, she was a force to be reckoned with.
"Kanade, from this moment on, you are officially the 6th Harbinger of the Fatui," Seito said, glancing at the girl flying effortlessly beside him.
"Understood," Kanade nodded, her expression as calm as a still lake.
Seito opened the guild interface to finalize the permissions.
[Guild: Fatui]
[Guild Master: Sei]
[Harbingers]: Sora, Shiro, Maple, Sally, Empress (Amou), Kanade.
[Members]: 100,000+
[Guild Wealth]: 1,200,000+ Gold.
[Guild Warehouse]: Greed Armor (Blue), etc.
The warehouse was currently stocked with gear Seito had dumped earlier. Even though it was "trash" to him, the average player scrambled to buy it. With over 1.2 million gold in the coffers and the guild members grinding hard, they'd likely hit 2 million by sunrise.
"Seito, after this Boss, Shiro and I are logging off to rest," Sora said suddenly. "We have a big day tomorrow."
Tomorrow was Saturday. Sora was planning to take Shiro to buy the house next to Seito's, so they needed to be sharp and well-rested.
"Same here," Seito agreed. "I'll log off after the kill and submit the City Lord's quest tomorrow."
It was getting late. Since Kanade had just moved into his home, he wanted to log off early to prepare a proper welcome dinner for her. Plus, his Saturday schedule was packed—not only were the Blank siblings coming over, but Haruno Yukinoshita and Amou were also planning to drop by. He needed his sleep.
"Seito-ni... no objections!" Shiro tilted her head against Seito's chest, looking adorably sleepy.
"Are we all logging off?" Sally looked around.
"I guess I'll call it a night too. Tomorrow's the weekend, we can play for 48 hours straight if we want."
"Me too!" Maple cheered.
Ako looked at the group of legends and bit her lip. "Um... can I keep leveling with you guys tomorrow?" Even though she was a cadre, she felt more like a guest. She had grown fond of the easy, friendly atmosphere of this "inner circle."
"Of course," Seito nodded. "You're part of the team now."
"Hehe, thank you, President!" Ako beamed.
The group reached the Labyrinth entrance. Unlike the first ten floors, there were no "Frontline" guilds standing guard here. Most players were still too under-leveled to even think about the Boss, so the area was eerily quiet.
They stepped through the portal.
A chill ran down their spines as they materialized in a vast, dark hall. Standing in the center was a figure draped in a tattered, hole-ridden grey robe, clutching a gnarled staff.
[Boss: Phantom Mage]
[Level: ?]
[HP: 5,000,000 / 5,000,000]
"Five million health..." Seito felt a slight headache coming on. This was going to be a slog.
"Solo or party?" Sora asked, drawing his sword. If Seito wanted the "Unique" loot drop for a solo kill, the rest of them would stand back.
"Party," Seito decided. "The Boss will respawn, and we can farm gear later. Right now, let's just clear this and go home."
"Yay! Let's go!" Maple bounced on her heels.
Seito, Sora, and Sally shared a look and vanished in a blur of speed. Seito reached the Boss first. He gripped his Tachi, a violet glow erupting from the edge of the blade.
"Dimension Slash!"
Fwoosh!
The blade cut through the air with a high-pitched whistle, slamming into the Mage.
[-10,000!]
The damage was decent, suggesting the Mage's defense wasn't insurmountable, but its HP pool was still daunting.
"ARRRGH!" The Boss shrieked, its pale, glowing eyes locking onto Seito. It raised its staff high.
Hum—!
A magical circle instantly materialized above Seito's head. He frowned and dashed backward, trying to shake the target lock. To his surprise, the circle followed him perfectly, maintaining its position no matter how fast he moved.
BOOM!
The circle erupted into a pillar of flame,
swallowing Seito in a massive explosion.
When the smoke cleared, Seito was standing there, unharmed thanks to his spatial distortion, but his expression was grim.
"Everyone, watch out! Its spells have Perfect Tracking!" Maple shouted. She had fought this thing for hours the day before and had forgotten to warn them in the excitement.
Without absolute defense or intangibility, you couldn't dodge its attacks. You had to tank them.
"Maple," Seito called out, "with your 15,000 Defense, how many hits can you take?"
"Maybe ten or twelve?" she guessed.
If Maple could only take twelve hits, the others, besides Seito, would likely be one-shot.
"New plan," Seito smirked. "Maple, go in and let him break your current gear to trigger your 'Destruction Growth' passive. Once you've gotten your buffs, I'll take over the aggro and use Kamui to bait his big spells."
"Got it!" Maple chirped. She activated her skill: "Cover Move!"
In a flash of light, she intercepted a bolt of dark energy intended for Sally, the battle for the 11th floor officially beginning in earnest.
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Thank you for reading