BXBX NOVEL Vol. 9 - Chapter 434 - Harmonic Trio, taking their stage!
"Alright."
" " "‹Magi Armament›!" " "
The Harmonic Trio took their stage and intonned the skill simultaneously.
‹Magi Armament›—the key skill built-in with ‹Magic Equipment› series's job. It works the same way as Celia's ‹Spirit Summoning›.
In fact, this skill was what made the whole ‹Magic Equipment› series a worthwhile contender to the majority of jobs. It was akin to the engine of a vehicle, breathing a new life in their performance when used. Though, they would first have to use the ‹Magi Armament› skill to turn their weapons into magic equipment.
They were still afar, but their red-aura clad weapons were a dead giveaway they had activated their skills. This red aura like situation was dubbed Mag-Arm time, and in essence, it was like Ex buff that enhanced the spec of their weapons. The skills that used their weapons as a medium hit really harder.
The other pivotal point that put them ahead of many was the passive skill ‹Magi Resonance›. All the jobs in this series had the same unique skill, and as long as there's another similar unique skill holder in the party—it also works if they're in the same space—they could further enhance the performance of ‹Magi Armament›. They're capped at three being the maximum count, so the more similar job series there are, the higher the performance there would be. And having the maximum number could put forth incredible firepower.
Well, the only demerit it has is that they wouldn't be able to use any ‹Skill› or ‹Spells› which had ‹Magic Sword› or ‹Magic Ally› written outside of Magi-Arm time. Of course, they would just need to re-activate the ‹Magi Armament› to remove the limit. It costs a bit of time, but overall, the abilities make them incredible.
‹Magi Armament› at LV10 allowed usage of up to ten ‹Skill› or ‹Spell› before it turned off. And yes, it was where the said job holders have to be careful about spamming their attacks. Time management is just another key part.
From ‹Arc-Arcadia› side, the harmonic trio was at the forefront.
"Emi, I will clear the path with long-range attacks. Back me up, ‹Magic Bow - Quad Light Arrow›!"
"Aye, Yuchhi! Sacchi, baton is on you! Come, my support ‹Magic Ally - Speed Boost›!"
"Thank you, both of you! See you soon, ‹Magic Sword - Sword Strike›!"
‹Magic Archer› Yukka fired off four glowing white light arrows and scattered the small fries around the small castles. ‹Magic Ally› Emi backed them up using single 'Speed Up (Mid)' buff magic. ‹Magic Swordsman› already boasted quite a high Agi, and along with Emi's buff, Sachi swiftly routed the guardian monsters of two squares with her triple-slash skill.
And blitzing her way from behind them was ‹Princess Knight› Aegis-senpai. And that too, not on foot but she was riding on a horse.
"I wouldn't let my pride as a senior be in vain. It's the moment to showcase the speed of a knight. Dany, let's go, ‹Knight Lance Charge›!"
"Neiiiiigh!"
The horse that Aegis-senpai was riding was a normal horse that could be found in the extra dungeon ‹Food and Livestock Dungeon› with low probability. It drops ‹Horse Meat Sashimi› when killed, but could also be tamed by ‹Knight› category job holders. It takes two accessory slots and wouldn't drop any horse-meat sashimi if it is slain while in tame status.
Actually, Dandy-kun was already a long-standing partner of Aegis-senpai when she was in the ‹White Saber›, but later moved to ‹Arc-Arcadia› along with her when she switched the guild. Tame monsters were usually left in the ‹Ranch› to take care of and bring back to use when needed like now.
Also, since the horses were treated as accessories, they could be upgraded. Well, more like they could be equipped with horse-purpose armour, saddle, horseshoes or reins etc to increase their ability. Man, was it so bizarre seeing it in real life you know. I mean I knew that from the game, but that was truly an impactful sight.
Ahem, returning back to Zephyr aka mine's guild battle commentary.
Aegis-senpai skillfully handled Dandy-kun and used what was actually the charge skill ‹Knight Lance Charge›—the skill might increase when used while riding—as a measure to speed up and close distance with Sachi.
Yup, it was the same speed-type two-man team route opener strategy, aka ‹Standard Route Tactic›, that ‹Eden› excels at. And despite how it may appear, Aegis-senpai easily manoeuvred her weapon even in close space, so there was no chance for them to miss taking down the small squares. Man, horsie-chan truly is fast!
Behind them, the group of Reglam, Noel, Lacritta and Kairi were following in their footsteps. Kairi also boasted high AGI but having little battlepower, she was apparently charged with scouting. Hmm, they could have used her a bit better.
Nevertheless, that's quite a big entourage that ‹Arc-Arcadia› was moving in their first guild battle. Maybe, they were researching our matches all this while?
In contrast, we had a tag-team of Pamela and mine at the lead, since we two were the one with highest AGI in this team, followed by the team of Sierra, Rika and Misato.
In fact, Pamela had an extremely high AGI value since that was the core attribute as an evasion tank. Plus, she also had Speed UP skill ‹Evasion Boost LV10›. Honestly, as long as it's not Karua, she practically was the fastest member among us, surpassing even me.
With no surprise, the team that made it first to the strategic point aka Northern Big Castle was us, ‹Eden›. I already knew that was bound to happen, especially with the level difference that we had.
(T/N - A lame map. Apparently author didn't make one for this battle)
)
Well, it should have been where we would have taken down adjacent squares to block the advancement of an opponent running parallel to us and then target the ‹Northern Big Castle›, but that would leave them in a sorry state. Besides, it was their first guild battle as well. It was where we had to cut them some slack.
We slightly altered our route and invaded the ‹Northern Big Castle› a square ahead of ‹Arc-Arcadia›.
"What should I do once we arrive at the Big Castle, Zephyr-san~? Shall I take it down with all my power-desu?"
"No, that;s where you have to hold back. Anything above ‹Twi-Tree› and Unique is forbidden. Leave some space for ‹Arc-Arcadia› to perform at least."
"Roger-desu~!"
Pamela was apparently thinking we have to take Big Castle down quickly. Of course, the answer was NO.
It was a simple truth that we boasted the highest firepower, so more than ‹Arc-Arcadia›, we have to take our steps carefully as if treading on thin rope, literally. Our appraisal was at stake here after all.
We had arrived at the ‹Northern Big Castle› in the meantime I answered Pamela's question. We only target one of the adjacent squares.
"Let's route the guardian monster ahead. ‹Shine Lightning›!"
"Following-desu! ‹Giant Shuriken Art›! ‹Blade Strike› —death!"
The guardian monsters of Big Castles in this field were some lv20~ ants who couldn't withstand a single of us before returning into light particles.
We had just cleared the monsters out when I heard the sounds of horse footsteps coming from the neighbourhood. Must be Aegi-senpai and Sachi. Nice, they really didn't slack in their tasks.
"We've finally caught up to them!"
"Guardian monsters have been cleared already! Commence your attack this instance, ‹Knight Lance Charge›! ‹Spiral Charge›!"
"Yes, captain! Big Castle is going to be ours! ‹Magic Sword - Long Edge›! ‹Magic Sword - Third Strike›! ‹Magi Armament›! ‹Magic Sword - Holy Strike›! ‹Magic Sword - Arc Edge›!"
Aegi-senpai wasted not a single second and immediately made her move the instant she took down adjacent squares. She charged at the ‹Big Castle› with ‹Knight Lance Charge› and then shifted to multi-hit attack ‹Spiral Charge›.
As expected of senpai. The lance skill with ‹Spiral› attribute deals continuous damage for the duration it spins.
I also used that attack quite often in the game. Though the attack so resembled drill that it earned the title of ‹Mining Drill Attack› among the playerbase.
Well, the so joke-like title actually had quite an efficient not-so-joke-like effect. Gathering a team of five or so ‹Lancer› category job holders and letting them go full 'drill~' on the Big Castle was in fact a pivotal tactic. I mean, since the drill attack deals continuous damage, there's like a very narrow window for the opponent to insert their own attack, lest they fashion a laurel for their opponent. The only thing they could bet on was a well-timed finishing move.
In the game, those drilling teams were dubbed ‹Big Castle Mining Corp›. It was quite a trend to announce the confrontation in online battles as 'Behold, the battle between the ‹White Mining Corp› and ‹Red Mining Corp› has begun—!.' Phew, that brings back quite fuzzy memories. Though ‹Lancer› or similar itself weren't that strong job and with the advent of ‹Precise Time Attack› that almost close the gap, it ended up being a beginner's only tactic,
A step behind, Sachi chained her magic sword skill, though had to re-activate the ‹Magi Armament› in the middle. Unfortunately, ‹Magic Equipment› job series has that glaring flow where they couldn't interrupt the rhythm of continuous attack. Besides, she also wasn't able to take advantage of uniqueness with the other two missing.
Hmm, from my angle, it seemed like Sachi—no, the harmonic trio was panicking. They should have known they're stronger together, but they still made Sachi go ahead. In my case, I would have buffed Reglam to team him with ‹Arc-Arcadia› fastest member, Aegis-senpai. To fumble at the core step huh. They need more training. It was obviously the lack of coordination.
I observed the sub-members of ‹Arc-Arcadia› in the nearby square while occasionally throwing one or two attacks of mine.