Chapter 460: O Dragon, O Dragon! Part Thirty-Seven
[Author's Note: I have a PS4 in my hands right now. You clever readers should understand without me saying another word... Not long until GE3 now.]
Animalia’s current Job setup had Onmyo Taishi, the highest-tier class in the curse-practitioner line, set as her main Job. Her newly chosen sub-Job was Busohei, an advanced class in the ascetic-monk line.
Ordinarily, that should not have produced any dramatic improvement.
Sub-Jobs could not select highest-tier classes and were burdened with more restrictions than when set as the main Job. Because of that, placing a frontline class in the sub-Job slot usually offered little benefit.
In fact, aside from certain exceptions—such as Imron, for whom being a blacksmith was itself important—the standard setup was to make one’s primary combat class the main Job.
However, that logic mainly applied when the alternatives were healing or crafting classes.
When the class in question was a buffing support class or a debuffing support class, that theory could sometimes be reversed.
With mediocre stats, the result would only be mediocre strength.
But what if someone had continued honing a support class all the way to its highest tier?
Animalia: "[Hunger Garden], [Enervating Suffocation]."
A wide-area stamina-drain debuff and STR debuff struck the lesser dragons.
Although physically unharmed, their movements deteriorated until they looked as though they were already on the verge of collapse. The surrounding players wiped them out in moments.
Animalia: "[Drought-Bared Body], [Poor Man’s Rampart]—‘Dantian Breathing’... Hoooooo..."
There was no trace left of the pure backline class she had once been.
As a top-tier debuffer, she weakened groups of enemies with area attacks, then struck them down with fists capable of delivering more power than their base strength should have allowed. Finally, she recovered MP through a breathing Skill.
This was not weakening an enemy as a side effect of attacking.
This was attacking an enemy as a side effect of weakening them.
That difference became especially obvious when more than a dozen players were fighting together.
Animalia: "The natural environment is where animals live! I won’t overlook any monster that destroys it! Sorry, but you’re going down right here!!"
Bryleinyego: "FOOL! Foolish! T-to defy meeee!!"
The flesh mass’s enormous mouth gaped open, and something long shot out from within.
A tongue?
No.
Even if it served the same purpose, it was something far more grotesque.
Animalia: "An upper body... at the end of its tongue?!"
Bryleinyego: "Kyeee!!"
Animalia: "Ghh...! [Rows of Stitched Stakes]!!"
Her level-down build had raised her VIT enough to hold the frontline, allowing her to narrowly avoid instant death.
Even so, Bryleinyego’s upper body—now shaped like a snake—sent Animalia flying.
She groaned in pain but still swung her staff, unleashing a binding debuff.
Animalia’s signature spell, [Hands of Tartarus], could not be used yet.
The spell effectively cost nearly all of her HP. For Animalia, who lacked the mobility needed to casually live by the rule of “it doesn’t matter if it never hits,” that drawback was nearly the same as becoming unable to fight.
Bryleinyego: "Ggebo?!"
A stake of light formed directly above Bryleinyego and pinned the tongue-like appendage it had extended for a follow-up attack to the ground.
Unlike Hands of Tartarus, this curse determined its effect by comparing the caster’s MP against the target’s STR.
It might have worked well against smaller lesser dragons, but against Bryleinyego itself, no dramatic result could be expected.
At best, it would restrain the dragon for a few seconds.
Bryleinyego: "Ggebororororo!!"
Animalia: "Ugh... Every single sound effect it makes is disgusting..."
The enormous mouth opened even wider, producing more lesser dragons that carried traits of the red dragon.
Her MP regeneration Skill could not keep up.
Animalia rapidly restored MP with one of her few remaining potions while scattering yet another round of debuffs.
All the while, she thought.
(We don’t have a finishing blow...)
They lacked the kind of overwhelming destructive force that could pulverize everything, like the crystal bombardment once unleashed by that bright-red monster with the oddly familiar name.
Part of the reason was that Siegwurm had drawn away so much manpower.
Another part was that this massive battle had already continued for more than half a day, leaving every kind of resource close to exhaustion.
(We’ve cornered it. We just don’t have enough strength left to launch a proper offensive. If the balance of forces tipped in our favor, we could turn the entire fight around against Bryleinyego in one push.)
One small mercy was that fighting until exhaustion left someone unable to move, only for them to be killed by a lesser dragon, apparently counted as a positive result under B.I.G.
Even so, not everyone present had been fighting through the entire night.
(Our tanks’ equipment is almost at its limit too. It can be repaired, but if they leave right now, the whole line might collapse.)
The balance of forces was already beginning to tilt—and there was no need to say which side was losing.
The only reason so many lesser dragons were still being contained in one area was the contribution of SF-Zoo’s tanks.
Five players raced around the battlefield in “high-mobility mode”—a state achieved by removing their leg and waist equipment for a slight increase in speed.
They drew the lesser dragons after them with such skill that they might as well have been shepherds.
Without them, the lesser dragons would have scattered across the battlefield on a far worse scale.
???: "Boss! This is getting rough!!"
???: "More like, the giant-types hit way too hard!"
???: "Should we take off our upper gear too?"
???: "You’ll die instantly if they catch you!"
???: "There, aggro’s maxed out!"
Animalia tightened her grip around one of the lesser dragons and was forced to make a decision.
She might not have been the commander of every player present, but she was the leader—the Director—of SF-Zoo.
She possessed both the authority and the responsibility to issue orders.
That was when—
Pencilgon: "Hey, hey, Animalia-chan? Interested in using P-BAS?"
Animalia: "What’s that?"
Pencilgon: "Pencilgon Battle Assist Service. I just finished a little negotiation... and picked up some good firepower. I’ll give you a special low price right now."
Deep Throater: "Hellooo... I’m the good firepoweeer..."
A girl emerged from behind Pencilgon with a loose grin.
Animalia knew her.
She was a player capable of making intercontinental travel possible, even if she demanded payment for it—travel that would normally take an extremely long time even by real-world standards.
Animalia knew because she had used that service herself.
Animalia: "Deep Throater, right? I don’t care for the ‘slaughter’ behind that name, but... do you have some kind of attack magic besides teleportation?"
Deep Throater: "Attacking doesn’t have to mean hitting something... Hehehe. If he’s showing everything he’s got, I can’t keep hiding mine either..."
A long staff slipped out of empty space.
It was something that answered desire.
Something that made its wielder’s inexhaustible wants real.
Deep Throater: "Realization Staff: The Desire~"
Animalia: "A Realization Staff... Wait, is that the one from the Whiff Incident...?!"
Deep Throater: "Uehehehe... Witch’s Church might drag me somewhere deserted for this..."
The Realization Staff Whiff Incident was considered one of the darkest episodes in the history of SLF created by its players.
Animalia’s eyes widened at the fact that both the culprit and the missing item were standing directly before her.
Still, Deep Throater clearly had good reason for her confidence.
Animalia accepted that for the moment and shifted her thoughts back to the battle.
Animalia: "Fine. How many minutes do you need?"
Deep Throater: "Five... no, I’d like three. Oh, and this is unrelated, but Sunraku-kun easily bought time against Eldranza... or was it a raid monster wearing Eldranza’s skin...?"
Oikatzo: "After hearing that, I can’t exactly stay out of this."
Pencilgon: "Oh, Katzo-kun."
Dirnadia: "Katzo! What a courageous name!!"
Oikatzo: "Huh? Why...?"
Oikatzo had made a suitably dramatic entrance, only to be met with looks of respect for reasons Oikatzo could not understand.
The head tilt that followed was a completely genuine reaction.
For some reason, even Argent Owl looked away.
Oikatzo: "Whatever... We just need to hold it back for three minutes, right? Will that be enough to kill it?"
Deep Throater: "I can’t promise it’ll die, but I can promise major damage..."
Dirnadia: "Then I swear upon my sword that I shall restrain that creature, Deep Throater, wielder of The Desire."
Deep Throater: "I’m counting on you..."
For the briefest instant, a faint sense of wrongness passed through Animalia’s mind.
But if even a member of the Giant race was willing to fight alongside them, there would be no better moment to settle this battle.
Animalia raised her voice.
Animalia: "All members of SF-Zoo! We’re buying three minutes! Forget what comes afterward and unleash everything you have!!"
???: "Director! Can we use that thing?!"
Animalia: "Permission granted!!"
Now was the time to reveal the true strength of the clan known as SF-Zoo.
[Author's Note: Huh? Why is she so friendly with a member of the Giant race when this is supposed to be the first time players have ever encountered them?]
[Author's Note: As for what “Katzo” means... well, you know?]