“O holy angel, please protect us. [Holy Prayer: Fortitude], [Holy Prayer: Shield]!”
Aerith clasped her hands together. A faint light glowed around the two of them, enveloping them in warm, silver-white circles of light.
The sisters’ maximum health increased, and they were granted magical shields. As long as the shields remained, their spellcasting would not be interrupted by physical attacks.
[Sophie HP: 798/914 (Shield Value: 132)]
[Aerith HP: 454/454 (Shield Value: 132)]
[Jungle Treant King HP: 2437/2860 (Recovering)]
“Sophie, do you remember the volcanic region we saw before entering this place?” Aerith said with confidence. “We need to find a way to lure this big guy to that volcanic area. That will be our winning move!”
Sophie suddenly realized what she meant. “I see! We’ll exploit the Treant King’s weaknesses: its fear of fire and its inability to adapt to dry environments.”
“The current damp environment and the lush, plant-filled grass are the Treant King’s advantageous terrain. It’s very convenient for it to absorb natural energy here.”
“That volcanic region will drastically reduce its healing abilities!”
Aerith nodded. “Exactly! We’ll activate taunt skills and just keep pulling the Boss away from this area.”
Aerith wasn’t entirely sure, but the game guide from the closed beta hadn’t mentioned any setting where the Boss was forced to stay in its room.
‘It’s worth a try. The Treant King’s territory should encompass the entire cave. At worst, if the plan fails, we can just retreat the way we came.’
*****
Time did not allow for further hesitation. They had to take action now if they didn’t want the Treant King to continue recovering and let Sophie’s previous attacks go to waste.
Aerith chanted an incantation, using one hand to steady the primary arm she used for releasing magic. A magic circle gradually surfaced beneath her feet, glowing with a pale blue light as red flames crackled in front of her palm.
A divine sigil appeared on the white-haired girl’s forehead—this was the power she used to provide an effective buff for her spellcasting.
“May the tiny sparks burn away the great blessing. [Greater Fireball]!”
A mass of fire elements the size of a boulder, seemingly condensed by spatial compression, flew toward the Treant King’s roots at a speed difficult for the naked eye to track.
Boom!
“Awoo!”
The Treant King let out a roar more intense than when Sophie had dealt physical damage earlier. Its HP instantly dropped below 1,800.
The Treant King emitted a dull growl, and thick vines surged from the ground. Countless branches with spiked barbs rushed toward them like venomous snakes flicking their tongues in threat.
“Dangerous, Aerith!” Sophie reacted quickly. She hooked one arm behind Aerith’s back and the other under her knees, immediately picking her up. She predicted the Treant King’s attack and dodged just in time.
“Thank you, Sophie.” Aerith was still thinking about their next move and hadn’t noticed that she was currently being carried in a princess hold.
“Hehe~” While reacting quickly, Sophie actually started drooling from the corner of her mouth.
‘Little Aerith is so fragrant, so soft, and we’re so close. Haa, haa!’
In the brief moment when Aerith wasn’t looking, Sophie quickly wiped her drool with her sleeve and returned her expression to normal.
“Sophie, quickly release a taunt skill!”
“Got it! Hey, grandson! Look at your grandmother over here!” Sophie suddenly shouted at the Treant King, using a well-known gaming meme.
It was a plain and simple warrior-type taunt skill. True to its name, it dealt zero damage but was highly insulting, instantly generating maximum hatred.
“Awoo!!”
Not only had the previous weakness-exploiting attack dealt massive damage, but this wave of taunting completely enraged the Treant King, who had lived there for ages.
It had been resting peacefully for who knows how many years, but its mood today was as miserable as if it had swallowed 3 pounds of filth.
‘You two little girls are asking for death!’
“Run, Sophie!” Aerith could hear the Treant King’s roars getting closer and closer behind them.
Supported by her high Strength and Agility stats, Sophie maintained control over the taunt distance, leading the Treant King into the trap step by step.
Their battle reached the previous volcanic region as the Boss, having lost its mind, was lured away from its nest.
The hot air carried the sisters’ heavy breathing as they left the cold, damp area. Even though Aerith was in a hot environment, her fingers remained as cold as iron.
She couldn’t hide the unease in her heart. Her first Boss battle made her realize more clearly than ever that the world they were in was real.
If they were defeated by the Treant King now, Aerith and Sophie would truly lose their lives…
The witch sisters now stood facing the Treant King on the large platform in the volcanic region.
That strange scent of decaying ancient plants appeared again, making Aerith’s heart race involuntarily.
It was the charging phase for the Boss’s ultimate move!
“Sophie, watch out! That wide-range sweeping attack from before is coming!”
“Dammit! Not again!” Sophie grit her teeth and prepared to parry, shielding Aerith behind her.
“[Mana Shield]! [Holy Spirit Armor]!” Aerith repeated her previous tactic, adding Holy Spirit Armor to increase the party’s defense.
Sophie felt very guilty. Her immature recklessness had dragged Aerith down; she felt like her little priest was going to worry herself to death today.
‘No! It shouldn’t be like this! I absolutely cannot become a burden to my sister.’
She might be a bit reckless, but that had always been her personality. Who knew what the future would hold? To make the most of the present, she should give it her all, right?
She wanted to protect her sister and this sincere bond. She had to guard her childhood friend from both her past and present lives.
‘Please!’
Countless vines and branches lunged from all directions, kicking up clouds of dust on the platform. The enraged Treant King intended to launch an all-encompassing wide-area attack. This time, the Boss’s ultimate move was significantly more powerful than before.
Just as the attack was about to reach Sophie, a crisp, loud sound caused the mass of vines to stop in their tracks.
[Challenging Roar]! [Mind’s Eye: Insight]!
Sophie had activated the small-scale group taunt skill, Challenging Roar. All the incoming vines now rushed toward her alone. Subsequently, Mind’s Eye: Insight successfully activated, allowing her to parry the vast majority of the attacks.
“[Speed Enhancement], [Paralyzing Shock], [Blink Slash]! [Double Slash]!” Under the buff of Mind’s Eye, Sophie quickly executed a counterattack, her longsword once again enchanted with the lightning magic, Paralyzing Shock.
Fast and accompanied by a wider arc of white sword light than before, the blade slammed heavily into the Treant King’s roots. A tearing sound, like wood being hacked apart, echoed through the air.
“Awoo!!” The Treant King howled in agonizing pain. It could no longer move.
The unique talent Mind’s Eye: Insight had triggered a hidden mechanic, adding a critical hit effect to the counterattack.
The Treant King’s health was instantly shaved down by more than half by Sophie’s magnificent sword skills. Aerith’s eyes widened in sheer surprise.
**[Jungle Treant King HP: 540/2860 (Connection to nature severed; unable to heal)]**
‘Is this the golden child class, the Magic Swordsman? Why are magic classes so common in comparison?!’
Although she really wanted to complain, the farce had to end eventually. That’s right! She, Aerith, was a kill-stealer and a carry-on! Sophie was the MVP!
“It’s time to say goodbye, Mr. Ugly Treant,” the white-haired girl said, channeling her remaining mana.
“[Greater Fireball]!”
The Treant King’s bark began to crack, and its body rapidly withered amidst the roaring flames. With a thunderous crash, it fell to the ground, unable to rise again.
*****
The physically and mentally exhausted witch sisters returned to their familiar small house by evening.
Sophie immediately stripped off her combat gear, changed into her pajamas, and collapsed onto the bed.
Aerith enthusiastically counted the spoils. As expected, the old Treant King dropped some “gold coins” and the equipment she wanted.
Well, strictly speaking, it was something she had prepared for Sophie.
[Treant Shield: Melee Defense +35, Ranged Defense +26, Recovers 30 health points every turn]
From a distance, the strange face on the shield seemed to be moving. ‘Eek! So weird!’
‘A weird shield for a weird person… hehe~’
“I’ll let Sophie sleep for a bit. Better start crafting the [Staff of Life] now.” Aerith’s passion was burning. Having only eaten a bit of emergency food at noon, she didn’t feel hungry at all.
She took out the [Jungle Treant King’s Branch] from her bag. After adding [Morning Dew], [Blue Life Magic Stone], and [Small Golem’s Stones] into the alchemy cauldron, she began the alchemical synthesis.
With her Intermediate Alchemy, these tasks were not difficult. The long brewing process finally came to an end. After a flash of blue light, she took out the enchanted Blue Life Magic Stone and the Small Golem’s Stones from the cauldron and embedded them into the Treant King’s branch, which was radiating dense life energy.
“Ding! Obtained a Peak-Grade Blue quality weapon: Staff of Life.” The familiar system voice appeared again.
Aerith took a deep breath, a gratified smile spreading across her face. Her staff was finally back.
She tapped on the equipment interface and discovered that the [Staff of Life] could actually evolve!
As she scrolled to the bottom of the evolution interface, a line of heavy yet exciting text caught her eye.
The level requirement was something she couldn’t even imagine right now, and the additional skill requirements couldn’t even be found on the talent tree…
[The Staff of Life can evolve into Kallitrix’s Life Staff. Requires character Level 100 and the skill: Phebylia’s Judgment Light.]
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