Letting out a sigh, I clapped my hands to get their attention. “Okay! Okay! Let’s get through this dungeon already! Our head chef has planned another delicious dinner for us, so we have to make it back by then!”
“We march on. For dinner!” L’lyeh cried, eyes burning with determination. “Let’s go! If the Chomp Flowers bother you, I’ll lead and you watch,” she told Kent.
“No, no! I’ll go too! I’m fine!” Kent stammered as L’lyeh began walking at least three times her normal pace, hastened by hunger. It was pretty cute to see her kick into high gear when it came to food, a stark contrast to her usual laissez-faire attitude.
“Let’s race!” L’lyeh shouted, leaping into the air high above our heads.
“What?” Kent blurted.
Still in the air, L’lyeh began counting off something, her eyes moving quickly. When she was done, she swung her arm. “Dark Arrows! Rapid fire!” Black arrows materialized around her and shot out at once, annihilating the monsters in the area, which included Chomp Flowers, Harpies, Sylph Worms, and Poisonous Treants.
I could only watch and be impressed. Does she know which flowers are Chomp Flowers?! Even if they were undetectable to us mortals, L’lyeh might have used her divine senses to detect the small amount of mana that leaked from the Chomp Flowers. Maybe one day I’ll be able to do the same, I hoped.
“That was awesome...! I better keep up.” Kent took a big step forward and shouted, “Taunt!”
Immediately, a nearby Poisonous Treant attacked him. As Kent held it off with his sword, Cocoa and Tithia took down the monster with their Skills. Poisonous Treants were walking trees that—as the name implied—attacked with poison. They were monsters we definitely wanted to deal with quickly, especially here in the real world. As soon as the Poisonous Treant was defeated, Leroy reapplied buffs to everyone.
I’d planned for us to warm up and double-check our teamwork in these initial battles, but everyone had enough combat experience that the teamwork came naturally. It was starting to look like we’d do just fine in Holy Maiden’s Trial too.
Eventually, we reached the end of the dungeon.
“This is where the boss is?” Kent asked.
“Yep. The boss is a butterfly, but not a normal one. Lady Butterfly has a woman’s body and butterfly wings. She uses a lot of status attacks, like her paralyzing pixie dust, so it could be a tough fight for a tank...” I explained.
Kent grimaced for a second before shaking his head. “No, I got this! That’s what I’m here to do! No butterfly’s going to take me down!”
Rudith clapped him on the back. “Good to hear, Kent. You and I are gonna keep that bug at bay.”
“All right!” Kent said.
Rudith gave us a look that asked, Are we ready?
Nodding, I reapplied buffs to everyone.
“Let’s go,” Rudith urged.
“Yeah!” we cheered in response.
The end of the dungeon was a veritable paradise of flowers. This area, called the Butterfly Cage, was carpeted with vibrant blooms of all colors. Vines encircled the area like the bars of a cage, each of them blossoming with roses. I guess that’s basically the boss monster’s home decor. Lady Butterfly was a blonde bombshell with hair of spiraling golden curls. Butterfly antennae stuck out from among them, though—despite her beauty, there was no mistaking her for a human.
With her keen senses, the boss immediately noticed us, letting out a shriek and preparing an attack. Kent sprinted ahead and used Taunt to draw the attack to him.
“The dungeon’s been too cramped for my liking up until now. I can finally cast some real magic.” Luna stepped up and raised her staff. With a smirk on her face, she shouted, “Blizzard from the Abyss!” Instantly, freezing air rose from the ground where Luna stood. What started as flecks of shimmering silver had turned into pitch-black shards by the time they flew toward Lady Butterfly. The dark and cold attack covered a wide area but dealt crucial damage at its center.
“Good job, Luna! Great choice!” I cheered. This boss was already weak to Water and Ice magic, but Blizzard from the Abyss also had a decent chance of freezing the target and slowing them down—even if a boss would only stay frozen for three seconds.
“That was so cool! Let me show you what I can do.” Holding her staff and Tome, Cocoa stepped forward. “Eyes of Heaven, Pierce My Enemy!” Cocoa’s clear voice rang through the Butterfly Cage, and swords of water appeared above the boss before striking her down and dealing great damage while the butterfly was immobilized.
So far, so good!
Enraged by the damage, Lady Butterfly shrieked and shook her wings, paralyzing Kent with her pixie dust.
“Restore Kent!” I shouted, healing the status condition immediately.
Free to move again, Kent took a big breath and shouted, “Taunt!”
Being paralyzed in the game hadn’t impeded gameplay, but judging by Kent’s struggle, he’d been unable to speak and therefore unable to use any Skills while paralyzed.
Our party would be in big trouble if I ever got paralyzed! I realized. While I did have some healing items on hand, I’d be wise to start looking for equipment that resisted Paralysis and Silence. I could never let myself succumb to either of those status conditions. While those thoughts passed through my mind, I took in the battle. Mio was keeping an eye on our surroundings while using her Skills from a neutral position. Leroy was keeping our defenses up continuously and chipping in with attacks when time allowed.
“We’re doing great teamwork...!” I muttered.
Tithia laughed. “You have trained us well, Sharon. And we all want to make you proud. More than I even realized, we have all learned to fight incredibly quickly and efficiently.”
Her words made it clear that everyone in the party was really giving it their heart and soul. It was obvious just from watching them too. “I can’t wait to take on that dungeon.” I grinned at Tithia.
She matched my grin with one of her own. “Me neither!”
Seeing the boss flap her wings, Lina leaped into the air. “Now!” Angling her dagger toward the butterfly, she shouted, “Reset!” The Reset Skill canceled the activation of another Skill. It wasn’t a hundred percent effective against bosses, but it had a good enough success rate that many Treasure Hunters had utilized it back in the game. “Okay, that stopped it!” Lina announced, having stopped a huge status-condition-inflicting Skill in its tracks.
“Great! Taunt!” Kent shouted immediately.
Rudith didn’t miss this golden opportunity. As soon as he took a step forward, I cast my spell, tripling his Attack. “Smiting Light!”
“Dragon Lance!” Rudith used his Skill, which found its mark.