No one had ever demanded I explain this to them before. Instead, I had only been told to shut up and keep the details to myself. I was glad to be given this chance.
“First, the well-known uncomfortable shift in senses caused by buffs is due to the templates mainly used when casting Occupational Magic. ‘Templates’ are the magical formula of well-established chants. While I don’t know much about other occupations, us support casters tend to not get good results when we utilize them. If you consider the structure and think through it incrementally, this should be obvious, and—”
“Well, yeah. We all got different builds and strengths, even in groups you can usually lump together.”
“Exactly! One wrong move and you could break someone’s bones!”
I couldn’t believe it—Mark understood what I was saying! I guess the abenteurers of Nachtlibelle would naturally consider these things.
“What support casters need the most is the flexibility to respond aptly to their current situation. Um, this is just something I’ve thought up myself, but I combine the roughly six hundred muscles and one hundred and thirty pairs of bones in the body or connect each nerve in the body to a weapon. I then arrange movements that increase or decrease things—like elasticity, hardness, friction—into their smallest units.
“I call these combinations of small units ‘codes’, and I consider the basic goal of my granting magic to combine the most suitable codes to minimize and optimize the buffs I cast. Sorry, I know I’m talking a lot. But anyway, the buffs I’m casting on you are a combination of seven types of defensive buff code clusters and twenty-five types of sensory buff code clusters.
“All of your builds are similar enough to be grouped together, so I should be able to use the basic codes. The defensive buffs can further be divided into twenty categories, including those that increase toughness and minimize friction. Friction increases will be kept in check with stand-alone codes acting on each of your limbs. Adjusting heat-resistance, quake-resistance, hardness, and dispersion depends on the situation. While you five are in battle, I’ll be controlling these using the paths that connect us together. I’ll run out of MP if all these codes are continuously overlapped, so that’s a last-ditch measure I came up with. Aha ha ha!
“I realized there’s actually a lot of merit to doing it this way. Basically, I won’t be casting anything unnecessary, so you’ll be able to retain a lot of your usual senses without me giving additional sensory buffs. Though obviously, that doesn’t cover it all, so those twenty-five sensory buffs are important too. Oh, and I’ve only been using the word ‘buff’ because it’s convenient, but this applies to debuffs as well! For instance, you can divide the sense of touch between touch via the skin and the physical sense felt in the organs, and—”
“Enough! I get it.” Mark was suddenly begging me to stop.
I returned to my senses. Damn it. I really messed up. My mouth just started running and I ended up babbling to no end.
“I can’t believe it. That means ya can use tens of buffs at once, right?” His expression was one of half-amazement. Clearly, he had been listening. I felt sorry for him.
“Sorry, um, yes—I mean, no. It’s not the type of simultaneous casting you think it is.” As I spoke, I shoved down the feelings of guilt and regret welling up in me. I must have gotten carried away after hearing that praise from Camilla. “I’m just being a bit clever by breaking them into smaller parts. Unfortunately, my magic isn’t very strong, so this is how I make up for it. I’m really sorry for talking so much.”
It was then I realized the entire shield unit had fallen silent. Yup, I had definitely screwed up. There was no doubt about it.
“Just to double-check, ya mean our senses will stay as they usually are?” He must have purposefully been trying to stay calm, as his tone didn’t sound any different.
“Um, yes. It should actually feel really good.”
Mark brought a hand to his beard, seeming to ponder on this for a moment. “Got it. Cast those buffs. I, Mark, approve you, Wim, to cast your granting magic on me.”
“Huh?” I was sure he was going to refuse.
“I could tell you’re really thinking about us,” he said cheerfully. “So why not try it out, huh?”
“Similarly, I, Abel, grant my permission.” Abel and the other three followed suit. The five seemed to be smiling. I couldn’t tell if those expressions were out of defeat or exasperation, but it still felt good to see.
I cast my buffs. “You are now enchanted.”
Mark and Abel shared a glance. “All right, Abel! Show me what you’ve got!”
“Right! I’ll give it my all!”
“This is the kinda time you don’t give it your all, dumbass.”
“Hah!”
“Ya really are stupid! Hold back, ya—”
Abel had already stepped forward, meaning it was already too late to stop him. He flung a fist at Mark, who managed to easily block the attack.
“What the hell…” He glanced at me. “This is amazing. I’m not the one in control, but it feels like I made the move myself. I might even forget I’ve got buffs cast on me!”
All right! He could even forget about the buffs. To me, that was the ultimate praise. That was exactly the point of the sensory buffs. They adjusted one’s perception to match what was cast on them, very much like an optical illusion.
“All right, Abel! This time’s for real!”
“Roger, that!”
The two spent some time throwing punches at each other. So far, everything looked good. Sometimes, they would send me approving glances as well. As time passed, I could feel the corners of my lips beginning to turn upwards.
We set up camp in a wide area with a narrow entrance. If we could lure the wyvern into that bottleneck, we would be able to attack first while fully prepared.
My legs began to wobble. It happened whenever I was near a large monster. I wasn’t getting cold feet—well, in a way, I guess I was. However, it was actually convenient because it could serve as a method of enemy detection. The more I trembled, the closer the enemy.
As it so happens, our trap had worked.
‹All hands, prepare for battle!›
Camilla sent a transmission to the whole team. For a moment, all was silent. Then came the sound of beating wings cutting through the air, and finally, the wyvern emerged from the depths of the labyrinth.
It had the grotesque features usually associated with black monsters. It lacked arms, and instead only had back legs and wings. At first glance, its eyes seemed to number in the hundreds, but upon closer inspection, they were divided into two groups of compound eyes.
Quite honestly, it was disgusting. If I was trying to be cool, I would probably say it was a perfect embodiment of the labyrinth. Its wings were asymmetric, so it wobbled in the air, sometimes having to kick the walls to steady itself. Despite that, it was approaching at breakneck speed.
We were immediately met with a purple breath attack. The five stood before me and formed a line with their shields.
‹This is the shield unit! We’ve confirmed its breath! We’ll now engage!›
The breath struck the shields, knocking them backwards, their feet sliding across the ground. However, we were fine. The wyvern’s breath had been adequately dispersed. Not only that, it seemed like they used that scattered attack to further defend themselves, reflecting part of it back at the wyvern. This was even better than we were hoping. The tanks of Nachtlibelle really were something.
The wyvern came into full view after it had breathed on us. It bore the brunt of the tanks’ reflection, knocking it off balance.
‹Rear unit! Fire!› Camilla barked.
‹Roger that! [Eisspeer!]›
From behind us, the squad led by Heidemarie began to launch ranged attacks, combining ice and lightning magic. A giant spear of ice was charged with electricity and flew through the air with a roar. The wyvern had fallen victim to gravity for a mere moment, but that had deprived it of its chance to dodge. The spear rammed into it head-on.