TNG Vol. 20 Chapter 3 Part 10
“‘Blue Magician’ Cain.”
“‘Red Alchemist’ Hecate.”
“‘Golden Merchant’ Reid.”
“‘Silver Summoner’ Cashmere.”
“‘White Chef’’ Cook.”
It was not just the faces. Everything from their hair and skin color to their equipment was exactly as Schnee and the others remembered.
If one was familiar with the game era, they’d probably have seen or heard this figure and name.
The six of them, including Shin, were extremely famous as members of a guild called “Rokuten”.
“Don’t tell me they copied their skills and weapons as well?”
“From what I’ve seen, I don’t think they copied them completely.”
Even in Shibaid’s reply to Filma, you could feel his anxieety this time.
Tiera, perhaps sensing something unusual about the situation, timidly asked Schnee.
“Why is everyone so cautious? What on earth are these people…”
“These people are modeled after Shin’s former comrade. Be careful. From what I’ve seen, they don’t seem to be fully equipped, but depending on their abilities, there’s not much room for error. That’s right. Think of it as five Shins, and we’ll be just fine.”
Up until now, the humanoids had been slowly raising their weapon as if looking at them, but that was as far as the chitchat would go.
The fake Hecate raised her staff and unleashed magic around her. The number of magic spells was not ten or twenty, but more.
“There was no way I could lose in a magic fight!”
Sety, perhaps in preparation, also began to unleash magic in response.
In the sky above each party’s head, an unusual number of magic spells were fired.
“I’m going for a surprise attack. Can you handle the rest?”
“Go. If we fight in the same way, it will be difficult.”
Shibaid, answering in a low voice, shifted his position in front of Schnee to hide her from the humanoids’ view.
At that moment, Schnee disappeared.
“They’re coming!”
With Filma’s voice as the signal, the fake Hecate and Sety waved their wands at each other.
The magic that was being used took on a shape according to the spell and rained down on the two groups.
Much of the magic that flew through the air collided with the other’s magic, either offsetting or deflecting it, but the numbers were great. Those that made it through the rain of magic reached the vanguard of each party.
“Their reaction is completely different from before. If they come out behind me, do your best to avoid them!”
Shibaid warned in front of the flames and lightning that crashed into the defensive barrier.
No one doubted it.
The sound and impact transmitted beyond the defensive barriers made Shibaid’s words even more true.
“Even if I tried to come out and attack, I wouldn’t be able to attack in this condition.”
They shot magic at each other with the tanker in front of them.
The intensity of the barrage was such that even Filma, who was the most agile, had difficulty breaking through. It was only a matter of time before they would be pushed out of the way of the magic fight.
“No matter how much you try, this number is impossible!”
The characteristics of the job did not matter to High Humans – as they were capable of playing both vanguard and rear guard.
So, with the exception of fake Reid, who acted as a tank and set up a barrier on the dolls, and fake Hecate, who used magic first, the humanoids started shooting magic.
Filma was also shooting magic, Kagerou was shooting electric shocks, and Tiera was shooting arrows, so they were not immediately overwhelmed, but even so, the difference in power and numbers was insurmountable.
The fact that everyone except the tank could fire a barrage of magic with much higher power than a poor mage was a threat.
“Huh? The barrage is a bit weak… Oh no!? That’s coming!”
A few seconds after Sety’s warning, the ground began to rise.
What appeared was a wall of earth. Rectangular earthen walls, about 4 mels high, sprout from the ground one after another, dividing the party.
“Huh? What?!”
“(This is an earthen wall made by the fake Cain. It’s not easy to break it down. If you are not surrounded by walls, leave immediately. If you are surrounded, escape with Kagerou while you still can!)”
Shibaid could faintly hear Tiera’s confused voice, and immediately contacted her through 【Mind Chat】.
“(Won’t they shoot us with magic?)”
“(She didn’t get there in time to before the earthen wall activated, but Schnee is taking the fakes by surprise from behind. Now you shouldn’t be targeted by more than one humanoid. But be very careful.)”
Shibaid, who was at the front of the group, was not surrounded by an earthen wall.
The earthen wall appeared behind him. Some were covered with earthen walls all the way to the top, like a dome, while others were not, perhaps because they were fake and therefore lacked the ability to do so.
None of the party members were within sight of Shibaid. Even though he could tell that they were safe, he was not sure if he would be able to join them soon.
As he stared at the three humanoids approaching from the front, Shibaid devoted his thoughts on how to prevent their invasion.
“Ooooh…”
With a spirited voice, the sound of crushing echoed.
Filma jumped out and blew away the shattered mud wall.
The faint remains of the flames indicated that the skill had been used.
“I’ll take the right side!”
“Got it!”
Filma jumped out and headed for the fake Cook, one of the three fakes that were approaching.
The rest were the fake Reed and the fake Cashmere. For whatever reason, each of the three kept their distance.
Filma chose the fake Cook without hesitation because fake Cook was the most dangerous in this situation.
Among the non-system skills that the real Cook possessed was 【Wall Passing】, which allowed her to pass through some obstacles, and she often fought in such a way that Cain would build a wall and Cook would attack through the wall.
Not every obstacle could be slipped through at will, but Cook’s fighting style did not seem to have that limitation.
Filma and Shibaid remembered this well, as they had seen players and monsters being cut to pieces at the mercy of Cook, who appeared and disappeared through the wall.
It would be very dangerous if additional earthen walls were formed, or if the fakes targeted Sety, who had not yet joined them.
“I’ll help!”
Tiera, astride Kagerou, landed behind Shibaid. They did not seem to be blocked by an earthen wall, and she seemed to have escaped quickly.
“In that case, I want you to keep fake Cashmere in check. While you buy me some time, I will defeat the fake Reed.”
Shibaid readied his shield and charged at Reed.
One of the dolls following the fake Reed has a shield and the other has a greatsword. The shield-bearer doll was the one who was blocking Sety’s magic.
The shield-bearer was standing in front of the fake Reed, holding its weapon like a greatsword bearer would carry.
It looked like a simple puppet suspended by a string, but it was about two mels tall. And it didn’t seem to be able to resist Shibaid’s attack.
However, even after colliding with the shield, the doll only retreated about 30 cemels and was unharmed. Then, the other doll swung his greatsword down at Shibaid, who had stopped in his tracks, as if to return the favor.
The barrier that had been cracked when Shibaid and the shield-bearer collided was completely shattered, and his shield and the greatsword collided.
Blocking the undecorated, rugged sword, the shock from the sparking shield ran through Shibaid’s entire body, digging his feet into the ground.
A golden flash of light struck him.
“I see they’re copying each individual’s fighting style as well.”
Shibaid blocked the approaching flash with 『Placid Moon』.
The flash of light was an attack by the fake Reed’s magic.
Reed’s basic battle strategy in combat was to put the dolls in front and support them with magic from behind.
This was an orthodox style for jobs such as summoners and tamers who used something other than themselves. Reed and Cashmere were close to perfecting this style, and both they and their own servants were strong enough to make their opponents call them fouls.
The only saving grace at present was that the equipment used by the dolls and the abilities of the humanoids themselves were not copies of those in their heyday.
But that did not mean that the attacks were not a threat.
The flash from earlier was repelled because Shibaid knew how to fight Reed, and if he hadn’t known it was coming, his weapon would have been blown away.
His own skills and equipment. The placement of allies and enemies. Based on these factors, Shibaid intended to decide the match at once in a short battle.
“Hmph!”
He swung his 『Placid Moon』 while receiving the greatsword with his shield.
『Placid Moon』 was about to reach the doll’s torso, but the shield bearer caught it.
There was a loud metallic sound, and the shield bearer’s foot slipped and lined up with the greatsword bearer. The shield bearer’s shield was only dented, not shattered.
Shibaid relaxed his foot and, lowering his body, let his opponent’s greatsword slide over his shield.
Then, when the pressure was gone, he immediately stepped forward
Movement-based martial arts skills are not only used by those who specialize in high-speed combat like Shin and Schnee. Shibaid moved to the side of the greatsword bearer using the high-speed movement skill 【Ground Shrink】.
The greatsword bearer cleaved its weapon horizontally, but before it could reach Shibaid, he thrust 『Placid Moon』 into its torso.
Spearsmanship skill 【Penetrate Down】.
『Placid Moon』’s blade pierced through the dolls that lined up next to each other. Due to the effect of the skill, the movement of the doll was greatly reduced.
Confirming this, Shibaid let go of 『Placid Moon』 and jumped away.
It was a magic attack from the fake Reed.
Shibaid moved to position himself using the dolls as a shield, but of course the fake Reed also moved so that he was in its line of fire.
At this distance, however, he could see where it was moving even if he wasn’t looking.
Shibaid took his eyes off the dolls, raised his shield, and charged towards the fake Reed.
Perhaps because the doll couldn’t move, the fake Reed switched his magic from a pinpoint attack to a ranged attack.
“Game on!”
The defensive barrier had been shattered by the greatsword bearer, so there was only a short time left before it could be redeployed.
Trusting in the defensive power of the armor he wore, Shibaid stepped forward.
The attack coming from the fake Reed was blocked by the shield, and the rest was absorbed by the thicker part of the armor as much as possible.
Since it was intended to be a long-range attack, its attack power was lower than that of a pinpoint strike. Through the smoke of the explosion, Shibaid approached the fake Reed.
However, for a moment, the fake Reed disappeared in front of him.
“Dammit!”
His shield was blown away.
Even if it’s a fake, what the humanoid was imitating was the highest peak of High Human. Its strength was greater than that of its followers. Shibaid’s arm holding the shield must have been tired from the constant attacks, but he didn’t know if he could have parried it without it.
The fake Reed turned his back on Shibaid, probably using his martial arts skills like a left-to-right roundhouse kick.
But his focus had already shifted to his next move.
The barrage of fists from the rotation of his body would damage Shibaid beyond the protection of his armor.
But Shibaid was not afraid.
He didn’t think he would be able to defend himself completely.
Hence, he was unprotected. Even if he received a penetrating attack, he would receive it in a place where he would not die instantly.
Shibaid grabbed the fake Reed tightly with both arms. His current STR was comparable to that of a High Human in his prime. Even if the fake Reed tried to wriggle out, he would not be able to escape easily.
The distance between them was several tens of cemels. Before the fake Reed could move, a black flame shot out of Shibaid’s mouth.
Dragnil’s unique skill 【Breath】 was said to be the most powerful among the seven races.
The black flame burned the fake Reed’s head and torso, and flowed backwards with unstoppable momentum.
Shibaid’s 【Breath】 had a maximum release time of five seconds.
There was no counterattack.
After the 【Breath】disappeared, all that remained were the arms and legs that Shibaid had grabbed.
Eventually, they too melted and lost their shape, disappearing like water being sucked into the ground.
Behind Shibaid, the dolls, which had lost their master, collapsed. When there was no one left to control the dolls, the dolls would not move. It was safe to assume that it had been defeated.