My 3rd Return: Archercaster's Birth

Honestly, when I heard Appa saying he would need more time if he were alone, I thought it would take... well, a long time. But with Ritta's help, the second chamber was cleared of monsters in less than thirty seconds.

I've been observing the reasons for this from the beginning. Ritta's role is indispensable; she serves as the tanker, drawing all the enemies close so Appa has the freedom to launch his attacks. If it were just me advancing alone, it would probably take three minutes just to clear the spawning points of the distant monsters.

"You said we shouldn't relax, right, Blue? Then let's go straight for it!" Appa shouted as he passed us, monitoring from the entrance.

"This time I won't lose!" Ritta replied with equal enthusiasm.

Even before a split second had passed since finishing this chamber, they were already heading to the next point. How high is their spirit, actually?

If it keeps going like this... how can I not get caught up in it?

"Don't tell me, Blue..."

"You..."

I don't know what expression is on this avatar's face, but it's enough to let Nomad and Subtle know that there's been a change within me.

"This might not be a race, but," I said, preparing myself and running, "why not?"

The next destination is the mini-boss room, a long corridor with a light blue hue accompanied by the sound of ocean waves.

I see Ritta's back as she tries to catch up to Appa ahead, but they seem to maintain that constant distance for quite a while until I catch up to them.

"Y-you...!" Appa is surprised as he sees my silhouette pass him.

"Heh, you might think senior is just a mage, but you don't know how much DEX this guy has, do you?" Ritta commented, seeming proud of something.

I listened to their conversation for a while before heading towards the boss room on my own, leaving the two behind. According to their information, no monsters would spawn from the entrance until the mini boss appeared, so I didn't have to worry about that.

"Ugh, this corridor really is quite long," I commented. But my spirit didn't decrease at all as I approached the other end.

With full readiness, I summoned Versatile. My comrades must have been confused when they saw my MP bar in their party list suddenly decrease significantly. And for some reason, the image that came to mind was Ritta's smiling face as her friends were puzzled.

Running and drawing my bowstring, I casted [Magic Arrow] as a dark blue spiral blocked my path. I stopped and took a stance with my bow aimed at the target.

A pair of bright blue eyes, surrounded by red membranes, revealed themselves. Tentacle-like appendages waved from each nostril-like hole. The creature growled as its entire head emerged from the spiral, sending a strong gust of wind towards me.

Nevertheless, I stood my ground. Six magic arrows had formed in line before me, and without hesitation, I released them. The target was something gigantic—I wasn't afraid of missing.

As the giant-sized catfish tried to escape from the spiral, one by one my magic arrows pierced through its smooth and slippery skin, sending it back into the spiral with an incomprehensible whimper.

But, as soon as I realized it, two small portals spewed out various medium-sized monsters, and without hesitation, they targeted me, who was all alone. They moved quite swiftly for their size, while I... "Uh-oh, it seems like I'm running out of stamina."

I may be able to compete with Appa and Ritta in running races, but that doesn't mean I possess the same awakened stamina and physical status as them. As a result, I now felt slow to move and react.

Should I use [Impact] to knock them back? No, that skill was only single-target. Then how about [Magic Wall]? It would provide 360-degree protection and knockdown effect to the enemies. No, if I cast that skill now, either the effect will be too weak or I won't have enough time to do it at all.

Welp... I'm in grave danger.

"What, is speed your only advantage, Blue?" From my right side, Appa darted forward without hesitation, intercepting the swarm of monsters that were targeting me.

"Perhaps you're just getting too old, senior?" Ritta charged in from my left side, drawing the aggro of the monsters. It was only now that I noticed Ritta activating one of her arm shields in this battle; something I hadn't seen or realized in the previous fights.

"Heh, I'm just too generous to hog the spotlight for both of you. That's all," I said, trying to maintain the confidence that was on the verge of crumbling.

Subtle and Nomad hadn't arrived yet, but they were within sight range, so it wouldn't be long until our entire party was complete.

Unlike before, Appa and Ritta couldn't defeat the enemies quickly. The enemies possibly had enhanced stats or high resistance to damage. In essence, this battle wouldn't be easy.

"[Frenzy], [Aura Blade]," Appa said.

This was the first time I heard him using voice-activated skill, but I didn't see any additional ornaments on his avatar except for his halberd emitting a somewhat lackluster aura.

And his attacks weren't exaggerated; it was a simple thrusting motion instead of a sweeping one, but it was so fast that I could count five or six stabs in a single attack that instantly turned the enemies into pixels.

"You seem to be someone curious about things like this," Appa said as he continued his now multiplied movements.

"That skill increases his attack speed, attack power, movement speed, and even the basic damage of his halberd," Ritta chimed in.

While they were fighting, I had finished casting [Magic Wall]. A circle with a diameter wide enough to cover both walls of the hallway formed. As they realized this, Appa and Ritta immediately stepped back and entered the circle.

"Wow, such an ancient skill. I knew it existed but I've never seen a mage actually use it in battle," Appa commented.

Heh, is that so? I was quite shocked to hear that, you know.