ALL NOVEL Chapter 18: Oh no. Not again!
"Multi-Hex! Multi-Thorn Bind!"
We've encountered several Scrowlers as we roam around the forest together. Battling a group of them right now at the moment.
I have applied Hex onto them and bound them with Thorn Bind. Some got the Bleed effect while some didn't.
However, it did not matter as my role was to simply play as a support.
"Go, Yura!"
"All right!"
Hearing my sign to attack, Yura made a dash towards the Scrowler with his two daggers ready in his hands.
He is fast. His agility is probably around the same value as mine.
Being the Rogue Class, Yura appointed his attribute points into his agility and luck, with the latter being higher than the former.
He's also level 11 and yet, he moves better than I do.
"Double Slash!"
Yura struck the Scrowler closest to him first with a skill that attacks twice. Killing it immediately as he moved onto the next Scrowler without a moment's waste.
"Critical Strike!"
He then stabbed his second target, killing it in one shot as the damage dealt was doubled due to the skill's nature.
"Air Walk!"
He jumped up and kicked the air after that. Heading towards the third Scrowler which he kills with three normal slashes from his daggers and landed on the ground with style.
However, before he could move onto the fourth Scrowler, it broke free from my binding and leaped at him.
"Magic Shield."
I placed a barrier in between him and the beast, as Yura yelled out surprised with a "Whoa!", not expecting the sudden protection from me.
"Snipe. Fireball."
I then fired my attack from afar and scorched the fourth and last Scrowler of the group before it touched the ground.
The beast cried in agony while Yura watched as its HP dropped to zero quite quickly. Crumbling into a dark mist like the rest of its buddies.
I walked up to Yura after that as the battle had ended.
"Are you alright?"
"Ah. Yes, Miss Yoru! Thank you for saving me just now. I'd never thought that the Scrowler would break free from your spell so quickly."
"You shouldn't assume things based on appearance alone." I patted Yura on the head. "Come on then, let's go find some more Scrowlers in the area."
"Y-Yes, Miss Yoru...."
Yura and I went on to kill more Scrowlers. The boy acted as the vanguard while I supported him from the rear.
Overall, we'd make for a pretty good team.
But because we had our Lamp Bugs' lights on, running into Scrowlers took a while for us to complete Yura's quest.
"And that's forty! I'm almost done with the quest, Miss Yoru."
"I see. Then let's hurry up and finish it, shall we?"
"Yes! Let's."
Seeing how actively adorable Yura is, I once again patted him on the head.
He reminds me of Hikari when she was younger. Back then, she acted just like him which made me dote on her a lot. Nowadays.... she's a chaotic pain in the neck with a rebellious attitude.
"Haaa...." I sighed.
Hikari's still cute though. Just annoying as well now.
"Miss Yoru, is something the matter?"
"Hm? Oh, it's nothing. I was just thinking about how cute you are."
"C-Cute!? That's... umm... as a man, such words hurt my pride..."
"Is that so? Sorry about that then."
"Ah. No. It's alright, Miss Yoru. I'm actually quite used to being called that. Even though I hate it...."
Uh... huh..... Looks like I've triggered something I should not have.
"Come on. Let's go."
"Ah. Ok."
And then, we hunted the remaining amount of Scrowlers needed for the quest.
Much much later.....
Yura and I have started exploring the forest, since Yura wanted to map out the entire field in his map screen. And since I have nothing better to do for now, I accompanied him and became a big help to the boy as I have explored every corner of the forest already.
"Be careful, Yura. This is where The Jackson may appear." I warned Yura, as we arrived at the lake where I ran into The Jackson for the first time.
"Got it." Yura firmly replied. However, it seemed like my warning made him afraid as he started shaking in fear, being ready to run at any moment if we ever hear The Jackson's Hee Hee.
But suddenly, Yura perked up.
"Oh! Miss Yoru, look there! A chest!"
"Yes.... I can see that."
That's the same chest I opened to get the Ritual Dagger of the Accursed, right? I guessed it could respawn after some time.
I wonder what Yura will get since his character has points of luck? Or maybe it'll just be another dagger.
While on the lookout for The Jackson, we head towards the chest as Yura proceeds to open it with much excitement.
"O-Oooohh!" he then shouts estatically.
"What did you get?"
"10,000 gold, 5 Superior-grade HP Potions, a skill scroll and this!"
Yura showed me the item he had acquired: A black, eerie staff with a moving eyeball attached to the head of the stick and a sharp, pointy spear-like blade at the other end of the staff.
"What in the world is that?" I questioned.
"It's called the Eye of the Accursed. As you can see, it's a staff. Perfect for a Magician like you, Miss Yoru. Here. You can have it."
That thing looks cursed! No, wait. Let me reiterate that: It's most definitely cursed!
"Are you sure?"
"Yes! It's thanks for helping me with the quest and accompanying me in mapping out the forest. Please, take it."
With eyes that sparkled with gratitude and adorableness, there was no way I could ever say no to Yura.
Crap. It's like dealing with Hikari again. Curse me and my weakness to cute things!
"Thank you, Yura." I said and reluctantly accepted the staff, as I'd felt that there was no need for him to express his gratitude like this to begin with.
Which is why I figured I should give Yura something in return. And I knew just the item to give him.
"And for my thanks to you for sharing with me some intel, here's a gift from me. Please, take it." I presented my Ritual Dagger of the Accursed.
Yura expressed a look of shock as he stared blankly at the weapon with his jaws dropped.
"N-No. I can't. The intel I'd share with you was to repay the favour for saving me from The Jackson. I can't possibly take such a good weapon."
This is a good weapon? Well, I guess the chance of applying Curse onto opponents is pretty good.
Which is why exactly why the dagger is more suited for him than me.
"It's alright, Yura. I don't really use this dagger anyways. If you don't want to accept it as a token of gratitude from me, think of it as my way of getting rid of it through you. How about that?"
"Oh, umm........ Well, if that's what Miss Yoru wants then... I guess I'll accept it. Thank you for the dagger, Miss Yoru."
"You're welcome. And thank you for the staff."
Now let me see its stats for a bit.
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[Eye of the Accursed]
Physical Damage +20
Magical Damage +60
Quality: Rare
Effect(s): [+20 VIT, +20 INT], [When equipped, non-attribute magic skills have a chance of applying [Paralysed] if hits target]
(Status Effect - Paralysed: Movement becomes disabled for 3 seconds)
This staff was once used to perform forbidden rituals. It is said to be cursed with the souls of the sacrificed. Screaming and wanting to be let out. Or that could just be the person in your basement.
Equippable by: [Magician] / [Cleric]
Equippable slot(s): [Weapon 1]
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Well, there's no basement in my house. So it's probably the souls I hear screaming.
But the question is: Should I equip it?
Staff of the Elite which I have equipped now increases my overall damage output. On the other hand, Eye of the Accursed gives me a chance to stun my enemies for a few seconds if its effect lands.
One is obviously better than the other, which makes it more optimal for me to stick with the current staff I have on hand. However, the Eye of the Accursed staff looks way cooler in terms of design, despite its creepiness.
So let's equip it for now. If I don't like it, I can always revert back to the Staff of the Elite.
"What do you think, Yura?" I asked, holding the weapon he gave me in my hand.
"You look cool, Miss Yoru! You look like an evil witch from some manga I'd read, just from the weapon you hold alone."
"Is that so? Thank you.... I guess?"
"Yes! You're welcome. Oh! I should equip the dagger Miss Yoru gave me as well." Yura said, unequipping one of his daggers and equipping the Ritual Dagger of the Accursed instead.
Now he has a normal-looking dagger in one hand, and a cursed one in the other. So mismatched.
"Hee Hee~"
Oh no....
"Umm, Miss Yoru, I think we should—"
"Yeah. It's time to run, Yura. I'm not dealing with that goat demon even if I can beat it."
And so, the both of us quickly make dash for—
"Hee Hee~"
"Huh?"
No way...
"Miss Yoru. Just now... that 'Hee Hee' was from the same Jackson, wasn't it?"
"No.... No no no no no nooo....."
That was most definitely not the same Hee Hee.
While caught off guard by the second voice as we were about to run, the Jackson who Hee-Hee'd first made its appearance before us. It was the very same one which I had run into before and defeated it solo.
But then, came another one. The white variant of The Jackson that was chasing Yura earlier has made its presence known on our backs.
Unlike the Jackson that appeared first, the white variant only has two eyes, but has four arms instead. Its appearance is just as scary-looking as its cousin, and they share the same sadistic-looking grin as the both of them stare at us.
We have been completely ambushed.
"Yura, take on the black one. I'll support you as much as I can while I face the white one."
"Wait, huh? Miss Yoru. Don't tell me we're going to fight them!?"
"Do you see any other options then? They have trapped us in a pincer attack. If dying is not an option, then we'll have to fight. So get ready, Yura. They're coming."
"R-Right!"
""Hee Hee~""
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Field Boss: The Jackson
LV: 23
A monstrous pet of an Umbra Lord that roams around the lake in the Shade Forest. Before encountering this absolute nightmare, it will make a peculiar laugh upon spotting its new prey and approach them from behind, as it loves surprises and relishing on its target's fear, before devouring them whole with pleasure. That is even more so the case when their prey are children.
Beware of its sharp claws and swift kicks. Despite how big the creature is, it is fast and ferocious and will show no mercy in tormenting its foes.
Basically, run the hell away from this thing because who the heck in the design team made this nightmare goat monster!? My daughter plays this game, you know!
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Field Boss: The Jackson (White)
LV: 24
Another monstrous pet of an Umbra Lord that is white in colour and also slightly stronger. Before encountering this absolute nightmare, it will make a peculiar laugh upon spotting its new prey and approach them from behind, as it loves surprises and relishing on its target's fear, before devouring them whole with pleasure. That is even more so the case when their prey are children.
Beware of the flurry of attacks from its four arms. It can hit hard and smack people around like a fly. Showing no mercy in tormenting its prey before killing them.
Basically, run the hell away from this thing too! Because who the heck created another one of these!? One was enough, you jackasses!
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