Chapter 256
There are many ways to defeat Azhdaha in FBO—from orthodox methods to clever tricks and even meme strategies that make you question your sanity.
Given our current strength, a straightforward, head-on battle is out of the question. That narrows our options, and the key to victory lies in meticulously crafted, unconventional tactics.
Even for such clever, trick-based combat, fundamental strength—level—is essential.
After three additional days...
Six days in total. As stats improve, combat efficiency increases, allowing for more experience gain.
"With this, Class 5 leveling is complete."
Checking my status, I see the max level for Class 5 has been reached.
"Finishing with a Class 7 boss monster is so like Liberta."
The final leveling push came from the Player Dungeon boss, Inshuraider—a divine-like boss enshrined as a sacred object.
Size-wise, it's as large as the Great Buddha of Nara, but it was a formidable foe with none of the Buddha's gentleness.
Its combat style involves sitting centrally, summoning Players around it, and fighting as a stationary turret—buffing and healing its minions while attacking with magic.
Ranged combat would be tough, but I'd never let that happen. By drawing the minions toward Amina, we exploited its magic-oriented stat weakness, leaving the main body exposed.
Since two Golems, Lady Esmeralda, and the Turtle Golem couldn't fully block the attacks, Ingrid used Perfect Clean early on to wipe out the minions and reduce pressure. After that, it was a full-on beatdown by me, Nell, and Claudia.
High magic defense but low physical defense. Barriers were a hurdle, but breaking through them wasn't an issue.
Once on the main body, it was a straightforward punching bag—though normally, mutual healing and barrier deployment would make it arduous.
By having Ingrid handle the minions first, we avoided that.
"Phew, I'm not used to feeling so drained."
Claudia's Heavenly Fist enabled a swift, overwhelming victory.
I approached her as she checked her body, its capabilities drastically reduced after the effect wore off.
"Shall we escape after the recoil subsides?"
"No, we just need to leave now. It's fine."
The treasure chest was silver.
As Nell and Amina ran to open it, I noted that Class 5 leveling was done, and it was time to move to the next phase.
This enemy had obvious physical weaknesses, but Azhdaha wouldn't be so foolishly designed.
I have various strategies in mind for Azhdaha, but one stands out as the best.
"Shall we head to the escape magic circle then?"
"Yes."
The method to defeat Azhdaha, nicknamed "Delicious Kabayaki" even in the Goddess of Wisdom's prophecy—the Skewer Kill technique.
"Which dungeon are we tackling next?"
"For Class 5 skill slot acquisition and skill gathering, plus preparation for Rainy Devil and Azhdaha, I want to run several dungeons. At this stage, I'm hesitant to leave it to anyone but high-ranking spirits."
"Indeed, enemy strength increased significantly at Class 6. The danger will only escalate from here."
"We'll let high-ranking spirits handle safely farmable dungeons, but we'll tackle the riskier ones ourselves."
Several items are needed for this, so we must prepare them alongside leveling.
"What's needed?"
"For skills, from Class 5 to 8, we can acquire 4 slots each at Classes 5 and 6, and 5 each at Classes 7 and 8—totaling 18 slots. Simply put, we need that many skills."
"...Considering my current empty skill slots, that's an enormous number."
"Some skills come from jobs, so not all require scrolls, but scroll gathering is essential. I don't want to face Rainy Devil, let alone Azhdaha, with empty skill slots."
Skills are the top priority. Their presence or absence creates a vast gap in combat capability.
Realizing the immense effort required to acquire and develop so many skills, Claudia placed a hand on her forehead and sighed.
"Out of curiosity, how many dungeons do you plan to run to fill my skills?"
"For you, Claudia, twenty in total—plus job-acquired skills."
"Will you keep running until they drop?"
"Of course. We'll farm while raising skill proficiency. Ideally, I'd want rare skills from ancient equipment via Mimics, but that'll wait until Class 9."
Fortunately, Nell has Fortune's Summoning, so it shouldn't be too grueling.
Once daily, considering recast time—about twice every three days?
Factoring in dungeon runs while gathering skills for everyone, roughly estimated...
"It should take about four months. This is a rough estimate since luck is involved, so there might be variance... Well, since we're leveling simultaneously, it might take longer?"
With good luck, we could progress quickly, but skill scrolls are rare drops. Thanks to Nell's luck, they've been dropping smoothly, but normally, it takes multiple runs to get one.
The dungeons range from lower to higher levels.
Some dungeons drop multiple scrolls, but generally, one dungeon per scroll is needed.
There are common skills, but given the quantity required, time is never enough.
Four months is an optimistic estimate assuming smooth progress.
"Since spirits will handle safe dungeon runs for scrolls, might it take less time? Or if drops are scarce, longer?"
On top of that, we're simultaneously gathering materials for weapons and items against Azhdaha and Rainy Devil.
Since spirits handle the safe ones, reducing about 60% of the effort, four months is a rough estimate.
"Liberta, is this skill usable?"
While I was planning this dark, grinding hell, Nell pulled a scroll from the treasure chest.
Huh? She didn't use Fortune's Summoning, so why did it drop?
This boss drops two healing and two barrier skills.
"Long Heal... Claudia, please learn this."
"Understood."
This time, the most versatile heal, Long Heal, dropped—one of the four.
Regular Heal has a touch-range—only effective within arm's reach.
But Long Heal has a max range of 50 meters, essential for healers.
The extended range costs more MP, but healing allies from afar is incredibly useful.
Given our leveling speed, I wanted to save Fortune's Summoning for tomorrow's dungeon, but Nell dropping a useful skill without it—she's amazing.
"So, 23 left?"
"What are you referring to?"
"The number of skills we need to acquire in the spirit world. At Class 8, skill slots become 32, and Liberta intends to fill them all."
"32... I currently have 8 skills, meaning I need 24 more."
"I need 21."
"And I... let's see, 1, 2, 3... 10 total, so... 22?"
"I require 20."
"And I also need 20, so the total is 130."
But we need that luck 131 more times. Even Nell might not manage that, though I have a feeling she'll pull it off effortlessly.
"I understand an enormous number of scrolls is needed. How long will it take?"
"An estimated four months."
"Just four months? For this many skills?"
"It's reasonable to doubt, but with Nell's luck and Liberta's knowledge, it might be possible."
That works for me too.
Since we also want to acquire unique skills along the way, four months is an optimistic, best-case scenario.
"The hard part is after acquiring the skills—we must develop them. Skills are useless untrained, so we'll max out all skills we get here."
"...You'll train over 20 skills?"
"Absolutely."
Lady Esmeralda is shocked by the number of scrolls needed, so I warn her about the hell that awaits.
We're already short-handed and below the recommended level.
Normally, not fully training skills would be extremely dangerous.
With a smile, I say, "What comes next is hell," and explain it's a prerequisite for victory. I see cold sweat trickle down Lady Esmeralda's neck.
"Don't worry, just equip training bracers on both hands and spam the same skill repeatedly. They'll develop easily."
"I won't be fooled!! It's the repetition that's grueling!!"
Some skills level up easily, while others have poor efficiency and slow rotation.
Plus, skills like Nell's Gold Smash only gain proficiency under specific conditions.
Well, all the skills we're getting can be maxed out, so I understand Lady Esmeralda's despair.
"Doing it now will make the future easier. When we return, barely anyone will be able to defeat you, Lady Esmeralda."
"Class 8 beings are legendary. The Duke would be shocked if his daughter returned as one."
"Shocked wouldn't begin to cover it."
But this is an unavoidable path.
If we aim to build the strongest characters, this is necessary.
"He might have a heart attack from surprise."
"...Probably not that, but his jaw might drop."
We joke and chat lightheartedly now, but I have a feeling I'll see Lady Esmeralda with dead eyes later, grinding skills.