153 -) 21st Floor (1)
Year 1452, month 09, day 10
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Race: Crimson Hurricane
Sex: None
Status: Normal
Level 21
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There stood 5 hovering enemies named Crimson Hurricane. They looked just like the Cores from the 11th floor to the 20th floor. The only difference is that their sphere-shaped bodies are covered by crimson colored blaze that moves around their core.
However, if someone doesn’t know, they can easily confuse them with Fire Hues. Someone has to know them well or inspect them in detail to notice, or they will understand after the fight begins, which might be too late.
They are the Cores that can use both the fire element and the wind element simultaneously. They use wind to move their bodies around, but they also use fire to decrease the air density in front of them, so they can move faster than wind hues.
As for attack, they can attack both fire and wind, but their ultimate attack shows itself when both are combined. They gather the fire element before attacking, just like the fire hues, but they then expand and make it more flammable by using the wind element. So the attack became much more deadly if it hit directly.
It would be hard and take a lot of time to get rid of them for a normal party, but we are relatively safe. We are currently: I as Joker, Wyn as mostly a decoy, Woya is the frontier assaulter, and Elaris is the main damage dealer.
The way we fight against them is like training. I generally stay out of the fight but give commands or directives. Wyn uses her agility to attract the attention and avoid the attacks, plus she tries to get in and deliver some damage as soon as she sees any opening.
Woya uses those commotions to use her heavy and precise attacks to finish enemies. She can even use the side of her long sword to defend herself when she is caught up in attacks. That must be a talent she had gained thanks to her previous shield usage.
As for Elaris, she just shoots from afar. All she has to do is avoid getting too close so she doesn't get swept in, and she should not be too far away to not be able to hit properly. Her job tier is not that high, so she would not be getting much support from it, but she has quite a bit of experience.
“Let’s start,” I said with a nod and unsheathed my sword from my back.
As soon as they heard me, the girls took action. Wyn dashed forward, and Woya followed suit. I slowly moved behind them so I would not be so far away that I would not be able to help. As for Elaris, she was already in a place where she could aim well.
The crimson hurricanes noticed the girls and started to aim at them. As soon as the hovering cores started moving, Wyn changed her direction, where she was running straight toward the cores to the side. So the cores that were focusing on her turned their sides and backs toward us.
The crimson hurricanes are fast, giving time, even faster than wind hues. So one has to take them in one assault. Thanks to Wyn's distraction, Woya could get close to one of them, but it was still not enough. So Elaris had to help.
Before the closest core could notice and react, Elaris aimed and hit it with an arrow. The core’s surface cracked, and it stopped moving for a second. That was enough time for Woya to finish it. So she enlarged her steps with fervor and launched a wide swing from above.
The core had no time to collect itself, so it met the destructive force and was divided into two, with some small parts scattered around. That dropped the enemies’ number to four. It also made them aware of Woya’s existence.
Two of the remaining enemies turned toward Woya and started circling her, while the other two did the same around Wyn. Wyn was running around and dodging attacks while her swords were sheathed. She had been looking for an opening, and it appeared as soon as some of the enemies turned their attention away from her.
She avoided the cores who were aiming at her and rushed toward the ones that were circling Woya. The one she aimed at was still not close, but the direction it was moving was toward her. So she ran toward the expected intersection.
It was easy for wind elements to move fast, but that also made it harder for them to change course. So the moment it noticed Wyn, it was already too late for it. Wyn took out both of her swords before she was close enough and hit the core from above.
The core was already trying to get away before the attack connected, so the blow made it jump forward. If it were to go like that, the core would only be damaged heavily, but not completely broken. However, she pushed herself with the core and pushed down her sword on the core until it could not get away to leverage herself with it, so she managed to catch its speed.
The core was still in the range of her other sword, so she did not wait and swung her left sword. The already damaged core was cut in half from the side. The horizontal cut connected with the previous vertical half cut and divided the core into three main parts before it turned into dust.
Meanwhile, the other crimson hurricane that was circling Woya was harassing her. She could not get close to it easily, and even when she managed to do so, the core hastened itself by focusing both of her elemental abilities on its movement. Woya could mostly dodge or use her sword to block its attacks.
However, Elaris was eyeing the right moment to attack it. The core took many turns around Woya, and when it was at its farthest from Elaris, Woya rushed toward its directed point and managed to close the gap.
The core used the fire element to soften the air in front of it to lessen friction that would slow down its movement and focused all of its abilities on moving instead of attacking Woya. That happened at the point where its direction of movement was toward Elaris.
So when it maxed its speed, it could only move toward Elaris. At that point, it was not much different from a standing object for a shooter. Elaris just had to release the arrow she had been pulling back to hit it.
Woya could not catch it, but continued to pursue it as she was certain of Elaris’s ability. She wanted to finish the crimson hurricane as she did just now. She readied her sword as soon as she noticed that Elaris let the arrow go. However, there was no need for her to take any action.
Elaris readied her arrow enough to cause more damage than normal, and the target was stable enough to be pierced directly. But most importantly, it was moving at top speed, so it was like the core just headbutted the arrow. The arrow pierced its body through and bounced toward the side while the core’s pieces scattered.
Woya was taken aback for a moment, but smiled at the sight as if she were proud of Elaris. Then she turned around and rushed to help Wyn. There were 2 cores remaining.
Wyn was still keeping those two remaining cores at bay and dodging their attacks skillfully. It was rather easy since only one of them was constantly attacking, meaning that the other one was preoccupied with something.
I wanted to step back, but given the situation, I decided to step in. When I was taking action, Elaris and Woya were preoccupied with the core they had last defeated, so an arrow to deflect it was out of the question. The crimson hurricane that was not attacking Wyn was preparing a fireball attack, and I was sure that it would strengthen the attack with the wind element.
It would be a strong blow if it hit Wyn. It wouldn’t kill her right away, but it was still dangerous. Even though I could restore her to her original state thanks to my healing ability and potions, there was no need to take the risk and make the girl suffer.
I cast a stone bullet, and when Wyn was just between me and it, I launched the attack. Since it was casting a spell toward Wyn, the spell it was casting was forming in front of its body. So the bullet first disturbed the formation of the fire and dispersed it, then hit the core with a ‘Thud!’
The core was badly damaged, and a part of its surface collapsed inward. The core could no longer function and fell to the ground. I thought it would disappear, but it started to soar again, albeit hardly.
It could not even glide properly, and only a bit faint wind element hue could be seen around it. Woya, who was rushing to aid Wyn, was close by and destroyed its remaining body with ease, like crushing an insect.
Only one of them remained. So it was like catching a mouse. Wyn tried to corner it between herself and Woya, and when it ran toward Woya, she tried to finish it with a precise strike.
However, since it was not fast enough to make it unable to change direction easily, it slipped away from her attack by a hair's breadth, but Elaris’s arrow managed to hit it afterward, although it was only from the corner of its body.
Fortunately, the blow made it lose its balance, and it was enough for Wyn to catch it. She immediately launched a stab, and it pierced the same spot where Elaris also hit. With that, the last one was dealt with.
I looked around and saw that the tension around the girls had eased. Wyn looked a bit tired as sweat was covering her face and neck. Woya was in rather good condition as she was collecting the coins dropped. Elaris was massaging her right hand to circulate the blood.
Woya brought back and handed me 11 silver and 50 copper Obscura coins. Every crimson hurricane dropped 2 silver and 31 copper coins, so 5 of them should have dropped 10 silver and 155 copper coins. Since 105 copper coins would meld into 1 silver coin when they are brought close enough, and I have no reason to prevent them from melding, it turned out to be 11 silver and 50 Obscura coins total.
“Good job, girls,” I said with a smile.