190: Reach for the Stars, Part Sixteen

Reach for the Stars, Part Sixteen

Before Neve could get started with her planning, she needed to ask one more question. 

[Tamira, how much time do I get in between waves?]

"One minute," Tamira answered. "I suggest you use it wisely." 

"Okay, Erin, listen up," Neve said, as she walked over to the lamia. 

She went over everything Tamira had said. Naturally, she tried to do so as quickly as she could, given that they only had an hour to prepare themselves. Even Erin seemed surprised at the challenge they were about to undertake. 

"An endless battle, eh? Well, I suppose now you must be quite glad we spent 8 hours a day training over the last two weeks." 

"Yeah, you could say that." 

Neve paced from one side of the arena to another. The floor, dark glass, showed her in its reflection, contemplating the matter. 

"But, what separates this from the other Survival Trial we did, back on the Third Floor, is that we actually do need to kill every enemy that comes after us," Neve told her. "Every enemy we kill gets absorbed by this thing up here," Neve said, pointing at the Artificial Star. "The objective is to kill enough enemies. I'm guessing the System will give me something to track our progress later." 

"So, we need to be more active during this? I see... Well," Erin put a fist under her chin as she pondered the situation. "I can likely kill quite a few of our enemies before I need to be resummoned again. I could do so, leave, and then you can just run around for some time before you summon me again. We rinse, we repeat, we profit." 

"Unfortunately, I don't think that's going to work," Neve replied. "My oxygen." 

"It's still a factor?" Erin asked with a raised brow. "I thought the System would remove that or something, for the purposes of this challenge." 

Neve shook her head. 

"It's 'removed' for now, while we strategize. Once the challenge actually starts, it'll start being consumed again. And, if it reaches 0, then I'll just die. That's it." 

All of a sudden, Erin looked far more worried than she had been earlier. 

"Stalling isn't an option, then. I see." 

"I'll still do it if I have to," Neve clarified, "but, yeah. This means that there's I'm going to be fighting most of the time. So," Neve clapped her hands together. "Got any tips for me?" 

---

The hour went by fairly quickly. 

There were only a few minutes left before the challenge began. 

Neve walked aimlessly, thinking about everything she and her summon discussed. 

[The enhancements I made leading into this, through {Reconstruction}, might end up being the reason I win. The Ring of the Prolific Mage now gives me +50% mana regen. Combine that with Rorvan's Spirit, which gives me a base amount of +25% regen even when I'm not injured, and if I cut my hand open or something to get it to a total of +100%, I can regain around 200 mana every minute or so. That means that this challenge would devolve into the following:] 

Neve looked over at her summon, who was watching her with no small amount of concern. 

[I summon Erin. She starts the fight, thinning down the number of enemies as much as she can, and then she disappears. I fight on my own for one minute, finish the wave off alone, and then I summon her again as the next wave is coming in. I can stay back when she's out, and regenerate some mana in that time too.] 

Neve looked down at her sword. 

[If these were swordsmen or knight-type enemies we were about to be fighting, I probably wouldn't stand a chance with just 48 Blade. I deal more than enough damage, since the sword scales mostly off Healing Magic and Arcane, but my lack of skill would get me killed against enemies who weren't mindless beasts in a challenge like this.] 

The fact was that she did not just have her sword to rely on, though. 

[My new {Fireball} deals 20% max HP damage. Against an enemy with no fire resistance, that means that five hits is a guaranteed kill. Five casts equals 50 MP, so that means 50 MP equals 1 kill. I wish {Fireball} was an AOE but, then, I guess it would be too OP.] 

Neve glanced over at Erin, who was taking a few practice swings with her claws. There was no humor on her face. Completely serious, she took deep breaths, looking down at her own hands. The hands Neve would be relying on. 

[At least she understands the gravity of the situation.] 

There was one final bit of preparation Neve needed to do. 

Going through her inventory, she looked at all of the potions she had. The ones she'd been saving up for special occasions. 

[No point in drinking them this early on. I'm better off just waiting till the challenge is about to end.] 

Neve's eyes fell on the priciest of the bunch. The {Tears of the Goddess}. 

[... No,] she thought. [If I die here, then, whatever. I don't mind that too much. If I live through this, though, I'll use it before I go into the 10th Floor.] 

Closing her Inventory, Neve held her weapons in her hands tightly. Her palms were moist. She almost felt like the weapons were threatening to slip and fall. 

Erin slithered over to her suddenly. 

"Quite the odds we're going up against, aren't we?" She asked, as her crimson irises almost burned a hole through Neve's head. 

"Yeah," Neve replied casually. "But, I think we have a decent enough plan. If we can't pull this off, I can't imagine anyone else being able to." 

"I agree..." Erin replied. 

Her blood-red eyes remained on Neve, long after she said those two words. 

Neve shifted a little uncomfortably. 

[Why the fuck is she staring at me like this?] 

Slithering forward, Erin entered Neve's personal space. 

"Uh... You okay?" Neve asked. 

Erin's response came in the form of a gesture. She leaned down and planted a quick, but firm kiss on Neve's lips. 

Neve's eyes widened. 

"Huh?" Neve asked, feeling breathless suddenly. 

"Given that there is a very real chance that this might be the end and that you might die while I'm not out in the field, which would result in my death as well, I figured I should take this moment to say something," Erin told her. "I like you quite a bit, Neve. Things got off to a rocky start between us, but at this point, I can safely say there's no one I would rather have had as my summoner. Should we both perish today, I just want you to know that the only thing I regret is that we didn't get to relax much, if at all throughout this journey since you were so determined and all... At the same time, that determination of yours did do wonders as far as charming me is concerned, so..." She shrugged. 

Neve looked away. 

Even now, it was difficult to reciprocate these feelings, but because they were all swallowed by the void resting where her heart should have been. 

Especially since her bloodlust had recently been reignited. Though it didn't burn too brightly just yet, it was there again, having found a new target. 

"Well, that's enough of that. Just wanted to get those words out," Erin said. "So, how long until we start?" 

"About 30 seconds," Neve replied quietly. "Let's get ready." 

"Understood." 

A sapphire orb appeared in front of them. Both women guessed this thing was going to become a portal, and stood before it. 

Neve first cast {Field of Brilliance} under herself, to enhance her spells.

MP: 1225/1300

She wasn't planning on casting it during every wave, as it was a costly ability, but she could cast it now just to make sure they got off to a good start. 

As the clock ticked on, she cast {Encourage} and {Bolstering Presence} on her friend, granting her even more power. 

MP: 1175/13002

Finally, Neve cut her left palm open, blood coming out and sliding down the shaft of her staff, before using {Rorvan's Spirit} to boost her mana regeneration. 

MP: 1125/1300 (+85% mana regen)

[That's good enough, for now. If I end up needing more, I'll cut my wrist open instead. Though, I will have to keep track of my blood loss.] 

The portal opened. 

Ten enemies appeared before them, all of which resembled the monster with a mouth on its chest that Neve and Erin had fought before. And, all of which were level 65. 

[Two levels under me? Okay.] 

Erin began the battle following the strategy she'd discussed with Neve. 

Activating {The Lamia's Hunt}, Erin dashed forward and used {Freezing Gaze}, paralyzing 6 of the 10 enemies present. 

Then, she used {Dragon's Divine Breath} to cover those paralyzed enemies in flames. 

The other four went to assist their allies, but Neve shielded their attacks through two casts of {Flash Shielding}. 

MP: 1075/1300

Doing so activated {Encourage} as well, increasing Erin's damage by 10%, which meant that Erin's damage was boosted by 35%, thanks to the 25% buff from the Divine Dragon Techniques passive.

{Note: Divine Dragon Techniques grant a 25% damage buff each until the end of combat}

Erin then used {Rorvan's Flurry}, just as her paralysis wore off on the first enemies she'd attacked. She only managed to get a few hits in before she missed an attack, which stopped the Technique, but that was enough to kill several enemies. 

As 10 seconds passed, she used {Dragon's Divine Call} Technique. 

Dragon's Divine Call

{Cooldown: 10 seconds} 

{Put forth a roar that shakes lesser foes to their core. Any enemies below your level will 

gain the {Fear} status effect.}

{Fear: Reduces Strength, Speed, and Precision by 10 each.} 

Unleashing a battle cry that felt like it came out of a monster four times Erin's size, all of the enemies around her were petrified. 

And, Erin swept through each creature like a mist of death, so quickly Neve could hardly keep track of her. 

With so many buffs stacked on top of each other, wiping this group of opponents out was child's play. 

Erin exhaled deeply as the last one fell. 

"One minute till the next wave, right?" 

"Yeah," Neve answered. "We can repeat this setup several times before I have to start fighting on my own. Provided that our enemies don't get any stronger than this." 

"How much progress did this make toward our goal?" Erin asked as the bodies were disintegrated, absorbed by the star. 

Curious as well, Neve looked up at it. 

{Star Absorption: 2%}

"..." 

"... I take it you did not see anything you liked?" Erin asked, a small amount of blood dripping from her claws. 

Neve turned toward her without a hint of satisfaction. Quickly, as she understood what this meant, Neve took her sword and added a shallow cut to her wrist. As blood poured out, she saw her mana regeneration be boosted to +100%. 

"We're going to be here for a while." 

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