192: Reach for the Stars, Part Eighteen

Reach for the Stars, Part Eighteen

An hour passed. 

30 waves, 4 more minibosses. 

Oxygen: 50%

{Star Absorption: 79%}

By now, Neve's Angel Set had turned a dark green, mirroring the pool that covered the floor.

Like a pillar of light stretching to the heavens, the divine aura from Neve's sword cut through the muck around her. 

Now, as she waited for the next wave to begin, Neve took stock of the realizations she'd made over the course of this challenge. 

First of all, she likely got here a lot faster than she'd been intended to, given that the challenge was nearly over and her Oxygen had barely gone down. She could attribute that to a great many different things, of course. But, mainly, it seemed that Erin carrying her on her back and blazing through most of the Floor had a significant impact on this. 

The second realization she made was that, unlike the 2% absorption she got from regular waves, minibosses gave 5% absorption, which helped speed things up. 

And yet, even though she'd been training for hours every day, just one hour into this challenge, Neve's muscles were on fire. 

[No matter how much you train, the exertion just can't be compared to the real thing, huh?]

The next portal appeared, ready to bring the next set of guests for Neve to welcome. 

The healer looked at her mana. 

MP: 1300/1300 (+150% regen)

The lightheadedness she felt as she saw that number reminded her of the line she'd carved into her left wrist. Crimson blood dripped from her hand, swallowed by the deep green beneath. 

With her mana full, she healed herself with one cast of {Great Healing Dart}.

Five enemies appeared. All level 65. Three of them were the same chest-breathing abominations that had turned the floor like this, two were like overgrown, black grasshoppers, with eyes the size of Neve's head. 

Neve did not summon Erin. She hadn't summoned Erin in a while, actually. Instead, she held her sword out in front of her. 

With a silent mind, she waited for her opponents to step forward.

The grasshoppers were faster than their allies, stomping their way to Neve's position in the blink of an eye. 

Neve stepped back, firing off two {Fireballs} at the closest one.

MP: 1270/1300

It failed to see the spells coming and both spheres crashed into its body, stopping it in its tracks. 

Its ally continued, though, as Neve had hoped that it would. 

It lunged at her head-first, trying to bite down on the healer, only to catch a blade in one of its eyes. 

The grasshopper screeched. 

Blood spurted out, covering Neve's face.

The healer did not flinch. 

She did not slow down, either. Strafing to the right, she ran away from the other incoming threats. 

One of the antenna-bearing creatures prepared to try paralyzing her, but Neve kept her eyes in front of her as she ran. Inevitably, one of them caught up. Ducking under its claws, Neve turned her momentum around and drover her body into it, pushing her sword into its mouth. 

It came out the other side of the monster's body. 

[3 injured, 2 fresh,] Neve noted before ripping her sword out and resuming her run. 

Her heart pounded in her ears. The mindless beasts followed after her, paying no attention to the ones she'd wounded. With the two uninjured opponents right behind her, Neve halted her pace once again to deliver two quick cuts. 

The depth of the slashes didn't matter. All that mattered was that her blade kissed their bodies, and since it did, her job was mostly done. 

From here, it was a matter of running in circles until the enemies bled to death. 

It took some time, sure, and Neve had to spend 10 mana to heal herself every minute otherwise she'd bleed out too, but the strategy was effective, as the only way the severe Bleeding effect her sword applied could fade away was through healing, which these monsters had no access to. 

At least, not yet. 

[There's always a chance a monster comes in that can heal itself, or mages start popping up. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it, though.] 

The last of the monsters, the one Neve hadn't cut yet, only fell once all the others had died, and Neve could put all of her attention on it. 

One by one, the creatures were disintegrated. 

{Star Absorption: 81%} 

Neve slowly came to a halt, taking deep breaths as her minute-long break began. 

A message appeared. 

Trait Gained!

Relentless

{After surviving hundreds of battles, fighting has become second nature. The user no longer loses stamina during combat. Additionally, the user gains a small amount of Focus upon entering a battle and Endurance is increased by 10.}

Endurance: 60

[Focus, huh?] Neve thought. [What a weird concept. What does it mean? A "small" amount? Can you measure focus?] 

It felt like her break ended in the blink of an eye, as the next wave arrived in no time. 

Neve did not panic. She did not hesitate. 

Instead, as she saw 6 enemies appear this time, she put her sword out in front of her again. 

The thought of summoning Erin or even checking her mana didn't cross her mind. 

---

{Star Absorption: 91%} 

A monster fell in front of Neve. 

The healer glanced at it for just a couple of seconds before looking up at the star above. 

It had tripled in size. 

"Congratulations! You've nearly beaten the challenge, now-" 

Tamira had appeared. She began to speak but was cut off.

Because Neve threw her sword at her. 

Both the snake and the healer paused.1

It hadn't been a conscious move on Neve's part. The instant the snake appeared, her mind had registered her as just another monster, and Neve reacted the same way she would have if it had been a zombie that appeared. 

Tamira grinned. 

"... You've changed," she said proudly, almost like she was taking credit for that. 

Those words did more to unsettle Neve than any of the waves she'd fought leading up to this. 

"Anyway, you will now face the final fight of this challenge," Tamira informed her. All the while, Neve calmly went to pick up the sword she'd instinctively thrown. "It's a weakened version of the boss you would have faced if you'd taken the conventional road. So, don't bother saving up any mana, because this is it!" 

Tamira exited the room quickly, disappearing in a blink. 

Neve waited as the portal appeared in front of her. 

She looked down at her own hands. She couldn't keep them still. They'd start shaking if she tried. 

Shaking her head instead, she let them drop and watched as one last enemy appeared. 

It was a much, much larger version of the same enemies she'd been fighting all this time. A giant humanoid creature with a mouth on its chest and long, deadly limbs. However, aside from its size, it also differed in that it had many eggs on its back, lined up in parallel rows. 

Level 72

MP: 400/400

[Huh. So, she wasn't lying. It is a weakened boss. It's just 5 levels higher than me instead of the usual 10.] 

All that meant was that this was going to be over even faster than Neve suspected it would be. 

First, Neve cast {Field of Brilliance} 

Then, she summoned Erin in front of her. 

The lamia looked around, surprised by there being just one opponent this time. 

"This is the last enemy," Neve said. To her own ears, her voice sounded raspy, like she'd been running for two hours across a desert without a drop of water. 

"I see." 

Neve used both {Encourage} and {Bolstering Presence} as well, choosing to go through the entirety of her regular setup. 

The result was that this was, effectively, a fight between a level 72 monster and a somewhat snarky warrior princess whose stats were more so that of a level 90 fighter than the level 67 she showed. 

It was not close. 

Identifying them as weak spots, Erin went to the creature's back using {The Lamia's Hunt} and instantly raked her claws down the rows of eggs. 

The creature gave a cry so shrill Neve would have covered her ears if her hands weren't full. It was not given much of a chance to scream, however, as Erin then wrapped her body around it so that she could face it from the front. 

Once there, she stuck her hands in its mouth and grabbed its tongue. Pulling back with all her strength, she ripped it out, along with a few other parts of its body it was tied to. 

Guts spilled out onto the blood-covered ground. The monster fell back. 

Neve watched it die and an EXP message appeared. 

EXP Gained: 2500

EXP: 2690/680

Level Up!

WST Gained: 10000

WST: 22030

Another message appeared soon after that, as the monster's body disintegrated. 

{Star Absorption: 100%} 

{Challenge Cleared!} 

{Quest Completed!} 

IP Gained: 10

IP: 90

The barrier keeping them there was lifted. A portal appeared behind Neve. 

"Well... I would say that was easy, but I did not play much of a role in this, surprisingly," Erin said. "How long has it been since we started?" 

"An hour," Neve replied automatically. 

"An... Forgive me if I'm wrong but, it did not quite feel like I was fighting for an hour. Did you-"

"I did most of it myself, yeah," Neve replied, cutting her off before she could ask. 

"..." Erin paused, perhaps thinking of the best way to phrase her next question. All she came up with in the end, though, was: "Why?"

Hearing that, Neve looked down at her hands. 

They were still shaking. 

"I don't know," she lied. 

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