"We're not known for our damage prowess, but some of us can actually dish it out." ~Synthia Mara, Guiding Zodiac, a friend to Shallies

Yoshelle had encountered Thrush'ven Alir only once before. Back then, Thrush'ven Alir's landfall had been in a remote desert, which created a complicated transformation in the place's ecosystem. But since there had been no local natives living there, they had been saddled with one less layer of decision making to consider.

She had been a fresh Hero Class holder back then, and had possessed very minimal raid experience. Naturally, she had been enlisted as a part of the sub-raid, but with a special exception due to her status as the guild heir. She had been permitted to participate in the preliminary waves of monsters before the actual raid opened and The Great Storm fully on the horizon.

Now, on her second battle against this perpetual storm that was one of the guild's main adversaries, Yoshelle found herself leading her comrades against the first wave. In the back of her mind, she felt inadequate to do so.

It wasn't a constant feeling, she realized. It had been more of a recent thought that had formed in her mind as they had made their way towards the Rift.

She hadn't forgotten about Shallies' mana pressure.

That, without a doubt, had made her feel lacking. The Guiding Star had warned her about it, but even then, Yoshelle couldn't help the feeling that she had spent her entire life practicing something incomplete.

If only I got to train it early like those three…

Her mind went to Grace, Tayin, and Ren. They were exceptional people, and they were being given the best training one could ever hope for.

No… People couldn't even imagine the amount of training they were getting. The amount of levels they had gained in such a short span of time, the meditation technique, the Food Buffs they were getting, and the benefits of getting connected with Godkiller Bernadette. No one would ever expect the things they were getting in their mentorship.

Yoshelle admitted to feeling a bit of envy. She was frustrated with herself for feeling that way, but she couldn't help it. So she sent all her frustrations out towards the flame incarnations in front of her.

Sharp Cyclones erupted in the middle of the flaming mob, cleaving through great numbers. The Spell was a fusion of water, wind, and sharp mana. And with Multicast, she summoned five of them at once.

It ate a significant part of her mana reserves, which activated Spell Shield and Mana Recoup at the same time. The former provided her with a barrier that could handle an amount of beating proportionate to her mana spent. And the former returned a percentage of her mana spent.

Her Spell was accompanied by a great number of other Spells that cleaved through the fiery army. But no matter how many of them they killed, another flaming creature took each one's place.

Yoshelle already knew that their mission was to hold on. They had already sent information back to the headquarters, and reinforcements would arrive within half an hour.

The initial wave of Thrush'ven Alir telegraphed the difficulty of the raid that would follow. So it was paramount that they held on and properly gauge the amount of enemies that would appear. And since a Rift was involved, forcibly being opened ever slightly by The Great Storm, they would have to calculate the amount of enemies that wouldn't be able to push through.

It's a boon that we're dealing with them through the Rift. We can hold them.

But Yoshelle had to admit that they just didn't have enough firepower against fire-type monsters. Though they had brought with them a way to handle every likely possibility, and even some unexpected ones, no one actually expected an entity of water, air, and lightning, to mainly only produce fire.

It was putting them on the backfoot. Their initial clash after the ranged combat had taken a number on them. None dead, as far as she knew, but a few were injured and had to be taken to the back.

Laika and the other vanguards were doing a great job keeping the monsters contained preoccupied, and their supports had created a wide surround to prevent the fires from spreading. This combination helped keep the commotion in place without putting any risks to the people containing the fire. With one less thing to worry about, the main army could focus on fighting the monsters properly.

Krevan and a few others were dealing with surgical strikes, pinpointing troublesome monsters and disrupting them before anyone could notice. Whenever they had the chance, they would try to kill them as well, but it was proving to be easier said than done. Regardless, their constant interruption ensured that the main army wouldn't suffer from any sudden attacks that could break their formation.

But even with all of these working in unison, the sheer number of monsters appearing from the Rift was quickly becoming uncontrollable.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

We can't kill them faster than they're appearing.

Suddenly, multiple sparkling stars appeared in front of the fiery army. Yoshelle blinked, unable to believe her eyes.

Every adventurer who did dungeons on the regular would eventually encounter someone who would use the Dancing Star Spell. It was a Star Gazer staple. By pinpointing a location, the Class holder could make a small star appear. When struck by anyone else other than the target, specks of cosmic mana beams would hit the same place, causing additional damage to the target.

Every experienced adventurer could recognize if a Dancing Star Spell was used correctly. Experts of the Skill would pinpoint weak spots at the right moment, guiding others while significantly amplifying their damage potential.

But Yoshelle had never seen so many stars appearing at once.

There were more stars than she would see in the night sky. Every one of the monsters had more stars on them than she could count in a glance. Some were even struck as they appeared during the melee, erupting and peppering the poor monster with holes.

"Stop gawking and hit them!"

Yoshelle recognized the voice. But more importantly, she recognized the command. And the others did as well. Almost in unison, every member of the guild unleashed their most widespread attacks. It didn't matter how strong the Skills involved were, all that mattered was that not a single Dancing Star was left untouched.

It was a massacre brought upon beams of starlight.

The Elemental Archmage had to cover her eyes, unable to engage her Constitution to protect them from the brilliance of the stars devouring the flames. Smoke made a cloud above them, pushed away by a flying phoenix. Everyone was still recovering when Shallies suddenly appeared in front of them.

"Get ready," she said, pulling down her hood. "The big one's coming."

Shallies wanted to lean hard on Yoshelle's assumption about her being favored by Godkiller Bernadette. She also wanted to point out that she couldn't finish the enemies all on her own, unlike what she would've done had she not been hiding her true identity.

Still, that was probably a little too much…

She dared not let it show on her face, acting like it was a typical thing for exceptionally gifted adventurers to perform like she had. It also helped that there was now a giant flame elemental Boss monster emerging out of the Same-Plane Rift.

"Lavashifter," she said, identifying the monster. "Anyone who doesn't have Greater Fire Resistance, ping me now."

Her voice carried throughout the group, creating an echo that didn't sound harsh or shouting. People were hesitant to follow, since she was a stranger. Some might not have even identified it was her that did the numerous Dancing Stars. Though they were not the sort to arrogantly flaunt it, these were people who had a lot of pride in their work and their riches.

"Do as she says," Yoshelle ordered, using the same technique to echo her voice without sounding harsh.

Almost immediately Shallies received a number of pings. A simple touch of mana. Only a handful, and nothing to be alarmed about.

"Thanks," she said to the Elemental Archmage.

She reached out into her Class Inventory and retrieved the exact number of Greater Fire Resistance Potions, and threw them towards where the pings were coming from. There was no need to explain what the concoction exactly did, or for how long the effects would last.

They all showed her gratitude via a number of pings, which Shallies was already familiar with, having worked with them before through her other personas. Now, it was time to concentrate on the monster.

The Lavashifter flowed like actual lava. It was still emerging out of the Rift. While some might argue that this was the perfect time to attack the monster, it would incur a certain risk to the Rift that might complicate things. Despite the portal being at the center of conflict, the people and the monsters weren't directly aiming at it. Aiming too close, as a monster was emerging, might trigger those unexpected problems.

It was a good thing The Gaiamaxims Guild were full of experienced adventurers.

Parts of the monster's body dripped and melted the ground, spreading fire everywhere. It was huge. Larger than Gar, larger than a noldzwjak. It was roughly somewhere as large as the kraken Grace and the others had defeated a few days ago.

But this one, though the guild members of Gaiamaxims didn't know, came from The Great Conflagration Reality. Its capabilities were vastly higher than a normal Dungeon Boss. Fortunately enough, they knew this second part. Though they might not be a full raid group, and though they were only meant to hold the line, they were still prepared for a boss fight.

"Can't you surround it with those Dancing Stars again?" Yoshelle asked.

"Can only do it once a day," Shallies said. Though it was a lie, a few gifted Guiding Stars around her level could actually do what she had done earlier, with the actual limitations. "Had to channel my star with that one."

"I don't think we have enough people."

Out of the thirteen vanguards that Shallies had counted, only six remained standing. The rest were injured and had to be taken away. Ranged damage dealers were still a dozen, out of the fifteen that had come. Melee combatants were fewer, only six out of the twenty-three that had arrived were still standing. But all the eight healers were still present. And then there were the twenty non-combatants making a wide surround over the area to control the fire.

In total, including herself, Shallies counted thirty-three combat-ready adventurers facing off a Raid Boss. And with her incredibly subtle Scan, she estimated that they would need at least fifty Hero Class holders.

The odds were definitely not in their favor.

"How long till reinforcements?" Shallies asked.

"About twenty minutes," Yoshelle replied.

"I guess we'll try and contain it until then." Shallies observed the people around her.

Tapping into her Focus and Mana-Affinity, she gauged the strengths and mana reserves of each person present. The good thing about rich people was that they had an ample supply of Mana Potions. No one was even halfway their reserves. The bad thing, however, was that only a few of them valued versatility over specialization.

"Looks like you're the only Chronoadept in this group," she commented. "No one else here can trap an elemental."

"I don't think I can do that on my own," Yoshelle admitted.

Shallies appreciated her honesty. At the very least, there would be no need to make a debate.

"Then we have no choice but to and play with the thing." The Guiding Star nodded at the vanguards. "We'll do pincer lure formation."

Yoshelle's eyes widened. "Wouldn't that be risky? Lavashifters are known for suddenly exploding into bursts of speed. If we split the group apart, one side might get caught off-guard."

"Not if you constantly slow it down," Shallies argued. "You don't need to hold it in place, just make it slow so everyone can see what's happening."

This time, Yoshelle's face became horrified. "I don't have enough mana to slow it down for twenty minutes!"

"Oh you do," Shallies said, smiling. "I mean, I do."

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.