NOVEL NEXT Book 20: Chapter 3 (11)
“I’m saved.”
Shibaid muttered, looking at the burnt ruins a short distance away.
It was difficult to defeat it quickly without concentrating on the dolls and the main body.
But there was also a fake Cashmere here. She was better at controlling monsters, and it was easy for her to intervene in Shibaid’s and his group’s battles. Sety prevented that from happening. While Shibaid and the others were fighting, Sety escaped from the earthen wall.
Even now, Sety was completely preventing the most dangerous attacks from the fake Cashmere, leaving Tiera and Kagerou in charge of the summoned beasts that kept coming out one after another.
Contrary to her cute appearance, the way Sety unleashed magic with various effects gave off the impression of a veteran of battles.
Shibaid was even more determined that he still had a lot of training to do.
He called back his weapons from a distance and immediately went to join them.
“I made you wait!”
There was the sound of the wind breaking. An attack from out of sight.
Cashmere’s whip moved like a living creature within a certain range.
Shields alone could not protect against it. Attacks would come from everywhere except under the ground as soon as one entered Cashmere’s attack zone.
Shibaid, who excelled more in defense than in mobility, had no choice but to avoid places where he could be fatally wounded or where his actions would be hindered.
Against shields and armor, the whip would produce a cracking sound. The sound was not light; it was like a burst of air, like an explosion.
Shibaid’s legs trembled due to the weight of the blow. But he didn’t stop.
The further he advanced, the more intense the whip’s attacks became, but at the same time, the summoning speed of the monsters slowed down.
That meant that the attacks of Tiera and Sety, who were dealing with monsters, would be directed at the fake Cashmere.
The fake Cashmere was hit by a rain of arrows and fireballs, a mixture of physical and magical attacks.
However, the fake Cashmere was able to fend off all of them.
A wild dance of whip that looked like a barrier. However, even with such a high density of attacks, the more targets there were, the fewer moves could be directed at a single target. It was enough for Shibaid to break through the whip dance.
“Ohhhhhh!”
Shibaid’s voice was full of spirit. He let out a roar, which asserted his presence, to attract the fake Cashmere’s attention.
『Placid Moon』 had a shining effect when activating a skill. It was like he was announcing that he would unleash a big blow.
Perhaps sensing Shibaid’s strength, the fake Cashmere’s attack is focused on him.
“(Now!)”
At the same time as he shouted with 【Mind Chat】, he put his shield in front of him and strengthened his defense.
The 『Placid Moon』 effect was a fake. It was just one of the props to draw attention to himself.
Immediately after, an earthen spear grew from the ground. Small and sharp, it skewered the fake Cashmere from the knees down.
Even though it was a fake, it was still a High Human’s protective gear. It was Sety who attacked the fake Cashmere, piercing through it.
The power was completely different from before.
A follow-up attack was coming. Shibaid sensed this before Tiera’s 【Mind Chat】 reached him and activated his defensive skill.
Space distorted above the fake Cashmere’s head, who was distracted by the earthen spear.
Instantly, the fake Cashmere’s head melted, followed by the chest, arms, and stomach.
“I can’t see the fire, but it’s burning.”
A transparent flame with high viscosity. Shibaid had this impression.
But the firepower was terrifying. Both the equipment and the body melted before they could resist the flames.
Shibaid gasped at the heat he could feel even through the shield.
The surface of the 『Great Shell Shield of Collision』 was melting like butter roasted over a fire. The inside had not become brittle, but this was probably the worst damage this shield had ever sustained.
A skill Shibaid had never seen before. He decided to ask Sety later if this was another result of her research.
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(You’re fast for a fake.)
Filma, who left the fake Reed and the fake Cashmere to Shibaid and confronted the fake Cook, pondered while dodging the wild dance of the willow-blade knife at an open distance.
Although she did not intend to let her guard down because they were fakes, the barrage of blows they unleashed did not seem so different from the real Cook she remembered.
Filma was lucky that the two fakes were at a distance from each other, and she was able to create a one-on-one situation with Cook.
From magic power blast to sword skill, she used 『Scarlet Moon』 and let the propulsion force take over to get away from the other two fakes.
Still, she could not let our guard down as the opponent was sure to use long-range attacks.
The fake Cook’s body tilted slightly.
From a movement that seemed to fall, she instantly accelerated and came to hunt down Filma’s neck with a willow-leaf knife.
Even though she was blown away when the magic power blast was stopped, it wasn’t a huge distance for the fake Cook.
Filma flicked the first blade close to the handle of the 『Scarlet Moon』 and then deflected her upper body to the right as if she were sliding.
A small spark scattered from her left gauntlet, and a high-pitched metallic sound rang out.
She could feel her own HP decreasing. Some of the damage went through the armor’s defense. It was a tactic that Cook used against heavily armed players and opponents with hard outer shells.
The fakes also imitated skills.
The fake Cook used Filma’s 『Scarlet Moon』 blade to conceal her own willow-leaf knife and wielded a second blade.
Furthermore, she mixed her attack with illusionary skills, making it difficult to dodge even if Filma knew what the fake was doing.
Even if Filma factored in the performance of her equipment to her status, she would not be able to instantly nullify the hallucinations caused by high-level monsters and players like High Humans.
The only way to reach that realm was to change her race.
Filma switched her thinking to the futility of thinking about what she could not do and turned on the offensive herself.
Fortunately, the fake Cook’s willow-leaf knife could not completely break through the defense of Shin’s masterpiece, the 『Hollow Lacquer Series』. She decided it would be better to focus on her attacks while protecting her vital points.
“If it were a copy from its heyday, it probably wouldn’t be like this.”
Based on the attack speed, power, and weapon performance, Filma was convinced that the fake Cook’s abilities and equipment were below their peak. That’s why she could be a little reckless.
Filma swung 『Scarlet Moon』 sideways in a firm and slightly upward motion.
Because of the close distance, it hit the fake Cook, but no damage was done because a willow-leaf knife caught the 『Scarlet Moon’s』 blade as she jumped back from the spot.
However, the fake Cook’s body was suspended in the air due to the recoil from receiving Filma’s blade without dodging it.
As the power-increasing effect of the swordsmanship martial arts skill 【Heavy Slash】 was used when swinging the 『Scarlet Moon』, the greater the sword speed and centrifugal force, the greater the power.
The effect diminished with the sword swing becoming more concentrated, but it was enough to lift the slender fake Cook into the air.
Before the fake Cook could react, Filma let go of the 『Scarlet Moon』 on the spot and fully released the armor’s magic power blast. Considering the opponent’s strength, just putting her in the air was not enough to create an opening.
Filma chased after the fake Cook and moved directly under her.
As soon as she stopped moving, she used her leg strength to make an emergency braking maneuver, and then fired her magic power blast again. She flew toward the fake Cook.
It was a ridiculous move, using her physical strength and equipment to change her trajectory almost at right angles.
The fake Cook also tried to move by using her skill to create a foothold in the air.
However, Filma was faster because of the magic power blast’s assistance.
She grabbed each arm holding the willow-leaf knives and performed a knee kick.
Barahanded/Lightning combination skill 【Thunder Kick】.
The skill that covered both legs with lightning was focused on a single point on Filma’s knee, and slammed into the fake Cook’s solar plexus.
The thunderbolt bursted, and the sound and impact spread throughout the surrounding area.
Even while attacking, she did not cut off the magic power blast. The overwhelming propulsive force carried the two into the sky while she was still in the position of delivering a knee kick.
The fake Cook’s body shook as she was hit in the abdomen by the 【Thunder Kick】 with the acceleration from the magic power blast.
Filma was sure that the fake Cook had been paralyzed, as she felt the arms in her grasp and saw the fake Cook drop her weapon.
Filma deactivated the 【Thunder Kick】 and left the fake Cook to rise further.
The distance of the two, after two seconds of unleashing magic power blast, was approximately five mels.
Filma suddenly rotated while reaching out her hand as if to grab something. She turned off the magic power blast for a moment and changed the direction of her movement downward.
“Come!”
At the same time as the shout, 『Scarlet Moon』 appeared in her hand.
The re-ignited magic power blast propelled Filma toward the earth.
The destination was the fake Cook, whose paralysis was being lifted. The reason why the status abnormality was not immediately lifted was probably due to the copying.
Filma was only a few seconds away.
The blade of the 『Scarlet Moon』 was glowing red. The skill that carried the weapon’s weight and the propulsive force from the acceleration blasted into the fake Cook.
Swordsmanship martial arts skill 【Gigas Blade】.
The fake Cook received the 『Scarlet Moon』’s blade using her trembling arm as a shield.
However, the red glowing blade did not stop, and the fake Cook was cut vertically in two. After a few more seconds, the fake Cook’s split body exploded from inside.
The 【Gigas Blade】 inflicted additional damage to the target hit by the slash, ignoring defense. The fake Cook popped due to not being able to withstand the power of the additional damage.
(Schnee is――!!)
Filma confirmed that the fragments of the fake Cook had melted away and disappeared and quickly turned her gaze to where Schnee was.
Including her, Shibaid, Tiera and the others were successfully fighting one by one against the fake. Schnee, however, was different. Even if they were not copies of their prime, it would be dangerous for Schnee to simultaneously take on two High Humans.
When Filma saw Schnee, she immediately activated her magic power blast.
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