Denkei's hands tremble as he counts the rows of Goblin and Elf soldiers that stretch as far as the eye can see. "This is a lot more than anything we faced earlier,"
Navar glances at Denkei, his expression full of reassurance. "Don't worry. It'll be okay."
Rojo leaps out of the way of the Ion bullet, a snarl of fury on his face as he locks eyes with Navar. "Of course, you'd say that since you started this whole thing!"
Seiju feels the tension in his arms as he pulls the string back, hearing the twang of the bow as two Flame JōKai arrows manifest onto it. "I guess sitting here getting mad won't get us out of this shit," Seiju releases the string, the two blazing arrows incinerating an approaching horde of enemies. "Flame Bow: Double Flame Shot!"
Denkei grasps his Mage stick and senses the heat of Seiju's attack on his skin, inflicting an idea upon him. "With this cold air in the room and the attack from Seiju causing the floor to heat a bit, I can create a couple of Mirages, which can create multiple forts to stymie the blasts," Denkei slams his Mage Stick into the ground, causing him to be surrounded by a multitude of Mirages of himself. "Magic Spell Alchemy: Multiple Barrier Walls!" Denkei's mirages use their mage sticks to trace intricate lines on the stone floor, summoning several walls to protect their allies from the relentless bombardment of ion blast bolts.
"All right! Nice job, Denkei!" says Navar.
Denkei collapses to the ground, his body heavy after performing the taxing magic spell. "I'm all out of JōKai right now. Can you guys handle this?"
"Of course!" says Navar
Pikati nudges Navar's shoulder, beckoning him to glance at him. "Navar, let me down so I can see enemies on the other side of the wall."
"Got it," Navar releases Pikati off his shoulder and, with a tremendous bound, sails over the wall and sprints toward the Goblins. Navar coats his body with JōKai Amplification to increase his speed, and with a powerful slash, he sends a horde of Goblins scattering. "Okayasu Blade: Brave Man's Slash!"
Miri, Astran, and Juyon spur into action after Navar's attack, taking advantage of the opening it had left.
Miri places two daggers in her ankle slots, then jumps on her hands, her legs twirling like a cyclone toward a group of soldiers. "Two Daggers Leg Variant: Fernir's Wrath!"
Astran coats her body in JōKai Amplification, and her sword cuts through the air with a sharp hiss. "Astraeus Disturbance!"
Juyon races toward the group of soldiers, his arms a blur of motion from JōKai Amplification. His arms move so fast that the air whistles around them, creating the illusion of multiple arms. "Mandruk Barrage!" Juyon furiously attacks the goblin and elf soldiers with a flurry of punches, eliminating the remaining enemies.
Navar wipes the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand and chuckles. "Wow, that went by a lot easier than I thought.
As they stand together behind the barrier, Jax looks at Pikati. "Hey, Pikati, see if any more enemies are coming."
"Got it," Pikati uses Farsight to look ahead and sees a beast with black eyes that shimmer in the light, its fur a fiery orange, and claws glinting like emeralds, sprinting towards them, running on two legs. This beast is known as a Class 2 Beast: Leibus Type. "Uh, oh, a Class 2 Beast is coming toward us!"
Seiju thrashes around in frustration, his groans echoing through the air. "Oh, you've gotta be kidding me. I'm getting sick of these things."
"Hey guys, remember one thing: their weakness is a spot slightly above the neck. If you hit that, all their limbs will be disabled for a long time," says Pikati.
"Thanks for the info! Guys, let's defeat this thing!" said Navar. Navar, Miri, Juyon, Seiju, and Astran sprint forward, the ground shaking beneath their feet as they engage the beast.
"Seiju, shoot holes in the ground to knock that thing off balance!" says Juyon.
"Got it," Seiju pulls the string back, and two Flame JōKai arrows materialize on the bow, the glow of the flames filling the air. Seiju releases the two arrows, the feeling of them launching out of the bow vibrating in his arm as they sail toward the ground in the Leibus' path. "Flame Bow: Double Flame Shot!" The beast gallops over the hole, its fur ruffling in the wind as it loses its balance and fights to stay upright.
Juyon jumps up, the rock hardening around his fists as he conjures Hard Terrain JōKai on them. He then brings his fists downward toward the head of the beast with a punch. "Bellowing Bison!" Juyon's punch sends shockwaves through the ground as his punch pins the beast's head to it. Juyon jumps back, his feet sinking into the earth from the sheer force of the retreat from the beast.
"Hopefully, that damaged him enough," says Seiju.
A deafening roar fills the air as the beast regains its strength, and it charges toward the group with immense force.
"That thing is pissed off, be careful," says Seiju.
"I'll use its own strength against it. You all find an opening to attack it," Astran coats her body in JōKai Amplification, feeling her strength intensify and the energy surge through her veins as she sprints toward the beast. Astran lunges toward the beast, and as it swipes its claw, she blocks the attack with a swing to the left, sending it careening backward. "Ursa Impact!"
Navar looks at Miri with his eyes shining with anticipation. "Miri, let's finish this!"
Miri places two daggers into her wrist slots. "You got it," Miri envelopes herself in JōKai Amplification, hearing the faint hum of energy pulsing through her as she launches at the beast. "Two Daggers: Pouncing Strike!" Miri slices at the beast's legs and sends it staggering off balance.
Navar slathers JōKai Amplification across his body, feeling the surge of power as he rises into the air, his sword gleaming as it hacks into the beast's vulnerable area. "Okayasu Blade: Okayasu Parry!" The beast falls to the ground, its eyes going blank, and a booming noise echoing as it hits the ground.
Pikati appears from behind the wall. "Nice job, guys."
"I take it there are no more enemies left?" asks Juyon.
"Yeah, we're good right now. No more enemies are coming toward us."
Seiju sinks to the ground, his body heavy with fatigue. "Good, I could use a break right now."
Nozomi opens her backpack, and the smell of home-cooked food wafts from the tray as she removes it. "I-I brought some food for you all in case we were hungry."
"Wow, food! Thanks, Nozomi!" Navar wanders over to the tray and grabs a slice of pizza, the crispy crust crunching beneath his fingertips. Nozomi places the tray on the ground with a clatter, and everyone eagerly moves in to get their share.
"So, what's the game plan now? Do we take a nap here?" asks Seiju.
"No, not in this place. We can't be too defenseless. We're already risking ourselves by taking a break," says Pikati.
"What about the levels? How will we go to the next levels?" asks Navar.
"I guess we'll see where the path we're on takes us. The base is incredibly intricate and full of complicated twists and turns. Hopefully, we will find the next level soon," says Pikati.
Denkei plunges his hand into his bag and hands everyone a glass tube filled with a glowing blue liquid. "Here, everyone, I have some replenishing potions. It'll heal your battle damage after ten minutes."
Everyone in the group samples the potion granted to them by Denkei, the sour smell lingering in the air. Navar's nostrils flare in horror at the acrid taste of the potion. "Yuck, this tastes nasty!"
"I didn't say it would taste like strawberries. I just said it would replenish your energy. So bottoms up," says Denkei.
After a brief respite, Navar jumps to his feet, his body stiff from sitting for so long and his muscles stretching as he rose. "I think it's time for us to keep moving. What do you guys say?" asks Navar.
"Agreed. Let's keep going," Pikati jumps onto Navar's shoulder, and the group walks through the Goblin base, their footsteps echoing off the walls. For hours and hours, they walk in silence, the only sound an occasional drop of water hitting the floor.
Seiju feels a dull ache in his foot from all the hard walking. "Ugh, we've been walking forever. My feet feel like they're about to fall off!"
"We know that, Seiju. This is the thousandth time you said that!" says Astran.
Navar looks up to Pikati. "Hey Pikati, can you use Farsight to see if we have anything ahead?"
On Navar's behest, Pikati uses Farsight to look up ahead then, his eyes widen as he sees something. "Wait, a minute. I think I see something!"
"Really? Finally, I've been waiting to hear those words for a while!" says Seiju.
As they arrive at the sight, which is an elevator, they hear the low hum of its motor.
Miri crosses her arms in a stern show of disapproval. "Should we take it? It could be a trap?"
"Do you want to walk another three hours?" asks Seiju
"Good point, but let's hope this thing doesn't fall while we're in there."
They enter the elevator, and the hum of the machinery grows in volume as it begins its descent. "It seems we've made it to the end of the 1st level, and this elevator is taking us to the 2nd one," says Pikati.