Soma might not want anything to do with Clair, but it was related more to her personality than her skills.
He was the last person who would deny the usefulness of support skills.
Soma decided to use the buffs he had meaningfully and kill the boss he had been putting off.
It was an optional boss in this tutorial stage that gave off a tone of experience and no additional reward for their efforts.
But Soma will finally hit level 31 if he kills that boss.
'This is the only way for me to level up during this tutorial, but I was going to put it off until I no longer could. Seeing that I will not have to do such a thing now is nice.'
It was a stroke of luck Soma had not seen coming.
The huge body of the Mechanical Monkey served as a reminder for the monsters not to approach Soma carelessly.
A few monsters had tried to approach Soma, but they ran away when they saw the Mechanical Monkey Soma had with him.
Soma carefully approached the boss while keeping an eye on the clock.
He still had 45 minutes to utilize his buffs.
The whole plant looked made of metal, but the place Soma walked toward was the only exception.
Instead of metal being the dominant part, this part had sand and natural life.
It looked different from anything else found in this plane…or that was what Soma would like to think.
But his mind's eye could see the smallest of details around him, and he noticed what he had not noticed in his previous life.
All the plants here were made up of small mechanical parts.
It was also fair to assume that these plants made no oxygen for the planet.
These were nothing more than mere decorations that were placed here for someone's amusement.
"The administrator must have a funny bone in his body to make an environment like this. Or maybe he did it to match the boss in this area."
The grass rustled around Soma; he would not have heard it usually.
But since it was too quiet now, Soma could not help but hear all the sounds with ultra clarity.
He could even hear the growls from the mechanical tiger's mouth that controlled this area.
'He's coming. I can feel the enemy heading our way.'
Soma turned the Mechanical Monkey around to protect his body from the sharp claws of the Mechanical Tiger.
The tiger had attacked Soma outright, ignoring the Mechanical Monkey that protected him.
It could only mean one thing - the Mechanical Tiger had some intelligence and ability to recognize life forms.
'In terms of strength, Mechanical Tiger might be better, but I am not sure if it will be better in terms of utility.'
Soma considered these aspects before he made his decision.
As much as he wanted the Mechanical Tiger's strength, he would not abandon the strength his current puppet gave him.
The Mechanical Tiger realized it could not get to Soma through his current set-up, so it decided to take a step back and rethink its options.
Soma was confident the tiger was thinking of ways to reach her easily.
He moved his fingers, and the Mechanical Monkey moved forward to try and punch the tiger.
But the tiger was too fast for the punch to connect.
Moreover, since the Mechanical Monkey had a large body, it shook, and Soma almost fell from its shoulder.
'Tsk, this is not going to work out well. I must get off my puppet to fight with it properly.'
Getting down would mean Soma was putting himself at risk of being in that tiger's reach.
But it was a risk worth taking for Soma.
The Mechanical tiger attacked, but Soma blocked its moments using the giant body of the monkey in front of him.
The tiger dodged the heavy but slow paw, reaching for it and jumping toward Soma's side.
Icy Jewel met the attacking paw, causing Soma to bite his lip as the long claws scratched him.
He tried to use the mechanical monkey to attack the tiger, but it was too agile.
It was clear that Soma needed to abandon the monkey and fight on his own if he wanted to win.
"Fine! You are forcing my hand here."
Soma sighed and brought Icy Jewel in front of him.
The mechanical tiger was fast and did not give Soma a second to think as it attacked.
Since the monster was mechanical, it was not affected by the cold like humans were.
[Minds' eye has activated]
[Swift steps have been activated]
[Angle of agility has activated]
[Master of Sword has activated]
[Master of Stealth has activated]
Soma's skills activated simultaneously, and he could finally keep up with the Mechanicalize.
His eyes noticed the tiger's weak point.
It was on the underside of its belly.
"Tsk, I knew this would not be easy. I don't think this kitty would jump if I give it treats."
Soma sighed as he finally realized what kind of trouble he was in.
It would have been almost impossible to reach the Mechanical tiger's weak spots if he had not thought outside the box.
The jungle also hindered him, blocking his attacking paths and ways for him to attack with his strings.
Soma attacked carefully, leading the Mechanical tiger to follow his desired path.
The real-life-sized tiger carefully followed the path Soma wanted, and Soma felt a sense of relief.
'A little more! Just a little more, and I will have the tiger where I need it…. NOW!'
Soma tugged his strings hard, and the Mechanical monkey came to life.
Large hands picked up the Mechanical tiger and held its flailing body in a tight grip.
The tiger tried to fight as much as possible, but it was all useless.
Soma attacked the tiger's weak spot in a second, ending its life.
[Your buffs have expired.]
Soma's energy levels dropped as soon as that message flashed.
The buff Clair had cast on Soma was a small one, but it still left its impact on Soma.
It had only been a few seconds, and he was beginning to miss the feeling of his limbs being light and fast-acting.
"Ugh, this is why I hate support skills, even my own. They make me want to keep relying on it. Oh! I guess Orion was right about it being akin to a drug."
That thought sobered Soma and reminded him why he had traveled to the past.
There was no time to sit back and mutter about things when he could be out gaining more experience and rewards.
He had finally hit level 31, and his stats were beginning to stagnate.
[Strength +45
Stamina +40
Endurance +50
Mana +20
Skill +30]
Soma's mana leaves had not increased, but that was expected.
He had about 15 free skill points left, so he invested them in Mana, bringing it to 35.
Once he was finished distributing his skill points, it was time to strategize what he should do next.
The course of action was clear - Soma needed to get to the control room and stop this plant from moving.
Whatever happened next was something he had to tackle on his own.
...
Elric finished looking around the scrap yard but already knew he would not find anything important.
The person who took the key likely also took anything of value in here.
"Big bro, there is nothing to find in here. What should we do next?"
Elric looked at his teammates with a regretful sigh.
His teammates were getting discouraged from the lack of progress they were making.
"Everyone, we are heading out now. There is no point in wasting your time here."
Elric declared, and the people in his party got ready to get up.
"Oh my! Are you all leaving as soon as I arrive? How rude of you. But I will be gracious enough to overlook your faults this time."
Clair's amused voice reached Elric's ear, and he attacked her without thinking.
Clair did not flinch as she pulled her teammate in front of her.
The poor man looked pale, and the shock of electricity caused the man's muscles to twitch in pain.
"C-Clair, help me."
The giant man begged in pain, and Clair sighed.
"Oh, fine! Your injury is not that bad, so stop complaining."
Greenlight shined in Clair's hand before she healed her teammate.
Elric had to admit that Clair's skills were tempting to take, but her attitude toward her teammate left a lot to be desired.
"What are you doing here? Ah, the fact that you are here likely means you do not have the key. This helps me narrow down the search."
Since Clair did not have the key, then Soma must have it.
That also meant Elric could no longer stay here and waste time.
Otherwise, he would lose to Elric again.
"H-Hey, where are you going? Are you leaving? Are you…ignoring me? How dare you do such a thing! Hey, are you even listening to me?"