A few minutes after we started our attack.
A skeleton over two meters tall, completely bound in chains, appeared before us. In its hand was a rough club.
"Status."
Upon chanting that, a message window appeared in front of me.
――――――――――――――――――――
[Chained Skeleton]
・Recommended Level: 28
――――――――――――――――――――
The Chained Skeleton. It's a monster with slow movements but excellent defense. Undead creatures already have high resistance to physical attacks. Even with a critical hit from Slash, it would take multiple hits to bring it down.
However, I have the best partner for fighting the undead. I glanced at Shuna, who was also checking the enemy's status, and she spoke with a tense expression.
"What a formidable presence… And it's level 28. Maybe we should retreat…"
"No, it's fine. This is an expected opponent. We'll take it down in one hit."
Shuna looked puzzled.
"One hit? But Zeros, aren't you level 24? Or do you have some special skill? Wow, Zeros, you're amazing…"
"No, Shuna, you're the one who's going to defeat it."
"…Huh?"
Shuna froze, clearly not understanding what I was saying. At that moment,
"Giiiiiii!"
The Chained Skeleton, which had been measuring its distance, roared and charged at us.
I immediately kicked off the ground and rushed toward the enemy. The Chained Skeleton swung its club down with force.
"Parry."
"?!"
But I easily deflected its club. The level difference is only four, and I have the benefit of the Guardian's Relic Sword, which increases the power of parries by 15%. This was no problem.
I turned and shouted to Shuna.
"Prepare a Holy-enhanced Magic Missile and fire it on my signal! I'll buy you the time!"
"G-Got it!"
Though flustered, Shuna began gathering her magic.
"Grrrrr!"
At that moment, the Chained Skeleton, sensing the holy attribute, turned its face towards Shuna. The undead likely sensed its weakness.
But,
"Sorry, but I won't let you reach Shuna."
"Raaagh!"
Using parries and other techniques, I managed to fend off the undead's attacks. About ten seconds into the battle,
"I'm ready, Zeros!"
Floating in front of Shuna was a large, brilliant white orb of light. Seeing it, I created some distance from the Chained Skeleton.
"Now! Fire!"
"Sacred Missile!"
The holy projectile shot straight toward the Chained Skeleton. Despite its attempt to evade, its sluggishness worked against it.
The holy missile hit the Chained Skeleton square in the chest, shattering it to pieces.
"Aaagh…"
With a final death cry, the Chained Skeleton disintegrated into miasma and vanished.
'You gained experience. Level up by 1.'
'You gained 2 status points.'
Alright, the takedown was complete. And I leveled up too. This is an ideal start.
"Well done, Shuna. Thanks to you, we took it down easily…"
"I… I really defeated it in one hit? An enemy stronger than me?"
Shuna seemed bewildered by the situation. I explained it to her simply.
"It's not that surprising. Magic is effective against the undead, and holy attributes can exploit their weakness. Even though your skill level is only 1, giving you only a 30% bonus, it's still enough to defeat that kind of enemy."
Magic Missile is a high-power spell intended for higher-level enemies. While it's not very efficient for regular use due to its high cost, it's highly effective for taking down tough foes and gaining experience efficiently. I plan to learn it soon too.
"Did your level increase?"
"My level? Yeah! I leveled up by three! This is the first time that's happened!"
Shuna conveyed her surprise and joy.
Experience is distributed based on contribution in battle. Factors like damage dealt, buffs, debuffs, and healing are all considered. Since Shuna was our main attacker, she gained levels quickly, just as I planned.
I smiled and spoke confidently to her.
"Alright, let's keep this up until we reach around level 30."
"…Level 30?"
Shuna was so surprised that she once again wore a blank expression.