"I'm done!" Aurelia shot up from the ground, holding the wrappers of what remained of the cookies.
A brown smudge covered her lips, and the moment she glanced at him, he pointed it out.
Immediately, she recoiled in embarrassment, turning around and wiping her face frantically.
She's too silly, he thought before tossing the packet to the side and standing up.
"Is everyone ready?" Neraxis asked, and his team immediately nodded.
"Good. Aurelia, do your thing," he said and walked to the side, opening up a path for Aurelia to use her magic.
She confidently stepped forward, holding her staff out and aiming it at the furthest of the two nests.
Without waiting for a signal, she fired the first beam of light, penetrating the nest and causing the Venomous Wasps to swarm toward them.
Their speed was nothing special—only their poison was deadly—so she had more than enough time to calculate her approach.
Neraxis could see her hands shaking slightly, but nonetheless, she didn't back down.
Just as the Venomous Wasps entered the range of the other nest, she fired again, and her attack connected immediately.
Nice, he thought with a nod before taking the helm, watching as the massive swarm of Venomous Wasps approached them.
But just like before, they couldn't get close as the bluish-purple light emerged and flowed toward the swarm.
It didn't even take a few moments before it connected, and when it did, a massive starry fire broke out, killing every single one of the Venomous Wasps on the spot.
However, to his surprise, a few somehow managed to escape—those in the very back, it seemed.
Before he could draw his sword to fend them off, they stopped.
Neraxis looked on in confusion; however, he soon understood what was happening.
Even further back, seemingly behind the two nests entirely, was a completely green Venomous Wasp.
While it was the same size as the others, its colors signified a slightly higher status.
A mini-boss... Great, he grumbled inwardly. It was a monster that was definitely in the E rank range, and without the use of his Stellar Dominion skill, it might be a bit troublesome.
[19x (F+ Ranked Monster) Venomous Wasp Slain! Reward: Stigmata 56% -> 94%]
Fuck... It's not even enough. The situation was growing direr by the moment. If only his skill had caught the remaining Venomous Wasps, he would have been able to unlock the seal right away.
But now, it was a problem.
"I'm sorry!" Aurelia exclaimed, dashing right beside Aella.
"Don't worry about it," Neraxis assured her, not taking his eyes off the mini-boss.
However, that suddenly changed when the remaining Venomous Wasps began heading in the direction of the mini-boss and then stopped.
He looked on in confusion, but the answers soon came.
The Venomous Wasp mini-boss flew around to each and every wasp nearby, placing its stinger on them.
Immediately, they all fell to the ground, but what stood out was the fact that the mini-boss grew slightly larger, increasing in size each time its stinger made contact with another wasp.
Finally, all of them fell, leaving it as the only one standing.
[Looks like it's the second strongest after the boss monster. What will you do?] Evangeline questioned with amusement.
What can I do except fight that thing? It's what—barely E+ ranked now? It doesn't change the fact that it's a four-on-one, he replied, steadying his stance to be able to dodge at any moment.
"Raeny, any long-range skills I should know about?"
"Only one... but it's weak," she answered, unsheathing her sword again.
Not good... He turned to the other long-range damage dealer instead.
"Aurelia, do you have a strong attack that could finish it off quickly?"
"Yes, but it's going to take a while to cast. You need to protect me," Aurelia replied immediately, the same resolute look on her face as earlier.
Neraxis nodded, noticing the mini-boss finishing its transformation.
Without further delay, he announced, "Good. Raeny, protect her for as long as it takes. Aella, you back her up as well. I will go up front."
And with those words, Neraxis dashed forward, not waiting for their response.
Venomous Wasps at that rank usually had a few tricks up their sleeves, especially since they could now use mana roughly.
But even that roughness would be enough to cause massive trouble if they were grouped together. Meanwhile, being too far apart wasn't good either.
Worst-case scenario, he would take a hit and get poisoned. Then, by using a sword dash and canceling the swing, he would be able to retreat nearly instantly.
Or that's the plan anyway...
Neraxis ran up and positioned himself in front of the incoming mini-boss, making himself the prime target of its attack.
It dashed toward him, and just as he prepared to strike, it stopped mid-air and twisted its bulky body.
The stinger was aimed right at him, but he wouldn't get hit that easily.
Just as it was about to pierce his heart, Neraxis used the Simple Horizontal Slash.
Despite his expectations of completely severing the mini-boss, the slash merely chipped it and redirected it to the side.
There goes my second main damage skill, he thought before striking again, aiming for the weakness in the mini-boss's defense.
However, it quickly recovered and swung its entire body at him.
Unable to dodge in time, Neraxis braced himself for the impact and was sent flying onto the nearby grass.
Before he could dwell on the pain, he shot back up, dodging the chipped stinger.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a bright ball of light, one that kept growing larger with each passing moment.
He smiled slightly and turned his gaze back to the incoming mini-boss.
It was too close to him, so he couldn't manage any fancy maneuvers.
A close-range battle with a foe much stronger than himself—not an ideal situation.
The mini-boss smacked its body against him again, but this time, he mostly negated it with his sword.
Mostly—because the impact still traveled through the entire sword, damaging his internal organs.
Fortunately, he had the perfect skill to negate that: Restorative Cut.
Without wasting a moment, he used it, slashing toward the mini-boss in the middle of its swing.
The attack resounded as though friction was clashing between metals, and at the same time, both of them were flung backward.
Or rather, he was flung backward while the mini-boss chased after him.
Despite the clash, he emerged mostly unscathed—even the internal injuries from mere moments ago were completely healed.
However, he still felt like a wreck, and his shaking arms were faring no better.
But just as he thought things would start getting troublesome, Aurelia's urgent voice rang out:
"Neraxis! Dodge!"
He turned at her words, his eyes widening at the sight.
A massive ball, like a miniature sun, hovered right above her.
Neraxis nodded and used the next attack from the mini-boss to propel himself backward, before finally using Sword Dash toward Raeny.
The dash was instant; however, he found it difficult to stop the sword from slashing down at her, so he desummoned it.
Immediately, Aurelia launched the massive light sun directly at the unsuspecting Venomous Wasp mini-boss.
Despite the difference in rank and strength, it completely engulfed the monster.
And In the next moment, a smile appeared on Neraxis's face.
[1x (E+ Ranked Mutated Mini-Boss) Venomous Wasp Sleeper Slain! Reward: Stigmata 94% -> 100%]
[Stigmata: Fragment of Calamity Has Reached 100%]
[Would you like to release the seal?]
[Y/Y]