"With this! It's over!!"
The Skystone Golem can be defeated if you follow a set pattern.
Break its wings, reduce its arms, and prepare to block its magic—after that, it's just a matter of enduring while the attackers whittle down its HP.
Though saying it is simple, actually doing it under the pressure where failure isn't an option is another matter.
"I'm... exhausted.""Yes, truly.""I never knew not being able to attack could be so taxing."
Even Amina, who usually has the stamina to sing for days on end without rest, stopped singing the mont the Skystone Golem vanished and collapsed on the spot.
Lady Esralda wiped her sweat with a handkerchief, looking relieved but also slightly thinner.
Nell, who had focused entirely on defense, frowned as she inspected her battered shield.
Normally, she takes the offensive, controlling the flow of battle to ensure safety, which keeps stress to a minimum.
But this fight was defensive, a passive struggle to seize the opponent's pace and pull it into ours.
Even though safety was secured, the tension and stress were that much greater.
The Skystone Golem lay shattered, reduced to dust.
Seeing that, we could finally feel relieved.
"Another red treasure chest. Is there ever anything else?""Doesn't seem like it. Since we challenged this boss with a special thod, only scroll chests appear."
After the Skystone Golem vanished, a red treasure chest appeared, just like the one we saw during Ingrid's Perfect Clean.
As Claudia approached it, I sat cross-legged, resting my cheek on my hand, thinking about the future.
"Hmm... Now that Nell, Ingrid, and Claudia all have their unique skills, maybe we should focus on leveling to Class 5 first?"
What we learned from the Skystone Golem fight is that even if a battle is manageable with a set pattern, it's still dangerous, pushing us to our limits.
It wasn't quite walking a tightrope, but it felt like crossing a narrow bridge without handrails.
If we level to Class 5 here, obtaining unique skills for the three of us will beco much easier.
So, the logical step would be to level to Class 5 first, but...
"Is it difficult?""Not so much difficult as tedious. Leveling from Class 5 onward becos a hassle. The EXBP acquisition conditions change, and so do the number and requirents for skill slots. We have to plan our leveling thod carefully with that in mind."
In this world, you can't just level up normally and expect to beco strong.
The system seems almost intentionally designed to require ticulous attention during leveling. Miss even one skill slot, and you have to redo your leveling to get it back—a brutal chanic.
"Hey, Nell. If you had to choose between a thod that's really tough but levels you up quickly, or one that takes forever but is easy, which would you pick?"
Because of this, various leveling thods have been developed and tested.
Until now, we've chosen thods based on our available options, but since we can access the spirit realm, we have multiple leveling thods to choose from.
"Which one? I can't decide without hearing the details. Making a decision without knowing the specifics is sothing a rchant should never do.""Fair point."
I nodded in agreent at Nell's reasonable response to my vague question, her hands on her hips and a frown on her face.
"Liberta, you successfully obtained the skill scroll, but now you're discussing future plans, correct?""Yes. This battle showed that even if it wasn't by a hair's breadth, it might be better to get stronger before acquiring more skills."
Just then, Claudia returned with the scroll in hand.
I stood up, brushed the dust off my pants, and checked the scroll she handed . It was undoubtedly Heavenly Fist.
That made three—halfway there.
When she asked if she could use it, I nodded, and she imdiately did so.
"Liberta, this is just my opinion, but I think playing it safe is good. But what about the unique skills? Weren't we aiming to acquire them within two months?"
After confirming the skill was properly acquired by checking her status, she turned to and brought up the earlier topic.
"To be blunt, while having unique skills would make future battles easier, they're no longer an absolute necessity.""? What do you an?""From the next leveling phase to Class 5, the conditions for obtaining EXBP and all skill slots beco much stricter. There are several thods, but one involves leveling in a Class 6 dungeon instead of a Class 5 one."
Taking the cue, I steered the conversation back to leveling.
"You an going to a dungeon with stronger monsters? Isn't that dangerous?""Indeed. We're talking about leveling up to ensure safety, yet you're proposing sothing even riskier. Isn't that contradictory?"
Once you reach Class 5, the experience table jumps significantly, and it becos impossible to find a comfortable leveling environnt within the sa level range.
Monsters take longer to kill, relatively reducing experience gain and slowing down leveling progress.
This is where many FBO players give up.
The tutorial ends, and the difficulty spikes dramatically.
"What you both say is reasonable, but because I had this in mind, I can say that with Ingrid and Claudia's unique skills, there's an efficient leveling thod."
However, without efficient leveling, a massive amount of ti would be wasted.
That's why we players have tested and established efficient leveling thods.
"But, Liberta-sama, my unique skill has no effect on higher-level enemies.""Yeah, that's true. But the dungeon we're targeting is the weakest among Class 6 dungeons. Stat-wise, we surpass the wandering monsters there."
If it's a Class 6 dungeon, the boss monster is Class 7.
The level difference bonus increases experience gain, and the base experience is substantial.
So, it's possible to efficiently gain experience even at Class 5.
"In other words, the skill effects will apply within range?""Exactly. Plus, the boss fight can be a short battle, settled quickly with Claudia's Heavenly Fist.""If I can defeat it, does that an the monster has low physical resistance?""Correct. Moreover, thanks to the Sunlight series, our magic resistance is quite high, so the enemy's attacks aren't particularly dangerous either.""Then, couldn't we just defeat it normally? I don't see the need to wait for unique skills."
If such a dungeon exists, why didn't we level there first? Lady Esralda's doubt is valid.
If the Sunlight series ensures safety, it's natural to think we could handle it.
"The dungeon we're targeting is called the Healer's Sanctuary.""Healer's Sanctuary? I've never heard of it."
However, just having superior defense isn't enough to win in this dungeon.
In terms of offensive power and lethality, it falls short compared to other dungeons of the sa rank.
"Well, it's known only in certain circles. The dungeon monsters here are called 'Prayers.'"
Instead, their healing and defensive capabilities are exceptionally high compared to other dungeons of the sa rank.
They're simply unkillable—extrely tough with high recovery.
You might think my instant-death attacks could work, but while they ignore defense, the enemies have high instant-death resistance, making one-shot kills impossible.
Plus, the na "Prayer" is ironic—it doesn't an "gar" but "one who prays."
"Their only attack thod is the light-attribute beginner spell Light Ball, but their other skills are all healing and barrier skills. They use a delaying tactic, wearing us down with recovery and defense until we're exhausted."
They co in two forms: female-type and male-type. Female-types have more healing skills, while male-types have more barrier skills.
Though divided by silhouette and clothing, they aren't human.
They are wax dolls that move continuously in a praying posture.
That said, they aren't golems; classification-wise, they're closer to sli-type enemies.
"So, if we were to tackle this dungeon without Ingrid and Claudia's unique skills, we'd have to have Lady Esralda chug potions while wiping out groups with area magic, and rely on Nell's Gold Smash for the boss fight... Want to try that?""...I'll pass.""By the way, roughly how many Gold Smashes would be needed?""At least 100,000 zeni per boss fight. To be safe, double that.""That would bankrupt ..."
The annoying part is that they attack in groups, firing Light Balls, and if an ally is hurt, they heal each other instantly while shielding with barriers, making it a pain to take down even one.
The only saving grace is that they don't use resurrection magic.
"Their movent speed isn't that fast, so we can avoid the herds and focus fire on one with dark-attribute weapons. If a herd approaches, use Ingrid's Perfect Clean to wipe them out or flee. Repeat for leveling, then fight the boss when ready. Use Lady Esralda and Claudia's firepower to push through. That should work."
Having those unique skills really paid off.
"The experience is great, and the attacks aren't too hard to handle. If you can defeat them, it's a lucrative dungeon.""Bankruptcy is avoidable, so we should definitely steer clear.""I'd also prefer not to overindulge in potions."
This dungeon is famous for being highly rewarding if you have one high-damage skill and the ability to wipe out wandering monsters.
In our case, high damage cos from Claudia's Heavenly Fist, and wiping capability from Ingrid's Perfect Clean.
"It seems worth trying.""If it seems too hard, we can ask Dark and the Thunder Sisters to join us for the boss fight."
With that, we decided to head back and rest for the day, but...
"Dark?"
Dark was standing in front of our house, waiting.
We didn't have plans to et today since we were acquiring unique skills, so his presence ant sothing was up.
"Mm, you're back.""Did we have plans to et today?""No, we didn't. But he said he had business with you. Since there was no specific content, I had him wait.""He?"
I thought sothing might have happened during the live show, but the one with business wasn't Dark—it was another spirit hiding behind him.
A spirit holding a book, wearing glasses, and draped in a robe.
The color sche suggested an earth attribute spirit, appearing like a young boy.
"P-pleased to et you. I always enjoy your live shows.""Ah, yes, thank you."
He should be a stranger, and I had asked to keep Amina's fans away as much as possible. I didn't understand why Dark would bring him here, breaking that promise.
"So, what's this about?"
But since we were tired, I couldn't just send him away, so I asked for the reason.
"A pro-""Pro-?""A prophecy. I ca to deliver a prophecy."""""A prophecy!?!?"""""
It seed sothing incredible had just happened.
T/n Congrats on reaching chapter 250 ! Thanks you for reading that far . If you enjoy that series consider rate this series high on novel update .snovelupdates/series/i-know-that-even-if-im-just-a-mob-in-this-world-i-can-beco-the-strongest-if-i-beco-a-addict/
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