Chapter 38: If You Are Lost We Will Find You

The wolf felt intimidated by the presence of the new enemy before them. Using game logic, this was definitely the second phase of a boss battle. What made this new form different was up in the air, but they could feel the power emanating from it.

They didn’t want to find out, but the battle had to continue. They had to make the first move. All they could do was just keep doing what they've already been doing. The wolf lunged into the attack and slashed at its enemy with his sword. Sparks flew from the collision and it barely received any damage.

Arret smiled as the sparks lit up the air from metal scraping against the blade. “I'm surprised you've already started the second phase. Surely you can tell that none of your attacks will really do much. That body is very durable. After discovering the iron ore core weakness of his golems, he decided to try a different approach. I suggested taking all those cores and using it to mold a body made of a much stronger material. This was the end result.”

Its body was made out of iron, so it made it much more durable than the golems. What was supposed to be a weak spot before, had now become a great defense. The bat began her turn by tackling the creature in the back of the leg. This was always their obvious, yet go to method of fighting against his creatures. It's a biological fact, that going after someone from the back of their leg, drastically increases the odds of them tripping regardless of how strong they are.

In this case, this did not work and the metal warrior proved to be an exception to the rule. The moment the bat made contact with the creature, she received recoil damage. Its iron body was sharp in certain areas, so it would return damage to anyone who made contact with it.

Harmony grit her teeth and a drop of sweat dripped down her chin. She knew they were better off not actually touching the thing, but this eliminated their bat friend from participating in the fight. She wasn't able to wield a weapon, and only was capable of doing physical attacks to deal damage. The rest of them would have to continue the battle on their own.

Harmony fired her chakrams. They shot through the air, and did a last-minute curve into the back of both legs of the Iron Ore Warrior. This caused it to throw its feet up in the air as it tripped, and smashed its back into the floor. This dealt a chunk of damage, not a lot, but definitely more than what the wolf did.

It looked like they would have to get more creative in order to deal a much larger chunk of damage. That meant they would need Felicia. She was the most out of the box thinker of the group.

Gray Dungeon’s turn had now commenced. The tendrils from his fingertips were now gone, but he was still connected to the creature through the ground below. The Iron Ore Warrior got into a battle stance.

“This is for all the running you made me do every day…! I was always afraid of you catching up to me…! Now you'll see what happens when I catch up to you…!”

The Iron Ore Warrior got into a runner’s stance, and suddenly minerals emerge from the upper wall off to the side of the party. A system notification flashed in front of all their faces.

“Skill: Meteor Mineral Marathon!”

The creature dashed as minerals shot out from the wall off to the side of them. Small minerals showered, pelting down on each, and every one of the group members. A large cloud of dust was kicked up as the creature got closer and closer to them.

It held its elbow out, while clutching it with its other hand, as it closed in on Harmony. It smashed its elbow into her gut, and sent her flying. All of the air in her lungs escaped from the impact and she unleashed a pain filled cry. She skipped like a stone tossed in the water, but on the hard ground, before rolling to a complete stop.

She coughed hard, and a line of blood trickled down her mouth. She also received minor damage from the dusty air right after. It had been hurting them each, and every turn in the background. Now since she had received so much damage building up over time, it was making her wounds burn.

It felt more painful than pouring water over a fresh wound. She got to her feet with difficulty, and noticed the small amount of HP she had left. She definitely needed to heal. As long as she didn't take any more damage, she would be able to use up a turn to heal herself with a potion.

Vault’s turn was next and he turned to her. “Harmony, the dusty air is going to keep hurting you every turn. I don't think you're going to survive after all of our turns have ended…I want to try something.”

He began to approach her, and took out a potion. Her eyes widened by his actions. He poured the potion down her mouth and the healing properties took effect. “I didn't ask for your help…Honestly I'm surprised you would help someone you hate so much.”

He returned back to his spot on the battlefield. “Regardless of how you felt during this journey…I found you difficult to deal with…but I didn't hate you…Even now…At this moment you're trying to look out for all of us…You're trying to fight for us…Especially Felicia who can't bring herself to fight…If anything…I'd say her kindness really rubbed off on you…”

She let out a sigh. “I honestly couldn't argue with that. Do you hear me Felicia Forge? I know currently you are feeling like your own worst enemy. Right now you are surrounded by people who need you. I will continue to fight on your behalf in order to protect them while you cannot.”

In the mental world, Felicia was still trembling and continued to feel lost about what to do. “I don't know what I'm supposed to do anymore…There's no clear answer on how to handle this…”

Eunice smiled at her. “I know right now you feel lost. I would offer you words of comfort, but as I said before…All I can think of are things that would bring you further down. Instead I will have faith in your allies, and in you. Throughout our journey together I have noticed you have always had strange ideas. I believe if you have a little faith in that, you will find a solution to your current dilemma. I know you have trouble forgiving yourself for what has happened. Honestly, in my eyes I do not see you as the one to blame for what occurred to this boy. But that is simply my opinion. My other being, are you going to leave things as they are?”

The wolf used his turn to strike the Iron Ore Warrior with his blade. Just like before only a small amount of damage was dealt to its body. The bat followed up with her turn, but used it to heal Vault with a potion. She flew over to him and rested on his shoulder. She made her potion necklace appear right in front of his mouth, and poured the liquid down his throat. He had been restored back to full health just like Harmony had.

He thanked his companion before she flew back to her starting spot. Their turns weren’t meant only to deal collective damage, but they could be used to support each other. That’s how they’ve been getting through the days, and that’s how they will get through this.