(Arc 2 Complete!) Path of the Last Champion [Sci-Fantasy LitRPG, Party Dynamics, Earned Power]

"So, there really was no way to make this work," Row mumbled, passing a weary hand over her bright red hair.

"So it seems," Kur said, holding onto his chin. "Question is, what do we do now?"

"I… Have an idea, but you guys probably already know," Leon said.

The three of them sat away from the resting auramancer, while the able-bodied set up the rest of the tents. In the background, the aethermancer's tent continued to glow the deep blue of the sleep aspect, motes of aether filtering through the fabric to dissipate against the cave's jagged ceiling.

"Go on," Kur urged him.

"I think we need to split up," Leon said, grimacing.

But Row nodded slowly at his words. "Yes. I see no other option either. The question is whether we do so just for the auramancer and aethermancer split, or back into our original parties."

"Yes, to the first, and no to the second would be my suggestion," Leon said leaning forward. "Our original attempt has merit, and we need to fight together and make use of all the synergies inter-parties. The greatest example of that is when Gad's [Pull of the River] and Tun's [Phalanx of Safeguarding] are boosted by Cor's [Gathering Tide]. This time we had Cor bolster the ranged up on top of the cave instead, and we all saw what happened…"

"Agreed. That loentu got to Lim and broke Cen's hold over her [Orb of Erasure], which almost took out Mach," Kur said, staring up at the stalactites forming from the ceiling. "We'd be remiss to split everyone back to their own parties… And the real problem isn't there anyways."

"Aether," Row said, glancing towards the deep blue glowing tent. "The aether and aura clash fear and caution are much more severe than we had expected. Not only does it keep us walking on eggshells, as they say, it truly does block and hinders us. And while it was somehow mitigated until now, in a fight against rares, we can't really afford it, nor the much longer time it takes to end the fight."

"Nar and Eum managed to hold that rare beast by themselves… This time. But Eum is cut to ribbons, even if he's still laughing about it, and Nar nearly burned through his pathways and shredded himself to ribbons as well, even if he did discover something momentous," Leon said. "And while I did allow that fight to go on a bit longer in order to boost their gains, it wasn't for more than a couple of minutes."

"Thank you for that, by the way. Our guys are still calculating, but I expect Nar to get some really, really good ones for that fight," Kur said, then he sighed. "At the same time, yes, we got lucky that we have such powerful delvers in the three of you."

"I…"

"Hush, Leon. The truth is the truth," Row said, patting his leg.

"Right…" the paladin said, frowning awkwardly.

"And Cen was doing an insane amount of damage until that loentu burst through Tuk's rings," Kur continued. "Losing us the chance to down the ads that much faster… And while Mul's suppressor triggered at a fortuitous moment, with Tun and Gad nearly depleted, it's not something we can always trust."

"Yes. It helped during the corrupted dungeon," Leon said, who had learned of the incident. "But here, and from now on, we can expect it to trigger randomly during moments of intense fight and emotional strain for Mul… That's how such things tend to go, and it's not something we can rely on to get us out of trouble."

"Yeah…" Row said, tutting. "Gods… A rare boss and a rare in one? Am I the only one thinking we got off easy?"

Kur glanced over at the injured. With Lim bleeding out, and Gad's heart threatening to give up? I don't know if I agree with that…

"Sej was there, so she would've helped us, but at some point, we're going to catch up to her level, and so will the areas we travel into," Leon said. "We can't rely on her either. At best, she will be just another ranged to boost our DPS."

He sighed.

"We need to be able to make use of our skills and energy properly," he said. "There's no other way."

He leaned back and rested his hands on the surprisingly soft, black dirt floor. Then he remembered who usually inhabited the cave and jerked his hands back, frowning at the suspicious "dirt" stains now coating his palms.

"Things are tough here, and they will only get tougher the farther in we get," he said with a grimace. "But we really need to get those rares if we want real gains. I don't think we should give up on that."

Kur rubbed his chin. "Me neither. Which then leaves us to our only other alternative… Me and Row work together, while your party works somewhat separately, right?"

"Yes," Leon said, and pulling a simple looking dagger from his ring, he leaned forward to draw on the dirt. "Do you mind?"

Kur shook his head. "You've been learning how to lead since you were little. Please."

"Alright. Then, the way I see it, you two should indeed work together, but as two different sides. Here."

Row and Kur also leaned in to consider what Leon was scratching on the dirt.

"A triangle?" Row asked.

"An inverted triangle," Leon added.

He leaned back to sit over his knees and pointed the dagger at the inverted base of the geometrical shape.

"That will be us, the aethermancers, while the right side will be Row's party and the left side Kur's. But not entirely separated!" the paladin explained. "What I propose is that we march into the thick of battle holding this formation as best as we can, terrain allowing it, and then, we allow ourselves to be surrounded. Once that happens, my party can throw everything we got at whatever is in front of us, while you guys can do the same from your respective sides. This way we won't have to worry so much about our energies clashing. The risk will still be there, granted, but it will be much reduced."

He tapped his dagger at the center of the triangle.

"The non-melee will stay in the center, protected by all three fronts. While Era, Medis and, to some extent, Calli, will need to keep their primary focus on our side of things for obvious reasons, the auramancer ranged are free to engage the entirety of the left and right sides, as well as the bottom of the triangle."

Leon pressed his dagger into the center of the triangle, drawing a small circle with its tip. "This should be Gad. It's a crime to use her as a normal tank, and with her capabilities as a controller, she can keep full control over the auramancer sides and bottom of the triangle, and she can even direct enemies our way as well. All she needs is to point her [Pull of the River] my way, and my [Awareness], boosted by my new [Watchfulness of Guardians], will be enough to let me understand her intentions and taunt the enemy when it's safely out of auramancer reach."

"Meanwhile," Leon continued. "Cor can use her charging skill to boost all of you. Together with you guys being able to go all out, that will boost our DPS tremendously!"

"I… See where you're coming from," Row said. "But if Gad is in the middle, who will tank the Kur's side of the triangle?"

"We won't need a tank there," Kur said, earning a nod from Leon. "Leon and Tun will be ones holding the thick of it, while our side will be more of a killing line. Gad will gradually push the enemy at us, and Viy, Mul and Jul will handle it with the support of the ranged."

Row frowned.

"Why not use Nar for that, then? He's perfect for… Oh! He needs to hold the bottom vertex!" she said, her eyes widening with realization. "While Eum will have to hold the left vertex."

"Yes. This triangle will not be a perfectly enclosed formation," Leon said. "And without a tank holding the Kur's side, that side will be our most vulnerable one. There are beasts in here that can shrug off aggro, after all, especially amongst the rare boss we'll be hunting down from now on… Therefore, the vertices are going to be our weak spots. Whoever is there will have to face enemies coming from two directions at once, and they will be more exposed as well. At the same time, the vertices are where our lines are thinnest and weakest, so whoever holds them will need to be fairly powerful on their own. In my opinion, that's Eum and Nar, with Viy at the center of the left vertex."

"She will need to be further apart from the party, in order to use her AOE, and there's Mul as well," Kur said, frowning in thought. "That said, after trying her hand at the full controller role, Gad has decided that she indeed prefers to be more hands on. Our party always respects people's path building decisions, and given what happened today I also agree with her moving back to that position. Her latest gains were very good where the controller side of things is concerned, but her physical tanking attributes have been a bit lacking, and we need to remember that at some point, we'll be going into delves as a single party again…"

"Hmm, I see," Leon said, frowning down at his diagram. "That does make sense…"

"Yes, she's not a raid controller just yet, and even then, I think she'll always want to be frontline," Kur said, with a light smile. "Plus, this way, I feel a bit better knowing that Gad will be there to watch over Jul and her passive [To Cast Out Fear], which makes her increasingly risk prone as the fight goes on."

"Moving her to the frontline, then…" Leon considered drawing an arrow from the dot within the circle and pointing it at the left vertex. "Well, that could open up other possibilities, but I think keeping the triangle formation still holds merit? At least in giving it a shot?"

"I think so too. It's very worth a shot I'd say," Kur said, glancing towards Row.

"Yes, we should try it," Row said, nodding, and leaned forward to point at the center of the formation. "We keep the DPS protected from all sides, so they can fully focus on dishing out damage, and with three tanks on all sides, the line becomes much stronger, and there's less of a heavy emphasis on Gad's [Pull of the River], but she can still regulate the flow of battle as needed to correct any imbalances… And with Cor in range of all auramancers, her [Gathering Tide] will boost us all. I think it's a great plan! Sort of like dropping a mobile, fortified base in the middle of a nest and letting us go wham on them!"

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Leon grinned. "No need for convincing you when everyone looks well protected, right?"

"That's important!" Row snapped.

"I know, I know! I'm just joking!" Leon said, raising his hands in a placating gesture, his eyes dancing with mirth. "But seriously, I believe that this way, we have a fair shot at raking in some fantastic gains, and also ensure we won't be as out-classed when we move on to the Hungry Jungle."

"I think so too… Damn. Wish we'd done this from the start, but we needed to learn about each other," Kur said.

"And this plan is not risk-proof either!" Row said, staring daggers at Leon.

"No, it's not… Anything gets through to the middle, and it will be a disaster," Leon said, grimacing. "But right now, out of all the other options we've discussed, I think this inverted triangle will get us the furthest and the fastest."

"Alright. I'm for it. Row?" Kur asked.

She sighed. "I do think it's a great plan, but we need to remain flexible and account for single encounters like what happened today. That said, with three tanks covering us, plus Nar's flexibility and Eum's DPS/survivability, I don't think such encounters will trouble us again as long as we can hold the formation. Well, there are always surprises, but..."

"Yes," Leon said. "We will adapt."

"And with that, I'm guessing that from now on, we'll be giving our full attention to rares and nests?" Kur asked.

"No reason not to, right? We still need to fight the common beasts needed to fulfill you guys' harvesting requirements, of course, but yes, the majority of our focus should be on those," Leon said, then a sheepish smile crept onto his lips. "We did gain over 2000 tokens from this one fight…"

"I agree," Kur said, grinning.

Row glanced from the hungry gleam in the awkward but decided golden-brown eyes of one to the hunger in the smile adorning the lips of the other.

"Crystal… You're both mad," she said, shaking her head. "Is this gains sickness?"

"Madness would be to let this opportunity go to waste!" Leon said, chuckling. "If we aim for those rare rewards, we'll be leaving the Brightnight exponentially stronger than when we came in! Exponentially!"

Kur nodded. "The gains we reap from here… With Leon's party supporting us? No one else in the Scimitar will be able to match what we're about to achieve. So, we need to push and squeeze as much out of this jungle as we can!"

Leon barked out a laugh. "Glad we're in agreement, then! I mean, if that's okay with you Row?"

The red-haired leader sighed and shook her head, raising her hands in defeat.

"Oh, we'll do it. It would be a waste, alright," she said. "But me, Gad and Calli at least will keep our heads straight and cool!"

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Leon asked, with mocked affront.

"You know damn well what I mean! You two are like kids in one of those toy store things!" Row threw back. "You're practically salivating here!"

Leon wiped at his grin. "Well, we did pay a lot of XP to get in here… We might as well reap the benefits and get an awesome return on our investment!"

"Ugh!"

"Speaking of Calli," Kur suddenly said, the smile vanishing from his face. "I'm sorry. That should've been me."

Leon's head tilted to one side, and he fixed Kur with a level stare.

"Calli did what she had to do," he said, no shadow of doubt, anger or anything other than steeled resolve in his brown eyes. "And until you once again understand what it means to be a party leader, Kur, your path will remain blocked."

Row stared in mute shock from one to the other.

"We are party leaders, Kur, and I think I understand what is hindering you… So start by remembering what it is that we do, and that which we must bear," Leon said. "Unless you surpass this, you will never be a real party leader again."

And with that, the paladin rose to his feet and walked away, headed back to the glowing, blue aethermancer ten.

"Kur…" Row said.

"It's fine," Kur said. "He's right, isn't he? Even today, I hesitated. Nar and Eum attacked that thing of their own accord, thinking that was my unspoken, and obvious order…"

He snorted. "That delay gave that ripper the chance it needed to jump over Eum and make towards our non-melee. Had Nar not been as fast in reacting as he is, things would've gone a lot worse for us today. A lot worse."

Row hesitated, but she nodded. She squeezed his shoulder, before she too got up to go check on the injured.

"I could tell you things that would help. Maybe," she said. "But I believe this is something that you need to figure out and resolve yourself."

He nodded.

"But for what's worth? I knew you were facing this challenge before I reached out to join your party for this delve, and before I placed my party under your command. So, I fully believe in you, Kur," she said.

But was that a mistake? Kur wondered, as she left.

He brought out his [Apprentice Seal of Authority] and held it with both hands. As of now, that [Worthiness] stat was still sitting squarely at 0%, and he was starting to wonder if it would ever increase, or if he would ever be worthy of his position again… Or if he would instead let them all down in the most catastrophic of ways.

**********

The rain continued to pound the jungle throughout the remainder of the day, and the drained delvers hunkered down in the loentu's nest to heal and recover. Mul didn't leave his spot outside in the rain until after dinner time, and nobody had disturbed him in this most crucial moment of beginning to gain a handle over his rage, or when he'd returned, soaking, and sat down by himself in the cave.

Nar, Leon, and some of the others who were in working shape went over to their provisional camp to pull down everything and move it over to the loentu's cave, where they assembled a more proper camp site from which to base their operations over the next couple of days. The recently healed were moved into camp and placed on mattresses within their tents, and Leta, Jasphaer, and Era continued to monitor them throughout the day.

Now, late into the night, Nar found himself on watch, and losing his thoughts to the singsong of the rain cascading outside as he ignored the occasional tremor within his body. They had no lights with them, in order for their [Dark Vision] to work unimpeded, thus Nar stared out as the raindrops crisscrossed the dark of night with lines of white.

Era and Raf were seated off to one side, chatting animatedly but in hushed whispers, and the last member of the watch, Jaz, was similarly quiet, and staring out into the rain. It was rare to find the jokester in such a gloomy demeanor, but lost to his own, painful, regret filled thoughts, Nar didn't pay him any heed.

Ouch… he thought, as a needling of pain indicated that something else had gone amiss within him, this time just behind his left knee. With a sigh, he set his aura to the task, but the fact that so many hours later, his body was still suffering the consequences from his earlier overuse of [Aura Quickening], only lent further weight to Jasphaer's admonishment. He couldn't repeat that insanity again, or he'd risk making himself useless in the middle of battle.

Not until my self-healing improves, at least. Though, is this not the way to improve it? Nar thought, with a wry smile upon his lips. Still, Jasphaer was the healer, and in terms of health his word was above even Kur's.

TING!

Oh? Is it here? Nar thought, a jolt of anticipation pulling him from the dark vortex taking over his mind.

"Gains have been calculated," Jaz said, frowning at his own UI. "Well, let's see what we got for all that mess."

Nar pulled up his own notification, and his eyebrows knitted together.

Wow… Wow.

Wow… Nar thought again, his eyebrows rising further and further the lower he read. I need to thank Leon tomorrow for letting us keep going for as long as possible. Crystal! How much is that? Excluding another massive dump into [Aura***], that's 78 points in one go… Damn. Now this is what you call gains! And finally upgraded [Aura Quickening] again. What's it look like now?

From 0.1 to 0.15… Not bad, but I wish there had been a duration increase as well, Nar thought. And you can say that again about several physical and mental damage.

Then he tutted. No [Mastery] upgrade, though? Pile… It's really slowing down.

He blinked off his UI and considered the rain outside.

The lines look sharper, and it's easier to see the tree line beyond the rain, Nar thought. And glancing down at the jungle floor, where the gory remains of the loentu turned the place into a swamp of blood and death, it was also a lot easier to pick up the details of their harvested bodies now. If he focused with his [Sight], he could even trace the individual ripples forming across the sheen of water saturating the mud.

Isn't it crazy that just as my attributes go up, so do the attributes from the tougher beasts I move onto? He wondered to himself. Is there a point when a combat class finally overtakes the beasts and monsters, and they can just slay anything with impunity, even in the darkness of the Deep Deep?

He sighed. Doubt it. They say you need several Named Few for a Deep Deep expedition… And then, is that when you start fighting against the Formless and pushing back against the Evil Gods?

Power at such levels was such an impossible concept to even ponder. More than just numbers going up, his master had described Tys' prowess as though she was an entire existence above his own. Someone who had fundamentally become something else, and was now nigh on unrecognizable as a sapient anymore, safe perhaps for her body shape.

I wonder how it will feel like, he thought, folding his arms as he gazed across the tree line, his senses fully extended in order to help Jaz watch out for threats. If the me that had just left the cubeplant met the me now, I don't think I would be able to recognize that person as myself either. Pile! I would probably move so fast it would look like I was just teleporting around! I didn't even have [Sight] back then! I wonder if I'm strong enough to face those giant guardians now…

Something within him told him that no, no he wasn't. And not even close.

Crystal, is there just no end to growth? He wondered. Suppose I'll have to find out…

But thoughts of those giant guardian's inevitably pulled him back into the darkness, past the Gates, through the challenges of the Upper Levels, the cannibals of the Mid-Levels, and the insanity of the Upper-Depths… All the way through a tiny, hexagonal corridor, and into a stifling, sweltering, piled up jumble of buildings, factories, chapels, people and an endless pile of aether trash. A place he would never return to.

Eum had told him that loss was weighing down his blade, and perhaps the wild tygaris was correct in his assessment. It had been a long while since he'd felt that sort of thrill as when he'd risked it all against the skull ripper, and it had been liberating. But by all the Gods and All That Was, he just couldn't do it… He couldn't let go of his dad and move on. And every time the thought of doing so even crossed his mind, his aura core began to bubble and seethe within him, churning in revulsion at the very notion of moving on.

No… It's still too soon, Nar decided. And outside, the rain continued to fall upon that upturned field of corpses.