NOVEL NEXT Chapter 60
"One more?" I asked as Aphrodite finished healing me.
"We've got a couple more minutes on our buffs, so why not?" Artemis said.
"Okay, but after this we're going back," Aphrodite replied. "I'm starving, and I want to take a bath."
"But you can just cast that little cantrip of yours and you'll be fresh in a matter of seconds!" I protested, as Artemis ran away from us.
"It's not about being clean, darling," Aphrodite said playfully, and ran her hands over her body. "It's about submerging your body and letting it relax."
"Of course. I totally get it," I lied through a smile, and then turned to look at Artemis.
The goddess of the hunt was running down the hill, shooting arrows at the large beasts that roamed on it. The forms of the large beasts shimmered as the arrows struck their bulky bodies, and they immediately started running at her with the intention of ramming her with their horns.
But this was a fool's errand since Artemis was way too fast for them, especially with her movement speed boosted by Aphrodite's buffs. This was the perfect XPing set up, and Artemis had quickly become the best mob train driver I had ever had the pleasure to XP with.
* * *
Name: Mana-Bred Olympus Catoblepas
Type: Beast
Level: 59
Disposition: Passive
HP: 1538/1881
Physical Attack: 678
Magic Attack: 464
Speed: 170
Attack Range: Melee
XP: 10586
Description: Catoblepases are magical evolutions of the common water buffalo. The evolutionary step is believed to have taken place when mana was infused into the buffalo's horns, making them much more powerful and heavy. The Olympus Mana-bred Catoblepases were created purely from the mana of Mount Olympus's core, for the sole purpose of creating hunting grounds for the gods that reside at the top of the mountain.
* * *
Creating these hulking beasts was one of Aphrodite's best ideas. The cost of creating each beast was not insignificant but considering that we could go XPing every day without the need to teleport to some dangerous faraway realm, I didn't mind that too much. We were still saving MP in the long run just by having more people generate resources for us.
I focused on the path Artemis was taking, leading the monster train between two large rocks where they couldn't help but fall in line one behind the other as they chased her. She had now gathered around two dozen beasts and was moving toward us in a wide arc so that the monsters would make a nice semi-circle as they approached.
"Good one!" I shouted as she ran past me, then I stepped forward for the next part of our routine.
I cast the debuff right as I was in the middle of the group of beasts and saw them screech to a halt before snapping their heads to face me instead of Artemis.
* * *
Name: Provocative Defiance
Level: 2
Type: Debuff
HP Consumed: 0
MP Consumed: 55
Power: 65
Range: 700 inches
Precondition: None
Description: A sudden burst of mana reaches all enemies around the user and forces them to consider the caster as the biggest threat at that time. This false perception fogs their ability to react defensively against the caster and thus they suffer a penalty from their attacks. Provokes nearby enemies and reduces their resistance to melee attacks by 11 for 20 seconds.
* * *
The good thing about this debuff was that it had a very high chance of succeeding. This time around, only two of the large buffalo-type creatures continued chasing Artemis and I had no doubt that Artemis was going to make short work of them, kiting them and taking them down with her bow.
But before the beasts moved any further, Artemis shot a stunning arrow, freezing one of them in place while Aphrodite cast a debuff of her own on the other.
* * *
Name: Rooted
Type: Debuff
Level: 24
Effect: Renders the target immobile for 15 seconds
Time Left: 14 seconds
* * *
The vines that sprung out of the ground had a good hold on the beast's legs and no matter how much it struggled to free itself, even damaging its limbs in the process, new ones materialized to keep it there.
Now I only had to worry about the monsters targeting me because of my debuff. I was buffed to my teeth and wearing heavy armor but it wasn't even top B-grade, much less enchanted. My Physical Defense was high enough to take quite a few hits but two dozen beasts with a level two times higher than mine would be tricky to say the least.
That was why I started counterattacking with my favorite offensive skill.
* * *
Name: Spear of the Thunder God
Level: 20
Type: Active
HP Consumed: 0
MP Consumed: 82
Power: 1142
Range: Melee
Precondition: Only usable with spears, lances, and polearms.
Description: The magnificence of the thunder god materializes as a shining orb of electricity around the weapon's blade. Upon contact with an enemy the electric field envelops them before crushing their bodies with terrible force and frying their insides. Affected creatures may become stunned for 7 seconds and the attack ignores shield defense bonuses.
* * *
The majority of the monsters were instantly stunned, eliminating them as a threat while I focused on the ones still attacking me. Their hits caused quite some damage but not nearly as much as if I hadn't stunned most of them.
Aphrodite started healing me straight away, while Artemis was now shooting one arrow after another at the few beasts around me. I quickly activated the next skill in my arsenal--one that made this whole XPing tactic so damn good.
* * *
Name: Maelstrom of Steel
Level: 20
Type: Active
HP Consumed: 0
MP Consumed: 57
Power: 1502
Range: Melee
Precondition: Only usable with spears, lances, and polearms.
Description: A swinging attack that can strike multiple enemies at once. Mana envelops the spear in the wielder's hands, making it spin extremely fast around its axis. The combination of magical spinning and the 360-degree rotation by the wielder delivers a devastating attack on up to five enemies, ignoring shield defense bonuses.
* * *
Having now caused a lot of collective damage and having sent my best two skills into cooldown, I triggered the third Area of Effect skill at my disposal.
* * *
Name: Sweeping Force Attack
Level: 15
Type: Active
HP Consumed: 0
MP Consumed: 34
Power: 391
Range: Melee
Precondition: Only usable with a polearm weapon.
Description: A mana-infused slash of the polearm extends its reach and cuts through multiple enemies without meeting any resistance. Attacks all enemies in range and ignores shield defense bonuses.
* * *
This was enough to finish off a couple of the catoblepases, the ones that Artemis had already struck critical hits on, and they fizzled into nothing as the mana holding them together disappeared. I focused on the couple of beasts that were not yet stunned, and hit one of them with a stunning attack of my own.
* * *
Name: Mana Stunning Pierce
Level: 4
Type: Active
HP Consumed: 0
MP Consumed: 85
Power: 1497
Range: 300 inches
Precondition: Only usable with spears, lances, and polearms.
Description: An incredibly powerful melee attack that charges the tip of the spear with an immense amount of concentrated mana. Upon contact, the mana is released at the target, knocking them back and stunning them for 5 seconds. Should the user wish it, this attack can be triggered from a distance, ignoring shield defense bonuses.
* * *
Instead of getting the "Stunned" debuff however, the beast disappeared as the powerful attack took the rest of its remaining HP. Now I just had to focus on the last one that was still moving. With each strike, my spear sank deep into its phantasmal flesh and it was only after I pulled my weapon back that I saw its wounds now shone with the purple color of mana, making it apparent that this was no living animal.
As the buffalo fell, the rest of them came out of their stunned state. Suddenly I was under attack from all sides by a multitude of angry beasts focused on killing me. Aphrodite started healing me again, keeping as much distance as the range of her healing spell would allow.
Staying away from me while she was replenishing my HP proved to be a good choice, since two of the monsters lost aggro on me once their debuffs had ended and charged at the person keeping me alive. These monsters might have only been beasts, but they knew enough to attack the healer first.
Being some distance away, Aphrodite was able to circle around to avoid them while still healing me. Artemis shot a stunning arrow at one of them and promptly took care of the other before it even had the chance to enjoy her mesmerizing perfume. The party was at its optimal performance level and I had the feeling this was probably the highest XP per minute party I'd ever been in... which was why we now did this every day.
As soon as the cooldown timer ended on my stunning skill, I started the same process again. This time it was much easier since there were fewer monsters to attack me. Aphrodite's MP was below its half point now, but this wave would not last much longer.
I often thought about how many more beasts we could pull and manage each time if we had someone who was a dedicated healer, instead of Aphrodite who was mainly a buffer with access to some basic healing spells. With our current party line-up, I couldn't see how we could come up with a better XPing process than this.