My 3rd Return: Archercaster's Birth

"Yahooooii."

Not long after entering the dungeon, a narrow corridor stretched out before us. Appa eagerly ran ahead, confidently performing his halberd. I had instructed him to do so, and surely anticipated something, but it drifted off course.

In close proximity to the enemies, Appa jumped high, performing acrobatic spins, and then launched his weapon, not aiming at any specific monsters—they were a school of large fish-like creatures swimming(?), hovering above the ground. With an appropriate smile on his face, Appa landed his foot on one of the monsters and kicked it forcefully.

I thought he would immediately retrieve his weapon, but Appa continues to attack with his hands and feet as if he were a martial artist, even though he’s not. The reason is, I believe, not so difficult to understand; there's an aura emanating from the planted halberd, affecting all approaching enemies. The effect is that they move and attack in an irregular manner, as if struggling to perceive Appa as an infiltrator among them.

I was completely taken by surprise. There's a gameplay mechanic I had never known before. Even without using his halberd, which is his main weapon, Appa easily dispatched the enemies in a matter of seconds. That's how strong a true DPS can be.

"So, did you find something interesting, Blue?" Appa approached us, casually patting the halberd on his back, as if he had just completed a trivial task. We had been observing from a distance.

"It's really intriguing, but I never thought it would be like this," I said.

"He just wanted to show off, you know, since both of you are DPS," Ritta interjected.

"Hey, hey, even so, I do understand the difference between magic and physical DPS."

Why did I instruct Appa to engage the enemies alone? It was so that I could follow their rhythm after observing each member. Of course, this one alone wouldn't provide me with a deep insight, but it's better than nothing at all.

But there is also another problem, I can't apply the same principle for support classes like Subtle and Nomad. In some cases, I believe we need to be directly involved in battle to get to know each other better. Or, is there another way?

"At this point, with ten minutes left on the countdown, as you can see, this whole dungeon is like an ant's nest," Subtle's comment next to me was met with my agreement, as I was opening the floating map. Ten minutes is impossible for anyone to completely explore and conquer this dungeon. However, our guide map is almost complete.

"Rarely does Ritta invite us to conquer an unusual dungeon, and after hearing that her old senior is returning to the game, I immediately contacted my friend who joined the dungeon conquest squad," Appa explained.

Not only are they diligent, but they must be a group of professional players; that's what I deduced from their almost perfect mapping. Thanks to this, I have even solved half of the problems that I might have faced initially.

There are some markings on their mapping that I can't just ignore. As if understanding my concern, Subtle said, "Those places are for farming shells, the latest highly in-demand items in the market."

As valuable as it may be, that is not our reason for entering this dungeon. Besides, it deviates significantly from the final boss's room.

"As we discussed before, we will only enter this room to take our extra time," I said, showing them the way. I hadn't finished explaining yet, but the others had already continued.

"Then face the mini boss."

"And the last boss."

They made it sound easy, and I chuckled at their confidence.

From the beginning, the developers won't design a dungeon that is impossible to conquer; there are mechanisms where players can gain extra time, and those points are scattered throughout the place.

"The next spot will take up quite a bit of time if I do it alone," said Appa.

"We don't have to waste time, nor should we relax," I replied. "The rest of you besides me will do it, how about that?"

In reality, Appa could solve the next spot by himself, but as he said, it would waste time. On the other hand, I realized that my suggestion might be excessive.

"I think Appa and I are more than enough," Ritta interjected. "If senior wants to see these two in action, the next spot is too weak to prove anything."

Only two of us have entered this dungeon before, Appa and Ritta. That's why I value their suggestions. This means that regardless of the difficulty, Nomad and Subtle involvement in the next spot will not make any difference. Noted.

"Well, then there's no other choice but to dive into battle alongside you all later," I said.

"Don't worry, even though they may seem that way, I guarantee their abilities, senior."

"What do you mean by 'even though we may seem that way'?"

"Let’s keep going! More time will be wasted if we just stand here.”

"Hey, answer my question!"

Ahead of me, Subtle and Nomad chased after Ritta, who had run a bit further. Only Appa and I were left. After exchanging a glance of agreement, we chased them.

The next room came into view. Appa, who had been running beside me at almost the same speed, suddenly surpassed me and effortlessly passed the others. Not wanting to be left behind, Ritta increased her speed to the point where she ran up the wall before leaping into the room.

"Those two," Nomad muttered.

"They didn't have to rush like that," Subtle added.

I was just enjoying how enthusiastic they were about conquering this place. They had been playing in this full dive version longer than I had, so they must have experienced sensations that I couldn't fully comprehend at the moment. Up to that point, at least I understood.

As we chased into the room, the pair had already sprung into action. I could see several different types of monsters. A giant frog leaped towards Ritta's unguarded back, but before it could reach her, a curved red slash split the frog in two.

Appa gave a smirk, as if waiting for a response.

"I was about to kick it, and you just had to get in my way," Ritta replied somewhat grumpily.

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

There wasn't much communication or eye contact between the two of them, but anyone could see that they had played together for a very long time, to the point where their coordination felt natural, almost like an innate talent.

If we add Subtle and Nomad to the mix...I suddenly became very curious about the full potential of this party right here and now.