NOVEL NEXT CHAPTER 60 The Combat Cleric
While Rebecca is in a one-on-one duel with the undead swordsman, Jessica and Dexter work together to occupy the other boss.
Koromei, the Undead Entomancer Lvl. ???
HP 2600/2600
Insect Summoning: Nest of Wasps!
Insect Summoning: Swarm of Locusts!
A few hundred wasps and locusts came out of nowhere and headed toward where the pair were.
"Jess, put those skills to use!" yelled Dexter at his companion. "Don't let them spread out!"
He then tore a scroll that would allow their status window to tell them what spells their opponent was casting.
Spell-Detection Scroll!
Of the trio, Rebecca is the one most ill-suited to fight someone who summons hundreds of small insects. On the other hand, Jessica's and Dexter's skillsets are more suited to counter the summoner's swarming abilities.
"No need to tell me!" responded Jessica.
She conjured a ball of divine energy and placed it where the mass of the insect was. After a few seconds, it detonated, causing the explosion to hit the insects directly.
Divine Burst!
Divine Burst 5
Description: Conjures a ball of energy that emits divine and physical force, which explodes upon the caster's will. Deals 110 points of damage in a 9-foot radius.
Cost: 40 MP
Cooldown: 20 seconds
[You have slain Wasp Lvl. 83. You have absorbed 830 Essence.]
[You have slain Wasp Lvl. 81. You have absorbed 810 Essence.]
[You have slain Wasp Lvl. 85. You have absorbed 850 Essence.]
[You have slain Locust Lvl. 82. You have absorbed 820 Essence.]
[You have slain Locust Lvl. 81. You have absorbed 810 Essence.]
[You have slain Locust Lvl. 87. You have absorbed 870 Essence.]
[You have slain...]
[You have slain...]
[You have slain...]
"Whoa!" exclaimed Dexter. "Level 80 with that low HP?"
Individually, the insects are not a threat to any of them, but in large numbers, they can be a threat either through their low but numerous damage pilling up fast or by being a distraction and leaving them open to another attack. The wasps, in particular, have a low chance of stunning their target. If it's just a single wasp, this is negligible. However, if dozens of wasps tried to sting their target at once, the possibility of causing stun increases significantly.
Fortunately, Jessica has a divine Area of Effect spell available.
Just as Rebecca claimed the Paladin class for herself, Jessica found a class that perfectly complemented her existing skillset: Combat Cleric.
It is a unique variant of the cleric class. While the traditional cleric exclusively focuses on support and healing, the Combat Cleric allows users to access offensive and crowd control-type spells typically available only for combat-oriented mages.
As far as the trio knows, Jessica is currently the only Combat Cleric in the Lorikan player base and possibly the world.
Divine Burst seems to have taken out the majority of the insects. But to be safe, Dexter also lobbed a couple of fire grenades to take out any surviving insects.
Fire Grenade! Fire Grenade!
As Dexter's grenade incinerated the remaining insects, Jessica prepared to cast another offensive spell.
Holy Gavel!
A massive hammer was conjured out of thin air and descended upon their opponent. However, just as the hammer is about to hit, Koromei, the Undead Entomancer, casts a defensive spell.
Earth Dome!
The earth converged where Koromei was and covered him by forming a dome to protect him from all attacks.
BANG!
Despite the enemy being undead and having an inherent weakness to holy, it uses earth-attributed spells. As such, the advantage a holy magic would usually have against an undead is not at play in the clash. And while it's true that Holy Gavel also has physical damage, it wasn't strong enough to break the enemy's defense.
The hammer did little damage as the Earth Dome successfully protected its caster. Jessica's Holy Gavel spell has a lesser level than the defensive spell of their opponent.
"Of course, it won't be that easy," said Dexter teasingly. "Anything else on the menu, Jess?"
"Shut it, Dex!" hissed Jessica, "Your tone isn't helping!"
"I don't have many offensive spells!" she said defensively. "But I can make up for it by other spells."
Jessica, eager to add to their team's firepower, spread out her skill point allocation to have offense, defense, support, and heal-type spells. As a result, while she does not have many spells for any specific category, she can fulfill several roles at once.
Depending on the scenario, this may be a pro or a con. She only has Divine Burst as an AoE and Holy Gavel as a single-target offensive spell, and the rest of her spells are for other purposes.
For the most part, her build is versatile in fulfilling several roles as it helps the trio take care of all sorts of enemies while exploring the Crypt. But its weakness became glaringly obvious when up against a boss-type caster. She will lose in a magic duel because she has no powerful spells.
However, this is only if she's fighting alone.
"We did tell you, Jess!" said Dexter, half-seriously and half-jokingly. "Let me take care of that shield of his!"
Lorik Dynamite!
BOOM!
The Lorik Dynamite is one of the loots they found within the crypt, and Dex has chosen to take it for himself to add to his arsenal. Since poison is not useful against the undead, he has to look for alternate means of dealing damage directly against them- the trio can't rely on Rebecca to do all the fighting.
The dynamite made a noticeable hole in the defensive dome of the enemy. Upon seeing an opening in the dome, Dexter loaded, aimed, and fired a crossbow bolt magazine filled with exploding bolts.
Thanks to the Automatic Crossbow that Adam gave him, he can shoot several arrows in quick succession despite not having the archer class. Furthermore, since a crossbow is not as popular as a bow amongst archers, the demand for bolts isn't as great as that of arrows. So, Dexter has an abundant amount of regular and exploding bolts.
Exploding Bolts!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
CRASH!
Due to the explosion happening within an enclosed space thanks to the dome, the damage is contained right where Koromei was. Surprisingly, it wasn't as high as Dexter had hoped.
[You have dealt 84 damage to Koromei, the Undead Entomancer Lvl ???.]
[You have dealt 77 damage to Koromei, the Undead Entomancer Lvl ???.]
[You have dealt 63 damage to Koromei, the Undead Entomancer Lvl ???.]
Earth Wall!
After the exploding bolts detonated upon impact, the dome collapsed, revealing that Koromei conjured a smaller but thicker defense. The Entomancer conjured a wall to shield himself from most of the blast from the exploding bolts that Dexter shot. Then, it retaliated by summoning several batches of insects.
And this time, it wasn't just flying insects.
Insect Summoning: Swarm of Centipedes!
Insect Summoning: Army of Giant Ants!
Insect Summoning: Bike of Hornets!
Hundreds of centipedes, Ants the size of a small rat, and hornets began to crawl from where the Koromei stood. Then, they all uniformly headed towards the duo.
"Eew!" exclaimed Jessica in disgust. "I hate worms!"
"They're not worms," Dexter corrected her. "Centipedes are anthropods, kinda like shrimp and lobsters."
"Dex, I don't care!" responded Jessica. "They're disgusting!"
At this, Jessica activated a crowd-control spell
Divine Cage!
It is a spell that traps groups of enemies in one place and keeps them within that space for as long as the spell persists. However, since Jessica only has the spell at Tier 2, it can only hold the Entomancer and his summons for 3 seconds at best. Furthermore, the Divine Cage is a one-way trap, meaning the targets trapped within can still be attacked while their attacks cannot go through the cage.
Fortunately, this is still enough time for Jessica and Dexter to take out as many insects as possible and damage Koromei directly.
First, Dexter began shooting exploding bolts at the swarm again and throwing a couple of fire grenades for good measure.
Unfortunately, Koromei did not take any damage as he was able to cast an Earth Wall to protect himself from all the explosions. But at the very least, many insects still succumbed to the explosions.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Fire Grenade! Fire Grenade!
[You have slain...]
[You have slain...]
[You have slain...]
Second, Jessica cast her AoE again within the cage of her creation- taking out vast numbers of the congested insects.
Divine Burst!
[You have slain...]
[You have slain...]
[You have slain...]
And then, all of a sudden, she started screaming again.
"DEX, I DON'T CARE WHAT THEY ARE! THEY CRAWL!"
This is because the cage had been broken after the 3-second mark, and also, she noticed that many of the centipedes and giant ants survived the explosions by digging and hiding underground. After the explosion, those who hid underground began climbing back out and headed towards them again.
Holy Gavel!
[You have slain...]
[You have slain...]
[You have slain...]
The Holy Gravel, while not technically an AoE, also took out several insects at once; all Jessica had to do was target an area with the most insects lumped together. But still, since it's not an AoE, the number of insects she took down was not as many as Dexter could.
"THEY CRAWL LIKE WORMS! WITH LEGS! MANY LEGS! THEY DISGUST ME!"
After letting sentiment out of her system, she exhaled. Then, as if she didn't have an outburst, she spoke gently and softly.
"Dex, your turn, please."
Dexter started shooting exploding bolts and throwing grenades again. The second batch of explosives caught the centipedes and giant ants that dug underground to escape the explosion he launched.
Fire Grenade! Fire Grenade! Fire grenade!
Exploding Bolts!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
[You have slain...]
[You have slain...]
[You have slain...]
[You have slain...]
[You have slain...]
[You have slain...]
Before the last explosions took out the insects, Koromei cast his barrier to protect himself.
Earth Dome!
Based on their first experience with the spell, they know that only Dexter's dynamite is effective against the dome. But before Dexter threw another dynamite, the two exchanged glances and nodded. They wordlessly agreed to wait a few seconds to have Jessica's spells complete their cooldowns.
There is no doubt that the Entomancer is summoning insects once again. Still, they already knew how to counter them, so they judged it was more advantageous to have Jessica's spells ready, even at the cost of giving Koromei extra time to summon more insects.
After several seconds, Jessica's spells can be cast again.
"Dex, I'm all set," said Jessica. "Destroy his dome."
"On it, Jess," responded Dexter. "Leave this to moi."
Lorik Dynamite!
BOOM!
As expected, the dynamite opened a hole in the Entomancer's barrier. The duo then unleashed their other offensive options of Divine Burst, Holy Gravel, Fire Grenade, and Exploding Bolts to take out the new swarm of insects that Koromei summoned.
As the AoE spells and grenades take care of the summons of the Entomancer, Dexter continues nerding out.
"I wonder why this guy can summon non-insects?" he continued. "He's an Entomancer- meaning insect summoner. Maybe the centipede summon is a special skill?"
Jessica couldn't care less. The centipede looks like an insect to her and is one of the creepiest insects in the world.
If Dexter and Jessica are ill-suited to combat a swordsman like Akamir, it is the opposite when fighting a summoner class like Koromei, the Entomancer. This is why the duo does not feel as threatened in this fight.
While the defensive spells of the Entomancer are a challenge to break through, the duo can eliminate the summons due to the nature of their offensive capabilities. While few and not as powerful, Jessica's offensive spells are enough to kill several dozen weak insects at once. Meanwhile, Dexter's explosive attacks are instantaneous and do not require a cooldown as they are consumable items.
Together, they are Koromei's worst match possible.
Once again, they cleared another round of swarm but could not harm Koromei himself due to his Earth Wall that he casts while within the Earth Dome. But it's not completely a loss for them; they have eliminated the swarm of summoners and gained massive amounts of Essence for their efforts.
"Grrrrrraggggh!"
The Entomancer yelled in frustration. His summons has been nearly decimated within a span of a few seconds. But despite his losses, he's still not out of the game yet.
If sheer numbers can't win, then he will focus on quantity instead.
Insect Strengthening: Gigantification!
He chose one of the few surviving centipedes that could hide alongside him behind the Earth Wall. The regular-sized centipede grew to the size of an adult snake.
Koromei then proceeded to cast the same buff on several more centipedes.
Insect Strengthening: Gigantification!
Insect Strengthening: Gigantification!
Insect Strengthening: Gigantification!
Over a dozen super-sized centipedes are now headed where the duo is at fast speed.
Jessica yelped in disgust once again. And Dexter, for a change, shared her reaction- somewhat.
"Okay, that is disgusting," he said. "But still pretty awesome."
"If you think they're awesome, why help him instead?" snapped Jess. "I'll cast a shield and won't include you."
"No, no, I'm kidding," said Dexter pleadingly. "Don't leave me out, please."
Divine Protection!
Jessica used Divine Protection to protect herself and Dexter. But she's not done yet.
While the Entomancer was busy casting a buff spell on his centipedes, Jessica targeted Koromei with another one of her control spells.
Martyr's Chain!
Martyr's Chain
Description: Binds a target in place for 3 seconds. Target is unable to move or take action. Targets with Dark-affinity may take extra damage and extend the duration.
Cost: 80 MP
Cooldown: 60 seconds
With the target locked in, she spammed all her long-range recovery spells- at the boss.
Holy Light!
Healing Wave!
Cleansing Light!
[You have dealt 46 damage to Koromei, the Undead Entomancer Lvl ???.]
[You have dealt 47 damage to Koromei, the Undead Entomancer Lvl ???.]
[You have dealt 43 damage to Koromei, the Undead Entomancer Lvl ???.]
Grrrrrrraaaaagh! Grrrrrrraaaaagh! Grrrrrrraaaaagh!
Since Koromei, the Entomancer, is undead, the healing spell becomes a damage-over-time spell. And just as he continued to take damage, the gigantified centipedes began to swarm the duo.
"Your turn, Dex," said Jessica.
"Thanks!" said Dexter in response. "Leave this to me."
As he said this, he drank a Haste of Potion. Then, he began to take action.
Exploding Bolts! Bang! Bang! Bang!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Thanks to the protective barrier, Dexter can safely shoot and not be swarmed by the now-enlarged centipedes. Also, while he's busy shooting, he's also throwing grenades to damage the other targets.
Exploding Bolts! Fire Grenades!
Exploding Bolts! Fire Grenades!
Exploding Bolts! Fire Grenades!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
[You have slain Giant Centipede Lvl. 60. You have absorbed 3600 Essence.]
[You have slain Giant Centipede Lvl. 60. You have absorbed 3600 Essence.]
[You have slain Giant Centipede Lvl. 60. You have absorbed 3600 Essence.]
And on top of that, thanks to his enhanced speed, he can also throw an explosive at the summoner.
Lorik Dynamite!
[You have dealt 350 damage to Koromei, the Undead Entomancer Lvl ???.]
Fire Grenades, Exploding Bolts for the gigantified centipedes, and dynamite for the summoner. He was able to accomplish all three thanks to his heightened speed.
Unfortunately, Marty's Chain's effect ended before he could throw another dynamite at Koromei, and the Entomancer immediately re-cast his defensive spells.
But the duo didn't mind it. Dexter was successful at eliminating all the giant centipedes and was even able to deal direct damage at Koromei.
"Did you see Essence from the giant centipede?" asked Dexter. "Such a pity we can't keep doing this forever."
Earth Dome!
Dark Recovery!
Insect Summoning: Bike of Hornets!
Insect Strengthening: Gigantification!
Insect Strengthening: Gigantification!
Insect Strengthening: Gigantification!
As he said this, they detected that Koromei began casting spells after spells while within the dome. Thanks to the spell identification scroll Dexter activated at the start of the fight; they can tell which spells the Entomancer has been casting.
Aside from the usual defensive and summoning spells he has shown so far, they also saw Dark Recovery added to his spell line-up. Going by the name, it is most likely a healing-type spell for the undead.
"We can't keep doing this exchange anymore," concluded Dexter. "We need to prevent the summoning to focus on eliminating the boss."
"I couldn't agree more," seconded Jessica. "Besides, I hate his summons."
"I'm doing my thing, Jess," advised Dexter. "Can you keep casting Healing Hands on me?"
Jessica stepped closer to Dexter and laid her hand on his shoulder.
Healing Hands!
Unlike the sisters, Dexter chose not to add another class despite having the option to do so. Rebecca offered him the Divine Archer class tome, but he declined. He reasoned it was better to focus on one class before adding another.
But as a result, Dexter has managed to gain intimate familiarity with the Toxin Herbalist skills. That, and the fact that Adam gave him helpful advice on efficiently developing his build as a poisoner, has shown excellent results.
Due to being solely focused on a single class, Dexter has reached an adept rank in Toxin Herbalism while the Rivers are still intermediate in their respective classes. By reaching Adept rank in Toxin Herbalism, he has unlocked powerful traits and skills that a poisoner can possess.
Dexter placed his crossbow in his back and pulled a dagger. Then, he sliced both of his wrists.
Blood Catalyst!
Toxikinesis!