BXBX NOVEL Chapter 174 Steel Sharpens Steel
"I WILL SURVIVE! I WILL NOT DIE AAAARRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
'What was that? Its power eclipsed anything I have seen before!' dumbfounded Tsugumi couldn't recognize the caliber signature.
"ARRRRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
An explosion of epic proportions detonated. Its power created shockwaves that threw Tsugumi off balance, Larua and Aurum similarly got stunned into silence. The very air ignited setting the entire area near Geo's position into a firestorm.
'Definitely needs a raise.'
Inwardly Tsugumi started to panic, a day ago, she could fight them all three at once. Yet in this battle, while she could see clearly how many levels the San-Baka grew; However the moves they just did eclipsed anything Tsugumi could do on her own.
'I am going to get left behind. All that talk and I suddenly became the weakest. NO! I will not despair! I just need to bring down this dragoneater and my brother will praise me! But how?'
She then remembered the moves the San-Baka did. Creating an Avatar with Aura and Spirit, Covering one's self in Spirit, and duplicating it. Creating a new energy by mixing calibers or what felt like it.
This was her natural weakness, as a sword woman Tsugumi had little to no options in fighting large or airborne targets.
"I need to take this bastard down. But my weapon is too small. I am like a fly trying to take down an elephant."
Yet no matter her excuses, the heroic figures of the men with her made her feel ashamed. These men desperately grappled for victory at any cost, this was why the heavens granted them power.
Tsugumi then made an en garde stance and closed her eyes. Aura and Spirit surged out of her like a tide that made the ground violently shake and silver lightning to electrify the area.
'I cannot reach you for my weapon is small. I cannot create an avatar but I can create a weapon.'
Her Aura started to coalesce and form into a gigantic 10-meter Javelin. More and more Aura flowed out of Tsugumi into the Aura construct. During her conversations with Hiro, her brother shared how malleable the calibers were. they could be shaped, reinforced, and most important of all controlled.
'The weapon is far too heavy and will fly too slow. So I will wrap it in Spirit to streamline it and allow it to fly like an arrow as Lars did with his body.'
Spirit from all around her suddenly surged towards the Aura Javelin and encased it with green armor.
'That looks good, but spearing the dragon eater is not enough. If your armor is hard, the best approach is to blow you from the inside. Hmm. Then I copy Geo and detonate my Aura. But with what?'
Detonating aura is a proven and tried tactic in Valorious, while wrapping something with Aura you ignite it using kinetic force or a spell. This causes the aura to create pressure and force.
'Let's copy Geo once more, If I fill the gaps in Aura with Spirit and seal it wouldn't it act like a mine?'
With the spirit weapon complete Tsugumi then used the last of her Aura to fire the thing like a crossbow bolt.
"DIE FOR ME YOU FAT FUCK!"
The Javelin traveled through the air at blinding speed. It eventually reached the dragon eater who created an Aura Barrier. Spear and shield clashed but after a few seconds of fierce resistance, the barrier broke and the weapon impaled the dragoneater in the mouth.
Smiling Tsugumi then gripped her hand into a fist signaling the moment for her Spirit and Aura in her Caliber construct to combine. The succeeding explosion turned the afternoon into day. When the light faded, three-quarters of the Goliath dragoneater body disappeared from the attack.
Tsugumi looked at the half-blown monster in front of her. If the Goliath Dragoneater spider looked like a full moon now it looks like an irregularly shaped crescent moon. The monstrosity cried in pain at having half its body blown up; the monster continued to walk while on fire.
"Tsk, it didn't die, I don't have enough juice for a similar strike. what to do. what to do." With the Caliber field, she protected herself with gone, Antlions again assaulted her intent on devouring her flesh.
The goliath dragon eater then started to put out the fires on its body by using its Aura. Meanwhile, the sword saint who still danced with the Hercules Antlions and Desert Dragons finally got rid of all of her excess Aura. As a consequence, she now had a clear head and analyzed the situation.
'The Antlions are merely fodder, the Desert Dragons are slow and a bit hard but could be cracked with a well-placed strike. Once I take down the spider I will retreat and have the guys help me clean up.'
Tsugumi leveled up more than once in the time the battle started, and while her kills could be considered significant that was not the reason she leveled up so quickly.
It should be known that the Battle Harem system has a flat exp raise of 1.3846. This meant each succeeding level would require a 38.46% increase per level. If level one needed 100 exp, level 2 would need 139 exp.
While this looked insignificant, it quickly ballooned the higher you go. Currently, Hiro at level 51, and needed to get 838,457,923 exp to reach level 52. The next level which uses the same number but with a 38% increase puts the exp needed to get to 53 at 1,160,928,840 exp, 54 at 1,607,422,072 exp, and so on.
The huge need for exp is the barrier that prevented most from passing level 40. After all, if you die it's over, so most only remained at the hunting grounds they know are safe. Tsugumi gained a lot of levels due to the party-sharing system. They currently granted 30% exp to everyone in the party for each kill they made.
And right now Tsugumi contributed the least. She started to get frustrated at the monsters in her party, a simple look at the mission order would show everyone how poorly she performed.
- Alert: [Fun Camp 02]: Difficulty: S Rewards: N/A Progress: 65% -
- Eliminate as much of the incoming horde as possible, while traveling to Partisan. Time to reach Partisan: 19 hrs 26 minutes | Monsters to be Eliminated 4,340 -
- Bounty Breakdown -
- Aurum Standar: Monsters Eliminated 1,125 | Hercules Antlion X 1,035 |Desert Dragon X 74 | Jormungandr X 1 | Mole Harvester x 15 -
- Fulgeo Renacida: Monsters Eliminated 2,879 | Hercules Antlion X 2692 |Five Tail Terror Scorpion X 49 | Mole Harvester x 45 -
- Larua Kirch: Monsters Eliminated 3,156 | Hercules Antlion X 3055 | Five Tail Terror Scorpion X 56 | Mole Harvester x 45 -
- Tsugumi Mitsurugi: Monsters Eliminated 900 | Hercules Antlion X 823 | Desert Dragon X 67 | Mole Harvester x 10 -
In just over three hours, eight thousand or 65% of the monster invasion has already been destroyed. Tsugumi who thought she was having a good run, grew spiteful as she saw the scoreboard. She prided herself in being the strongest of the four of them but the numbers showed otherwise.
She had the least kills on every type of target. Aurum even managed to kill one of the 30-meter Jormungandrs.
"Tsk, these bastards are too hard working. Let me win, it's my maiden battle you know?"
While Tsugumi injured the Dragoneater greatly she barely had any calibers left. The option of drinking Antlion blood remained, but how much would she need to restore them to full? A level-up would be best. but she couldn't kill the monsters fast enough.