Surprise Attack

Dylan was assigned on lookout and to kill any of the passing kobolds, while Henrietta and Nora were once again assigned to offensive duty. At first, Charles was hesitant, knowing how Nora had collapsed after she forced herself in the first floor.

Yet, the girl insisted to help. It seems the hope of her comrades being alive had ignited her will to see this through.

Charles nodded, looked at Henrietta, and cast all three offensive boosts before taking a few random pebbles.

[Your beast's stats have all increased!]

"Guys, let me be clear, this will be a bit of a gamble," Charles said, "My Beast Energy recovery is really slow, so if I end up having to use Beast Integration now, we would spend ages in this floor. The best option we have is surprise attack."

"They seem unaware right now, which is our window," Henrietta added.

"Precisely, Henrietta, that fact is exactly what we will be taking advantage of. Are you ready? How about you, Nora? Don't use that magic you did before. Just stick to something strong that doesn't have an adverse effect on you."

"Thank you for the concern, Charles, but I won't." She promised, "You don't need to worry too much about me, this mission is my request, after all. I've gotten much stronger too."

"Okay, are we ready? Dylan, don't forget, if you hear the signal, get in the room and help. Otherwise, stay here."

With their points, they each have taken new skills and weapons. Nora has had a new weapon. This time, she wields a long, golden scepter with a crystal tip that alternated between deep red ruby and light sapphire in color. On its surface, vague engravings of flying animals could be seen.

Charles took two random pebbles the size of his hands and closed his eyes to concentrate. The pebbles began to grow heavier as white light seeped out of the charm and infused itself into them, prompting Charles to place the pebble on the ground.

[Anima Mirror]

The pebbles have completely disappeared, and in its place, there were two mirror images of him. Almost immediately, he found out the two mirror images would only stand still when not actively commanded, which meant a lapse of concentration should they go into a large scale battle, yet for this surprise attack, they could be useful as a decoy to take the brunt of the room's aggression from Nora and Henrietta.

"Nora, start your offense, we will execute the plan shortly. Henrietta, go with the clones, alright?"

"Got it."

Nora tapped her scepter onto the ground, causing a crisp noise to echo throughout the hall. A cold feeling started to gather around her body, followed by the sensation of heat as embers and snowflakes started to dance all around her body. A magic circle appears below her the moment she closed her eyes.

[Boreas Trance]

[Increases the power of ice magic by 20%]

[Phoenix Trance]

[Increases the power of fire magic by 20%]

[Hidden Skill: Trance Fusion has been triggered!]

The embers and snowflakes stopped dancing and coalesced behind Nora, forming the illusion of a pair of massive, insectoid wings.

[Thysania Trance]

[Increases the power of ice and fire magic by 50%]

"Now, Henrietta!"

BLAM!

Right after he spoke the command, Henrietta kicked the door into splinters and charged in like a wild beast, aiming toward the green hourglass-like object floating in the center.

At the same time, Charles directed the two clones to run inside and wreak as much havoc as they could to take their attention away from Henrietta. Sweat started to pour from his brow and made his clothes damp. As he did not share vision with the two clones, most of the movements of the clone depended on his ability to improvise.

One thing was clear, controlling two clones were almost too much to bear.

Gurak! Gurak!

Kyak! Kyak! Kyak!

Inside, the surprise attack seems to be working, as the kobolds started to take out their clubs, spears, and swords. Their weapons were not as crude, presenting a bigger challenge to them.

In front of Nora, countless icicles has materialized around her, each much bigger and felt much stronger than the attacks she did before, while a massive sword made of fire floated right in the middle of the icicles like a sun amongst cold night stars. It was a beautiful sight.

Henrietta tore through the crowds with her claws and teeth, her only focus were the hourglass as she ripped apart anyone who tried to block her way. Blood covered her body, to the point she looked like the god of carnage.

Perhaps, she indeed deserved that kind of title.

SLAM!

The room almost shook as she tossed a kobold with a horned helmet towards the wall, sweeping the wave of smaller kobolds as they were pushed back and turned into mincemeat on the walls.

Zaakra! Loras!

The kobolds became even angrier, as they all attempted to surround Henrietta. Taking advantage of the chaos, Henrietta jumped and took the hourglass, before she performed a backflip and landed on the head of one of the kobolds.

She then used the kobold as a step, crushing it to the ground and letting her propel towards the door.

"Now, Nora!"

Henrietta landed outside and quickly stepped out of the way, letting Nora do her part. She pointed her scepter forward, sending the spells she had prepared right towards the horde centered in the middle of the room.

[Icicle Spear]

[Fireblade Merge]

Swish!

Kaboom!

The effect was immediate. Shards of ice all dashed towards their intended target, followed by the massive sword that prompted an explosion in the room.

Their vision was blurred for a moment, as smoke filled the room and everywhere around it.

When the smoke dispersed, calling it devastating would be an understatement.

The room now has no trace of living beings that were there. All they could see were pieces of the ice spear and a massive scorched hole in the middle. It was like seeing the ground zero of a massive disaster.

Unfortunately, when they were about to celebrate, an exasperated voice said.

"Guys, good to see you're done. A little help here, please?"