Episode 4: To Start Over (7)

Following the usage of [ Soul Channeler ], a notification appeared before Jace.

"...so it does ask for permission, huh?" Jace turned his head over towards the direction of Landon who was shooting out a constant stream of bullets at the giant flower. "...Landon. What I'm about to do can probably go south. Do you trust me?"

"Blergh! Just do whatever!" The blonde-haired man replied, sliding to the side as he dodged the vine whips from the boss monster. "But hurry!"

"..." With a final confirmation from Landon, Jace nodded his head. "Yes."

There was no going back on his words anymore. Whatever happens next, he will have to face it head-on. Thus, following his answer, another stream of notifications began appearing before the young man.

[ Establishing link between the Hunter "Jace" and the Hunter "Landon"... ]

[ -Current Soul Compatibility: 70%. ]

...

"T-This is...?" As soon as the soul linkage process began, Jace felt that another thread was being made to connect himself with Landon. However, this thread was much different to the strings that [ Soul Channeler ] had made. It was a distinct and weird feeling, one that he couldn't describe. "..."

[ The Bond: "Whiff & Indolence" has been established! ]

[ Congratulations! Your first link has been formed! ]

[ Your stats have increased by 2! ]

[ Certain skills used on "Landon" will be enhanced! ]

[ Skill "Soul Linkage" has been updated. ]

...

"...!" As the notifications came to an end, the weird feeling surrounding the link unexpectedly grew stronger. But, just as suddenly as it did so, the strange feeling abruptly dispersed away, leaving behind nothing. "What the...?"

In a moment of confusion, the young man turned to look at Landon, noting that he was still the same as before the link. There weren't any changes to his performance nor did it seem like he noticed anything off.

"Does he not feel the link?" The mystery surrounding the 'Bond Mechanic' had yet to be solved. But, it was a topic for another time. "...well, whatever. Let's deal with the boss first." Shaking his head to rid away his thoughts, he turned his attention to the boss the next moment.

Then, with his pistol in hand, he shot out a bullet over to the white flower. Right after, he leapt backwards, repositioning himself near Landon. With [ Soul Channeler ] now activated, he had to put the skill to full use, dealing damage in order to heal Landon.

"Hey, Lazy Eyes! Is this your doing???" Taking note that Jace was now right beside him, Landon took the opportunity to ask a question. "What's this thing I'm feeling right now?? Or well... What did the skill do?!"

"Just focus on the battle at hand," Jace calmly replied. "I'll explain things later."

Though there were still many questions left unanswered, Jace couldn't check the effects of the link given the current circumstances. There was no time to get distracted. After all, the two men were currently in a boss fight.

As such, following his words, Jace began matching Landon's rhythm, shooting out a bullet every time the blonde-haired man attacked. It was almost as if they were in sync. Though, it wasn't perfect.

"Landon, to your left!" Jace shouted out, shooting down the vines that were creeping up to Landon.

"Already on it!" Nodding his head in reply, Landon slid down onto the ground, shooting out a barrage of bullets around him the next moment.

[ Marksman Skill - Rapid Spray. ]

Though Landon's accuracy was just the same as ever, he used his misses to his advantage, dishing out a large burst of damage in long intervals. Meanwhile for Jace, for every shot Landon missed, he followed up with a shot of his own.

At the same time, he ensured the safety of the aggressive Landon, providing shields to him when needed. The two men were single-handedly fighting off the boss monster like it was nothing. The giant flower felt helpless. Thus, after a few more instances of damage, it began to retract its vines, closing itself into a bulb.

"Scree!" At that moment, the boss began to let out a piercing scream, opening up itself once again. But, the beautiful flower was no longer to be seen. It now looked to be a carnivorous monster, ready to devour the hunters before it.

"Master Landon, Jace!" From a distance, the old man that had been fending off the vines that were attempting to drag Derek away shouted out. "The boss is in its second phase! Retreat back! I'll draw its attention!"

"Y-Yikes...!" Landon cried out, abruptly stopping his attacks as he attempted to fall back. However, right at that instance, the carnivorous plant began raining down acid onto the area. "D-Dammit, not again!"

As the acid was about to hit Landon, a sudden forcefield appeared around him.

[ Synergist Skill - Rendering Field. ]

"...keep shooting!" Jace cried out, not stopping at his attacks. Though he had blinked away to avoid the attack from the boss, he didn't forget about Landon. With the shields provided by [ Phantom Mirage ] and [ Rendering Field ], the acidic rain was abruptly nullified. "Use your best abilities on it now!"

In addition to the shield's effect, the boss was completely taken aback, as if it was paralyzed. It was all thanks to Rendering Field, providing the effect of paralysis and [Weakness] onto the carnivorous monster that had attempted to inflict a debuff.

[ Rendering Field (A) ] [ Active Ability ] [ 120 MP ]

A magic forcefield is created around an ally, nullifying the first instance of debuff that hits them. If a debuff was nullified this way, the enemy that inflicted said debuff would instead be temporarily paralyzed and be inflicted with [Weakness] for two and a half seconds.

*[Weakness]: Those who are inflicted by this status will take 20% more damage.

...

"Right...!" Landon roared out, rushing forward as he began another assault on the boss. Just as he did so, a fireball was shot out from behind him, striking the monster as well. "...?!"

Turning his head over to the direction of the attack, he noted that Penelope was busily chanting out spells, constantly casting out a stream of fire-related attacks onto the carnivorous plant. At the same time, Derek, who was finally freed from the vine's grasp lunged forward, piercing through the boss.

"Master Landon..." Meanwhile, Toriq finally caught up to Landon, seemingly out of breath. "Please don't do anything more reckless!"

"I told you, it's fine!" Landon replied, preparing to shoot out another barrage of attacks. "Let's just end this once and for all!"

"..." Penelope kept quiet, casting out spells whilst glancing over towards Jace who wasn't stopping at his attacks, shooting out bullet after bullet towards the boss.

"Let's do this!" Derek shouted out.

With the three other party members joining in on the fight, the five members of the team finally worked together in unison, finishing off the boss right then and there. In those mere two and a half seconds of paralysis, the boss had been defeated.

...

[ You have defeated the dungeon's boss (Carnivorous White Creeper)! ]

[ You have levelled up to level 3! ]

[ You have levelled up to level 4! ]

[ 20 Hunter Points have been obtained. ]

[ Affirming achievements in the raid... ]

[ You are one of the highest contributors to the raid! ]

1. Jace / Landon

2. Toriq

3. Penelope

4. Derek

[ You have received an additional bonus due to your ranking! ]

[ You have levelled up to level 5! ]

[ 10 Hunter Points have been obtained. ]

[ You have obtained (Carnivorous Bulb) 2x ]

[ You have obtained (Floral Essence) 10x ]

[ You have obtained (Flower Power Ring) 1x ]

...

As the plant slowly withered away, two hunters could be spotted standing near the corpse of the monster, tired. As the sounds of battle died down, the two men stared at the lifeless body of the boss monster.

"...this...?" Landon blinked blankly. "W-We... We defeated the boss?!" At the realization, his expression brimmed with excitement as he turned his head over towards the exhausted Jace, grabbing onto his shoulders the next moment. "Yo! We actually did it!"