Chapter 353: Party Quest Clear!

Question, do you readers see notifications pop up for A Gamer Into Trails when a chapter is posted? It works when I update another fanfic, but I don't see them for this one. Very strange.

As always, Giliath demands your power stone!

*****

[Ding! You have killed Lv79 Abyss Worm.]

[Ding! You have killed Lv79 Abyss Worm.]

"Now Tio!", I yelled, ignoring the loud raspy yells of two more Abyss Worms dying before our eyes. After fighting one on my own, three more showed up. I managed to swiftly despose two of them one by one. I made sure not to trigger their gimmick. The last one just stood, aggroed to me. It launched a lightning fall Craft, but I had seen that from a mile away, and quickly dodged it. It left the rock where I once stood now singed with black soot.

"Arts activate...", Tio uttered, allowing her orbal staff to shine a bright blue. THe last one lived on a sliver of health, and I wanted to see if Tio could damage it. She was Level 34 now. Her ATS improved even more, so it was very possible she could damage a Monster that was twice her Level!

Water orbal energy quickly swirled around her staff, and Tio brandished it upward.

[Ding! 70 EP Consumed. Tio's remaining EP: 890/960.]

"Blue Impact!", Tio exclaimed, finishing her Art. Just like with me, the period to wait around was much shorter. It just amazes me further for people like Toval who can cast their Arts almost instantaneously. The Abyss Worm before us was severely weakened, and it could not react again after trying to hit me with its lightning fall Craft. This allowed enough time to have Tio use her Blue Impact.

Before the three of us, her staff shone bright, and the energy swirling around it suddenly materialized into high, pressurized water. Imagine enjoying a jacuzzi with a hot stream of water splashing against your body. But this one was a hundred times worse. It was much stronger, and faster. Woooosh!

BANG!

Being in close proximity, Tio's Blue Impact quickly found its target, and landed a blow! A surprising damage number appeared before its head. I was even surprised by the figure Tio outputted here!

[-6000!]

[Ding! Party Member Tio has killed a Lv79 Abyss Worm.]

"Holy...", I uttered, seeing the last Abyss Worm fall before our eyes, disappearing into thin air. Another phantom chest appeared, revealing lots of Sepith. I can never not get used to seeing this. Seeing loot drops always brings a smile to my face.

[Ding! The battle has concluded.]

"Phew. You really do make quick work, Young Master. You felled each Abyss Worm in succession. One was able to get away though. You did well, kiddo!", Lechter said, putting his own rapier back inside his sheath. He went back to his usual look, placing his hands behind his head.

"That was a bit dangerous, wasn't it?", Tio responded with a frown.

I couldn't help but reach out and pat Tio's head again.

"Haha, for a split second it might have been, but we stuck to the plan and attacked those three worms one by one. They didn't land their powerful earthquakes at all, did they now?", I said with a playful smirk.

"Well, no, they didn't. I am not sure if you should have placed such confidence in me. Abyss Worms are very powerful. I wasn't sure if I could damage one.", Tio muttered, lodging a light complaint.

"Don't sell yourself short, kiddo. That was a strong Art you casted. You blasted that worm head on too. It looked like it hurt quite a bit!", Lechter said, trying to console Tio.

"It's as Lechter says, Tio. You are very strong, you just don't know it yet. You wanted to join me on this adventure to see where your power lay, right? Plus you're still very young. Given some years, and you'll become quite the powerhouse.", I responded. Right now, Tio was on the cusp of turning ten years old. If she continued along this path of growing alongside the Gamer System, I can't fathom how strong she'll become then.

Perhaps strong enough to one shot the Vermillion Apocalypse in the incoming Vermillion Trials, assuming that guy will make an appearance? Haha!

That, I highly doubt. If a ten year old girl one shot a giant mecha like that, something would definitely be very wrong here. I'll have to check out the quest details for the Vermillion Trials, but I'm pretty sure it requires a minimum entry of ten people. That was why I sent out all those invitations for folks to participate with me. The Vermillion Trials are such a big trial area, it requires multiple people to fight.

After all, it turns the entire Vermillion Castle into one, entire dungeon. How could I possibly think of solo'ing that thing?

As if. No thank you. The Gamer System gave me a Party function to use, and I'll use that to the best of my abilities. Just through this adventure alone, Tio was able to gain over thirty levels. And after this battle is done, more than likely, she'll gain a lot more!

I do know the Vermillion Trials require an entry of Level 100, so Tio is already over a third of the way there. I'm sure she'll definitely reach that mark with our current progression.

With a look of anticipation appearing in my eyes, I ended my head pat, easing Tio's worry. She did well during this second battle. I didn't expect her Blue Impact to deal over 10% of an Abyss Worm's health that was over twice her Level!

"Mmm. If you think that battle was satisfactory, Naoto, I won't question it more. I am still just a young girl. My inner strength isn't as strong as someone like Lechter is. I do have my limits. Even if my orbal staff has enough energy to use, casting over five Arts is starting to get taxing on my body.", Tio explained.

True. Now that I had another look, Tio does seem pretty tired now. It doesn't matter if Tio's EP was recovered. She was right, she was just a young girl right now. Exerting this much stamina was definitely taxing on her. An apologetic look appeared in my eyes.

"You're right. Perhaps doing the Instance Dungeon and Party Quest back-to-back maybe was a bit too much for you, Tio. You might have newfound strength, but using that many Arts and not knowing what to do with it is likely taking a toll on your body, right?", I questioned.

"Yes. I'm sorry if this is placing a burden on you.", Tio said, feeling apologetic herself. She didn't know how to display this emotion well, so she just turned her head down, and kept her usual deadpan look in her eyes.

"Nonsense, you should know where your own limits lay. This ability of mine doesn't gauge a person's own stamina consumption. It can show how strong they are in battle, yes, but only you know your own body best. If you want to quit for the day, we can. You did well coming this far.", I replied. I was happy for Tio's progress she has earned in a single day. I really was.

I was always curious as to why I didn't have a stamina meter. Perhaps it was my side-effect of the Gnosis drug that I didn't feel as heavy stamina consumption as others did. It did develop into the Endurance passive. I could go on for longer periods of time.

Seeing Tio's tired look in her eyes, I knew it was time to call it quits soon. We also had to walk all the way back, so Tio was likely saving her remaining energy for that.

With that in mind, I sheathed my Radiant Starlight, only to look at Lechter.

"Say Lechter, with Tio too tired for battle now, why don't you take care of the remaining two Abyss Worms? You should be strong enough to take care of the last two.", I suggested.

"Can do! It's good knowing where your own limits lay. I'll take care of those worms in a jiffy!", Lechter said with a confident look in his eyes.

I did want to test out our Combo Craft, but that would have to be saved for at a later date. I would stay near Tio so nothing unexpected happens. Thankfully we were a party of three, so I could fall behind, while Lechter went back into the vanguard.

"Hup!", Lechter exclaimed, drawing out his own rapier again. He swiftly vanished from sight, and the two of us heard multiple sounds of hardened flesh being pierced through, and more raspy sounds. Sounds like he was enjoying this! I saw a few damage numbers appear on two Abyss Worms further beyond our sight where Lechter was. He made sure to attack them one at a time to avoid those powerful earthquake Crafts. In no time at all did a few damage numbers appear on both of the worms' heads. Three or four counts each before each one collapsed, dying on the spot.

[Ding! Party Member Lechter has killed Abyss Worm Lv79.]

[Ding! Party Member Lechter has killed Abyss Worm Lv79.]

Lechter didn't one shot them like I did, but he only needed to whack the worms a few times each to finish them off. He was strong in his own right. The worms didn't pose a problem to him whatsoever.

[Ding! The battle has concluded.]

A second notification appeared before us, signaling the end of our second battle. We were blasted with a flurry of notifications the first time around, but I didn't go through them. They were mostly level up notifications for Tio. She was the one who gained the most out of this.

On this second go on the other hand, there was one notification that drew our attention once Lechter returned.

[Ding! All six Abyss Worms have been killed. Enhanced Party Quest - Kill 6 Abyss Worms has been completed. Now sending out rewards...]

'Sweet.', I thought inwardly, only to see more golden level up swirls appear around Tio. Music to my ears.

As the saying went, the grind never ends~