The trio of mage, healer, and tank saw Eren and Renita coming out of the waning domain of fog. They had grim expressions on their faces when that happened. They had understood that it could only mean one thing. Their rogue had lost the fight.
The emotions were opposite for Ron’s team. It found newfound hope in Eren and Renita. The dual berserkers and Sharmin watched with metaphorical starry eyes as their close combat expert and ranger joined them.
A sort of ceasefire was created after Eren’s entry. Both teams went on guard against each other while observing the opponent’s movements. Eren used that opportunity to have a word with Ron.
“How are we doing so far?”
“Bad. These three are staying close to each other. We need to separate them and take care of them individually.”
“I can gauge that on my own, Ron. What I am asking is whether you’ve used your berserking potions or not?”
Ron made a weird face after hearing Eren’s reply. But he controlled his irritation and continued:
“We have used one potion each. And can take one more. What’s your plan?”
Eren looked at Ron and Dino meaningfully after he heard that. He hesitated a bit before stating what he was thinking of:
“How confident are you in taking care of the mage?”
Ron replied immediately as if he was expecting this from Eren:
“Well, mage herself isn’t the problem. I can sustain her spells while Dino goes close to her using Renita’s cover fire from a distance. The problem is the healer who keeps on replenishing the mage’s mana supply.
And that mage can use spell combos. And her spell combos can include triple-spell castings. Plus, she can stack her fireball spells.
And let’s not forget their tank. He had made it impossible for us to zero in on any one of them without facing the consequences.”
Eren assumed a wise man’s pose after he heard that. He stroked his chin with his hands before concluding something about the enemy mage:
“Hmm. In short, the mage girl is hot. The healer is doing his job right. And the tank is tanky.”
Ron had creases on his forehead after he heard Eren’s remark. He didn’t know why Eren was so chilled out when the favours were stacked against them. Especially when the guy had raised the stakes of the battle on his own, without consulting them.
“Just tell us the plan. And we’ll figure something out.”
Ron said frustratingly. He had understood that Eren must have a good plan for him to act carefree like that.
“Alright. Here’s the plan. Renita and I will approach the tank and draw him away from the mage and the healer. Then all you need to do is keep on applying pressure on them.
Meanwhile, we’ll be taking care of the tank. We’ll be almost out of mana by then. But we’ll join your battle to create faux pressure. How’s that?”
Ron could have come up with this idea on his own. But had he said that, Eren would have had to take more responsibility at his behest. Knowing the guy, he would have demanded more share from their split for his “extra work”.
But since this plan came from Eren himself, they had nothing to complain about. Ron even though Eren was a good guy trying to win this battle at any cost.
“What about Sharmin? Will he also have to join either of us guys? Or do we use him to create a foothold in the battlefield?”
Ron asked while looking at the enemy. They also seemed to be discussing something among themselves.
“I could use him but he is not fast enough to retreat and advance skillfully. And creating a foothold on the battlefield is a good idea when you have people who can take your position and relieve you. This is not one of those times.
So you take Sharmin with you. And remember, don’t slack off. There’s a chance me and Renita would be unable to join your battle after our showdown with the tank.
So try to pressure the mage from the get-go with your sidekick on the tow.”
Said Eren while looking at Dino. The latter was about to pop a vein on his forehead after he heard being called a mere sidekick. Bur Ron stated condition before Dino had the chance to vent his anger:
“Sure. But we’ll retreat if and when you come to join us. Our spells don’t work together.”
“Alright.”
Said Eren before talking something privately with Renita. She had a weird look after she heard what Eren said through the private audio channel. But she nodded her head to show her acceptance.
“Great! Let’s commence our plans then, shall we?”
Said Eren and bolted in the direction of the tank.
The trio was ready.
The tank was a quake element user. He was able to produce quakes in the surroundings. He was able to send those quakes through the ground, objects, and even though the air via direct contact or removing those limitations through the usage of quake-element spells.
The quake element tank saw that Eren was heading and had a huge grin on his face. It was about time he let the new guy taste the power of his spells.
The quake element tank stretched his palm open and clapped them against each other in Eren’s way. Surprisingly, that clap didn’t produce any audible sound. But one could see the nearby air getting distorted as a result of that action.
Eren was already briefed about the tank’s ability. He immediately activated Sedated Perception when he saw that guy performing that particular action in his direction.
Eren was barely grazed by the quake waves as he almost dodged it with his time-element spell. And that slight graze of that invisible spell was enough for the mutilator to understand why the dual berserkers were hesitating to get near that guy.
The quakes couldn’t be stropped by any medium or item. They could only be dodged by getting out of the path of their travel. Plus, the quakes would travel through one’s body and injure the internal organs. They also held the power to affect weak rankers’ blood circulation in their body.
In short, staying in the range of those quakes was bad news. And since they were as fast as sound, the rankers didn’t have much leeway to dodge them.
‘What should I do? The guy is a tough nut to crack even with Renita’s help.’
Thought Eren as he got away from the range of the next wave of quakes heading his way.
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AN: Explanations about spell-stacking, triple-cast, and spell-combos can be found in chapters 90 and 91.
