Reincarnated in the game world ~ A gamer's beginning to [Dungeon job hunting recommendation]

Vol. 9 - Chapter 435 - The wrestle over the first first Big Castle!

With the curtain over Big Castle race starting between us and Aegis-senpai's group, rest of the members soon followed after, aiding their respective group.

The first to reach were Misato, Rika and Sierra from <Eden> in parallel to Yuuka and Reglam from <Arc-Arcadia>. And a step late, the group of Emi, Lacritta, Noel and Kairi also joined in, finally completing the group.

Well, well, with ‹Precise Time Attack› out of the question and all the pieces at their position, no one knows to whom this upper hand would belong.

On the other hand, the group of Emi and others started a fierce onslaught to make up for their tardiness.

"I will not let us be the baggage! ‹Magi Armament›! ‹Magic Ally - Frigid Javelin›! ‹Magic Ally - Snow Storm›!"

"Buff incoming! ‹Fight-O Cheer›! ‹Magical Cheer›! ‹Tempo Up Cheer›!"

"H-Here I start! ‹Mind Flare Shield›! Thwooop!"

"I'm not going to lose when it comes to speed! ‹Magi Armament›! ‹Magic Bow - Power Shot›! ‹Magic Ally - Blind Arrow›! ‹Magic Ally - Snipe›! ‹Magic Ally - Light Quad Arrow›!"

"I can only support y'all with traps without any offensive skill, so I will work from another spot, ‹Phase Walk›! Reglam, you've the top firepower among us, so I will leave the rest to you! ‹Trap Placement›!"

"I will. ‹Lightning Valor›! ‹Sword Force›! ‹Heartful Sword›! ‹Thunderclap Sword›!"

Emi started with mid-grade ice attribute spells; ‹Frigid Lance› that shot off three ice spears, and ‹Snow Storm› that engulfed opponents within blizzard.

In contrast, Noel focused on supporting them with buffs, each one corresponding to attack, magic and agility increasing spell/skill respectively. The buffs were applied to all the allies present in the same square.

Lacritta followed after her with only a two-handed shield as she intoned the only offensive spell she possessed—her job barely had any attack skill or spell. Following her chanting, an illusionary fire clad itself around the shield.—Though don't go by its description as it's as real when it comes to heat as real flame.

Typically, this was a spell used when tanking the blow which deals burn damage whenever the opponent comes into contact with the shield. Or it could also be used to actively attack and damage the opponent by bashing them with shields. For a tank ‹Racc-Shell›, it was truly a rare offensive spell.

I mean, she also has ‹Curse› or ‹Purple› series spells but all are useless when Big Castle itself couldn't be afflicted with debuffs. Plus guardian monsters have all been cleared already so neither her taunt skills like ‹Clank-Clank› or ‹Do-Do-Drum› would play out any role. Basically she was stuck in a hard place when the target was an inorganic object.

Now that the three had finally gathered at one place, Yuuka released her volley of skill, full on intent to go all out.

‹Magic Ally - Power Shot› was a powerful one-shot arrow. ‹Magic Ally - Blind Arrow› was an attack capable of inflicting blind ailment—albeit target was immune this time. ‹Magic Ally - Snipe› provides correction to accuracy and long-range attack, while ‹Magic Ally - Quad Light Arrow› shoots four arrows of light, which she had used when we were racing to reach here as well.

Ho-ho, that combo just now dealt quite a sweet damage. Sure enough, ‹Magic Equipment› was only complete when the three were together.

Kairi's job was more specialised in exploring etc so she didn't have a single attack skill. In exchange, she was carrying the explosive category ‹Trap› items she got from Hannah. She used the movement skill ‹Phase Walk› to move to a distant spot from her comrades and swiftly attached the explosives to the castle with assistance of ‹Trap Placement› which speed up the trap install speed. Hmm, she has thoroughly taken everything into account.

And taking the action in the end was Reglam, the holder of ‹Star Scion› job, comparable even to the ‹Princess Job› holders.

Unlike ‹Princess› series jobs who have a plethora of setup to choose from, offering a multitude of varieties, ‹Scion› series jobs were more of specialised archetype. And they are at their strongest when they choose close-combat form with sword as their primary weapon—rather, they would severely crippled their performance if they decide to choose anything beside sword.

Currently speaking, he knows self-buff, area buff, close-combat attack, elemental attack, debuff attack, self-healing etc skills, with majority of focus on offence.

The ‹Lightning Valor› he just used now as opening move was a self buff skill which attaches lightning attributes to oneself and increases ATK. ‹Sword Force› was a speed-type four-hit slash attack that swiftly slid the user toward the target. Following them, he chained in ‹Heartful Sword›, a horizontal slash attack type with light attribute bonus and ‹Rumbling Sword›, a finishing move that when used invoked the illusionary sound of thunderclap which deal an incredible amount of damage.

Nice, that was a perfect combo. The damage was further enhanced by the passive skill ‹Regal Swordsmanship LV10› which increased the might of attacks. But of course, let's not forget the no-one-asked-but-it's-just-there glittering effect that shook off each time he activated his skills. Kuh, It looked so cool I also wanted that symbol as well just a bit.

Anyway, with the follow up addition, the advantage in number had tilted in favour of ‹Arc-Arcadia›.

Along with the fact that ‹Eden› output was less than half of what it would usually be in the usual guild battles with our members suppressing their firepower limited to ‹Twi-Tree› skill/spell despite our level being on a higher side, <Arc-Arcadia> was winning in the damage output aspect as well.

‹Northern Big Castle› was now at the balance where it would be tilting on the side favoured by luck. It didn't take long for the curtain to be lifted on the outcome.

The gears of fate started moving when Kairi triggered the explosives, which went kaboom. <Arc-Arcadia> immediately intensified their offence and rapidly dragged down the HP of Big Castle. <Eden> also went all out in their attacks. And in the blink of an eye, the HP of Big Castle was brought down to zero. And the who gained the hold of it was—

——White!

"Uh-huh, White took the lead!" (Rika)

"They got us, Zephyr." (Zephyr)

"It seems so. Alright, let's move to another Big Castle!" (Zephyr)

"Understood!" (Rika)

"Yes sir-desu!" (Pamela)

"Oopsie, it's quite a pickle—" (Misato)

It seemed like lady luck was shining on our opponent's head this time, as the lead was taken by <Arc-Arcadia>.

Well, that's the typical scenery whenever two evenly matched guild contests over Big Castles. Nevertheless, It has been so long I don't even remember when was the last time I was beaten in the lead by an opponent. They were quite fun days, struggling over things and all.

Hmm, this was the first victory over me in reality, no?

I gave a side-long glance at the <Arc-Arcadia> side and saw that it took them a moment to actually realise they had taken the lead, which was followed by an 'woahhh' delightful scream. Well, I pointed out our next course of action to members.

It was the time to decide how we are going to move facing the disadvantage. I had already briefed our members about this scenario.

We're currently re-enacting the same situation that our teachers team was in during the <Eden> E-rank promotion exam. From here. we would move to take down the ‹Eastern Big Castle›, and then focus on clearing small castles. But it wasn't enough if we wanted to win, given the number disadvantage. And PvP was banned for us.

The only viable option for us was to take down both the ‹Western Big Castle› and ‹Eastern Big Castle›. It would be hard to tell which side the victory favours then.

<Eden> split into two teams; one consisting of Pamela and I, the one with high AGI, to target ‹Western Big Castle› on our opponent's side, while another consisted of Sierra, Rika and Misato who would be targeting ‹Eastern Big Castle›.

I wonder how would <Arc-Arcadia> react to our strategy? I hope they do remember the match isn't finished yet.

"Crap! Zephyr-san is heading for ‹Western Big Castle›!"

"Shoot! We need to chase them ASAP!"

Just when <Arc-Arcadia> was drowning on their little victory, Aegis-senpai swiftly brought everyone attention to the present. That was an experienced person for you indeed. Following Aegis-senpai's gaze, Sachi screamed after her.

"Arg, my power up time ended! ‹Magi Armament›! ‹Magic Ally - Speed Boost›!"

"Let's hurry up.We still have other squares with protection periods up so Zephyr-kun and others would still have to take a detour. We can still make it in time."

Emi tried to cast buff on everyone, but noticing that her Magi Armament mode hadended, she swiftly re-activated it and cast a simple buff on Sachi. Well, this sure was going to drag their feet for now.

The one that calmly assessed the situation was the last member of Harmonic Trip—Yuuka. Perhaps it was her experience she had gained as an archer, she ascertained the situation and assured everyone.

She was correct. We would have to take a detour from south to and pass through the small castles that had their protection period ended to reach our main target in the west. On the other hand, this was the home base of <Arc-Arcadia>, so they would still be able to reach here in time—oh, wait. I think it would be a close call for them.

<Arc-Arcadia> had now two choices; either moved toward ‹Western Big Castle› with full force or split their manpower and also targeted the ‹Eastern Big Castle›. But then, they would have to take a detour just like us to reach it.

Come, <Arc-Arcadia>. Show me what you have got!

"<Eden> has split into two teams!"

"W-We're already falling behind them so we should head for ‹Western Big Castle›!"

"Lacritta is right. Let's hurry up toward ‹Western Big Castle›! Reglam, are you coming with us?"

"Of course, leave the clearing to me."

Alright, it seems like Noel, Lacritta, Noel and Reglam were going to chase after us. Still, I was surprised to see the usual bundle of nervousness Lacritta asserting her opinion. Now that was worth evaluating some shiny marks.

"We too! We can't afford to lose the ‹Wester Big Castle› at any rate!"

Oho, the harmonic trio led by Aegis-senpai has decided to follow after our train as well. So, all the members huh. Nice...or so I would have liked to say but the dark cloud of loss was hanging in the sky for <Eden>.

Two of ‹Eden› vs eight members of ‹Arc-Arcadia›, all vying for the ‹Western Big Castle›. To whom it would belong?

Well, show me everything you have got, <Arc-Arcadia>!

T/N - I just realized I may have made typo in Reglam job in earlier chapter. I will fix it soon.