As soon as we enter the training area, a light film appears, blocking the entrance.
“Well… I guess we can’t go back until we clear this or die trying.” I say.
Of course, since this is a game, we can always press the surrender button, but being locked inside a place like this is such a classic in fantasy dungeons…
I like it.
“This is such a classic,” Laura says the same thing I was thinking. “But classics are classics because they work. If they’re still used after–”
“Hey, hey!” Clara interrupts. “Do you think this is a warning for something worse to come? Our sister isn’t this cheap. I’m sure that, later, ummmngmn!”
I put my hand on her mouth – to be more precise, where her mouth should be, after all, her Champion doesn’t have one – to stop her from continuing. “What are you doing? Are you crazy? Didn’t I tell you not to jinx things!?”
Uh, gross! it’s slimy.
“...”
After I release her, she turns her head away and crosses her arms. Heh, I’m sure she’d be pouting if her Champion allowed her to do so.
“Stop fooling around.” Ricard admonishes us with a stern voice. “Take this seriously, we must surpass this training course to show your sister how good we are! Hahaha!”
No, Ricard… however you look at it, you’re the least adequate to say this.
I could maybe accept it from Laura. I might even accept it from Clara if she makes a puppy face. But I’ll absolutely never accept it from you.
But I hold back and ignore him instead of retorting. If he’s like this, maybe he won’t do any of his usual crazy stuff.
For the first time since we entered here, I take a closer look at our surroundings. The white, marble walls, ceiling, and floor are simple and have no decorations, but somehow bring a feeling of purity to me.
There are several windows from where bright white light comes in. When I try to see what’s on the other side, my eyes burn and I must turn my head away. Because of it, I have absolutely no idea where this temple-like hall is supposed to be; but as long as there are more of those windows, we won’t have any trouble with dark places and shadowy enemies, I’m sure of it.
“All right, let’s go, team,” I say. “Baldy, you take the lead as usual. Then it’ll be me and Lily, and you go last, Lemon.”
The hall is wide enough for two of us to walk and fight side by side, so this formation should be the best one to adapt to any situation.
“I’ll take care of whatever comes at us. You can rely on me.”
“All right.”
“I’ll protect your back as usual, brother!”
They reply in the same order I’ve called them.
When Clara says it like this with her current appearance, a shiver runs up my spine and I can’t stop myself from wondering if my decision is the correct one.
Nah, I’m sure it’ll be ok... From previous experiences, it only backfired about half the time.
Soon, we enter a wider room with similar decorations to the hall. On the opposite side, right in front of us, there’s a closed door with a hole in it. On the side, there’s a shining orb on top of a pedestal. There are some stairs leading to it.
“And here’s yet another classic,” comments Laura. “And I’m sure there’s a trap somewhere.”
I nod. “I agree. Let’s investigate.” Laura and I approach the door to take a closer look.
Meanwhile, Ricard moves to the orb to do the same. This is an unusual situation. Usually, instead of helping, he would start one of his ramblings about something related to the game in this situation. This shows how motivated he is.
On my way to the door, I notice there are a few large holes in the walls, close to the ceiling. They’re pointing next to the orb.
“Why are you hesitating so much? Isn’t it clear we must take this orb here? I’ll take it! Hehehe!”
I turn around in time to see Clara running toward the orb. “Lemon, stop!” I shout. “It’s a trap!”
“W-wha…?”
Because of my shout, she tries to stop but instead trips, falling headfirst onto the stairs. With her tentacle arm extended as she falls, she hits the orb with enough force to push it out of its place. The orb rolls on the pedestal and falls down the stairs at the same time as Clara does.
*Buoooom!*
Several light orbs are shot from the walls, exploding as soon as they hit something, and blinding me for a few seconds. The only sounds I can hear are my sister’s groans and the clinking of the orb as it continues to fall down the stairs.
When the light finally clears up, I can see my sister, still alive, struggling to stand up.
“Ugh… what was that?” She asks.
“The trap you triggered,” I answer. “But how is it that you didn’t take any damage?”
“...damage?” Still confused, Clara tilts her head. She opens her status screen. “Ah, you’re right. I’m perfectly fine.”
“I think I know what happened,” explains Clara. “The orbs missed her because she fell to the ground. They were aimed assuming the person who grabbed the orb would be standing. It’s logical, who would expect somebody to… you know, trigger the trap like that…”
“You’re right…” I agree. “Clara, do you understand now!? You’ve been lucky so far, but this is the reason why you shouldn’t act as you always do.”
“B-but, I…”
“No buts! It’s even worse that you’re doing this only to get my attention, you know?”
“Wha…?” She makes a surprised exclamation, not sure how to react. She starts fidgeting with her head lowered, raising it briefly to check my angry face before lowering it once again. “...did you… know?”
I nod. Yes, Clara. I knew.
Did you really expect me to be so blind? I might let your cuteness blind me sometimes, but I’m not dumb. Well… not THAT dumb.
“Haaa…” I exhale. “It’s alright, it’s just a game, so I forgive you. Just… stop doing it already, ok? Otherwise, I might have to kick you out of the party…”
“No! I won’t do it again, I promise!” She jumps at me and starts hugging me. “And… thank you, for forgiving me. Hehehe!”
Let’s see how long you can keep your promise…
But anyway. Is this a trap specifically designed to cure Clara’s impulsive behavior? Because it sure looks like it is.
Well, there’s nothing we can do about the past, so let’s think positively. Thanks to Clara, we don’t have to waste time investigating the trap, we already triggered it.
I decide to go and pick up the glowing orb, that’s now at the bottom of the stairs.
It’s at this moment that Ricard, who has stayed quiet until now, with his mouth hanging open, decides to snap out of his trance.
“Is, is your sister fucking crazy!?” He shouts. “Do you know what those orbs are? Those are some of the strongest traps in DMA! And she used so many of them that they could instantly kill almost any of the strongest Champions! Didn’t you say this was a training course? And an easy one at that? What kind of training course starts with an instant death trap!?”
“Ahaha…” I scratch my cheek. “This is easy for her, I guess…? I don’t know. The only thing I’m sure about is this trap was planned to try and fix Lemon’s behavior…”
“It still doesn’t make any sense!” he counters. “Why would she want to kill one of us right at the start? What’s more, her own sister!?”
“I too think this is a little bit too much…” adds Laura. “But I’m sure she has her own reasons for this.”
Ricard shakes his head. “You’re wrong! This shows how much she’s lacking. Pro player? Hah! She’s only abusing her high level. If I was on the highest level, I would never abuse my powers like this, and would instead display my game knowledge and skills to train my juniors...”
I leave Ricard to his ramblings and introduce the orb into the door’s socket. As soon as it’s in, the door starts glowing and then it disappears, leaving only the door’s frame.
I’m about to cross to the other side when Laura pokes my shoulder.
“Hey, hmm… Mad Rat,” she says. “Is it just me, or that light film is closer than before?” She points back to the entrance, to the light film that blocked our way out.
“It sure looks like it is…”
It’s hard to say from here because of the angle, but it seems like the film has advanced about a meter.
“Ooh, it has moved? Let’s see!” Clara starts running away before suddenly stopping and turning to look at me. “Can I…?”
I start rubbing my temples. “It’s fine… go ahead and check…”
Well, at least this time she stopped and asked for permission. Does this mean she actually learned something?
As soon as Clara reaches the light film, she touches it with her tentacles. “Ouch, it stings! I’ve taken damage too!” She then checks its speed. “Also… it’s moving very slowly. It’s possible to cross it, but I take damage as soon as I touch it.”
Laura analyzes the situation. “So we have a timer now… It’s moving slowly, but depending on our actions or the dungeon layout, it could be a problem in the future.”
“You’re right,” I agree with her. “We’ll have to move without wasting any time from now on.” Then, I turn to Clara once again. “I knew it!” I blame her, joking. “Why did you have to say that, at the start!? You jinxed it after all!”
“Af if it had anything to do with this!” Clara counters as she runs back to us. “You know it would have happened anyway.”
“Maybe it would, or maybe not. The only thing that’s clear is that it’s your fault! Hahaha!”
“Muuuu! It isn’t!”
“It is.”
“No, it isn’t.”
“Ok, ok… it’s nobody’s fault.” I finally relent.
Laura calmly waits for us to finish our foolish conversation, a thin smile on her lips. “So… do we continue? Or do you want to wait until the light film catches up? It’ll raise the stakes and put us in extreme tension.”
“No, I’d rather avoid it,” I reply.
Meanwhile, Ricard is continuing with his ramblings.
“...I’d make sure to train my students every day. I’ll also make them learn every single skill and unit that the game has, as well as all the combos and counters…”
Let’s ignore him for now.
I clap my hands to get everyone’s attention. “All right, let’s return to our previous formation and start moving. We can’t waste time.”
What will the future hold for us? Who knows. But knowing Marta as well as I do, I’m sure it won’t be easy.
“But you know…” I say. “The light film… it’s clearly your fault, Lemon.”
“No, it isn’t!”
“Hey, Baldy!” I shout. “I thought you were keeping them at bay.”
“I’m doing what I can, okay? There’s too many of them.”
I avoid an attack by twisting my body, and at the same time, I cast a Cold Blast. I’m lucky and the Sacred Cat is immobilized, so I take this chance to slam my staff on its head and push it out of the tiny platform.
Ricard is supposed to keep them in check while I’m in charge of the Pegassi flying around. I raise my head to look upwards, scanning the area for enemies.
“There come two more… Chaotic Beam!” The spell hits the frontmost Pegassi, taking a large chunk of HP out. “Tsk! Still alive? I guess I have no choice then. Chain Lightning!”
The lightning hits the Pegassi and jumps to the other one. Thanks to the damage from my first spell and the transferred damage from the Shared Voltage skill, both Pegassi are paralyzed at 1 HP and fall to their deaths.
“Lily, Lemon. How are you doing? I don’t think we can hold on for long.” I look at the pillar in front close to the entrance, where Ricard is struggling to hold back an avalanche of Sacred Cats. “Ricard’s going to fall soon.”
There are several tall pillars in the room only wide enough for two of us to stand on them at the same time. We must jump from one to the next to reach the other side of the room.
The problem is those pillars are tall enough that if we fall, it’s instant death. Also, there are only a few that are safe. If we step on the wrong one, the pillar disappears and we fall to our deaths. What’s even worse: enemies aren’t affected by this, they can freely stand on any platform.
We discovered it by chance when Laura jumped on the first one and almost died. Thank god it was her and not any of us… she survived thanks to the Blink skill.
It would be nice and fast if we could check every pillar the same way, but we can only make four errors, and we already failed two times.
How do we know we only have four chances? Because there are four towers on the other side of the room and every time we stepped on the wrong platform, one of them lighted up.
There’s some kind of puzzle or clues to identify which are the good ones. Since Laura is the best of us at this stuff, and also the only one who can survive if she jumps on the wrong platform, she’s the one in charge of finding the path. Clara is helping her, and at the same time protecting her from the enemies that reach them.
Meanwhile, the task of stopping the majority of the enemies, the Sacred Cats, has fallen onto Ricard, as he’s the tank and the best one of us at fighting multiple enemies at close range.
And I’m in charge of the flying enemies, the Pegassi.
As you can imagine, in this situation, the Pegassi are extremely dangerous because we can’t get close to them, or easily avoid their attacks. They fly around and fire spells at us with impunity.
But the Sacred Cats are even worse than the Pegassi.
This is because they have Nine Lives. No, no, I mean it literally. They’re weak, on a similar level to the Stitched or even weaker, but they have the innate skill called Nine Lives which, literally, revives them the first eight times they would die.
It doesn’t matter what we do. We can blast them, smash their heads, or drop them to the ground below… they simply don’t die! Because of this, their numbers are slowly building up. They’re about to overwhelm us with raw numbers.
The only saving grace is that they can’t fly or climb the pillars back up when they fall: they must go back to the entrance first, where there’s a ramp for them to climb.
My Shared Voltage isn’t very effective against them. They’re naturally spread out, and the lightning can only hit a few every time. Because of this and the fact that the only one who can deal with the Pegassi is me, I’ve left them mostly to Ricard.
“I think I’ve got this one,” replies Laura. “If I’m not wrong… it’s this one.” She jumps to another platform. “Yes, I was right! Only a few remaining now.”
“Make haste,” I say, jumping to the platform she was standing on until now. “We can’t hold much longer.”
“I know, I’m doing my best too–”
“Hey, look there, brother.” Clara points back to the entrance. “It’s the light film. It’s already reached this room.”
“Ah, you’re right.” I look back, and surely, the light film that’s been chasing us since the start is now right at the door leading to this room.
Well, unless we waste a lot of time here, it won’t catch up with us. If we don’t make a huge mistake, we should be able to clear this room. But, at what cost? Will we have any EP or MP remaining for the rest of the training? If it weren't for the Mana Core skill, I would have run out of MP a long time ago…
*Thump! Thump!*
The ground trembles rhythmically as if something huge is stepping on the ground. When I turn to the origin of the noise, I see something very large, as tall as the platforms we’re standing on, coming our way.
“What the heck’s going on now!?” I shout in annoyance. “Lemon, this guy is on you, you’ll have to deal with it on your own.”
“Sure thing, brother. I’ll stop it, whatever it is! Hehehe!”
That’s it, problem solved. …Hahaha! As if!
“One of the first things you need to learn is to manage your EP and MP. Treat them as valuable resources and don’t waste them. But don’t get obsessed with saving them for later either. A good DMA player is one who knows how to balance their use and get the most out of them. And when you’re low on them, don’t hesitate to take a rest and recover.”
- A tip from a veteran DMA player to newer players.
Radosh
I have a question for all of you. Assuming Dungeon Masters Arena existed, which faction would you like to play as?
I know that not all factions have appeared in the story (and there might be some more that aren't in this list and will be mentioned in the future), but I've put the most representative units right next to the faction's name in case you forgot the names. In case you can't decide, you can vote for up to three options. It's out of curiosity, so don't think too much about it and answer honestly.
As soon as we enter the training area, a light film appears, blocking the entrance.
“Well… I guess we can’t go back until we clear this or die trying.” I say.
Of course, since this is a game, we can always press the surrender button, but being locked inside a place like this is such a classic in fantasy dungeons…
I like it.
“This is such a classic,” Laura says the same thing I was thinking. “But classics are classics because they work. If they’re still used after–”
“Hey, hey!” Clara interrupts. “Do you think this is a warning for something worse to come? Our sister isn’t this cheap. I’m sure that, later, ummmngmn!”
I put my hand on her mouth – to be more precise, where her mouth should be, after all, her Champion doesn’t have one – to stop her from continuing. “What are you doing? Are you crazy? Didn’t I tell you not to jinx things!?”
Uh, gross! it’s slimy.
“...”
After I release her, she turns her head away and crosses her arms. Heh, I’m sure she’d be pouting if her Champion allowed her to do so.
“Stop fooling around.” Ricard admonishes us with a stern voice. “Take this seriously, we must surpass this training course to show your sister how good we are! Hahaha!”
No, Ricard… however you look at it, you’re the least adequate to say this.
I could maybe accept it from Laura. I might even accept it from Clara if she makes a puppy face. But I’ll absolutely never accept it from you.
But I hold back and ignore him instead of retorting. If he’s like this, maybe he won’t do any of his usual crazy stuff.
For the first time since we entered here, I take a closer look at our surroundings. The white, marble walls, ceiling, and floor are simple and have no decorations, but somehow bring a feeling of purity to me.
There are several windows from where bright white light comes in. When I try to see what’s on the other side, my eyes burn and I must turn my head away. Because of it, I have absolutely no idea where this temple-like hall is supposed to be; but as long as there are more of those windows, we won’t have any trouble with dark places and shadowy enemies, I’m sure of it.
“All right, let’s go, team,” I say. “Baldy, you take the lead as usual. Then it’ll be me and Lily, and you go last, Lemon.”
The hall is wide enough for two of us to walk and fight side by side, so this formation should be the best one to adapt to any situation.
“I’ll take care of whatever comes at us. You can rely on me.”
“All right.”
“I’ll protect your back as usual, brother!”
They reply in the same order I’ve called them.
When Clara says it like this with her current appearance, a shiver runs up my spine and I can’t stop myself from wondering if my decision is the correct one.
Nah, I’m sure it’ll be ok... From previous experiences, it only backfired about half the time.
Soon, we enter a wider room with similar decorations to the hall. On the opposite side, right in front of us, there’s a closed door with a hole in it. On the side, there’s a shining orb on top of a pedestal. There are some stairs leading to it.
“And here’s yet another classic,” comments Laura. “And I’m sure there’s a trap somewhere.”
I nod. “I agree. Let’s investigate.” Laura and I approach the door to take a closer look.
Meanwhile, Ricard moves to the orb to do the same. This is an unusual situation. Usually, instead of helping, he would start one of his ramblings about something related to the game in this situation. This shows how motivated he is.
On my way to the door, I notice there are a few large holes in the walls, close to the ceiling. They’re pointing next to the orb.
“Why are you hesitating so much? Isn’t it clear we must take this orb here? I’ll take it! Hehehe!”
I turn around in time to see Clara running toward the orb. “Lemon, stop!” I shout. “It’s a trap!”
“W-wha…?”
Because of my shout, she tries to stop but instead trips, falling headfirst onto the stairs. With her tentacle arm extended as she falls, she hits the orb with enough force to push it out of its place. The orb rolls on the pedestal and falls down the stairs at the same time as Clara does.
*Buoooom!*
Several light orbs are shot from the walls, exploding as soon as they hit something, and blinding me for a few seconds. The only sounds I can hear are my sister’s groans and the clinking of the orb as it continues to fall down the stairs.
When the light finally clears up, I can see my sister, still alive, struggling to stand up.
“Ugh… what was that?” She asks.
“The trap you triggered,” I answer. “But how is it that you didn’t take any damage?”
“...damage?” Still confused, Clara tilts her head. She opens her status screen. “Ah, you’re right. I’m perfectly fine.”
“I think I know what happened,” explains Clara. “The orbs missed her because she fell to the ground. They were aimed assuming the person who grabbed the orb would be standing. It’s logical, who would expect somebody to… you know, trigger the trap like that…”
“You’re right…” I agree. “Clara, do you understand now!? You’ve been lucky so far, but this is the reason why you shouldn’t act as you always do.”
“B-but, I…”
“No buts! It’s even worse that you’re doing this only to get my attention, you know?”
“Wha…?” She makes a surprised exclamation, not sure how to react. She starts fidgeting with her head lowered, raising it briefly to check my angry face before lowering it once again. “...did you… know?”
I nod. Yes, Clara. I knew.
Did you really expect me to be so blind? I might let your cuteness blind me sometimes, but I’m not dumb. Well… not THAT dumb.
“Haaa…” I exhale. “It’s alright, it’s just a game, so I forgive you. Just… stop doing it already, ok? Otherwise, I might have to kick you out of the party…”
“No! I won’t do it again, I promise!” She jumps at me and starts hugging me. “And… thank you, for forgiving me. Hehehe!”
Let’s see how long you can keep your promise…
But anyway. Is this a trap specifically designed to cure Clara’s impulsive behavior? Because it sure looks like it is.
Well, there’s nothing we can do about the past, so let’s think positively. Thanks to Clara, we don’t have to waste time investigating the trap, we already triggered it.
I decide to go and pick up the glowing orb, that’s now at the bottom of the stairs.
It’s at this moment that Ricard, who has stayed quiet until now, with his mouth hanging open, decides to snap out of his trance.
“Is, is your sister fucking crazy!?” He shouts. “Do you know what those orbs are? Those are some of the strongest traps in DMA! And she used so many of them that they could instantly kill almost any of the strongest Champions! Didn’t you say this was a training course? And an easy one at that? What kind of training course starts with an instant death trap!?”
“Ahaha…” I scratch my cheek. “This is easy for her, I guess…? I don’t know. The only thing I’m sure about is this trap was planned to try and fix Lemon’s behavior…”
“It still doesn’t make any sense!” he counters. “Why would she want to kill one of us right at the start? What’s more, her own sister!?”
“I too think this is a little bit too much…” adds Laura. “But I’m sure she has her own reasons for this.”
Ricard shakes his head. “You’re wrong! This shows how much she’s lacking. Pro player? Hah! She’s only abusing her high level. If I was on the highest level, I would never abuse my powers like this, and would instead display my game knowledge and skills to train my juniors...”
I leave Ricard to his ramblings and introduce the orb into the door’s socket. As soon as it’s in, the door starts glowing and then it disappears, leaving only the door’s frame.
I’m about to cross to the other side when Laura pokes my shoulder.
“Hey, hmm… Mad Rat,” she says. “Is it just me, or that light film is closer than before?” She points back to the entrance, to the light film that blocked our way out.
“It sure looks like it is…”
It’s hard to say from here because of the angle, but it seems like the film has advanced about a meter.
“Ooh, it has moved? Let’s see!” Clara starts running away before suddenly stopping and turning to look at me. “Can I…?”
I start rubbing my temples. “It’s fine… go ahead and check…”
Well, at least this time she stopped and asked for permission. Does this mean she actually learned something?
As soon as Clara reaches the light film, she touches it with her tentacles. “Ouch, it stings! I’ve taken damage too!” She then checks its speed. “Also… it’s moving very slowly. It’s possible to cross it, but I take damage as soon as I touch it.”
Laura analyzes the situation. “So we have a timer now… It’s moving slowly, but depending on our actions or the dungeon layout, it could be a problem in the future.”
“You’re right,” I agree with her. “We’ll have to move without wasting any time from now on.” Then, I turn to Clara once again. “I knew it!” I blame her, joking. “Why did you have to say that, at the start!? You jinxed it after all!”
“Af if it had anything to do with this!” Clara counters as she runs back to us. “You know it would have happened anyway.”
“Maybe it would, or maybe not. The only thing that’s clear is that it’s your fault! Hahaha!”
“Muuuu! It isn’t!”
“It is.”
“No, it isn’t.”
“Ok, ok… it’s nobody’s fault.” I finally relent.
Laura calmly waits for us to finish our foolish conversation, a thin smile on her lips. “So… do we continue? Or do you want to wait until the light film catches up? It’ll raise the stakes and put us in extreme tension.”
“No, I’d rather avoid it,” I reply.
Meanwhile, Ricard is continuing with his ramblings.
“...I’d make sure to train my students every day. I’ll also make them learn every single skill and unit that the game has, as well as all the combos and counters…”
Let’s ignore him for now.
I clap my hands to get everyone’s attention. “All right, let’s return to our previous formation and start moving. We can’t waste time.”
What will the future hold for us? Who knows. But knowing Marta as well as I do, I’m sure it won’t be easy.
“But you know…” I say. “The light film… it’s clearly your fault, Lemon.”
“No, it isn’t!”
“Hey, Baldy!” I shout. “I thought you were keeping them at bay.”
“I’m doing what I can, okay? There’s too many of them.”
I avoid an attack by twisting my body, and at the same time, I cast a Cold Blast. I’m lucky and the Sacred Cat is immobilized, so I take this chance to slam my staff on its head and push it out of the tiny platform.
Ricard is supposed to keep them in check while I’m in charge of the Pegassi flying around. I raise my head to look upwards, scanning the area for enemies.
“There come two more… Chaotic Beam!” The spell hits the frontmost Pegassi, taking a large chunk of HP out. “Tsk! Still alive? I guess I have no choice then. Chain Lightning!”
The lightning hits the Pegassi and jumps to the other one. Thanks to the damage from my first spell and the transferred damage from the Shared Voltage skill, both Pegassi are paralyzed at 1 HP and fall to their deaths.
“Lily, Lemon. How are you doing? I don’t think we can hold on for long.” I look at the pillar in front close to the entrance, where Ricard is struggling to hold back an avalanche of Sacred Cats. “Ricard’s going to fall soon.”
There are several tall pillars in the room only wide enough for two of us to stand on them at the same time. We must jump from one to the next to reach the other side of the room.
The problem is those pillars are tall enough that if we fall, it’s instant death. Also, there are only a few that are safe. If we step on the wrong one, the pillar disappears and we fall to our deaths. What’s even worse: enemies aren’t affected by this, they can freely stand on any platform.
We discovered it by chance when Laura jumped on the first one and almost died. Thank god it was her and not any of us… she survived thanks to the Blink skill.
It would be nice and fast if we could check every pillar the same way, but we can only make four errors, and we already failed two times.
How do we know we only have four chances? Because there are four towers on the other side of the room and every time we stepped on the wrong platform, one of them lighted up.
There’s some kind of puzzle or clues to identify which are the good ones. Since Laura is the best of us at this stuff, and also the only one who can survive if she jumps on the wrong platform, she’s the one in charge of finding the path. Clara is helping her, and at the same time protecting her from the enemies that reach them.
Meanwhile, the task of stopping the majority of the enemies, the Sacred Cats, has fallen onto Ricard, as he’s the tank and the best one of us at fighting multiple enemies at close range.
And I’m in charge of the flying enemies, the Pegassi.
As you can imagine, in this situation, the Pegassi are extremely dangerous because we can’t get close to them, or easily avoid their attacks. They fly around and fire spells at us with impunity.
But the Sacred Cats are even worse than the Pegassi.
This is because they have Nine Lives. No, no, I mean it literally. They’re weak, on a similar level to the Stitched or even weaker, but they have the innate skill called Nine Lives which, literally, revives them the first eight times they would die.
It doesn’t matter what we do. We can blast them, smash their heads, or drop them to the ground below… they simply don’t die! Because of this, their numbers are slowly building up. They’re about to overwhelm us with raw numbers.
The only saving grace is that they can’t fly or climb the pillars back up when they fall: they must go back to the entrance first, where there’s a ramp for them to climb.
My Shared Voltage isn’t very effective against them. They’re naturally spread out, and the lightning can only hit a few every time. Because of this and the fact that the only one who can deal with the Pegassi is me, I’ve left them mostly to Ricard.
“I think I’ve got this one,” replies Laura. “If I’m not wrong… it’s this one.” She jumps to another platform. “Yes, I was right! Only a few remaining now.”
“Make haste,” I say, jumping to the platform she was standing on until now. “We can’t hold much longer.”
“I know, I’m doing my best too–”
“Hey, look there, brother.” Clara points back to the entrance. “It’s the light film. It’s already reached this room.”
“Ah, you’re right.” I look back, and surely, the light film that’s been chasing us since the start is now right at the door leading to this room.
Well, unless we waste a lot of time here, it won’t catch up with us. If we don’t make a huge mistake, we should be able to clear this room. But, at what cost? Will we have any EP or MP remaining for the rest of the training? If it weren't for the Mana Core skill, I would have run out of MP a long time ago…
*Thump! Thump!*
The ground trembles rhythmically as if something huge is stepping on the ground. When I turn to the origin of the noise, I see something very large, as tall as the platforms we’re standing on, coming our way.
“What the heck’s going on now!?” I shout in annoyance. “Lemon, this guy is on you, you’ll have to deal with it on your own.”
“Sure thing, brother. I’ll stop it, whatever it is! Hehehe!”
That’s it, problem solved. …Hahaha! As if!
“One of the first things you need to learn is to manage your EP and MP. Treat them as valuable resources and don’t waste them. But don’t get obsessed with saving them for later either. A good DMA player is one who knows how to balance their use and get the most out of them. And when you’re low on them, don’t hesitate to take a rest and recover.”
- A tip from a veteran DMA player to newer players.
Radosh
I have a question for all of you. Assuming Dungeon Masters Arena existed, which faction would you like to play as?
I know that not all factions have appeared in the story (and there might be some more that aren't in this list and will be mentioned in the future), but I've put the most representative units right next to the faction's name in case you forgot the names. In case you can't decide, you can vote for up to three options. It's out of curiosity, so don't think too much about it and answer honestly.
