The Golden Experience Point [Part 1]

Chapter 167: "Takuma The Tank"

"Is that a spear, Mare-san? Do you fight as a spear warrior?"

"Well, yes. Something like that."

The player who introduced herself as Mare, encountered in the northern forest of Neuschloss, answered Tonbo's question that way.

To unleash such powerful magic and also be able to fight as a spear user, Mare displayed extraordinary strength. Takuma's party was confident in their abilities, considering themselves among the top players, but they might need to reconsider. Mare, at least, seemed capable of handling the tasks of both Tonbo and Kouki on her own.

Not only that, she had a short dagger strapped to her waist. It was too long for a utility knife. It could be a sub-weapon, but it wouldn't make sense to carry it in such a position if it couldn't be used. Perhaps Mare had invested experience points in dagger skills similar to Shiitake's proficiency in short sword techniques.

Considering these aspects, Mare was likely among the top players, possibly even surpassing the current upper echelons.

──Perhaps it was unnecessary meddling.

Due to their pride as a top-class party, they hadn't been conscious of players with greater abilities than themselves. Although Tonbo approached with good intentions, it might have been unwelcome.

Despite the difficulty in reading expressions due to the hood, Mare didn't seem welcoming from her tone.

However, the fact that she at least agreed suggested that she saw some benefit in it. It was essential to move forward positively and focus on supporting each other as temporary party members.

"Well then. For now, our party already has Tonbo and Hourai as melee physical attackers, so Mare-san, could you act as a magic attacker alongside Kouki? Is that acceptable?"

"Yes, that's fine."

It was regrettable not to see Mare's skills with the spear or dagger, but their roles would overlap with Tonbo and Shiitake. Shiitake could provide long-range support with a short bow, but Tonbo had only a spear for attacking. If they assigned Mare the role of a spear user, Tonbo would be left with no tasks. Moreover, the goblins in this area had high defense, and finishing blows were mostly left to Kouki's magic.

On the other hand, Mare's magic was formidable. If she could cast such powerful spells, she likely had sufficient MP. If she had area-of-effect magic, she probably had single-target spells as well. While there was a possibility she only had fire-based magic, it didn't matter much, as the monsters in this forest were goblins and skeletons, both vulnerable to fire. Additionally, with a cooldown time on magic, having multiple magic users would be advantageous.

They rearranged their formation: Takuma, Shiitake, and Hourai in the front; Tonbo in the center; Kouki and Mare in the rear. With this, they resumed exploring the forest.

"...But seriously, I was surprised when the forest suddenly burned."

Tonbo spoke to Mare from behind Takuma.

"I apologize. Many skeletons were emerging from the ground in the wasteland. I wanted to check if the same was happening in the forest."

"More importantly, what was that magic you used earlier? Such a wide-range attack, and it completely incinerated a ☆4-ranked forest! As far as I know, there's no fire magic with that level of power. Did you discover a rumored combination magic?"

"Combination magic?"

"Oh, my mistake. Well, there are rumors about it. You see, magic cooldown times are separate for each spell. So, if you adjust the ejection speed and activation time well, it's not impossible to shoot different spells almost simultaneously. Normally, they would cancel each other out, but if that's the case, it's not strange to have a magic combination that produces synergistic effects with specific combinations."