BXBX NOVEL Chapter 86 86: The Raid
ραпdα nᴏνa| сom Katy had planned every part of this raid perfectly and she had crafted her teams accordingly as well. It was not her first raid so she also knew what she had been doing.
Then why? Why had things gone so wrong? How had two of her defense teams died outright and left her and the attacking team alone?
\'I know where things went wrong! It was my fault. I underestimated the boss monster of this raid.\'
To understand what was happening, one needed to go back to the beginning and know what happened here.
It had all begun with Katy\'s plan to lure the boss monster out of its arena and into an open-place fight. It would have given their attackers much more range as well as better chances of killing the boss.
As everyone knew, a boss arena gave the monster better protection as well as special fighting powers. So, Katy had made up two parties to lure the boss out.
But the boss monster had seen that coming. It not only trapped their party inside the arena but also dropped a part of the ceiling over their head. A lot of people died as a result.
Currently, the only ones alive in the defense party were Katy and the old couple who arrived with Noah.
"You both, hurry up and get out of here. I will take care of this boss all on my own."
Katy informed the couple, not wanting to see them die out here. She was responsible for their lives and she would protect them.
The old couple was shocked when the ceiling fell on them but they knew the ring they had been given today had saved their lives. If they had this ring, they could get out and inform everyone else what happened there.
"What are you thinking about? Hurry up and leave so that I can unleash my power."
Katy\'s voice shook as she spoke. She was injured and would not be able to unleash her full power. But she was not going to back down from a fight.
The old couple nodded and ran outside hand in hand. They were being so lovely-dovely even now and Katy felt envious of them.
She had hoped to find someone who made her heart beat faster in infatuation as well but no one had struck her as her \'type\' yet.
The closest someone had come to her type was Noah but that ship would likely not go anywhere now that Katy was about to die.
\'I wish I could see that smiling face one last time. But oh well, maybe I will be lucky in my next life.\'
Katy braced herself for the fight that was about to come. The boss took all of Katy\'s slashes and her heart sank to see that the arena gave it regenerating abilities.
She was a close ranged-fighter and did not have flashy or big-area skills. Hence, Katy could not take care of a boss alone and was more of a support-type person.
The ceiling was beginning to crumble again and she was ready to die when the attacking team was led in by someone.
"You all are fools; you will die if you stay here with me. Listen, this boss is not a beginner boss by any means-"
Katy tried to reason with the attackers but they were all big-headed ego-filled fools who refused to listen to her.
A barrage of attacks headed over her head and hit the boss in the back. It staggered, taking the massive danger, and retaliated back toward the group. They were left open for the attack to hit them and there was no one left to prevent their deaths as well.
These people had been chosen as the attackers precisely because they had no healing or shielding skill. They would die if the attack hit.
"No, wait. I need to save them-"
Katy yelled as she challenged her magic into shielding. But her shield refused to materialize over such a huge area.
Just when she and the other attackers were about to lose all hope, Noah stepped in front of them and caused his hand. A shield materialized, stopping the attack but Noah still took some damage.
"You fool. Hurry and kill that thing before it attacks again. I don\'t think I will be able to shield such a large area again."
Katy watched in muted horror as Noah took the impact but he looked alright. Now she could see why the letter had lavished such praises for Noah.
He was an amazing support when it counted.
The attacking party looked stunned, almost as if they had not expected this outcome but they began to attack the raid boss.
Finally, after a second round of attacks, the monster was taken down and Katy began to check on the fallen victims.
5 of them were dead while 2 were in critical condition. It was a failure for a dungeon run but at least it had been cleared up.
"Alright everyone, get yourself checked out at the guild center as soon as you can. Anyone else who is injured?"
No one stepped ahead but everyone heard a body hitting the ground.
It was Noah who had collapsed due to exhaustion.
"Sorry, but I don\'t think I can walk anymore. My legs do not have any energy left in them."
Katy shook her head in amusement as her heart skipped a beat in relief. She had been so worried just a second ago for Noah but it was all bleeding away from a single word from him.
She also paused as soon as that thought passed her mind. Had her heart just skipped a beat in relief for someone? She did not remember the last time it happened and she quickly looked back at Noah.
He was good looking and his face was Katy\'s type. The more she looked, the more her face heated up. Even being covered in dirt seemed to not have diminished Noah\'s beauty.
\'Fuck, no do not think about it. You do not have a crush on him Katy so you need to snap out of your delusion.\'
Katy tried to deny her heart but she knew what was the truth anyway. Noah also chose that time to finally look up and his eyes met Katy\'s.
Her face finally broke out into a blush and there was no denying her feelings any longer.
She was crushing on Noah and she was crushing on him hard. He was the second person who had made Katy feel such emotions after the grandmaster.
\'I am sorry grandmaster, but I do not think I can remain your faithful fan anymore. It seems I have begun to fall in love.\'
........
Keith sighed in relief as soon as his strategy worked.
\'Thank god I realized that the attacking squad was all a bunch of ego-centric people who could be manipulated.\'
Keith had much experience with people who thought their abilities were superior to what they were and he was able to coax them inside the cave.
They also met the old couple who had saved him and they looked terrified but Keith signaled them not to say anything.
The old man looked troubled but he followed Keith\'s lead. And the attacking team finally made a sneaky attack on the boss.
The boss attacked back but Keith had a plan prepared for such an occasion. He was going to use all his power to shield this attack. He needed to become the hero of this raid so that Katy could spread his word.
\'Shit, this is going to hurt. But I can endure a little pain if it means I will get to live and go back home.\'
Keith was a little afraid that he would not be able to control his powers so he stopped paying attention to mana control and poured what he could into this shield.
It worked and he stopped the attack. But he also knew he would not be able to stop another one.
"You fool. Hurry and kill that thing before it attacks again. I don\'t think I will be able to shield such a large area again."
Keith yelled and his party finally took down the boss. Everyone celebrated while Keith\'s legs shook. He was utterly exhausted at this point.
He remembered falling and saying something stupid to Katy. His instincts froze as soon as they realized he was making a fool out of himself in front of all these people but his body finally did not freeze up.
It was so relaxing to finally be himself and not act like the grandmaster all the time. He did not need to care that he was lying on the ground utterly exhausted and he did not have to care about what other people thought of him.
Being this exhausted was worth his new freedom.
\'I bet I will only think this for a short amount of time while this freedom feels fresh and new. But, oh well. I might as well enjoy this feeling.\'