Rune Seeker

Chapter 11: Tank and Spank, Or Not…?

It was harder than it sounded to limit himself to around D-Rank abilities, especially with his high Atn and Dex. He saw the D-Rank moles attacks coming a mile away, and they were so slow. He could practically eat a sandwich while waiting for a swinging claw to reach him. In fact, he was eating a sandwich as the three-bladed paw wound around in his direction.

Then, trying to keep his reflexes to the level of somebody three ranks and hundreds of Dex lower than him he stepped back. Cutting through the air just an inch in front of him, the sword-like claws seemed to take forever to finish their arc, and he stepped back in. Starting to form a Rune of Impact around his left hand, he quickly canceled that it wouldve created a Sandwich of Impact and instead focused on his right hand. Even during that delay, the D-Rank Wildclaw Mole had barely begun to notice Hiral wasnt in four pieces in front of it. By the time it did figure that out

WHAM, Hiral buried his fist in the moles bright-red nose. Damn thing is practically a target on its face

Not taking the benefits of his Second-Skin of UrThul into account namely the fact it increased all his runes potency by a Rank the rodents head exploded like a ripe melon.

Hiraaaaal! Nat whined, her debuff landing on the corpse to have absolutely zero effect.

Sorry, he said quickly. Im just not good at pretending Im D-Rank. This was the third mole in as many encounters hed exploded. Maybe, just maybe, the others are onto something with me and explosions. Honestly, it probably wouldve been more if the others didnt make him sit out most of the fights. He was just critting far too much today. Every time, in fact.

Right and Left are doing fine at it, Milly said at the same time her Chain Heal bounced between the party.

You have been buffed by Chain Heal.

Moderate health is restored before chaining to a nearby ally to restore a reduced amount.

Note (2): Chain Heal bounces between a number of targets based on Rank, modified by Wis.

Note (3): Chain Heal can bounce back to previous targets as long as a different target is struck between.

Note (4): Lingering effect restores an additional 1% health over 3 seconds after being struck by Chain Heal.

Hiral dismissed the buff window, though he couldnt help but smile. All of Nats abilities were considered buffs or debuffs, and a surprising number of Millys were too. Even if he wasnt getting achievements from this dungeon, the sheer number of additional abilities he was adding to the Lost Chord was completely worth it. Maybe I should just go around the islands asking people to buff or debuff me

Okay, Seena said, interrupting his thoughts. Thats the end of that pack. Yanily says the second Mid-Boss should be in the next room. Were just about done with moles.

Give us the run down on it? Hiral said, then turned to Left. Banner of Courage to top everybody off for the fight?

Left just nodded and reached over to touch the tattoo seemingly emblazoned on his Coat of UrThul. Not even a second later, he pulled his fingers away, a streamer of solar smoke trailing it before it snapped into the shape of a glowing banner seemingly fluttering in the wind. From the Banner, a shining dome of rejuvenating light encompassed the party.

You have been buffed by Banner of Courage.

Critical Strike Rate increased by 18% for 180 seconds.

Critical Strike Damage increased by 60% for 180 seconds.

Attack Speed increased by 8% for 180 seconds.

Moderate Healing Over Time for 180 seconds.

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Moderate Shielding granted for 180 seconds.

All Attributes increased by 5% for 180 seconds.

Immune to Fear and Fear-like effects for 180 seconds.

Solar Absorption Rate increased by 1 Rank for 180 seconds.

Now at A-Rank thanks, again, to the Second-Skin the Banner was strong. Not only had most of its bonuses increased nicely, but it also now gave attribute bonuses. Five percent may not have seemed like a whole lot at first glance, but it stacked with all their other attribute increases. Even the twenty percent from Life of the Party+ and Hirals natural Dex and Atn bonuses. Other than the fact a person needed to remain within the dome of light to benefit, it was an extremely powerful buff. Possibly the most powerful they had.

And it still has at least one more Rank of growth. Maybe even two, when left gets to S-Rank himself?

Hiral just shook his head as he imagined going into a fight with those absurd increases.

This Mid-Boss, Yanily said, pulling Hiral back to the present. It takes ten hits to kill it. Doesnt matter how hard you hit it, he looked straight at Hiral, or how soft. Ten hits.

Thats the trick? Seena asked, then glanced at the girls. All the Mid-Bosses or Bosses have at least one trick to them. Its very rare its a straight fight.

No tank and spank? Nat asked.

Excuse me? Hiral asked. Where were his little sisters learning this language?

Term thats going around for direct brawls, Milly explained, though she somehow managed to sigh in disappointment at her brother first. The tank you guessed it tanks. Keeps the monsters attention while the damager dealers spank it. In other words, do damage. Tank and spank.

Its in the first-edition guide, Yanily said quietly beside Hiral. Ill get you a copy when we get back up so you can learn the lingo.

Thanks, Hiral whispered back.

Its actually not a bad strategy, Seena said to Nat and Milly. Most of the time. The more the monster is attacking the tank, the less its hurting your healer or damage dealers. You almost always want the fights to be tank and spanks. Even then, though, there will be tricks you need to take into account, and modify your strategy.

For example, in the Palace of Creeping Death dungeon we did, we fought the Hulking BehemothMid-Boss. In a way, it was a straight-forward fight. We hit it, and it hit us back.

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Hit us back hard, Yanily clarified. You shouldve seen what it did to your brother when it caught him.

Are there any fights where you dont get your ass kicked? Nat asked him.

Thats not the point of this story, Hiral said, gesturing to Seena to continue. I hope.

Its not, Seena agreed. That fight wasnt a damage race to see who could knock down the other one first. And, even with our tank Nivian doing an amazing job, and his brother Wule healing him the whole time, we had to deal with the trick. Incredibly high-speed regeneration. The Mid-Boss healed the damage we did almost as fast as we did it.

It didnt actually have much health, Hiral said. Compared to some of the other Bosses weve fought. Just, for this one, we had to do enough damage quickly enough, while finding a way to slow or disable its regeneration.

Does the mole Mid-Boss have something like this? Seeyela asked Yanily.

Its called a Molitary Special-Forces, Yanily said. The room is set up with tunnels underneath, and trapdoors where the mole can pop out of. It spends most of the fight underground, then emerges and attacks quickly, before dropping back down into its tunnels.

No matter how hard we tried, we couldnt follow down in the tunnels, so you have to wait for it to come back up and hit it before it hits one of us. Regardless of how much damage you do, it loses ten percent of its health.

How fast is it? Hiral asked.

Compared to you, not fast, Yanily said. Compared to an actual D-Rank, seriously fast. And it has both ranged and melee attacks, though the claws seem to be the most dangerous weapon.

This is so strange knowing what were fighting before we fight it, Seeyela said.

Hiral could only agree with a nod. So, plan? Should we group up or spread out? How many trapdoors are there?

About two-dozen, placed throughout the room, Yanily said. Spreading out is dangerous, but the quickest way to hit the mole ten times. Leaves your healer and damage dealers exposed. On the other hand, if you group up, the mole will bombard you from range, and may never come up close enough for you to get a hit in.

Any other tricks to it? Seena asked.

One of the damager dealers in my last group used a big hammer, Yanily said. Hitting the mole with heavy, blunt damage added some kind of debuff that slowed it down. Made it much easier to avoid its attacks, and to catch and hit it again.

Good thing we have an expert in blunt-force trauma, Seeyela said, thumbing towards Right.

With eight of us, that must be an advantage too, Nat pointed out.

Definitely, Seena said. One of the benefits of having your brother in the party.

Theres more than one? Milly joked.

Hrm he finds good cheese? Seena said after some apparent thought. Then she looked his way and gave him a soft smile that made his heart beat faster.

Hed missed being around her.

I do happen to have some with me, he said. We could let the others go deal with this mole while we?

She actually seemed to consider it before she finally shook her head in an attempt to look responsible. After we finish the dungeon, she said like she was trying to convince herself. She wasnt fooling anybody.

I think I preferred it when girls thought you carried the plague, Nat joked.

It wasnt that bad, Hiral said.

It was worse, Milly said. People at school even thought we her eyes widened as her mouth literally slapped shut. The glare Nat was giving her couldve melted stone.

Hiral looked between his two sisters one trying to stare the other deeper underground, while the second looked like she wanted everybody to forget she was even there. Or that shed said anything.

Are you telling me, Hiral started, his mouth going dry at the implication of her words. People treated you the same way they treated me because we were related?

Nat opened her mouth to answer too quickly and Hirals finger snapped up with his full three-hundred-plus Dex to cut her off. And dont even think about lying, he said. I know all your tells.

Nats lower jaw went side-to-side before she answered. It was just stupid people.

You mean kids, right? Hiral pressed on her choice of words.

She didnt answer.

It wasnt so bad when we got used to it, Milly said. And they mostly stopped after a few years

A few years? Hiral practically shouted, and purple flames flared to his side.

Rights Meridian lines had lit up like he was going to war, and Lefts knuckles were white around the Banner of Courage. The two doubles were feeling exactly the same thing Hiral was, and his hand went to the hilt over his shoulder.

As soon as his fingers touched it, the Emperors Greatsword flared to life, and he drew it in its fallen-star form. All around them, the walls of the dungeon creaked as gravity changed, and small stones lifted into the air.

Who was it? he asked. Give me names.

Nat and Milly looked at each other as solar energy flowed off the three copies of Hiral. Purple, white, and yellow bled from their tattoos and runes, and the dungeon continued to creak. It was one thing for the people of Fallen Reach to treat him like the Everfail, but to target his sisters?

No, just no. And why didnt I ever notice? Why didnt they ever tell me?

Looking at the faces of his sisters his loving sisters he knew the answer to that question immediately. They didnt want him to worry about them. They were protecting him. The opposite of what a big brother was supposed to do.

Who? he asked again, straining to keep his emotions in. He hadnt been so angry in in he didnt know how long. Line them up in the Amphitheatre of the Sun or all at once I dont care. I am

We are, Right corrected.

going to show them just how wrong they were, Left finished.

Its a long list, Milly said.

Then wed best get back up there to get started, Hiral said, stalking down the hall towards the next Mid-Boss.

Hey, where are you going? Nat asked.

Hiral didnt reply, his jaw clenched so he didnt scream and swear at how furious he was. His sisters wouldve been children for most of that treatment. And adults their teachers, probably had behaved like that. Oh, he was going to make them eat those words.

His fantasies played out in his head as he strode down the hall, until he finally entered a large room. Around two dozen mounds of loose, circular dirt dotted the room, and a carriage-size mole at the far end dove into one like it was a swimming pool. Just like that, in the blink of an eye, it was gone, and the battles mechanic began.

Ten hits, Yanily had said.

I dont have time for this.

Funneling solar energy into his sword, Hiral ramped up the Rune of Gravity, then layered on his own Runes of Expansion, Impact, and Increase. Then he simply leaned forward and swung with all his strength.

The sword cut into the stone directly in front of him, and a massive shockwave blasted out as the whole dungeon shook. Everything in front of him compressed in an expanding wave under the tremendous gravity hed dropped with his swing. Stone buckled and crushed, just two feet deep directly in front of him, but pounding deeper and deeper the further the wave went. A dozen feet by the mid-point of the room, twice that as the wave raced towards the far wall. Dust that shouldve shot into the air only ground into the rock, further breaking it down. The loose-dirt tunnels collapsed along with everything else, a cacophony of cracks echoing off the walls.

Hows that for blunt-force trauma? he whispered, imagining every unknown face of the people whod bullied his sisters.

Just like that, the Mid-Boss room was reduced to little more than a steep ramp almost like a theatre in front of him. Meanwhile, footsteps rushed up behind him, and Hiral hauled his sword up while glaring at the room. Where was that damn mole? As soon as it popped up, he was going to

Wow, Nat said from beside him, and a hand settled on his forearm. You completely one-shot it.

Its dead? he asked. Youre sure?

Pretty sure. We got an achievement, Nat said. Whack-a-Mole.