Chapter 343: Wide Area Attack
The day after we constructed the wall, we found ourselves standing atop it once more.
I had already informed the Guild Master that the wall was complete. He had muttered in surprise at how quickly it was done in just one day, but he seemed to have lost his sanity over it, so I left him to his musings.
Today, I intended to test our area magic while standing on the wall. However, this wall was built fifty kilometers away from the city. Even though the alert level had risen to two, it didn’t mean that requests from the Forest of Enchantment had ceased entirely. Thus, I chose a location that seemed unlikely to have other adventurers around.
“It’s not like the terrain is similar once we’re far from the city,” Rio sighed, shielding her forehead with her hand as she gazed toward the Forest of Enchantment. The path leading from the city’s north gate to the forest had a gentle slope, but here, the incline was steeper, and the ground was uneven.
“Well, this is the best terrain we could find that’s far from the city, so we have no choice but to accept it.”
“That’s true, but…”
“Once we practice our magic, the terrain will likely resemble that of the north side of the city anyway.”
“…That’s also true.”
There was a high chance it could turn out worse, but I decided not to mention that. It seemed Rio understood and accepted the situation.
“Then let’s get started.”
Once we positioned ourselves about a kilometer apart, we began our practice. We had a rough idea of the durability of the monsters that would attack us.
‘Rather than ensuring a kill, it might be better to incapacitate the enemies over a wide area, right?’
‘What type of magic should we use? If we lean too heavily on one attribute, some monsters might slip through unscathed.’
I communicated with Rio through telepathy while deciding on the magic to use. Instead of using an explosive area magic that spreads widely, it might be more effective to scatter mid-level magic over a broad area for consistency.
‘Let’s try one shot for now.’
I concentrated my magic power and expanded it around me. I started with the Earth Needle, a spell I had frequently used. I focused on reducing its power while increasing its range. Perhaps due to the modifications I made to the bullets during the battle with the Sea Emperor Turtle, the recent Earth Needle projectiles felt more lethal, so I needed to tone it down. While the Impact Penetration Effect wasn’t necessary, adding some spin would help extend the range.
Once I decided on the projectiles, I generated them and simply needed to fire them radially. I figured that even if my aim was a bit off, they would likely hit their targets.
“Hmm, hmm…”
I estimated that I had reached a width of about three hundred meters and a depth of five hundred meters. I continued to experiment and make improvements, ensuring I wouldn’t forget the current feeling. My magic power didn’t seem to diminish much; I felt I could keep going.
“Oh, the impact zones are overlapping now.”
“Wait, should we move a bit further apart?”
We had initially been a kilometer apart, but it seemed that wasn’t quite enough. Just to be safe, we moved about five kilometers away and spent the entire day practicing.
In the end, I managed to extend my range to about three kilometers wide and two kilometers deep. When I increased the power to make the projectiles explode, the range halved, but that was acceptable. Meanwhile, Rio had about double the range with the same power as mine. It was a bit frustrating, but there was nothing I could do about it. I felt I had grasped the sensation of wide area attacks, so that was good enough.
“It’s about time we conduct some practical training against the monsters in the dungeon.”
I thought that was the only thing left to do, so I ventured alone into the depths of the Forest of Enchantment. Even during the day, sunlight barely penetrated the thick canopy, leaving the surroundings dim.
Only the Dungeon Master could command the monsters within the dungeon. If the monsters possessed will and intelligence, they might heed requests from others, but since they were robotic, they didn’t accept commands from anyone but me.
However, it was inconvenient that I could only deploy monsters through the dungeon entrance in the Forest of Enchantment. I wanted to create a dungeon entrance wherever I pleased…
“Hmmm… my own territory, huh…”
I decided to try flattening a five-meter square patch of ground using Earth Magic.
“Doesn’t seem to work.”
Next, I attempted to arrange the flattened ground as if laying stone tiles.
“Still no good.”
I tried building walls on three sides, but that didn’t work either. So, I added a roof. Then, I carved out a hole in the remaining side to serve as a door.
“Oh, it worked!”
Was this really all it took to establish my own territory? It didn’t even have to be my land. I wondered if the houses in the city were technically my territory either.
“Well then, let’s get started.”
I created a dungeon entrance that connected to the floor where the TYPE Series was waiting. I placed restrictions so that only the dungeon monsters could pass through, transforming the entire floor into stairs leading down into the dungeon.
After issuing a command for one squad to come out, the robots began to appear one after another, quickly filling the room. Since the dungeon entrance was already established, I thought it would be fine to break through the wall where the door hole was, allowing the subsequent TYPE Series to stream out of the dungeon.
“Alright, alright.”
I gazed contentedly at the ten TYPE Series lined up before me. While fiddling with the Create Menu, I realized that the upper two digits of the TYPE Series represented the race type, the third digit indicated the status type, and the fourth digit simply represented their strength.
This time, I was forming a squad with the most common monsters in the dungeon, all with a strength rating of four. Since we were in the forest, I selected two of each type: cat, monkey, snake, mouse, and bird, all of which seemed agile.
“Alright, go!”
I issued the order to charge toward a group of monsters a short distance away, and the ten robots swiftly began to move.