Chapter 234: Infiltration Plan
After defeating the King Boar, my party and I gained more levels thanks to taking down that huge beast together.
[
Name: Richard Forster
Class: Valkyrie Tamer
Level: 58
Valkyries: 6/6
Health: 600 points
Mana: 320 points
Strength: 80 points
Defense: 30 points
Magic: 72 points
Agility: 40 points
Status Points: 20 points
]
[
Name: Sarah Lockhart
Level: 44
Class: Swordmaster
Title: Valkyrie
Master: Richard Forster
Health: 480 points
Mana: 235 points
Strength: 70 points
Defense: 15 points
Magic: 33 points
Agility: 33 points
Status Points: 32 points
]
[
Name: Alicia Ludvila Von Astrea
Level: 35
Class: Saintess
Title: Valkyrie
Master: Richard Forster
Health: 210 points
Mana: 380 points
Strength: 1 point
Defense: 10 points
Magic: 73 points
Agility: 22 points
Status Points: 32 points
]
[
Name: Justine Blackwood
Level: 37
Class: Sage
Title: Valkyrie
Master: Richard Forster
Health: 250 points
Mana: 430 points
Strength: 1 point
Defense: 20 points
Magic: 76 points
Agility: 25 points
Status Points: 32 points
]
[
Name: Diane Stollen
Level: 42
Class: Shadow Assassin
Title: Valkyrie
Master: Richard Forster
Health: 470 points
Mana: 378 points
Strength: 70 points
Defense: 15 points
Magic: 23 points
Agility: 50 points
Status Points: 32 points
]
[
Name: Erina Ashburn
Level: 41
Class: Marksman
Title: Valkyrie
Master: Richard Forster
Health: 450 points
Mana: 340 points
Strength: 73 points
Defense: 10 points
Magic: 27 points
Agility: 33 points
Status Points: 28 points
]
[
Name: Camula
Level: 42
Monster: Demonic Slime
Title: Valkyrie
Master: Richard Forster
Health: 613 points
Mana: 255 points
Strength: 22 points
Defense: 63 points
Magic: 8 points
Agility: 22 points
Status Points: 40 points
]
I allocated our stat points then. I wanted to avoid a situation where I wasn’t fast enough, so I increased my Agility points.
I did the same for Sarah. Given her fighting style, I believed she would be more useful if she could keep up with my speed on the front line.
[
Name: Richard Forster
Class: Valkyrie Tamer
Level: 58
Valkyries: 6/6
Health: 600 points
Mana: 320 points
Strength: 80 points
Defense: 30 points
Magic: 72 points
Agility: 60 points
Status Points: 0 points
]
[
Name: Sarah Lockhart
Level: 44
Class: Swordmaster
Title: Valkyrie
Master: Richard Forster
Health: 480 points
Mana: 235 points
Strength: 70 points
Defense: 15 points
Magic: 33 points
Agility: 65 points
Status Points: 0 points
]
’Though she does have 2 more Agility points than I do...’ I thought, "Even with such a tiny difference, would I have to catch up to her?"
For Alicia and Justine, I prioritized Magic, which was the most important stat for their kits to work. In addition, I allocated a few Status Points to Agility, just to balance out their stats and increase their chances of evading attacks.
[
Name: Alicia Ludvila Von Astrea
Level: 35
Class: Saintess
Title: Valkyrie
Master: Richard Forster
Health: 210 points
Mana: 380 points
Strength: 1 point
Defense: 10 points
Magic: 93 points
Agility: 34 points
Status Points: 0 points
]
[
Name: Justine Blackwood
Level: 37
Class: Sage
Title: Valkyrie
Master: Richard Forster
Health: 250 points
Mana: 430 points
Strength: 1 point
Defense: 20 points
Magic: 96 points
Agility: 37 points
Status Points: 0 points
]
’Eh? Their Magic stat just surpassed my Strength...’ I suddenly realized. ’Well, I guess that couldn’t be helped. I usually put all their Status Points into Magic, so I shouldn’t be surprised. Though they’re still pretty fragile when it comes to Defense. I think I’ll start increasing their other stats from now on.’
For Diane, I only increased Strength and Agility, while for Erina, I decided to put points into Magic and Agility.
[
Name: Diane Stollen
Level: 42
Class: Shadow Assassin
Title: Valkyrie
Master: Richard Forster
Health: 470 points
Mana: 378 points
Strength: 86 points
Defense: 15 points
Magic: 23 points
Agility: 66 points
Status Points: 0 points
]
[
Name: Erina Ashburn
Level: 41
Class: Marksman
Title: Valkyrie
Master: Richard Forster
Health: 450 points
Mana: 340 points
Strength: 73 points
Defense: 10 points
Magic: 41 points
Agility: 47 points
Status Points: 0 points
]
The most complicated case was Camula, whose stats were pretty messy. Defense was the ideal stat to prioritize, and her kit didn’t require much Strength, so I decided to invest in Agility as well to help her position herself more effectively in combat.
[
Name: Camula
Level: 42
Monster: Demonic Slime
Title: Valkyrie
Master: Richard Forster
Health: 613 points
Mana: 255 points
Strength: 22 points
Defense: 83 points
Magic: 8 points
Agility: 42 points
Status Points: 0 points
]
I kept staring at the point allocation the entire way to Backwater City. The stats weren’t bad, and I could probably improve them a bit, but they were the best we had managed to achieve so far.
The sun had already set, and from the hill where we stood, we could see the city shining amid the darkness.
"So, what’s the plan?" Erina asked curiously. "I don’t think going through the front gate is a good idea."
"You’re one hundred percent right," I replied without taking my eyes off the horizon. "By now, all our faces must be on wanted posters courtesy of Equidna."
"Then..."
Erina wasn’t the only one who wanted to know what we were going to do anymore. All the girls were gathered around me, just waiting for my solution to our problem. I sighed, imagining how my Valkyries would react when they heard my plan.
"The sewers."
"W-What?!" I heard their voices blend together as they reacted to my answer in unison.
In SCRL, Leo and his party had similar problems getting into the city. Backwater City was protected by a tall stone wall and heavily guarded by Silver Fang soldiers. Entering through the main gate and going through the soldiers’ inspection would be like holding up a neon sign saying, "Hey, Night Apostles, come get us!"
But there was another way in. There was an underground passage through which sewage was dumped outside the city, a passage large enough for humans to pass through whenever maintenance was needed. Or, in our case, to infiltrate the city.
We would enter through a manhole, infiltrate the Silver Fang barracks, beat up Leo (that part was optional, but very much wished for by me), rescue the Swordsman, and then take him far away from there.
"Hey, Rick." Diane looked a little shaky. "If we’re going into the sewers, there are cockroaches down there, right?"
"The answer to that question is kind of obvious." I placed a hand on my chin, trying to remember that part of the story. "If I’m not mistaken, there are giant cockroaches down there."
"Eek!" Diane let out a nervous little squeal.
"I thought you’d gotten over your problem with insects," Erina commented, curious about Diane’s nervousness.
"Just because I can kill them doesn’t mean I want to be anywhere near them!" Diane replied, startled.
I thought about the monsters we would find in the underground tunnels. "Or were they giant rats...?"
"Kyaa!" Alicia screamed, sharing her friend’s nervousness.
"Don’t you happen to have a less disgusting plan?" Sarah asked me.
"Look, I like this idea just as much as you do, but unfortunately, there’s no other way to get into the city."
Sarah stood there with her arms crossed, scrutinizing me. After a few seconds, she sighed and spoke.
"Fine." My Swordmaster finally gave up on objecting. "If there’s no other choice."
"Hey, Master." One of the members of my party called out to me, and I recognized her voice immediately.
Given the context, I could already imagine what she was going to ask me.
"No, Camula. You can’t eat any creatures in the sewers."
She puffed out her cheeks. "I wasn’t going to ask that, Master Rick. Do you happen to think all I ever think about is eating monsters?"
I figured she would feel even more offended by what I was thinking of saying, so I decided not to answer that question.
"If that’s not it, what is it?" I asked her in a softer tone.
"It’s just that I was thinking," she said in an innocent tone. "Your Valkyrie Training skill only activates once per night, so wouldn’t it be better to use it every night, including tonight?"
Although I thought her comment was just an excuse to take the opportunity to have fun with me, Camula had a point. The best way to use that skill was for us to have sex every night to increase our party’s power.
"About that—"
"No."
My words were cut off immediately. Justine stood in front of me, already rejecting Camula’s idea. All the girls’ eyes turned towards her.
"We’ve been traveling for quite a while, not to mention all the fighting we’ve had to face along the way. Given our current situation, I think it would be best for us to rest tonight and start exploring the sewers in the morning."
Justine wasn’t wrong. We had been through a lot, and a night of rest could certainly do the girls some good.
"Fine. We’ll use tonight to rest, then."
"Rick." Justine didn’t look like she had finished saying everything she wanted to say. "There’s something I need to discuss with you."
"Okay," I told her, signaling for her to continue.
She stared at me with her dark eyes as if I were being dense.
"In private," she added, sounding a little annoyed with me.
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