279 Getting a Buff
The morning sun was fast rising, so I went down and entered our room before it completely did. There, everyone was already prepared and was only waiting for my arrival.
"Alright, everyone. Let's head out for some breakfast first."
Their gazes were telling me they wanted to ask where I was the entire night. But well, they should know I was on the rooftop not only from the link but also from my presence. I wasn't doing anything worth apologizing for anyway, so I just ignored their pressing gazes and went to lead everyone down the first floor.
After exiting, we went to a different stall than yesterday and did the same thing, buying the entire stock to feed my group of voracious girls.
Afterward, we went out of the gate and followed the road that was already familiar to us. The trees and bushes were similar too, but then a problem occurred.
"Hmmm? Did we make a wrong turn?"
I tilted my head as I stared ahead.
Before us was a wide clearing that shone under the bright rays of the early morning sun. However, there was no villa anywhere.
"This should be the correct location..."
Even Ember, who possessed the Space Element and had a tight grip on coordinates, was scratching her head in confusion. As a test, we returned to the gates and followed the road leading to Vendetta's manor once more. However, the same result welcomed us.
Not only did the sky not change to overcast, but the trees, the ground, and even the grass around them were slightly different from the ones in my memory.
"What the hell happened?"
I even wanted to thank her for all her help. How can I thank her if her villa isn't even present? The mystery covering her entire being just deepens.
Now that Vendetta's Villa was missing, we had no choice but to head to the frontlines early. Of course, since our shift was still hours away, we stayed at the destroyed fortress instead to pass the time.
The nearby team was glancing at us from time to time, probably worried that we'd be snatching their demon targets from the side. Well, we were just chilling anyway, so it was an unfounded worry on his side.
Hours passed slowly as the girls chatted randomly. Soon, the end of the graveyard shift approached. One after another, tamers from the day shift came, gathering around the destroyed fortress while keeping their distance from each other.
Everyone was technically just strangers gathered for a single goal, after all. Excessively interacting with someone that you don't really know might've been a fatal mistake, for all you know.
At 10 sharp, portals appeared simultaneously, and the tamers of the graveyard shift nodded their heads to the next shift, switching places with them.
For us, however, our "counterpart" was the man who had been glaring at us since earlier. It wasn't our fault that you were distracted. Don't you dare bark at the wrong tree, alright?
It was rare, too, as Threya was running a little late. I didn't wait for her, though, and went to the top of the walls immediately. There, the composition of the monsters was greatly changed compared to the last time I saw them.
From Fang and Igni's story during dinner, they fought mainly 7th to 8th stage demons yesterday. Although it took them a little trouble to clear everything, it wasn't something they couldn't handle.
"But today, they brought all their muscles..."
I felt awe seeing the entire horizon covered in 9th-stage demons. It would have definitely been a hopeless situation if not for the weakening barrier that was released by the walls. With the debuff from the barrier, they would be barely at the level of the 9th stage and mostly around the peak of the 8th stage.
"Fang, Igni, as usual, you two take the front. Remember not to delve too deep, or else you'll end up surrounded."
"Alright, Leader!"
"We'll definitely be careful, My Lord."
Hearing the two's energetic words, I smiled while nodding my head. When I turned to Ember, about to ask if she was going to fight too, I noticed that she was already transformed into her battle gear, wearing the exoskeleton-like support that emphasized all her curves.
"Ember... You act alone to hold Fatima's side while she's not here yet. Remember, delaying them is the priority. Don't hunt them down as much as possible."
Ember nodded her head with a faint smile. I guess she realized that I was just avoiding placing too much burden on her. After all, not many demons would reach Ember's location since Fang and Igni's rampage at the front would attract most of them.
Of course, Fina, Hekate, Yorm, and Judy were staying back as usual. Minerva was conflicted about whether to join in or stay back, but after getting persuaded by Fina that those three were more than enough, she reluctantly sat down beside the others.
"Sorry, I'm late!"
A few minutes into the start of the battle, Threya finally appeared, riding on top of the giant-form pug and burning in bright orange flames. I wonder, isn't that hot for the rider?
As soon as they passed the wall, Threya jumped down and landed perfectly on her two legs, while Peabody rushed to where Ember was, basically getting swarmed by the little numbers of demons that slipped past the other two.
<nullb>*ROOOOOARRRRR!*
The pug raised a loud cry, making Ember and the demons flinch. As soon as he came forward, the demons fell with a single strike of his flaming paws. Giving Ember a cursory glance before heading further into the battlefield and setting his blazing domain active.
"So you even kept some of the demons for us? You're pretty nice!"
Threya commented lightly as she watched her tamed pug rampage around, quickly catching up to Fang and Igni's combined kill counts. It was a bit of a pity, though, as every demon that the pug's flames killed died without leaving anything behind. The flames it was releasing were now more powerful than the last time!
"Your pug... Did it get a boost or buff or something?"
That was the only reason I could think of, seeing how fiercely the pug was slaying demons that were supposedly as powerful as it was after they got weakened.
"Yes, actually! That's the main reason we got delayed."
Listening to her story as she set up her usual picnic blanket, they visited one of their acquaintances who was working the night shift and asked for a long-lasting buff. The person she was waiting for woke up a little late, so she got delayed in the end.
"I see..."
The reason she got delayed was reasonable, but the power-up they got was beyond reason. How is that something that is from an externally applied, long-lasting buff?! Those kinds of buffs usually boost only a little of the monster's power. At the moment, the pug's damage increased; it was apparently more or less 20% more powerful than before.
The pug became so powerful that it managed to catch up with Igni, who was far ahead and deep into the demons' formation. That girl probably forgot my warning earlier already.
Having no choice, I prepared the rifle in my hands and lay prone a slight distance away from the others. After loading a bullet and staring at the scope, I immediately caught sight of a demon that was creeping closer to her while staying invisible.
<nullb>*BANG!*
A powerful explosion, followed by an unbearable recoil. The bones on my shoulders creaked from the unprecedented recoil of the shot. Not only that, but I felt like the bullet flew faster and that it was even more powerful than before.
The invisible demon literally exploded to pieces as the bullet went past and even dragged a few dozen more demons down before it landed on the ground, creating a small crater after an explosion.
"Ugh!"
However, the bones on my shoulder definitely cracked from that one shot. This was a pretty nostalgic pain, but it also made me doubt what happened. After all, nowadays, my body is supposedly able to withstand full-power bullets without problems.
"Is it..."
The only reason I could think of was Fatima. I guess her energy, mixed with the energy of the Sealed Space's core, was able to give the gun's base performance an astounding boost.
Honestly, it was a happy miscalculation on my part. Ignoring the pain for a moment, I took a potion and drank its contents in one gulp. The healing factor quickly did its work and slowly restored the damage to both the shoulder muscles and the bones.
After drinking the potion, I quickly removed the rest of the bullets and replaced them with the 50% concentration bullets. Those were half as powerful as the first batch, but with a lower concentration, they could be fired more frequently due to the lower recoil.
After completing all the changes to the gun, the healing of my shoulder was complete. Although it was still a little numb, it was moving as I wished. There are no problems at all.
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