The Paladin in the Abyss

Fortunately, Lancelot was still considered the most threatening target. He and his companions were precisely on either side of the monster, allowing him to face it directly, so his magic and Divine Arts-using companions only needed to face the monster's less intimidating "back."

A holy radiance began to emanate from Alamir, prompting Lancelot to raise his Great Sword and charge again. He now needed to generate enough noise to attract the enemy's attention, buying time for his companions.

The Priest was loudly praying to his deity, asking Lady of the Flame to grant him and his companions vitality and hope. As the Elves chanted, his body emitted a wave-like radiance, and a mystical connection was established. The prayer seemed somewhat lengthy, and Alamir was not fluent in reciting it because it was a third-tier Divine Art, Beacon of Hope, recently bestowed upon the Priest.

When Alamir uttered the last word of his prayer, the Divine Art took shape. The Divine Art Energy surrounding him instantly poured into his body, his eyes lighting up like lighthouses in the night, casting light into his companions' hearts and dispelling the darkness and fear enveloping them.

Bruto was the first to snap out of it, the Dwarf letting out a roar of anger and shame, charging towards the mountain of corpses that formed the monster. He relished the feeling of smashing knees, and this monster's underside was made up of hundreds of limbs—plenty of targets for the Dwarf.

Kalalin also regained his composure, not hurrying to cast a Magic, but swiftly assessing the situation. The Priest had already used up all his third-tier Magic slots, so it was crucial how the Scholar chose his own two third-tier Magics.

The Scholar pulled out another scroll of Flame Arrows. It was just a zero-tier trick, but it would help him test the plan gradually taking shape in his mind.

Koula was the last to recover from the panic, Halflings not being a race known for their bravery. She instinctively hid in the shadows, and after making sure no one was paying attention to her, she quickly pulled a heap of alchemical materials from her backpack and began mixing a complex potion on the spot.

On the other side, Lancelot charged again at the feet of the enemy. The monster's arms, made up of corpses, kept swinging to squash him, but Lancelot used agile movements to dodge the devastating blows repeatedly, leaving one or two giant wounds on the monster's body or arms.

Lancelot's activity created a good environment for Bruto's "footwork," the Dwarf focusing single-mindedly on smashing the limbs and thighs supporting the monster. The enemy seemed completely oblivious to the damage caused, but as the number gradually accumulated, the monster's movement speed slowed down bit by bit.

A fire arrow shot from Kalalin's hands, easily hitting its huge target due to the enemy's size. The Scholar watched intently the effect of his Magic—he first confirmed that the enemy was not immune to fire damage. The area hit by the Magic burst into flames, and dozens of hands reached out from the monster's revolting body, desperately slapping at the flames until they finally snuffed them out.

"Bruto! Move faster!" Kalalin shouted loudly, seeing the result he wanted.

Lancelot didn't know what Kalalin's plan was, but he knew that the Scholar's Magic was their best hope to prevent the battle from turning into a war of attrition. He continued to focus on inflicting maximum damage on the monster, but whenever he rolled to dodge an attack, his Great Sword would follow through, cutting several limbs into two.

On the other side, Koula finally completed her potion making. She first drank a bottle of earthy yellow potion, her body swiftly enlarging until she was as tall as Kalalin, her weapons and armor transforming along with her, mimicking the effects of the "Enlarge Spell."

She then drank a bottle of light blue potion, which didn't cause any changes to her appearance, but effectively granted her an effect similar to "Cat's Grace," significantly boosting her agility.

Finally, she took out a bottle of a translucent potion fiercely bubbling with gas. This was a mutagen that only alchemists could use themselves. It could increase the alchemists' physical strength temporarily, but it would affect their minds during its effectiveness. Koula's last usage of this potion hadn't resolved the trouble she'd faced before; hopefully, she'd be luckier this time.
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The Halfling tilted her head back and swallowed the bubbling potion.

The potion was absorbed as soon as it touched her throat, not even getting a chance to reach her stomach. Koula's pupils sharply narrowed to thin lines, then quickly expanded to fill her entire eye sockets. White mist shot out of her nostrils, her muscles bulged as though filled with air, and the veins under her skin thickened like fingers.

The Halfling let out a stifled roar, charging forward like an unsheathed sword, her two cold iron daggers (now more like short swords) whirling above and below, quickly severing limbs everywhere.

"Hahaha! You still have this trick up your sleeve" Bruto laughed loudly, "Let's see who's faster!"

Meanwhile, Kalalin kept casting the same spell, the 1st level magic Grease Spell. This spell could summon a large patch of grease, making anyone who walked over it slip. However, Kalalin did not try to make the mound-like enemy fall over; instead, he spread the large blobs of grease over the enemy's body.

The enemy disregarded the grease poured over it completely. The nearly mindless beast didn't even realize it was under a spell attack. After using up the 1st level spell slots, Kalalin started to cast the 2nd level magic Web, another control-type spell, but he merely covered the giant stack of corpses with webbing, blocking the gazes fixed on them without seeming to have much other effect.

But Kalalin knew personally how flammable these webs were; the last time, Phil had thrown a bomb at the Beard Demons trapped by the webs and found out.

At the same time, the three close-combat companions also achieved considerable results, severely damaging the monster's arms and legs that protruded like tentacles. It was nearly incapacitated from turning around, merely striking madly at the elusive Lancelot.

The Human Knight caused the most considerable damage. Giant Sword Glacier in his hands was like a mobile meat grinder, and the entire front of the monster looked like a hillside just after a mudslide, covered with dire wounds far too fresh to heal.

Only Eckmond remained stationary, understanding that his size wasn't suitable for attacking such an enemy. But what if he used an Enlarge Spell like the Halfling?

The skull promptly stopped itself from continuing with such a risky idea. The task Lancelot had entrusted to him was clear: to protect the Scholar and the Priest, the two spellcasters, a directive he strongly agreed with. Staying in place was fine. Just look how focused Kalalin was; it wouldn't do to have his spells interrupted.