Ren further explained his strategy in defeating Vulcan. The only method that was effective at their current ATP. It was tested and proven, and as long as the girls followed his instructions, everything would go according to plan.
"If you look at Vulcan's spell again, you'll notice that two of its active skill required him to move, [Blink] and [Vulcan Charge]. However, if you analyze its passive skill [Fire Rain], it will remain on its spot as long as its minions are alive. And so it couldn't do [Blink] and [Vulcan Charge]. And if it couldn't move and blink to a certain area, then our attacks would surely hit it, and it's passive [Double Attack] is useless.
"What's more, the little Vulcans only do minuscule damage, and it would take multiple spits of fire for the [Burn] status to appear if they attacked you. Their only threat is their explosion damage when they're killed that would surely half your life. And the advantage we have, if we don't kill those little popsicles of fire, we can avoid its explosion damage when it bursts and save tons of [Health Potions] in the process.
The girls and Nikolai's faces brightened.
"I-I . . . I think I saw the light," Alecia whispered, eyes sparkling and hands in prayer.
Everyone nodded in agreement. It was like they could finally see the sunny day after the dark unwinding tunnel.
Ren laid out the strategy, which was so simple that everyone thought it wouldn't work. But the more he spoke, the more they were convinced that they could do it.
They could really firstblood the Boss!
Ren approached the women and handed out the [Aqua Dud] he got from Little Trinket.
Silvia's eyes rounded. "Where did you get this?"
Ren dodged the question, "Don't worry. You can access it later on."
"Must be in the towns," muttered Pamela.
"Use those Duds to attack Vulcan so you won't draw the aggro on you," said Ren. "And only use [Health Potion] to restore your HP. Reserved your MP to cast [Cure] and nothing else. Time you cast with our HP. If our HP is still near full then don't cast [Cure] yet as there might be a chance that a [Burn] status will appear on us again. Wait for another wave of Vulcan's fire before you cast it so you can reserve as much MP as possible. It's a bit tricky but it's a good time to practice your map awareness and casting time.
Rafaela blinked. Her concern was entirely deferent. "You can't draw aggro with items?"
Ren shook his head in reply. That was the beauty of items that deal damage. No matter how significant the damage was, the aggro wouldn't shift on you. The downside was that it wasn't dependent on ATP, so the damage was fixed.
But it was enough to reduce Vulcan's high HP.
"Our strategy is simple." Ren looked at everyone. There was no need for a complicated strategy and risk of making mistakes. The more straightforward their approach was, the better for the others to execute.
"Since we don't have a tank anymore, the little Vulcans will automatically go after the Healers." Ren approached Pamela, who was looking at him with her round, innocent eyes.
Ren placed a hand over Pamela's shoulder and said with a serious voice, "You'll be the bait."
. . .
. . .
"H-huh?" Pamela blanked out. She didn't get what Ren meant. She must have misheard him.
Unfortunately, she didn't when Ren continued.
"You'll move ahead from the others and draw those little minions towards you. While the rest of us attack Vulcan."
"Wait. Wait. Wait." Silvia stepped forward in Pamela's defense. "Why her? Why not Rosie?"
Rosie gasped. "Excuse me?
Silvia ignored her. "Or Rafaela?"
Rafaela frowned and batted her eyelids. "Because I'm clearly the best healer around here."
"What did you say? I beg to disagree," argued Rosie.
Ren ignored the girls' squabbles. "It's because Pamela had the highest HP of all the healers. And her map awareness is better than most. She can last longer as the bait."
"L-last longer?" Pamela didn't know if she should take it as a compliment or not. But regarding that big of a task, she didn't know if she could do it. It was okay if she remained in the backlines, supporting the others. But it was very different if she was on the front lines, facing the enemies head-on.
She was afraid she would faint and start to panic when the dozen of little Vulcans spit fire against her.
"Uhm . . . I'll take the bait."
All eyes went to Evie when she raised her hand.
"Evie can go." Silvia looked at Ren. "She volunteered herself."
Silvia knew that Pamela would have a panic attack if she was suddenly placed on the frontlines with dozens of enemies spitting fire on her.
While Rafaela was too stuck up to herself that she might not notice her surroundings. And Rosie . . . well, Rosie would throw a fit if anything damaged her well salon hair.
Silvia sighed. Why did she try to put a girl-only guild again?
Ren took a deep breath and was about to protest when Evie beat him.
"I'll draw the aggro on me first using a water spell. And my HP is also high. Though I can't say anything about my map awareness . . . but I will try my best." This was actually one of the longest and fastest sentences Evie had said in her entire life.
She wanted to draw the girls' trust one more time, and she was willing to do anything to gain it back.
Even if she had to be the bait once more.
Ren looked at Evie seriously. "Are you sure? You'll be a sitting duck for the little Vulcans to feast upon."
Evie nodded with conviction, and Ren no longer pressed the matter.
"Alright. Suit yourself then. Once we enter the Boss's Room, Evie will take the position near Vulcan and draw the aggro on her. Pamela will position herself near her, but on a different island so she could heal and cast Cure on her if her HP decreases a good amount. If ever Evie died, Pamela . . . you'll take her place. Understand?"
Pamela looked to the side before she meekly nodded her head. She guessed it was better than engage the boss head-on.
"While the rest of you will spread out in the islands where you can aim at Vulcan with the Aqua Dud. Remember, don't stay on the same island to minimize the damage from its AoE attacks. If your HP suffered, only drink [Health Potions]. Always reserve your MP on [Cure]."
Ren then assigned roles to the Healers to avoid what happened in the previous fight that they casted [Cure] on the same person.
"Rosie will focus on healing and curing Nikolai and me.
Rafaela, you focus on the rest. If either one of you dies, then the other will be in charge of making sure of casting Cure to the rest of us. While Pamela will only focus on Evie. Understand?"
The women nodded. The strategy was simple enough for them to follow.
Ren then addressed Silvia. "Since your physical attacks don't work against Vulcan, then I want you to focus on hitting it with the [Aqua Dud]."
Silvia opened her mouth, but Ren was already talking to Nikolai.
"Nikolai, you will engage the Boss and use only [Soul Attack] against it. Drink [Mana Potion] if your MP is low. Got it?"
"Got it!"
Ren swept one final look at the group. Their serious gazes meant that they were ready to claim their firstblood at Vulcan's Cave.
The door creaked open once more, welcoming another challenger.
"Let's go."
It was time to claim their much awaited firstblood!
