"Guess we'll be backing you up for this wave, then." Hearing Valyr's words, Tristan responded by letting out a brief cackle, clenching his fists not long after as he activated [Battle Mania] once more. Within seconds, the billowing flame surrounding his body earlier manifested into existence once again, allowing Tristan's physical stats to reach greater heights.
"If that's the case, how are we going to do this?" Listening to the words being spoken by the two, Myst decided to ask a question that would further clarify their strategy in clearing the wave that was continuing to move closer to them. "Should Tristan support you from the left and I support you from the right while you focus on the center? Or are we going at this with a different configuration?"
"How did you two get to the conclusion that I'd be the one mainly attacking the fourth wave?" Briefly scratching the back of his head as he listened to the words they said to him, Valyr eventually responded with a chuckle before taking a couple of steps back. Seeing this, Tristan and Myst looked at each other for a bit, with expressions of slight confusion adorning their faces as they faintly wondered whether Valyr was going back on his words of fighting against the fourth wave together.
However, after hearing the words that came out of the young man's mouth in response to the move he had just made, it did not take long for the two to understand what Valyr wanted to happen, causing wry smiles to appear on their faces as they wondered whether they could do the same thing they did in the second wave for the current wave.
"You'll be the main attackers for this wave," said Valyr with a faint smile adorning his face, continuing to tightly grip onto his spear as he told the two to focus their sights on what was in front of them. "And I'll be the one supporting you two."
"You can still change your mind while we still have time, Valyr." Eventually coming to the conclusion that the tactics he and Myst had unleashed earlier would turn out to be less than half as effective in the fourth wave when compared to them during the second wave, Tristan went ahead and persuaded Valyr that he should take the main stage, recalling the damage numbers he saw that popped up wherever the wave of dark energy went.
"We would be able to finish the fourth wave faster if you take charge, Valyr." Of course, Myst had arrived at the same conclusion as well, backing up Tristan as the two of them continued to persuade Valyr to change his mind, even though the latter continued to remain silent all this time with a faint smile on his face. It was only when the monsters making up the fourth wave were a couple dozen meters away did Valyr open his mouth to respond.
Though the words that came out were ones that Tristan and Myst dreaded to hear.
"Let's save that for later. Monsters are coming!" Making sure that they wouldn't be overwhelmed by monsters right from the get-go, Valyr dashed past the two of them before swinging his spear in a wide arc at the monsters. Without much fanfare, the force behind the attack was more than enough to send the monsters at the front flying, causing a domino reaction as multiple monsters were pushed back, while the ones at the brunt of the attack had moved onto the afterlife.
"[Breath of the Nascent Wyvern]!" Seeing as the two were still standing where they were even though he had already made a move, a faint bitter smile appeared on Valyr's face as he softly shook his head. Soon after, he willed a great portion of the mana within his body to coalesce in front of his mouth, taking in a deep breath as a ball of fiery energy quickly manifested a few centimeters in front of it.
Whoosh!
Blowing on this ball of fiery energy, a wave of scorching flames soon covered the trio's field of vision, finally causing Tristan and Myst to move from their spots as they felt the scorching heat from the flames Valyr breathed out from where they stood. Letting out long sighs as they thought about their unfruitful conversation from earlier, the two of them swiftly went off into their separate ways, eventually allowing them to see the aftermath of the fire breath Valyr had just unleashed.
Thanks to his insanely high Attack stat, even though he still hadn't used any buffing skills, all of the monsters that fell into the radius of the attack had been vaporized into nothingness. On the other hand, those that were near the monsters that died from the fire breath started to catch on fire, causing them lose health with every passing second before eventually succumbing as well.
"I can only use this every 10 minutes!" Feeling that he had given them enough leeway to approach the fourth wave, Valyr swiped his spear a couple more times as if it were a walking stick, only that the force behind it was enough to send a bunch of monsters flying.
Noticing that the two were charging up their respective offensive skills, a faint grin appeared on his face as he retreated a fair distance away from the wave, allowing the two to do their own thing as two sides showed great mayhem not long after.
"[Pinnacle Blow]!"
"[Nascent Perennial Blade Intent]!"
"[Perpetual Crescent]!"
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Unsurprisingly, with how both of them had access to buffing skills that greatly boosted their offensive capabilities, the skills they unleashed more or less did the same thing against the fourth wave when compared to the time they used it against the second wave, causing the initial doubt they felt from not being able to dish out enough damage, thinking that they would have to force Valyr to make a move, to disappear.
Within seconds, the two of them regained the determination they had shown during the second wave, sending out a great amount of AoE skills that left gaps within the ranks of the fourth wave.
"Hmm…" Watching the two fight against the fourth wave and seeing them push them back on their own, a smile gradually crept up onto Valyr's lips as he affixed his spear on his back, noticing that most, if not all of the attention the monsters had on him earlier were now redirected towards the two. Letting out a brief chuckle, Valyr faintly sighed before extending one of his arms out, a small magic circle appearing in front of the extended palm a few seconds later.
"I guess it won't hurt to try using them out."
"With the omnipresent mana acting as the source, and my body as the conductor, I command the mana to bend to my will and transform into the might of the raging flames, giving my allies the ability to smite all foes that they might come across!"
"[Basic Fire Magic Style: Blazing Vigor]!"
Whoosh!
Not long after Valyr activated the skill, the small magic circle glowed a faint red before transforming into two orbs of red energy that swiftly made their way to where Tristan and Myst were.
With the two of them using their senses to their utmost limits, it was no surprise that the two noticed the orbs of energy heading their way, wondering if one of the monsters had sent it at them. However, once the orbs of energy had collided with their bodies, rather than feeling immense pain, the two instead felt like the strength within their bodies had reached a greater height, as if the difficulty of fighting against the fourth wave had been decreased.
"I command the mana to bend to my will and transform into the agility of the ephemeral breeze, giving my allies the ability to traverse their surroundings at greater speeds!"
"[Basic Wind Magic Style: Fleeting Breeze]!"
Wondering where the orbs of energy that boosted their strength had originated, it did not take long for the two to realize where it originated after they heard Valyr at the back chant from afar, only for orbs of green energy to appear before them not long after.
Naturally, the two of them greatly appreciated what Valyr was doing, seeing as his buffing skills were making it significantly easier for the two to mow down their foes, with their defense being boosted by a similar skill from Valyr not long after, being Water-attributed this time around instead of Fire or Wind-attributed.
Nevertheless, as they continued to fight the monsters of the fourth wave, being able to clear out a greater area thanks to the buffs Valyr had given them, the two of them could not stop themselves from looking at one another as a question simultaneously appeared within their minds.
'Isn't Valyr a melee fighter?'
"Hahahaha!" Oblivious to what was going on inside the minds of the two, Valyr let out a cackle as he dashed towards the part of the wave in front of them, closing the gap between them within seconds. Raising both of his hands as the monsters in his vicinity looked at him, a ball of crimson flame swiftly manifested above his left hand while a ball of green energy swiftly manifested above his right.
Not long after, he made the two collide together before sending it off into the wave, causing a tornado of crimson flames to appear in response.
Grinning at the mayhem his attack was causing, Valyr looked at how the two were faring, taking note that they were still full of vigor even though they had already slain a lot of monsters. With that in mind, the grin on his face grew wider as he proceeded to experiment with his magic skills.
"Yeah… it won't be long till we clear this wave."
