A Gamer Into Trails

Here's a simplified version of the battle formula:

BASE DMG: 2.5 * ATK POWER - DEF POWER * 1.25

ATK POWER: ((ATS/STR + BATTLE BUFFS) * SKILL POWER))

DEF POWER: ENEMY ADF or DEF + BATTLE BUFFS

MODIFIED DMG: ((BASE DMG * ELEMENT EFFICACY) * CRIT DMG (200%))

FINAL DMG: CERTAIN RANGE OF MODIFIED DMG.

As always Giliath demands your power stones!

*****

"You can still keep your current Generation IV devices. You can directly upgrade them once the Orbment Workshops get the go-ahead.", Tio explained. Well that made it pretty simple then. Lechter nodded his head at Tio's words, satisfied. It'll still cost mira no matter how you look at it, though.

"You wanted to see Blue Impact's details, right, Naoto?", Tio asked me, seeing as we ended the conversation there.

"Yeah. Could you?", I asked Tio. Tio nodded her head again, and worked away at the Status Screen before her. She sure is a natural at doing this. Seeing how quickly she adapted to the Gamer System's interface, I felt a sense of pride swelling inside me as she continued to work it.

"You really do work fast, kiddo.", Lechter mused, seeing how effortlessly Tio is going through the interface before it.

"It's nothing special.", Tio said, trying to deny how skillful she was.

After saying that, her interface changed, and a skill description appeared before her. She could now see Blue Impact's details. She willed the screen before me, and I began reviewing its details. It sure was strong alright! Arts power did change if area-of-effect parameters were applied, but Blue Impact was a single target attack. Its damage effect was much different, compared to what you would normally see for AOE Arts!

[Blue Impact]

Range: Single Target

Skill Power: 400%

EP Cost: 70

'400% Skill Power...', I inwardly retorted to myself, sucking in a cold breath of air. Blue Impact's Skill Power may even rival some S-Crafts. That's how powerful this Art is early on! Once that upgraded Generation IV Combat Orbment starts hitting Orbment Workshops, I'm sure this Art will reduce in power, as there will be more, stronger Arts coming out to replace Blue Impact.

For the time being, this was right up our alley. This Art should stomp the floor against the Grand Mole. We only had one Monster to kill left, and it was all the way at the end of the tunnel.

"Yeah. This Art should totally kill that mole in one hit. Who's ready to take down a Boss?", I asked the two.

"You really think so, Young Master? The kiddo has taken down every spider in one hit so far, but this is a stronger Monster we're talking about.", Lechter wondered.

"The Foundation gave me a really good Orbal Staff to test out. If this mole is weak to water, which it likely is, it should go down with no issue. Not many people can start out with having this many Arts to cast, either. I really should thank you in some way for giving those Quartz to me, Naoto.", Tio said.

"Haha, it is no problem, Tio. I do have quite a few stored away, just collecting dust. I haven't used Combat Orbments before this, so they'll start seeing the light of day soon enough. They won't all be for me. Whatever our Party grows into, I'll work to make sure everyone is kept up to speed. You just happen to be the first, Tio.", I happily replied.

"Does that mean if I stick around with this Party of yours Young Master, I too will receive some Quartz?", Lechter asked.

"If it works out like that, yeah. The upcoming Trials should be giving me lots of Quartz that everyone can use, because of my ability. That is what I would say to you, if you didn't have classes to attend to.", I answered with a playful grin.

"Tch. You just had to bring that up, didn't you? I was hoping to play some hooky once winter vacation is over.", Lechter said with a grin of his own.

"You really want to piss Lucy off that much?", I immediately retorted.

"Fair point, haha!", Lechter replied with a laugh. "Just give me some dates to work with when all the fun starts happening, and I'll try to make it. More than likely, the Icy Maiden will be at your side to cover you, instead of me. We don't know how it's going to impact our surroundings, but your safety is of utmost priority to His Excellency. I'm sure you can understand it from his worries.", Lechter explained.

"Yeah. We don't know what's going to happen during that, so being too safe is not an issue.", I replied with a nod.

Yet what Naoto and Lechter didn't know at the time was Giliath's current plan in place to create that extra layer of security when the Vermillion Trials do start happening next month.

Giliath was at the Black Workshop deep within Erebonia soil with a particular goal in mind. He plans to awaken Millium and Altina! He wasn't just there so solely researched the Second Genesis Naoto received by you-know-who.

"Should we head to the end of the tunnel? We don't have anything to keep us back anymore, do we?", Tio asked us. Lechter and I glanced at each other, but we were quick to shake our heads.

"Let's go. I'm curious to see if the Young Master's words hold true. Once the Grand Mole is spotted, I'll attract its attention. You should start casting your Art immediately!", Lechter said to Tio.

"Understood.", Tio replied, nodding her head.

Just like what was discussed, we didn't have anything else to talk about for the time being. We couldn't waste our time here in the Instance Dungeon forever. It was almost complete. We just had one Boss to finish, and with Tio's current setup, I truly wanted to see if she could kill it in one hit!

The tunnel grew darker and darker the further we went inside. There were sadly, no treasure chests or side paths we could wander into, apart from those two paths I previously talked about. They were both blocked by that purple-black mist, so we couldn't enter them. Our next area of interest was to the left path, in particular. That was where those Abyss Worms lay in waiting, at least here in Crossbell. They had different habitats in other regions.

The light grew dimmer and dimmer as we continued walking, keeping our guard up. It wasn't pitch-black, at least. Tio had her staff raised, which acted as a light source. It constantly flickers blue, so the area around us was blue and black. It was a strange mix of colors, but it still allowed us to see. I could take the easy way out with my Vermillion Eyes, but this was training for Tio, so I didn't want to use them. Like this we continued walking for some moments, making time pass more slowly. Once we reached a certain point, Lechter spoke out in a low voice.

"We should be quite far in already. I'll go rush out and attract the Grand Mole. Be ready, kiddo.", Lechter uttered to us.

"Got it.", Tio responded with a nod of her head. She stopped walking, and brandished her orbal staff outward. Looks like she was raring to go. I didn't have any plans to interfere this time with Taunt or anything. That is why Tio is getting ready to cast her Art now. Instead, I only plan to see the Grand Mole's details. Thankfully my Gamer System has an auto-analyze function to where it isn't bound by the Vermillion Eyes. In the earlier fights, I only allowed Tio to fight, while in the latest one, I was busy using Taunt.

But now, I found myself free if Tio is going to be the one attacking here. Analyzing monsters fully does trigger a bonus in the tactical bonus too, so once Lechter arrives, I'll spend a moment reviewing the boss's details. I did see a couple of the spider's details earlier, but that was just at a quick glance. It wasn't enough to satisfy the Analyze conditions.

It didn't take long for us to hear loud squeaking noises. Moles were similar to rats in that aspect. They mostly squeaked to make sounds.

SQUEAAAK.

"Boss Mole spotted. It suddenly dug underground. I'll try to see where it'll appear first, then you strike, kiddo!", Lechter's faint voice called out to Tio. Tio and I spotted Lechter's figure in the darkness suddenly appear, swiftly running at us. I guess the window to use shortened drastically. I made sure I was at a safe distance away from Tio, while Tio readied herself for combat. We soon felt the ground start shaking around us, albeit subtly. A huge dust cloud could then be seen chasing Lechter.

We saw Lechter pause in his tracks, keeping his distance from us. Considering the battle was already underway now, I could likely guess what he was aiming to do. The Grand Mole was currently digging underground. I didn't recall it doing that during battle, as it mostly called for allies to assist it. But it does make sense, considering it's a mole.

"Arts activate...", Tio suddenly said, becoming wrapped in a bright blue glow of orbal energy. With Lechter paused, he was going to wait for the mole to strike from underground, and dodge at the last minute. And sure enough, that's what happened. We all felt a larger quake strike against our feet as an imposing monster clawed through the earth, popping out of the ground. It was releasing furious squeaking noises, directing them at Lechter.

"Not today!", Lechter yelled. He saw large claws try to strike at him, but he jumped away in time. That was my que to analyze the Grand Mole. To my surprise, its stats were much higher than the spiders!

[Grand Mole - Level 10]

HP: 3500/3500

STR: 250 DEF: 200

ATS: 0 ADF: 100

SPD: 20

EXP Drop: 2000

[Element Efficacy]

 Earth: 75%

 Water: 145%

 Fire: 175%

 Wind: 100%

[Basic Attacks]

 -Dig

 -Claw Swipe

[Crafts]

 -Poisonous Breath

 -Call Allies

 -Counter

Sepith Drop:

Earth: 20 Water: 18 Fire: 25 Wind: 15

Time: 20 Space: 25 Mirage: 22

[Item Drops]

 -Quartz Tier II Upgrade Token

 -Shining Pom Bait x1

'It has over three times as much ADF than the spiders did. Will this prove a challenge? I doubt it.', I silently thought to myself. Lechter successfully dodged the Grand Mole's Claw Swipe. That was enough of a distraction to allow Tio to finish her casting. The blue light around her started to converge at the tip of her orbal staff.

"Blue Impact!", Tio exclaimed, pointing her staff outward. Highly pressurized water started to rapidly gush out of her staff, becoming a giant jet stream. She had a clear target. Lechter was not within Tio's line of sight, only the Grand Mole was. As the Grand Mole was distracted by Lechter's pursuit, it couldn't recover in time before the mole was blasted with an intense blast of water. A dull thud struck our ears while it let out a painful squeak. BANG!

[Ding! Party Member Tio has consumed 70 EP. Current EP: 560/710]

At the same time, notification appeared and a huge damage number showed up!

[10,071!]

Squeak...

A dying woe of the Grand Mole reached our ears as it began to fade out from existence. A much larger Sepith Drop materialized for a brief moment, before it did an open animation. This phantom chest then vanished, just like all the other ones. Unlike the other, however, I knew the amount of Sepith I was getting from it, because I let the Gamer System use its auto-analyze function to the fullest.

[Ding! Grand Mole - Level 10 has been defeated.]

Still...to start seeing five digit damage numbers already from Tio...