Skill Hunter -Kill Monsters, Acquire Skills, Ascend to the Highest Rank!

Ike reached the castle before anyone else. He sat down in the deepest point of the rubble to meditate for the few precious moments he could. He'd used almost all his aether in that attack. He needed to recharge, even just to run around the field. There was no way he'd absorb enough mana to launch another attack at this shallow point, without access to the deep, rich energy of the mana well, not to mention he only had a few minutes, not the hours he needed, but he would at least absorb enough to power his way back to his castle to get the aether recharge he needed.

Before long, Wisp and Mag joined him in the castle, while Scar and Rufus weren't far behind. When everyone had gathered, Ike stood. He nodded at all the combatants around him.

"This thing is scary."

Scar huffed. "You called us all here to say that? Thanks, genius, I figured that out on my own."

Wisp chuckled and pointed at Scar, nodding approvingly.

Ignoring the both of them, Ike pressed on. "The monster is overwhelmingly strong. It can rebuff attacks without even lifting a hand, and it has powerful regeneration. I cut its foot open earlier, with an attack that cost all my aether, and it barely wounded it for more than a few seconds before it fully regenerated."

Rufus stared. "Seconds?"
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Scar grimaced. "Oof."

Ike nodded. "Grinding it down isn't going to work. We need to hit it with one massive blow, all at once. And right now, it's pointed at Rufus' castle. There's no urgent need to defend against it, or prevent its advance. So here's what I suggest: We all retreat."

Rufus spread his hands. "And then what?"

"We retreat. Not all of us. Your men stay in the field, and pretend to offer resistance. Hell, go ahead and actually fight it, but put preserving your men's lives first. They fight while all of us retreat to my castle and heal. Soak up mana or aether or whatever energy you use. When you're all topped up, we all rush the monster together. Hit it with our biggest attacks, all at once. Hold nothing back, and absolutely blast it with everything you have. Don't settle for injuring it. We need one big hit on as vital a place as you can manage, as much damage as you can do to its most important places. Understood?"

Wisp nodded. "So basically, we gather all our aether, then hit it in the throat with all we've got?"

"Basically. Pretty simple, right?" Ike said.

"Almost too simple," Scar muttered. She shook her head. "What happens if we miss? If it goes wrong? Or if we hit it with all we have, and it still just regenerates?"

"Then we come up with Plan B… well, no. We're at least at Plan D by now, so I guess, Plan E?" Ike said.

"But we'll be out in the field, right in front of it, totally spent, without even the mana to retreat," Scar pointed out.

"Mag. Do you have a big hit that isn't a ranged spell?" Ike asked.

Mag huffed. "No."

Ike pointed at him. "There you have it. If it isn't dead, Mag yanks us out, and we retreat to figure out the next plan. Any objections?"

"Plenty, but I don't have a better plan," Scar said, sighing.

Rufus shook his head as well. "If it really heals that quickly, wearing it down slowly is just about meaningless. I hate that you're right, but you are right. One big hit is what we need here."

Ike stood. He clapped. "Then disperse. I don't want to see any of you on the way back. We can't let the monster know where our real base is. Your men protect this rubble like their lives depend on it, but preserve their lives to the last. If it overruns this base before we're ready, deflect toward Scar's castle and openly retreat that way. The longer we lead it away from my castle, the more time we buy for ourselves. Don't forget, if my castle goes down, the trial ends, and we all get executed."

"Why? Why are we all executed?" Scar wondered aloud.

Ike blinked at her. "I don't know."

"No, no. It's not a criticism of you. And I know it's true. But why? Why does the trial have that mechanism? Is this whole trial… maybe, and this is just a suggestion, but is it just a big energy-generation method to seal this monster back away?"

Ike opened his mouth, then shut it. He touched his mouth, thinking back to the voice only he had heard. It warned him to kill the monster, or else the trial would end. Warned him that the seal on the monster was running out of energy. But he hadn't thought… what did that mean? He'd simply accepted the words. His brows furrowed, and he thought on it. His head tilted.

Scar laughed. "No, no. Don't think too hard. We need to figure out this trial, beat this monster, and go home. Don't blow your brain trying to figure out this puzzle that doesn't even matter."

"I'm not stupid," Ike protested. Why was she trying to stop him from thinking about it, when she'd brought it up in the first place.

"Yeah, you aren't, but we don't need you distracted, either," she replied. "You're our tactician."

"Right, right." Ike nodded. He clapped. "Come on. Everyone scatter. Mag, you keep flying patrols, unless you desperately need aether?"

"No, I'm good," Mag assured him.

"Then stay on patrol. Wisp, Scar, Rufus, let's go." Gesturing over his shoulder, Ike took off into the forest.