The sky pirate queen? I remember reading a report about her. She's an existence much like the order master and the hunt master though she can't make people sky pirates like the other two but she will still become a paragon if she manages to take that last step.
However, unlike the two paragon candidates mentioned previously, Petra has decided to prompt her skill to evolve by putting herself into danger instead of hiding away and meditating.
She's probably the strongest one here with a level above 500 and a lot of skills she's kept hidden as trump cards. Well, I'm not weak either, so if she's hoping to get out of here as a great hero who slayed the evil monster, she's got another thing coming.
"Thank you all, I'm Agent 21, a constellation gunner. I'm a long range attacker with heavy firepower but low fire rate."
Constellation gunner. All classes tied to constellations are part of the government's secret force. Their personal trump card so to speak. In case the halls really did go rogue.
He's strong, not on Petra's level, but with a barely known class and self proclaimed heavy firepower, his shots definitely pack a punch.
"Since this is a mission issued by the government, I will be taking command if none of you mind. No objections? Great. For now we need to find this monster. We believe that it attacks strong adventurers whenever they enter its reach so we just need to advance into the dungeon and it will likely show itself. For that I would like Mr. Loman and miss Ivonne to work together while the others save their strength only occasionally helping out of the need arises. As for you Mr. Patrick, please avoid fighting at all costs. I'd like your class to remain hidden from the monster until we face it."
"You call me here and I can't even fight? And how do you even know that monster is in this dungeon? What if it isn't? Will I just be expected to walk along and do nothing?!"
"Please, Mr. Patrick, I must ask you to cooperate. Our diviners have located a monster that doesn't belong to this dungeon in here. We are very sure that it's the one we are looking for. If it's not, you will be adequately compensated even if you do not use a single skill."
A monster that doesn't belong in the dungeon? Those diviners are speculative idiots.
But this is fine, I suppose. I nod to indicate that this arrangement works for me and we begin our descent.
This dungeon is a pretty standard ruin type. It has long corridors connecting multiple small and a few big halls. The stairs are always in one of the big halls.
Ivonne uses her druid skills to raise a dozen torch ents which is to say ents that are eternally on fire. They are able to deal with most monsters we come across with the other members occasionally one-shoting a strong monster that could kill the torch ents.
Things seem to be going fine but after we descend a few floors, it starts getting serious. Out of nowhere, space is torn and a sharp spike is ejected straight at Ivonne who completely fails to react. The attack appears behind the front liners so they too can't do a thing by the time they notice.
Youm doesn't have the time to fully draw his bow and fire an arrow. Agent 21 doesn't have a clear shot and I naturally do nothing as I was told. John could intercept from his position but he's too busy checking for additional attacks coming his way.
Moments before the spike reaches Ivonne, Petra clashes with the spike and diverts it using her cutlass. The spike is pushed out of its path and buries itself deep in the ground beside Ivonne.
I didn't even see Petra move! How did she- a ship?!!
Petra is standing on a floating miniature ship as if it were a skateboard. Mobile strike unit indeed. With that insane movement speed she can hit an enemy before they could ever react. I'm curious, is that kind of high speed movement restricted to going straight or does she retain full maneuverability despite that kind of speed?
Still, the immediate threat has been averted but the foe remains and so does the danger.
The attack was a test. Everyone knows that much. It was aimed at Ivonne, the weakest link, to judge who could and would step up to save her.
And succeed it did. Petra was forced to reveal her ability to advance at blinding speeds using her miniature ship. And we haven't even started fighting yet.
"That attack utilized space magic! It must be the monster we are looking for! Quick, miss Belladonna, track it! We have to find it before it may decide to flee!"
Agent 21 acts like a hound that has tasted blood. All those high-level adventurers dying must have really put the government on edge. His stressed behavior and fear that the target may escape paint a clear picture.
"Couldn't you have called a mage? I'm not suited for tracking! And this monster has a high level in space magic to make things worse."
Belladonna grumbles as she concentrates on the remaining spatial disturbances. With the brutal way space was torn open to launch the attack it certainly left some traces.
Belladonna quickly finds a trace of spatial disturbance that seems to directly lead to where the attack originated from. I mean the secondary purpose of that attack was to lure my group deeper and that certainly worked as intended. But does no one else notice that the attack definitely didn't match the strength the target is supposed to have? Or do they just assume this attack was a warm up?
Hm, Petra does look a bit concerned but with agent 21 pushing for us to advance quickly she apparently chooses not to voice her suspicions. She must be confident then.