Chapter 88: Raid Dungeon (5)

“What...?” Geinalt was momentarily caught off guard by the completely unexpected statement from Ketal.

“You are all exceptional,” Ketal said. “Your coordination is near perfect. But there are a few minor inefficiencies. If those are addressed, your combat effectiveness could reach its full potential.”

“What nonsense is this?” Barak scowled, clearly irritated. Marcy also seemed unconvinced, her expression uncertain.

They were mercenaries—C and B-Rank at that. They had fought countless battles, proving their worth enough to enter the capital of the Denian Kingdom. Their strength and experience were undeniable, which meant that they took pride in their abilities.

And now, a barbarian who hadn’t even awakened Myst was trying to give them advice. To them, it was nothing short of an insult.

“Uh...” Geinalt looked at Ketal with an expression of discomfort.

So, he is a barbarian after all.

There were barbarians who overestimated their own strength, looking down on anyone they deemed weaker. They would impose their so-called wisdom through brute force, mistaking their own arrogance for guidance. And Ketal seemed to be one of them.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Geinalt nodded. “Fine, let’s hear it.”

It was less about considering his advice and more about seeing what kind of nonsense he would spew.

Ketal grinned. “Oh, I appreciate that. It’s nothing major. Just a few things regarding your coordination.”

“I’m genuinely curious to hear what so-called flaw you found,” Barak said sarcastically.

Instead of getting upset, Ketal patiently began explaining. “This is how your combat strategy works.”

First, the archer would be strengthened with a body enhancement spell before shooting arrows. He would ensure that at least one or two enemies would be eliminated at the start of the battle.

Then, the warrior would step in to block the charging enemies. At that point, the archer would withdraw. In a chaotic close-quarters fight, there was too great a risk of accidentally hitting an ally with a misplaced shot.

That was where the mage would step in, using Mana Arrows to assist. Unlike regular arrows, Mana Arrows were magical projectiles that could be freely controlled. This allowed the mage to target enemies without the risk of hitting the warrior.

The mage would eliminate all but one of the enemies engaging the warrior. The warrior then would finish off the last one. After that, they would deal with any remaining threats.

Geinalt’s eyes widened as he listened. “You analyzed that... perfectly.”

It was an impeccable assessment, down to details even Geinalt himself hadn’t consciously recognized.

“So? What’s the problem?” Geinalt asked Ketal.

“It’s not exactly a problem. You could continue as you are. But your method is inefficient,” Ketal replied. There was a way to make it more effective—more seamless. He turned to Barak. “At the start of combat, you fire arrows at the enemy. But must you always aim for their heads?”

“What are you talking about...?” Barak asked.

“You have impressive accuracy. Surely, you could aim for the legs instead, couldn’t you?”

“It’s possible, but what’s the point?”

“Then why not target the legs of the nearest orc?” Ketal suggested. “That way, the orc wouldn’t be able to charge at us and would be left incapacitated.”

Geinalt tilted his head in confusion. “But wouldn’t it be more efficient to simply kill them outright?”

“These Dungeon corridors aren’t very wide,” Ketal continued explaining. Even at best, only two people could move side by side. If something blocked the path, maneuvering around it would be difficult. “A wounded orc won’t just stay down, it will thrash around. That means it will naturally obstruct the path, making it harder for the orcs behind it to advance.”

This was a tactic even modern warfare back on Earth employed. Snipers would sometimes aim for limbs rather than killing outright, deliberately creating wounded targets to slow down enemy movement.

The principle was the same—disrupting mobility by forcing enemies to deal with an injured comrade.

“The more time the orcs waste trying to get past the fallen one, the longer it takes for them to reach you. That should give you at least two extra shots,” Ketal said.

Until now, Barak had only been able to fire two arrows per engagement. However, this method would allow him to fire three—reducing the number of enemies that reached Geinalt even further.

Barak, who had been frowning the entire time, suddenly looked deep in thought.

Ketal turned to Marcy. “More importantly, if you do this, there won’t be a need for you to cast the Body Enhancement spell on Barak.”

“Y-you’re right,” Marcy agreed.

“You cast that spell so his arrows can penetrate an orc’s skull, right?”

“Yes.”

“But if he only needs to wound their legs, that spell isn’t necessary. That means you will have extra mana.”

“Th-that’s true...”

Ketal’s gaze sharpened as he continued, “Tell me, between Mana Arrow and Body Enhancement, which consumes more mana?”

‘Mana Arrow does.”

Manifesting and controlling a magical projectile required significantly more mana than strengthening someone’s body.

“So, if you stop using Mana Arrow, you’d be able to cast Body Enhancement two more times instead, right?”

“I suppose so...”

Ketal finally turned to Geinalt. “If you receive Body Enhancement, could you push back all the orcs engaging you?”

“I think so,” Geinalt replied.

Even without magic, he was already holding his ground. With Body Enhancement, he could likely push them all back in one motion.

“Then it becomes simple,” Ketal concluded. “The moment the orcs close in, you receive Body Enhancement. Once you repel them, Barak will have space to fire.”

Unlike Mana Arrows, which had limited power and could only briefly stagger enemies, a simple enhanced shove could completely disrupt them. So, rather than wasting mana on attack magic, they would use Body Enhancement to clear space for Barak, allowing him to continue firing uninterrupted.

Geinalt hesitated before speaking. “Wouldn’t that put too much pressure on Barak? He’d have to keep firing until the fight is over.”

“And what’s the problem with that?” Ketal looked at him, genuinely puzzled.

Geinalt fell silent. He realized there was no actual problem. That was the entire point of having a party in the first place. They thought about Ketal’s suggestion, and they concluded that it was a logical one—far more efficient than the way they had been fighting up until now.

It was hard to accept, but no matter how they looked at it, they couldn’t refute it.

Ketal smiled with satisfaction. “That’s my proposed method. What do you think?”

“It doesn’t seem wrong, but theory and actual combat are two different things,” Geinalt protested, more out of wounded pride than anything else. He didn’t like the idea of simply following a barbarian’s strategy without question.

“Then why don’t we test it? I doubt anything will go wrong,” Ketal proposed.

“That’s true.” Geinalt couldn’t argue any further. He turned to his party members. They looked just as conflicted. Eventually, they decided to follow Ketal’s plan in the next battle.

***

“

Kuuoh

!” An orc charged forward.

Barak loosed an arrow, and the arrow pierced the orc’s leg. The monster fell, thrashing violently and blocking the path.

Barak took advantage of the moment to nock another arrow and fire.

“

Kuuah

!” The orcs pressed forward despite the obstruction.

At that moment, Marcy cast her spell. “

Hmp!

”

Boom.

The orcs were blasted backward. Barak seized the opportunity and fired another arrow.

In an instant, the battle was over.

Ketal grinned, pleased. “See? It works.”

Standing over the fallen orcs, Geinalt wore a dazed expression. “This... this is...”

It was so simple—so effective and safe. It felt almost absurd.

“Our previous strategy was something we refined through countless trial and error, and yet...” Geinalt couldn’t finish his sentence.

“You simply lacked experience,” Ketal remarked.

Their party had only fought together a dozen or so times. That wasn’t a small number, but it wasn’t nearly enough to refine an optimized battle strategy.

On the other hand, Ketal had undergone thousands of trial-and-error attempts to defeat far stronger opponents. When it came to strategy and party coordination, they couldn’t possibly match his experience.

Even if he ignored his time on Earth, Ketal had still led countless barbarian warbands across the White Snowfield. He had orchestrated large-scale battles more times than he could count.

Now, this is satisfying,

Ketal thought. He had successfully given tactical advice to a proper mercenary party, and they had actually followed it.

He thought about why so many people on Earth were addicted to backseat gaming. The thought made him chuckle.

***

The party continued advancing, and soon, they encountered a trap. The moment the floor was stepped on, arrows would be fired from the walls.

Geinalt frowned. “We don’t have a thief in our party. How are we supposed to disarm this?”

“I can handle it,” Ketal said.

“What...?” Geinalt turned to him, dumbfounded.

How can a barbarian know how to disarm traps?

“I’ve seen it done before. I understand the general method.” Ketal confidently stepped forward.

Geinalt was stunned.

Can he really disarm a trap just from watching someone do it once?

Trap disarming was not an easy task. If done incorrectly, the trap would activate, possibly killing the person attempting to disable it. It required precision, technique, and knowledge.

And yet, Ketal was acting as if it were nothing. He reached into his pouch and pulled out a thin metal rod. It was something he had prepared specifically for situations like this.

“I think it went something like this,” Ketal recalled how Cassan, the thief he had cleared Dungeons with, had disarmed traps. He inserted the rod into a small hole and wiggled it around.

“Hm.” Ketal shoved the rod in deeper. A loud crack echoed through the corridor. “Oh, I think that did it.”

Ketal pressed down on the floor, and the arrows didn’t fire.

“The trap’s disabled,” Ketal said.

“Huh?” Geinalt had seen plenty of thieves disarm traps before. However, none of them had ever produced such a crude, brute-force noise while doing it.

Something felt off, but since the trap was indeed disarmed, he couldn’t really complain.

They continued forward. Soon, they reached the end of the passageway.

Beyond it was a large chamber. At its center stood a mannequin, its arms wrapped tightly around itself.

“It’s a mid-level boss,” Geinalt said. Most likely, the boss room lay just beyond this room. If they cleared this, they would reach the final battle. “Marcy, any idea what this monster is?”

“Hm, give me a moment.” Marcy studied the mannequin, trying to recall its details. “I think this is the Mimic Mannequin.”

“What’s that?” Ketal asked.

“It’s a monster that replicates any opponent within a certain range. It copies their strength and experience perfectly, making it a challenging enemy,” Marcy explained.

“There’s a monster like that?” Ketal muttered in fascination.

However, Marcy didn’t seem particularly concerned. “If we fight as a party, it’s not much of a threat.”

In other words, it could only replicate one person. A single entity was no match for a coordinated group.

“The question is, who should step forward?” Marcy said.

“Probably you, Ketal,” Geinalt suggested.

From Geinalt’s perspective, Ketal was still the weakest one in the party. Since he couldn’t use Myst, even if the mannequin copied him, it wouldn’t pose much of a challenge.

Ketal smirked. “I like the sound of that.”

He stepped forward, and the others got into formation, preparing for battle.

On the other hand, Ketal was excited. A monster that copied an opponent was a classic staple in so many stories and games.

Cliché, sure, but always entertaining,

Ketal thought.

As he walked toward the mannequin, the Mimic Mannequin’s eyes glowed. It shuddered, then slowly rose to its feet. Geinalt was about to call out for Ketal to step back, but before he could, the mannequin moved.

“What?” Geinalt exclaimed.

In an instant, the monster vanished and reappeared right in front of Ketal. By the time they processed what was happening, the mannequin was already swinging its arm.

“Be carefu—” Geinalt tried to warn. However, before he could finish, Ketal was sighing in disappointment.

“Is this all?” Ketal said, confused.

Ketal punched the mannequin, and it exploded into fragments that scattered in all directions.