Now then, time is not exactly plentiful.
And to top it off, my mood is at rock bottom.
Under normal circumstances, fighting monsters in such a state to blow off steam would be nothing short of madness.
However, with my knowledge, lo and behold, I can employ a method to easily annihite the orcs.
---
**"This spot should do."**
When fighting orcs, the key is not to let them gain the advantage of terrain.
Southwest of one of the several ponds inhabited by swamp dragons lies the forest where the orcs dwell.
Along the path leading there, there’s an open, upward-sloping area just outside the forest.
**"Nell, go ahead and destabilize the footing over there. Ingrid and Amina, you two work together to set up the stage."**
**"Got it."** **"Sure thing!"** **"Understood."**
Given that orcs are monsters based on wild boars, their charging power is remarkably high.
Facing multiple orcs head-on is nothing but an unnecessary risk, which is why pyers have devised efficient methods to take them down.
The method we’re using now is one of them.
Indeed, the orcs’ charging power is troublesome, but they need a running start to accelerate—they can’t go from zero to full speed instantly.
In that case, all we need to do is slow them down and kill their momentum.
By taking the high ground on a slope and digging several holes in the terrain beforehand, we can significantly mitigate their charges.
**"Let’s also set up some barricade shields..."**
True to their boar-like nature, they struggle with obstacles.
That said, their bodies are sturdy, meaning the obstacles themselves take damage. Barricade shields, being the mark of the weak, need reinforcement—otherwise, they’ll shatter in no time.
**"How’s this?"** **"Perfect! It doesn’t look obviously dug up—just the right amount of unevenness."**
I had Nell dig shallow but numerous holes to roughen up the ground.
The faster they run, the more effective these holes become—ideal for disrupting their footing.
**"Hey, Liberta. We’re pretty far from the forest—are you sure this’ll work?"** **"Sure about what?"** **"That they’ll even come out. Monsters usually don’t leave their territory, right?"**
As we finished preparing our ideal defensive position, Nell, shovel in hand, posed the question.
**"Aggressive monsters—the kind that attack on their own—still patrol the borders of their territory to eliminate intruders. If you go beyond a certain distance, they assume you’ve left and return. Essentially, there’s an area boundary acting as a detection zone."** **"So we’re right on that boundary?"** **"Exactly. We’re far enough from the forest but still well within the orcs’ patrol range."**
In games, monster patrol zones are fixed.
This world seems to follow that rule to some extent.
The Hidden Tanuki, the Swamp Dragon, and the Crawling Dragon—field bosses all behave predictably.
Which means this strategy should work.
---
**"Liberta-sama, the stage is ready."** **"Good. Everyone’s still wearing their Training Bracelets from yesterday, right?"**
Amina, now ready to sing, stood on the makeshift stage and waved.
Everyone had Training Bracelets equipped, but after the first orc was defeated, we’d switch to the Mark of the Weak.
**"Alright, let’s begin. Amina, start with Gale Song."** **"Leave it to me!"**
An Idol build truly shines in defensive battles.
Conversely, offensive engagements are a bit of a struggle.
Preparations take time, and relocating the battlefield is also cumbersome.
Compensating for that weakness through skill composition will be a future challenge.
To do that, we’ll need more skill slots.
At Css 2, the number of skill slots remains the same as Css 1—three.
The acquisition conditions are identical, too.
That’s why reaching Css 2 is almost like a tutorial—something to breeze through quickly.
Amina took a deep breath and gripped her mic stand.
Ingrid’s staff wasn’t the only weapon we upgraded.
Previously, this Magic Crystal Staff had no enhancements, but with our newfound financial freedom, our gear has been properly reinforced.
**?～**
The skill enchanted onto Amina’s staff—**Amplification**.
This skill synergizes exceptionally well with singing skills.
Its greatest advantage is expanding the range of buff effects, but more importantly, it allows Amina to focus purely on singing beautifully while reducing strain on her voice.
Before, she had to project her voice unaided to cover a wide area, but with Amplification, that burden is gone.
Freed from constraints, her song now bestows powerful enhancements upon us while—
**"Here they come!"**
—luring the enemy.
**"Three of them!"** **"After we take down the second one, switch gear!"**
Orcs soon emerged from the forest.
Cd in dark brown fur, they charged forward, cwing at the ground with their muscur arms.
Watching them accelerate into a full-blown charge, the standard tactic would be to intercept them with arrows or magic.
But our party currently cks any long-range specialists.
I initially considered giving Ingrid a bow or fil, but a support-type maid truly excels with a frontline-oriented skill set.
**"Engaging."**
As the first orc stepped into the pitted terrain Nell had prepared, Ingrid dashed forward—with the rest of us following suit.
A support taking point might seem odd, but against orcs, this formation is correct.
**"Tch!"**
Distracted by the holes, the orc’s bance wavered slightly.
Ingrid’s broom swept past, striking its forearm as it tried to steady itself.
**"Hah!"**
Momentum can’t be halted instantly.
The orc was like a car smming the brakes, desperately trying to regain its footing.
Even a minor impact was enough to send it tumbling face-first into the dirt.
And with a weapon like a broom—specialized in sweeping strikes—its posture was utterly ruined.
I drove my spear into the orc’s prone body.
A heavy *thud* reverberated through the shaft as its massive weight bore down on me.
But I had already braced myself, one foot pnted in a pre-dug hole, using it as an anchor to halt the orc’s momentum completely.
**"Finish it!"**
Nell, swinging from above, delivered a crushing blow with all her might.
**"Gwoh!?"**
With heightened action speed, the orc was overwhelmed by relentless attacks before disintegrating into dust.
The damage was sufficient.
We even had room to spare.
Defeating the first orc also fulfilled the chain battle condition.
Ingrid had already swiftly swapped to the Mark of the Weak.
This was precisely why I had Amina start with Gale Song.
I, too, retreated slightly, luring the next orc into the pitted area while switching my gear.
I removed the Training Bracelets from both arms and equipped two Marks of the Weak instead.
**"Amina! Change songs! Cheer Song, now!"** **"Got it!"**
This lowered both mine and Ingrid’s stats, including attack power.
The critical second orc.
The Mark of the Weak’s level-down effect directly reduces combat ability—expected, since it lowers levels.
However, it doesn’t cause css regression.
Once you’ve cssed up, your Css 1 stats remain intact, allowing you to fight normally.
That’s why battles around css transitions require extreme caution.
**"Nell, hold back for the next one!"** **"Right!"**
To maintain firepower, only Ingrid and I switched gear for the first orc.
Amina and Nell would switch ter.
By leveling us up first, we could sustain a certain level of damage output.
**"Two additional orcs have emerged from the forest. There seem to be more further in."**
Amina’s song was effectively drawing the orcs in.
Fulfilling chain battle conditions is surprisingly difficult, but orcs—mindlessly charging at anything they perceive as a threat—make it efficient.
Ingrid, preparing for the next wave, reyed this to me before darting toward the second orc.
She swept its legs as it stumbled over the holes, sending it crashing chin-first into the ground.
I drove my spear in, once again halting its momentum and pinning it in pce.
**"Haaah!!!"**
With a battle cry, Nell cleaved through the orc’s neck, reducing it to dust.
**"Css has increased to 2. One skill slot unlocked."**
The css-up announcement echoed in my mind.
The slight exhaustion I’d felt moments ago vanished as if it were never there.
**"Switching gear!"** **"Me too!"** **"Right! Amina, keep Cheer Song going after this!"**
The css-up had minimized the level-down penalty.
**"I’ll sweep, then follow up."** **"Got it! I’ll boost my damage too—Magic Edge!"**
The next orc would face reduced attack power due to Amina and Nell’s buffs.
Orcs are tough, stamina-heavy monsters with high physical defense.
Conversely, they’re weak to magic-based attacks—but their sheer durability often lets them power through.
With our attack power lowered in this phase, failing to kill the orc in this combo would dey our response to the next one.
Fighting multiple enemies at once isn’t impossible, but the risk skyrockets.
To avoid that, we can’t afford to break this attack pattern.
Thus—
Third orc.
Ten seconds until the next wave arrives.
Ingrid swept in with her broom, disrupting the orc’s posture—but this time, instead of darting past, she sidestepped and shifted stance.
The attack pattern I taught her—**Iaido**, the art of the quick draw.
A silver fsh erupted from the bde concealed within her staff, aimed straight for the orc’s exposed neck.
The ssh tore through flesh, spraying blood—which Ingrid gracefully avoided by leaping back.
I marveled at how someone in a maid outfit could move so elegantly before driving my mana-infused spear into the orc’s face.
The spear pierced deep into its right eye—a wound I knew was fatal.
But just to be sure, Nell’s skill attack followed up.
**"Cleaving Battle Axe!"**
Damage-wise, between Amina’s buff and Nell’s skill, this was probably overkill—but better safe than sorry.
**"I cssed up!"** **"Me too!"**
With the orc definitively dead, we’d all successfully leveled up.
**"Liberta-sama, a weapon-wielder approaches."**
As we prepared to engage the second wave, an orc wielding a **Natural Weapon** emerged from the depths of the forest.
At a gnce, it looked like a simple club.
But that was no ordinary weapon.
Originally just a log, repeated use had compressed and hardened it into something far heavier than it appeared.
Taking a direct hit from that in my current state would be disastrous.
**"I’ll take the front. I’ll deflect the first strike—Ingrid, can you break its stance in that opening?"** **"Yes, no problem."** **"Nell, don’t attack immediately after Ingrid destabilizes it. I’ll fully break its guard first. The timing will be slightly deyed—adjust accordingly."** **"Understood."**
The next orc was almost upon us.
**"First, we finish the ones in front!"** **"Yes!"** **"Right!"**
The process was the same as before—Ingrid darted out, disrupting the orc’s posture.
I pinned it with my spear, halting its momentum, and Nell delivered the finishing blow with her halberd.
This simple cycle repeated.
But the presence of the weapon-wielder changed things.
Unlike the others, it didn’t rely on charging.
Wielding a weapon implied higher intelligence—instead of just tackling, it could choose between physical strikes or charges, forcing us to adapt.
After clearing the second wave, I assessed the situation.
The weapon-wielder was trailing at the rear of the third wave, with the fourth wave closing in behind it.
The interval between the third and fourth waves was about fifteen seconds—meaning we had, at most, eight seconds to deal with the weapon-wielder.
Any less than that, and we’d be overwhelmed.
**"Ingrid! Chain destabilizations! Nell! Follow Ingrid’s lead! I’ll handle the rest! Even if they retain some momentum, take them down in their weakened state!"** **"Understood!"** **"Leave it to me! I’ll make sure they stay down!"**
Ingrid followed my orders perfectly—after disrupting the first orc, she fluidly moved to the next, repeating the process.
This time, instead of fully halting the orc’s momentum, I only slowed it with a spear thrust before withdrawing and leaping toward the next target.
**"Hraaaaaah!!"**
Nell’s battle cry rang out behind me as the orc’s death throes echoed through the area.
And then, just as we finished off the third wave—
**"GROOOOAAAR!!"**
A weapon-wielding orc, club in hand, roared as it closed in on us.
