Regarding why I said their attack power was negligible, it was simply because: besides the challengers "natural defense," one also had to consider the defense that armor or accessories they might have.
And yes, accessories could also affect stats, but they were very difficult for most people to obtain. After all, like almost everything (from what I could tell), how to make these accessories was almost exclusive to certain orders of mages.
'Logically, shouldn't the blacksmiths be responsible for this?'
[Answer: They are responsible for the initial crafting, the mages are responsible for adding the effects, and again the blacksmiths give the final touches. It's possible that orders of blacksmith mages exist, but the chances are slim. More information will be needed for a guaranteed answer.]
.....
'Have I already told you that your way of switching between a more robotic speech pattern and a very light one is kind of strange?'
[At least 10 times. Per week]
'Haaaa~... just to check.'
.....
'Well, let's see how they do without counting their first flying enemy, how about that?, hahahaha... aaaahhhhaaaa'
""""""""""""""""""""
Connor's POV
At least 5 pairs of eyes stared at us, only when I drew my short sword and sheathed the knives that were in my hand did the others realize that we were going to have a problem.
Max gripped the small shield on his arm and drew his short sword, Mav readied his medium bastard sword, Cali punched the ground and placed the torch there to provide some light, and Anna could finally set aside her embarrassment at the enemies ahead.
'Why do I have a feeling that what happened with the goblin that attacked Anna the first time we entered is about to repeat itself?'
One of them came straight at me, its mouth open. Quick, but nothing much beyond that; these creatures were relatively small, bigger than sparrows, and sparrows were one of my first main targets when I was learning to hunt alone.
Following their movements wasn't exactly easy, but it wasn't extremely difficult either; making my body follow was a little. I made a quick, short cut in its direction, but it dodged slightly to the left and continued the attack.
I felt a twinge on my left shoulder and saw the winged creature biting my shoulder; its teeth couldn't quite graze the skin, but I still felt it sink slightly into my skin. I tried to stab it while it bit, but I barely had time to position my sword before it had already taken flight.
The others didn't fare much better; the biggest difference was where they were bitten. Cali had a small bite mark on one hand, Anna on one forearm (but it doesn't seem to have reached the flesh), and Mav also on one hand. Max was the only one who managed to defend himself with his shield, but he missed his strike.
These creatures were fast but not strong; the greatest danger they posed was being annoying and tiring.
'If we had come here right after fighting the goblins, and there were more of them, things could have gotten bad. Probably.'
But in the current situation...
Honestly, I don't think it would make a difference if we just let them attack and continued on our way. Just occasionally defending ourselves as if they were insects larger than normal.
Even if they hit us, the most they would do would be a few punctures in our hands and arms, only slightly worse than rose thorns or cat bites. Annoying, but not lethal.
They circled around us a bit and then attacked again, this time with 3 going towards Anna and 2 towards Mav. Anna spun her spear in front of her, preventing 2 of them from getting close. But one still managed to dodge and attack her shoulder.
Cali appeared almost magically beside her, ready to strike, but again he flew away before she could land a blow.
Mav, for her part, didn't try to hit them like last time, but put her sword behind her back and almost completely opened her guard, letting them get close. Just as they were about to attack, he delivered a swift, downward diagonal slash with his sword. Again, one of them escaped, but we finally managed to land at least one.
What we didn't expect was that…
–Huh... Is it just me, or is he already dead? – Max said, looking at the creature with a relatively large gash on the ground, which he slightly feared. He barely had time to ask before the creature became motionless and disappeared soon after, as happened when monsters died.
"These creatures are very weak!"
I can't say for sure, but I have the impression that we all had the same thought.
–...Well, if their strength is speed, I think the best person to deal with them would be you, Connor. – Max said, looking at me.
–With my bow it would be quite easy, but right now the best I have are throwing knives, and I don't want to risk hitting one of you. Besides, these creatures are quite fast.
Cali stopped for a second and looked around the narrow, but still "slightly wide," corridor.
–We can try to make them gather in one place. If we follow them, do you think you can take them down with the knives?
–Easily, but how are we going to do that? – I asked, not understanding how she managed to do that.
It was obvious that scaring them away was easy; they were clearly the kind of cowardly, quick creatures. I could see that as soon as Cali approached the creature that attacked Anna, it was already prepared to flee.
That was one of the reasons why hitting them while they were moving was difficult; they were erratic and alert. With my bow, I was a little more certain I could hit them, but now with knives and throwing weapons (some not even made for that purpose), I didn't have as much confidence.
Another factor that made it difficult for me to hit them was the way they moved, difficult to predict, an erratic and restless flight as I already said. Adding that to a dimly lit environment made things even worse."
And finally, there were the sounds of their wings flapping, in addition to the occasional sound of them scratching the walls. It was an irritating cacophony, which made me question if there were really only 5 creatures (4 now).
'Maybe they were doing this precisely to make it seem like there were more of them than there actually were? Or are they calling for help?'
I doubt it, actually, but even if more of them appeared it would help a lot. But if many more of them appeared, or other stronger creatures... better to avoid them.
But Cali's plan was more important than my assumptions; one detail, even while we were talking, they didn't stop making annoying swooping attacks.
–Max, make noise with your shield, Anna, keep hitting the ground with your spear to make more sounds, Mav, you use the dagger to hit the sword and also make as much noise as possible. – another creature swooped down, it didn't work on either side.
–Why just make noise? – Mav asked, defending another attack and again failing to land the counterattack.
–I read that creatures that live in dark places generally have better hearing and worse eyesight. I don't know if that applies to the creatures of the Trial, but it doesn't hurt to try. – she replied, trying to hit another creature.
–But what about the goblin wolves?, the goblins themselves, or the qvkrabu of the dark forests? They all live in dark places and–
–NO TIME FOR THAT NOW MAX, JUST DO WHAT I'M TELLING YOU!!
'It took her a while to yell at him.'
Perhaps it was a coincidence, or Cali's assumption was correct, but for a fleeting moment, the creatures seemed to waver during their erratic flight. Be that as it may, with a different direction, they did exactly what Cali asked.
*Thunp, thunp thunp*
*Tink, tink, think*
*Thonk, think, thonk*
"Kiiii-kiiii, Kiiyyyiiiii Kiiiiiki!!!!!"
The creatures that surrounded us were now flying even more erratically, hitting the walls and each other.
–Direct the sounds to the left wall, let's confine them to one place. Mav to the right, Anna to the left, Max in front. Connor, get ready to throw the knives. – Cali said, seeing the direction the creatures were colliding most frequently.
*Thunp, thunp thunp*
*Tink, tink, think*
–And exactly what are you going to do, Commander? – Max managed to ask over the cacophony.
*Thunp, thunp, thunp*
*Tink, tink, think*
*Thonk, think, tink, thunp*
–If Connor lets me sword any of them, I'll finish them off with my [flying fists]. – she replied, already accumulating Aether in her hands.
It was obvious that the lighter-haired twin had more things to ask, but a look at her made him quiet. At least for now.
With the four remaining winged creatures, more confined to the wall, it was easy for me to find an intersection point where they met, not necessarily bumping into each other, but where they were more grouped together. With thought, I activated my [quick shot] ability and threw 5 knives (not necessarily throwing knives) in their direction.
With their speed, I expected one of them to escape, and if that happened, I already had my Predator machete ready, not to mention Cali.
Unfortunately, the result was quite anticlimactic. All four died as soon as they were hit by the knives.
Where they died, two wings, one fang, and some gold coins appeared.
—.....
We looked at each other, and I realized that this time we were thinking the same thing.
"That was a waste of time."