Harem Online: My Party Is Full of Beautiful Celebrities-Chapter 33: Mana Crystal Scale
"What’s going on?" NukEncore asked, staring at Martin like he had to know the answer.
"Sounds like we’re about to fight an intelligent monster." Chaosgraphy licked her lips, her hands tightening on her twin swords’ hilts.
"Crystallization’s still an issue... but monsters come first." Kill Clause forced her focus onto the shaft and listened to the tremors rolling up from deep within it.
Fine dust sifted down with each pulse. Crystal clusters along the rim vibrated and clicked. Two heavy beats, a pause, then another.
Those tremors weren’t random. A crowd was coming up fast. Too many feet for one monster. If it wasn’t, it would mean the mine shaft itself was shifting to trap them, and that seemed highly unlikely.
Before it reached them, Martin explained what had happened.
"Angel has evolved," he said.
She’d been tucked safely in his pocket, watching from the safety of her shell. Now that she’d evolved, Martin lifted her onto his palm and studied the changes. Everyone in the party leaned in to look at Ao Tenshin’s shell.
"Beautiful!" NukEncore blurted, leaning closer.
"Pretty cool," Chaosgraphy said, her eyes lingering for a few seconds on the shell before flicking to the crater.
Kill Clause examined it with an expert stare, like she was used to judging jewelry.
Ao Tenshin’s current shell looked like a beautiful blue diamond, carved with black lines that resembled a cluster of dragon wings. The pure, clean sheen made her impossible to ignore all on its own. Then her little legs peeked out.
A unique set of scales had formed along her soles.
When she poked her head out, she also had something like a diamond helmet that matched her shell, protecting her face. She was, without a doubt, the most adorable baby pet in the world right now. And she was in Martin’s hands.
"Awww!" NukEncore cradled her cheeks as she stared at the baby dragon turtle.
Ao Tenshin ignored the attention and leaned in to rub her snout against Martin’s skin.
The moment she did, a new system window flashed in front of him.
[You have received a blessing of the Baby Dragon Turtle: Mana Crystal Scale (Common)]
[Mana Crystal Scale (Common): Each MP you spend grants a temporary shield to your health bar equal to the MP spent. This effect does not stack. Damage is taken from shielded HP first.]
[You have lost 1 MP due to Crystallization (Debuff).]
[You have received 1 SHIELD POINT.]
[Emperoar Lv. 1 HP: 210/210 (+1) MP: 120/120]
Martin chuckled. "Like a mother, huh? You blessed me with your first blessing! I’m happy for you, Angel. Once we’re done for today, I’ll ask Samu to make you a lot of food!"
Ao Tenshin looked up at him with expectant eyes. When the tremors pulsed again, she tucked her head back and pressed closer to his palm, shell plates tightening as if bracing. Still, she’d helped Martin as much as she could and evolved, so now he could do what he was best at: tanking.
"I can see humanoid silhouettes in the darkness," Kill Clause called out calmly.
Following Kill Clause’s callout, Martin tucked Ao Tenshin back into his pocket and turned toward the darkness. In the dark, he could make out dozens of gleaming blue dots surging toward them at incredible speed, about ten meters below the rim, climbing up the slopes of the mine site. He couldn’t see as well as Kill Clause, but he connected the dots immediately.
Eyes.
A few breaths later, Martin could finally see the first humanoid monster in all his time playing Monster Hunter Online.
They were small and dark-blue, with short, pointy ears and twisted faces, their noses sloping down into sharp points. Crude slings sat in their little hands, and pouches were strapped to their waists.
When they spotted Martin and the others standing at the hidden mine’s upper entrance, the creatures twisted their lips into sinister smiles.
"Ugh. Humans!"
"They found our hidden base!"
"Ayo! Which one stirred the appetite of our boss?"
The creatures looked at one another, confused.
"The cow with huge tits?"
"The chick with thick chicken wings?"
"The elf with the cold stare?"
Their insults didn’t fall on deaf ears.
NukEncore and Chaosgraphy both shot piercing glares at Kill Clause, who was the only one who’d received a fitting nickname. She’d been called the elf, while both of them had been compared to animal food.
Kill Clause only tilted her head and gave them a provoking smile.
That set them both off.
NukEncore crossed her arms, bristling at being called a cow. "I’ll burn them all to death! Calling me a goddess or a fairy is the least they could do!"
"I’m with you. They’re getting on my nerves. They really compared my thighs to chicken wings, hmm?" Chaosgraphy’s lips curved into a cruel smile, her eyes flaring with killing intent.
Martin knew neither of them would listen to him.
"Ayo! That male waste of air with a weird shield! I can smell something good in his pocket! Did he mine the crystals already and find a rare one?! This must be the boss’ snack!"
Martin’s eye twitched.
"A waste of air, they said?" he whispered. "You’re just goblins."
At the word "goblins," the creatures froze, like someone had dropped a cold blanket over them. Then they all grunted with raw anger and shouted at Martin.
"We aren’t goblins!"
"Yeah!"
"We’re Dark Blue Goblins! Don’t look down on us, human! You’ll end up like the other humans did before you!"
Without any command or cue, the Dark Blue Goblins sank their hands into the pouches on their waists and pulled out small, sharp crystal bullets.
They drew their slings taut and fired straight at Martin’s party.
Before the first volley finished, Martin stepped forward to take as many shots as he could on his shield, but there were at least fifty goblins, unleashing a hail of crystal rounds.
Crystal snapped and sparked as rounds ricocheted off his shield and skittered across the stone. Too many slipped past and slammed into his legs. Even with Martin taking point, the hail fanned out and found gaps.
The others had it worse. Bullets struck them squarely in the body or sliced through their newbie clothes, leaving thin bleeding cuts.
But something was worse than all of that.
Then the debuff spiked. NukEncore got the warning first.
[The Crystallization Debuff has intensified.]
[Crystal growth on your hand has accelerated.]
[The Crystallization now consumes 3% of your total mana.]
[The Crystallization now consumes 5% of your total mana.] 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂
[The Crystallization now consumes 7% of your total mana.]
"Oh, nah! I refuse to become useless before at least killing half of you!" NukEncore screamed, bringing her hands together to perform her strongest move.
On her dominant hand, a much larger crystal had already formed. It had grown fast.
Even as her red flames coalesced in front of her palms, casting their unique glow, the crystal on her hand kept shining in its natural color. It was that powerful.
A Dark Blue Goblin hollered, "She’s casting magic!"
"Scatter, brothers and sisters!"
NukEncore shouted, "Go to hell! Final Fireball!"
A huge fireball streaked into the monsters’ group. It detonated in a roaring bloom, heat washing over the slope and blackening the rock.
Sadly, most of them scattered to the sides and avoided the direct hit. Only a few were clipped by the blast, and even that didn’t do much damage. Not even one of them caught fire.
NukEncore’s hands grew heavier, dragging her down. She slumped, staring at her hands.
When she barely managed to raise her arms, she saw both hands were now coated in blue crystal. She could barely move her fingers.
"This is... frustrating..." NukEncore whispered, biting into her lower lip.
Already moving, Chaosgraphy slashed at the incoming bullets, then slipped past the rest.
Her speed and movement looked like choreography. She used the momentum to twist into a sprint.
As she passed NukEncore, she said, "Now we know the cost of using most of our mana. Good job."
A rare compliment from Chaosgraphy.
From the rim, NukEncore tracked Chaosgraphy as she charged down the slope to intercept the first wave. She surged into them and slashed without hesitation. Her twin swords found flesh and blood, drawing fountains that splattered onto the blue crystals and dripped down their faces.
Behind them, Kill Clause sank into her shooting stance, her bow as taut as her back. She released arrows one after another without using mana, covering Chaosgraphy’s advance.
Kill Clause is so good at archery. She must have practiced in real life. Alexandra is also amazing. I don’t think she has any real swordsmanship experience, but she’s handling the first wave like an expert.
Jealousy clenched around NukEncore’s heart. A single compliment from Chaosgraphy wasn’t enough to stop it.
Just then, Martin approached NukEncore.
"May I?" he asked, his eyes on her crystallized hands.
NukEncore nodded. "Yes."
He took her hands and tried to squeeze, using his boosted Strength to see if he could crack the crystal coating. It didn’t budge.
As NukEncore stared at him holding her hands, a strange emptiness spread through her chest. Why does it feel so terrible not to feel his warmth? It’s different from when he carried me like a princess.
Martin let go. "This is an exploration run, NukEncore. We can’t just stand here and wait for monsters to finish us off. Let’s try to find a clue to this crystallization while the others hold the line."
"M’kay!" NukEncore beamed, forcing herself to rally. "Got an idea?"
"Yeah. Theoretically, everything exists for a reason, especially in games. These crystals must be why we got the debuff in the first place. But maybe we can also use them to free ourselves from it."
"Ohhhh." NukEncore’s eyes turned golden with excitement. "In other words?"
"Smash your hands against the raw crystals. It’s not gonna hurt, so don’t be afraid. Go wild. Imagine those goblins’ faces instead of the crystals and pummel them."
"That’s the perfect idea, Martin! I’ll do it!"
