…Wow, I've got nothing to do?
Haruka and I somehow managed to make it to the border in time, but the fight was already reaching the climax. At the moment, I was standing on the platform I was making float with my ESP, looking down at the battle that was happening.
Levia was scary as hell… That was my honest impression.
Even considering the fact that the monster army's quality was low, the water dragon's actions were overwhelming, to say the least. Just being huge like that was a weapon, and a strength, in itself. The enemy couldn't hope to shave away at a mass of water that large, and cutting it and piercing it didn't mean anything, either.
On top of that, Juvia was constantly healing and casting support magic on Levia, so the gap was only getting bigger. Golems couldn't be repaired by anything other than the Alchemist's skill. On the other hand, that also meant that they could be repaired as long as the Alchemist was there. Levia was going on a rampage while having its 180k HP constantly replenished. The sight of that was a masterpiece unto itself.
"Looks like you won't have anything to do, Big Sis."
"Indeed, We can only commend them."
On the monsters's side, even the strongest was only around level 50. Put bluntly, the entire army was just a group of small-fry. Like that, there was no way for anyone to stand up to Levia, who was level 500. Fiona must have prized quantity over quality, as all the monsters that made up her army were common in the game. In other words, they were all of races that propagated like rabbits but weren't individually all that strong.
Like this, Levia might actually win, even if Fiona does show herself. There was a difference in their levels, but Fiona's stats aren't that great in the first place, while on the other hand, Levia's got one foot in boss status. It's got no feet, though. But Levia also had the complete support of its creator, and more than anything, the water dragon had the leverage of their compatibility to each other.
…Fiona's element is fire, right? And it looks like Juvia's made preparations for her, too. This might actually be a checkmate already.
Hm, I probably won't be able to, but I guess I should at least try to check Juvia's stats.
The skill Observing Eye would only display stats if I was double the target's level or more. Anything over that and all I'd get was the name and level. And it doesn't need to be said what happened if we were the same level or she was stronger.
That's why I know that I won't see anything even if I try to turn the skill on Juvia but… Well, just in case.
[ Witch Princess Juvia Rayne ]
[Level]: 500
[Race]: Elf
[Class Levels]
・Mage: 100
・Sorcerer: 100
・Acolyte: 100
・Seeker: 100
・Alchemist: 100
[HP]: 29500
[SP]: 9400
[STR (Strength)]: 980
[DEX (Dexterity)]: 1250
[VIT (Vitality)]: 1028
[INT (Intelligence)]: 5720
[AGI (Agility)]: 723
[MND (Mind)]: 4290
[LUK (Luck)]: 1311
[BAD STATUS] One Leg Paralyzed
[BAD STATUS] Mark of the Vanquished
…Huh? It totally let me see everything.
Wait, isn't Juvia totally weak right now? And she's got some weird status conditions on her, too. Like, what the hell is the Mark of the Vanquished? I do get the whole one leg paralyzed thing, though.
"Haruka."
"Yes, what is it?"
"It looks like Juvia has some weird thing called 'Mark of the Vanquished' on her… We don't know of it. What is it?"
Whenever I'm in trouble, I just ask my reliable little sister, Haruka. That's the first and easiest method I've learned since coming to this world. I'm really thankful for having someone right by me that has all the knowledge that I've missed over the last one thousand years.
If Haruka didn't know anything, that would mean it wasn't a problem of me missing the last one thousand years, and just knowing that was a relief.
"Ah, so that condition does exist. That means the rumors were true."
"Rumors?"
"Yes. I should have already told you about how the Seven Maidens of Midgar were defeated by the Grimm King, but to tell you the truth, there's been rumors that the Maidens were cursed by the Grimm King after their defeat."
Cursed, huh? That must really be annoying.
"I think I remember hearing from somewhere that it's the curse's fault that they can only bring out half their original strength. That's why, if the curse is real, Levia really is their last line of defense."
"…It looks like on top of having her levels halved, she's lost several classes."
"Woah! That's pretty mean… Doesn't that mean she'll never be able to make a golem of that level again?"
If Juvia's weakening was all thanks to that "Mark of the Vanquished," then it was an incredibly fearsome curse. I shuddered in fear.
First, the level. Clearly, it's been halved. On top of that, her stats have also probably been halved. There's no way in hell Juvia's INT would ever be lower than mine since she should be specialized in magic and other back line roles.
And to have half her classes disappear, too? That should be a joke, but it isn't. She should have had the Esper and Archer classes, among others, but I don't see them anywhere.
That Mark of the Vanquished is way too scary…
"Oh? Big Sis. Look there; it seems she's appeared."
"…! Fiona?"
The sense of pressure was so clear I could feel it on my skin. It was the feeling of her presence.
Having felt that, I looked towards her.
Even though she was a ways away, her wool stood out with its rainbow colors that changed depending on the angle you were looking from. Along with her huge body that easily cleared 100m in height, she was sporting a downright baleful expression along with a pair of cold, angry eyes.
The form of this huge sheep monster made the game's cute chibi characters seem like a lie.
Fiona, one of the Twelve Zodiac's Guardians.
The monster that used to be my follower approached Svel while causing earthquakes.