Will I End Up As a Hero or a Demon King (WN)

Chapter 224

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Chapter 224 – Rare Occupations

Something is wrong.

I first noticed it about 30 minutes after the raid began.

As I flew overhead, surveying the battle, I squinted my eyes at the growing sense of unease.

“Break!”

(Not again…)

As the command was shouted from a distance, the melee fighters retreated behind the tank. At that moment, the ranged units fired their spells.

The most common were Wind Magic, Lightning Magic, and Light Magic. Water and Ice Magic were used for defense and cooling. During the journey to the boss battle, I heard that Earth Magic was prohibited because the rocks it created remained on the ground and got in the way.

The time it took for a spell to be cast, activated, and hit its target varied depending on the spell but was around 10 to 15 seconds.

As expected, a Break was used immediately after the breath attack. Even after the melee party took a step back, Varakan remained motionless for about three seconds. Then, while the tank that had taken aggro was attacked, it was hit by magic from behind, and the melee party that had retreated returned to the battle.

This was repeated exactly ten times, which is the current timing.

―Encourage―

(They’re too far away…)

Thinking about this, I carried out my fourth task.

I moved to where I thought most people would be. Even so, it was clear that some rear guards were too far away to be covered.

However, I didn’t bother to move and recast.

I decided the attack frequency was too low and that recasting would waste magic.

There were about fifteen magic users who could be considered long-range attackers.

They were all wary of long-range attacks, such as breath attacks, and were scattered in groups in all directions.

If I could confirm signs of a breath attack, though, I could forcefully steal the aggro and escape into the sky. This raid should be much easier than the usual ones.

Still, they showed no signs of moving closer to increase their firepower or concern about their positioning.

They’ve essentially turned into stationary turrets.

This is especially true for wind magic, which deals significantly less damage with distance.

Even if you cast it from 20 meters away—or sometimes over 30 meters—it won’t deal much damage.

For example, the back of Varakan, which is vulnerable to magic damage, had some scorch marks but almost no lacerations.

Of course, the tank moves.

It’s impossible for them to just stand there and endure and deflect various attacks.

Ideally, the magic units would adjust their positions accordingly, but for some reason, they don’t. Consequently, when they end up in positions where they’ll take damage from the tank or the melee units that retreated after the break, the magic units avoid friendly fire and don’t cast spells.

Why are they even standing there? Honestly, I have no idea.

Additionally, for some reason, everyone stops casting spells after just one shot.

Even when the magic users are in positions to avoid friendly fire shot the magic simultaneously, the aggro never breaks, and there is no sign of Varakan moving toward the ranged units.

This proves that their attacks aren’t powerful enough. Even so, it seems certain that they’ll be killed with a single hit, so the melee units repeat their movements and return to their jobs.

Thanks to that, the melee units must be exhausted by now.

Those with water magic are dropping water from above at a reasonable rate. Even so, the simple issue of stamina is causing them to tire quickly.

Nevertheless, Fidel has not given any instructions on how to improve the long-range attackers.

Is he incompetent, or is he doing this on purpose?

(Probably both.)

Something is wrong here.

Fidel, with his impressive shield, probably used earth magic to create a base.

He stood on high ground, observing the battle and giving orders.

At first, I thought he would replace the tanks with low-health mid-battle. So far, though, he hasn’t made any such moves; he just shouts, “Break!” every three minutes.

But, well, I can understand that to some extent.

There are certainly situations where a knowledgeable leader who understands the situation of the battle and sticks to giving orders is an asset.

But what about the beastman Garsera in the sub-leader position?

Why is he standing next to Fidel, just watching the battle?

One melee fighter has already been taken out, yet he’s not trying to fill the gap.

Ugh.

I can clearly feel the stress building up inside me.

The longer this goes on, the more the heat will take its toll, yet we’re not maximizing our damage output.

The burden is too heavy for the melee fighters in this situation.

Should I say something? Oh!

Varakan opens its mouth wide to bite, then leans forward with its front legs planted on the ground—a sign of what’s to come:

―Body Strengthening―

Seizing the opportunity, I slashed deeply at the tail as it stretched straight up into the air. Then, I wrapped my arms around it.

“Fugagagag!”

Fire shot out from the tip of the tail.

Like laser beams, the flames shot toward the ceiling, and small, fire-covered rocks rained down from above.

Usually, the tail spews flames and thrashes around erratically.

When I heard about the boss, I thought its tail would be more troublesome than its breath attack. Seeing it with my own eyes confirmed that was indeed the case.

The long-range shots easily reached the ceiling.

The compressed flame lines, about 20 cm long, feel powerful enough that I wouldn’t dare take them head-on.

It’s a desperate struggle just to hold down the tail forcefully as it moves and jumps around like a wild horse.

(I have to cut off this tail quickly…).

I can’t keep doing something this risky every time, and that thought grows stronger with each encounter.

The wounds on the tail, which had been repeatedly cut in the same place, weren’t a problem in terms of scales or flesh, but the bones were broken.

If I could cut off the suspicious bud at the tip, the battle would surely become easier.

The tail’s vibration faded, and the fire stopped shooting.

Finally.

I quickly realized that the breath and the fire from the tail would both cause a five-second stun when released.

If possible, I wanted to cut off the tail here.

It would be a chance to attack all at once.

“Break!”

Again?

Why does Fidel keep doing such useless things?

We finally got this chance!

Some people must have already noticed.

Joffman-san is clearly enjoying this brief reprieve, but the tanks with high stats and some of the other melee fighters look frowning.

But we can’t leave our positions.

We’ve been ordered to hold the line at all costs.

So, what can I do?

―Encourage―

To be safe, I finished my tasks early and flew toward the leader.

▽ ▼ ▽ ▼ ▽

“No way! Sudden changes will cause confusion!”

“Huh? I’m currently suppressing the breath and tail flames. There’s nothing that can attack long-range classes, right?”

“What if you make a mistake? Are you going to endanger high-level magic users just to slightly increase damage? The same goes for the number of attacks after a break. In the past, there have been cases where too much damage was dealt, causing the aggro to be lost and resulting in damage to long-range classes. I can’t allow that to happen again. I’ll make sure to tell them not to stand behind the tank.”

“Close-range classes are in danger, too! Why are we avoiding excessive risk to long-range classes when we have a time limit?”

“…”

What is this uneasy feeling I can’t shake?

It’s not like everything was completely denied.

Some parts were acceptable, but the reason for rejection is off.

It’s as if…

“Are you thinking that the lives of melee classes are less important?”

“……I won’t deny it.”

Is this really true?

That’s what I thought.

But I’m frustrated with myself for understanding why he thinks that way, given that I’ve played the game.

Unlike melee classes, which start as soon as you pick up a weapon, magic classes face a significant challenge in the beginning.

This is an indisputable fact.

That’s why the population is different in the first place. Judging from the number of recruits, this is probably true.

Whether or not it’s a rare occupation is another matter.

In situations like raids or PvP team battles, where team composition directly affects the outcome, this disparity becomes even more pronounced.

There are numerous weak classes that can’t participate and rare classes that are accepted solely because there are no alternatives, despite their weakness.

I understand that such realities exist, but does that mean the value of life doesn’t matter?

“I understand, but… at least stop breaking immediately after the breath and tail flames. You should know that leaves it vulnerable for about five seconds. It’s foolish to throw away an unconditional opportunity to attack.”

“…Understood.”

“Oh, and one more thing.”

“?”

“You guys whose lives are supposedly worth so little, how long are you just going to stand there? Garsera-san especially. You’re not even the leader, and we’re already down one person. Could you please join the fight sooner?”

“Y-you…”

“…”

There was no point in continuing this conversation.

If the leader’s policy was to protect the ranged classes, then I had no choice but to follow his orders.

The melee classes who joined for the first time were basically scammed. If they don’t like it, they can choose not to join this organizer’s raid next time. There doesn’t seem to be anything blocking the entrance, so, at worst, they can abandon the fight here.

(Ugh, this is tough. Should I change my pace?)

Just as I was about to return to my position,

“All right, we’ve finally entered the second phase.”

Fidel muttered.

At the same time, a massive pillar of fire, seemingly composed entirely of flames, began to appear in my field of vision.

▽ ▼ ▽ ▼ ▽

As he watched Loki make a suggestion that could be considered a half-complaint, followed by jumping back into battle, Garsera frowned and spoke up.

“Fidel, aren’t you going to tell that kid about our strategy?”

“I was going to at first, but now that he’s going to be fighting in close combat, I can’t tell him. It would cause too much confusion.”

“…I guess you’re right.”

“What do you think? I’ve been denying it, but do you think that boy is from another world?”

“I don’t know. He’s still standing after taking a direct hit from a breath attack. That’s not normal. I’ve also never seen anyone deal with the tail like that before. But if he’s the real deal, I think the fight would’ve been over by now, don’t you think?”

“I agree. In this situation, he hasn’t shown any signs of using magic. He’s strong, but he doesn’t have the skills or power of someone from another world. I don’t know. Could he have just wished to fly?”

“I checked with the guys who saw him in the hunting grounds, and they said they didn’t see him use any magic. Even if there was something else, it’s probably not combat-specific.”

“Then it depends on what the boy does in the third stage. No changes to the plan. Be ready to join the fight at any time.”

“Yeah.”

“Yuria, while you’re restoring magic with your water magic, tell the rear attackers to stay behind the tanks. No matter what happens, hold back until we join the fight.”

“U-Understood…”

Yuria’s feelings were complicated.

She had come into contact with the boy and developed a slight attachment to him as a result.

However, she had to follow orders. With that thought in mind, she began her regular patrol around the perimeter, determined to fulfill her mission of restoring magic and relaying the message.

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