Mechanic detective girl Shadyna, currently on an arson case committed by a refrigerator!

I wish I was kidding, honest.

After summoning a rain of frozen molten rocks that is a better fit in an apocalyptic movie, the boss started firing its laser again. The target? Me, even though my crew were the ones dealing damage! The difference this time is that it doesn't disappear but continuously chases wherever I go. How persistent…

And it has not one, but three lasers. The remaining two are after and , who are frantically running around the field to stay alive.

Of course, it falls to the smart and beautiful me to solve this mystery, with no stone left unburnt and all that. Based on the clues and evidences of the case, there is only one explanation:

This thing hates children.

…Un, this is why I play games at night instead of solving murder cases.

But don't give up, fridge! No matter how many fire jokes there are in your [Inspect] result, or how many lava lakes you are digging up, believe the cold in your heart!

And by that, I mean tone down this red laser for a moment! Why the heck are you switching to blue lasers?! I have [Elemental Resistance], damn it! [Fire] and [Water] both deal the same amount of damage to me!

While the cute girls of the neighborhood are running from the red/blue stalking lasers, the rest of my crew are also struggling against the boss.

Our cavalry unit scattered due to my apprentices being targeted. Even without being near the lasers, their beasts' large hitboxes force them to be fully on the defensive in this hazardous environment. Intimidating as they are, they don't have the HP to take a hit without [Shared Fate].

They may have an easier time if they simply dismount and fight on foot, I think.

That being said, my tank party is not doing too hot either. They spread out to form an encirclement, because whoever has the aggro gets a boulder right at their face as if there weren't enough flying rocks all over this place already. In exchange, Mera is overworked as she runs around to heal and buff them.

Un, please do your best~

Hessy and the nukes under her command are the only one consistently dealing damage at the moment. The direct rock throws can be avoided like other rocks at that distance, and there are no laser following their footsteps. That's about as safe as one can get in this environment.

Magi in general are not very mobile however, so I am not sure if they can keep up for long against such endless barrages.

As far as a bonus raid goes, our situation is to be expected. Problem is…

This is going to take way too long!

Back when we fought the weird mask, couldn't deal damage even with [Heroic Inspiration Course], against the first form. Our current buff items are strong, but still not the 200% bonuses they used to be. The upped level cap doesn't seem to help much either, sigh~

Thanks to skill buffs from our healers and my debuffs on the boss, we managed to overpower its defense earlier. Since it entered second form, everything changed completely.

I can tell from a glance that we are only hurting it because of defense-ignoring skills. Without coordinated simultaneous attacks, our nukes are barely chipping its HP by a few thousand per shot. I'm not sure if our DPS can surpass its regeneration at this rate!

_ Fensen (PM): , what should we do now?!

Jumping the chain of command already, aren't you…? Saying that, I am happy that she is depending on me~

_ Shadyna (PM): Keep circling around. Don't get too close nor too far, and take potshots at it.

_ Fensen (PM): Got it!

To finish this fight before the scary timer counts to zero, I will need my apprentices' firepower. The combined PAT when using all weapons at the same time means they are the only players, aside from me, that have attack power higher than the opponent's defense.

Well, I don't know if they do, but their damage multiplier is still the highest in our team. Here's hoping for at least 100k~

unleashes her barrage from the flank, as I suggested. Seven ball-shaped arrows leave the barrels and fly towards the metal box. Impact in two seco…

It moved.

The metallic box, at the size of a house, moved aside, by floating.

What. The. Heck?!

It was so bizarre, I had to blink a few times to make sure I wasn't hallucinating.

…I wasn't, unfortunately.

_ Fensen (PM): EEEEHHH?! It can move?!

You have more experience fighting it. Why are you asking me?!

_ Elri (Party): What the hell was that?!

Seeing half of 's arrows missing the target and exploding behind our tanks, I can only guess that its behavior was indeed an evasive maneuver. Sure, it is too slow to do gymnastics around the battlefield, but that speed is sufficient to get out of dangerous attacks.

Okay, Sateri, I can handle a fridge throwing rocks, firing lasers, or going through an identity crisis. However, a moving refrigerator is definitely unrealistic!

My immersion is all ruined~

By the way, the barrage dealt around 30k damage. Not invoking [Alpha Strike Power] properly hurt 's damage, a lot.

_ Hessy (Party): , use [Binding roots]! We need it stationary to invoke [Alpha Strike Bonus]!

_ Shadyna (Party): Okay!

Hessy must have noticed the lack of damage. That's why she asked me instead of Mera, who focuses on MSP and not MAT. Her chance of landing the status effect on the boss is non-existent, and that is if the boss can be affected by it at all.

Now then, charge~!

_ Shadyna: You are under arrest on suspicion of bullying cute girls! [Binding roots]!

Calling my attack as per tradition, I cast the handcuff spell at the fridge, despite its lack of hands. It's the thought that counts, right?

Not implying anything about it size, but… there's no way it can dodge my spell. Not at that size, un.

After a few tries, the red roots entangle their target, creating a gigantic fishing net that is most likely only used for whales. Operation success!

…And one second later, the roots dissipate into thin air. Welp.

Can I facepalm now?

_ Shadyna (Party): Hessy, I don't think it's possible to keep it in place with [Binding roots].

Taking into account the cooldown, casting time and failure chance, I am going to need at least a few more me to get this guy rooted permanently.

_ Hessy (Party): We need another plan. Any idea?

Are we going to do a strategy meeting while the whole sky is falling upon us?!

_ Fensen (PM): , can you use that spell when I shoot?

_ Shadyna (PM): It's going to be hard to get the timing right, and there's a good chance it will fail as well. Wait a second, I'll change party.

I don't want to hold two conversations at the same time. Therefore, time for a reorganization!

Leaving the tank party to their own devices, Hessy, Mera, Elri and I join the cavalry party. Hopefully this will be the last time I have to do this before making a guild.

_ Mera (Party): Now, because 's body wasn't of the boss's taste…

Excuse me?!

_ Elri (Party): What the heck is that supposed to mean?! Anyway, can't we just duke it out? If we switch to ranged weaponries, we can get some more damage in.

Indeed, our cavalries can't do anything with melee as it is…

_ Shadyna (Party): It will take too long~ I want to speedrun this!

_ Elri (Party): Oh, right…

Elri, I can see you facepalming even if you are not in my line of sight you know?

_ Hessy (Party): 's motives aside, I concur that we should take it down before it can pull more unexpected stunts. It is as strong as the Yierus Lair, but… how do I put it, this one acts… differently.

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As someone still flying in the sky to dodge lasers, I agree with that statement. Additionally, my debuffs will probably run out soon. I don't know how strong my new debuffs will be against its new defense stats, and don't want to find out the hard way.

_ Poltea (Party): Um…

_ Elri (Party): What is it, ?

_ Poltea (Party): If we can somehow get close and hit it with [Alpha Strike Power], I think we can defeat it in a few attacks…

I have a nagging feeling that it isn't something new players should say about a bonus boss though…

_ Fensen (Party): But it won't stay still for me to shoot!

Look, it just shrugs off everyone's attacks like they are no big deal. You are the sole reason why it had to move at all!

_ Hessy (Party): Right, back to figuring out how to pin it down.

_ Mera (Party): Oh my~

_ Hessy (Party): Sateri-chan dammit Mera, we are in a raid here!

Maybe we should ban Mera from all meetings~?

_ Elri (Party): *Sighs* , how long do you need?

_ Poltea (Party): Probably… one minute. I-if we can get into position beforehand, I think it's possible with 20… no, 15 seconds.

While I am seriously concerned about the balance implications in her statement, 15 seconds is still a pretty tall order. I wonder if the boss will stand still if we ask it nicely?

_ Elri (Party): Right, that's not going to happen with skills. Might as well wait until a raid so it gets stuck in the middle of the horde instead.

_ Shadyna (Party): I don't think we can summon a raid horde though~

It would be just sad if a raid is announced right after my timer runs out. Knowing Sateri's love for cruel jokes, I think that's exactly what she is planning to do!

_ Hessy (Party): Alright, we will go with that. Good thinking, .

_ Elri (Party): Wait, what?

Uh… did I miss something? We are not going to camp for days until a raid appears, right? The timer is not going to pause just because we stop fighting you know~?

_ Hessy (Party): Mera, contact Su. , I'll pull my party out for a minute, probably two.

_ Mera: I'm on it~

_ Shadyna (Party): Got it~

RIP, DPS, it was nice knowing you. Hessy's party is most of our current DPS after all.

_ Elri (Party): Wait wait wait, what are we doing?

_ Hessy (Party): You get your party into position. , , I don't know how long we can pin it, but please make do.

_ Fensen (Party): Roger~

_ Poltea (Party): T-thank you very much!

Let's leave the details to Hessy. Allowing employees to do as they see fit is what a good employer like me does!

Definitely not because I have no idea what Hessy has in mind!

And so, our cavalry players are gathering on one side, while and are at the other. At the same time, our nukes [Recall] to somewhere outside the battlefield with Mera. Are our tanks going to be alright without the main healer?

Never mind, the stoic is making her pet, Yassyl, tank the fridge with the little D: shield! Because the rocks are massive, the little fairy has no problem intercepting them. In other words, she grants her master complete immunity to all boulders from the boss.

Isn't that just cheating?! She has it easier than most of us despite her proximity to the enemy!

Though I have to admit, and her pet are keeping our frontline stable in the absence of our nukes.

*BOOM*

Aaaaaand one of our tanks just got blasted by a stray falling rock. Okay, our frontline is mostly stable. Each of them have items for revival, so they should be fine.

Hessy is dashing through the rain of fire and destruction to get to where our tanks are. Please don't do anything reckless like doing a heroic suicide attack, okay? We are not that desperate yet!

_ Shadyna (Party): Hessy, do I need to do anything in particular?

_ Hessy (Party): Hmm… Just join the final attack, if you can. Use your strongest attack.

_ Shadyna (Party): Alright~ Just want to remind you that I am a pacifist.

_ Hessy (Party): …Sure.

What's with that pause? Hey, Hessy, why did you sound like you don't trust me at all~?

Letting that snarky remark slide because I am a good girl, I join up with . One more laser behind them won't make the situation worse so no problem here!

_ Fensen (Party): Hiyo~, ~

She looks happy to have another person to run around with. Energetic as always, aren't you?

_ Mera (Party): Hessy, a good chunk was freed from the agony of existence, but our bodies are ready~

_ Hessy (Party): Begin in 30 seconds! Everyone, approach as close as you can! It is going to get crowded.

I refuse to try to decipher Mera's words. Instead, I'll prepare items for dealing damage. They won't benefit from my sword's MAT, but any damage is better than no damage after all~

_ Elri (Party): Let's link up. We want [Alpha Strike Bonus]'s effect as high as possible. , can I have your [Shared Fate]?

_ Shadyna (Party): Of course!

She plans to shield us from stray rocks huh. That's one way to maintain formation I guess, although I would prefer a method that involves minimal virtual pain…

_ Hessy (Party): Ten seconds!

[Shared Fate] was cast, and the whole cavalry party is marching together once more. Now, it's just staying away from the lasers and wait.

_ Hessy (Party): Three… Two… One… Mera, NOW!

With having full attention of the refrigerator, Hessy snuck right behind its back to place a wooden board on the ground.

I want to ask her why she keeps something like that in her inventory, but she will call me out on that without fail, so let's not!

_ Mera (Party): Coming~

In a (lot of) blinding light, our nuke party returns.

Along with every local fauna and their mothers that we lured away before the fight!

WHY?!

_ Su: Honey, I'm home~!

The crazy elf in charge of luring the mobs earlier is not helping!

Before we can comprehend the situation, a few falling rocks landed on top of the horde which just manifested out of thin air a second ago. Now, a three-way free-for-all brawl between the fridge, the horde and us has begun!

Having dealt a massive amount of damage, the fridge becomes the number one hated individual in this place. It finds itself being piled on by hundreds if not thousands of angry creatures and bosses. Still, their attack power is way too low to put any hurt on it, as expected.

However, Hessy did not bring this crowd here to do damage. I doubt she knew they were in different factions in the first place.

The lasers and rocks are decimating the normal mobs, but there are too many of those critters to dispatch in a few AoE spells. If anything, the remaining ones are even more pissed and converging at the boss, causing a big traffic jam at its location.

Exactly like what happens at walls in a corruption raid.

_ Hessy (Party): Elri, the rest is up to you!

_ Elri (Party): YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!

Contrary to her objection, my elven mentor is rushing towards the boss. Her salamander's breath attack is melting away the mobs in front of her, clearing the way for us to follow.

_ Shadyna (Party): Everyone, on Elri!

_ Fensen & Poltea (Party): Oh~!

I can't see the other two parties amidst all of this chaos, so we are pretty much on our own now.

_ Hessy: Shoot at the top of the boss to avoid friendly fire!

Or not, we are close enough for general chat now. Nice~

_ Elri (Party): We are nearly there! Do we go to the left or right side?

Avoiding the casual bosses on the way, only a few rows of enemies remain between us and big fridge. The bigger mobs are unintentionally working as covers for us, hence our safe travel so far. [Shared Fate] is wasted, but I'm not complaining!

_ Poltea (Party): Straight ahead!

_ Elri (Party): Unders… Wait, what?!

_ Poltea (Party): We will hit it head on!

_ Fensen (Party): That's my for you!

I need to have a talk with about her influences on her dangerous girlfriend later, sigh~

_ Elri (Party): DAMN IT! Ren, charge! [Rapid Assault]!

The beast stomps on whatever in its path as ordered, while its mistress pummels the bigger ones that can't be walked on. Scary! The look on her face is scary!

_ Poltea (Party): FIRE!

_ Fensen (Party): FIRING!

_ Shadyna (Party): [ Thunderous Blessing of Affection]!

I shoot my item at the big metal box towering in front of me. Would be nice if it hits at the same time as 's arrows, but it will do great damage regardless.

Felling the last wolf-like creature blocking our way, the elven knight finally notices the little girl on a shining golem overtaking her, barely avoiding the iron ring, then jumping right at the burning orb floating inside.

_ Poltea (Party): Please hit!

How are you even going to miss it at this point!!!

The sphere is big enough to contain an adult, by the way. My apprentice would need to close her eyes and turn around to have a chance at not hitting it.

Her shields formed into one big sheet a short moment before she crashed into the boss. That way, all of her "weapons" will be able to hit at the same time. Who needs swinging when you can just ram the target yourself?

With multiple glass-cracking sounds whose volume can pierce my ear drums, the burning orb shatters as if it were made of ice instead. Then, the familiar flood light engulfs us again while the metallic box falls apart.

I didn't notice during the fight, but apparently the glowing lines on its surface have turned purple at some point. It's a bit regrettable that I only realize it now, before the whiteness blinds me completely.

…

It's the treasure room~

Everyone was teleported to good old Heaven, including the flame orb. The timer is gone, so I can officially call it now.

_ Shadyna: Speedrun success~!

_ Hessy: You are banned from doing speedruns on bonus bosses forever.

Harsh~

_ Tremire Husan: Ň̵̲̈́o̸̠͉͋̐t̴̮͐̿ ̸͖̠͉̃e̸̪̲͆n̸̜̭̾ö̶̱͈́͊u̴̧̦̔g̶̣̃̉h̸̜̪̪͑̊.̵̧̥̣͊

Here comes the monologue~ That reminds me, I wonder if has figured out what the weird mask was saying back then?

_ Tremire Husan: T̴̟̭̔́a̴̧̝͆̓ͅi̸͕͋n̴̫͇̄͝ť̷̙̃̂ẹ̴͕̳̐d̶͇̬̘̀ ̴͕͔̓̎̿s̸̛̟̓ͅo̵̦̣̐̈́̑ŭ̶͕l̸̖̎s̵̩̓̋̓͜,̵̘̏̇͝ ̵̲̺̉p̴̨̪̔̇̅ṳ̷̏̀r̴̛̟͓̂̐i̶̱̎f̶̣͋͝ḯ̵̧̭̱̒̚ȩ̷͙̥͛͘d̶͖̹̈́.̶͉̼̓̾͊ͅ ̶̡̩͎̓B̶̢̭͒̀ÿ̴͖̥́͜ ̷̱̊ͅǫ̷̐w̶̙̯̒͆ǹ̵̻͉͜ ̷̼̔͋f̵̼̔̾͠l̸̤̦̽̓a̵̡̤̘̕ṁ̵̥͆e̸͓̔s̸̩̟͍̈́͗̾,̶͇͌̈́͘ ̷̺̘͈̔̈n̶̹̂o̴̱͂ͅt̸̡̛̮͉̒ ̴̢̨̮̃̀ǘ̵͎͒s̷̯̱̔.̶̝̫͚̅

I think Yierus Lair, the Magnus Bestia that our crew defeated, didn't have a speech. I never heard anything about Nox bosses being able to talk either. Is this something only Avitus Caelicola bosses possess?

_ Tremire Husan: W̷̠̃̾ě̴̛̤̺,̵̺̰̿ ̴͚͕̄ȯ̷͕̤b̵̟̍̐s̶͖̹̀̊ö̷͖̜́͛l̴̪̀e̵̠̹͗t̷̗̪̃̚ė̸̱͝.̴̳̱̃̾ ̴͈̅Ḙ̶̓ǹ̴̦t̸̳̋̈́r̶̀͜ű̸̪̆s̵̤̀t̶̖̆̚ ̴̳̼̏̓t̷͇̤͑͘o̵̟͒̊ ̸̦͆͝m̷͐ͅȏ̶̺r̶̺͝t̶̤͌͑ȧ̸̖͍͌l̷̼͉̕s̴̭̿.̵̖́̚ ̴̮͊̈́O̶͔̲̾̂u̸̳̼͛͘r̵̲͆ ̴̭͙̑f̸̹͇̐l̴͍͑a̷͈͈̿m̶͕̺̒̀e̶̞͝,̶̗͓͆ ̵̖̳͝a̸͓͕̿t̷̬̊̓ ̴̪̓̿ý̷̧̝ò̸̲u̸͎͐r̷̤̃ ̴̉͜c̸̠̬͌o̴̪̽m̶͕̈́̈ͅm̸̱̝̿̒a̵̭̜͝n̴̦̪̅d̷̖̭͛̏.̶̩̍

A stream of reddish light leaks out and swirls around until the orb itself turns icy blue. Is that the fires absorbed by the boss during the fight?

_ Tremire Husan: B̸̨̅́e̴̦̿s̷̙̓t̸̜̳̽̕ ̷̮̍ȍ̷͚͖f̷̰͚͋̑ ̷̩̀̒ĺ̸̹ü̵̮̱̈c̴̮̄k̴̺͚͗,̸̯̲̌̆ ̴͔̻̌[̴͙̐Ḿ̸̟a̴̮͖͑i̵̢̐̚d̸̛̟̃e̷̜̱͠n̵̰̣̐͂ ̴͍̇̈́ȍ̴̘͔̿f̸̡͈̿ ̷̭̤̇P̷͗͜u̶̠̣̓̌r̷̟̚i̶̬͐t̵͗ͅͅÿ̵̬́]̵͇̈.̶̙̦̎͠

Without any warning, or at least any that I can understand, the light stream comes rushing to me. It wraps around my body and spins like a tornado for a few seconds, then dissipates into countless orbs.

While I am thinking that they resemble a starry sky, said orbs launch straight at me, as if pulled in by a vacuum, and disappear.

Am I going to burst into flame any moment now?

…Doesn't seem like it.

_ Elri: …Is that normal?

_ Hessy: If you are asking that, you must be well aware that it's not normal, right?

_ Shadyna: How mean!

[Character Leveled up]

[Condition fulfilled. Unlocked Title: "Mountain Breaker"]

[Condition fulfilled. Unlocked Title: "Tremire Husan Subduer"]

[Condition fulfilled. Unlocked Title: "Luminous Flame"]

[Condition fulfilled. Unlocked Title: "Goddess's Gambler"]

[Condition fulfilled. Unlocked Skill: "Luminous Firestorm Lv.0"]

[Condition fulfilled. Unlocked Skill: "Luminous Icestorm Lv.0"]

[Condition fulfilled. Unlocked Skill: "Phantom Edge Lv.0"]

Nice~ Thanks a lot, Sateri!

Hold up, are the storm skills AoE? Why are you giving me AoE, Sateri?!

I have to [Inspect] them later. For now though, let's create a "buff" item with them as effect. I want to test them out when we return, since there won't be any player in the area. The zone should have changed and reset its spawns, so we won't arrive at the center of a horde either.

[Creation]~

I wonder what kind of AoE it is for Sateri to force on me…

By the time I'm done, everyone has finished the pillag… looting of the place. Of course, the now-blue orb left behind wasn't spared. Because there are many players here, we decided to distribute the rewards after returning.

I think Hessy twitched a bit when I suggested that. Seriously, what happened during the closed beta that could traumatize you that much?

…

_ Mera: Hmm~? , are you not going back with us?

After leaving the treasure room, we landed on what could be described as a fertile flatland. Plants and trees I have never seen in real life dot the landscape as far as I can see. Not dense enough to be a forest, but not too sparse to be called a grassland either.

_ Shadyna: Un, I want to do something first. It won't take long, so please go ahead.

_ Mera: Alright~ We will be watching over you~ [Mass Recall]!

You girls are just teleporting back to the cafeteria right?!

And so, they left without me.

Let's see… There is no creature around. They most likely haven't spawned yet, which is nice. Just because my items don't deal damage (technically) doesn't mean I want a bunch of roaming mobs getting caught up in my spells.

I am a true pacifist after all!

Now, what kind of spell are you…

_ Shadyna: [Luminous Firestorm Invoker]!

Slamming the red orb onto the ground purely for immersion, I activate my consumable.