['Gerson (★)' has returned to the Goddesses' embrace! His fighting spirit will be remembered forever.]
Damn it!
Loki mentioned about boss stages having unpredictable factors. Certain things that could instantly ruin the mission's progress.
This had to be one of those.
Two of my units gone. My party remained under pressure by the enemies' ambush.
If only I could directly control my heroes like in Warmonger, I could probably get us out of this situation.
But I was not playing Warmonger.
This was Pick Me Up.
Everything was left to the heroes' AI in this game.
How would my heroes solve this situation? My remaining heroes at that!
Slash! Thrust!
Jonah suddenly retreated from the ogre and obliterated the goblins that Gerson failed to kill.
He managed to protect Serafina in the process, whom was still desperately holding off the hordes of ogres at the garrison's gates.
Shanny was now battling the ogre on her own. But fortunately she was able to maneuver against the giant well enough to avoid its fatal strikes.
If it were up to me, I would have Jonah return distracting the ogre with Shanny till they got the giant all the way to the side of the garrison. Then I would make Serafina abandon her blockade on the gates and sprint through the clear path to the other exit. Jonah and Shanny would then follow her.
There would be risk of the ogres' pursuing, but we could have Serafina sending covering fire to secure their escape.
That was what would unfold had I possess complete control over my heroes.
But I did not have control over them.
So how would the AIs solve this critical situation?
Shanny suddenly retreated from the ogre.
It tried attacking her but the 1-star managed to dodge the fatal assault and quickly rushed toward Serafina and Jonah near the entrance. The ogre immediately pursued her.
What were these heroes planning to do?
Serafina then released her hold on the blockade.
The structure instantly collapsed and allowed the hordes of ogres to rush in from the outside.
Despite the enemies' arrival, the 4-star mage turned to the ogre pursuing Shanny.
She froze the sprinting ogre with a spell.
[In the face of situation that tests the heroes' limits, the heroes' souls are being awakened!]
['Serafina (★★★★)'s Telekinesis has levelled up twice to level 8!]
The 4-star mage threw her arm across her body and the frozen ogre flew to the hordes of giants rushing into the garrison.
My surviving heroes then attempted to flee the scene while the ogre army was halted by the mage's stunt.
But the thrown ogre quickly rose back to its knees and threw its fists toward my heroes.
A large dome barrier manifested over Serafina and her comrades.
The 4-star mage managed to prevent their sudden deaths.
But could she keep holding on?
The other ogres immediately jumped onto the shield and tried to force through the barrier.
Serafina's shield began to crack under the enormous pressure.
Damn…
Was this it?
If a 4-star hero like Serafina could not clear this mission, how was I supposed to climb further?
Boss stages were locked to each account.
I would not be able to change to an easier one.
Would I be able to pull another strong hero like her?
Loki could only obtain one 4-star hero in his account.
What if it was the same for me?
Would this be the end of my Pick Me Up's journey?
Was this truly the end for my heroes?
['Serafina (★★★★)' has obtained the skill, 'Multicasting'!]
Suddenly Serafina's crumbling shield radiated brightly.
The entire barrier then exploded into a powerful shockwave which threw the ogres all over the garrison.
['Serafina (★★★★)' has obtained the skill, 'Mana Shockwave'!]
Apparently this was not the end.
With the ogres scattered and temporarily immobilized, the remaining heroes of Party 1 dashed toward the garrison's exit at the other side.
Loki mentioned that critical situations in battles were both a curse and a blessing.
Such situation might fail a mission and caused heavy losses.
But it might also trigger tremendous development on the heroes if they prevailed through.
Heroes that underwent and survived many turbulent moments often became very strong units, according to Loki.
I could see why he said that.
My 4-star hero managed to level up her Telekinesis skill several times while also obtaining two new skills in the process.
Deep down, I somehow knew that Serafina could pull through. I should not have doubted her.
Crash!
As the heroes left the garrison, the 4-star mage used telekinesis to pile up the remaining wreckage to blockade the route behind them.
Clever thinking.
It was still a bit mindblowing that there was no involvement whatsoever from the player so far.
All the actions I had seen to this point were done solely by the heroes' AI.
Now how else would these AIs impress me?
My heroes finally left the garrison and found themselves standing by a large channel that extended far to the northern and southern edge of the map.
There was a bridge connecting to the other side, but it was so ruined that I doubted it could be crossed.
The official forum pointed out that many heroes did not know how to swim, even advanced heroes, to my surprise.
I did not pay much mind to this information since they said stages where underwater combat was required were mid to late game content.
But my fifth floor stage, an early game content, had a portion where swimming would be necessary.
It was not that surprising given the thousands of ogres my heroes were already facing.
And somehow I did not think this water section would pose a problem to my heroes.
Not to my Serafina, at the very least.
The legs of my three remaining heroes suddenly glowed with soft blue light.
Serafina and her comrades then walked on the water channel as if it was solid ground.
An enchantment that allowed heroes to walk on water. Noted.
As I was observing the boss stage, I had my notebook beside me where I kept records of the heroes' progress.
It was necessary to keep track on what my heroes could do. Just as important as it was to learn about the missions and the enemies.
As soon as my heroes crossed the channel, the ogres began pouring out of the garrison. Others that went around had caught up as well.
Fortunately, the channel was deep enough to drown the ogres up to their shoulders.
They had to slowly wade across to get to my heroes, providing my units enough time to escape.
['Serafina (★★★★)' is casting temporary enchantment.]
[Enchantment casted!]
[Party 1's agility has increased by 15% for the next 20 minutes.]
There were still a lot of region left to cover before my heroes could reach the statue at the eastern end of the map.
Serafina activated her vision spell again as the party was running eastward through yet another vast plain.
The fog of war at the edge of the plain was soon lifted, revealing a patch of forest and a range of hills.
[Goblin Lv.4 x28]
[Goblin Archer Lv.3 x26]
Enemies were already waiting for the heroes in the forest.
Somehow I knew there were more foes hidden beyond.
Hopefully my heroes would be able to get through all of them.
No.
They had to overcome the enemies.
Defeat meant death in Pick Me Up.
My heroes must survive.
They definitely will survive!