Meanwhile, Izroth and his party stood at the side of the platform with their sights set on Tal'Nis. Needless to say, everyone was interested in the power of the Hero Class. But, more importantly...

Colorful Nimbus released a long sigh and said, "I hope we're going about this the right way."

"The choice has already been made, so there is no turning back now. Right now, our only goal is to burn everything that we can into our minds and increase the chances of the next person's success." Sacred Blade stated.

"Still, I feel kinda bad for him. It's like he's some sort of sacrifice we offered up. Just leaves a bad taste in my mouth, you know?" Colorful Nimbus shrugged.

"It's true that Gram's offensive capabilities are extremely limited; however, there's no question that he is the best person for the first battle. He is anything but a sacrifice. After all, there's a reason I settled upon this battle order." Niflheim said calmly.

Not too long after the countdown commenced, the party's leader, Niflheim, received an alert from the system. This alert allowed him to set the order in which the party would enter the platform and face off against Tal'Nis. And, Niflheim set the battle order as followed:

[1st: Gram] (Default)

[2nd: Colorful Nimbus]

[3rd: Niflheim]

[4th: Sacred Blade]

[5th: Izroth]

[6th: Morrighan]

In the end, Niflheim chose to go with the one versus one battle for the third stage.

If the circumstances were different, Niflheim would have preferred to battle as a single group; however, he felt that there were too many issues with that approach.

For one, their teamwork could be seen as stable for a party that just recently formed, but it was still superficial. Everyone was a top player with an abundance of skill and experience, which is why their teamwork seemed without flaw on the surface. In addition, they had two powerhouse damage dealers in the form of Izroth and Morrighan that hid even more of their flaws.

But, in reality, everyone was just doing their own thing while Niflheim kept them on the same page. It was similar to forcing puzzle pieces to fit in a place that they did not belong. Even if the pieces made their way in, the final image would be distorted and lack uniformity.

However, for some reason, Niflheim had a gut feeling that such shallow teamwork would fall apart swiftly in front of someone like Tal'Nis. Plus, this way, they would be able to observe Tal'Nis in action and possibly come up with a plan to counter her abilities. This is also what strongly influenced Niflheim's decision for the battle order.

"The first move is all yours, Gram. I hope you remember our plan." Niflheim internalized.

...

A few moments ago...

[Party Chat] Niflheim, "Then, we will go with six battles of one-on-one."

[Party Chat] Colorful Nimbus, "Oh? Why one-on-one?"

[Party Chat] Sacred Blade, "If it's you, then you must have a plan in mind, right?"

[Party Chat] Morrighan, "If you do have a plan, I would like to hear it."

[Party Chat] Niflheim, "I'll cut straight to the chase. Our teamwork is barely passable."

[Party Chat] Sacred Blade, "I see... So you noticed it too, huh? Guess I shouldn't be too surprised. It definitely leaves more to be desired."

[Party Chat] Colorful Nimbus, "Hey, that's a bit harsh, isn't it? After all, we got this far together so that has to count for something, right?"

[Party Chat] Niflheim, "We've gotten this far because our damage dealers are just too abnormal. Thanks to that, up until this point, our flaws have been easy to overlook. However, this time's different. If we go in together with our current teamwork, there's a high possibility that we'll fail."

[Party Chat] Colorful Nimbus, "Hm... I still don't get it though. If you think we'll fail together as a party, aren't you essentially saying that it's impossible for us to win no matter what we do?"

[Party Chat] Niflheim, "Who says it's impossible? In a situation where uncertainty is present in abundance, the most valuable thing to acquire is information. Right now, we know nothing about our opponent. And, since they claim to be the creator of this crusade, it wouldn't be out of place to assume that they've been keeping a close eye on us since our arrival. If that's true, going forward, we have to take into account the possibility that she already knows about each and every one of us. Of course, this includes our skills and fighting style."

[Party Chat] Morrighan, "A well-thought precaution. If what you say is true, we are at quite the disadvantage before the battle has even begun."

[Party Chat] Colorful Nimbus, "Damn! Isn't that just blatantly cheating?!"

[Party Chat] Niflheim, "Whatever the case, we'll have to play to our strengths if we wish to succeed."

[Party Chat] Sacred Blade, "Since the choice has been made, I volunteer to go first. Part of your plan is to find out what she's capable of, right? I believe I'm the best one to make that happen. After all, we can't afford to send out our two big guns right away."

[Party Chat] Niflheim, "I appreciate the sentiment, but I've already decided on the battle order. And, the first one to step onto the platform will be Gram."

[Party Chat] Sacred Blade, "Gram?"

[Party Chat] Gram, "Me?"

[Party Chat] Colorful Nimbus, "Hah?! You want to send him to the wolves?!"

[Party Chat] Niflheim, "There's something only he can do. That's why I wish to entrust the first battle to you, Gram. Well, if you don't want to, I won't force you."

[Party Chat] Gram, "I don't know if I can be much help, but I will try my best if it's for the sake of the party. What do you need me to do?"

[Party Chat] Niflheim, "Survive. And, if possible, get her to reveal as many cards in her hand as possible. Colorful Nimbus, you will be tasked with gauging her initial response to direct physical attacks, so throw everything you have at her. I will then use the knowledge the two of you obtained and attempt to draw out any trump cards. Sacred Blade, I want you to maintain your distance and focus on long to mid-range attacks. Since your strikes are a combination of physical and magic damage, it'll help us see how she reacts to magic-based attacks. If it turns out she has a natural weakness towards magic, it'll be up to the Phantom Queen to deal the final blow, which is why she will be the last to fight. But, let's hope that it doesn't have to come to that. And so, we'll be counting on you to end things before we reach that point, Izroth."

[Party Chat] Colorful Nimbus, "...Can we get a TL;DR version?"

[Party Chat] Gram, "..."

[Party Chat] Sacred Blade, "..."

[Party Chat] Niflheim, "..."

[Party Chat] Morrighan, "..."

[Party Chat] Izroth, "..."

...

Back at the platform...

'Lady of the Everlasting Rain, Tal'Nis. It's a name I haven't come across on either floor of the Amaharpe Palace Library. I wonder how long it's been since she left this crusade behind in the Mortal Realm.'

Swoosh!

A streak of blue and silver light soared through the air towards Gram.

Bang!

Gram managed to lift his mace in time to parry the attack; however, he was knocked back several meters from the strike's impact. Gram's eyes widened and his hands trembled uncontrollably. Just from parrying one attack, his arms had gone numb!

Swoosh!

The blue and silver light curved as it headed straight for Tal'Nis. But, just as it was about to make contact, it came to an abrupt stop. The moment it did so, the streak of light's revealed itself as the sword hovering close to Tal'Nis.

Gram immediately cast a stream of buffs on himself that rose his attack power, agility, movement speed, and granted him a temporary aura of protection.

Since he successfully parried the sword, Gram did not receive any damage in accordance with the rules Tal'Nis set. However, Gram understood after the first attempt—if he tried to parry a blow like that again, he wouldn't be able to keep holding onto the mace in his hands!

"Oh? I did not think that you had the capability to defend against that attack. But, if you're able to handle that much, perhaps I can display a bit more of my strength." Tal'Nis stated.

The next moment, the sword next to Tal'Nis started to rotate at frightening speeds as it became encompassed in blue flames that matched Tal'Nis' hair.

'This is... It seems like she'll be more troublesome to deal with than I anticipated.'

When the blue flames materialized, Izroth sensed an air of familiarity from them. Tal'Nis was using Essence—the same type of Essence that came from possessing a Source!

However, the purity of this Essence was leagues above Izroth's current Spirit Source.

'She's purposely limiting the output of her Essence as not to immediately overwhelm her opponent... Could this be what they meant by the enemy always staying just one step ahead in a crusade?'