CHAPTER 83: ON THE CONTRARY, A DEFEAT WOULD BE SWEET.

They walked up to the creature and stood right behind what stood like a stage.

Because of the long time that had passed since it was made, the stage which was actually made from a sturdy marble that could withstand many powerful enemies’ attacks, was now merged with grass, soil, and plants.

The elevated stage was barely visible through its outline, but it was still difficult to tell if there used to be something like a stage around the crab relic.

"Looks can be deceiving sometimes," Izzy mumbled while thinking just how humongous this thing actually was compared to when they were seeing it from a distance.

It was as if the hill-like entrance where they had come from was a mountain top and they had been looking down at this thing from up there, while in reality, that was not the case.

It was simply a little elevated platform, and it still made a world of difference.

"It’s because of the light. The crystals around the walls and right about this thing make it look a little smaller than it actually is. It’s like a natural illusion."

KiRA had faced this kind of situation at times so he wasn’t surprised or anything. He knew how big this thing was supposed to be, and even though Izzy had fought it a few times, it was nowhere near the number of times he had fought this thing.

"Hmmm... I see." She nodded, but he knew she didn’t actually understand the weird logic behind this phenomenon.

"Right? It’s not that complicated." He didn’t dare point out that he knew the meaning behind that nod. He knew the consequences and used his foresight.

"Now then." Cracking his knuckles, and neck, he prepared the formless sword that he had obtained earlier during his tutorial.

It was still usable, so he was using it along with his arm guards.

"What are the chances we will win, Kai?" KiRA had never brought her here unless she had obtained her class.

They were much stronger than they were right now every time they fought this thing, but not this time.

She was not as strong as she used to be, they didn’t have proper stats, and they weren’t here to destroy this thing either.

She was looking forward to winning, but she had no idea how he was going to make that possible.

"Hmm? What do you mean?" He looked at her, confused. "We’ll obviously lose miserably."

There was no way in hell they were winning against this thing.

===Status===

ID: Mk-121203

Age: N/A

Title: Tactical Training Unit

Level: 1-100

_–_–_–

Strength: 1-200

Dexterity: 1-200

Stamina: 1-200

Matrix: 1-200

Mana: 1-200

[Durability: 3,000,000/3,000,000.]

_–_–_–

Authorities: -

Blessings: Blessing of Deus Ex Machina.

Skills: Storage Access (Lv.MAX), Tactical knowledge (Lv.MAX), Opponent analysis (Lv.MAX), Training mode selection (Lv.MAX), Overdrive (Lv.MAX), Self-cure (Lv.MAX).

============

The relic would set its stats according to the opponents that it is facing. It would use skills that would be the best to counter the opponents.

It had advanced skills that could predict the weapon skills and tactical knowledge that the opponents had, coming up with the best counter-strategy that would block them and show them how to counter an opponent that knows their tricks.

Of course, the relic would learn during their battles as well, which made it a scary opponent that one cannot take down even with a force three times the size of the current top battle party of the association.

They needed a lot more statistical power to take this thing down, but killing it would be useless in any sensible person’s opinion.

"Huh? We won’t win? Then do you want us to get beaten up just like that?" Izzy understood the logic but it wasn’t like the relic would set its power settings to max when facing them.

They were low leveled and it would also become of appropriate level to match them. There should be some way to take it down at the very least.

She believed he would know the solution, but that was not the case.

"Well, we might get beaten up one-sidedly if we aren’t careful, yes. On the contrary, a defeat would be sweet, don’t you think?"

He didn’t want to fight to win a battle that he would obviously not win. Even with their current powers, this thing before them was still several times more powerful than them.

It would possess an average level of its total opponents. Its stat points would also be proportional to the average of the opponent’s stat levels.

It may be on the same statistical level as the two of them, but the strength of its stats wasn’t going to change.

"Don’t think too much about it, hehe. Just fight it and have fun~!" He knew a defeat was imminent, so he didn’t think about it in the first place.

Instead of a victory, he looked forward to the fight as he stepped into the arena.

{ "Ding!" }

The creature, the opponent, the crab relic, or as he liked to call it, Crabby opened its eyes.

{ "Opponent detected!" }

The creature that was hovering above them looked down at the two of them who had stepped onto the stage with its red glowing eyes.

{ "Preparing for training duel." }

The mechanical voice echoed in the surroundings as the two saw a blue translucent barrier covering their bodies.

-Ooooooooooong!

A similar blue light that made the dorm-like barrier around them shot out from the very top of Crabby’s head and scanned the two of them.

{ "Opponent scanning complete. Selecting training mode." }

The training module that the crab used contained various strategies and a selection of different tactical weapons that were the best against their opponents.

For the two of them who had an impeccable synergy, both magical and physical battle abilities, and skills that aligned with their natural dispositions, Crabby chose a mixed approach.

{ "Training mode: Stamina+Endurance training has been selected" .}

{ "Training will now begin." }

From all around the Crabby’s bodies, things that resembled missile launchers, artillery units, as well as various things that resembled laser guns sprang out from its exterior.

Then... without wasting a single moment, the weapons were activated.

"Run," Izzy called out first, moving to the very back with Unity by her side, and activated the protective barrier from the earrings that she obtained as a reward for defeating the demoness.

She wasn’t just going to defend, but they had their own strategy.

She wasn’t going to just stand there and get beaten up. She wasn’t going to take that... no.

If not KiRA, at least she had a dignity to maintain.

This crab wasn’t going to win one over her...