I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

"Alice...can do it!"

Extending her unique high-heeled boots to her lower thighs, reaching the length of over-the-knee stockings, and removing her mask to reveal a 【(oωo)?】 emoticon on her pixelated screen, Sophia then said, "Sophie is ready too, Jok. Call me anytime you need me."

"Looks like everyone's ready... Yuzu, Midori, are you guys okay?"

With the [God of Destruction] in one hand and [Paradise Lost] in the other, Amamiya stood tall, ready for any sudden battle.

Not hearing Xiao Lü and Youzi's voices, he paused and looked back.

"We're fine... but Sensei, is it alright to just leave this vehicle here like this?"

Little Green, who was checking her pixelated dagger, immediately said that she was fine, but then she was disappointed by her own problem - the whole army had set off, what about the vehicles?

"Should we use storage magic to take it away...?"

Yuzu has already raised her staff, ready to cast a spell.

"no, I'm fine……"

Amamiya paused for a moment, then chuckled and waved his hand, "To be honest, this vehicle was something I snatched from the shadows of another world through some special means. It wasn't anything special to begin with..."

"If we go back, I'll have my own way of doing it."

"How about we let everyone experience the unique 'Dragon Triumph' of this fantasy world?"

Wow!

As soon as Amamiya finished speaking, Momoi was the first to jump up with sparkling eyes: "Riding one of those legendary dragons... I can't wait~!"

"Sister..." Little Green immediately reminded her helplessly, "The most important thing..."

"Oh right...right! Alice-chan's matter is the most important thing right now!"

Momoi scratched her head awkwardly and chuckled softly, expressing her apology.

"If everyone is alright, we'll set off immediately."

Amamiya led the group, followed closely by the four members of the game club. The group gradually entered the shadowy, seemingly dangerous, and mist-shrouded mountain forest.

As one ventures deeper into the ruins, the surrounding landscape, much like Amamiya's exploration of the "ruins," becomes increasingly desolate with each subsequent level.

Gradually, perhaps because they were touching the edge of their understanding of the world, Amamiya and his group began to encounter 'monsters'... that is, shadows.

These shadows, existing on the edge of cognition, are mostly exceptionally powerful entities.

Fortunately, Hoshino and Shirako had given them some 'battle tips' on combat experience beforehand, and with Sophia as a formal member... even without the four members of the Game Club having strong direct combat power against shadows, they could still win by relying on the stable output of the Sword of Light that was tied to Alice.

The standard "tank, mage, healer" trinity in the game is no joke.

As a 'shield warrior', Momoi's damage reduction rate is frighteningly high—although her output is insufficient, once she activates her taunt, the extremely high damage reduction rate is enough to make all the shadows exclaim 'I can't hurt her!'

Even if you can't damage them, you're forced to fight because of the rage state you enter due to 'taunting'.

As an 'assassin', Little Green perfectly embodies the characteristics of a burst damage red class (Note: In FF14, this term generally refers to damage-dealing classes).

The burst damage is terrifyingly high. A combo of Shadow Step followed by Backstab, Sap, Throat Shot, and Finishing Move requires a considerable amount of time to prepare and find the right moment to unleash it... but once it's executed, the damage is quite substantial.

As a priest and mage, Yuzu... has nothing to worry about. She can switch to the mage's [Radiant Aura] every now and then to help her companions recover their spirits...

Alternatively, switch to the priest's [Vitality Aura] to help your companions recover lost stamina or damage... depending on the situation, cast a Heal, or cast a large-area priest's Silence; or the mage can use Frost Nova to control them.

Compared to Momoi and Midori, she doesn't expend much physical energy... but she requires much more mental and control skills.

And Alice... as the 'hero' of the party, she really is as Amamiya said...

He charged to the front lines without hesitation, wielding the Hero's Sword in his hand and the "Sword of Light" on his back, displaying a unique style of "dual-sword" hero.

For ranged combat, switch to the Sword of Light and fire at minimum power; for melee combat, use the various enchantments on the Hero's Sword and mid-to-close range sword skills and damage skills to make up for it... your combat ability is already enough to stand on your own.

Amamiya mostly just uses Persona to apply a buff, and occasionally uses [God of Destruction] to take down a few stragglers.

In most cases, he used Ariadne to guide the four members of the game club, achieving a subtle and gradual level of cooperation.

Gradually, he discovered that... the speed at which the four members of the game club's 'bond' was increasing was unprecedented.

Within just a few battles, they had already developed precise and clear teamwork, and the probability of making mistakes was getting smaller and smaller.

Amamiya certainly knew that her own "Perfect Omen" (Aru's bond skill) played a part in this, but that only accounted for a small part.

The reason why these four members of the gaming club improved so quickly through teamwork... is largely due to their own efforts.

This is a kind of "self-evident," or even "subtle" cohesion.

It's like... in a fantasy world, a veteran team with years of dungeon experience is challenging a low-level dungeon they know all too well.

'The speed of growth is astonishing...'

"Hmm... The enemy's general attack is coming... Yuzu, Alice, get ready! Momoi—Midori, retreat and defend!"

Under the guidance of the 'Ariadne Line', the meaning conveyed by Amamiya's simple words was clearly communicated.

Yuzu stepped forward, raised her staff high, and the tip of the staff, adorned with star-like green vines, emanated a gravitational field.

"Mage magic... Supergravity Net!"

With a whoosh, a pixelated effect resembling a black hole was flung out, rapidly expanding as it flew through the air, eventually coalescing into a super black hole that attracted targets.

At the same time, Alice also put down the sword of light on her back.

But instead of shooting with the Sword of Light immediately, she first swung the Hero's Sword in her other hand.

"Hero Skill - 'Unwavering Will to Win'!"

Green, red, and blue light burst forth from the Hero's Sword and then fell upon everyone, including Amamiya.

"It's not over yet—Hero Skill, 'Heart of Hope for the Future'!"

The pillar of light, symbolizing 'focus and dedication', rose up once again.

"Next is—'A steadfast will to face the future!'"

Dark red, dark green, and dark blue 'debuff' light effects simultaneously descended upon the shadows that were entangled and captured by the black hole.

Finally, there is... "the immortal soul seeking its own self!"

"HikariYo——"

"For Alice, devour all enemies!"

The thirteen seals have been lifted.

Sword of Light... Full Power!

Full Pow Attack!

The dazzling blue, at this moment, shines brightly, stretching across the sky.

'Psona—Prometheus.'

'Hmm... the hostile reactions in the surrounding area have been completely eliminated; it's safe for now.'

"Hmm...not bad, that means we've completely wiped out one wave of enemies..."

After scanning the surrounding shadows with the Navi-specific mask, Amamiya slowly breathed a sigh of relief.

"We have confirmed that the hostile reactions in the surrounding area have completely disappeared, and we are safe for the time being."

"Let's take this opportunity... and head straight for the 'deepest part' in one go."

Chapter Eleven: Preparations Before the Final Battle

As Amamiya and his group ventured deeper into the forbidden zone of the 'Monster Mountain Range,' the surrounding scenery became increasingly absurd and bizarre.

Because this place is on the edge of the collective unconscious, it retains countless memories of ancient civilizations.

Majestic castles; ruins; ancient "city" ruins stretching to the horizon...

An absurd abyss; like a distorted pixelated image, its reflection constantly shifting and disappearing into the earth...

Things on the edge of cognition are not the most bizarre, but only more bizarre.

"It's just like..."

Momoi endured the nauseating stench emanating from the pervasive black mist in the air, and made a disgusting face that seemed to freeze together as she complained.

After saying that, she couldn't help but cough because she had inhaled a lot of nauseating air while speaking.

"Ahem... It's the same as the Cthulhu universe."

"Sister...it's best not to say anything carelessly at a time like this."

Little Green pinched her nose tightly, trying to suppress the subtle discomfort, and tugged at her older sister's clothes.

Could you please change this bad habit of saying something all the time...? You might make a big mistake because of it!

Yuzu wisely remained silent, not saying a word, but continuously releasing 'air shields' to keep the extremely small area around her clean.

Unfortunately, Yuzu's 'magic power' is limited. Relying solely on the mage's [Radiant Aura] for sustain, maintaining the shield around her is already at its limit.

After all, it's almost impossible for RPG games to have skills that would break the balance of numbers, such as "consuming mana to restore more mana"... Therefore, whether it's a mage or a priest, the skill of 'mana restoration' is quite rare.

If Yuzu can't maintain its perpetual motion machine, it can only protect itself.

As for Alice and Sophia... they are both AIs, and Sophia is even protected by her Persona, so she doesn't need to worry about air pollution at all.

Seeing the extremely disgusted expressions on Momoi and Midori's faces, Amamiya felt a little sorry for them.

'Psona-Silve.'

The eerie blue flames were released from the mask on Amamiya's forehead and then encircled her entire body.

【Psona-Sylph (Arcana: Sky/Empress)】

[Introduction: A mysterious creature from Western mythology, originating from the works of the early Renaissance Swiss natural philosopher, von Hohenheim.]

The alchemist used the word "Sylph" to represent the existence of the air element. Thus, this term became the abbreviation for the air element, one of the four elements of earth, water, fire, and wind, in Western alchemy.

Since ancient times, the atmosphere has been a symbol of purity. Therefore, alchemy, mysticism, and other disciplines generally believe that people with pure hearts will ultimately become Sylphs.

The silhouette of an elven girl with flowing golden hair and fluttering, ornate, gold-trimmed butterfly wings appeared behind Amamiya.

Her appearance naturally stirred up a pure and innocent hurricane.

'call……'

"Ah... I feel so much refreshed now..."

Momoi, who had been feeling nauseous and about to vomit, suddenly revealed a gentle and comfortable expression, as if bathed in a spring breeze.

'Maha-Arielgis'.

The magic of Persona always needs to follow the basic format of 'prefix', 'root', and 'suffix'.

'Maha' is a prefix for large, meaning group.

'Ariel' is the root word, derived from the 'queen' or leader of the Sylph elves, named Ariel.

'gis' is a suffix; the full name is 'Aegis,' derived from the Aegis shield of Athena in Greek mythology. The word also means 'protection' or 'shelter.'

So—this somewhat tongue-twisting affix, when translated into magic, means 'group-air shield'.

(This is truly the last time I'll explain the root principles of the word 'magic,' I promise.)

"Personality...it's really convenient..."

Compared to Momoi's comfort and ease, Midori was somewhat 'envious'.

The magic that Personas can unleash seems to be quite diverse... If we could have this kind of special magic to help us in our daily lives, it would be very convenient, right?

"Senior Green's view is wrong..."

Sophia, who had been walking beside Amamiya, shielding the four members of the Game Club in case of sudden danger, slowed her pace and firmly corrected them: "The magic of the Persona is similar to the 'Developer Weapons' that you guys use, Midori-senpai. When it's released, it requires drawing on the mental energy of the Persona's user as 'magic power.'"

"It's only because Jok has extraordinary mental strength that he can expend so much energy!"

Yuzu, who has been constantly releasing single-target shields to protect herself, is arguably the one most qualified to speak on this matter.

Only with the support of the 'Radiant Aura' can she barely maintain a balance between the expenditure on maintaining the shield and 'mana regeneration'...

Just how incredible is Sensei's mental strength, to be able to unleash such terrifying group magic at any time without batting an eye?