Like a stallion running freely in the open plains, Derek charged forward and slashed his way across the dozens of Rank 2 Monsters that had gotten past Erica's wide-area attack. Every slash he made targeted a vital point, and after doing that, he would move to another monster. His attacks were not necessarily done to kill his opponent but to merely get their attention while dealing significant damage to their bodies. If he could slash or pierce their throat, dealing a serious injury that could potentially kill his enemy, then that was great. But he didn't stay long enough to see if they died or not because he would already move on to his next target. His movements were too fast for the Minotaurs to follow, and thanks to his training, his stamina and speed had also increased drastically. Roland, who realized what Derek was doing, started to do the same, making the monsters hesitate on whether they should attack the annoying pests who were attacking them or charge at the other humans at the back of the enemy's formation. A few of the Minotaurs decided to engage Derek and Roland in battle, while the rest continued to charge forward. Diana, who was at the front of the formation, took a fighting stance with her golden sword glowing brightly. The flag behind her served as her pillar of support as she prepared to block the approaching monsters and prevent them from reaching her friends behind her. Erica smirked as she pointed her wand at the approaching monsters and summoned a rainbow-colored ball, which was the size of a basketball. "Magic Bullet Burst Mode," Erica said before the ball of light exploded into dozens of Magic Bullets that flew toward the Minotaurs, targeting their heads. This was the spell Thirteen had bought for Erica, allowing her to have a means to cast a fast and powerful spell that would be helpful in her battles. She was wearing a monocle in her right eye, making it easier for her to target the enemies with her spells. It was as if it had an auto-aim feature, and Thirteen had crafted it just for her. The Magic Bullets landed in their targets, stopping dozens of Minotaurs from their tracks. However, those who had not been hit continued to charge forward. Joshua held his staff in his hand and cast spells like Paralyze, Poison, Weaken, and other debuff spells he had bought through Thirteen's recommendation. Back then, Joshua didn't really think of debuff spells as important. He believed that if he could just use a strong spell, and overwhelm his opponent with its firepower, the battle would end very quickly. But their battle against the Magic Resistant Three-Horned Minotaur proved that sometimes, damaging spells alone weren't enough to win the battle. Besides, he wasn't fighting alone. He had allies who were faster and just as deadly as he was. With this in mind, he decided to play a more active role as a Debuffer, leaving the killing to Derek, Roland, and Erica. Mildred, who was the archer of the Party, fired one arrow after another. Unlike in the past, when she needed time to aim her arrows properly, she was now firing in rapid succession. Due to Thirteen's training, she had learned to fire arrows as fast and as accurately as she could, aiming for the monster's head with relative ease. Since she had been trained to shoot at baseballs while running over hot coals, her accuracy had improved drastically. Although she couldn't actively target the monster's eyes from a distance, hitting their heads was easy enough for her. Regardless of whether she hit the monster's eyes or not, the damage and pain they would receive was still something that the Minotaurs couldn't shrug off so easily. Shana, who was at the very back of the party, pressed her hands together and chanted a spell. "Mercy's light, shield of grace, May Heaven guard this sacred place. In mercy's name, let all be still, Wrap us now in a sacred embrace. "Kyrie Eleison!" A dome of light appeared, enveloping her, Erica, Diana, Mildred, and Joshua, blocking the Minotaur's charge completely. "I'm going out for a bit," Diana, who no longer needed to protect her allies due to Shana's barrier, stepped out of it and began to attack the Minotaurs who were trying to break the barrier. In the past, she had been focused on solely defending against her enemies, but now, her entire body was now a weapon. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚 It was not only her sword that dealt damage to her enemies. Her shield did as well. М???М?ΥЯ.??? Thirteen had borrowed her shield and imbued it with the "Light as a Feather" rune magic, making it as light as a feather in Diana's hands. She slashed, she bashed, and she bashed some more, ramming her opponents with a vengeance. Joshua, who didn't expect that Diana would actively engage their enemy in battle, started to have a different opinion of her. He always thought of her as their cool-headed and dependable defender, but after seeing that she could now attack on her own, he realized just how much they had truly grown in the span of a mere month. Erica was shooting Magic Bullets as if her staff were a machine gun, allowing Diana to fight freely. Mildred was doing the same, making sure to target the minotaurs who were trying to gang up on their Crusader. But despite the two doing their best to support Diana, a Minotaur was still able to get onto her blindside and raised its axe to strike. However, before that axe could fall, a small shield of light appeared to protect Diana from the Minotaur's attack, blocking it completely. The Saintess of the Hero Party volunteered to join Rianna's and Mildred's training because she also wanted to be nimble on her feet, as well as have the ability to act quickly enough to cast offensive and defensive spells to her enemies and allies. While this was happening, a loud and powerful roar reverberated in the plains as Roland faced off against the Three-Horned Minotaur alone. Derek, on the other hand, was taking care of the two Alpha Monsters who served as the Overlord's bodyguards, allowing his comrade to fight without worrying about his back getting stabbed by others. "We need to finish quickly," Joshua said. "Roland will not be able to handle it alone." He had seen how Roland fought tooth and nail against the Three-Horned Minotaur during his training, and didn't see him win against it even once. However, the Minotaur was also unable to defeat Roland, ending the battle in a draw. Right now, it was a race against time. Shana, Erica, Diana, Mildred, and Joshua were doing their best to clear out the mobs as fast as they could so that they could rejoin Roland and Derek at the front lines. Meanwhile, inside the Training Room… "Looks like you're preparing them for a High-Tier Dimensional Outbreak," Rianna commented with her arms crossed over her chest. "Right," Thirteen nodded. "There will come a time when they will have to face a horde of monsters on their own, so letting them experience a Tier-4 Dungeon Outbreak isn't a bad idea." "Looking at this makes me want to fight a horde as well," Rianna said as she gave Viola, Sharon, and Louise a sidelong glance. "Interested in joining me?" "You bet," Viola, who could also feel her blood boiling as she watched the battle on the TV screens, replied with a smile. "I'm in," Louise commented. Sharon nodded. "Sounds fun." Thirteen lightly patted Remi's head and asked her a question. "Although it will still be too early for you, it won't hurt to let you experience it once," Thirteen said. "Join Rianna and the others later, okay?" "Okay, Brother," Remi replied with determination. Right now, she was only allowed to fight Rank 1 Monsters. She had fought a Rank 2 Monster a year ago, but she died in less than ten minutes due to how strong and fast the Wolf Monster was. After knowing that she wasn't strong enough to fight something stronger than a Rank 1 Monster, Remi trained harder than ever before. Now that she was stronger and a year older, she wanted to see if she could fight against a Rank 2 Monster on her own. Seeing the glint in her eyes, Thirteen smiled faintly before shifting his attention back to the battle that was happening on the screen. Currently, the battle was still in the favor of the minotaurs, and a single mistake could lead to their team getting wiped out. Thirteen knew that the chances of the Hero Party emerging victorious from this battle were fifty-fifty. Still, he believed that they would find a way to overcome this obstacle and finally gain the confidence that they badly needed, which would allow them to grow to greater heights.