HC: Chapter | Ch. 205 - Too Easy

“Look! They’re weaker already! Hooray!” Horace cheered. The soldiers echoed his call, banging their maces against their wooden shields. The

“Look! They’re weaker already! Hooray!” Horace cheered.

The soldiers echoed his call, banging their maces against their wooden shields. The battle hadn’t even reached them, but Horace was working the soldiers like a festival crowd, turning mace-wielding fighters into rowdy cheerleaders.

While Horace and the others celebrated, Jack scanned through the notifications he’d missed. Rob and Amari had found two more aid packages while he’d been focused on crafting bone armor for the squad—and now, reading their effects, he understood exactly why the elite had dropped so quickly.

Toxic Tar Pit (Aid Package)

Description: Deep within a fissure near the canyon’s base, you’ve uncovered a tar pit steeped in the Breach’s unique toxins. This corrosive substance bonds to steel, creating a lingering weapon treatment that disrupts unnatural defenses—but only when fresh.

Package effects: Weapons treated with this tar gain a permanent passive buff. Against Breach creatures, the first 10 hits per enemy ignore 30% of their defense and resistance. The effect refreshes per target but does not apply outside the Breach.

Mountain-Hewn Whetstones (Aid Package)

Description: Carved from a rare sediment layer high in the surrounding cliffs, these whetstones offer a superior sharpening edge prized by elite frontier units. While difficult to find, the edge they grant is unmatched, at least for a short time.

Package effects: After sharpening a weapon with a mountain-hewn whetstone, its critical hit chance and durability are increased by 15% for 15 minutes.

He remembered catching a glimpse of Rob and Amari’s blades earlier—darker than usual, almost matte. And the whetstones. Now it all clicked into place.

After the first shagrat elite fell, the herd’s formation stuttered, and a tremor rippled through the front rank of shagrats as their advance lost rhythm. The energy that had pushed them forward began to thin.

Horace turned to Jack. “So? Did you read what the packages do?”

“Yeah. Great combo for two rogues like them,” Jack said with a sigh. 

“Right. Too bad those whetstones do nothing for blunt weapons,” Horace lamented.

Jack glanced at the hammer in Horace’s hands. It was darker too. He must’ve already dipped it in the tar pit. Tsk. What are you complaining about? At least you get to enjoy one of the packages.

The same wasn’t true for him. These two packages did nothing for wind instruments. Jack looked down at his ocarina. He caught himself wondering what would happen if he scraped it against the whetstone... or dunked it in the tar pit. Yeah. That’d be a bust.

ROAR!

While Amari and Rob waited for their cooldowns, the bears charged into the rear of the herd. Jack couldn’t see much of the action—branches and the giant dandelion blocked most of his view—but the roars and grunts beyond the leaves told him plenty.

The Tramontane wind howled through the clearing, tearing through the ranks of shagrats. It gnawed at their balance and rhythm, stalling any attempt at a proper charge.

But the herd didn’t stop. Despite their losses, the shagrats pressed forward, claws digging into frozen dirt. The boss had finally reached the first ditch, its massive form followed closely by the stragglers that still obeyed its lead.

The front line dropped into the trench, using sheer momentum to claw their way up the far side. A pair of claws hooked over the ridge—the boss was hauling itself up.

Horace moved.

“Edric! Yuri! On me!”

Shield Bash!

His shield flared with radiant light as he slammed into the boss. Edric and Yuri followed without hesitation, smashing their wooden maces down on the creature’s snout just as it crested the edge.

The boss crashed back into the ditch, flattening the climbers behind it in a tangle of limbs and snarls.

“Marie! Now!” Horace shouted.

She snatched three vials—red, green, and blue—and hurled them at the thrashing boss. The liquids sizzled on contact, and the creature shrieked as its hide smoked. Ticking damage flashed above it, and its movements began to slow.

Across the line, the other soldiers followed Horace’s lead. Shields bashed, maces struck, and every shagrat that tried to climb was forced back down.

Horace stayed in the thick of it, his swings controlled, efficient—but his eyes never stopped moving. He scanned the formation, left and right, checking that no one was falling out of place.

“Good work! Keep it up!” Horace shouted.

“Yes, sir!” came the sharp, unified reply.

Jack watched Horace from behind the line. He looked like a general in the middle of the fray.

As the shagrats’ claws slipped through gaps in the soldiers’ defenses and health bars began to dip, Jack played a song he rarely used.

You’ve played [Dance of the Turtles].

Success rate: C

+300 XP in [Bard]

You’ve listened to [Dance of the Turtles].

+5 defense for 1 minute.

His lack of practice showed—he barely scraped a C. Still, the extra defense would help the soldiers take a little more damage. 

Gotta get better at that one, he noted with a mental sigh.

He lifted his ocarina again and played a more familiar tune: Sitting Wind. The melody flowed gently, easing the weight in the soldiers’ limbs. 

Buffs triggered across the group, invigorating all sixteen of his allies. Jack smiled.

Bards really are OP.

He’d always known the Bard minor was powerful, even in a four-man team. But now, hearing his melodies trigger buffs across a full squad, he could see its full potential. In a clash between large groups, a bard wasn’t just support—they were a force multiplier.

With each melody, Jack could shape the field like a conductor guiding the rhythm of battle.

Just as the boss reached for the ridge again, with a shift in tempo, Jack moved into Tenderizing Repercussions. The song pounded out in driving beats, each note striking like a flurry of blunt blows.

You’ve played [Tenderizing Repercussions].

Performance grade: B+

+200XP in [Bard]

Audience bonus: +500XP in [Bard]

The beasts’ meat becomes more tender.

The shagrats, including the boss, froze under the percussive force. Horace and the soldiers wasted no time—together, they struck, sending the creature crashing back down.

On the far end of the battlefield, near the tree, Amari and Rob reappeared behind the second elite. Cooldowns refreshed. Blades ready. They repeated their devastating combo, and the creature dropped just as easily as the first.

The herd faltered again. Without the layered boosts from both elites, their advance turned sluggish. Only the boss’s buff kept them moving at all.

The [Tramontane] upgrade continued its work, leeching health with every step and leaving the remaining shagrats frail by the time they reached the ditch.

The boss tried to climb out a third time—claws scraping, limbs straining. But Horace and a full troupe of soldiers met it at the ridge and drove it back down. It looked exhausted. Even its bulk couldn't ignore the cutting wind and the mix of poisons Marie had thrown at it.

Rob and Amari arrived at the ditch nearly spent. Fighting the wind on the return trip had drained them, and even with cold resistance, the blizzard was punishing.

“Hey Jack, hit us with some stamina,” Amari said.

Jack played Sitting Wind for them while they munched on some pickled food.

You’ve played [Sitting Wind].

Performance rate: A

+250 XP in [Bard]

+1 stamina every 5 seconds for 10 minutes.

Once they were topped up, they jumped into the ditch.

Rob zoned in on the boss, unleashing his strongest combo across its back. The [Beefy Strike] meal buff didn’t work on bosses, but the damage still landed hard—chunks of health peeled away with each strike.

Amari swept through the ditch, finishing off the shagrats barely clinging to life. Together, they tipped the battle further in their favor. Only the boss remained in the pit, and with Horace and ten soldiers working in concert to keep it down, it couldn’t break free.

Marie and Christoff didn’t bother with the boss. She lobbed vials of poison into the pit now and then, laying down steady damage over time, but her main focus stayed on the broader field. With the elites gone, pressure had eased. She and Christoff held the bottleneck just beyond the ditch, blocking any stragglers from reaching their trapped leader.

And the team wasn’t about to waste that advantage.

Rob and Amari closed in on the boss like twin daggers. Rob’s movements were sharp and controlled. Amari flitted through shadows, his blade finding weak points with uncanny precision.

It clawed at the edge of the ditch, hauling its bulk upward—only to be slammed back down by another round of attacks. Horace’s shield cracked against its snout, drawing a snarl of frustration, just before three soldiers followed with overhead strikes. Jack could hear the rhythm of it: shield, mace, blade—steel and wood pounding against hide.

The boss's health ticked lower, second by second.

Is this even a boss wave? Jack wondered.

He frowned—not in worry, but confusion. This boss, the third of the Breach, was level 32. On paper, it should have been the strongest they’d faced yet. But it didn’t feel that way.

They were stronger now.

More than twenty aid packages, stacked and interwoven, had transformed the battlefield. Stamina boosts, attack bonuses, resistances, terrain effects that slowed the enemy, and debuffs that chipped away at the shagrats’ health and speed. It was overwhelming—in the best way.

And the numbers. The Breach had adjusted for Rob’s arrival, tweaking the difficulty to account for one extra player. But it hadn’t adapted to their growing army. Sixteen soldiers now fought beside them. That changed everything.

Jack’s gaze swept across the line. The soldiers moved with discipline—shield strikes timed to knock back climbers, follow-up blows that sent shagrats sprawling. Each had the [Beefy Strike] meal buff, and more than a few were landing the finishing hit.

And the soldiers weren’t even fully equipped yet. Once they were armored from head to toe, their impact would only grow.

Jack nodded to himself, almost proud. All those hours spent exploring, crafting, and preparing—this was the payoff.

It had turned what should have been the hardest boss wave yet into the easiest.

Until something changed.

The boss’s black horn flared with eerie brilliance, and its limbs coiled with sudden tension. Snow and dirt exploded in wild bursts as it tore at the ground in a frenzy.

Jack’s eyes widened. “It’s going berserk!”

Amari’s voice rang out, sharp and urgent. “Berserk incoming!”

With terrifying speed, the creature surged out of the ditch—a blur of muscle and rage. There was no time to react. It barreled into Horace and two soldiers, sweeping them aside like twigs.

“Quick! Catch it!” Amari shouted.

The boss was already tearing across the field toward the carriage, barreling through the defenses. It triggered trap after trap—bear traps snapped at its legs, caltrops scattered beneath its claws, pointy stakes dug into its sides—but nothing slowed it down. The damage continued to accumulate, yet it pressed forward.

“Jack. Use it now!” Amari called out as he and Rob sprinted after it.

Jack didn’t hesitate. He raised his ocarina and launched into Sonic Valley, the piercing, dissonant notes twisting the air.

You’ve played [Sonic Valley]

+1000 XP in [Bard]

Audience bonus: +3150 XP in [Bard]

Performance rating: A-

Effects: All creatures are confused.

The melody took hold. Halfway to the carriage, the boss suddenly veered left, staggering straight into another cluster of traps. Yet another bear trap caught its leg. It roared, stumbled, and slammed into the cliff wall with a heavy crash.

Rob and Amari were on it in an instant, blades flashing in a final flurry. 

You’ve defeated [Black Horn Shagrat].

+3 Breach points.

The boss let out a grunt—one last breath—and collapsed.

Ch. 204 - The Inconspicuous Shagrat

INDEX

Ch. 206 - The Spoils