Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] Chapter 36: Chapter 32: Raid Prep

Read chapter 36 of Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] by TTReynolds on NovelPedia.

Chapter 32: Raid Prep Chapter 32: Raid Prep A large hole in the ground at the base of a tree. That was all it was. Alex was expecting something rather grand. A cave tucked into a hillside that cast an ominous shadow over the entry and signaling doom and despair. Something of that sort. But no, it was rather ordinary. Well, no it wasn't ordinary. The hole was actually rather giant. Five feet across by Alex's summation. Dug straight into the roots of a tree and going down into an inky darkness. Besides the size though, it was a badger hole, and nothing more. “Pretty damn plain looking, isn’t it?” Alex muttered as the team all looked on at the black spot in the forest floor. The system looked to disagree as a message popped into Alex's vision. Quest Update! You have discovered the location of the badger den. Kill the Badger Den Mother! How you proceed is up to you. Stealth is always a possible option. As long as you haven't spent the last three hours slaughtering their kin and alerting them to your presence that is.... Otherwise, they might be waiting to attack. Den Mothers Slain: 0/1 Time Limit; 9 Days, 18 hours, 46 minutes. Reward: Unknown Yeah, still an asshole. Alex thought. He swiped away the system message and signaled the team to fall back. Having everyone move a few hundred feet back into the forest so they could decide on a plan was the safest option. "Lure out the Den Mother and dwindle down her health with a combined offense?" Holly chimed in first during the brainstorm. "Unlikely," Eric said. "If they are waiting for our attack, as the quest update implies, this Den Mother will have her warriors and possibly all the other, smaller offspring to provide her back up. We won't be able to focus on the boss and leave the warriors unattented. We would be taken out one by one, in short order." "Well, someone will have to hold off or distract the boss, while the rest of the team kills the adds," Devon said. He looked at Garret and Henry. "Either of you think you can manage it?" Garret and Henry shared a look between themselves. "Not likely," Henry said. "We don't even know how big or powerful this den mother is. If she's actually stronger than the warriors, I really doubt it." Garret shook his head. "Okay, what if you both tank her at the same time?" Lance asked. "How? Like we megazord it? I can carry Henry on my shoulders." Garret flexed to emphasize his statement. "He means the two of you split its attention and attacks to buy the team time to kill the warriors," Alex said. "Oh yeah, we can maybe do that," Garret shrugged. "As long as the thing doesn’t just kill us in one hit outright, that is. That's where we aren't confident." Henry nodded at this. They didn't know if anyone could take a hit from the Den Mother, they hadn't even seen her yet. Attacking to get information worked in video games back home, because if you died you could just respawn. That wasn't the case here. They didn't have respawns. If this fight killed them, then that meant they were dead, permanently. "This is even assuming it will have warriors for backup. We don't know it will," Eric clasped Garret's shoulder. "With Allie's spell being as good as Alex says it is, we can clean up any that do appear and get to taking down the boss in no time." "If there are no other badgers then good. Then we stick to striking in the blind spots. Get in, get out, don't get greedy." Alex said. He began to draw in a cleared patch of ground with his spear. He made a rough diagram of the area around the den and marked various spots. "We will set up like this, in a circle around the den opening before luring it out. Garret and Henry, tank the den mother. Allie, we will use your spell to quickly start taking out any warriors that show up. If there are more than two, you'll run out of energy. If that happens, we split into threes. Holly, Lance, and myself; Allie, Devon, and the captain. Take out each warrior until they are all gone." "Sounds like a plan," Allie said. "Anyone wh