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Desperate cries echoed through the cavern as the group scrambled to evade the deadly beams.

“AaaaAAHHHHH!!”

Crim finally flung herself out of the danger zone, panting heavily. Not far behind her—

“I hate thissss!!”
“How are we even still alive?!”

Freya and Kasumi stumbled out, clinging to each other in shared relief. One by one, the rest of Lua Cheia’s members emerged, miraculously unscathed.

“Hahh…hahh… I can’t believe we survived that.”
“M-maybe it was just… adrenaline, keeping us going through that nightmare… cough…”

Sara and Jade collapsed to their knees, gasping for air. They were not the most athletic of the group, and having spent the previous night drinking, both were still recovering from that, which made the ordeal even worse.

“I thought this was going to be a laid-back event. Swimsuits and beaches—what happened to that?”
“Yeah, this is on the devs. They’ve really lost it.”
“Why are they so determined to make us suffer…?”

Lycoris muttered bitterly, and both Frey and Kasumi nodded in exhausted agreement.

The viewers were equally confused, trying to make sense of the game’s bizarre design choices.

“Well… At least those things aren’t chasing us out here. Let’s regroup and make a plan!” Crim announced with newfound energy.

“C-Crim… Why are you so hyped all of a sudden?”

Now that she knew the enemy was a golem, Crim’s usual fears—ghosts, zombies, or fish monsters with disturbingly fast legs—vanished. A combat-ready opponent, one she could physically fight, reignited her spirit.

“I’ve already figured out most of their attack patterns. I better share them before I forget.”

With that, Crim turned toward the hall where the golems still lurked. Though there was now a wall separating them, the whine of laser beams firing relentlessly was still audible. Thankfully, the developers had shown a shred of mercy by not making the golems pursue them outside.

“First off, their attacks might seem overwhelming, but they follow three repeating patterns.”
“Patterns?”

Crim began explaining while twirling her index finger, appearing like a teacher. Hinagiku played along, tilting her head and making her ears twitch in a cute manner.

“Yes. One of the patterns is when the main golem fires a single laser at a target. That always happens a few seconds after its eye blinks three times. But here’s the trick—it doesn’t lock onto us until the last moment.”

“What do you mean, Crim?”

“After the third blink, it stops tracking us. That’s the key. And this applies to the smaller ones too.”

She hypothesized that the golem couldn’t manage both visual tracking and laser firing at the same time. It had to shut off its “eye” to charge and fire the laser, which left it temporarily blind.

The viewers were both impressed and stunned by Crim’s sharp observations.

But as Crim reflected on what she had just explained, a troubling thought crossed her mind. How had she been able to pick up on all those minute details so effortlessly?

She remembered the earlier fight against the Player Killers—how she’d seen and deflected bullets with ease. It was almost instinctual, like her reflexes had sharpened beyond their usual limits.

As far as she knew, that was not possible for her in the past…

“…Crim?”
“Ah… Sorry, let me continue.”

Hearing Frey call her, Crim shook her head to refocus on the task at hand.

“The second pattern is a four-way cross of beams, fired from the four cannons on its outer armor. This attack has absurd range and covers multiple locations, making it tough to dodge. It’s a real pain if we don’t anticipate it.”

“I can see that—especially with the smaller ones still shooting at us. That could trip us up if we’re not careful,” Frey added.

“Exactly. Everyone should stay within their safe areas and only dodge with minimal movements to avoid getting hit.”

Crim began drawing a quick diagram, showing the laser paths and the optimal way to evade them. They still needed to get accustomed to the timing in combat, but it was a good starting point.

“The third pattern is a continuous beam that spins 360 degrees. This one comes from a higher point, so getting close to the main body makes it easier to dodge.”

“But what about the smaller ones?” Kasumi asked.

“Yes, we’ll get to that…” Crim said, nodding. “The main golem’s attacks are terrifying since they can kill in one hit, but once you know the patterns, they’re manageable. The real problem—”

“Master!”

Before Crim could finish, Hinagiku shot her hand into the air with enthusiasm.

“That was fast, Hinagiku. What’s the answer?”
“The smaller ones will get in the way more!”
“Correct.”

Pleased with her response, Crim placed a hand between Hinagiku’s fox ears, giving her an affectionate pat. Hinagiku nuzzled closer, her tail wagging happily as she giggled.

She’s so cute.

In that moment, the tension from the decrepit, submerged city seemed to vanish. The atmosphere turned light, almost as if they were standing in a serene garden, soothing everyone’s nerves.

“Oh, right! This isn’t the time to be fooling around!”

Seeing the viewers’ comments in her peripheral vision snapped Crim back to reality, making her retreat from her playful moment.

“Anyway, the enemy cycles through the three attacks I just described. The smaller ones will be constantly moving, so we’ll need to adjust accordingly.”

“So, we wait for the four-way beam attack and take out the smaller ones in our quadrant?” Frey asked.

“Exactly. We’ll adapt if anything changes, but that’s the basic plan.”

Crim confirmed Frey’s assessment with a nod. They didn’t have all the information about the encounter, but at least they now had a strategy to face the golem.

“Lycoris and Frey, you’ll use hit-and-run tactics with your ranged attacks. Frey, you’ll take the lead when making decisions if things get hectic.”

“Sure, leave it to me.”
“Understood!” Lycoris and Frey responded in unison.

“The rest of us will work in pairs. Stick to your partner and focus only on their movements. I’ll pair with the prez, Jade with Freya, and Sara with Hinagiku.”

Everyone gave a nervous but determined nod as Crim outlined the teams.

“Alright… Break time’s over. Let’s get back in there and take down that golem!”

With a unified shout following Crim’s rally, the group charged back into the hall, ready to put their plan into action.