Now that he thought about it, the Thorned Giant Beast in the distance hadn't actually been lacking in intelligence.
During their initial exchange, it had deliberately used its vine tail to intercept Magic Missiles. In doing so, it had demonstrated its powerful regenerative abilities while also hinting that breaking its tail caused it no pain.
It had thereby diverted Gauss's attention away from its tail.
If that had been intentional, then the creature could even be called cunning.
However, even though Gauss had found what seemed to be a weakness, hitting it was still far from easy.
The deadly tail was perfectly concealed among the many other vine tails. The moment the Ranged Magic Missiles drew near, other vines intercepted them with precision and smacked them apart.
With Alya, Theron, and the summoned creatures engaging the beast, Gauss managed to pull back and put some distance between himself and it.
He quickly chewed his food, feeling the [Energy Gland] greedily convert nutrients into surging energy.
By the time he had recovered most of his stamina, the protective fields around Alya and Theron were on the verge of collapse. Of the four Clay Spiders, only the strongest, the white spider, remained. The other three brown ones had been smashed apart and couldn't recover after exhausting their mana.
Gauss took a deep breath.
His teammates had bought him enough time to catch his breath.
"Alya, Theron, thanks for the effort. I'll take it from here." His voice was calm and resolute.
Hearing him speak, their taut nerves finally eased a little.
Theron in particular had reached level 3 in his class and possessed the excellent mobility granted by his race. Even so, facing such a colossal beast—even for a short time—had taken a considerable toll on him.
Of course, he also knew