Barely Surviving

Each hailstone was as big as a human head, and they were packed so densely it felt like exhilarating rain.

After all, each hailstone dealt 5d6 bludgeoning damage. Even if every roll came up as a 1, getting pelted by them would probably leave an "ordinary" person half-paralyzed...

As for Orange Catman, he looked completely calm, then... cast Stone Skin on himself. Look at how clear-headed he was.

Well, actually, Orange Catman wasn't calm in the slightest.

Casting spells while moving quickly in a storm like this

required intense concentration to do properly.

And since he had to cast spells, he couldn't run as fast as he would at a full sprint.

But there was no helping it. He needed a little time to prepare his defensive spells.

If he just sprinted ahead at full speed, he might be able to see Lin Yun and the others by now. But would that accomplish anything?

His opponents had definitely prepared for this. They might even have all their spells ready, standing there like "bosses guarding the level" and waiting for him. So... even if he had to take a little damage, he at least needed to get ready first.

Otherwise, he'd charge straight in, only to go, "I'm up," and then get one-shot?

So of course he needed to prepare a few spells before rushing in to fight.

Earlier, he'd reacted quickly enough to cast Protection from Energy Damage ahead of time, which meant the acid rain had affected him only a little—about as much as ordinary rain would.

The lightning that followed had also been resisted by the Protection from Energy Damage he'd cast "in advance," so he hadn't taken any damage.

But... hail was different. Hail had weight. Even with Stone Skin, it still affected him.

And next, there