Don't Save Consumables for the Final Boss

Before long, the priest and warrior had finished arming themselves, while the rogue took all the holy water from the Bag of Holding.

He kept four bottles for himself and hung them from his belt, then distributed the rest to the other two.

The dwarven warrior took two bottles, immediately opened one, and poured the holy water over his axe.

Marvin took three bottles. He kept one on him and placed the other two on the Floating Disk.

The priest did not need holy water. His [Sacred Flame] was far more effective.

While his companions hurried through their final preparations for battle, Marvin took two flintlock muskets from his storage ring and handed them to the Mage Hand.

Then he opened the satchel at his waist, unfolded the several-times-folded Packhorse Sack, and took out six oilpaper-wrapped boxes of cartridges, placing them on the Floating Disk.

In the coming battle, the Floating Disk, loaded with bullets and holy water, would serve as an ammunition supply platform, moving alongside the Mage Hand operating the flintlock muskets.

If Marvin later invented all kinds of grenades, even hand-cranked machine guns or lightweight muzzle-loading cannons, he could place them on the Floating Disk to create a mobile firepower platform, then operate them with Enhanced Mage Hand.

"Watch out, Marvin! The Spined Devils are coming!"

"Slicked-back Hair" stepped beside Marvin and raised his kite shield to protect them both.

Marvin took out several stones he had casually picked up earlier, cast [Light] on them one after another, and threw them out to illuminate the woods.

Half-elves, dwarves, and devils all possessed darkvision. Only Marvin and "Slicked-back Hair," the two humans, had to rely on light in this nighttime battle.

The two Spined Devils that had landed had already charged into the forest.

Blocked by the dense trunks, they could not fly long distances and could only alternate between walking and flying. Even so, they were swift, quickly closing in on Marvin and the other man.

They gave Marvin no opportunity to fire.

They even took the chance to launch a volley of tail spines.

Fortunately, "Slicked-back Hair" blocked every one with his shield.

"Don't protect me. Circle around from the left and restrict the Spined Devils' movements. Make their mobility advantage useless," Marvin said.

Seeing Marvin take another scroll from his storage ring, "Slicked-back Hair" nodded and did as instructed.

I really envy mages who can tear spell scrolls like scrap paper!

Marvin stood in the center, unmoving. Ten feet behind and to his right was the firing position formed by the Floating Disk and the energy hand.

To his left, the priest advanced step by step with his shield raised.

From behind came unceasing dwarven cries of "Ale," "Apple Cider," "Icewind Dale Vodka"...

Cellar had a habit of using different kinds of alcohol as battle cries during combat.

Every so often, amid the gaps between the dwarf's roars, came the sound of glass bottles shattering. This was followed by the screams of Lemures being scorched by radiant energy.

"The rear is stable. Nothing will go wrong in the short term. Once we deal with these two Spined Devils, there will be no more suspense." After assessing the battle, Marvin relaxed and focused on the enemies ahead.

The two Spined Devils had been constantly moving through the woods, searching for an opening.

When they saw the shield-bearing priest actually leave the mage and move forward, they immediately let out a string of taunts in Infernal.

Seizing the opportunity, they bounded forward several times, rapidly approaching Marvin and firing another volley of tail spines.

But Marvin had been prepared. The spell scroll in his hand immediately transformed into a transparent force shield that floated before him.

Under the dual protection of [Shield] and Mage Armor, Marvin's defense was now comparable to that of a warrior clad in full plate armor.

[Shield], a first-circle abjuration spell, required an extremely brief incantation and gesture. It could be cast instantly in an emergency to block enemy attacks, and it could completely negate Magic Missile.

Its only drawback was its short duration: just six seconds.

But that was nothing to Marvin.

Wasn't the whole point of working hard to earn money and stockpiling a mountain of consumables to use them at times like this?

Was he supposed to be like certain RPG players, meticulously exploring every stretch of the road, rummaging through every corner and every chest, stripping them clean; then using Steal to empty every NPC's pockets; and never missing a single side quest?

Only to reach the final boss with every consumable they had painstakingly accumulated still unused because they could not bear to spend them, then clear the game carrying a backpack that was about to become overloaded.

The fact that Marvin could let his thoughts wander to anecdotes about video games he had played before transmigrating showed that, in his eyes, the situation was not tense at all.

Even as the Spined Devils' tail spines clanged against the force shield;

Even as the two Spined Devils rapidly closed in with flaming forked spears raised;

Even as the stench of sulfur, as strong as rotten eggs, filled his nostrils, and he saw hellfire burning in their evil eyes;

The mage still appeared completely at ease.

Seizing the moment, he raised his hand toward the enemies ahead and chanted in Draconic, "Burning Hands."

Fan-shaped magical flames instantly erupted from his palm, swallowing everything within their range.

Magical fire was far more powerful than ordinary flame.

"You're actually using fire against us? Idiot!" the larger Spined Devil mocked in stiff Common.

Yet it did not slow down in the slightest. Skimming low over the ground, it continued narrowing the distance to Marvin.

With just one more breath, it would be able to pierce the human mage's chest with its searing forked spear.

Bang! Bang!

However, the two gunshots struck it as though an invisible sledgehammer had smashed into it. Its body jerked to a halt in midair before it crashed awkwardly to the ground, rolling from momentum and scattering countless blades of grass before finally sliding to a stop at Marvin's feet.

The evil glow in its eyes, like an erupting infernal volcano, swiftly faded away.

"Of course I know fire is ineffective against devils. But it can burn away the trees and branches, creating a firing window for the muskets."

For this shot, both flintlock muskets had used Guided Shot. One round hit the Spined Devil squarely in the head, the silver bullet easily piercing the devil's hide. The accompanying thunder damage shook the contents of its skull into pulp.

The other silver bullet, wrapped in force energy, blasted a fist-sized hole through the Spined Devil's chest and directly pulverized its heart—if devils even had hearts.

Marvin did not know how resilient devils were, so to be safe, he kicked the forked spear from the Spined Devil's grasp far away, then sprinkled holy water over the corpse.

The smaller Spined Devil had originally intended to launch a coordinated ambush from the side, only to be caught by "Slicked-back Hair."

"Fall!"

"Slicked-back Hair" invoked divine power in Celestial and cast Command on the Spined Devil.

Though the Spined Devil resisted the spell with the innate magic resistance of its devilish race, it was still affected and froze in place for two seconds.

Then Marvin hit it in the face with Magic Missile.

Although Magic Missile cast by a first-circle mage could not kill a Spined Devil, the reason this spell had long competed with Fireball for the title of "most popular evocation spell" was its trait of "guaranteed hit, impossible to evade."

Three violet force missiles exploded against the Spined Devil's left knee and both wings.

The Spined Devil cried out, losing its ability to fly and run.

Then the reloaded flintlock muskets fired their second volley of silver bullets.

This time, without Guided Shot, the two silver bullets failed to strike the Spined Devil's vital points, but they still left the fiend barely alive and forced it to its knees.

"Slicked-back Hair" arrived in time and smashed the Spined Devil's head flat with his morningstar, ending the battle.