I Became a 6★ Gacha Character

Instead of archer centaurs, these centaurs seemed to be rogues, trying to stealthily infiltrate the base and surround us without making a sound.

Though they managed to avoid even Grace's detection and skillfully surround us... they were greeted by the minefield of magitech devices that Han Se-ah, Katie, and the Ice Cross Knights had carefully transplanted one by one. No matter how good their stealth, mines explode when stepped on.

While they could fool an archer's detection, they couldn't fool gravity - the centaurs started floating into the sky.

Yes, the centaurs flew.

With no wings and their huge bodies, they got to taste the air 20 meters up. They'd have to pay for their Seoul sightseeing flight with leg bones. With no priest to cast barriers, they had to trust only their tough bodies as they fell from 20 meters up.

The result was, well, you can guess.

CRUNCH—!

CRACK, SNAP—!!!

GACK, WHEEZE, PRRRT—?!

Just the sounds alone painted a picture of misery. It was probably better we couldn't see what happened outside the fence. If they hadn't turned into mana stones upon death, there would've been mangled horse corpses scattered everywhere, turning the earthen wall into a blood wall.

Thank goodness for that - I had no interest in fighting in a field of pulped corpses instead of a swamp.

"How did they get here without us noticing?!" Grace exclaimed.

"Since when do hooved bastards have stealth?!" a knight shouted.

Not just Grace was startled - the Ice Cross Knights leaped over the fence gate without opening it, rushing out through the mine-cleared entrance.

We couldn't just stand around either, so we jumped onto the fence to assess the situation. Despite their skill at concealing their presence, they weren't actually invisible - mana stones were scattered everywhere and confused centaurs stumbled around. Their combat ability seemed about the same as regular centaur scouts, with skills just hiding their presence.

Instead of getting stronger with each floor, these scouts seemed to get stealthier and faster.

"They're nothing special - clean them up quickly!" Olek ordered.

But as Olek said, their combat ability was unimpressive. These stealth-focused scout units got caught in Katie's ice aura after stepping on mines, dropping their combat power below goblin level.

Their only talent was concealing their presence, which broke when they hit the mines, and speed, which didn't help much when we had two AOE CC characters.

"I'll tear up the ground to stop them running! Watch your feet!" Han Se-ah called.

"Yes, hero!"

The Ice Cross Knights surrounded the few centaurs who hadn't stepped on mines, while Katie had already pushed in to give them a taste of slow hell.

Seeing this, Han Se-ah started destroying the ground with Earth Control instead of the mana-heavy high-rank magic Summon Snow Storm. With her impeccable mana control, she manipulated the earth until the prairie looked like rain-soaked furrows.

She seemed to have mixed in Water magic too - the ground became bumpy and waterlogged, instantly creating fine mud that feet sank into.

"Whoa, what's this?!"

"Watch your footing everyone! Surely none of you are clumsier than these hooved beasts!"

"Shouldn't you be the most careful, Captain?"

Though not high-rank magic, simultaneously casting low and mid-rank spells was quite a feat. If she were an NPC, she might've earned titles like "Han Se-ah of Multiple Incantations" or "Han Se-ah of Magic Fusion," but she casually brushed it off.

Maybe that's why Katie and the knights just expressed brief amazement before focusing on their swordwork. Of course, I was surprised too, having never seen a mage cast multiple spells simultaneously. But hey, if the system allowed it, she wasn't breaking impossible system limits like some game protagonist.

...Though I still wondered why someone so skilled with magic loved bombs so much.

"Roland! No other enemies around! This is all of them!" Grace shouted.

"Got it!"

While Han Se-ah turned the prairie's soft earth into sticky mud for the surviving centaurs, Grace's cry reached my ears after her quick sweep of the area.

As the party's scout who'd never failed to detect enemies before, the centaurs' stealth skills seemed to have shocked her quite a bit. After circling the fence like the wind to check everywhere, she shot emotionally charged arrows.

The fact that she used alchemical arrowheads to freeze and kill the centaur stragglers that the Ice Cross Knights and Katie could handle showed her clear emotional state. Well, though they didn't show it openly, they had pride as the hero's party - that pride had taken a hit.

※

The centaur cavalry, or rather centaur scouts with their extra skill, were predictably weak in combat.

They could probably sprint faster and further than regular cavalry, plus they had stealth skills, but their combat ability hadn't increased at all. Like a max-level support character with all utility skills losing to a low-level DPS.

Meanwhile, they'd stepped on all the transplanted mines while trying to surround the fence, so cleaning them up took barely a moment.

"As expected, they do get stronger with each floor," Han Se-ah said. "On floor 55 we got fences and orc archers with ranged attacks, on floor 56 we get stealth cavalry plus earthen walls with mines. Each thing alone isn't much, but combined they'd be pretty annoying."

-True lol If you're doing a siege with NPC troops and stealth cavalry hits your supply lines and runs, you'd curse right away

[Chat deleted by mod]

-Another life fades today

-But really, stealth cavalry cutting supply lines would make the game properly fucking hard

-Still, they seem visible, so maybe telescopes would help detect them? Though Han Se-ah doesn't seem to underestimate them.

True to her terrorist title, the hero seemed full of thoughts about supply line raids and guerrilla warfare as soon as she saw the stealth centaurs. I hadn't thought of that and was underestimating them, but it would be annoying if things went as she suggested.

Special units focused on stealth and movement speed. They'd just be rare mana stone shuttles charging straight at player parties, but thinking about them kidnapping civilians and cutting supply lines gave me a headache.

"Still, monsters that can't be sensed - that was quite a shock," Grace said.

"Seems they noticed we were inside the fence. But they weren't strong, so they must be scout-type monsters," I replied.

"Scouts? Ah, so regular centaurs are light cavalry, but these are more specialized for reconnaissance. That explains how they detected something wrong with their camp from further than Grace's range and approached while stealthed."

"Centaur scouts, huh. Like the orc hunters with great bows - maybe each floor strengthens one type?"

"Then will the goblins get stronger on the next floor?"

Everyone seemed to think similarly as they collected mana stones and returned inside the fence, whispering among themselves. Though they hadn't helped kidnap humans with the goblin infantry, it was quite shocking that they'd fooled the senses of a 5★ scout archer and knight guide to approach within meters of the fence.

If we'd been able to see them, we would've spotted them hundreds of meters away even with stealth, but we happened to be laying out sleeping bags inside the tall fence.

To make excuses, we hadn't posted sentries since we'd heavily mined the only entrance, but while that made sense logically, everyone's pride still took a hit.

As one viewer said, in cruder terms, everyone was 'triggered.'

When you win after taking an unexpected hit from an equal opponent, you might say "Great fight!" But when a low-level trash mob gets in a lucky shot, it just makes the victory unpleasant.

"How many mana stones roughly? Counting the barracks too, we should be done," Katie asked.

"Already checked - no additional forces. Unless they sleep on bare ground without tents, there can't be more," Olek replied.

"Now, shall we check the house results? Who's the lucky winner of points through camera judgment? There were about a dozen or so flying around earlier, how many points were bet on that?"

"Then we'll stay here today and grab that black magic crystal when we leave tomorrow."

Amid the subtly annoyed group, Han Se-ah kept up her entertainer act. Still, with no injuries and a clean victory, everyone tried to lighten their expressions as they headed to the pitched tents to rest.

But the scratch to their pride was unavoidable - the knights naturally climbed the fence without being ordered. Since it wouldn't take hours to circle the fence, they seemed to be planning guard duty in pairs.

"Alright! Camera review shows exactly seventeen flying centaurs enjoyed the high air! The winner who bet most points on 16-20 is SuspiciousHor...."

-Hey, say the full nickname Han Se-ah lol

-Why can't you say SuspiciousHorseButtsAndTailGrabber? Embarrassed for your viewer?

-If there was a contest for making people miserable with 12 characters, you'd win

-These aren't just suspicious friends, they're cavalry enthusiast friends who really really love ponies, so scary

-Are they commissioning centaur lewds with those points now? lol

Regardless, Han Se-ah's entertainer act continued until the sun outside the tower set.

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