SWNOVELXO Chapter 14: A Duel with Aunt Colette
[ [Author: SuperMallingExpress*]]
[ [Title: Leo-a Lamb Chop Strategy Compilation ─ Collette Bloodberry]]
[ Today’s lamb chop is~~]
[ Collette Bloodberry!]
[ She is a hidden boss you can encounter in the High School Division chapter. If newbies meet her, they’re instantly killed, and even veterans have to save-load if they fight her unprepared. I’ll explain how to defeat this auntie.]
[ 1. How to Encounter the Hidden Boss]
[ 2. Preparations]
[ 3. Strategy]
[ 4. Must-Have Rewards]
[ 1. How to Encounter the Hidden Boss]
[ You can meet Collette after the first year of the High School Division chapter.]
[ The appearance event differs depending on whether Esme is alive or not.]
[ If Esme is alive ─ Possible after defeating Esme in the advancement exam for ‘Magic Theory’ that you can take from the High School Division chapter onwards.]
[ If Esme is dead ─ Possible anytime after Collette appears.]
[ When you talk to Collette after fulfilling the above conditions,]
[ 『So you’re the rising star of that prestigious Academy. Did you think you could get away with everything you’ve done so far?』]
[ If this line appears, it means you’re immediately entering a battle with Collette.]
[ As you can see, an event scene starts as soon as the conversation begins, and you won’t get any time to prepare for battle, so you have to bring all the preparations.]
[ I also tried to talk to her at first to teabag her, but an event scene started right away and I got totally destroyed lol]
[ By the way, when talking to Collette, you can receive a bonus like when you fight Professor Malea if you choose the following options:]
[ 『The Princess is well aware of what you’ve done so far. The reputation you’ve built in the Academy is nothing.』]
[ Here, if your Charm is 17 or higher, choosing option 3 (Have that prestigious Princess come and find me herself) will inflict the ‘Overwhelmed’ debuff on Collette.]
[ 『Do you think you can beat me with magic you learned in an Academy? I am the magic minister of the Magica Kingdom, child.』]
[ Here, if the sum of your Intelligence and Wisdom is 30 or higher, choosing option 2 (If you’re so skilled, you’d know what magic I can use, right?) will inflict the ‘Enraged’ debuff on Collette.]
[ It’s not like you can’t defeat Collette without the debuffs I wrote above, but if you’ve played normally to get to the High School Division chapter, you’ll have enough stats to get them, so it’s good to get them ㅇㅇ]
[ 2. Preparations]
[ The debuffs mentioned in number 1 are nice to have, but not essential. But from here on, you must bring them.]
[ You either won’t be able to follow strategy number 3, or you’ll have to grind a lot to clear, or even if you clear with difficulty, the rewards won’t be good, so they’re essential.]
[ A. Character Affinity]
[ Princess Nikea < Stage 3 or higher.]
[ This is absolutely essential. You know that it’s stupid not to bring her against an enemy that uses magic, right?]
[ If her affinity is Stage 3 or higher, an aura that reduces magic damage will activate, so she is a must-have.]
[ Some people ignore this because they have magic resistance gear, but it’s calculated separately, so you must bring her.]
[ Sitri < Affinity Stage 2 or higher]
[ If you take her as a party member after reaching Affinity Stage 2 or higher, she will give you a +1 draw card and a card that blocks Collette’s magic casting once.]
[ She deserves her nickname as a gear-dependent girl, so you must take her.]
[ Lachesis < Affinity Stage 1 or higher]
[ Our Saintess will cast a full heal once at the end of every turn, even if you don’t take her as a party member ]
[ Honestly, it’s hard not to reach Affinity Stage 1 or higher, so you don’t need to worry about it unless you’re deliberately trying to play an abusive game.]
[ B. Faction Reputation]
[ Cosmos Academy < 60 or higher, no matter what]
[ You must get this.]
[ At the end of the event scene, the Headmaster appears and prevents Collette from bringing in trash mobs.]
[ Mage’s Tower < 25 or higher minimum]
[ You can still clear it without raising the Mage’s Tower reputation, but you won’t get the rewards.]
[ C. Elemental Magic]
[ You should have learned at least one of each of the four basic elements.]
[ 3. Strategy]
[ A. Recommended Party]
[ Nikea, Sitri]
[ You must bring these two. The conditions for receiving their buffs are that they are in the party, so there is no choice.]
[ If you ask if it’s possible to clear without them, of course it is, but I don’t know?]
[ For the remaining slots, you can add a supporter or a brainless, reliable dealer like Deimos or Vulcan.]
[ Anyway, Nikea can deal enough damage, and if you have Sitri for support, it won’t be too tight on draw cards due to the +1 draw card.]
[ B. Gimmick Explanation]
[ Collette’s behavior pattern itself is simple.]
[ If there is an enemy nearby, push them away with ‘Harpie’s Feather’]
[ ↓]
[ If there were no enemies, recover mana]
[ ↓]
[ Cast magic towards the ally with the lowest health]
[ She just repeats this.]
[ It seems really simple and nothing special when you look at it like this, but there are parts that you must pay attention to because it’s simple.]
[ Ⅰ. The number of Collette’s magic casts is reduced by the number of ‘Magica Kingdom Court Mages’ that appeared at the start of the battle and are still alive.]
[ What does this mean? If the player wants to reduce the casting, they have to discard cards equal to the written number or just endure the turns, right?]
[ Collette is the same. She also receives the same system. If you don’t deal with the mobs?]
[ You could get hit by Meteor, Perfect Freeze, Meteor, Perfect Freeze, Meteor in one turn and have your party wiped out.]
[ So, be sure to raise your Academy reputation.]
[ Ⅱ. The magic Collette uses always leaves a status ailment.]
[ Unlike the Meteor that players use, her Meteor inflicts burn (putting trash cards in your deck) or Perfect Freeze inflicts freeze, and all of her magic has a status ailment.]
[ So, don’t save cards to do more damage, use them generously.]
[ Ⅲ. When Collette casts magic, an element remains.]
[ If you’ve played up to the High School Division chapter, you should know this, but remember the elemental advantages and disadvantages, and if you hit with an advantageous element, the ‘Overwhelmed’ debuff will stack on Collette.]
[ If the ‘Overwhelmed’ debuff stacks five times, Collette will do nothing for one turn, so the damage window will increase, right?]
[ The problem is that the magic Collette casts and the element we can react with don’t match.]
[ It’s not like she won the position of magic minister in a game of Go-Stop, right? She’ll definitely fake you out, like saying she’ll use Meteor but then using Earthquake.]
[ So, instead of blindly using advantageous elemental magic after seeing the magic she casts, you must check with ‘View Details’ or deduce the element by the color of the light floating around Collette’s character.]
[ Ⅳ. Demon race characters should never approach Collette.]
[ The special pattern called ‘Bloodberry’s Heirloom’ is always used when a ‘Demon race’ character approaches Collette.]
[ There is no way to dodge it, and if you get hit by it, your mana becomes 0, and half of your deck burns, so you must never approach her.]
[ Ⅴ. Legendary Action: Dual Casting]
[ Collette’s legendary action is casting two magic spells at once. It’s the same as attacking twice in one turn.]
[ You can break through it with advantageous elements as explained in strategy number 3, but you have to succeed in both to cancel the magic casting itself, and debuffs only stack in such cases.]
[ You must neutralize the elements that appeared in the order they were cast.]
[ It looks complicated, but if you accurately keep using advantageous elemental magic, the debuffs will stack up quickly, and you can clear it quickly!]
[ 4. Must-Have Rewards]
[ The reason why you go out of your way to defeat this hidden boss is here.]
[ That is…]
[ * * *]
[ //s_win]
[ 『Stats』]
[ 【Strength 6, Agility 6, Health 6, Intelligence 10, Wisdom 10, Charm 10】]
If I’m not mistaken about the strategy, it’s absolutely impossible to fight and win against ‘Collette Bloodberry’ with these stats.
However, the situation I’m in now is quite different from the canon, isn’t it?
Esme isn’t a high school student, but a cute and soft elementary school child.
Collette Bloodberry isn’t the terrifying magic minister of the Magica Kingdom, but just a petty person who wants to be one.
The situation is subtly different.
If you ask if it’s advantageous for me, I can confidently say yes, I’m overflowing with confidence.
“M-Murmur? Are you listening to me? I know you’re angry!”
Nikea, who was clinging to my side, was adorably trying to persuade me by talking, even though she had the power to lift me up with one hand and stop me.
“I am too! I’m angry enough to think I must protest. It’s annoying. I want to kick her! B-but! Murmur! You shouldn’t do this.”
“It’s okay.”
“I don’t know what you’re going to talk about, Murmur, but it’s really dangerous!”
The situation is slightly different from the canon, but it’s really okay.
Even when Collette was a magic minister, she didn’t kill Murmur right away. And now? There are more eyes watching, and she has to be careful. There’s no way she can kill me as soon as we start talking.
If we fight properly, I can definitely win. My heart was burning so hot that I felt sorry for Nikea’s worry.
“It’s really okay.”
“I’m worried! I don’t like that woman either. I hate her! But I hate it even more when Murmur gets hurt.”
“Murmur is okay. I don’t plan on getting hurt.”
“I don’t want to see my friend get hurt twice in one day! The opponent is Collette Bloodberry! That woman! She’s an arrogant psychopath who thinks she can do anything with her sister backing her up!”
Just before I was about to go into the garden where Collette would surely be, Nikea grabbed my shoulder and shouted.
“Nikea. Thank you.”
“Thank you all of a sudden… Are you even listening to me?”
“Yes, thank you for worrying about Murmur, a demon. I’m happy that you called me your friend. But…”
I held Nikea’s trembling hand and gently stroked it.
“Murmur is a little angry today.”
I let go of Nikea’s hand, who was looking at me with wide eyes, and started moving my small feet diligently.
In the center of the Academy’s beautifully decorated garden, as I expected, ‘Collette Bloodberry’ was sitting. She had piled up desserts and food that smelled sweet like a mountain, and was happily drinking tea with white steam rising from it.
After abusing Esme like that, after tormenting me to kill me.
“Hehehe, it’s a relief that the kids these days are so brave.”
“Ah… I hope the Princess returns soon so we can see her at the Academy.”
“Don’t worry. That will happen soon.”
Around Collette, there were several Academy staff members and nobles who had a base near the Academy, chatting.
“Oh?”
One of them saw me approaching and covered her mouth with her hand in surprise.
“Where did that filthy demon come from…”
“Ah… my goodness, it looks like a demon that a failed hero was saddled with. It’s truly embarrassing.”
“I don’t know what the Cosmos Headmaster is doing.”
Unlike the nobles who were openly insulting me, Collette Bloodberry didn’t even glance at me.
As if to say that I’m not even worth a glance, like a bug.
As if she never even expected Esme to kill you.
“Collette Bloodberry.”
“Oh my, oh my! Look at this one!”
“She has no manners at all!”
“Sigh… That’s why demons are no good.”
The pouring jeers were familiar now.
Collette still didn’t look at me.
Because I expected that, I raised my heel, lifted my palm high, and then slammed it down on the table that was in the middle of teatime!
“… M-Murmur!!!”
Nikea, who was approaching from behind, screamed, but it was enough because Collette was looking at me.
“You…”
“Auntie Collette.”
“… What did you say?”
“Murmur will duel with you.”
Collette’s eyebrows twitched.
“Hehehe… That’s a really stupid story, like a demon.”
“Child! Countess Collette will soon be the magic minister of the Magica Kingdom!”
“Sigh… She heard about it somewhere and is talking about a duel!”
People who didn’t know the situation were laughing at me while shaking their shoulders, but Collette wasn’t laughing.
“How dare you, a bug, use such magic…”
When I removed my small hand, there was a magic circle drawn with tea on the white table.
A vow of duel.
Magic that forces the loser to obey the winner’s demands.
“W-wait… it’s a vow of duel?!”
“T-that little kid used that? How? There’s no way Professor Aiaia would have taught such a gruesome thing!”
“C-Countess Collette… I’m sorry. It seems like a child from the Elementary Division learned some strange magic somewhere.”
Collette glared at me as if she would kill me.
“Auntie. Are you scared? Are you afraid of losing to Murmur?”
“Hoo, hoo… Haha!!! Okay. Murmur. I, Collette Bloodberry, will specially accept this ridiculous duel.”
Collette scoffed and brought her hand to the magic circle I drew, infusing it with mana.
“Child. Don’t regret it? If I win, I’ll make you strangle your own filthy neck and commit suicide.”
“You should be prepared too, Auntie. If you lose to Murmur, you’ll have to apologize to Esme.”
“You demons are playing friend? Keep fantasizing, if you can even leave a scratch on my body, I’ll cry like a dog because I lost.”
You better be prepared.
Because there is a power that adults can’t even imagine in a child.