The second of this horde was lesser… but from the looks of it these ones were stronger. There were many more centipedes, were much larger and much meaner. Whilst their little buddies were gigantic beetles.
James straightened his back, held his breath and I could sense the warm mana flow through his body. Shaun glowed an orange color but heavier and it looked like a smog flowed out of him.
I felt my attention like all the other monsters drew to him. I had to shake my head and clench my hands tight. Something warm trickled from them. Keep your head calm…
When Shaun jumped into the middle, I closed my eyes, my ears became my only sense I used. There was a heavy clang! A few grunts later then a heavy crunch.
That's one down from Shaun. I raised my hands and focused on the heavy yet… fleet of him. I think I can only fire… one or two.
My hands pushed the air in front of me, and two earth darts came to be. As a result my body became heavier. Can make a sword afterwards.
Two rounds of Earth shotguns shot forth. Shaun's footsteps resounded close to me after he evidently jumped.
"Not bad, though you should keep your eyes open."
His voice resounded in my mind, I could smell something iron wiff into my nostrils. … Did I hit him?
"Stay back as we get them, okay?"
Shaun's voice was… reassuring but I could hear the slight pain in it. I- I hit him.
"Yukina, just stay back."
"I-"
"You pushed yourself too much on the first wave, if you ran out of mana already, you need to rest."
I felt him usher me to the ground— that's when I opened my eye to see him holding his abdomen and the orange glow was gone. He was covered in blood, but his abdomen was trickling blood.
"I'm fine, it wasn't you."
"I-"
"Sit down, your dad and I can handle this."
"...Alright…"
I slowly got to the floor as Shaun went back in. Is adventuring not meant for me…? My mana gets drained so much.
In mere moments Shaun had enveloped his body again— And again- again- it caught my attention. I couldn't keep my eyes away.
One by one, he swung his longsword— it looked unstoppable as he cleaved through the endoskeletons of bugs. Fragments splattered onto the ground as he became an unstoppable bull.
Before I knew it, half of the beetles that swarmed him were on the ground— all cleaved in two. Meanwhile James was doused in sweat— but he was not stopping.
He was a blur going from one monster to another, blood gushed out from the wounds they accumulated.
Even training really sets me behind, huh? I let out a sigh as I watched this mesmerizing sight. James seemed so skilled with how he fought. I don't get why he stopped being a rouge..
Beetles, and centipedes only caught his shadow before falling to the ground. Each second cemented the idea I am so far behind… even for a legendary race. Once my mana was a quarter full, the horde was already cleared.
Shaun and James rested for a bit— both were extremely drenched in sweat; however both were full of energy.
"Not bad for not clearing dungeons in a while, huh?" James commented as he leaned back.
"Mhm…"
"Also be careful fighting like that— You haven't used a sword that aggressively ever since Untergrant." As the words aggressively left James's mouth he quoted them with both hands.
Shaun fell silent and flopped onto his back. I took my seat next to James, and I had a clear sight of Shaun's face.
He really wants to save Lora… he wasn't this antsy when traveling across everything…
We sat there for a while. My mana pool got over half way and I started to feel my full strength. James got to his feet, helped me up and Shaun. He felt the most urgent between us, as if he knew the real issue.
And thus we began to walk… in which direction I had no idea. James led us, somehow he knew which direction to go. I wouldn't doubt it if he already went through it before, he was an Ard native afterall just not from any big family.
"There's one last horde." James stated as we came to a stop. Ahead of us was a smaller room, unlike the last two it was carved into this tunnel. Squarish, candles lined the walls and it was completely stone. "They're weaker than the first two… Just an excessive amount in comparison."
James opened his cloak and grabbed one of the daggers on his legs; then he turned to me and handed me it. "until your magic is replenished, use this to fight."
"G-got it…"
He raised his hand and patted me again on the head. That was followed by a searing hot feeling that washed down my body. It didn't… hurt, but I felt like I had a load more energy coursing through my body.
"Shaun, we're ready."
"Got it."
In five steps, the candles turned a dark red. There was a heavy grinding noise that caused me to cover my ears— when it all stopped, I raised my head— both exits were replaced with boulders.
B-
Goblins where are th- My spine tingled. Paired with the reddish color, these things seemed more sinister. Not again, why is it always them?!